Random Thoughts

[I-57/Route 66 Fan]

Imagine complaining about something your town has.

Other than the usual suspects of data centers, flock cameras, and Buc-ee's.

I do complain about data centers, I don't know what flock cameras are, and who in the right mind would complain about a Buc-ee's. (Says the same person who is complaining about the QuikTrip they are putting in Kankakee, I'm sorry they have to much truck stops by Exit 308.)

Lots of people can complain about Buc-ee's.  Here is a relative small sample just from our page:

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=pfbid034BQN17D1q6f63BegY4rU3cyvc2XRRAm7ciwmZD4Ks6kfDpsWzfVjpEESsKooL4cKl&id=100063655972258&mibextid=wwXIfr

Not everyone wants to be a shill for a litigious beaver.

I knew about the lawsuits but, people not affiliated with those small businesses complaining about a Buc-ee's is like going to Burger King and complaining about getting your Whopper your way

Last I checked there is only one road hobby regular espousing the virtues of Burger King.  Beaver brand has a whole dedicated thread on this forum for some reason.

Am I in a losing argument here?

[Max Rockatansky]

Imagine complaining about something your town has.

Other than the usual suspects of data centers, flock cameras, and Buc-ee's.

I do complain about data centers, I don't know what flock cameras are, and who in the right mind would complain about a Buc-ee's. (Says the same person who is complaining about the QuikTrip they are putting in Kankakee, I'm sorry they have to much truck stops by Exit 308.)

Lots of people can complain about Buc-ee's.  Here is a relative small sample just from our page:

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=pfbid034BQN17D1q6f63BegY4rU3cyvc2XRRAm7ciwmZD4Ks6kfDpsWzfVjpEESsKooL4cKl&id=100063655972258&mibextid=wwXIfr

Not everyone wants to be a shill for a litigious beaver.

I knew about the lawsuits but, people not affiliated with those small businesses complaining about a Buc-ee's is like going to Burger King and complaining about getting your Whopper your way

Last I checked there is only one road hobby regular espousing the virtues of Burger King.  Beaver brand has a whole dedicated thread on this forum for some reason.

Am I in a losing argument here?

Sure

[I-57/Route 66 Fan]

- Which U.S. state has the lowest population per capita?

Maybe Alaska?

[JayhawkCO]

- Which U.S. state has the lowest population per capita?

Maybe Alaska?

Nah. Theirs is at least 1.

[kphoger]

Frankfort, Manhattan, Elwood, or Monee.

Those 4 cities are exurbs because of Pace coverage.

You don't seem to know what an exurb is.

Defining things by Pace bus coverage is ridiculous.  Frankfort would be an exurb but Joliet—farther away—would be a suburb?  Or West Chicago would be an exurb, but Elgin—farther away—would be a suburb.  Or North Barrington and McHenry.

[kphoger]

- Which U.S. state has the lowest population per capita?

Maybe Alaska?

Nah. There's is at least 1.

This guy gets it.

[I-57/Route 66 Fan]

Frankfort, Manhattan, Elwood, or Monee.

Those 4 cities are exurbs because of Pace coverage.

You don't seem to know what an exurb is.

I guess I don't

[gonealookin]

Logan is a Provo exurb, which sorta counts.

You don't seem to know what an exurb is.

I guess I don't

I was scratching my head a bit about the Logan/Provo comment, thinking maybe it was some comment about college community culture in Utah.  Because it certainly isn't valid geographically.

But that last exchange explains it for me.

[kphoger]

I was scratching my head a bit about the Logan/Provo comment, thinking maybe it was some comment about college community culture in Utah.  Because it certainly isn't valid geographically.

But that last exchange explains it for me.

What, 130 miles between them, with a major city in between, threw you off? 

[JayhawkCO]

- Which U.S. state has the lowest population per capita?

Maybe Alaska?

Nah. There's is at least 1.

This guy gets it.

I get it, but somehow still made a typo. I'm a very auditory writer when I'm multi-tasking and going quickly. I know the grammatical difference, obviously, between the "there"s, but muscle memory sometimes picks the wrong one.

[kphoger]

I get it, but somehow still made a typo. I'm a very auditory writer when I'm multi-tasking and going quickly. I know the grammatical difference, obviously, between the "there"s, but muscle memory sometimes picks the wrong one.

Eye wood knot worry about it if I where ewe.

[Scott5114]

Crumbl is headquartered in Utah, closes on Sundays, and has hired former Chick-Fil-A executives. I think I'll keep my wallet closed, thanks.

[kphoger]

Crumbl is headquartered in Utah, closes on Sundays, and has hired former Chick-Fil-A executives. I think I'll keep my wallet closed, thanks.

But co-founder Sawyer Hemsley is gay, so it's OK.
[/sarcasm]

[kkt]

So why are signatures on the back of the card no longer a thing?

I just got a new credit card about three weeks ago and it does have a place where I signed on the back.

[kkt]

Some machines are wonky enough about properly handling customer-supplied bags that it actually is faster to just scan them all and put them on the scale unbagged and then bag them after the transaction is done, so as to avoid the dreaded "unexpected item in bagging area"→"please place item in the bagging area"→"unexpected item in bagging area"→"please place item in the bagging area"→"approval needed" pipeline.

Many around NY will ask "did you add a bag?" because of that - then it knows to add the weight of the bag to the expected total for the weight.  Otherwise, the weight will be off, and you get stuck where you'll be either over or under no matter what you do.  Unfortunately, they often forget to ask unless you add your bags at a very specific time - and customers might just scan something while the prompt is up, dismissing it without indicating that a bag was added.

I go to the remaining cashiered checkout lines.  That way I can watch and check the prices on the screen, and more important a computer isn't yelling at me because it doesn't understand what's a bag and what isn't.

[kkt]

Who can forget the days of landline phones, when to contact a loved one one had to actually dial □ □ □ - □ □ □ □.

For a good time call 867-5309

Hi, Jenny?

[Scott5114]

Who can forget the days of landline phones, when to contact a loved one one had to actually dial □ □ □ - □ □ □ □.

For a good time call 867-5309

Hi, Jenny?

The joke here, which I think nobody got, is that in the AI image that spurred my original comment, the phone buttons didn't have numbers on them, just squares.

[kphoger]

Every so often, I'll plug airports and random dates into Travelocity, just to have some sort of idea what ticket prices are doing.  This morning, I did this search shown below.

I feel really bad for anyone who needs to travel on October 9.

[I-57/Route 66 Fan]

I wish YouTube would let you merge playlists.

[vdeane]

I go to the remaining cashiered checkout lines.  That way I can watch and check the prices on the screen, and more important a computer isn't yelling at me because it doesn't understand what's a bag and what isn't.

The self checkout systems I'm familiar with do show item prices and the total.  I also tend not to have bag problems as much as most, but then, I'm familiar with the quirks of the systems used at the two main grocery store chains I frequent.

[1995hoo]

I would rather use the self-checkout, but most of the time I have too many items. Even if I were inclined to ignore the "20 items or fewer" sign, I'd still run into problems because there wouldn't be enough space in the bagging area for everything I'm buying. Or if I'm buying beer or wine it may delay things because of the need for an employee to verify that I'm over 21.

[ZLoth]

From CBS News (dated March, 2026):

United Airlines can now boot passengers who refuse to use headphones with their devices

United Airlines is taking steps to limit noise in its planes' cabins, while still allowing travelers to use their personal electronic devices.

United amended its so-called contract of carriage, which outlines the carrier's rules and policies, to require that all passengers wear headphones when listening to a device. The airline also said it reserves the right to remove anyone who doesn't comply with the new rules and potentially ban them from flying on United in the future.

Any passenger listening to music, watching a video or scrolling a social media feed that emits sound must wear headphones, states the revised contract of carriage, which United quietly updated on Friday.

The carrier also may "refuse transport, on a permanent basis," to any passengers who "fail to use headphones while listening to audio or video content," according to the airline's new rules.

FULL ARTICLE HERE

From The Travel:

United Airlines Applauded For Enforcing Rule 21: Refusal Of Transport For Failure To Use Headphones On Flight 1488

United Airlines enforced its popular headphones policy against an unruly passenger this past Wednesday. On February 27, 2026, United's headphones rule was officially updated in Rule 21 of its contract of carriage.

FULL ARTICLE HERE

It's a sad shape of society when something that should be common courtesy ends up having to be codified as part of a code of conduct. Airline travel is annoying enough as it is.

[Max Rockatansky]

Meh, planes are just a bus ride in the sky.  There isn't much aside from buying a private plane that is going to make a more grandiose experience.  Random kids screaming will always be far worse than ambient noise coming from electronics.

[kphoger]

Meh, planes are just a bus ride in the sky.  There isn't much aside from buying a private plane that is going to make a more grandiose experience.  Random kids screaming will always be far worse than ambient noise coming from electronics.

Typically, the clientele is a fair bit classier on an airplane than on a Greyhound bus.

[Max Rockatansky]

Meh, planes are just a bus ride in the sky.  There isn't much aside from buying a private plane that is going to make a more grandiose experience.  Random kids screaming will always be far worse than ambient noise coming from electronics.

Typically, the clientele is a fair bit classier on an airplane than on a Greyhound bus.

I've never found there to be much variance in modern times.  Back when I was younger I recall some people still wearing suits or getting dressed up for a flight.