General

It’s a long story. Cliffs notes is we were together and then we split and then I moved and we tried again long distance and that’s when Abbi was conceived and then we split again and I found out about her long after the fact. I had some alcohol and substance issues and was generally a douche about the whole thing and got myself cleaned up and we’re talking again and getting along great. I wish I saw years ago what I saw now.

I hope you get back together with them and live happily ever after.

That’s the hope bill. Thank you. Whatever happens will happen but I miss Abbi terribly already and her mom isn’t far behind at all.

Wishing you all the best.

BucketofJustice wrote:

Sorry to hear brother, hopefully you guys continue to make it work, at least for Abbi. My heart goes out to ya.

Thanks y’all. I’m sure everything will work out one way or the other.

My heart goes out to you and your family in this situation. As long as you're making your best effort, I believe that positive results will happen.

I hope this is coherent, I'm a bit intoxicated at the moment.

This fudging bites

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/99-cents-only-close...

Literally one of the best performing stores in the city, getting thousands of dollars in sales every day from people in Calexico AND Mexico, and they're gonna close! I only found out today when I got home. :(

I've been going to my store since it opened and I really hate that it's going to shut down so soon.

People are apparently getting upset that Dollar Tree is now charging more than $1 for many items. My wife got annoyed when she didn't notice they had a $3 and $5 item aisle and took several of the items to the register believing they were only $1. Dollar Tree (and probably others like it) have been using "shrinkflation" for years. i.e. Making the packages smaller and smaller so they could keep the price at $1. At some point, the packaging likely cost more than the product for many of their products. There were some products I bought only from Dollar Tree. They couldn't compete with the per weight or per unit cost on many items you could buy in bulk somewhere else, but they were great for products of which I only needed a small amount. A package of 4 alkaline batteries for $1 was a great deal.

I was recently amused to discover that Japan has 100-yen shops.
Though because of taxes, stuff usually costs 108 or 110 yen.

Dollar stores have been charging more than $1 for years. And yes, some prices on things are bad, but they were also the only place I could get stuff I use for cooking (a brand of soy sauce, for instance.)

I'm probably gonna stick up on a couple of bottles today. :(

Dollar Tree only started doing it recently, like the past 2 years or so. Dollar General has been doing it for as long as I've known, and much worse they are usually understaffed and prices will change in the system but the employees won't get the shelves updated. Most people don't notice, so corporate turns a blind eye.

The $3 and $5 aisles are clearly labeled at DollarTree... the issue is the fact it's a place where everything was $1, people would assume such... I've had people working the registers tell me/ask me I was aware of certain items I picked were not $1, and I was like "Yeah, I'm aware and yes I'm fine. Thanks."

HybridCRoW wrote:


There was a brief period where most things were adjusted to $1.25 before the $3-5 stuff. I still check out Dollar Tree every now and then. It is what it is.

That sucks, they had good deals on groceries

Oh now I was told the other dollar store - a Dollar Tree near Walmart - is also closing down. What the fudge is going on?

Tony wrote:
My local Dollar twenty five tree raised their prices awhile ago. I'm surprised that I'm hearing about this just now from other people.

Their $3-5 section is interesting. Although, to me, the whole point of dollar tree was getting several items for a couple bucks, I can't deny that there are several items in the $5 category that are great deals. For example, I noticed a box of 6 premium ice cream popsicle bars. Those go for a couple bucks for just 1 bar at an ice cream truck, and probably at least $2 apiece at a newsstand.

My challenge with dollar tree is the often long line. Ugh. I walk by the store and look inside. If the line is long, I move on.

They just built and opened a Dollar Tree down the road from me and I’ve been there one time. It’s probably been open only a few months but the whole building looks like crap. I don’t know how it looks that bad that soon but that’s not for me to decide either.

One thing I've noticed for sure is there are 2 Dollar Twenty-Five Trees within 5 min of me and both stores have different products. Sure, some things are the same like candy and seasonal stuff, but for the most part I find differences for sure. Also one looks nicer than the other and one of them has at least one employee and a few customers that REEK of Mary Jane's perfume the few times I went in.
I'm surprised I've never seen many people in either store, but maybe it's cause I go at certain times considered least busy.

Got a Drive-In theater near you? Perfect place to grab snacks and drinks while watching the movies.

Got myself suspended from the "2600: The Hacker Quarterly" group on Facebook again. That's twice now. Admin is a crazy right-winger and doesn't like to be called out on his crap.

https://youtu.be/OSmWCPMlWlw?si=wi3AA-jU0BL87wr2

This made me think of me and @citizen_zane and our eternal Urban Champion rivalry

John wrote:

My current long-term goal is to get into Digital Forensics in 5 years time... short-term goal right now is to get my CYSA+ while working my current Desktop Support position (I've actually been picking up duties and elevated privileges quickly in 6 months time)... is this something I should read into that might be considered worth reading/following in terms of career?

Probably not. heh. It's always been kinda a fun/geeky magazine for kids that like to think of themselves as "hackers." When I was like 14, I thought it was the coolest magazine out there. But I was cleaning the other day and pulled out a couple of copies and thumbed through it and it had great nostalgic value, but the actual "technical" data was laughable. But back in the day, before the internet to make everything easy to look up, it felt full of cool information that felt like you were reading "secrets" not meant for the public. 🤫

benstylus wrote:

That would be so awesome, battling it out in the streets at that old of an age. Hopefully, it won't take me that long to beat you. I can't die before that happens, even if it takes me to the age of 105.

citizen_zane wrote:
|. Hopefully, it won't take me that long to beat you. I can't die before that

I can. WAHAHAHAHA

Anyone watching SNL? Ryan Gosling is the host and this episode is just off the rails. Highly recommend watching it.. every skit people can't control themselves and a lot of breaking.

We're such a disposable society, yet we'll squeeze every last drop out of a toothpaste tube.

I constantly ask myself every day during my commute... WTF do people need to drive like idiots/a*holes/etc? Yet, I shouldn't because I'll never get a good enough answer and should just keep driving defensively.

HybridCRoW wrote:

Definitely. The speed limit on the interstate that circles our town and has multiple entrances and exits only a mile or so apart was increased to 65 mph a few years ago. Around here, the number of people running red lights seems to be increasing every year.

There are people out there who believe that they are superior to everyone else and therefore rules - both laws and common etiquette - shouldn't or don't apply to them. They can handle higher speeds, shorter breaking distances, smaller gaps, and poor driving conditions better than all other drivers. They could have qualified for NASCAR if given the chance. If something bad were to happen, it would be because someone else did something wrong. All the sheep who follow the rules just need to get out of their way and let them do what they want.

There is a guy who posts videos of himself and several others who go out to low traffic highways in Montana and Nevada and drive 120 mph or more in their expensive sports cars. When he gets caught, he just says "I didn't look at my speedometer. I was just keeping up with the other traffic." (The other guys in my group. HA HA HA.)

I wish I had one of those remotes from that Click movie. My daughter and her mom come down in about 2 weeks and my excitement and anxiety and anticipation and all the good things are building and I can’t wait. Her mom is way more excited than she was before because we talked about all the food spots and she wants to try all of them. She’s also been asking about jobs and schools and stuff, so she’s at least considering coming down more permanently on some level. Mostly because there’s not much of anything where they are right now. I’m trying to not get my hopes up but it’s hard. Things will fall where they are meant to be.

Edit: added some context. I needed to get it out somewhere. Resume normal conversation haha

Lost my mother this morning. 2024 has been brutal but that’s life I suppose.

theJaw wrote:

Ugh, sorry brother, that's ... awful.

No words truly matter in these rough times, but be there for your family. It's hard to put aside your own feelings in these difficult times, but helping others get through it is what truly matters while you process your own thoughts and feelings.

I/we are here if ya ever need a vent. Always game for a GTZ happy hour if ya need it!

theJaw wrote:

I’m so sorry for your loss. I can’t imagine. If I can do anything let me know.

I’m really sorry. That’s awful.

theJaw wrote:

theJaw wrote:
Sorry for your loss. If there's anything we at gtz can do to help lift your spirits, even a little, know that we would.

theJaw wrote:

I'm sorry man. :(

Thanks guys, I appreciate you folks. Can’t lie, this is fudging the worst.

theJaw wrote:

I'm very sorry for your loss.

theJaw wrote:

🫂

GME back on the move

I was about to tag you, then I realized you were the one that posted it lol.