patrick.net

Good to hear. We are about to use Turo for a trip to check out the little towns around Puget Sound. And the guy will deliver it to the airport and we can give it back to him at the airport as well.

WookieMan says

Although with these shortages Turo might be a better option. Just throwing it out there.

Thanks Wookie!

Eric Holder says

My favorite "it must have been an MBA's idea" story is Lowe's buying OSH stores

Or Circuit City, that on a day told all it's most productive sales people to be in a meeting at 7:00 a.m. the next day, at which time they were all fired. In little over a year they were history. The Circuit City store in Waco that opened in the brand new shopping center whose only other store is Barnes & Noble in the early 90's has been umpteen other things in the intervening years and is currently a Big Lots.

NDrLoR says

Or Circuit City, that on a day told all it's most productive sales people to be in a meeting at 7:00 a.m. the next day, at which time they were all fired. In little over a year they were history. The Circuit City store in Waco that opened in the brand new shopping center whose only other store is Barnes & Noble in the early 90's has been umpteen other things in the intervening years and is currently a Big Lots.

Companies collapse rapidly after a Bean Counter is put in charge. They eliminate all the things that attract or get customers to buy, in interest of bottom line.

Another Favorite is when people kvetch about customer service. Back in the "Good Old Days", even Drug Store counter people were on commish, upselling the candy and lotions. Replace them with hourly employees and understaff the store, and surprise! nobody knows jack shit about anything. "I demand a Toyota at a Kia price, dammit!"

Rb6d says

Grass mower blades.

Link?

Booger says

Link?

https://snowjoe.com/products/sun-joe-mj401e-mj401e-pro-lawn-mower-14-inch-blade

16-inch is out of stock as well.

Could not find on Walmart and Scamazon websites as well.

I successfully hit an oak root and need a new one.

I don't know if it's related to the general supply chain problems, but I still have not been able to find the Arabica Bustelo or Pilon espresso anywhere.

My wife found a non-Arabica Bustelo espresso "vacuum pack" at Target, but it's squishy and clearly no longer vacuum packed.

She also got me a can of the non-Arabica Bustelo, but, lol, it's the same can I saw at Safeway a month ago - expired in 2020.

So now she's going to take both of them back. It was nice of her to try, though I've become kind of a snob and can pretty much instantly tell when coffee is Robusta and not Arabica. The Robusta beans taste like rope, like the knotted ropes we had for climbing in the high school gym many years ago.

The ammo prices are slowly creeping down and availability is increasing.
FuckCCP89 says

Rb6d says

Booger says

Link?

https://snowjoe.com/products/sun-joe-mj401e-mj401e-pro-lawn-mower-14-inch-blade

16-inch is out of stock as well.

Could not find on Walmart and Scamazon websites as well.

I successfully hit an oak root and need a new one.

Aren't there generic aftermarket ones available?

Rb6d says

The ammo prices are slowly creeping down and availability is increasing.

Lumber finally in good supply. I expect prices to drop soon, at least at the wholesale level. Plywood, OSB, and pressure treated is still going to take a while.

Booger says

Aren't there generic aftermarket ones available?

have not found. At $15, not sure if it will be profitable to make generic ones

Chicken Wings:
https://archive.is/qo3gv

Hard Drives:
https://www.tomshardware.com/amp/news/hard-drive-prices-skyrocket-asia-scalpers-making-bank

https://notthebee.com/article/economy-update-inflation-rose-5-last-month-and-starbucks-is-running-low-on-supplies

House cleaning is now $400 and up and most of them don't even pay taxes on it. Fuck off, I'll do it myself

@mell serially? Up in North bay?

just_passing_through says

@mell serially? Up in North bay?

Yeah if you know anyone who does 3 br/3 ba for less than $400 in the north bay / sonoma co. tell them to advertise on patrick.net and find me ;) We had a move in clean for $400 but it was done totally half assed so I cleaned most of the interior cabinetry again, and I'm certainly not a neat freak. All cash of course. I'm willing to pay $200, maybe $300 for a job very well done, but this is nuts. We had a Brazilian couple cleaning our 3 bedroom apt in SF (granted smaller) for $100 and they did a great job. That was roughly a year ago. I'll be cleaning my own house for now.

mell says

All cash of course.

Sounds like they are evading taxes.

sounds like FOMO is driving the prices and shortage in some sectors. But the raise of asset prices must be the result of on going massive QE.

No, I don't know anyone there but do have cleaners in SA/TX for my rentals that do a good job for 150. Also 150 for my condo in Maui after each guest - a guest expense.

I clean my own place too because CA just sucks like that.

I was dating a woman in SF last century. She was on the board of supervisors and quite well off and connected. She had a cleaner over weekly and always straightened the place up before her cleaner got there.

Onvacation says

I was dating a woman in SF last century. She was on the board of supervisors and quite well off and connected. She had a cleaner over weekly and always straightened the place up before her cleaner got there.

Lol. I get it for rentals, but that's why I've never understood maid/cleaners. You end up doing half their work, especially if you have children.

We keep our house mostly tidy, but the reality is we're running around constantly with an 8, 9 and 10 year old. It will be messy at times. Oh well. Not gonna pay someone to clean after I just cleaned so they can clean.

And everyone's situation is different, so not mocking those that have someone that cleans. Our situation just doesn't make sense to have a cleaner. If it was just the wife and I, we'll probably get someone to clean as we're not messy fucks like the kids.

WookieMan says

Onvacation says

I was dating a woman in SF last century. She was on the board of supervisors and quite well off and connected. She had a cleaner over weekly and always straightened the place up before her cleaner got there.

Lol. I get it for rentals, but that's why I've never understood maid/cleaners. You end up doing half their work, especially if you have children.

We keep our house mostly tidy, but the reality is we're running around constantly with an 8, 9 and 10 year old. It will be messy at times. Oh well. Not gonna pay someone to clean after I just cleaned so they can clean.

And everyone's situation is different, so not mocking those that have someone that cleans. Our situation just doesn't make sense to have a cleaner. If it was just the wife and I, we'll probably get someone to clean as we're not messy fucks like the kids.

lol that's just something womynx do (another reason why their suffrage may have been a mistake). They get all hot and bothered and huffin and puffin before the cleaner comes, and boss people around to tidy up, so the "cleaner can clean". Same as "pre-rinsing" the dishes until there's hardly any dirt left. Don't expect to find any logic in it. With the inflated prices for cleaning service today they better fucking move every hurdle in their way they're able to, and if it's not satisfactory it's credit card charge back time (cash payments will only be made after inspection).

I once hired a maid to help with housework, but my wife spent so much time cleaning before the maid came that she didn't want any more maids.

Patrick says

I once hired a maid to help with housework, but my wife spent so much time cleaning before the maid came that she didn't want any more maids.

lol it's why I clean myself now (or boss the offspring around), I don't mind a good workout, it's just a bit hard on the back for very tall guys.

Totally predictable:
https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/cars/2021/06/14/used-cars-suvs-trucks-used-car-prices/7638769002/
Average age of vehicles hits all-time high: Cars, trucks, SUVs getting older as used car prices soar

The average used-vehicle price in May was $20,426, up 4.9% from April and up 46.7% from a year earlier, according to the Manheim Used Vehicle Value Index.

But the sharp increase in used cars has happened mostly in 2021, so any impact that has on the average age of vehicles on the road is not likely to show up on IHS's report until later.

zzyzzx says

Average age of vehicles hits all-time high

No surprise here: it's really hard to get excited by anything offered now. It's basically same shit as 10-20 years ago but with 2-3 cylinders lobbed off and turbo added to the engine and 10-speed auto or dreaded CVT instead of normal transmission. And then there is all this annoying why-tech wizardry: lane warning, lane assist, collision warning, emergency brake assist, this assist, that assist...... can I just fucking be left alone to drive in peace?

Eric Holder says

And then there is all this annoying why-tech wizardry: lane warning, lane assist, collision warning, emergency brake assist, this assist, that assist...... can I just fucking be left alone to drive in peace?

Get yourself one of these:


There are about 20,000 Model As roaming the USA. Easy to work on and parts are readily available.

HeadSet says

Eric Holder says

And then there is all this annoying why-tech wizardry: lane warning, lane assist, collision warning, emergency brake assist, this assist, that assist...... can I just fucking be left alone to drive in peace?

Get yourself one of these:


There are about 20,000 Model As roaming the USA. Easy to work on and parts are readily available.

Nah, this is too slow and brakes are shit. 1990-2007 is the sweet spot.

Nah, this is too slow and brakes are shit.

Well, there is always this. The '32 Ford V8 was the original hot rod

HeadSet says

Nah, this is too slow and brakes are shit.

Well, there is always this. The '32 Ford V8 was the original hot rod

This is better. Were the brakes converted to rotors?

This is better. Were the brakes converted to rotors?

In the original hot rods, no. But even your "sweet spot" 1990-2007 cars often have drum brakes in the rear.

HeadSet says

But even your "sweet spot" 1990-2007 cars often have drum brakes in the rear.

Rear is ok. The front does most of the braking anyway.

Rear is ok. The front does most of the braking anyway.

OK, now you are on the slippery slope to the complexities of ABS and autonomous breaking......

HeadSet says

Rear is ok. The front does most of the braking anyway.

OK, now you are on the slippery slope to the complexities of ABS and autonomous breaking......

I'm not on any kind of slope. I have no bones with ABS. And which cars before 07 had "autonomous braking" (whatever it is)? So I know what to avoid. =))

Eric Holder says

I'm not on any kind of slope.

I am joking. Of course you are not a Luddite who will go all the way back to the 30's for a car, nor do I think you are against anti-lock breaks. Autonomous breaking is when the cars front radar/sonar detects an imminent collision and applies the brakes. Honda/Acura stated that in production models around 2003-2004. Kinda common now.

HeadSet says

Autonomous breaking is when the cars front radar/sonar detects an imminent collision and applies the brakes. Honda/Acura stated that in production models around 2003-2004.

Ah, I remember reading back in the day something about one of these things braking suddenly and violently in front of these metal plates they put over holes in road during construction.... Hopefully they have got better since then. Still don't want any of that stuff in my cars.

Bartenders at Denver airport and restaurants in general. Literally had a bartender clean up and leave 5 hours before the end of his shift at the airport. I guess he had worked 14 days straight for 10-12 hours a day because no one wants to work. Good news is I got his last beer of the day. I guess servers cannot grab a beer there? CO is weird with booze as they ID everyone, yet getting weed is a joke. You can buy enough weed to knock you out in 1 hour, but grabbing 2-3 beers at the airport they need to ID you even if you're obviously 70 years old.

The airport was fucking packed too. Since 2016 I've been out there about 6 times and never had seen it like this. If you've been, the security area and each of the 3 terminals are massive. Easily walked 2-3 miles in that place yesterday and it was packed everywhere. No empty gates like 8 months ago or so.

Not a pick, so do your due diligence, but I'm thinking of picking up a lot more LUV shares after what I witnessed over the long weekend. I don't know their financials well as what I own was just a gut decision after Covid hit and it crashed. All the new routes, 737-Max getting back in the air. Jet-A prices going up I guess could be a concern, but I believe they do contracts and they could have bought low. But round trip, both flights were completely full. No open seats. And I tentatively still haven't gotten Covid as a side note.

With this printed money I think domestic travel is going to be a monster stock wise. From what I witnessed after my first covid flight August of '20 up to yesterday is night and day. DEN was double the people I've seen pre-covid. It was a zoo.

Oh, and go see any show at Red Rocks. Shows #6 & 7 in the books. One of the coolest places in the states with great acoustics to see a show. Preferable a band with a good light show as well, as most now bring their own lights if big enough.