Octopus Overlords

Our mall had 5 anchors ....Belk, Dillards, Parisian, Proffits, Sears. Sears is dead and is a Dicks Sporting Goods on top and a Dave & Busters below now. JC Penny is basically dead but still there. Proffits became Belk. Belk became Dillards. Parisian became a 2nd Dillards. And Dillards became a 2nd Belk. Musical stores. Our movie theater became a Barnes & Nobel.

malls started losingtheir allure after Software Etc went away, but it really hit when Electronics Boutique became GameStop (thus losing the PC game inventory) and the arcades shrank (while their game selection remained in a sort of late 90s stasis) or disappeared.

The mall stores I truly miss are Waldenbooks, Software Etc., Electronics Boutique, and the arcades. Heck even the stores my wife loved went away like Parisian and smaller ones. Other stores changed drastically like Hallmark and Claire's. When my wife's dad passed in 2006 our lives changed drastically. From 1987 - 2006 we went to the mall at least 1200+ times. From 2006 - 2018 we went MAYBE 8 times. Ive been once to a different mall for some item since my wife passed.

A few years ago I posted about trying to replace some bathroom shelves. I bought some shelf brackets, the shelves, and some toggle bolts, everything as suggested for the type of walls I have. I ended up getting a different solution. Today I was reorganizing my painting area and realized I still had shelves, brackets, and bolts. A pair of extra shelves would be really, really useful, so I watched a few videos on how to hang shelves with toggle bolts. Ok, I got this.

First, find the stud. I have 19th century plaster walls. There are studs, I assume, but I have no idea where they are. Try the magnet. Apparently my walls are made entirely of studs, because I get hits every couple of inches. Tap. Won't work on solid plaster, as everything sounds like it is made out of studs. Find the fuze box and measure. The fuze box is in another room, plus my house was built before standards like that were implemented. So I'll just have to try and hope I get lucky.

I leveled out the shelf, marked the holes. Ok. Earsplitting drill noise. Yep, got lucky and found a stud on the first try. Ok, so I move over about three inches and no stud. The second hole marked for each shelf is also stud-free. Yay! Also, my walls are about an inch and a quarter thick. Ok, drilled all the holes. Put the bolts in the brackets, push the toggle through the wall, then... push the toggle... push...

It turns out that however my walls are constructed, there's only about an inch of space on the inside between wall A and wall B. The toggles won't work, and now I have five 1/2 inch holes in my wall.

I surrender. I don't need shelves that badly. Time to strategically hang some pictures.

Looks like I wont have to rush our Thanksgiving Day after all. That store is open but they have their dressing frozen and for sale. You just heat and serve....or cook and serve. Not sure which one now. But at least I can go a day or two before TG and grab some. So Ill have some dressing, a turkey breast, and cranberry sauce. Yay me.

Is Walmart Providing ‘Free Thanksgiving Dinner for All’?

Mostly True

What's True

Walmart partnered with Ibotta and other companies to offer cash back rewards on Thanksgiving staples, totaling $20.27 in savings on turkey, stuffing, and other items.

What's False

The offers are only good for specific items from specific brands, and shoppers will have to pay Walmart for the items before receiving the cash back rewards from Ibotta.

What's Undetermined

The offer is only available while supplies last, so it's possible some of the items may not be in stock at all Walmart locations leading up to Thanksgiving Day.

It is true that Walmart partnered with other companies to provide a special shopping experience for Thanksgiving that will save shoppers a bit of cash, including these items:

Butterball Turkey Breast Roast ($9.98 cash back)
McCormick Turkey Gravy, 0.87 oz Pouch ($1.12 cash back)
Great Value Stuffing Mix, 6 oz ($0.82 cash back)
Idahoan Mashed Potatoes, 8 oz Pouch ($1.88 cash back)
Campbell’s Condensed Cream of Mushroom Soup, 10.5 oz Can ($0.98 cash back)
Great Value Cranberry Sauce, 14 oz ($0.98 cash back)
Great Value Green Beans, 12 oz ($1.34 cash back)
French’s Crispy Fried Onions, 2.8 oz ($1.92 cash back)
Coca-Cola, 2 Liter Bottle ($1.25 cash back)

The offer is only available for these specific items from these specific brands, as detailed on the Ibotta website.

The Ibotta mobile app or browser extension (Google Chrome only) is needed to redeem the offers. Shoppers will need to pay for the items up front, but they will later be able to receive cash back via the app or extension.

Italian Police Use Lamborghini Huracan to Transport Kidney 300 Miles in Just Two Hours

Averaging 145 miles per hour, the Italian State Police delivered a donor kidney last week from Rome to Padua—a journey of more than 300 miles—in around two hours. The Lamborghini Huracan they used, which was specially modified for such tasks with a refrigerated frunk, was obtained by the Italian police back in 2017. Speedy organ delivery isn't its only job, though. In fact, it's a regular patrol vehicle for the department with lights, a police computer and other equipment necessary to perform traffic stops and arrests. Luckily for other speeders, it was too busy flying down the road for officers to check their radar guns.

I can't imagine flying down highways at over 150mph for two hours straight. I mean, the average speed was 150 - but they must have also had starts and stops and city traffic before getting on the highway and when they got off. That's some holy shit driving there.

Do cops ahead clear a path to try and keep it remotely safe?

Does Italy not have helicopters?

AWS260 wrote: ↑Fri Nov 20, 2020 10:13 amDoes Italy not have helicopters?

Article wrote:It's unclear why a helicopter or something of the sort wasn't used, as that would've likely been even faster. Perhaps none were available, or there would've been a delay to get one. That's not to say this wasn't an effective use of the Huracan's 5.2-liter, 602-horsepower V10, though. If anything, it's probably one of the best ways to use a supercar.

I'm guessing the time it would have taken for a chopper to get to where ever the organ originated may have been too long, or they didn't have a landing pad at one of the two sites? I dunno.

The vehicle is specifically outfitted for organ runs, though, so it must be pretty routine.

If you call 'specifically outfitted' meaning a special cooler designed to fit into the front boot...

Paingod wrote: ↑Fri Nov 20, 2020 10:43 am

AWS260 wrote: ↑Fri Nov 20, 2020 10:13 amDoes Italy not have helicopters?

Article wrote:It's unclear why a helicopter or something of the sort wasn't used, as that would've likely been even faster. Perhaps none were available, or there would've been a delay to get one. That's not to say this wasn't an effective use of the Huracan's 5.2-liter, 602-horsepower V10, though. If anything, it's probably one of the best ways to use a supercar.

I'm guessing the time it would have taken for a chopper to get to where ever the organ originated may have been too long, or they didn't have a landing pad at one of the two sites? I dunno.

The vehicle is specifically outfitted for organ runs, though, so it must be pretty routine.

Surely the origin and destination were both major hospitals, and even a parking lot can be a landing pad.

Seems like a weird story.

Uh oh. I missed food day at the food place. Now I gotta wait 3 more months. I bet they had some holiday stuff in it too Had waited for 2 weeks and then I forget.

When you fail your security question with the bank online it wants your SS#, card number and pin number to reset them. That feels like the perfect example of a fake thing. Yet it isn't. It should simply require your email and last four SS# digits...but nope..totally safe to do it their way..ugh.

Your email and the last four digits of your SS# are probably the easiest pieces of information to dig up on a person. Banks don't take chances.

I was surfing the net when I came upon a website called GoodRX. It takes your prescription and it will check prices, coupons, and pharmacy's own discount card plan (not insurance though) AND online pharmacy prices, and find you the best prices possible.

Very interesting search engine. Even has their own discount card. But some of the info seems outdated. It found a Ralph's supermarket that claims to have the lowest prices... 2 out of 4 were given FREE, the other two added up to $17, with annual membership of $35. Given I fill up 12 times year, that's pretty significant savings if I keep going without insurance, considering the meds are like $35-$55 a month in other places WITH discount.

Except I checked my local area and there was no Ralph's near me?!?!

But GoodRx's real schtick is the GoodRX Gold Membership, which will lower the price EVEN FURTHER... Except it costs like $6 a month, or $10 for a family subscription. On the other hand, it supposedly will reduce the $12 med down to $4.20 so it sort of saved its own cost even if you just buy one med a month. Hmmm...

There's always a catch...

On February 25, 2020, Consumer Reports published an article stating that GoodRx shared user data − specifically, pseudonymized advertising ID numbers that companies use to track the behavior of web users across websites, the names of the drugs that users browsed, and the pharmacies where user sought to fill prescriptions − with Google, Facebook, and around 20 other internet-based companies. A few days after the Consumer Reports article was published, GoodRx published a statement saying it made changes to prevent user search data on medical conditions and pharmaceuticals from being shared with Facebook.

Dollar General continues to lose items on shelf. It started with toilet paper and sanitizer at the beginning of the year. They hve never recovered these items in quantity. Sometimes you can get some nasty hand sanitizer there but most times not. Toilet paper is hit or miss but its always the two cheapest brands that are like sand paper and only a few roles. Then their peppermints stayed out of stock. Lately its been there brand Tums and Tylenol. Theres other items too that once gone they never replace.

If you're thinking they just stock and resell before I go no. Ive gone of truck day a few times and Ive waited while they stock...nothing. I dont see how the company is staying in business. They opened tons of stores but all this years they've been running out of more and more stock,

Everybody has been running out of things this year. It took me six weeks to find a bottle of Windex at Wal-Mart. It's a coin-flip as to whether they'll have paper towels when I need them.

Blackhawk wrote: ↑Sat Nov 21, 2020 11:47 am Everybody has been running out of things this year. It took me six weeks to find a bottle of Windex at Wal-Mart. It's a coin-flip as to whether they'll have paper towels when I need them.

Just wait for the next hurricane to hit.

I did find a can of Lysol someplace. It was half size at full price and not the scent I wanted but eh.

Kasey Chang wrote: ↑Sat Nov 21, 2020 2:50 am I was surfing the net when I came upon a website called GoodRX.

They literally have tons of TV ads on every cable channel at all times of day. I didn't think there was anyone left in the country that wasn't aware of them by now...

And yes, of course there's a catch and, of course, they sell your data. How else would they make money? And if they are someone's only option of affording a prescription, I can guarantee that that person wouldn't care.

Good thing I don't have cable.

Blackhawk wrote: ↑Sat Nov 21, 2020 11:47 am Everybody has been running out of things this year. It took me six weeks to find a bottle of Windex at Wal-Mart.

DIY window cleaner

https://www.bhg.com/homekeeping/house-c ... w-cleaner/

My DIL said her store has put a limit on TP and paper towels.

Thought I was in some kinda tv forum when I looked in EBG

Netflix exclusive films and content
Cineplexity Game 27
Disney+ Streaming
Movie Trailers thread
[Streaming] HBO Max
Television Show Randomness
Amazon Prime TV/Movies

Those were all in line.

To be fair, we are in an era where sitting on your ass watching TV as much as possible is one of the most honorable things you can do to help the war effort.

Be a Hero. Be a Couch Potato.

Daehawk wrote: ↑Sat Nov 21, 2020 9:31 pm Thought I was in some kinda tv forum when I looked in EBG

Netflix exclusive films and content
Cineplexity Game 27
Disney+ Streaming
Movie Trailers thread
[Streaming] HBO Max
Television Show Randomness
Amazon Prime TV/Movies

Those were all in line.

Could be worse. Could be sportsball.

Tomorrow I have to go to the store and buy some premade dressing I can either cook or heat at home. I dont have the stuff to make one. Besides last time I tried it turned out awful. Maybe for Christmas Ill be able to get new ingredients and try again.

I just learned that I can actually put too much cheese into a twice baked potato. But I ate them anyway.

LordMortis wrote: ↑Sun Nov 22, 2020 7:44 pm I just learned that I can actually put too much cheese into a twice baked potato. But I ate them anyway.

Huh. I wouldn't have thought that was possible. Well, other than covering it in an obviously obscene amount of cheese so that you can't even see it.

I did that once with too much sour cream. Learned my lesson.

A baked potato can never have too much sour cream. Neither can a taco or burrito

Jumbo popcorn chicken. Someone want to explain this bullshit to me? You can't have a "jumbo mini Oreo". That's just an Oreo. Neither can you have a "mini jumbo shrimp cocktail". (Well, I guess unless it were made in a tiny glass.) This is duplicitous marketing!

Sudy wrote: ↑Mon Nov 23, 2020 1:23 pm Jumbo popcorn chicken. Someone want to explain this bullshit to me? You can't have a "jumbo mini Oreo". That's just an Oreo. Neither can you have a "mini jumbo shrimp cocktail". (Well, I guess unless it were made in a tiny glass.) This is duplicitous marketing!

Popcorn chicken is made from the bits and pieces that fall off during processing, whereas a nugget is the result of purposeful processing. So a big popcorn chicken may look like a nugget but came about through af different process.

It's the supersize mentality at work. But at the same time, Coke has put out these smaller bottles, which are less satisfying and cost more than a regular 6-pack.

Have never ever liked popcorn chicken. Its a tiny piece of cooked too tough meat inside a giant breading ball. Might as well eat cornmeal and flour.

I have come to that conclusion myself.

Rumpy wrote: ↑Mon Nov 23, 2020 2:16 pm It's the supersize mentality at work. But at the same time, Coke has put out these smaller bottles, which are less satisfying and cost more than a regular 6-pack.

BUT IT'S "FUN SIZE"