Random Thoughts

[hotdogPi]

I checked a pay phone about three years ago to see if it was still working by trying to call 1800-FLOWERS. It was active, but the 8 key was hard to press and I couldn't get the 9 key to press at all. The local area code is 978.

[JayhawkCO]

The last time I can remember was in Rome in 2009. Called my ex-girlfriend asking her to look up directions to the homestay that I was staying at since I couldn't find the place and none of the taxi drivers had heard of it.

[1995hoo]

I've never listened to an 8-track. My wife has a few of them in a drawer upstairs, but we don't have a player in the house. We do have a way to play them if we wanted, though—she has an old stereo unit with an 8-track player and we store it in my mom's basement.

I do have a cassette deck as part of the main stereo downstairs. It's a somewhat unique design in that a drawer opens, like on a CD player, and you place the cassette in the drawer. Haven't used it in a few years, though.

[Rothman]

An interesting question would be, when was the last time you used a payphone?

So long ago that I do not remember.

[Max Rockatansky]

I used a couple quarters at the Caltrans rest area pay phone on CA 99 approaching CA 165 to call myself in 2017.  As far as I know all said pay phone still works.

[1995hoo]

I'm thinking the last time I used a pay phone was probably the last time I was at the federal courthouse in Alexandria, Virginia. They strictly prohibit bringing in mobile phones, so there are pay phones in the building. (The Chinese restaurant across the street will hold a mobile phone for $5 if someone forgets. I think they make more money holding phones than they do selling food.)

[kphoger]

I'm thinking the last time I used a pay phone was probably the last time I was at the federal courthouse in Alexandria, Virginia.

I was curious to know when, not where... 

[Roadgeekteen]

An interesting question would be, when was the last time you used a payphone?

Mine would have been in 2006, during our honeymoon in Mexico, when I helped my wife use a calling card to call her mom from an outdoor payphone.  Oh, hey, look:  even though the nearby resort was already closed at the time of the 2015 GSV shot, it hadn't been demolished yet, and you can still see the payphone:  https://maps.app.goo.gl/uktq3ewnk93kx9tU8

As for a domestic call, the last time would have been in approximately 2001–2002, when I used an outdoor payphone near my apartment in Carol Stream, IL.

Never lol. Unsure if I've ever seen a working one (I probably have).

[formulanone]

Image seems to have disappeared.

Which one of these is not like the other?

Also, Taco Bell isn't that cheap if you want to get full and eat anything other than bean burritos.

Papacito's is very overrated and bland. Would put that in the last square, although it wasn't "bad", just didn't live up to the hype for about $25/person.

Then again, I think I'm the only one in the universe that's never had a terrible Taco Bell experience (considering its price point and tales of after-dining afflictions), though the dine-in wait times have increased significantly in the last few years.

[Max Rockatansky]

I don't recall ever having a stomach affliction from Taco Bell food.  People say that like it is a truism but I've rarely actual documented personal accounts of it being a common thing.

[JayhawkCO]

I don't recall ever having a stomach affliction from Taco Bell food.  People say that like it is a truism but I've rarely actual documented personal accounts of it being a common thing.

I think more often than not, people are eating it late night after some beverages. That never leads to the most beneficial stomach situations.

[Max Rockatansky]

I don't recall ever having a stomach affliction from Taco Bell food.  People say that like it is a truism but I've rarely actual documented personal accounts of it being a common thing.

I think more often than not, people are eating it late night after some beverages. That never leads to the most beneficial stomach situations.

Dumping (pun intended) booze onto anything tends to induce stomach issues.  There really anything special with Taco Bell food that would cause that unless someone went crazy making things inordinately spicy.

[formulanone]

Ah, just thought of Rainforest Café. Take your kids there once, if they ask...food is expensive and tastes very mid/blah. After the kids eat half their meal and you probably don't want the rest of yours, there's a gift shop stroll awaiting your wallet after the meal.

Hopefully they're also not afraid of the dark, have sensory issues, and fear simulated thunder.

[Rothman]

Ah, just thought of Rainforest Café. Take your kids there once, if they ask...food is expensive and tastes very mid/blah. After the kids eat half their meal and you probably don't want the rest of yours, there's a gift shop stroll awaiting your wallet after the meal.

Hopefully they're also not afraid of the dark, have sensory issues, and fear simulated thunder.

Rainforest Cafe is still around?

[Scott5114]

There are plenty of Mexican and Tex-Mex places wherever I go in Texas. Of course, I prefer the sit-down over the fast food.

Of course, this whole Taco Hell / McDonalds / Applebees / Five Guys / Dennys / KFC / etc is why I prefer to dine at a local (or local chain) restaurant verses a national / regional chain restaurant. As stated multiple times previously, when I travel, I make it a point to avoid restaurants chains which have locations in the DFW area in favor of local favorites.

I actually miss Tex-Mex. While the Mexican food in LV is very good, I have yet to find one with that ubiquitous staple of Tex-Mex: bringing out a thing of tortilla chips with queso dip as an appetizer. That is considered such a foreign practice here that if you ask for it, the server gets a deer in the headlights look and has to ask a few questions to figure out what the hell you're talking about.

[Scott5114]

An interesting question would be, when was the last time you used a payphone?

I can't remember ever using one; by the time I was able to travel out of the house without my parents, I had a cell phone. But they are very familiar, because lots of places had them when I was a kid, so sometimes I'd wander off from my parents and do stuff like press the buttons and check the coin returns. I can still remember the tactile sensations of the heavy receiver, the metal-covered cord, the buttons, and the way the coin return clicked back into place after you opened it.

The last time I can remember interacting with a payphone was at the first casino I worked at having them, around 2010 or so; I remember having to bring patrons to the payphones when they needed to use a phone. Eventually, they got such little use that it was easier to get rid of them and just let people needing to use the phone use the one at Guest Services.

[Molandfreak]

An interesting question would be, when was the last time you used a payphone?

2023 at the Saskatchewan River Crossing in Banff National Park. No, I didn't need to make a call, but it was a good opportunity to give friends and family a trip update from a remote area.

[kkt]

I don't recall ever having a stomach affliction from Taco Bell food.  People say that like it is a truism but I've rarely actual documented personal accounts of it being a common thing.

Yes, it would be hard to sort out effects of the food vs. effects of the alcohol and other drugs.

Last use of pay phone was about 2018.  I was in SeaTac Airport on my way back from a long trip and my cell phone had died, and the payment on my credit card was due that day.  I knew I would collapse in bed as soon as I got home, so I made the payment by phone from the airport.

[D-Dey65]

I was checking out SunRail's website, specifically the section regarding payments, including with the SunCard. Next to the section on transfers between SunRail and either Lynx or VoTran buses (no Citrus Connection buses, surprisingly), they have a picture of a purple Lynx bus with a bike on the front rack. The bus is probably a Gillig Low Floor BRT, but when I saw the bike, I thought it had a cool taillight configuration there. Upon a closer examination, I realized this wasn't a taillight at all, but a cover on the bike rack with red flowers painted on it.
https://sunrail.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/Horizontal_Image_0002s_0000_Buses_11_30181.jpg
I almost thought there was a possibility that this post might belong in the "Minor things that bother you" thread, but you have to admit, it's not bad enough even for that.

[D-Dey65]

An interesting question would be, when was the last time you used a payphone?

Well, I know that whenever it happened, it was within the 21st Century. This wasn't one of those moments I attached a landmark date to from memory. I didn't see the technology of the past 30 years and openly vow that I would never use a payphone for as long as I lived. Because I was always convinced that at some point I'd have to use one again. Fat chance of that now.

[TheHighwayMan3561]

Ah, just thought of Rainforest Café. Take your kids there once, if they ask...food is expensive and tastes very mid/blah. After the kids eat half their meal and you probably don't want the rest of yours, there's a gift shop stroll awaiting your wallet after the meal.

Hopefully they're also not afraid of the dark, have sensory issues, and fear simulated thunder.

Rainforest Cafe is still around?

Still going strong at Mall of America. Never eaten there. Never wanted to.