Random thoughts that are pointless and too dumb to say anywhere else thread: 2014

[1992casey]

The new iMac is 5K, which makes it possible to work on a full sized 4K video and still have room for editing tools.

[Patrick425]

A couple of weeks ago, at the age of 48, I finally joined the coffee drinking population. Always avoided it because I never really cared for hot drinks, but I quit soda about a year and a half ago and have been searching for a good caffeine replacement ever since. I figure one cup of coffee in the morning is better than the 2-3 cans of Mt. Dew I use to down on a daily basis.

 

Even purchased a single cup Kuerig coffee maker last weekend. Just wish I would have purchased the bigger version (with the water reservoir)...tough to find good travel mugs that fit in the one I purchased.

[logan82]

Why not just quit caffeine all together?

[1992casey]

tough to find good travel mugs that fit in the one I purchased.

 

Make the coffee in a two cup measuring cup (or anything with a lip), then pour it into the travel mug.

[Patrick425]

Why not just quit caffeine all together?

 

Because I'm weak and I need caffeine to survive. Get off my back!!

[Patrick425]

tough to find good travel mugs that fit in the one I purchased.

 

Make the coffee in a two cup measuring cup (or anything with a lip), then pour it into the travel mug.

 

Yeah, I thought of this, but then I was wondering if I would have to use two K-Cups for that? Seems like I would (I think the bigger models allow for bigger cups and still only use one K-Cup). So, it would be a little more expensive to do it this way. Also, that seems like a lot of work for someone who has not had their coffee yet and is just trying to get out of the house in the morning (I know - first world problems). I tend to be a bit impatient and lazy in the morning. Eventually I'll just upgrade my coffee maker to one that allows for bigger cups.

[1992casey]

I'm not exactly sure which Keurig you have. If it's like mine, it's only going to use X amount of water anyway, so the cup is only going to collect as much water as the machine wants to use.

 

My Keurig offers to make either a small cup or a large one. Since I'm using up a pod of coffee either way, I always go for large.

 

The main reason I recommended using the two cup measuring cup was that you'd be safe from overflowing it. The second last thing you want to do is overflow your cup. The last thing you want to do is completely forget a cup before making your coffee.

 

By the way, I've found that Sam's Club is the best place to get coffee for the Keurig. I wouldn't be surprised if Costco had similar deals.

[Patrick425]

I have the Kuerig Mini where you have to fill it with water each time you make coffee (no water reservoir). So, I avoid the overflow issue by just filling the cup I'm going to drink out of with water and filling the machine with that (It doesn't give you cup size options...just no more than 10ozs.).

 

Thanks for the Sams Club/Costco advise. I'm sure it's a great deal. I can't tell you how many times someone has told my wife or I that they have great deals on one thing or another at Sam's Club. We went there one time when they had a "open house" (that statement alone is one reason why I won't shop at Sam's club..."open house"? It's a grocery store!!) and decided that we have no place to put 28 rolls of toilet paper and we don't have a freezer to store a dozen chicken breasts (we have 3 people in our family). On top of that, its about 5 times farther away from our house than the Sentry we shop at. I'm all about convenience. I hate shopping and Sams Club just seemed like a nightmarish zoo to me.

[1992casey]

One thing I've noticed at Sam's is that a lot of items aren't deals at all and can be gotten more cheaply elsewhere. I've gotten a couple of inexpensive TVs there, though. Both were priced well, and one of the two is really nice quality-wise.

 

I kind of inherited my Sam's Club membership, so I never actually made the decision to sign up. I’ll be paying for it for the first time in December, so I'll pay for a year and evaluate its usefulness next year.

 

For what it's worth, I get chicken at Trader Joe's. Since a special trip to Trader Joe’s isn’t convenient for me, I stock up when I’m in the neighborhood. And I do stock up on toilet paper.

 

On another totally random subject, a neutral wire is now required in almost all electrical boxes containing a light switch.

[RobDeer 45]

I love shopping at Costco. We usually limit it to certain things. My wife jokes that my pickled goods intake accounts for 75% of our shopping there. Just like any store, there are some good deals and some not so good. Just be aware. Also don't over buy just because it's a good deal and then you have to throw stuff away. They get a lot of people on that! As for it being a zoo, we always try to get there close to opening time on the weekends because it definitely gets crazy.

 

Saw an hour special on CNBC or something like that called "The Costco Craze." Very interesting.

 

Speaking of groceries, your best bet for cheap groceries is always Target or Walmart. Grocery stores have great deals on certain items to get you in the store but the mark up on their other items is what kills you.

[rwa12]

I'm not sure if they are still in WI, but we have found that Aldi is consistently the cheapest, by far. The downside being, you're kinda planning your menu around what they have that week. Their produce is decent, baked goods are ok, we haven't found anything we didn't like there. It is where we try to do the bulk of our shopping.

[1992casey]

Aldi is still in Wisconsin. I haven't tried them. I should check them out for produce, though.

 

Costco's locations are too inconvenient for me to consider them. The closest stores are over 30 miles from me.

 

Sendik's is my overall favorite, but it's not convenient to where I am now. I used to hit them up several times a week. Now I go there once or twice a month. Quality is good, employees are almost always available when you need help, checkout lines are generally under control, and the stores aren't so huge that it becomes a pain to navigate them.

 

Pick 'n Save's prices are high for a store that has "Save" in its name. Their sale prices can be good, though. Employees are friendly and helpful when they're available, but oftentimes it's tough to find one.

 

Woodman's is great for selection and prices. Because the stores are huge and generally crowded, it's not a place where you'd run in for one or two items, though.

 

Trader Joe's has great quality at generally reasonable prices. But since they're small, they won't have everything you need.

 

Whole Foods is expensive, but they have some really cool stuff. They have two or three items that I regularly purchase there. While I'm there, I might grab some one-off items at treats. They'll be opening a second Milwaukee area store (in Wauwatosa) in 2016.

 

I really enjoy Outpost, but they don't have the one or two items that would make them a destination for me. If they were in my neighborhood, I'd probably stop in fairly frequently, though.

[fondybrewfan]

I got groceries once at Wal-Mart and never again. While of course the dry goods and frozen foods are basically the same everywhere; I thought their produce was atrocious and buying meat from Wal-Mart just doesn't appeal to me. The grapes I got from their tasted nothing like grapes; more like pesticides. It was really gross.

 

I usually go to Festival Foods; I don't think it is a bargain store or anything but it is reasonably prices. I like Woodmans as well but I have to travel 30-40 minutes just to get to one so I don't do it often.

[hawing]

I remember Pick 'n Save's true warehouse-type store days in the late 1970s, when I lived in Monroe. However, Madison has none (plus Madison has a bunch of options I like better), so I haven't darkened the door of a P 'n S in a long time. I know they moved away from the warehouse format long ago.

 

However, I do have a fond memory of the P 'n S on Silvernail in Pewaukee, because its rear sign is visible from I-94 and for most of a Brewers season a few years back, part of the sign was burned out so at night it read "ick 'n Save." So that's what we call it in the hawing household.

[RobDeer 45]

I got groceries once at Wal-Mart and never again. While of course the dry goods and frozen foods are basically the same everywhere; I thought their produce was atrocious and buying meat from Wal-Mart just doesn't appeal to me. The grapes I got from their tasted nothing like grapes; more like pesticides. It was really gross.

 

I usually go to Festival Foods; I don't think it is a bargain store or anything but it is reasonably prices. I like Woodmans as well but I have to travel 30-40 minutes just to get to one so I don't do it often.

 

Agreed. That was my biggest issue when I started grocery shopping at Target. I learned to pick and choose what was good and what wasn't. There meat department is actually really really good. Check it out. I feel that your best bet is to use a place like Target to get your packaged goods and anything that looks good. Then grocery stores for produce. Of course this adds to the amount of trips you have to make. I love food and love to cook, so to me, this is not an issue.

[logan82]

I got groceries once at Wal-Mart and never again. While of course the dry goods and frozen foods are basically the same everywhere; I thought their produce was atrocious and buying meat from Wal-Mart just doesn't appeal to me. The grapes I got from their tasted nothing like grapes; more like pesticides. It was really gross.

 

I usually go to Festival Foods; I don't think it is a bargain store or anything but it is reasonably prices. I like Woodmans as well but I have to travel 30-40 minutes just to get to one so I don't do it often.

I hate WalMart but we end up buying many of our non-perishables and household items there. The meat and produce is horrible and I would never buy them from WalMart.

[1992casey]

The Mac calculator app's new look is cool enough except that it's tough to see the decimal point.

[Thurston Fluff]

You have a beautiful beard is never a compliment women take well.

[BrewersSuperCollector]

1992casey

 

Post subject: Re: Random thoughts that are pointless and too dumb to say anywhere else thread: 2013

 

Posted: October 27, 2013, 4:32 PM

 

 

I wonder how old Ernie von Schledorn is.

Since the 2013 thread is locked I'll add it here. I read in today's Journal that Ernie passed away on Friday at the age of 88.

[1992casey]

Definitely worthy of its own topic:

 

Ernie von Schledorn passes away at 88

[TURBO]

I saw a set of lockers at an antique store that were once in the dressing room of the "PARADISE CLUB," a strip club that recently closed here in Appleton...

 

Is it wrong that I wanted to purchase them?

 

[Invader3K]

So relieved this is looking to be a relatively low stress Christmas for our family. After 10 years of the same tradition, we will NOT be making a four hour drive back home from the in-laws' on Christmas day (they live way up in the north woods of Wisconsin). I'm sure my wife will be a bit down that we won't be going up to her parents this year, but I'm glad our son will get to have Christmas morning in our own home.

 

I think my in-laws are frankly relieved that we're not coming up two days before Christmas this year, like we have for the past decade. The last couple years have been fairly high stress for everyone involved, and it was time for a change.

[hawing]

Aw, good for you, Invader. The timing of this year's holidays will be less than ideal for me. UW-Madison's exams end on Saturday 12/20, which means most of my (college student) employees will either have left for their break by then or will be in exams that day. My library will then be open the Monday, Tuesday, Friday and Saturday of Christmas week, and I will have to consider it a win if I don't have to work all of those days (plus the prior Saturday to finish off exam week).

 

It'd be less of a drag - and I am fully aware that it's a first world problem - if most of the people we will rush around southern Wisconsin to see on the 24th and 25th (both my side and the SO's) weren't in the middle of a longish Christmas vacation. Here's a sample conversation:

 

Relatives: Hey, let's all go to a movie together on the 26th! Can you join us, hawing and SO? (OK, they will use our real names.)

SO: Well, my library's closed all week.

hawing: Sorry, I'm back at it at 7:30 that morning.

*Buzzkill*

 

Then once I'm back at my library, the SO will go to movies every day of his break; but he does give me a ride home at least.

 

I think I've rambled enough to qualify this post for the "pointless/dumb" thread. I will admit I enjoy the buildup to Christmas more than the actual Eve and Day.

[Invader3K]

Aw, good for you, Invader. The timing of this year's holidays will be less than ideal for me. UW-Madison's exams end on Saturday 12/20, which means most of my (college student) employees will either have left for their break by then or will be in exams that day. My library will then be open the Monday, Tuesday, Friday and Saturday of Christmas week, and I will have to consider it a win if I don't have to work all of those days (plus the prior Saturday to finish off exam week).

 

It'd be less of a drag - and I am fully aware that it's a first world problem - if most of the people we will rush around southern Wisconsin to see on the 24th and 25th (both my side and the SO's) weren't in the middle of a longish Christmas vacation. Here's a sample conversation:

 

Relatives: Hey, let's all go to a movie together on the 26th! Can you join us, hawing and SO? (OK, they will use our real names.)

SO: Well, my library's closed all week.

hawing: Sorry, I'm back at it at 7:30 that morning.

*Buzzkill*

 

I didn't realize you and the SO both worked in libraries. Go figure...learn something new every day.

[hawing]

I didn't realize you and the SO both worked in libraries. Go figure...learn something new every day.

Yup. We met in library school, which is as dorky as it sounds.