[Thorzdad]

So, a Webelo and his mom just came to the door, selling bags of popcorn to support the troop. Caramel corn, white cheddar, something else, etc. I though a bag of caramel corn sounded fun, so I nicely asked how much a bag was.

$25!!!!!

$25!?? For a fucking bag of caramel corn?!?!??? (I did not use that language)
The mom agreed it was a lot of money. The white cheddar was the bargain at a mere $20. I begged off, telling them they would have to come back and talk to my banker (aka my wife) There’s no way in hell I’m gonna tell her I spent $25 on fucking caramel corn.

[andi*pandi]

we were taught to say, you are supporting scouts, with some popcorn thrown in. at least bsa gets a bigger cut of that popcorn $$ than gs does from cookies.

The cheapest thing is the $10 dollar bag of popping corn… But the caramel popcorn is at least tasty.

The popcorn people frown at customers just giving money directly to the troop but the troop will accept it the kids just don't get any popcorn points toward prizes.

[Thorzdad]

Originally Posted by andi*pandi 

at least bsa gets a bigger cut of that popcorn $$ than gs does from cookies.

Still, most people have no problem with dropping $25 and getting a few boxes of cookies. But $25 for a single bag of popcorn just doesn’t sell.

I was a webelo back in the day, and I was ready to support the kid. I’d have no problem dropping $10 on a bag of caramel corn. Maybe $12. Maybe. $25 is just too big an ask.

[Laminar]

Back when my neighbor was in Scouts maybe 5 years ago they'd have branded boxes of caramel corn with either of the competing local college sports teams and they were....$9? Still highway robbery for a bag of caramel corn but at least it was only a 300% markup and not 800%.

[Spheric Harlot]

I really don't get the argument.

The concept of actually making a donation for the donation's sake and receiving something worth a fraction of the donation as a token "purchase" really isn't new.

I mean…bake sales really aren't about the business proposition of selling home-made cake for $2 a slice.

Make the donation, enjoy the popcorn, end of story.

Or…don't.

[Thorzdad]

People are more likely to “donate” if the required donation was more reasonable. The scouts would probably pocket more donation money overall if the cost were lower. At $25, they’re leaving a lot of money on the table.

Left on their own, most people wouldn’t ever make a donation to scouting. I know I wouldn’t (Don’t get me started on my horrible time in scouting.) The popcorn is the bait that could push people to make a donation. But, since it’s a transaction, you shouldn’t have a price such that people have to think twice about. $25 is such a barrier. Doubly-so given that everyone knows how damned cheap popcorn is.

Price that shit at even $15/bag and I bet they’d end up with more money in the bank.

[Spheric Harlot]

Yeah, but your wording was, "$25!?? For a fucking bag of caramel corn?!?!???" and, "There’s no way in hell I’m gonna tell her I spent $25 on fucking caramel corn."

I get that there should be options for smaller donations, but your post hinges on the idea of value, and much of the subsequent discussion has been about "margins" and "markups" — as if that were the point.

Originally Posted by Thorzdad 

People are more likely to “donate” if the required donation was more reasonable.

THIS I can absolutely agree with.

[andi*pandi]

Again, the trailsend company does not want scouts to take direct donations… but we did have a donation cookie jar on the sale table anyway that many people stuffed money into.

sounds like prices have gone up.
The $10 dollar option popping corn...
caramel was $20 unless w nuts then $25
Cheese popcorn was $15 however if it's pretty obvious the difference if you're selling outside of a grocery store someone could take their $15 into the grocery store and buy three large bags of cheese popcorn for the same price.

[subego]

Chester’s Puffcorn is by far the best Cheeto product, yet it has a chee quotient of zero.

[reader50]

So you're 10 years old (your sister is 11) and you've been misbehaving. Mom takes away your electronics for awhile.

How do you respond to this injustice? note - you live in Florida. So exercise your freedom.

You and your sis swipe Mom's car and go for a joyride after midnight. Hours later (and 200 miles away) the cops pull over the stolen car. Only to find two kids, also reported missing.

When the vehicle was stopped, deputies saw a 10-year-old boy hop out of the driver’s seat and his 11-year-old sister exit the car, the sheriff’s office said in the post. Authorities then learned the siblings were also reported missing in North Port and the stolen vehicle belonged to their mother, the post said.
...
After speaking with the children, deputies determined they were not mistreated by anyone in their home. Their mother, who drove three hours to pick up the children, did not want to pursue criminal charges, authorities said.

I seem to have missed out on essential childhood adventures. Never stole the parents' car as a preteen - that would have resulted in lots of pain sitting down for the next few days. Actually, I don't recall ever stealing the parents' car.

Even growing up is free-er in Florida. I bet both kids plan to vote for DeSantis when they come of age.

[Thorzdad]

Yesterday, we were out with two other couples at an arts festival over in the more affluent northern suburbs of Indy. They block off the downtown mainstreet, and line each side of the street with tents for the artists to show/sell their works. Basically a big tent sale for art, which is pretty much the primary way artists get seen and sell their art in my neck of the woods. It was a fun time, looking at a lot of middle-brow art, finding the occasional artist doing something genuinely interesting, and, of course, people watching. To wit...

Toward evening, we started noticing packs of young people (i.e. teens) migrating into the area, and they were more-or-less dressed formally. We quickly realized it was homecoming weekend for the local highschool, and last night was the homecoming dance.

Being an old, I am decidedly out-of-touch with the styles the youngsters wear these days (at least here in Indiana) and I was a bit startled. The boys were dressed like they always have...nice pants, shirt, tie, a few had jackets. Nothing new. They could have been transported from anywhere in the past 30 years.

The girls though...
I’ll say right up front this is not going to be some old dude raging about girls dressing like hoes rant. It’s more like an old dude dealing with trying really hard not to openly gawk and perv over the girls. To say the girls’ dresses were skimpy would be the understatement of the year. The dresses were basically just really expensive elastic tubes. Absolutely skin tight, and barely high enough to cover nipples, and barely low enough to cover butt cheeks. They were really nice dresses, but...damn...it was super difficult not to just sit and stare, and feel really creepy and embarrassed/ashamed, because, y’know, old dude.

A really interesting part of the girls’ ensembles was the footware. No heels. Nice sneakers and bunched-up socks. One of my friends opined that, with the sneakers, the look was kind of a high-end catholic schoolgirl uniform.

Kids these days, amirite?

[reader50]

Originally Posted by Thorzdad 

A really interesting part of the girls’ ensembles was the footware. No heels. Nice sneakers and bunched-up socks.

Does this mean the girls-in-boots fashion is over?

I didn't get that one. Boots are heavy - I only wear them when a job requires it. Sneakers are far more comfortable for everyday wear.

[subego]

By boots, do you mean like Uggs?

[reader50]

More like black police boots. Seems to have been the thing with teen girls for quite some time.

[Spheric Harlot]

Originally Posted by reader50 

More like black police boots. Seems to have been the thing with teen girls for quite some time.

Oh, you mean Doc Martens.

They've "been a thing" for five or six decades.

https://www.drmartens.com/uk/en_gb/history

[subego]

I’ve heard their product has gone to shit.

[Spheric Harlot]

Originally Posted by subego 

I’ve heard their product has gone to shit.

The “Made in England” line is apparently still the original product.

They moved 99% of manufacturing to China twenty years ago, but that apparently only became problematic after the private equity takeover by the current owner, ten years ago.

[andi*pandi]

Yes docs are still popular. Kid2 lives in hers.

We shopped very hard to find a version that was better - leather, workmanship, etc. Choosing a model w different hardware helped - don't recall if hers are Made in England.

[subego]

Originally Posted by Spheric Harlot 

The “Made in England” line is apparently still the original product.

They moved 99% of manufacturing to China twenty years ago, but that apparently only became problematic after the private equity takeover by the current owner, ten years ago.

From what I’ve heard, when they moved to China one of the British factories kept making them under the Solovair brand.

[Spheric Harlot]

That too. They used to manufacture under license. But Docs themselves are also still made there — the “Made in England” models.

[Laminar]

Haven't been on Marketplace for a while. Facebook wants to make sure I'm hooked back in.

[subego]

$3.5K for Apple Vision Pro.

[subego]

Decided this was the best thread.

[Laminar]

Somebody's foot pull out of their boot? Am I seeing the scale correctly - is that a child's footprint?

[subego]

Nope. Full size. The print to the left facing the same direction is my size 11 boot.

My memory is hazy now over whether it was both feet.

[subego]

Definitely the right thread.



Not sure how I feel about this. I like both of them, one against my better judgement.

[reader50]

In the TV series Angel (part of the BuffyVerse), the S1 ep #5 "Rm With A Vu" features a mom who murdered her son, and hid the body in a false wall of her home. To keep him from marrying and moving away from her.

If you think this was an implausible story, you've underestimated shady moms. Check out the current story of a mom charged with murder. Hid his body in a false wall. The real mom did add a box though, so slightly more respect.

A 66-year-old Mississippi woman is facing a murder charge after police say they found the body of her son in a wooden box hidden behind a false wall in her home.

Jerri Roby, who also goes by the last name Israel, is facing one count of first-degree murder after authorities found the body of her 42-year-old son, John Allen Gaither, behind the wall in her Gulfport home, Gulfport Police Department spokesman Jason DuCré told CNN Sunday.

No word yet on motivation or exact cause of death. Bonus booking pic of the mom - looks like they got the right psycho. Not a flattering pic.

[Demonhood]

Not too far off from the Angel villain

[subego]

[reader50]

Actually, they're mostly viewing the Pol Lounge at the moment, which also counts for the Lounge total.

I guess the spiders and bots enjoy our heated discussions.

Or maybe one of us applied for a classified government job. And they're doing background checks on all of us.

[subego]

Originally Posted by reader50 

Pol

Hello, frens!

[andi*pandi]

All the people who suddenly couldn't use facebook had to go somewhere.

[reader50]

Boeing has been having trouble lately, and losing a ton of money. Ultimately because the board & executive suite were taken over by business & marketing types, kicking out all the engineers. They prioritized profits over things like quality control or great engineering. They even moved the company HQ away from the plant. First to Chicago, then close to D.C.

Now a whistleblower on the airline side, a former Quality Control Manager with decades of experience, has been testifying. Looking forward to making court appearances. Oh wait, he won't be doing that after all. It seems he died of a self-inflicted gunshot in a hotel parking lot. How convenient for Boeing.

A police incident report says officers were dispatched to conduct a welfare check at a Holiday Inn in Charleston shortly before 10:20 am on Saturday. When they arrived, responding officers found Barnett in the driver’s seat of a truck in the parking lot, with a gunshot wound to the head. He was holding a handgun. Barnett was pronounced dead at the scene, police said.

The police report also said there was a piece of paper found next to him that looked like a note.

The incident report noted that the hotel had received a phone call from a “Rob,” who requested the welfare check on “his coworker John Barnett,” which led hotel employees to the truck in the parking lot.

The BBC reported that Barnett was in Charleston for legal interviews and was scheduled for additional questioning on Saturday. He was found dead after failing to appear.

When reached for comment regarding Barnett’s death, Boeing issued a statement saying, “We are saddened by Mr. Barnett’s passing, and our thoughts are with his family and friends.”

At least the suicide note wasn't pinned to his chest. I'm sure Boeing was very saddened - after all, they said so.

The story doesn't mention if the gunshot was to the back of his head. You'd think the gun would fall out of his hand. Detectives are on the case - I'd be tracing the handgun. Along with the call from "Rob". There's more detail in the story - click through. No one got any hint he was suicidal. Not his lawyers, family, or (real) co-workers.

[subego]

This is a genius gambit once you realize Airbus came up with it.

[Spheric Harlot]

Originally Posted by subego 

This is a genius gambit once you realize Airbus came up with it.

Huh?

[reader50]

Chicago was famous for these kinds of suicides during Prohibition. Maybe today still. Gangsters regularly checked out, with suicide notes pinned to their chests. Saying they couldn't take it any more.

subego, any idea what the going rate is for a "parking lot special" in Chicago?

[Spheric Harlot]

Yeah, but I'm missing the Airbus connection.

Having a Boeing QC whistleblower testify would benefit Airbus, no?

[subego]

Originally Posted by Spheric Harlot 

Yeah, but I'm missing the Airbus connection.

See? Genius.

[reader50]

I think he's reasoning it like this:

Case 1: Whistleblower testifies. Airbus benefits, as Boeing sucks. But Boeing ultimately benefits too, because they're forced to improve QC.

Case 2: Whistleblower dies, no testimony. Case collapses. Airbus benefits, as Boeing gets criminally investigated for suspected murder. But there's no court order to improve QC. So in theory, Airbus benefits for longer.

I don't buy the Case 2 reasoning. Assuming Barnett's death was a hit, a criminal case will result in someone (several someones?) leaving the top levels of Boeing. Creating openings for what Boeing needs the most - real engineers in charge. Also, Barnett had been giving testimony for awhile. I doubt the QC case will collapse. There have been too many Boeing screwups from cutting corners:

Aircraft:
737 - multiple crashes, and anomalous incidents.
777 - MH370 crash, still unsolved. Might or might not be a Boeing issue.
787 - multiple incidents.

Military:
KC-46 New air refueling tanker. Behind schedule and over budget. Existing deliveries contain still-unsolved issues. Trash & tools found in some delivered planes.
VC-25B - new Air Force One planes based on the 747-8. Over budget, behind schedule. Two empty tequila bottles found in the fuselage (underpaid workers?).

Space:
CST-100 Starliner - space capsule. Overbudget and years behind schedule. Multiple screwups along the way. Years behind SpaceX Dragon Crew Capsule. It is estimated Boeing will end up with a loss on Starliner when everything is done.
SLS Core Stage - behind schedule, over budget.

[Doc HM]

Originally Posted by subego 

I’ve heard their product has gone to shit.

In a hand cart. In the 80s my Docs used to last years, literally indestructible. I had a couple of pairs recently, the lifespan was measured in months. And they were eye-wateringly expensive.

[subego]

Originally Posted by reader50 

MH370

The pilot suicide hypothesis seems so solid I’m hesitant to pin anything on Boeing.

[reader50]

Cell phone calls never completed to the plane. I favor the theory that they lost cabin pressure. Though that triggers the oxygen masks. I never could see how it would put everyone to sleep fast enough to knock out the flight crew.

However, due to recent events, what if a door plug blew out at cruising altitude (35K feet?). That would give explosive decompression for the entire plane. Suddenly, I can see everyone being knocked out. Anoxia then slowly kills everyone as the autopilot keeps things going. Until the fuel runs out.

Whenever they find the wreck, it's going to be a bitch figuring it out. If memory serves, the black box switched to SSD storage some time ago. Consumer SSDs are rated to retain data for 1 year without power. You'd think industrial SSDs would retain data longer, and maybe they have a separate battery just for the memory components. But it's 10 years at this point.

[subego]

The hypothesis is the Captain incapacitated the crew, who all would have been standing, with violent flying. Even if someone on the crew managed to escape injury, they would use their remaining time managing the chaos in front of them as the oxygen ran out.

With the utmost confidence their Captain was trying to save them from whatever had caused this.

[OAW]

Many owners of GM vehicles subscribe to the OnStar service. It would appear GM not only secretly enrolled OnStar subscribers into its Smart Driver program, it also sold the information it collected about the driving habits of its subscribers to data brokers which then made its way to insurance companies. And apparently some customers started receiving drastically higher insurance premiums. GM recently got caught with its hands in the cookie jar. Though this is the same company that decided to no longer support CarPlay in its EV's. So clearly they are not above making boneheaded decisions. :err

GM says it won’t share driving data with brokers anymore | ArsTechnica.com

OAW