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Post by Mini Mia on Dec 19, 2015 20:04:58 GMT -6
First, the Humor Du Jour series, Yo, and then Clown Loyal. I can't help it - I like these threads. Threads with no particular topic but whatever happens to be on your mind at the time. No guilt about straying off-topic, (does anyone at anytime really ever feel guilty about that? Pfft.)
But here it is. Whatever.
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Post by Spock on Dec 20, 2015 14:08:54 GMT -6
... Spock Isn't oil coffee for vehicles? Black, thick, and it's best when heated. I suppose you could call it that but I tend to prefer the newer synthetic oils for my vehicles. How does that relate to the coffee scenario?
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Post by stepper on Dec 20, 2015 15:29:57 GMT -6
Well, there's coffee which recent research says is good for you so long as it's not done to excess, and there's French Vanilla, Hazelnut & Crème Brulee coffee that one lady work insists on making every Wednesday. It smells so bad that I can't go near the microwave until the next day.
Some of the synthetics are French Vanilla, Hazelnut & Crème Brulee, and some are fresh ground and aromatic. You have to choose wisely or you get a stinker.
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Post by stepper on Dec 21, 2015 22:10:55 GMT -6
I heard from my special friend via return Christmas Card. She says she listened to History and does not hear a similarity to another song.
Also, it's now winter here.
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Post by Phalon on Dec 22, 2015 8:01:18 GMT -6
That's easy. Decaffeinated (chemicals are used in the process to remove the caffeine). Served in Styrofoam cups.
There's just something about it that's so familiar; I think it just may possibly have a 70s-80s vibe that takes me back to those kind of songs. Coulda sworn the other day I was hearing a bit of Stevie Wonder or Chicago in there...somewhere...but couldn't place it.
Regarding your phone issue, I hope you've got it fixed by now. Xena Sis, a couple of other friends, my boss, me...and now you - there are very few people I know that still have land lines! The girls just commented yesterday when our phone rang that we must be the only house left with a home phone.
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Post by stepper on Dec 22, 2015 19:47:27 GMT -6
I agree; the first couple stanzas are dead ringers for another song. I just can't seem to nail it down. It was out for a week , and then the first call I was a call center wanting money. Only the phone in the bedroom rang - the one in the kitchen was dead. I popped the phone box and found that a wire had come loose from somewhere. Called a friend about what I wanted to do and sent him a picture via text - he said he agreed so the next morning I took my time and got the wire back on the post (which was more difficult than it should have been), then tightened it up. Both phones are working okay now. Don't let the girls fool you - it's a growing trend as two of every five homes now exclusively use cell phones, but there are still more homes with land lines than without.
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Post by Phalon on Dec 23, 2015 8:05:30 GMT -6
I wouldn't be so sure, Stepper, that land lines will be around for much longer.
I can't remember who I was talking to...it was months ago, and was a customer service type person I think in some kind of local government capacity, maybe from the county. I remember him saying though, that land lines are being phased out, and in a few years service will be completely discontinued. In Michigan a few years ago, there was legislation to that effect, and the phase-out date wasn't too far in the future. I don't know whatever became of it though; there was a lot of opposition from mainly seniors, I think.
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Post by stepper on Dec 23, 2015 19:44:40 GMT -6
Granted, the level of security where I work is a touch on the elevated side, but in several offices, cell phones are not allowed. As a matter of fact, no phones, no digital cameras, no xxxx where xxxx is any one of a substantial number of electronics. Computers in our area, even if connected to strictly unclassified systems, are not considered unclassified in the sense that most people understand it. The memory and drives have to be destroyed before the rest of the machine can be sold as scrap. I say this meaning that a suspect there are a number of situations where cell phones are not as convenient as regular phones.
If it was seniors in opposition, you can expect delays. Seniors have the unsettling habit of voting - a thing even politicians know about.
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Post by Mini Mia on Dec 23, 2015 21:58:51 GMT -6
When Dad built our house just down the road from his mother's house, our neighborhood still had a party line. Dad refused to get a phone until the party line was finally axed. It wasn't long after we moved into the house. Maybe a year or two. I was around 10/11 or so. My cousins had family who still had a party line when I was around 16. I'd be really surprised if landlines were phased out anytime soon here.
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Post by stepper on Dec 24, 2015 14:29:23 GMT -6
Steppet was still dealing with party lines when she was young too. They lived at the top of the mountain behind Johnston PA. I remember her telling me about it - warning me really - they were one of the last people in their area still on a party line.
From AT&T Archives web site:
"In 1930, 63% of residential customers in the Bell System were on party lines, predominantly in suburban and rural areas — New York City had no party lines left at this point in time. By 1950, 75% of all residential customers (nationwide) were on party lines — due in some part to the growth of the system overall, and a backlog from WWII in catching up with private line orders. By 1965, that number was down to 27%; it was still a part of many people's daily lives and the culture of communication.
Party lines had a few features that affected telephone usage greatly: you could listen to your neighbors' conversations, so phone lines weren't always thought of as secure or private; telephones on party lines would ring with a particular pattern unique to a household, so the customer would only answer the phone that rang with "their" ring. In addition, sharing a phone line required etiquette guidelines (that, reportedly, were frequently broken).
Most large phone companies eliminated party lines for good between 1988 and 2000. By 2000, according to USA Today, there were still over 5,000 party lines still in existence in the U.S., but the majority of them were hooked up to only one remaining household. They were party lines in name only."
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Post by Mini Mia on Dec 24, 2015 20:38:47 GMT -6
Yeah. So landlines will probably be in use for quite a while too in rural areas.
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Post by stepper on Dec 25, 2015 14:46:50 GMT -6
I can see most people having and using cell phones, but I don't see land lines going away totally. One day maybe, but I don't think I'll be here to see it.
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Post by Phalon on Dec 27, 2015 8:12:27 GMT -6
I was curious, so I did a drill - here's just the basics: Discontinuing land-line service, of course, all comes down to money - and the big guy phone companies don't want to pay to keep their aging land-line system up and running. It all comes down to copper wiring, which is expensive as hell to replace. AT&T petitioned the Federal Communications Commission in 2009 to disconnect land-lines completely by 2020; Verizon followed suit. Then Hurricane Sandy hit in 2012 - in areas left without power, cell phone service wasn't available, but people with land lines still had phone service...provided the copper wiring didn't short out or get corroded by the flooding. The emergency situation caused by Sandy illustrated the need for reliable phone service, which in most cases means land-lines....but still, Verizon opted not to replace the copper wiring that was damaged in the storm, leaving some areas of New York and New Jersey completely without land-line service.
Everything the drill uncovered though, was dated before or around the aftermath of Sandy; who knows where things now stand a little more than two years later.
This one's for Spock, who I think reads in this thread more than the others, and who wrote in the Christmas thread:
How old is elderly, did she like it, and were there any major issues with it?
LX got a Vue just before she left for college this August - it's a 2006 model, was very affordable, and had very low mileage for a vehicle of that age. We took it to our mechanic to have it checked out before buying it - he said it was a good solid vehicle in great condition (though it needed a brake job). Good gas mileage, and it's a perfect size for a college kid to haul stuff to-and-fro, without being too big.
I checked consumer reviews before she got it though, and they were mixed - people tended to either love it, or hate it to the point that they said it was the worst vehicle they ever owned (though I think people who write reviews have very strong options either way). So far, LX loves it - though it's her first car, and I think she'd love anything that allows her the freedom to not be dependent on others to get places.
Just curious.
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Post by stepper on Dec 27, 2015 18:31:40 GMT -6
We as Americans have notoriously short memories. There's no telling how long it will take for profits to win out over need.
My brother is in town. They came here from El Paso yesterday and got here late. Seems they were well on the way when SIL realized she had forgotten her glasses and they just HAD to go back for them. She didn't find them. Patience - seems lots of people have it.
Bro also said that had they waited another day to make the trip instead of starting over right after the great glasses adventure, they wouldn't have started. They would have been buried in snow and ice back home which to him means they aren't going anywhere.
It's much colder here today, and still a bit breezy - I actually turned on the heater. No snow, but we got a bit more than 1/2" of rain and tomorrow is predicted to be in the 30's.
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Post by Mini Mia on Dec 27, 2015 23:04:17 GMT -6
Cooler here today. 60s tomorrow. Lots of wind. Rain, rain, and more rain. Mom's dog is getting cabin fever. I make her stay in for two reasons. I don't want water and mud tracked everywhere, and she's scared of thunder. This makes twice we've had about a week of rain.
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Post by Spock on Dec 28, 2015 10:08:13 GMT -6
... This one's for Spock, who I think reads in this thread more than the others, and who wrote in the Christmas thread: How old is elderly, did she like it, and were there any major issues with it? LX got a Vue just before she left for college this August - it's a 2006 model, was very affordable, and had very low mileage for a vehicle of that age. We took it to our mechanic to have it checked out before buying it - he said it was a good solid vehicle in great condition (though it needed a brake job). Good gas mileage, and it's a perfect size for a college kid to haul stuff to-and-fro, without being too big. I checked consumer reviews before she got it though, and they were mixed - people tended to either love it, or hate it to the point that they said it was the worst vehicle they ever owned (though I think people who write reviews have very strong options either way). So far, LX loves it - though it's her first car, and I think she'd love anything that allows her the freedom to not be dependent on others to get places. Just curious. It was a 2003. The transmission was starting to give us a little trouble and we found out it would cost more than the blue book value for the Vue to replace it. That made the decision to get a newer car almost easy. She still misses her Vue a little but has become attached to her new car now that it doesn't bother her as much as it once did. If you take care of any car, it should provide great service.
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Post by Phalon on Dec 30, 2015 8:00:52 GMT -6
I may be wrong, but it seems to me that women become much more attached to their cars than do men. At least, it's that way with Hubs and I. I've loved all of my cars, and hated to get rid of them when the time came; Hubs could not care any less - out of driveway, out of mind. I still have my '89 Chevy S-10 pick-up with the extended bed, and big V6 fuel-injected engine; it was the last vehicle I bought brand-spanking new. Hubs likes to drive it - actually, he hates the tiny interior, road noise, less-than-smooth ride, and the little quirks that a 20+-year old truck has - but he loves the attention it gets (it's very, very pretty with it's black paint, shiny chrome bumpers, and big chrome wheels). To him it's just a show-piece; to me, it's my baby.
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Post by stepper on Dec 30, 2015 21:15:18 GMT -6
That could be Phalon - I've certainly liked my vehicles - especaially the Monza2X2 262 short stroke with a 4 on the floor - but I can't say that I've been emotionally attached to any of them.
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Post by Phalon on Dec 31, 2015 7:55:15 GMT -6
Hhhmmm...emotional attachment sounds kind of strong. It's not like I mourned them when they were gone. It's not like I named them and got all creepy-eyed with love in my voice when I talked about them..
'You named your car Brad. You loved Brad. You had been through everything together...three jobs, four boyfriends, six hangnails, and a stubbed toe....'
Although, I did name the very first car I bought. The Butterscotch B!tch....it was the ugliest thing you'd ever hope to not see.
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Post by stepper on Dec 31, 2015 14:25:45 GMT -6
I tried to name a car or two but it never stuck. What did stick was the name for frog - my mascot who lived on the dash for many years. I named it frog, the "O" was pronounced like the one in fog but you drag it out like it was froog. There was a group of us who roller skated and we all had one - got them at the same time. Sadly, Frog was a fuzzy green and yellow bean bag and I had him bent over sitting on the dash, in the sun; a spot on his back wore too thin and he started leaking so he was transferred to a zip lock bag. He looked really cute in Blue though - the metallic blue Monza2X2 – 262 short stroke engine – LOTS of get up and go – and Frog had the perfect bug out eyes for the way that car moved. The only problem was stopping on rain slicked or snowy roads. Actually stopping wasn’t the problem so much as starting again. You had to start out in second because first simply had way too much torque, even when using special tires. And before I forget Happy New Year!
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Post by Mini Mia on Jan 1, 2016 0:50:38 GMT -6
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Post by Phalon on Jan 1, 2016 8:48:36 GMT -6
Oh, I forgot about The Beast...the last of a long line of Dad's Suburbans; Mom kept it for years and years after Dad died. The behemoth underwent four name changes during its lifetime - when Dad was alive it was Em's Bus (he picked up a number of co-workers for the long drive into Detroit); after he died, my brothers used it - again to drive into Detroit to metal bars in neighborhoods they dare not drive their own vehicles, and it was dubbed The Vomit Comet. We bought it from Mom years later to use as a winter beater, and started calling it The Beast. There are probably still chunks of it on the roads around here - it seemed every time you hit a bump, it'd leave behind a bushing, or a scrap of rusted metal. Hubs finally put a "For Sale - Best Offer" sign in the window....and took it off the same day. With well over 200,000 miles on it, The Beast had finally died; the engine went up in flames. It was given its final name by the the scrap yard guy who came to pick it up in front of our house - "The Best Piece of Junk I Ever Saw".
I had to drill that. Pretty car! It'd be fun to find one to restore (and probably very expensive).
The Butterscotch B!tch (a butterscotch-colored '78 Cougar with a front end so long it'd arrive 2 minutes before the rest of the car) had a very quick start too...though not by design. It idled at 40mph, which could not be adjusted or the engine would die at stops.
Happy New Year to everyone too!
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Post by stepper on Jan 1, 2016 19:00:11 GMT -6
Right on both counts - but oh my goodness it was fun to drive. It was a road hugging son of a gun and handled nicely on snow too.
It idled at 40mph, which could not be adjusted or the engine would die at stops. [/quote]But that's NOT such a good thing.
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Post by Phalon on Jan 2, 2016 10:31:17 GMT -6
Exactly! The name fit so well because it was a temperamental, menopausal b!tch. It was though, a fun car to own.
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Post by stepper on Jan 2, 2016 14:51:33 GMT -6
Sometimes, the best memories come from not-the-best circumstances.
Our 2016 is off to an interesting start. Two days of cold and wet - today it's been a light rain all day. Perhaps it's a sign that we're going to have a decent year for rain! Except the feral cats aren't happy about it. To help them out I covered an old oversized pet carrier with a large trash bag, braced open the door, and put their food and fresh water in the carrier. They never say thanks, but they're climbing all the way into it so they're out of the wind and rain while eating. By lunch time they'd all shown up and had something to eat so I guess the plan worked.
And I heard from Bro - if they get here early enough, then Golden Corral is on.
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Post by Phalon on Jan 3, 2016 9:05:53 GMT -6
Mine too. Except for the kids, no one I knew was going out, or wanted to go out on New Year's Eve, myself included - fun in the younger days, but holds no appeal anymore. Xena Sis and I though, had an Avoid the New Year's Eve Rush New Year's Day - and sat at her kitchen table yakking and drinking mimosas and afterward, still yakking and drinking a pot of coffee for the better part of the afternoon and evening. Was more fun than many of the New Years parties I attended back-in-the-day.
I'm sure they appreciate your efforts, and would say thanks if they could.
Hope you got to go. We went out for dinner last night too to a tavern in town that serves up the best burgers. The place was nearly empty - weird for a Saturday night. In fact, the whole downtown was nearly empty; it seems the bitter cold and wind kept people home - it's amplified downtown, right off the lake. Not a nice night to be out at all.
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Post by stepper on Jan 3, 2016 14:54:02 GMT -6
Time changes our values and brings wisdom - at least I hope I'm smarter than I was - but to be honest I was never much of a party person.
Maybe so, but they'd still say it from a distance.
I saw something this morning I didn't expect to see - after two days of cold and pretty much a steady drizzle, Munchkin showed up looking for breakfast this morning, and Twin was out under the tree with him. So far as I know, they haven't seen each other in about 18 months and didn't appear to recognize each other, but they were together again if only for a few moments.
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Post by Mini Mia on Jan 3, 2016 20:55:09 GMT -6
A few of my cats will rub up against my legs to thank me for the food. One I have to say, "You're Welcome" to in order to get her to go eat before the others can eat it all up before she gets any. Once they've eaten though, most of them will keep their distance.
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Post by Phalon on Jan 4, 2016 8:03:45 GMT -6
Not really talking anything that requires wisdom that comes with age- more of a laziness that comes with age. I never went out on New Year's Eve for the purpose of getting trashed, but that kind of party does sort of require that you stay presentable for long after I'd rather now be lounging in a sweat shirt and pajama pants without being seen by the general public!
I wonder if they do. You'd almost think they'd have to, at least by sense of smell.
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Post by stepper on Jan 4, 2016 20:27:36 GMT -6
You're doing better than I am Joxcee - there are a couple who don't leave for the next yard when I show up even when I'm obviously bringing food - and two who will let me be within a few feet of them, but to quote Kuzco in The Emperor's New Groove - 'No touchie!'
Thirty second drill found this:
"When he was a kitten, Kitty and his siblings stayed with their mom until they were around 10 to 12 weeks old. This created a communal smell of the nest for all of them. As long as the kittens all smell like home, Mom will take care of them. Even into adulthood, if they aren't separated, Mom will take care of her babies, grooming them and bringing them choice scraps of food. Siblings are likely to continue to snuggle and groom each other their entire lives if they aren't separated.
Unfamiliar Kitty: Once kittens are taken from the nest, they pick up scents from their new environments. By the time they're reintroduced, two siblings who once were inseparable will have become strangers. The new scents on Kitty's littermate will make them seem like total strangers. This is because Kitty uses his nose, not his eyes, to recognize his friends. Even a trip to the vet and back can be long enough for his brother to start smelling strange to Kitty. When his buddy returns, Kitty might hiss at him and avoid him until a familiar scent is established again." So, I'm guessing they don't know each other.
I witnessed the vet visit disconnection between our cats. The only time it didn’t happen was among those who visited the vet at the same time, but the ones that didn’t go still had offish/hiss reaction.
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