Friday, May 31

WTF is this? absolutely no credit

Every single teacher on earth has probably wanted to write it on a paper, and most do pass the message on in some way. However, the Florida teacher who wrote it probably should have just thought it. "WTF is this? absolutely no credit."

Thursday, May 30

Non-lol Moment: Sewer Main Line

Sewer Main Line
I was reading through the posts in my Nextdoor app, and I saw this one that seemed to use an odd lol moment:

I need a plumber to re-pipe from the street to my house. Someone who does a good job and reasonably priced (inexpensive) lol.

I cannot, for the life of me, figure out how lol fits into this request for a recommendation. Maybe we have to dig deeper into the text. To me, it's a TSS (total sh!t storm, not that's so sweet) or WTF situation.

Wednesday, May 29

Why I Like Sprint

sprint cell phone service
I tried the Republic Wireless route a few years back. It's a good company with a good idea (to use wifi as much as possible), but our devices tried to connect to every business we passed on the road, often playing havoc with our navigation. We were also limited to 2gb per month of data, so that was kind of annoying. Sprint provided an option with a similar price point and "unlimited" data, and there are a few other perks just for being a Sprint customer.

Tuesday, May 28

58 Gangs, 705 Members in Jax

simplyhired.com - gang member salaries


The following article uses stats found online and opinion in order to address the crime and gang problem in Jacksonville. It is not meant to accuse gangs or police officers or Pacific Islanders of anything that offends your sensitivities. As it is, to an extent, satire, it should be protected by my 1st Amendment rights, yet someone out there flagged it for review, hiding it behind a warning. That's sad, as is the person who objected to the content.

Jacksonville has a crime problem. Most cities do. We also have some gangs in town. 58, apparently. With 705 gang members. I am not sure if this was discovered using census data or what. Maybe a Survey Monkey survey. But what do the numbers mean?

Saturday, May 18

How Long Does Google Take To Update Streetview After Taking Photos?

Google Streetview on my block
Just under three months.

We've all used Google Maps, and most of us have used the little yellow guy to access Google Streetview. In this mode, Google tells you when the images were taken. I'd never really questioned how long Google takes to get that new image onto the Google Maps website. Luckily, I have the data I need in order to figure it out for my own neighborhood.

Thursday, May 16

Roadside Knife Stand - Only in Florida

My wife was driving through central Florida when she got to see something that surprised her, even though she's now lived in Florida for a couple of years: a roadside knife stand. I have to admit, I was even a little taken aback. My first question for her was whether or not she took a photo of the stand, which she did not. I'd seen oranges and other edibles before. Nuts, watermelons, etc. Shrimp, even. And you'll see people set up yard sales right out to the street, maybe with antiques (or just old junk). There was a place along Locust in Milwaukee where you could pick up a used appliance right from the sidewalk, which was a little odd, but you can apparently get cutlery along a state highway in Florida.

Wish-Cycling in Jacksonville

Jacksonville Recycling Cart
Those of us who recycle hope that the world in a better place because of it. I know that it costs money to recycle, but I figure it's better to spend money on that some other government programs. Yes, I'm guilty of wanting recycling to fix our garbage problem, but I'm also probably guilty of wish-cycling every once in a while. Wish-cycling is when you wish something that's not recyclable could be, so you chuck it in the recycling bin, only to mess up the recycling machines and cost taxpayers even more money.

Tuesday, May 14

Bringing a Shank to a Knife Robbery

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Shiv.jpg
I've seen plenty of news reports of people robbing retail locations with guns, and there have even been some with knives, but I was surprised to see a news report of an attempted shank robbery. The word shank is a slang term for a shiv, which is a makeshift knife. (I am not sure why the news used the term "shank.") I've seen enough films with prison settings to know that shivs are commonly used in prison, since knives and guns are not readily available. However, both guns and knives are everywhere in non-jailhouse Florida, so I wonder why someone would use a shiv in an attempted robbery.

Monday, May 13

MKE DNC House Rental

mke dnc house for rent
I suppose if the Super Bowl ever returns to Jacksonville, Airbnb will blow up. It's probably better than building a bunch of hotels that will only get used once. I am not sure how the cruise ship thing went. Anyhow, the Democratic National Convention is coming to Milwaukee just after my one-year lease will run out, so the plan right now is to rent my house out for the event, as long as it makes sense.

Maybe I Need To Give More

cleaning up the neighborhood
A couple of months ago, it was decided I should get a new job outside of the house. I have done some pretty good work at home, but the money has not exactly followed the hours of investment. Basically, I've been trying to do a lot of good by building inexpensive websites for churches and non-profits. But those folks don't find me, and I can't afford the time and advertising to find them, so I'll probably have to leave it to swanky salesmen and overpriced web builders.

Sunday, May 12

Famous YouTubers From Jax

become a youtube sensation
The sun. The sand. The outdoor living. Shirtless guys stealing stuff. Jacksonville should be a great place to create YouTube videos and become a famous YouTuber. That's what my kids want out of life, and it's been accomplished by one couple from the area, but the content might surprise you.

Mistletoe on my Only Tree

trees with mistletoe
Boo from church told me mistletoe might be pretty at Christmas, but it'll ruin your trees. He also said that I'd have to trim back to the fork in the branch before the mistletoe, and after trimming my only tree down to nearly nothing, I'd have maybe a fifty-fifty chance of it surviving. It's kind of depressing moving from a house with 20+ mature trees to one with a single, sick tree, but I guess that's what I have. 

Friday, May 10

Real World AAA Membership Benefits

1984 Chevette
I had written an article at one point that argued why BP Motorclub was so bad, but there's really no point to saying ill of the dead. The real question isn't which auto club is best. The question is whether you have AAA or you don't. There's no real competition for most of us, so what does a real world with AAA look like?

Retro Fitness and Single Moms

single moms be like...
I feel bad for the employees of Retro Fitness who lost their jobs suddenly. I was surprised when the news framed the story as affecting single moms, but then they backed the statement up by interviewing two single moms who had worked there. While I'm sure Retro Fitness didn't only hire single moms, it almost seems that way based on 100% of former employees interviewed being in that situation and the newscaster calling attention to it. I wonder if Retro Fitness offered some kind of special benefits to single moms.

Wednesday, May 1

"12 Odd Tips on Raising Heritage Breed Turkeys You Need to Know" Is The Oddest Google Feed Story Ever

jive turkey
I can usually discern why Google chooses certain stories for me in the news feed on my phone. It's because of what I've been searching. Or what my kids have been searching on another computer tied to my Google account. Or maybe even what I've been saying or photos I've been taking. But I cannot for the life of me figure out why Google decided I wanted to know 12 odd tips for raising Heritage Breed Turkeys.

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