ATM
ATMs have way too many options for many users, and definitely for most uses of the machines by volume. Sometimes, when I put my card in, why are you asking what language I want to use? The same one as last time maybe? And for someone who has the same exact transaction 95% of the time, give me a single button that just says “repeat last transaction” and display what it is. So much time would be saved, especially since the computers in those things have less power than a Casio watch it seems. Also, why does mine start with “Accessing the functions on your card…” then proceeds to ask me questions it should know the answer to? What is it accessing since it then acts like it doesn’t know I only have checking, while giving me the option to select from a Savings account that doesn’t exist?
Pandemic & Tipping
Throughout the pandemic, I started tipping everyone, not just food related. Even running into 711 and grabbing a drink, I would tell them to keep the change, and they were often shocked. Frequently they would try to refuse it until I kept insisting. I notice now, in this economy, anytime I tip there is almost always zero pushback.
Amazon
Amazon can try to defend their efficiency all day long, but when I get one package in my mailbox, another in my garage and two on my front porch, all on the same day from at least two trucks it’s hard to talk about efficiency. More specifically, this is on a mountain road that has about 100 houses total. In town sure I could possibly be convinced, but when you live almost an hour from downtown Denver.
American Waste
One reason Americans waste so much is that we’re promised a certain percentage is not wasted. So when we run our sink or shower or whatever, 90% to 95% is recycled in our minds. If that’s true, that’s great! That’s also why we leave the sink running or we take an extra long shower; because in that capacity, we don’t care about the 5%, we aren’t “spending” as much time to enjoy it. So the percentage that is advertised to us actually works against us because that other 5% is just as important in the long run, which isn’t a mindset most Americans live in. And please, whatever you do, don’t tell us just how little is actually recycled.
School Shootings
For the latest school shooting, watching today, in the morning, someone says it’s unthinkable. It’s unspeakable. Yet we think about it all the time because mass shootings are literally in the news every single day. It’s “unspeakable”, yet we speak about it every time. And we say the same words over and over, especially “thoughts and prayers” which has such a well-documented history in stopping the next shooting.
Part of the problem is that we use language like that. That’s just wrong, yet the community and journalists alike keep going back to the same catch-phrases. That inaccuracy leads us to just accept it and never really put the right words to it or take more than token action to prevent the next one. Instead of “unspeakable” we should be using “intolerable” or similar. If we start using those kinds of words, then maybe it helps steer our minds to seriously drive for real solutions.
When there is a shooting in Texas specifically, I am always curious what politicians will say about the shooting since they are “all about the kids” and “every life is scared” during a pregnancy, but many of them are also “all about the guns”. Worse, they seem to care as much for their guns as their fetuses, while not seeking stricter gun control, ensuring they are in the hands of law-abiding citizens, and out of the hands of abusers and high-risk people. They need to choose between the two but always seem to thread that needle and walk a fine line between them. Hypocrisy is part of the “unspeakable” problem too.
Toll Lanes
In Denver, I-70 East there is another toll lane being added and in general, there are more of these on the highways around Denver. There is one Eastbound down I-70 in the mountains designed to alleviate traffic, but that lane is closed five or six days of the week. Then they added another one Westbound (toward the ski resorts). Basically, most of these are just lanes for people with money and it unfairly burdens taxpayers because they fund the roads. If I recall, it cost something like 83 million to create one toll lane East from ski resorts toward Denver for 12 miles.
How long does it take to regain that investment considering some of that money immediately goes to road repairs and everything for the ongoing maintenance of said lane? So how long before they break even on that? And meanwhile, many people can’t afford to use it but have to deal with the traffic that would otherwise be alleviated if a regular open lane to all. Especially when gas prices are high, with the threat of inflation and everything else. If you take the toll in both directions, it might be $6 each way, an extra $12 a day, five days a week for I-25 lanes. That’s just simply way too much money for a lot of people. So instead of creating these toll lanes, they should make them available for everyone. The problem is compounded when you actually use the lane and notice that by the numbers, very very few people do.
My Love of Gift Shops: Origin Story?
Random thought about planning a road trip on the East coast this summer and trying to divert into South Carolina and hit Myrtle Beach. Growing up that was a common destination since it was two hours from home at the time, back during the 55 MPH days. As a kid I always had fun there, and after graduation took my father’s little sports car there with a friend even. Planning trips now makes me think of the small “main drag” of Myrtle Beach where the bars and clubs are, along with various beach-style entertainment venues. That also includes the Gay Dolphin, n incredible gift shop that has been around since the 40’s.
Imagine a seven floor beach gift shop with a mix of just about everything. Admittedly, a lot of it is cheap junk but that is definitely part of the enjoyment. You can laugh at it or buy items for pennies on the dollar compared to a lot of shops. But the real fun is trying to see it all because it isn’t a standard seven floor building. There are split levels, and not the same everywhere, with multiple staircases and different paths. It’s almost like a real-world choose-your-own adventure of sorts.
In the last year I got to thinking why I love going to local artisan gift shops so much. To the point that is a primary destination when I do a road trip. I tend to skip the mainstream attractions and focus on anything that is off the beaten path or shows what culture is like in that spot. Doesn’t matter if it’s a road trip through the United States or visiting a foreign country. Show me what life is like there, not the manufactured and planned image that tourism boards want you to see. Not the museums or landmarks that are over inflated in value (to me) and price.
In 2022 I drove through Myrtle Beach and made a point to stop at the Gay Dolphin. My diabetic memory aside, it is exactly as I remember it from my childhood and it is still splendid with the biggest mix of fun local finds and absolute touristy trash. If I had to answer about where my love of artisan gift shops comes from, I can pretty safely attribute it to that one store. As an adjacent type of business, also where my love of antique stores comes from. Always a mix of good and bad and weird, and all of it dense with items which my brain latches onto.
Hotels and Smart TVs
I like when people forget to sign out of accounts on hotel TVs. I hate signing in because I know I will forget to sign out as well. Part of me, on the last day of the stay, wants to pick all kinds of weird shit to play a prank since it populates their history and influences recommendations. But ultimately I might select one weird show or video hoping they notice it, as a nice gesture and way of saying ‘thanks’ for letting me use it, “here’s your security reminder.”
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