Random Thoughts Thread

[G. David Felt]

34 minutes ago, ocnblu said:

I cut my own hair.  Seems frivolous to pay for it.

Sooooo Bowl Cut then? ?

I have had the wife cut my hair for over 20 years. We put the equal into our travel fund. Makes it so much better.

[oldshurst442]

20 minutes ago, dfelt said:

Sooooo Bowl Cut then? ?

I have had the wife cut my hair for over 20 years. We put the equal into our travel fund. Makes it so much better.

So. What kind of tip do you give her? (wink wink) 

My wife buzzes my hair also. We’ve been married for 17 years making her my sexy hair stylist for 16 and a half of those years. 

In the beginning, I used to cop a cheap feel here and there when she buzzed my hair. . Not so much now...  The fantasy has been played out, I guess. 

Edited March 27, 2020 by oldshurst442

[G. David Felt]

4 minutes ago, oldshurst442 said:

So. What kind of tip do you give her? (wink wink) 

My wife buzzes my hair also. We’ve been married for 17 years making her my sexy hair stylist for 16 and a half of those years. 

In the beginning, I used to cop a cheap feel here and there when she buzzed my hair. . Not so much now...  The fantasy has been played out, I guess. 

She is well tipped!  

29 years strong and still going, 

She hated the way others cut mine, so bought a hair cutting kit from Costco and I have not seen any other person since. She does a nice job, make the Vacations all that much more special.

[USA-1]

3 hours ago, ccap41 said:

My county gets a "B". -37% change in average distance traveled. 2 confirmed cases. 

I just stopped traveling to work yesterday. I finally got remote access and started working from home. 

B -34% avg. dis. 139 confirmed cases in the largest county in AZ (Maricopa) with 4.5M people out of 7.2M in the state. Pretty good stats really.

Kinda creepy in the evening when there's nobody on the street driving or walking in a decently populated area during peak tourist season here when it's usually kinda crazy.  

[USA-1]

1 hour ago, trinacriabob said:

Anyone else need a haircut?  I need a haircut. They actually stayed open a few days longer than did eateries, but I declined.  Still, I don't want to look bohemian or anything!

Getting close and just checked my salon's website, states that they are open and still disinfecting all of the equipment like usual with even more attention given to the stylist's station. I'm thinking to myself so are the stylist's wearing N95 masks too? My girlfriend will have to cut it, she owes me anyway

[Robert Hall]

My county today released a COVID-19 diagnosis map by zip code.  My zip code is in the 0-1 range.   Interestingly, the zip codes w/ the largest # of diagnoses are mostly upscale east side suburbs...maybe medical professionals live in those zip codes and have been more likely to have been tested? 

[frogger]

2 hours ago, Robert Hall said:

My county today released a COVID-19 diagnosis map by zip code.  My zip code is in the 0-1 range.   Interestingly, the zip codes w/ the largest # of diagnoses are mostly upscale east side suburbs...maybe medical professionals live in those zip codes and have been more likely to have been tested? 

More likely to have travelled too.

[balthazar]

4 hours ago, ocnblu said:

I cut my own hair.  Seems frivolous to pay for it.

That explains the personal pics ban!!
Oh God, and here I was left thinking it was some horribly disfiguring accident.

WHEW! Glad you're OK (except for a terribly embarrassing haircut!)!

- - - - -
 

[ ^ How I feel my hair is about now]

Edited March 27, 2020 by balthazar

[ocnblu]

4 minutes ago, balthazar said:

That explains the personal pics ban!!
Oh God, and here I was left thinking it was some horribly disfiguring accident.

WHEW!

You be the judge...

[G. David Felt]

My Avatar, the best of me. ? 

Closer to actual me. The one above is way too skinny. Interesting all the sites and how they build you based on their process.

[Robert Hall]

My bald head is low maintenance...I run clippers over it periodically. 

[G. David Felt]

Just now, Robert Hall said:

My bald head is low maintenance...I run clippers over it periodically. 

Ya should do the Shaft way, a nice straight Blade !  

[Robert Hall]

3 minutes ago, dfelt said:

Ya should do the Shaft way, a nice straight Blade !  

I have done that on occasion...let a professional do it, though. 

[trinacriabob]

6 hours ago, oldshurst442 said:

My wife buzzes my hair also. We’ve been married for 17 years making her my sexy hair stylist for 16 and a half of those years. 

In the beginning, I used to cop a cheap feel here and there when she buzzed my hair. . Not so much now...  The fantasy has been played out, I guess. 

Thank you for the comic relief. 

This is analogous to those movies where they are chasing each other around the table or the pirate/wench chase scenario on the "Pirates of the Caribbean" ride at Disney.  The ride has been altered, given that many people are so uptight in the New Millennium.

[oldshurst442]

8 minutes ago, trinacriabob said:

Thank you for the comic relief. 

This is analogous to those movies where they are chasing each other around the table or the pirate/wench chase scenario on the "Pirates of the Caribbean" ride at Disney.  The ride has been altered, given that many people are so uptight in the New Millennium.

A similar sample for your viewing pleasure, perhaps? 

 

[oldshurst442]

3 hours ago, ocnblu said:

You be the judge...

 

Blu was a rebel from the day he left school
He grew his hair long and broke all the rules
He'd sit and listen to Thorogood's records all day
With no ambitions to everyone's dismay
His parents tried to teach him what life was about
So he grew up the type they warned him about
They said his friends were just a unruly mob
And he should, get a haircut and get a real job

Get a haircut and get a real job
Clean your act up and dont be a slob
Get it together like your big brother Bob
Why dont you, get a haircut and get a real job

He even tried that nine to five scene
He told himself that it was all a bad dream
He found a band with some good songs to play
Now he partys all night and sleeps all day
He met this chick, she was his number one fan
She took him home to meet her mommy and dad
They took one look at him and said, "Oh my god!
Get a haircut and get a real job!"

 

 

 

Edited March 28, 2020 by oldshurst442

[balthazar]

[Suaviloquent]

Not to be too political or anything but 10-15 years ago I was a dumb teenager and I thought America was the greatest and would happily drink the cool-aid and I was riffed for being decidedly 'American' in the eyes of peers. I thought it was great. As a Canuck. Like isn't it great to be considered the most American in a largely immigrant community.

Boy was I wrong. Like massively wrong in my worldview. 

I'm in mid 20s now and somehow feel more informed but vastly more I guess 'fixed' in mindset.

Two recessions that gutted us, disastrous family life and abysmal career choices and plenty of self hate later I'm just left staring in the mirror at a husk and look at what's happening south of the border in totality and wonder if it's all similar for a reason.

 

Not a random thought at all. Uh. Back to self hate.

[daves87rs]

1 hour ago, Suaviloquent said:

Not to be too political or anything but 10-15 years ago I was a dumb teenager and I thought America was the greatest and would happily drink the cool-aid and I was riffed for being decidedly 'American' in the eyes of peers. I thought it was great. As a Canuck. Like isn't it great to be considered the most American in a largely immigrant community.

Boy was I wrong. Like massively wrong in my worldview. 

I'm in mid 20s now and somehow feel more informed but vastly more I guess 'fixed' in mindset.

Two recessions that gutted us, disastrous family life and abysmal career choices and plenty of self hate later I'm just left staring in the mirror at a husk and look at what's happening south of the border in totality and wonder if it's all similar for a reason.

 

Not a random thought at all. Uh. Back to self hate.

I will say that it is hard for some folks not to be bitter..

I’ve been through some tough times, I try hard to bring me down, simply because life is short.....

Hope that things get better for you....

[Suaviloquent]

Thank you @daves87rs I hope everyone can stay safe during this time.

 I'm In the camp who who really does not like remote work and always gets cabin fever. 

Even taking the bus or tube to get to work was always taken for granted. Not being able to walk out in the morning or come home to settle down really brings a lot of emotions and self reflection. 

The ideal is a mighty harsh judge I just need a practical outlet for guilt. Work! ?

[ocnblu]

11 hours ago, balthazar said:

They go in, but they don't come out... 

[trinacriabob]

I don't trust some of the reporting ... at all.  I'm talking China and Russia.  China's numbers almost appear frozen and Russia's seem too low.  Russians have traveled freely to Western Europe and some EU airports now show signage in the country's language, English, Chinese (probably that, instead of Japanese), and Cyrillic characters (so probably Russian).

The weekend days are allocated to getting the necessary staples.  Off to do just that.

 

 

12 hours ago, balthazar said:

very balthazar

[ocnblu]

[G. David Felt]

14 hours ago, balthazar said:

Ya found the very First Little House, used as a Business!

[G. David Felt]

13 hours ago, Suaviloquent said:

Not to be too political or anything but 10-15 years ago I was a dumb teenager and I thought America was the greatest and would happily drink the cool-aid and I was riffed for being decidedly 'American' in the eyes of peers. I thought it was great. As a Canuck. Like isn't it great to be considered the most American in a largely immigrant community.

Boy was I wrong. Like massively wrong in my worldview. 

I'm in mid 20s now and somehow feel more informed but vastly more I guess 'fixed' in mindset.

Two recessions that gutted us, disastrous family life and abysmal career choices and plenty of self hate later I'm just left staring in the mirror at a husk and look at what's happening south of the border in totality and wonder if it's all similar for a reason.

 

Not a random thought at all. Uh. Back to self hate.

Remember the competition between Edison and Westinghouse. They did not create thousands of failures, but found thousands of ways to not make a long life light bulb.

We make choices and find ways that work and ways that produce minimal benefit. Learn from least productive ways so that you can improve to be better. Continue to take risks and try things that you find interesting till you find you find your passion.

Remember some things start out as an unknown, with no skill and they can turn into a passion.

EXAMPLE: I have worked my whole life in Enterprise Storage. From Digital computer corporation to Compaq, Microsoft, Brocade, EMC and now Dell Technologies. Among the way I worked in many startups attempting to strike it big so that I could retire into some of my passions that do not pay.

Along the way, I went from being a developer to a manager into training and now in Technical Marketing. During a rough patch in my career 17 years ago, the startup I was at failed and I was left unemployed and wondering how to pay bills and support my family. I did as many do using the credit cards to support us as I did job interview after job interview.

I went to an interview and during this interview I realized I could do the job, but it was not a passion and would I really want to do the job. I took the job as they liked me and I needed to support my family. I dove into the virtual world of VMware. It was not because I wanted to do it since it really did not have much to do with Storage other than use it on the back end to run the images, but it was a paying job. The more I dove into learning it, the more I also realized others were afraid of the tech and I became a point person that people turned to for help. I had increased my value without knowing it at first.

I later on changed jobs to Isilon, a file based storage startup as they were teaching customers how to use their radical new storage appliance with real hardware and I knew in my heart I could create a better way to offer training without having to tie up major capital in having real hardware in the classroom. I ended up working with a Development team and created our Isilon simulator. Since then, 10 years later I have a job I love, I create year round new training based on new releases of our OneFS File storage system and help our employees, partners and customers learn how to use our hardware and open source projects to enhance their business and cloud use.

If you asked my 17 years ago if I would have a job I love and have not continued jumping from place to place every 2 years or so, I would have probably said no. Today, I love my job and what I do to help so many around the world.

Moral of my story for you is NEVER GIVE UP, NEVER STOP TRYING, YOU CAN AND WILL find your passion that you can enjoy for life.

I believe in everyone here that they can and will find that passion to drive themselves to new heights!

Sorry for the long write, but I hope you can gain strength from my sharing of my career to continue to push forward and look at things you might have never considered. You never know when you will find something that becomes a life long passion.

[daves87rs]

2 hours ago, trinacriabob said:

I don't trust some of the reporting ... at all.  I'm talking China and Russia.  China's numbers almost appear frozen and Russia's seem too low.  Russians have traveled freely to Western Europe and some EU airports now show signage in the country's language, English, Chinese (probably that, instead of Japanese), and Cyrillic characters (so probably Russian).

The weekend days are allocated to getting the necessary staples.  Off to do just that.

 

 

very balthazar

Agreed- I know why countries like Germany are lowering, as they are doing the smart thing and testing everyone they can. I am not sure sure that China and Russia are doing the same....

[ocnblu]

[balthazar]

[daves87rs]

1 hour ago, ocnblu said:

Love that two tone.....

[oldshurst442]

 

 

[G. David Felt]

Seems the current Coronavirus statistics are just showing it getting worse:

123,000 plus infected

2,200 plus dead

3,200 plus recovered

Washington state showed on the news a graph showing for us the last week of April / First week of May will be the high point of Infections, deaths, etc. for Coronavirus. I hope they are right as the corona sites are showing things a bit uglier. The New York Times posted the graphs of how the tracking sites are showing it here for the US. If it truly hits this hard, it will be a sad time for us and the world as many places are already being hit harder. Just lost the Local Mom and Dad who started Kona Kitchen, a Hawaiian dinner focused on Authentic Hawaiian food. She was 72 and he was 76 both were healthy with no immunity issues or other medical issues like asthma or diabetes, but they both in continuing to serve take out meals caught the virus and died this week. RIP to all those that have been lost to the Coronavirus.

[daves87rs]

1 hour ago, oldshurst442 said:

 

 

Pretty!

[G. David Felt]

Very cool read on the Gas Turbine auto Toyota built in the 70's.

https://jalopnik.com/toyota-built-a-gas-turbine-sports-car-in-the-70s-1842539690

[balthazar]

^ Like most toyoters, it looks horrendous.

[daves87rs]

2 hours ago, dfelt said:

Very cool read on the Gas Turbine auto Toyota built in the 70's.

https://jalopnik.com/toyota-built-a-gas-turbine-sports-car-in-the-70s-1842539690

Looks like something Me. Bean would drive.... ? 

[Robert Hall]

Had heavy rain last night and this morning.... windy, sunny and 70 now..sitting out on the patio...chillin'.   Going to grille some steaks later.  Have a glass of wine or a few.   Pretend everything is normal... 

[balthazar]

Dubuque IA, '40 :

Edited March 29, 2020 by balthazar

[Robert Hall]

Neat funicular.  Couldn't imagine something like that in Iowa..

[trinacriabob]

48 minutes ago, Robert Hall said:

Neat funicular.  Couldn't imagine something like that in Iowa..

There is or was a funicular in DTLA dubbed "Angel's Flight."  It transported people from the flat part of downtown up to Bunker Hill.  You really can't tell what's Bunker Hill since so much grading has gone on and it's basically where the towers of the Financial District now stand.

- - -

This really annoys me.  You go to the dumpster and see so many cardboard boxes in there.  How about breaking them up into pieces and recycling them weekly or biweekly?  Ditto for looking into a trash can and seeing empty plastic water bottles and aluminum cans.  When you're at IKEA, the bellwether of Nordic efficiency, you will also see empty plastic bottles and aluminum cans.  It's even worse at IKEA when labeled containers are right next to each other. What's wrong with people?

One of our country's biggest hazards is stupidity.  If people can't figure out how to recycle the basics, how are they going to figure out how to protect themselves and their loved ones?

[oldshurst442]

Quebec City

 

 

 

 

[Robert Hall]

I've ridden the funiculars in Pittsburgh and this one from Como to Brunate in Italy.

 

[trinacriabob]

21 minutes ago, oldshurst442 said:

Quebec City

 

Je connais le funiculaire - un fois!  Mieux pour les personnes qu'ont fait son retraite.  Il n'y a pas de paquebots de croisiere durant l'hiver ...

[balthazar]

[daves87rs]

1 hour ago, balthazar said:

Is it me, or is it lowered a bit?

[balthazar]

Yep- looks great that way.

[daves87rs]

That it does!!

[surreal1272]

11 hours ago, balthazar said:

What year is that Caddy?

[Robert Hall]

7 minutes ago, surreal1272 said:

What year is that Caddy?

1960.

[oldshurst442]

16 hours ago, trinacriabob said:

Je connais le funiculaire - un fois!  Mieux pour les personnes qu'ont fait son retraite.  Il n'y a pas de paquebots de croisiere durant l'hiver ...

Ouais!!!  LOL   Quebec est une belle ville. Plus belle que LA Grande Ville (Montreal) 

J'ai faite un tour la dessus quand j'etais jeune lors de ma premiere visite a Quebec. Je suis alle a Quebec plusieurs fois depuis, mais je n'ai jamais voulu y retourner. 

[ccap41]

On 3/28/2020 at 1:37 AM, Suaviloquent said:

Thank you @daves87rs I hope everyone can stay safe during this time.

 I'm In the camp who who really does not like remote work and always gets cabin fever. 

Even taking the bus or tube to get to work was always taken for granted. Not being able to walk out in the morning or come home to settle down really brings a lot of emotions and self reflection. 

The ideal is a mighty harsh judge I just need a practical outlet for guilt. Work! ?

I'm not liking working from home either. I much prefer a work setting. I wish my commute was shorter but I like the getting out and being in a work environment.