If you declare war on metal, you're going to need alloys....I always thought that 80s (US) metal was the high water mark of the long peedly poodly guitar solo, but maybe that was a bit later on in the decade.That was Van Halen and all their wannabe copycats. The only people who called them "metal" were Congresspeople trying to get them banned for their salacious lyrics.
EDIT: We referred to them as "hair bands", and yes, the 80s was their heyday, and long curly hair, headbands, and 20-minute guitar solos was their game.
EDIT 2: The Scorpions were the ultimate, "Are these guys metal or are they a hair band?", but they were German anyway and they were just as (in)famous for their sidesplittingly incomprehensible lyrics as anything else. "Here I am... rock you like a hurricane!"
"Er... come again?"
That one was painful!
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Yes, I am obviously an Expert with max ranks in Bureaucracy.
I was entering yesterday's Target receipt into Quicken when I noticed that the price for the protein bars favored by GothBard and Impus Minor were staggeringly expensive. Checking, they had indeed mis-entered the case price instead of the box price, so I'd paid 3x too much.
Fortunately, this meant that the price per ounce on the label was incorrect. So I printed out the necessary paperwork (price, price per ounce, calculated price based on price per ounce, receipt, and incorrect price on their web site), then headed over to their returns department.
When I mentioned that even though this was an honest mistake, it could lead to a class action consumer fraud suit, I was suddenly met by an extremely friendly manager. Who carefully listened to my explanation, gave me my refund, and asked me for all my paperwork so he could notify corporate.
When managers ask you for your paperwork to correct a corporate issue...
EDIT: And yes, Paladin. If I get a refund and no more, then others might also be hurt by this mistake. So I approach the bureaucracy with a scorched-earth, "You need to fix this ASAP or there will be lawsuits," mentality. The manager was already on the phone with corporate as I was leaving. But I was extremely polite and friendly to the staff -- I made it very clear before I even started that I knew it wasn't their fault and I wasn't in the least bit unhappy with them. On the contrary, I apologized for making their mornings more difficult.
Have I complained bitterly about the modern college experience recently?
It's a beautiful day. The Impii had plans to go out with Talky. Oops. Impus Major has not one but TWO midterms today.
Yes. It's Sunday.
No. Professors no longer care about weekends nor holidays.
They're worse than the worst managers I've ever seen; at least if you get called in to work on a Sunday you'll get paid overtime.
EDIT: OK. GothBard's previous manager was simply, "You have to complete this task by this deadline or you're fired," but the task was impossible and everybody knew it, so no one hit the deadline and boss didn't end up firing anyone. Abusive and he didn't follow through on his threats, but I still feel that's better than giving midterms on weekends and holidays, which has become the norm at DVC.
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Fantasy NPC: Ragged Plantmann.
Do you have spare old clothing or at least some rags?
For how long will my cardboard and duct tape bookshelves stay up?
Place your bets. The winner gets a free round of deep fried tea and beans on boiled toast.
For how long will my cardboard and duct tape bookshelves stay up?
Place your bets. The winner gets a free round of deep fried tea and beans on boiled toast.
duct tape? I dunno. That stuff is no joke.
Depends on the quality of the cardboard.
Depends on the rain.
It depends on what books you put on it.
Rpg books are HEAVY all together.
Have I complained bitterly about the modern college experience recently?
It's a beautiful day. The Impii had plans to go out with Talky. Oops. Impus Major has not one but TWO midterms today.
Yes. It's Sunday.
No. Professors no longer care about weekends nor holidays.
They're worse than the worst managers I've ever seen; at least if you get called in to work on a Sunday you'll get paid overtime.
I’m not sure if it makes it better or worse, if it might be more of an admin issue?
I know at my school the exam schedule is planned centrally, and I’m not sure which departments would have the clout and the willingness to spend it on kicking up a fuss, while weekend exams are a relatively recent innovation from when a fall term reading/study break was introduced, to avoid having to change term start/end dates, which I don't think most of my profs (or us students) would find too annoying to deal with. :/
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I had to clean dead bugs off my helmet visor after my motorcycle ride today. Must be spring.
Have I complained bitterly about the modern college experience recently?
It's a beautiful day. The Impii had plans to go out with Talky. Oops. Impus Major has not one but TWO midterms today.
Yes. It's Sunday.
No. Professors no longer care about weekends nor holidays.
They're worse than the worst managers I've ever seen; at least if you get called in to work on a Sunday you'll get paid overtime.
I’m not sure if it makes it better or worse, if it might be more of an admin issue?
I know at my school the exam schedule is planned centrally, and I’m not sure which departments would have the clout and the willingness to spend it on kicking up a fuss, while weekend exams are a relatively recent innovation from when a fall term reading/study break was introduced, to avoid having to change term start/end dates, which I don't think most of my profs (or us students) would find too annoying to deal with. :/
Here in the U.S. (at least in California) instructors get to set their own number of exams and exam dates, so it's definitely a choice by the prof. Yes, the major admin issue is the amount of content they expect you to teach in 90 teaching days, but if you feel you have to give a take-home exam, give it on one of your class days.
I'm probably more vehement about this than most because I taught at a "working" community college where students were trying to fit their school schedules in with their work schedules, and at a private school for rich kids where their families had "old money social obligations" and you didn't dare touch weekends nor holidays.
But in general if the school states that the holidays for the year are X, Y, and Z, then instructors have no business assigning an exam on a holiday because then it's no longer a holiday.
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[redacted because obviously inflammatory and relevant]
And as long as I'm tirading and have to run off for the day (actual work work 'n' such), Impus Major's 2022-2023 school year was a fantastic example:
Fall, 2022: Impus Major had to cancel all his Thanksgiving plans with friends due to midterms being given on the Friday and Sunday of the Thanksgiving break.
Spring, 2023: Impus Major had to cancel a planned ski trip with his friends because of an exam being scheduled on the Tuesday of Spring Break.
I vehemently disapprove, as you can probably tell.
I just love how those assume that you have a car, because on public transport you are NOT getting home and back for thanksgiving.
I just love how those assume that you have a car, because on public transport you are NOT getting home and back for thanksgiving.
Oh, it's far, far worse than that.
It's online timed exams so the professor doesn't even have to be there. All they do is post the exam PDF to the system and go on their break. The exam opens at the specified time and the moment a student opens the PDF they have the allotted time (90 minutes) to upload a completed exam. No instructor involvement at all. Yet the students had to have access to a device capable of scanning a filled-out exam to PDF (phone pictures weren't allowed).
Try carrying a scanner with you on your next ski trip and connecting it to a cabin's WiFi. Not really a reasonable option.
OK. Fair's fair. The package of inhalers just arrived and in spite of all the bizarre statements on the web site, it ended up being $120 for SIX inhalers, all of which now have 204 uses instead of the former packaging's 186.
So $20 per inhaler is still quite a markup from the old $5 per inhaler. But it's not as insane as I'd been led to believe, and we do get a bit more medicine per inhaler.
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I just love how those assume that you have a car, because on public transport you are NOT getting home and back for thanksgiving.Oh, it's far, far worse than that.
It's online timed exams so the professor doesn't even have to be there. All they do is post the exam PDF to the system and go on their break. The exam opens at the specified time and the moment a student opens the PDF they have the allotted time (90 minutes) to upload a completed exam. No instructor involvement at all. Yet the students had to have access to a device capable of scanning a filled-out exam to PDF (phone pictures weren't allowed).
Try carrying a scanner with you on your next ski trip and connecting it to a cabin's WiFi. Not really a reasonable option.
kill it with fire.
this is the only reasonable option.
A tirade-y twofer this fine morning:
This one's for all the construction/landscaping/outdoor workers, since I'm honestly curious:
So this brings us to yesterday's worker. He pulled his truck into the driveway, pulled his gear out, and an old sunbleached fast food bag fell onto the ground and burst, dumping sauce packets (used and unused), a burger wrapper, and a fry container into the driveway of the place he's working. He ignored it, worked all day, then at the end of the day obviously noticed it because he kicked it all a few feet onto our property and then drove off.
So, leaving tools and pieces of cut wood or stone lying scattered around the workplace overnight? I've never seen a contractor not do that. Dumping garbage in the back of your truck, letting it spill onto the ground of the site you're working on, then not bothering to pick it up? I've only seen crappy, incompetent workers do that.
Am I wrong?
And this one's for people with solar:
I cannot tell you how livid it makes me that a utility company is allowed to limit the amount of green energy you can produce. Does anyone have a reasonable explanation other than raw, unadulterated profiteering and corruption?
If you produce more electricity than you use the power company has to start paying you.
I believe its usually at THEIR rates. Which they know are absurd. because they set their rates.
If you produce more electricity than you use the power company has to start paying you.
I believe its usually at THEIR rates. Which they know are absurd. because they set their rates.
Nah. For overproducing I get $0.07 per kWh, as compared to their rates of $0.51 per kWh. They should be making massive profit if I overproduce. But the difficulty is storage -- we have so much solar that the state overproduces during daylight hours, then gets almost nothing at night. And building storage for that much power is expensive. So just prevent people from generating it in the first place.
so, are they going to install one of those fancy-schmancy electric billboards over your block, charge companies advertising fees to use it, and charge you for your electric overproduction to power it?
okay. that might be a bit excessive a speculation . . . .
but they're literally taxing you for GOING GREENER. and, of course, high-capacity power storage on an urban-industrial scale is not at all cost-effective, so they have, as yet, no reason to implement it. especially not while they have no reason NOT to make you pay them for the privilege of generating your own energy.
utterly despicable.
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A tirade-y twofer this fine morning:
This one's for all the construction/landscaping/outdoor workers, since I'm honestly curious:
** spoiler omitted **And this one's for people with solar:
** spoiler omitted **...
You are not wrong.
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Minus fourteen hundred dollars later my Jeep for all new brakes, pads, rotors, sway bars, some wheel mountings, lugnuts, and splash guard in my front wheel wells. The fluids are all checked and good, the tires are in great shape, tuned engine is running smoothly along with a recently refurbished transmission (that was another fifteen hundred a few months ago) plus a nice amateur vacuuming and I think the old girl is going to be safe and comfy for a nice cross country trip to see my parents with my two goblins.
A lot of friends and family have tried saying I need to just give up on maintaining the thing and buy a new one but here is the thing, I've spent a grand total of about 8k on that vehicle from buying it outright to all the proper repairs but where it is now, perfectly safe and rides great, to get another one from a dealership I'd have to trade this one in (and only likely get 2-3k out of it) and get a loan for at least another 10k. No freaking way, that's a giant waste of money, I'd much rather live with some rust around the edges, a TINY bit of creaking and some handiwork repairs on the fender (cable stitching from a crack caused by a low-speed deer "collision"), and a CD player that likes to skip on dirt roads than eat another monthly bill for something newer. All this really makes me with I would have taken better care of my (I think it was either a 94 or 98) lesabre, that vehicle was a freaking MONSTER and was a joy to ride, plus it had basically as much seating room as the jeep just with a smaller trunk and the whole thing sat significantly lower to the ground, some people think they drive like a boat but that never bothered me none.
It's only a 12-hour drive plus some extra for pit stops, food, and site seeing on the way but with my monsters in tow... wish me luck ya'll, last year when I took the same trip the kids were just too excited, and only slept about four hours each during the overnight leg of the trip and I'm doubtful they'll get more rest than that this time around.
Including "wasting" $7000 to get the Celica repainted and looking like new, that car has cost us a bit under $60,000 total over the last 28 years. Considering over a third of that was the initial purchase price, I think we made out pretty well. And subtracting the collision we go well under $50,000.
Buy new. Maintain well. Keep forever.
I need mew fluids for my car.
Interesting (in my mind) moral philosophy question:
Here were my observations:
(1) When I first opened the curtains and checked for deliveries in the morning the sidewalk was clear.
(2) Once the contractor arrived, unloaded his truck, and moved to the back yard I checked the front because I'm paranoid about contractors and the Celica. There, right beside his truck (in the driveway and hence well away from the street), was a several-days-old fast food bag that had fallen hard enough to burst and spread sauce packets and wrappers in a small area around the impact site.
(3) Over the course of the day, the bag sat there right by the truck. I was surprised that the contractor didn't deal with it because he was at constant risk of stepping on it.
(4) As soon as the contractor left, I checked again and the bag and sauce packets had all been moved by someone 10' onto my property.
So, if I were to set a number, I'd say I'm over 95% sure the guy did it. Probably over 99% sure. But I'm not 100% sure. And Shiro says that therefore I have no right to accuse him.
And it got me thinking. If I were sentencing him to death for littering, then yes, this evidence would be grossly insufficient. Even for a $500 fine I'd say there wasn't enough evidence. But for a $20 fine and a "don't do it again" I think there's ample evidence.
Is there something morally or philosophically wrong with me for having a sliding scale of requirement of proof based on the punishment?
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I saw a news item about storing solar power. In Scotland, I think. They were building an elevated reservoir and planned to pump it full of water during the day and drain it out through turbines at night. With such a system you would want to maximize solar output to run those pumps as well as take care of the normal power consumption.
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Interesting (in my mind) moral philosophy question:
** spoiler omitted **
No, not only nothing wrong with it, but our entire legal system (for good or ill) is predicated on it with differing burdens of proof and the different levels that the police are supposed to meet (reasonable articulable suspicion v probable cause, for instance) for their actions.
Even finding someone guilty "beyond a reasonable doubt" does not assume a mathematical 100% guarantee of guilt.
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I had no idea that MLB teams have cheerleaders now, until WW took Val to the Rangers game last night.
WW took his binoculars so Val could see the game better, but he kept missing plays because he was watching the Six Shooters instead.
WW said the German tourists sitting in the row behind them found this very funny.
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I saw a news item about storing solar power. In Scotland, I think. They were building an elevated reservoir and planned to pump it full of water during the day and drain it out through turbines at night. With such a system you would want to maximize solar output to run those pumps as well as take care of the normal power consumption.
how often are clear, sunny days to be had in Scotland? i'm pretty sure the gravity's always turned on, but not so certain about the solar output . . . .