Small Talk: We'll Be Right Back

[bigskygirl]

30 minutes ago, smittykins said:

I just got an email from Inogen One(portable oxygen concentrator).

I get junk emails from a lot of companies we have talk about on here aka bad commercials.

[Gramto6]

I don't remember the company name, it is one of those legal firms that take cases of medicine caused problems. This is for users of Farxiga and Jardiance both diabetes drugs. It says call them if you got a flesh eating vaginal infection from using either of them. Holy carp! That is the grossest thing they could bring up??? That really makes me want to take either drug for my diabetes. NOT!

Edited April 16, 2019 by Gramto6

[Silver Raven]

So we in Sacramento had temperatures in the 50s yesterday and in the 60s today.  Tomorrow is scheduled to be in the 70s and Thursday in the 80s.

[funky-rat]

16 hours ago, smittykins said:

I just got an email from Inogen One(portable oxygen concentrator).

Just make sure that you're not like Shirley on their commercials.

[mmecorday]

Quote

It used to be illegal in Georgia to own ferrets, because there wasn't an effective rabies vaccine for them. Then, some legislators were worried that, because they're also called Polecats

I thought skunks were called polecats. I think ferrets and skunks are closely related.

My first grade teacher had a pet skunk and she brought it to school one day. It was really friendly and so pretty.

[smittykins]

I know descented skunks are allowed as pets in certain states.

[peacheslatour]

4 minutes ago, smittykins said:

I know descented skunks are allowed as pets in certain states.

We had one in our first grade classroom. It was de-stanked but it still didn't smell too good. And yes, ferrets and skunks are both in the weasel and stoat family.

[Brattinella]

2 hours ago, peacheslatour said:

We had one in our first grade classroom. It was de-stanked but it still didn't smell too good. And yes, ferrets and skunks are both in the weasel and stoat family.

So are mink.  Go visit a mink farm someday; pee-yew!

[Prevailing Wind]

There's a pet store near me and they used to have open-topped enclosures for rodents, etc. The walls were glass and, with no lid, you could reach right down in there & pet the hamsters, etc.  THEN they decided to put some ferrets in there. I am assuming they were NOT de-scented because when you leaned over the glass wall to watch them, the stench was not only eye-watering, I nearly passed out.

[mmecorday]

Regarding the discussion about Dairy Queen being a suitable place for date night:

My boss and his wife are two of the most extraordinarily cheap people I have ever known in my life. They refuse to pay more than $5 for lunch -- for both of them. They went to the beach one year for their anniversary and they thought since they were celebrating, they'd like to go some place fancy instead of McDonalds or Burger King.

They went to IHOP.

[Moose135]

Bringing the talk about alert signals - tornadoes, nuclear plants, etc. - over to Small Talk.

There is a nuclear plant about 30 minutes from me, I don't have any warning sirens near me, but my GF has some near her place.  They will usually make a FB post announcing tests, saying people should ignore the test siren.  One time, I replied "What if there is an actual emergency during a test? How will we know that?"  They came back with some mumbly response, but clearly they didn't appreciate the level of my snark.

Back in my Air Force days, I was flying KC-135 tankers - we refueled other aircraft in flight.  One week out of three we would pull Alert - just like the B-52s, a number of aircraft was fully fueled and loaded, with checklists complete up to the point of starting engines.  They were parked in a restricted area next to the end of the runway, and the Alert force lived in the Alert Facility next to the aircraft.  We slept, ate, and did most everything in the facility, and had pickups with lights and sirens to respond to the aircraft if the klaxon went off.  The klaxon, was a loud, obnoxious horn - they had them in many places around the base - and it was tested every day at 1:10 pm.  You could always tell who was flight crew on base, even out of uniform - almost everyone had an alarm set on their watch for 1:09 pm.  If the klaxon went off at any other time - even if it was just for a few seconds, and not the full signal - we would respond "as fast as safety permits" to the aircraft and await further instructions.  Usually when it was just an exercise, we knew it because the fire trucks would be out waiting and we would see the Wing Commander's car cruising the flight line.  On a few occasions, there was a system malfunction that resulted in an inadvertent klaxon.  Those were exciting because you didn't know if it was real or not...

[chessiegal]

Re: Dairy Queen. My husband was raised in northern Alabama. His family belonged to and faithfully attended the Methodist church. When he was 16 and his brother was 15, they didn't want to sit with their parents during church, so would go sit in the balcony. One Sunday they got the bright idea to sneak out to DQ. To solve the problem of insuring the family car was in the same spot, they took a park bench and moved it to the parking space the car was in, and proceeded to DQ. To make sure they got back in time, they listened to the church service on the radio. I guess listening to the service while eating ice cream was better than being in church. When they returned back to the church, their mother, who had a sixth sense about such things, was sitting on the park bench, arms crossed with her "pocketbook" on one arm, legs crossed with one leg swinging. Busted!

[OmegaX123]

Not sure if this is the place for it or if I should post it in the "Site Business" -> "Bugs, Questions & Suggestions" section:
Way back, when this site was still TWoP, I seem to remember there being a thread for creepy commercials. Am I misremembering that/was it actually just the "Commercials that make you scratch your head" thread but at the time it was overloaded with creepy ones, or is that another thread that got deleted/lost in one of the domain changes or something?

[friendperidot]

Omega, I don't remember about creepy commercials either here on or TWOP, but there used to a misheard commercials thread and that was merged in with the commercials that make you scratch your head, and it seems like there was another thread merged into there too, I just don't remember what it was.

[janie jones]

This site was never TWoP, so it's probably just that when everyone came here from TWoP, no one ever made that thread. 

[ronanb027]

On 10/3/2015 at 2:18 AM, DeLurker said:

My pediatrician told me to put my kids in preschool part time 6 - 12 months before I really needed ft childcare just so my kids would get exposed (and expose other children) to various germs and bugs and start developing that immune system.

This is soooo true!

[friendperidot]

So, does anyone think Prince Harry called the Queen today collect and said it was Harrywehadababyit'saboy?

But congratulations to the new parents!

[janie jones]

13 hours ago, Prevailing Wind said:

I get paid on Friday, as well. Come Thursday AM, my pay is *almost* in my account - it shows up as a "pending" transaction, but it doesn't truly post to the account until Friday.

My understanding is this (for my company anyway):  The day the checks are actually created is on Wednesday.  The payroll people get them to us by Friday, so that is "payday," though one could argue that Wednesday is "payday," since that's when the checks are created.  So if you aren't getting a physical check the direct deposit goes through at the time the checks are created; thus, you get paid "early."

I think the differences might be in how different companies define "payday," in addition to/because of the banking issues others mentioned.

Edited May 17, 2019 by janie jones

[peacheslatour]

10 minutes ago, janie jones said:

My understanding is this (for my company anyway):  The day the checks are actually created is on Wednesday.  The payroll people get them to us by Friday, so that is "payday," though one could argue that Wednesday is "payday," since that's when the checks are created.  So if you aren't getting a physical check the direct deposit goes through at the time the checks are created; thus, you get paid "early."

I think the differences might be in how different companies define "payday," in addition to/because of the banking issues others mentioned.

That's how we did it too. I did payroll on Tuesdays but everybody got their physical checks on Thurs. Most of us had direct deposit except for a couple of the owners who didn't want their wives to know how much they made. 

[ABay]

For me, direct deposit kicks in at 12:01 a.m. every other Thursday. I am fortunate enough not to be living paycheck to paycheck, but it is a pain in the ass when the second payday of the month is very close to the last day of the month because I have to physically take money out of savings in the credit union and move it to the checking account in another bank to make sure the rent check is on time. Even though the banks are across the street from each other, their hours make it difficult to do without taking time from work. This is part of my savings plan: make it difficult to access the savings account so I leave it alone.

[Prevailing Wind]

I keep an extra (hidden) cushion of $200 (formerly $500, but I needed the money) in my checking account to prevent contortions like that. Quite often, during the month, I dip into that $200, but next paycheck it gets put back.

Social Security shows up as "pending" in my checking account as early as Saturday AM from the Friday night update, but it's not officially posted for my use until Wednesday AM.

[ams1001]

On 5/18/2019 at 2:09 PM, ABay said:

This is part of my savings plan: make it difficult to access the savings account so I leave it alone.

I have a similar plan. I have a savings account in a credit union, and between their hours and locations, the only time I can physically go there is if I have the day off, leave work early, or before noon on a Saturday. This is on purpose. When I first opened the account years ago, they had a branch in the building my parents worked in -- my dad's job was the reason I had access to that credit union in the first place -- so I could have my mom do stuff for me (her name was on the account for that reason), but that building closed years ago. Their main branch is a good 20+ minutes from my house (and in a direction I rarely have reason to go) and one of their other branches is closer but closes half an hour before I'm normally leaving work (their "late" day is Friday when they're open an extra hour and a half; if I leave work right on time I can just about get there with time to do my transaction). My direct deposit puts $200 from every paycheck into that savings account, and the rest goes into my checking account (at a much more convenient bank that's open 7 days a week and until 8 on Fridays and also has a branch near work that I can get to during my lunch break). 

Edited May 19, 2019 by ams1001

[fairffaxx]

ams1001, I learned long ago that the secret to success lies in being able to fool ourselves effectively.  I'm too smart to be easily fooled, but sometimes I'm smart enough to figure out how to put one over on myself.

[ams1001]

1 hour ago, fairffaxx said:

ams1001, I learned long ago that the secret to success lies in being able to fool ourselves effectively.  I'm too smart to be easily fooled, but sometimes I'm smart enough to figure out how to put one over on myself.

There's a book called Slim by Design which is basically all about tricking yourself into eating better.

[Suzn]

I'm very late to the discussion about direct deposit timing.  I run a biweekly payroll for over 600 people;  the payroll is transmitted to the payroll processor every other Tuesday for the pay date on Friday and the direct deposits are transmitted to the employee's banks on Wednesday.  Depending on the policies of the individual banks, the payments are posted Wednesday, Thursday or Friday.  My own deposit shows up in my bank on Thursday around 11:30 PM as pending to be posted on Friday. So, again, it is up to the receiving bank as to when direct deposits are posted, even though legally our pay date is on Friday, a majority of employees are paid sooner.

[mmecorday]

My boss just returned from a 10-day trip to Ireland -- his first trip overseas. He drinks mostly sugary sodas and sweet tea. He said that the regular (non-diet) sodas in Ireland are not as sweet as the ones in the U.S. Well, yeah. Because they're not made from high fructose corn syrup.

I swear the soft drink companies and the diabetes drug industry are working hand-in-hand in this country.

[Maverick]

 AT least part of the reason European sodas have less sugar than the US version is because Americans like their soda really cold.   In America it's very common to add ice to soft drinks, even if they're already cold from the fountain or fridge.  As the ice melts, it dilutes the drink and so it has to be sweeter to start so it doesn't taste watery when the ice melts.   Europeans generally don't add a ton of ice to their drinks.

[Bastet]

1 hour ago, Maverick said:

Europeans generally don't add a ton of ice to their drinks.

It's one of the adjustments upon traveling in much of Europe - no washcloth in your bathroom (yes, I know, some people here don't use them, either), and no ice in your drink.  I don't drink soda, and am fine with water without ice, so it generally doesn't bother me; I simply order a liquor I'm content to drink neat.  But, there are times - especially in England - when I want a cocktail like a gin & tonic, and it is an adjustment to drink that at room temp, because the taste is different.  Not bad, just different; it's part of the travel experience.

Edited August 2, 2019 by Bastet

[mmecorday]

Interesting, Bastet. I'm wondering -- are martinis made the same way in Europe? I love a good vodka martini and I like mine shaken (not stirred) with ice and then strained into a chilled martini glass. Three olives, please. 🙂

[Bastet]

29 minutes ago, mmecorday said:

Interesting, Bastet. I'm wondering -- are martinis made the same way in Europe? I love a good vodka martini and I like mine shaken (not stirred) with ice and then strained into a chilled martini glass. Three olives, please. 🙂

Well, first you have to take care when ordering a cocktail that goes by a name (e.g. martini) versus by its ingredients (e.g. gin and tonic), because it may not be known, or may mean something else, where you are. 

I'm not sure I've ever had a martini at a restaurant/bar anywhere in Europe (and I've only been to western Europe thus far), but I've had them (traditional [with gin]) at a Brit's house, and it was made similarly as it is here - mixed (whether shaken or stirred, heh) over ice, and then strained into a (non-chilled) glass. 

It's not that everything is room temperature, just that served over ice is uncommon - if not room temp, chilled (prepared over ice, refrigerated, etc.) is generally how you'll get what you think of as a traditionally cold drink, rather than on the rocks.

[fairffaxx]

17 hours ago, mmecorday said:

... I love a good vodka martini and I like mine shaken (not stirred) with ice and then strained into a chilled martini glass. Three olives, please. 🙂

Three olives sounds more like a salad than a cocktail.  A restaurant in my city used to serve martinis with two really huge olives, until someone (a consumer affairs reporter, I think) pointed out that the olives were so big they displaced most of the liquid in the glass, which saved the restaurant money but cheated the customer who was basically buying pickled olives for the high price of alcohol.  I only went there when I could charge my office expense account, so I didn't care what it cost -- those giant boozy olives were practically a meal in themselves with free French bread, they needed to be cut with a knife and eaten with a fork. 

[Bastet]

Quote

I've had a number of people tell me if they had it to do all over, they wouldn't get a front loader.  

Quote

Apparently there can be an odor problem from residue in the door.

Quote

Yeah, you have to leave the door open so it doesn't get mildewed. 

Interesting - I'm curious if this holds true for others with front-loading machines?

I have no particular interest in getting one, but when it's time to replace my (top-loading) machine, I'll research them before deciding.  But if having to leave the door open is a given, that'll check front-loaders right off my list.  That would bug me; I can see my laundry room from my kitchen, and seeing even a partially open door out of the corner of my eye would make me twitch. 

[Brattinella]

1 minute ago, Bastet said:

Interesting - I'm curious if this holds true for others with front-loading machines?

I have no particular interest in getting one, but when it's time to replace my (top-loading) machine, I'll research them before deciding.  But if having to leave the door open is a given, that'll check front-loaders right off my list.  That would bug me; I can see my laundry room from my kitchen, and seeing even a partially open door out of the corner of my eye would make me twitch. 

I'm very happy with our top-loader.  This issue with odor and leaving the door open leaves me cold.  I would be worried about critters and kidlets going in there.

[Bastet]

4 minutes ago, Brattinella said:

I would be worried about critters and kidlets going in there.

Yeah, I'd also have to check for my cat before tossing clothes in.  Even if she wasn't in there at the time, a partially-open door would, by law, require her to open it further and check out what's inside, so we'd have a constant "game" going of me shutting the door as much as I could get away with, and her coming along and opening it more, and then every time I walked into the kitchen and caught sight of it I'd be annoyed.  No thanks.

Edited August 7, 2019 by Bastet

[funky-rat]

My mom keeps hers closed.  Some of it might have to do with water.  Where we live, our water is very hard.  Water at my mom's house is not.

These are the reasons I have been given why people don't like them:

1) Controls too complicated

2) Must use HE detergent - someone had their warranty voided because they didn't notice it wasn't HE (this was a few years ago - most detergents are probably HE approved by now)

3) Frequent breakdowns - mainly the electronics

4) The height - either need a riser (sold separately) or stack them - I don't know anyone who uses them without a riser or stacked - my mom is 4'11", and she hated how short the washer was, so she stacks them

5) Odors (discussed prior)

My husband and I agreed that the next ones we get (knock wood that it's some time from now) will be upright, but with a tub that has no agitator.

[CoderLady]

I find front loaders to be no-go because I couldn't stop one to toss in a last-minute item I found under the bed after starting a load. Also because I'm a knitter who occasionally uses the washer to spin out heavier things like lap blankets or sweaters, I like being able to control how long to run the cycle. And you can't felt items in a front loader. You could but you can't easily check on how things are going until it's all over and that might just be too late.

[Bort]

Leaving the door open on a front loader doesn't bother me because my washer and dryer are in a separate room with a door that closes so nobody can see it. The salesman when I bought it tried like hell to get me to buy the matching dryer, because people like their appliances to match, but the joke was on him because I couldn't give less of a shit if my appliances match, let alone if I have to leave the door open. I liked having money more than matching appliances.

You can open the door once you've started a load. That's the thing I like the best about the front loader, it doesn't use much water. It doesn't "fill up" like a regular washer.

Also, vinegar clears up the mildew really well. I've found that dumping about a half a box of baking soda inside the machine and vinegar in the detergent dispenser works the best. 

[peacheslatour]

1 hour ago, kariyaki said:

Leaving the door open on a front loader doesn't bother me because my washer and dryer are in a separate room with a door that closes so nobody can see it. The salesman when I bought it tried like hell to get me to buy the matching dryer, because people like their appliances to match, but the joke was on him because I couldn't give less of a shit if my appliances match, let alone if I have to leave the door open. I liked having money more than matching appliances.

You can open the door once you've started a load. That's the thing I like the best about the front loader, it doesn't use much water. It doesn't "fill up" like a regular washer.

Also, vinegar clears up the mildew really well. I've found that dumping about a half a box of baking soda inside the machine and vinegar in the detergent dispenser works the best. 

It doesn't make a washer volcano?

[Bort]

8 minutes ago, peacheslatour said:

It doesn't make a washer volcano?

Nah, you only get the volcano if you mix baking soda and vinegar in a too-small space and the pressure builds. In a cavernous washing machine, it just foams up and cleans mildew. Also you're doing this as the machine runs, so the water dilutes it as well.

PS: I also clean my garbage disposal this way.

[Jynnan tonnix]

7 hours ago, funky-rat said:

My mom keeps hers closed.  Some of it might have to do with water.  Where we live, our water is very hard.  Water at my mom's house is not.

These are the reasons I have been given why people don't like them:

1) Controls too complicated

2) Must use HE detergent - someone had their warranty voided because they didn't notice it wasn't HE (this was a few years ago - most detergents are probably HE approved by now)

3) Frequent breakdowns - mainly the electronics

4) The height - either need a riser (sold separately) or stack them - I don't know anyone who uses them without a riser or stacked - my mom is 4'11", and she hated how short the washer was, so she stacks them

5) Odors (discussed prior)

My husband and I agreed that the next ones we get (knock wood that it's some time from now) will be upright, but with a tub that has no agitator.

As a military family, we moved around every two to three years for some 30 years before Mr. Jyn retired, so I've had the gamut of washers and dryers over time. The house we had just prior to this one had one of the new front-loaders with all the bells and whistles, and I have to say that I really liked it! So much so that when the aged appliances which came with our present house started acting up, we replaced them with the same type. We've had them for about three or four years now with no problem. Yes, the washer can get a bit funky-smelling if the door is closed, but I just wedge it open a crack with a washcloth or something and that seems to take care of the issue. 

We didn't get risers for them either...I don't find it an annoyingly low reach to empty the washer or dryer (I'm 5'3"). It's no lower than emptying a dishwasher, and we have a nice countertop set up right above them for folding clothes, at a good height and very convenient.

I don't find the controls any more complicated than they are on the newer top-loaders. Everything has bells, whistles, and more cycles than anyone will ever use these days anyway.

The only drawback is the aforementioned impossibility of throwing in a forgotten item after the cycle has started, but I can almost always either throw it in with another load or hand wash it and throw it in the dryer with the other stuff.

[friendperidot]

jeans vs. sweatpants from Annoy, Irritate and Outrage. I have one very warm, very old pair of sweatpants. Very comfy, but the elastic is starting to stretch and they slide down. I'd love to have more sweatpants that heavy and warm, they're great on those cold winter days. But, I want pockets. I have to carry dog bribes with me at all times to get whatever Quark has stolen out of his locked mouth. Or to get him to come in the house when he doesn't want to, sometimes to get him out of the house when he doesn't want to. And to untangle his tether from whatever he's tangled on. I hate having to tether, but he's an escape artists that takes great joy in eluding me while he runs gleefully down the street, I have a neighbor who hates pit bulls and has a gun, I don't want my dog running loose. But pockets are necessary in my life. I also have stopped carrying a purse when I do go out, I put on a bra, put my aluminum RFID blocking wallet, keys and phone in my pockets and go. Sometimes I take my Kindle and that's when I wish I had a good tote bag to take with me. 

[Brattinella]

Pockets.  @friendperidot I wear MEN'S pajama pants; they have pockets.  They also have a flap in the front that you can tack down with a stitch or two.  I have 6 pairs, black in different fabrics depending on which season it is.

[Popples]

2 minutes ago, Brattinella said:

Pockets.  @friendperidot I wear MEN'S pajama pants; they have pockets.  They also have a flap in the front that you can tack down with a stitch or two.  I have 6 pairs, black in different fabrics depending on which season it is.

I do too! I don't understand why women's pajama bottoms don't come with pockets, it drives me crazy.

These are what I wear. I have them in the blue from the link, black, and gray.

[Bastet]

I don't even need pockets in most of my pants (with jeans, occasionally, I'll put something in the pockets, but never slacks), so I definitely don't need them in my pajama bottoms or lounge pants (which is what I wear, along with a tank top [with an equal parts ugly and comfy cardigan sweater over it if it's cold], as house clothes).

I guess I don't carry much in general.  There's more stuff in my briefcase, but when I'm just carrying a purse, the only things I put in it are my wallet, keys, Chapstick, tampons if needed, and occasionally my cell phone (I usually just leave it in the car's center console, since I hardly ever use it).

Edited August 8, 2019 by Bastet

[Prevailing Wind]

My "RFID blocking" wallet is my regular wallet with some heavy-duty foil shoved into both sides. But I've discovered the slot where I keep my most-used credit card is getting loose & the card is nearly ready to slip out, even when the wallet is snapped shut. I've moved it to a different slot for now. Those Aluma Wallets don't hold enough to close properly if you put any amount of folding money in them.

[peacheslatour]

37 minutes ago, Popples said:

I do too! I don't understand why women's pajama bottoms don't come with pockets, it drives me crazy.

These are what I wear. I have them in the blue from the link, black, and gray.

Those are like the ones my DH wears. They also have pockets but his are too short for me to ahem, "borrow:.

[Brattinella]

1 hour ago, Popples said:

I do too! I don't understand why women's pajama bottoms don't come with pockets, it drives me crazy.

These are what I wear. I have them in the blue from the link, black, and gray.

Yep, mine are very similar to those.  I think the clothing manufacturers don't put pockets in women's clothes because that would "ruin the line" (make unsightly bulges).

[Bastet]

Just now, Brattinella said:

I think the clothing manufacturers don't put pockets in women's clothes because that would "ruin the line" (make unsightly bulges).

That's why I am very particular about pockets in pants.  I don't care about lounge around the house pants, of course, although since I don't need pockets I do still prefer those without, but with slacks I reject quite a few styles because of pockets I don't think sit well.

[Bort]

24 minutes ago, Brattinella said:

Yep, mine are very similar to those.  I think the clothing manufacturers don't put pockets in women's clothes because that would "ruin the line" (make unsightly bulges).

Regular pants, I get it, but pajama pants? Nobody in my household (because that's all who sees them) cares about the tailoring line.

[SoMuchTV]

4 hours ago, Bastet said:

I don't even need pockets in most of my pants (with jeans, occasionally, I'll put something in the pockets, but never slacks), so I definitely don't need them in my pajama bottoms or lounge pants (which is what I wear, along with a tank top [with an equal parts ugly and comfy cardigan sweater over it if it's cold], as house clothes).

Don’t need stuff in your sweatpant pockets? A-hem? My chapstick? My tissue? My phone in case a kid texts or I need to look something up? Who’s gonna walk all the way over to the purse or briefcase for that? What, am I old? I’m not old!