General

Heartbreaking about those kids!!!!

That’s terrible. Hopefully people will listen now.

When I was 7, I was crossing a street and got hit by a truck. I thought I had plenty of time to cross, but, being a small child, I misjudged the speed at which the truck was traveling. Once I realized that I really needed to speed up to get out of the way, I stood up on my bike in order to pedal harder. I was in this position when it struck me. Lucky for me, I flew god knows how many feet away as my bike went under the truck. Ended up with a broken leg and collarbone, but it could have been soooo much worse.

Then there's "frontover" accidents where kids get run over by SUVs because the drivers can't see in front of their vehicle. Often, it's their parents driving slowly. They're trying to pass a law that makes front cameras required on cars now.

John wrote:

Hey -- just wanted to give a shoutout/thanks to @KCPenguins ! He sent me a detailed message on how to do this zoo in about 3 hours since we had a limited window and it came in very handy when we visited this past weekend. Thanks much, man!

After seeing a post of yours yesterday I actually wondered if you made it to the zoo. Glad to hear back.

Which post of mine?

In any case... Funny story, but we actually went to the Omaha Zoo TWICE. So, we knew we wanted to try to hit the Zoo, but just had a few hours before our flight on Monday. (Our flight was scheduled for 3:10pm and you're supposed to be to the airport about two hours early -- so 1:10pm.) So, Zoo opens at 9am which would give us about 3 hours in there before we'd have to leave, pick up our luggage, and head to the airport. That was our original plan, but then on Sunday morning my wife really started to worry about doing the zoo and missing our flight if something went wrong. Sunday was a show day where we needed to be at the venue to help starting around 3pm. So, last minute, we decided to hit the Zoo on Sunday instead -- before the show. That gave us a bit more time -- we were there for about 4 hours and mostly followed your guide -- which worked out great. We then went and worked the show on Sunday night and all was well!

That give us Monday morning to just relax before we had to be at the airport around 1pm. Makes for an easy morning to pack up and such. Then we got notice that due to weather in Chicago (we were going from Omaha to Michigan with a connection in Chicago Midway), our flight was delayed 2 hours -- leaving at 5pm or so. So we decided to go BACK to the Zoo to see some parts (Jungle, Elephants, etc.) again -- and to hit the few areas that we missed the first time around. So, we did that -- and, while there, our flight was delayed again. Doh.

Long story short, we had two days at the Zoo and I got back to Michigan about 3am this morning! (Our flight finally left Omaha around 10pm and then left Chicago around 1am.)

I was looking through some oldish coins, and I found a 1944 penny. For a second I froze, thinking I had found one of those rare copper pennies that are supposed to be steel. But then I realized it's the 1943 copper penny that's rare, and the 1944 steel penny that's rare. This was just a plain 1944 copper penny. Up for trade if anyone wants it... Just kidding. It's just a regular penny.

John wrote:

Just a random unrelated one.

Sometimes I feel like intentionally antagonizing a certain government / monarchy online in the most hilariously unavoidable (for them) way.

I feel like it a lot.

Also, half an inch to 3/4 of an inch of rainfall is expected over the weekend in my area

So uh, if I suddenly vanish it probably means my house collapsed on me due to the rain. Just a heads up.

Foxhack wrote:

Good thing we already completed our trade. I'd feel like a jerk if I filed a BTR on you for not sending only to discover you were buried and drowned.

Foxhack wrote:

anyone ever tell you you’re a bit of a complainer

DrizzDrizzDrizz wrote:
I didn't see that as a complaint. Seemed like Foxhack's statement was somewhat backed by humor. A mixture of humor and concern about his house. Maybe a 8:2 ratio?

DrizzDrizzDrizz wrote:

Well what else can I do

I've been stuck in this house for the past four years under constant threat of it collapsing on me. If I can't joke about it I might as well jump off a bridge into traffic.

Yeah this thing better not go further east or I'm fudging dead

https://twitter.com/NWSLosAngeles/status/169192387...

Foxhack wrote:
Is something wrong with the roof?

Foxhack wrote:

That looks like a giant avocado half

nonamesleft wrote:

Funnily enough the roof is the only thing in this dog that still works

The problem is the water pooling in places that are already heavily damaged by rain and earthquakes. My house is literally floating on top of empty space. The concrete in the back is barely hanging on. And that part always floods because the water falls down from the roof AND the property that's next to us which is about 5 inches higher so all the water comes down towards us. And there's next to no way for the water to actually go anywhere.

There's one spot upstairs where the water goes in and actually falls on top of my bed. That's not fun.

So yeah. Like I said. If that thing goes east I'm dead.

Foxhack wrote:
Are many houses in your area the floating style also?

Edit: probably should have specified better what I meant. It sounds like I'm asking if the house floats on water. When I say floating, I'm referring to the style of house that's on stilts. They make houses like this sometimes in order to protect against flooding. Was wondering if houses in the area are made like that.

image

I got a promotion last week. It’s for a backup trainer. It’s only a backup spot but it comes with a pretty substantial pay raise when I’m actually doing the training thing. That started Monday. I hope to turn that into a permanent thing but we will see what happens. I’m pretty stoked about it, and I’ll have some money to put towards this debt instead of just paying minimums and getting next to nowhere. I’ll start doing that in about 2 weeks when I get the pay raise checks.

That's awesome, congrats

BucketofJustice wrote:

Congratulations! Funny timing, I actually came to this thread to share that I just crushed an interview for a new position at my current company! I'm 99.9% sure I'm going to get it, and it will come with a MUCH-NEEDED pay raise.

Awesome! Congrats to you both!

Yeah, great to hear you're both getting ahead.

Thank you both!

Congrats man!

Scott wrote:

Thanks everyone! I’m pretty stoked. This pay raise is super needed too and I can’t wait to see what that equates to in 2 weeks.

Congratulations. It's good to hear that some employers are doing the right thing and treating their employees well.

Congrats to y'all.

@Foxhack how is the hurricane going for you?

bill wrote:

It hasn't even made landfall in South Baja and I'm already feeling the effects. We had a short burst of rain at around 2 AM, and it's been raining for about 15 minutes. We haven't gotten the worst of it - the valleys to the East and West of us got tons of water dumped on them.

I'm using this local radar to keep track, it's more accurate than news sites.

If you zoom in to Calexico, my house is close to the road that comes in from Mexico. As of right now there's a flash flood warning in the area until 9 AM (half an hour from now) and it's raining hard, but not -too- hard. Some weather sites are predicting the rain will stop for a while around 11 AM, which sounds about right.

The good news is that the wind isn't too bad! It's moving the clouds steadily towards the Northwest, and it's not strong enough that it pushes the water into my home (there's a broken window upstairs where the water can get in if the wind is blowing the right way.) So far so good, other than the flooded back area.

Thanks for asking.

Edit: Wait am I the only one in Cali that's gonna get hit by this?

I just wanted to thank GTZ for being a place that allows for different viewpoints and ideas to be said without censorship solely because they don't like the idea. It sucks when a place you used to like to discuss the hobby/life, goes against that and especially when you have a group that hunt down your posts and try to report you for anything.

It's going to be society's downfall if censorship of ideas becomes the norm. But anyway...I just wanted to say thank you for everyone having the ability to speak their mind without fear of constant moderation.

And Fox, I hope and pray the hurricane is uneventful for you!

And Bucket...so happy about the promotion. That's another rarity: a company that looks to cultivate it's existing people rather than always look outside

/kickban @rayzor6

# @rayzor6 has been kicked from the chat and perma-banned

Almost half my life here(the dumbER and now just 'the dumb')...I know I've said some crap that at least deserves that...unlike the other place! :D :D

I would accept my fate! :D

Thanks man. I work at Costco (the Ecom call center in OKC, not a warehouse store) and everyone that’s gone into leadership in my building at least has been from within. You’re 100% on the nose about places hiring outside for managers and stuff. I think cultivating from within is best, as we already know the systems and what we can and can’t do and all that. It’s cool to be given this chance and make more money doing it.

Update: There's a tornado warning now.

Oh yeah we got so much water dumped on. Winds are stupid strong, and not letting up. I have no power. Blergh.

@BucketofJustice congrats on the extra money

Thanks man. Stay safe.

BucketofJustice wrote:

They think they are bringing in a 'new perspective' that can help them. Ironically, when this is true: it's something that their employees have already been saying to them and they were too prideful to listen.

If your company isn't garbage and you are looking for ideas in a business climate where most companies are garbage/near garbage: you are just going to be in trouble.

If your company is garbage and you get someone who isn't garbage: they are going to leave when they tell you that you are, essentially, garbage.

Pride and the idea that you *have* to make more money than you did the year before EVERY FREAKING YEAR even when you are making amazing profits. These are the two main cancers of business.

So true. Eventually the worm will turn, and I’m sure at some point it’ll happen everywhere. Even Costco. But so far, so good, at least that I’ve seen. Everyone builds up and everyone falls down, and it’s just a matter of time.

Congrats to @BucketofJustice and @Scott on making that $$$, two wonderful fellas who deserve it.

Since we're talking about new opportunities, I'm starting my training this week to become a freelance TV/Movies Feature Writer for CBR.com (Comic Book Resources). So pretty soon I'll be able to filter all my long-winded dorky writings to an outlet where I can actually make a bit of a profit haha. Of course, I'll still be working my normal 9-5, so hopefully my eyes don't dry up due to all the screen time.

On the up and up with you folks.