What's everybody doing today?

[phideaux]

Glad to see @hashbrown , feeling good.
I got a bunch of stents... Gotta keep them arteries flowing.

Great day...spent all day with my oldest grandson and his girlfriend, she's a keeper, hope they get married when they both finish college.
We went for steak dinner at Long Horn...that boy can pack away food. He's 20 years old, 6'5" and 250lbs...athletic and big eater.
What a great day.

We bought milk, eggs, vanilla flavoring and eagle brand milk.

You ask why...
We are suppose to get 4-6" of snow tomorrow...
SNOW CREAM.

Jim

 

[Double R]

Glad to see @hashbrown , feeling good.
I got a bunch of stents... Gotta keep them arteries flowing.

Great day...spent all day with my oldest grandson and his girlfriend, she's a keeper, hope they get married when they both finish college.
We went for steak dinner at Long Horn...that boy can pack away food. He's 20 years old, 6'5" and 250lbs...athletic and big eater.
What a great day.

We bought milk, eggs, vanilla flavoring and eagle brand milk.

You ask why...
We are suppose to get 4-6" of snow tomorrow...
SNOW CREAM.

Jim

That sounds lovely!
If we ever make it for a visit I’m going to have to be sure it’s in the snow so I can’t try this. Been hearing about it from you for YEARS! Hugs to the Mrs

 

[Haertig]

Well I had the model wrong. It is a FT-4X.

Do report back on how you like this radio. One of the main reasons I chose the FT-60R was because of its two knobs. As you know, one is power/volume and the other is selector/squelch. Most new handhelds only have one knob. And you can't tell (usually) by the description on retail sites what this knob is for. Is it a volume knob? (or do you have to adjust volume using up/down buttons on the keypad - yeuch!) Is is a selector knob for menus? (that is really useful IMHO) It probably isn't squelch - most likely that is up/down buttons. I guess I could live without the analog squelch, but it sure is handy. Let us know what the single knob on the FT-4XR does. I've really grown used to the two-knob interface. That's why I like the Kenwood TH-K20A as well. It's a two-knobber also.

Let us know how you like/adapt to the single knob interface, since you're used to operation of the FT-60R as am I.

 

[phideaux]

That sounds lovely!
If we ever make it for a visit I’m going to have to be sure it’s in the snow so I can’t try this. Been hearing about it from you for YEARS! Hugs to the Mrs

Anytime , you'd be welcome.

You like home made cranked ice cream?
Snow cream is the same thing ...except it's instant...no cranking.

Jim

 

[Haertig]

We went for steak dinner at Long Horn...that boy can pack away food. He's 20 years old, 6'5" and 250lbs

That sounds yummy. I'm 65 and 250 as well. Unfortunately that's not 6'5", that's 65 orbits around the sun. Oh well.

 

[phideaux]

That sounds yummy. I'm 65 and 250 as well. Unfortunately that's not 6'5", that's 65 orbits around the sun. Oh well.

It was yummy.
We all had the Sirloin steaks, baked taters , salad , their sizzling chicken appetizers, their mushroom stuffed with cheese appetizers, then the chocolate stampede for dessert...

Had to avoid bumps in the road going home.

Never been disappointed at Long Horn.

Jim

 

[Double R]

Anytime , you'd be welcome.

You like home made cranked ice cream?
Snow cream is the same thing ...except it's instant...no cranking.

Jim

Actually meeting you two in person is on my bucket list. Just FYI
Love hand cranked ice cream. Just seems like you two add something special to it

 

[LadyLocust]

@hashbrown Awesome!!! Glad you're feeling better.

I am darning my 5th pair of socks and have 4-5 more pair to do. I'm darning over some of my darning.
Snowing again here Supposed to warm up tomorrow and Friday so hopefully the giant drift in our drive that is now a mountain of ice will be shovelable. Have to have the rigs in 4WD just in the driveway.

 

[Bacpacker]

Do report back on how you like this radio. One of the main reasons I chose the FT-60R was because of its two knobs. As you know, one is power/volume and the other is selector/squelch. Most new handhelds only have one knob. And you can't tell (usually) by the description on retail sites what this knob is for. Is it a volume knob? (or do you have to adjust volume using up/down buttons on the keypad - yeuch!) Is is a selector knob for menus? (that is really useful IMHO) It probably isn't squelch - most likely that is up/down buttons. I guess I could live without the analog squelch, but it sure is handy. Let us know what the single knob on the FT-4XR does. I've really grown used to the two-knob interface. That's why I like the Kenwood TH-K20A as well. It's a two-knobber also.

Let us know how you like/adapt to the single knob interface, since you're used to operation of the FT-60R as am I.

Give me a few days to fool with it, do some programming, and do some testing with it. I'll do a report on it.

I've got a Kenwood TH-D7 HT from back years ago. I never was crazy about it. Battery life wasn't good for regular use for all day. Had to replace them pretty often too. It just wasn't as easy to use as my Yeasu's are. I have a couple of FT-50's as well as the FT-60's and they have always performed very well. That said I love Kenwood mobile rigs. I've got 3 of them.

 

[Pearl]

Cold day today, so I wore two pairs of pants, a long sleeved shirt, two fleece jackets, and a polar fleece coat. It started out cold, warmed up a little, then the wind and snow started. Four dog park visits today. Glad to be home. Currently 6 degrees.

I saw a house around the corner from a client last Wednesday that had crime scene tape and lots of law enforcement vehicles. Clients said law enforcement was there for a few days, and yet, nothing was on the news. Today, the news finally said that an 85 year old man was essentially beaten to death, and he was robbed. His car was taken. Two people have been arrested and are being charged with the following charges. They are 29 and 28. They will probably spend the rest of their life in prison. According to the charges, they were probably trying to support a drug habit.

• First-degree murder
• Second-degree murder
• First-degree burglary
• First-degree assault
• Crime against an at risk adult - death
• Aggravated motor vehicle theft
• Tampering with physical evidence
• Multiple controlled substance offenses

They WILL burn in HELL! So sorry for our country! Those young people are lead in the wrong direction!! They need to pay!

 

[Weedygarden]

They WILL burn in HELL! So sorry for our country! Those young people are lead in the wrong direction!! They need to pay!

I have been thinking about the way things are going now. A friend and I were talking about this just this morning relative to all the attrocities that we have witnessed or experienced. Our young people do not have any idea how to work, or what to do if they did try to work. So many do not have any drive or interest in improving themselves. Too many are lost in video games. From there we have so much drug addiction and alcoholism, probably what got these two. Who knows what kind of background this couple had. Education? Work experience? Life experience? Life is actually too easy for some, and for others where it is not, there is no incentive, because welfare has taken care of that.

 

[LadyLocust]

I have been thinking about the way things are going now. A friend and I were talking about this just this morning relative to all the atrocities that we have witnessed or experienced. Our young people do not have any idea how to work, or what to do if they did try to work. So many do not have any drive or interest in improving themselves. Too many are lost in video games. From there we have so much drug addiction and alcoholism, probably what got these two. Who knows what kind of background this couple had. Education? Work experience? Life experience? Life is actually too easy for some, and for others where it is not, there is no incentive, because welfare has taken care of that.

No self-worth. Entitlement yes, worth no. Hubby was just talking to a GC Sup. today who is going to retire after the current project is finished. He loves what he does but said in the last 2 years in particular, it has become an adult day care. These "grown men" show up with no tools so they front them the money to go buy tools. The guys go and drink it then still show up with no tools. "What did you do with the money?" "I thought it was a signing bonus." "It states right here where you signed that it's for tools. You need to go buy tools." "But I don't have any money." Etc. It really is pathetic. We had a young kid coming in to clean and begin learning etc. He didn't like waking up that early. (Our guys work 4/10s) Sorry - this sounds so negative, but it is just how it is right now.

 

[Weedygarden]

No self-worth. Entitlement yes, worth no. Hubby was just talking to a GC Sup. today who is going to retire after the current project is finished. He loves what he does but said in the last 2 years in particular, it has become an adult day care. These "grown men" show up with no tools so they front them the money to go buy tools. The guys go and drink it then still show up with no tools. "What did you do with the money?" "I thought it was a signing bonus." "It states right here where you signed that it's for tools. You need to go buy tools." "But I don't have any money." Etc. It really is pathetic. We had a young kid coming in to clean and begin learning etc. He didn't like waking up that early. (Our guys work 4/10s) Sorry - this sounds so negative, but it is just how it is right now.

It is the sad truth for so many.
A couple decades ago I had a student who had developmental issues. His mother and I are friendly and recently I saw her asking about where to get a DNA test. I sent her a PM and said I had no idea where to do a cheek swab, but thought there was a place to get a blood draw. Her other son had a son with a woman whom he never married. Woman overdosed the day after Christmas. It wasn't all that long ago that this guy had gone into treatment. So there has been this child, now 6 who has been viewed as his child, and grandson to friend. But his name wasn't on the birth certificate, and a few months ago, he had made a statement on FB, that the now deceased mother was a prostitute. So mother was the name on the birth certificate, and they are trying to determine if in fact he is the son and grandson to this family, because it is surely possible that he is not. There is so much wrong in this story and family. Two grown sons, in their 30's, still living at home and no incentive to get their poop in one group and to take responsibility for themselves and their actions. Mom is so busy taking care of them, they don't have to think about it.

 

[Spikedriver]

Finished up work in El Centro and took a drive to Phoenix to catch a flight home. Called about airport hotels on the way and there was nothing under a hundred bucks. Even the Motel 6 was damn near a hundred. Finally I was able to score a room online, at the Holiday Inn for $79. They weren't too happy about it at the front desk. Oh well, that's not my problem! I'll roll out at 4AM for a 6AM flight to Denver and a quick flight home from there to Des Moines...

 

[Spikedriver]

Flying on Frontier airlines this morning. It's been a few years since I flew on Frontier. I forgot that on Frontier, the only thing that's complimentary is the air you're breathing. It was $52 for my carry on bag...

 

[UrbanHunter]

Flying on Frontier airlines this morning. It's been a few years since I flew on Frontier. I forgot that on Frontier, the only thing that's complimentary is the air you're breathing. It was $52 for my carry on bag...

Don't worry, I've heard that they are trying to figure out how to meter you air too.....

 

[UrbanHunter]

This morning I turned off my alarm and over slept, when I woke up I realized that I was running late, jumped up and raced to complete errands that the wife lined out for me.... Raced to the grocery store and the doors were locked... seems my phone was upside down when I woke up and being half asleep I didn't catch it... Had to wait for 15 minutes for the store to open at 06:00, I hate it when I'm late and early at the same time..... thought traffic was light..

 

[Amish Heart]

7 degrees out and some new couple inches of snow last night. The twins just left for school, but little granddaughter has a sore throat, so I'm having her stay home. Husband says it's covid because you know, no child has ever had a sore throat before. So we won't discuss it anymore. She is having tea and honey, gargling with salt water, and taking it easy today. Her sis had a cold last week that's gotten better. Will have to bundle up and bring out hot water to the animals and defrost everyone's water. The dogs will probably stay in their kennels today and I'll take them out for potty breaks. Don't think it'll get up past 15 today.

 

[zannej]

Part of the problem is that with all the inflation but lack of proportionate increase with wages, people can't afford to move out. For some people, getting jobs actually costs them more money than they earn because they need transportation. In places without public transportation this means they need a vehicle. Which means they have to buy a vehicle, pay taxes on the purchase (where I live that is 10.45% tax), pay registration, pay for an inspection sticker, and get insurance (it's mandatory to have insurance where I live). The insurance premiums can be pretty high and then if the person got a junker because they couldn't afford a better vehicle they have to keep getting repairs. Then there are oil changes every 6 months (if they have a good motor & don't need to replace oil more frequently), gas costs, etc. One of my friends wasn't even getting paid enough to cover the cost of gas to get to work. If they don't own their own homes they have to pay for rent and utilities. If they live in an urban area with an apartment they often have to pay extra for parking. If they are able to qualify for loans to buy a home, they have to pay mortgages plus utilities. And thanks to Jimmy Carter, banks can charge more than 10% interest.

Even if someone goes out and gets a college degree, they can't always get scholarships or scholarships don't cover the full costs & many parents can't afford to pay for the kids' college so the kids end up taking out student loans which charge insane interest rates. So, assuming they graduate from college, they can't always find jobs right out of college because there are not always jobs for people with degrees in the areas and many places won't hire college graduates because they are "overqualified". In my particular area, there are more college graduates living in poverty than people with only middle school or high school education. Then, regardless of whether or not they get jobs, they have to start paying student loan debt and it can be garnished from their wages and tax returns.

So, it's not that young people are unwilling to work, it's that they have hard time making enough $ to afford the expenses of being out on their own.

As for crime rate, it is actually statistically lower than it used to be, but because we have better communication systems, we hear about more of it more quickly.

Anyway, I'm awake early because the dog woke me up. I've already had breakfast (pork chops) and brushed my teeth. I'm about to take my vitamins and play with sketchup.

 

[The Lazy L]

No self-worth. Entitlement yes, worth no. ...

A grandchild is out on parole for consensual sex with a minor. Part of the parole requirements is the grandchild must be employed. The welfare dependent grandparent takes the grandchild to work and from work, provides housing and food too. Grandchild quits work within a week for various excuses, bounces to another job and repeats the cycle. Grandchild buys a lemon from a "pay by the week" used car dealership. Grandparent continues to take grandchild to and from work because for some strange reason the Lemon is unreliable. Their solution is the grandparent co-signs for a brand new vehicle. Within a week the grandchild skips the State and therefor violates parole. Grandchild gets the vehicle stuck on a mountain trail and hikes out to a road, asks for help to the first car that stops. Police are called and the grandchild is arrested and eventually transported back to jail to finish their original sentence. Three weeks later they final find the new vehicle. Grandchild had left all the windows down, rain and sand storms have totaled the car. Now the grandparent has another monthly loan payment to finagle to pay. Never saw this coming...

 

[UrbanHunter]

A grandchild is out on parole for consensual sex with a minor. Part of the parole requirements is the grandchild must be employed. The welfare dependent grandparent takes the grandchild to work and from work, provides housing and food too. Grandchild quits work within a week for various excuses, bounces to another job and repeats the cycle. Grandchild buys a lemon from a "pay by the week" used car dealership. Grandparent continues to take grandchild to and from work because for some strange reason the Lemon is unreliable. Their solution is the grandparent co-signs for a brand new vehicle. Within a week the grandchild skips the State and therefor violates parole. Grandchild gets the vehicle stuck on a mountain trail and hikes out to a road, asks for help to the first car that stops. Police are called and the grandchild is arrested and eventually transported back to jail to finish their original sentence. Three weeks later they final find the new vehicle. Grandchild had left all the windows down, rain and sand storms have totaled the car. Now the grandparent has another monthly loan payment to finagle to pay. Never saw this coming...

Reading this makes me sad and angry on so many levels, I know this type of thing happens all the time. But the older folks a left holding the bag, but they keep opening themselves up for another beating. And I hear the old folks say poor (child's name) they have is so rough, but it's not their fault.....

 

[phideaux]

Sitting in my cozy new recliner, in my new house, looking out the front window,

drinking hot coffee, watching it SNOW, and only a few cars on the road.

Waiting for the snow to get deep enough for you know what.

This will be a day of relaxing.

Jim

 

[Double R]

Sitting in my cozy new recliner, in my new house, looking out the front window,
View attachment 78135
drinking hot coffee, watching it SNOW, and only a few cars on the road.

Waiting for the snow to get deep enough for you know what.

This will be a day of relaxing.

Jim

I’m dreaming of the day 2022 is the year I pray Enjoy the you know what and the new house!

 

[phideaux]

Not the norm for west KY.

Jim

 

[Mountain trapper]

Right now I'm sitting next to the wood stove watching it snow. Pretty soon I'll get the snow blower fired up and start clearing the road again. I've got about 3 miles of road to keep cleared. We get snowed in for several days every time we get a heavy snow and or high winds.

 

[Spikedriver]

Not the norm for west KY.
View attachment 78137

Jim

Looks pretty normal for where I live. Actually for January we normally have more, but this hasn't been any kind of normal winter. I hate snow but I'm hoping for more because we have been so dry for so long. Our farmers need more wet in the ground.

Enjoy the beauty of it before You Know What, Jim!

 

[phideaux]

Update.
Hash brown is still at hospital.
They tried to insert stent , thru his arm , this morning, couldn't.
Tomorrow will try inserting thru groin.
All of my stents we're thru groin.
They are life preservers .

Prayers for him and family.

Jim

 

[Pearl]

Update.
Hash brown is still at hospital.
They tried to insert stent this morning, couldn't.
Tomorrow will try inserting thru groin.
All of my stents we're thru groin.
They are life preservers .

Prayers for him and family.

Jim

Thanks for the update, I just peeked in wondering if there was any news! Extra prayers!!

 

[Spikedriver]

Update.
Hash brown is still at hospital.
They tried to insert stent , thru his arm , this morning, couldn't.
Tomorrow will try inserting thru groin.
All of my stents we're thru groin.
They are life preservers .

Prayers for him and family.

Jim

 

[zannej]

The LazyL, sometimes things like that happen. More often than not it's that the offspring are working but not getting paid enough. Employers won't give them enough hours despite whining that they need more employees. Bc some jerk up at the top said they can't give more hours or hire more people because they don't want to be "high on labor" bc said jerk at the top gets a big bonus if the labor costs stay low. It does not affect the bottom line of the entire company.
I have also personally seen situations where people do get out and are working multiple jobs but they have bad luck or they have mooching parents/grandparents. My best friend's grandfather was disabled at a fairly young age and has been a mooch almost his entire life. Even while legally considered disabled, he was able to beat his wife & kids. Two of the kids turned to drugs. He drove one of them to his death and then drove his wife to her death. He stalks his surviving son and grandson. He constantly wants things from them. Asks my friend to pickup a car part, he'll pay him back later. Never pays him back. Refuses to loan my friend a dime when he's at his lowest but then asks for $ bc he had to cancel his debit card after he gave it to a prostitute. Then the old man keeps wanting free labor from my friend. Always promises to pay but never does. And friend keeps doing stuff for him bc he feels bad about not helping (plus his grandfather will harass him- drive to his work, drive to his house, lay on the horn-- send people to pester him-- even sends the cops to order my friend to talk to him). Meanwhile his mom doesn't have an official job and is always coming by begging for money or stealing tools & stuff from his house.

It goes both ways. I've seen court cases where parents took out loans in their kids' names, put utilities in their kids' names, and in some extreme cases put mortgages in their kids' names & destroyed their credit. I remember one case where the son sued his mother for stealing his tax return check and cashing it. She was ordered to pay it back but she paid with a check that bounced so he had to sue her again.

There will always be people who mooch. It's not always the younger generations. In my area the older generations are some of the most entitled people I have ever met in my life. They want everything for free, expect people to respect them when they are completely disrespectful & rude to everyone. Refuse to pay for their own stuff. They raised the ones who raised the kids who are now struggling to support themselves. Now, there is a lot of infantalizing of younger generations. Some get coddled. Some simply are never taught how to do things on their own. They are just expected to figure it out, but it's harder these days than it used to be. You can't just march into a store and demand a job. They tell you to apply online. If you don't have internet access, you're s.o.l. Having internet access is now a requirement to live. Unemployment requires online application, jobs require online application, and then they want your cellphone number. Won't take a landline. So people *have* to have cellphones. It's asinine, but the companies that sell internet and cellphones are raking in $ over it. Sorry, this turned in to a rant. LOL.

My point is that it's not just younger generations. And it's not all about people being lazy. We live in a different world with different challenges. One of them is that it is much harder to earn a decent living due to wage stagnation combined with hyperinflation. As an aside, we don't have enough people going in to the trades anymore. It's looked down on. It's also expensive to get training and licensing. There is too much focus on fancy colleges with useless degrees. Even without fancy colleges, many degrees are useless.

I still need to play with Sketchup. LOL.

Thanks for the update, Jim. Stent in the groin sucks!