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Post by toshtego on Jun 3, 2023 7:21:17 GMT -5
Since they are all in their 40s that is unlikely. It is not unusual for young people to forget about the older folks at this point in their busy lives. It is always nice to families remain close but ours did not, spread out from California to Georgia and North Carolina.
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Post by toshtego on Jun 3, 2023 7:26:03 GMT -5
This reminds me, do or have any of you own[ed] one of those patio umbrellas? You know, the 8-12-footers that you fill the base with sand? I could use some shade on my patio, and I've been eyeing those, but they ain't cheap and I don't know how well they hold up. Can you put up a sun sail? I have one that's going strong after 2 years. 10x16 feet of shade. Those can be very helpful when placed right and installed correctly. I had one about 30 feet by 25 feet mounted between the barn shed addition and the tool shed/workshop. That area is connected with a concrete slab. The barn and shed sidings are light painted steel. In summer, that area becomes a solar oven with the reflected ultra violet and infrared radiation from El Sol. Sun shade cloth really improved working conditions below.
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Post by sperrytops on Jun 3, 2023 11:24:31 GMT -5
Umbrella bases are made of artificial granite now. Much neater and less bother than working with those old sand things.
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Post by trailboss on Jun 3, 2023 11:28:59 GMT -5
Copied from a Facebook post, I couldn’t agree more.
DEAR HOME DEPOT AND ALL OTHER STORES THAT HAVE SELF CHECKOUT!
You are heading towards almost exclusively self-checkout now. Yesterday I was at Walmart , the lady checking receipts at the exit was stopping everyone. I didn't choose to participate in that nonsense, I had already filled my cart, emptied my cart and scanned the items, refilled my cart and so I just skipped the exit line and left. I heard her saying "umm - Excuse me “ as I kept walking and raised the receipt above my head, leaving the store. You can either trust me to do self-checkout, or you can put your cashiers back in place like it used to be. • I'm not interested in proving that I did your job for you. • If you want me to be a cashier with no training then that's your problem not mine. • Keep employing young people and give them job opportunities. YOU DON'T PAY ME TO SCAN MY OWN SHOPPING. YOU DON’T GIVE ME STAFF DISCOUNT FOR WORKING FOR YOU.
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Post by oldcajun123 on Jun 3, 2023 11:29:02 GMT -5
If you have an Ollie’s or Dirt Cheap store , wife bought a couple awnings real cheap!
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Post by trailboss on Jun 3, 2023 11:31:56 GMT -5
At my local grocery store, I always try to go through the line of a cashier, and prefer to do so… sometimes I say “uncle” when getting a few items and they seemingly purposely underman the registers, then I head to self checkout.
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Post by Plainsman on Jun 3, 2023 11:34:53 GMT -5
Copied from a Facebook post, I couldn’t agree more. DEAR HOME DEPOT AND ALL OTHER STORES THAT HAVE SELF CHECKOUT! You are heading towards almost exclusively self-checkout now. Yesterday I was at Walmart , the lady checking receipts at the exit was stopping everyone. I didn't choose to participate in that nonsense, I had already filled my cart, emptied my cart and scanned the items, refilled my cart and so I just skipped the exit line and left. I heard her saying "umm - Excuse me “ as I kept walking and raised the receipt above my head, leaving the store. You can either trust me to do self-checkout, or you can put your cashiers back in place like it used to be. • I'm not interested in proving that I did your job for you. • If you want me to be a cashier with no training then that's your problem not mine. • Keep employing young people and give them job opportunities. YOU DON'T PAY ME TO SCAN MY OWN SHOPPING. YOU DON’T GIVE ME STAFF DISCOUNT FOR WORKING FOR YOU. They’re training us to do their work for them. I refuse. Their main training tool is too few check-out lines and not responding with extra check-out people. New tech may allow scanning a whole cart of stuff without removing them. Then they could stop providing bags either. After all, the Waltons need the money.
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Post by Plainsman on Jun 3, 2023 13:00:11 GMT -5
The grocery store of the future will be humanless, save for a token security crew. You can’t get in without scanning your card, any credit card will do but they will offer a slight discount for using theirs. The card will release a cart and let you in. The cart will have a robot checker unit that records every item you put in it. The checkout will simply be a larger scanner that checks to be sure the robot got everything. Once unloaded the cart must be returned or an exorbitant “cost” will be charged to your account. I give this MAYBE 10 years.
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Post by urbino on Jun 3, 2023 13:12:34 GMT -5
Thanks for all the shade suggestions. The umbrellas I'm seeing still have bases you fill with sand. I'll look into the sun sail.
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Post by toshtego on Jun 3, 2023 13:53:05 GMT -5
This morning was Community Clean-Up Day in our village of 180 or so. Up and down roads on my ATV with a HD Trash Bag and a picker upper thing. Found a large bottle of Heineken among all the Bud cans and liquor Shooter bottles. It was flat, drat!
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Post by urbino on Jun 3, 2023 15:01:25 GMT -5
Don't think a sun sail will work. Nothing to attach it to on the side away from the house, and I'm not really inclined to anchor a couple of posts.
Oh, and I succeeded in getting a haircut today.
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Post by Ronv69 on Jun 3, 2023 15:19:35 GMT -5
Can you put up a sun sail? I have one that's going strong after 2 years. 10x16 feet of shade. Those can be very helpful when placed right and installed correctly. I had one about 30 feet by 25 feet mounted between the barn shed addition and the tool shed/workshop. That area is connected with a concrete slab. The barn and shed sidings are light painted steel. In summer, that area becomes a solar oven with the reflected ultra violet and infrared radiation from El Sol. Sun shade cloth really improved working conditions below. Mines between the barn and the carport. It was a job getting tension on it, but it doesn't sag in heavy weather. Coolaroo fabric is the best.
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Post by Ronv69 on Jun 3, 2023 15:21:16 GMT -5
Don't think a sun sail will work. Nothing to attach it to on the side away from the house, and I'm not really inclined to anchor a couple of posts. Oh, and I succeeded in getting a haircut today. Congrats. I've been failing at that task for 6 weeks.
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Post by Ronv69 on Jun 3, 2023 15:29:01 GMT -5
Copied from a Facebook post, I couldn’t agree more. DEAR HOME DEPOT AND ALL OTHER STORES THAT HAVE SELF CHECKOUT! You are heading towards almost exclusively self-checkout now. Yesterday I was at Walmart , the lady checking receipts at the exit was stopping everyone. I didn't choose to participate in that nonsense, I had already filled my cart, emptied my cart and scanned the items, refilled my cart and so I just skipped the exit line and left. I heard her saying "umm - Excuse me “ as I kept walking and raised the receipt above my head, leaving the store. You can either trust me to do self-checkout, or you can put your cashiers back in place like it used to be. • I'm not interested in proving that I did your job for you. • If you want me to be a cashier with no training then that's your problem not mine. • Keep employing young people and give them job opportunities. YOU DON'T PAY ME TO SCAN MY OWN SHOPPING. YOU DON’T GIVE ME STAFF DISCOUNT FOR WORKING FOR YOU. I agree. I have to go an extra 15 minutes to get to a HD or Lowe's with full service. In Mt Pleasant, they will even load your purchases for you. In Marshall they don't seem to care if you just walk out.
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Post by johnlawitzke on Jun 3, 2023 20:45:59 GMT -5
Those can be very helpful when placed right and installed correctly. I had one about 30 feet by 25 feet mounted between the barn shed addition and the tool shed/workshop. That area is connected with a concrete slab. The barn and shed sidings are light painted steel. In summer, that area becomes a solar oven with the reflected ultra violet and infrared radiation from El Sol. Sun shade cloth really improved working conditions below. Mines between the barn and the carport. It was a job getting tension on it, but it doesn't sag in heavy weather. Coolaroo fabric is the best. You also don’t get a snow load on it.
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Post by Ronv69 on Jun 3, 2023 20:52:16 GMT -5
Mines between the barn and the carport. It was a job getting tension on it, but it doesn't sag in heavy weather. Coolaroo fabric is the best. You also don’t get a snow load on it. True. Almost exactly the same amount as Memphis. 😉 It did accumulate a decent coating of ice this winter. I was watching in case I had to cut it down. I figured it had about 200-300 pounds on it from poking it with a rake and it wasn't close to giving way.
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Post by Ronv69 on Jun 3, 2023 21:06:49 GMT -5
Got up to 91 today before a nice cooling rain dropped the temperature 20 degrees. All in all a nice day.
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Post by toshtego on Jun 3, 2023 21:15:08 GMT -5
Got up to 91 today before a nice cooling rain dropped the temperature 20 degrees. All in all a nice day. Getting cold here this evening. I might build a fire in the wood stove.
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Post by roadsdiverged on Jun 3, 2023 21:18:55 GMT -5
Still alive and kicking!
Usually my absence is because I'm in a bad head space. Not this time. Business took off like crazy. I got hooked up with one of the big real estate agency's here and they send me TONS of work. Another lady is from Tennessee and owns about a dozen rental properties here. Shes fixing them up 1 by 1, and guess who got ALL of that work? Add that to my own clients/customers, referrals from them, Facebook, and even some referrals from old bosses, and I'm just swamped. I've reached the point where I had to make a decision. Hire some help, or cut out some of the work. Hiring someone isn't an option for me, so I raised my prices. That didn't work. I tell people I'm at least 2 months out, which I am, and that didn't work. So I just stack it up and tell them it's going to be a while. I contact the "waiters" once a week and give them an update on my time frame, and they're all happy. Now, on bigger jobs I take a few days off every 2 weeks to knock out the small ones. It's working so far. And I'm not killing myself with crazy long days. But doing the labor, the book keeping, the secretary work, the estimates, and everything, plus dealing with the divorce, eats up most of my time.
Honesty, communication, and quality have got me a long way.
It's worked out though. I havent missed 1 appointment for the kids, for the first time, in a very long time, Im not stressing about bills, and even with everything going on, I'm in a great place mentally.
Court is Tuesday, so that mental state is either going to drastically improve, or tank. Id have a better idea of what to expect if my lawyer actually communicated with me. Tuesday could very well be the last time he gets anymore billable hours from me.
I hope everyone is well.
It's finally time for a pipe, it's been a while.
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Post by urbino on Jun 3, 2023 21:34:21 GMT -5
That sounds awesome, Josh (mostly)!
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Post by trailboss on Jun 3, 2023 21:40:42 GMT -5
Sounds good, Josh.
Life is indeed complicated, but you come across as a wise captain navigating choppy waters...keep on, keepin' on...you are dong well.
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Post by johnlawitzke on Jun 3, 2023 21:44:17 GMT -5
Still alive and kicking! Usually my absence is because I'm in a bad head space. Not this time. Business took off like crazy. I got hooked up with one of the big real estate agency's here and they send me TONS of work. Another lady is from Tennessee and owns about a dozen rental properties here. Shes fixing them up 1 by 1, and guess who got ALL of that work? Add that to my own clients/customers, referrals from them, Facebook, and even some referrals from old bosses, and I'm just swamped. I've reached the point where I had to make a decision. Hire some help, or cut out some of the work. Hiring someone isn't an option for me, so I raised my prices. That didn't work. I tell people I'm at least 2 months out, which I am, and that didn't work. So I just stack it up and tell them it's going to be a while. I contact the "waiters" once a week and give them an update on my time frame, and they're all happy. Now, on bigger jobs I take a few days off every 2 weeks to knock out the small ones. It's working so far. And I'm not killing myself with crazy long days. But doing the labor, the book keeping, the secretary work, the estimates, and everything, plus dealing with the divorce, eats up most of my time. Honesty, communication, and quality have got me a long way. It's worked out though. I havent missed 1 appointment for the kids, for the first time, in a very long time, Im not stressing about bills, and even with everything going on, I'm in a great place mentally. Court is Tuesday, so that mental state is either going to drastically improve, or tank. Id have a better idea of what to expect if my lawyer actually communicated with me. Tuesday could very well be the last time he gets anymore billable hours from me. I hope everyone is well. It's finally time for a pipe, it's been a while. Good to see you here! I’m even happier that life is going good for you! Good luck Tuesday!
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Post by oldcajun123 on Jun 3, 2023 23:28:25 GMT -5
Knew you had it in you, by the way you take care of your kids. You Da Man!
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Post by roadsdiverged on Jun 4, 2023 6:38:36 GMT -5
They're well taken care of Brad They're the reason for every decisions I've made. We played outside until the point of exhaustion yesterday. They were snoring before the sun went down. My idea of parenting isn't plopping them in front of the TV and sitting on my phone all day. Also, I've talked to Nick a few times while he's been at boot camp. He calls his mom weekly, wh9ch is perfectly OK by me. He's doing great and he's loving it. He hurt his ankle early on and was worried he was going to get recycled, but he toughed it out and pulled through. He had terrible times on everything, but he passed. When they redid everything he crushed his old times. I talked to him briefly yesterday and he got his patches. Ben took Nick's place at work when I need help. He's moving to a different school this year so he can graduate early. Haley is still killing it in college and helps babysit the little ones when I need her to. For not being a "blood" sister, you wouldn't know it. My little ones love her to death and get excited when I tell them they're going to see her. The 6 of us even made a trip to the beach a month or so ago. I love my family
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Post by taiguy66 on Jun 4, 2023 8:06:42 GMT -5
Copied from a Facebook post, I couldn’t agree more. DEAR HOME DEPOT AND ALL OTHER STORES THAT HAVE SELF CHECKOUT! You are heading towards almost exclusively self-checkout now. Yesterday I was at Walmart , the lady checking receipts at the exit was stopping everyone. I didn't choose to participate in that nonsense, I had already filled my cart, emptied my cart and scanned the items, refilled my cart and so I just skipped the exit line and left. I heard her saying "umm - Excuse me “ as I kept walking and raised the receipt above my head, leaving the store. You can either trust me to do self-checkout, or you can put your cashiers back in place like it used to be. • I'm not interested in proving that I did your job for you. • If you want me to be a cashier with no training then that's your problem not mine. • Keep employing young people and give them job opportunities. YOU DON'T PAY ME TO SCAN MY OWN SHOPPING. YOU DON’T GIVE ME STAFF DISCOUNT FOR WORKING FOR YOU. Well said indeed. 😂😂😂👍
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Post by taiguy66 on Jun 4, 2023 8:08:05 GMT -5
They're well taken care of Brad They're the reason for every decisions I've made. We played outside until the point of exhaustion yesterday. They were snoring before the sun went down. My idea of parenting isn't plopping them in front of the TV and sitting on my phone all day. Also, I've talked to Nick a few times while he's been at boot camp. He calls his mom weekly, wh9ch is perfectly OK by me. He's doing great and he's loving it. He hurt his ankle early on and was worried he was going to get recycled, but he toughed it out and pulled through. He had terrible times on everything, but he passed. When they redid everything he crushed his old times. I talked to him briefly yesterday and he got his patches. Ben took Nick's place at work when I need help. He's moving to a different school this year so he can graduate early. Haley is still killing it in college and helps babysit the little ones when I need her to. For not being a "blood" sister, you wouldn't know it. My little ones love her to death and get excited when I tell them they're going to see her. The 6 of us even made a trip to the beach a month or so ago. I love my family It doesn’t get any better than that bro! 👍
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Post by taiguy66 on Jun 4, 2023 8:13:11 GMT -5
Got home just after midnight from Houston. Our 4 hr layover ended up being almost 5.5 hrs due to delays. Glad to be home. 🤗
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Post by Plainsman on Jun 4, 2023 8:34:02 GMT -5
Josh— So glad to hear that things are going well for you. It made my day.
You don’t need any advice, obviously, about being a successful small businessman. You’ve got the wrinkle on COMMUNICATION which is key IMO. I see small contractors here fail because they do not communicate. I’ve fired several because they wont keep me posted on schedules and don’t return calls. SO important.
Funny story: Steichen, the famous early 20th century photographer, had a portrait studio in NYC. He was so successful that he found he had no time for the work he really wanted to do. He decided to to double his rates in order to cut back on the work. But when he did that his work doubled! Go figure.
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Post by coalsmoke on Jun 4, 2023 8:57:30 GMT -5
Well done, Josh! Businesses start to fail the minute they don't understand what customer service means to their clients. Follow up calls are most important as you know. Your love and devotion to your family is not only admirable, but it gives your kids the strong sense of stability and safety. Keep it up and everything else will fall into place.
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Post by toshtego on Jun 4, 2023 10:08:11 GMT -5
Good to "hear" from you, Josh.
good luck on Tuesday.
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