The "Whatever" Thread

mqqn said:
Interestingly, I called John last week to catch up and after the chat, I pulled out my duffel bag full of JK knives.
Lots of great knives in there and stories to go with them.

I tried to call @jds1 , but perhaps he remembers me too well from the old gatherings up in Michigan.....oh well, nobody kills a gallon of 80 proof liquor and doesn't do some kind of fire dance, right @JK Knives ?

I would be very willing to drive up or over or whatever for a gathering - we could call it the greybeard association or something.

I promise I won't try to set the county record for alcohol consumption... :]

best

mqqn
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Who wouldn't want to smash some corn liquor and do a fire dance. My kinda party.
 
I wonder when or if the workforce in our country will return to any semblance of normal. I live in a small town and every restaurant and fast food place has been affected by the shortage of people who want to work. On our vacation in July we did not get to eat at several of our favorite restaurants because they were either operating reduced hours or lacked the employees to serve anyone in a timely manner.
We drove an hour Saturday to do a little shopping and go out to eat. The restaurant was nearly deserted and the hostess told us it would be a 45 minute wait. I guess she could read the look on my face and she apologized. She said they had 1 chef and 2 servers.
We stopped by a pet store to get Thomas a couple fish. There was a sign on the door saying the aquatics dept was closed due to lack of employees. We walked in and I asked the lady at the register if someone could get us a couple of fish. When she said no I asked to speak with the manager. She told me I was that she was sorry but there was only one other person working in the store. That was the groomer.
On the way home I stopped to get a couple propane tanks filled. I went in and told the cashier I needed to get propane. She said not today because she was the only one working.
I don't understand. I've been working since I was 18 and the only times I wasn't working I was either going to school or actively looking for work. The super market near my son's home has had a help wanted sign out front since spring. They are offering a signing bonus and $15/hour for part time help.
 
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fishiker said:
I wonder when or if the workforce in our country will return to any semblance of normal. I live in a small town and every restaurant and fast food place has been affected by the shortage of people who want to work. On our vacation in July we did not get to eat at several of our favorite restaurants because they were either operating reduced hours or lacked the employees to serve anyone in a timely manner.
We drove an hour Saturday to do a little shopping and go out to eat. The restaurant was nearly deserted and the hostess told us it would be a 45 minute wait. I guess she could read the look on my face and she apologized. She said they had 1 chef and 2 servers.
We stopped by a pet store to get Thomas a couple fish. There was a sign on the door saying the aquatics dept was closed due to lack of employees. We walked in and I asked the lady at the register if someone could get us a couple of fish. When she said no I asked to speak with the manager. She told me I was that she was sorry but there was only one other person working in the store. That was the groomer.
On the way home I stopped to get a couple propane tanks filled. I went in and told the cashier I needed to get propane. She said not today because she was the only one working.
I don't understand. I've been working since I was 18 and the only times I wasn't working I was either going to school or actively looking for work. The super market near my son's home has had a help wanted sign out front since spring. They are offering a signing bonus and $15/hour for part time help.
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I agree.... These are weird times.

I'm seeing the Same struggles here.
Where I work, it's so difficult to find warm bodies, they keep raising their starting pay......... Management looked at me funny when I grumbled, as I explained that as I see it...... its as if I Just took a six thousand dollar a year pay cut. Since my pay stays the same.

I wonder if That's the plan??? Soon we will be BEGGING for refugees and illegals.
To fill the jobs nobody wants.
Boomers are retiring, taking the higher standard of living with them.
What is going to happen? What's going to be left?
Here comes Automation....... Beep Beep. 011100101011101001
 
I had a similar experience last week. Two of the four restaurants I wanted to stop at for lunch were closed, of the two that were open, one was drive through only and the other had a sign in the window that they would open at 1PM (for the lunch crowd). :(
 
I do not get it either. I think some of the fast food restaurant stuff is just money savings for the restaurant to not have to clean the dining and restroom areas. The delivery services are booming and the restaurants are making plenty with take out. We had a friend that ran a Mom and Pop restaurant, when COVID hit, she thought she would go out of business. Turned out she made more money that before, just on take out!

I do not know where all the workers have gone, maybe driving for DoorDash. I know when I go in the grocery store, those little bastards with the shop from home carts are everywhere and just run over the in store customers. All of the workers in our office went home April of 2020 and have never returned. I am site admin and Smart hands for the DC so I am always there. I have cleared out all office cubicles. Our DC will migrate to a hosted facility the end of this year and we will vacate space in our building. Many office buildings are emptying out.

Heck, I may be driving for DoorDash after my center closes!

Bill
 
It's good to know there are still people in the world trying to do what's right and teaching their children the same.
islandfreepress.org

Stolen coins returned to museum gift shop with an apology from regretful thief | Island Free Press

On Friday, September 24, the Graveyard of the Atlantic Museum’s gift shop received an unusual package with no return address, and a tracking number that originated in Fruitland, Maryland. Inside, Museum Administrator Josh Nonnenmocher was surprised to find a small box of gift shop coins, a $50...
islandfreepress.org islandfreepress.org
 
lmalterna said:
I do not get it either. I think some of the fast food restaurant stuff is just money savings for the restaurant to not have to clean the dining and restroom areas. The delivery services are booming and the restaurants are making plenty with take out. We had a friend that ran a Mom and Pop restaurant, when COVID hit, she thought she would go out of business. Turned out she made more money that before, just on take out!

I do not know where all the workers have gone, maybe driving for DoorDash. I know when I go in the grocery store, those little bastards with the shop from home carts are everywhere and just run over the in store customers. All of the workers in our office went home April of 2020 and have never returned. I am site admin and Smart hands for the DC so I am always there. I have cleared out all office cubicles. Our DC will migrate to a hosted facility the end of this year and we will vacate space in our building. Many office buildings are emptying out.

Heck, I may be driving for DoorDash after my center closes!

Bill
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There is a restaurant by our house that we order from, they have a small dine in area that hasn't opened and they said they don't have the staff to do. Kind of screwed up if you ask me.

We also have a company we partner with for help desk services and they're having staffing issues too. I would suspect that a lot of IT people are just burnt out from all this. It's really been a stressful year and a half for IT, to say the least.
 
fishiker said:
It's good to know there are still people in the world trying to do what's right and teaching their children the same.
islandfreepress.org

Stolen coins returned to museum gift shop with an apology from regretful thief | Island Free Press

On Friday, September 24, the Graveyard of the Atlantic Museum’s gift shop received an unusual package with no return address, and a tracking number that originated in Fruitland, Maryland. Inside, Museum Administrator Josh Nonnenmocher was surprised to find a small box of gift shop coins, a $50...
islandfreepress.org islandfreepress.org
Click to expand...

Great read, was wondering if this should be sent to our politicians. Enough said. Still, it is encouraging when I see parents trying to teach their children right from wrong.
 
Ok, asking again for photos of places you have been or discovered that are fun, like while camping, driving, on vacation, hiking or even just in your area, and if you had any of your JKs with you for the trip, extra credit for pics of said JK knives, or other knives tagging along for the ride (ok, maybe just a great full thank you). :D Or another thing I would like to see are old buildings re-purposed and made useful again rather than torn down. One place I really enjoyed was in a little town in the Poconos in PA, where the old factory that supplied nautical equipment (?) had been turned into an antique store, with pieces of the old cranes still in the ceiling.
 
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For example, in my town there was an old factory, not sure what it produced, but it stood abandoned for years behind a chain link fence, and now in recent years it was brought back to life as a the office for a local architectural firm. I will have to check on the type of business that now occupies that space. There is another one too I just discovered that now has a law offices, upscale townhomes, etc. Another one is Lititz, PA where the old Wilbur Chocolate factory was converted to upscale apts, a restaurant and more. That was the town my grandmother and other relatives lived in that we visited as kids and as adults to visit family history in the Moravian church cemetery. Can’t help but think of the song My Town sung by Montgomery Gentry.
 
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UW Tacoma has done some good stuff with existing / historic buildings. It is neat seeing ghost signs on interior walls, and one of the cooler things was walking the utility tunnels and seeing the old masonry work and occasional ghost sign at what used to be street level. I'll try to take some pictures if I ever get to work down there again!
 
@cbach8tw have you ever visited Staunton, VA? There are many old buildings downtown that have been restored to modern stores/restaurants. My son took me out for beers yesterday and I told my wife we should plan a return trip when we have time. This is where we went yesterday:

Craft Beer | Redbeard Brewing | Staunton

Redbeard Brewing is a small-batch brewery located in downtown Staunton, VA offering a variety of craft beer styles.
www.redbeardbrews.com www.redbeardbrews.com
 
fishiker said:
@cbach8tw have you ever visited Staunton, VA? There are many old buildings downtown that have been restored to modern stores/restaurants. My son took me out for beers yesterday and I told my wife we should plan a return trip when we have time. This is where we went yesterday:

Craft Beer | Redbeard Brewing | Staunton

Redbeard Brewing is a small-batch brewery located in downtown Staunton, VA offering a variety of craft beer styles.
www.redbeardbrews.com www.redbeardbrews.com
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We have not been to Staunton, we have driven past it on 81 for journeys south to TN. Looks like it would be fun to explore, as would Roanoke. What amazes me is how much we have around us in our own backyard that we have not seen yet. There are some train trips from Roanoke to Spencer, NC that would be fun, maybe see the transportation museum. Not sure if one can catch a ride on the restored steam engine 611 or if that is just for tourists to see go by. Looks like it is in Strasburg, PA for short runs. Not that I am a beer drinker, just a dabbler, what beers did you try at Redbeard Brewery? The Augusta German amber lager and the AMOG coffee infused beer looked interesting.
 
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cbach8tw said:
We have not been to Staunton, we have driven past it on 81 for journeys south to TN. Looks like it would be fun to explore, as would Roanoke. What amazes me is how much we have around us in our own backyard that we have not seen yet. There are some train trips from Roanoke to Spencer, NC that would be fun, maybe see the transportation museum. Not sure if one can catch a ride on the restored steam engine 611 or if that is just for tourists to see go by. Looks like it is in Strasburg, PA for short runs. Not that I am a beer drinker, just a dabbler, what beers did you try at Redbeard Brewery? The Augusta German amber lager and the AMOG coffee infused beer looked interesting.
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The AMOG was excellent as was the Augusta Amber. The server was super nice. He offered free tasting of any beer and they sold 5oz pours. There is a good bit of history in Roanoke but I'll say the atmosphere in Staunton had more of a rural feel to it. I was very comfortable walking around and never once felt like I needed to look over my shoulder. My son and his wife are in Staunton regularly and they both speak highly of this restaurant.
www.millstreetgrill.com

American Bistro | Restaurant | Staunton | Mill Street Grill

Head over to the official website of Mill Street Grill in Staunton, VA for more details on our menu and restaurant.
www.millstreetgrill.com www.millstreetgrill.com
 
Thanks for the info about Staunton (pronounced STAN TON by us Va folks), will have to make a trip someday. The ribs looked really good in the pic of Mill Street Grill.
 
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