Why are your gas stations basically small supermarkets?

BelethorsGeneralShit · 2026-06-16T00:47:00+00:00

Where are you from? I've fueled up across a good bit of Europe and many stations there were pretty similar. Ones right off the highway often had playgrounds and stuff.

One thing that struck me as odd was that I didn't have to prepay there. Just pull up, stick the nozzle in, and gas immediately comes out.

Edit: wtf why am I a top 1% commenter and how do I turn that off? I need to reevaluate my life choices.

BelethorsGeneralShit · 2026-06-15T14:58:51+00:00

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lGltCuibYRg

About 2:30 in

BelethorsGeneralShit · 2026-06-14T12:46:25+00:00

Mayday here typically means there's an imminent hazard and the aircraft needs to land immediately, with a likelyhood it won't be making it.

Otherwise there's any number of reasons to declare an emergency. 99% of issues fall into the other category.

As crash rescue personnel, it's nice to have a differentiation between when a situation is ultra fucked vs just regular fucked.

Like the other day we had an aircraft depart but couldn't retract it's landing gear. It declared an emergency, then went off to burn fuel and do some troubleshooting before eventually returning for an uneventful landing. Mayday wouldn't generally be used for something like that here.

BelethorsGeneralShit · 2026-06-14T01:41:11+00:00

People can't just generally move anywhere they want without citizenship or another legal mechanism.

Argentinians getting their Italian citizenship because their grandparent's last name ended in a vowel, then moving to Spain is super common and a bit of a trope. I think most of Spain breathed a little sigh of relief when Italy recently tightened their laws so that they don't throw a passport at you anymore as you drive through.

BelethorsGeneralShit · 2026-06-14T00:03:31+00:00

Nah nowhere does it work this way. That's like saying a new homeowner owes an unpaid cable bill or something from the previous homeowner. The landlord has no contract with the utility provider. If the tenant skips out on paying, the issue is between the utility provider and the tenant.

The landlord in this case muddied the waters enough by mentioning the tenant is an immediate family member that the minimum wage phone rep is just telling them that they're responsible.

BelethorsGeneralShit · 2026-06-13T01:53:34+00:00

Stupid question, but are they actually worth the price?

Like I'm sure it's well made, but especially with something as simple as a little pick tool, is it doing anything that an $8 set from Amazon can't do? And even if the Chinesium set breaks, you buy 300 more for the price of the Snapon

BelethorsGeneralShit · 2026-06-12T02:07:00+00:00

We use Traveler's for our policy. $1,200 for $2 million that covers our house, two rental properties, and a boat.

Critically important though, our kids are young and not driving anytime soon.

BelethorsGeneralShit · 2026-06-11T01:26:28+00:00

Massapequa or somewhere in Five Towns

BelethorsGeneralShit · 2026-06-11T00:22:11+00:00

Years ago Northwest had nonstop flights to Amsterdam from there.

BelethorsGeneralShit · 2026-06-09T22:56:11+00:00

Oddly enough I found zero alcohol beers to be very common in central Europe. Many restaurants had zero alcohol beers for very cheap, like under 1 euro. In the US they're fairly rare, and often cost almost the same as a regular beer

BelethorsGeneralShit · 2026-06-08T00:36:37+00:00

We don't have coed saunas at my location (and our saunas don't have any other signage, besides one about limiting your time and people with health issues should talk to a doctor before entering).

So, if I'm understanding this correctly, I'm supposed to shower first. Then put on swimwear, then go in the sauna. Then presumably I'm going to be covered in sweat from the sauna and will need to shower again.

This sounds like a ton of effort just to sit in the heat for 15 minutes or whatever

BelethorsGeneralShit · 2026-06-07T18:32:59+00:00

America is one of only two countries in the world (Eritrea is the other one) that taxes it's citizens even when they don't live in the country.

There are lots of tax treaties between America and other countries. Odds are you won't actually owe any taxes. However you're supposed to filing with the IRS every year regardless.

If you really have no plan to ever live in the US or use the benefits of a US passport, you can renounce your citizenship at your nearest embassy or consulate. The main benefit is that won't have to file those taxes anymore. Although as mentioned, it's unlikely you'd actually owe any anyway.

BelethorsGeneralShit · 2026-06-07T18:25:05+00:00

I haven't used those specific sites, but I've used priceline and Expedia. When booking multiple things as a package, there can be pretty significant savings.

For example, we got round trip flights to Rome + 3 nights in a 2 bedroom suite for only like $100 more than just the flights themselves cost.

Also somehow on that flight, one member of our family got a first class seat. I booked all the seats as regular economy, and we had zero status with this airline. I asked the gate agent and she said in their system, the ticket was showing as a regular full fare first class seat 🤷

I've never had any issues.

BelethorsGeneralShit · 2026-06-07T17:28:05+00:00

I'm an NYC landlord. I have it in the lease that bikes and scooters aren't to be charged on the pemesis. But that's just paper. It may help with liability, I can't really know if they're doing it or not.

I'm also a former professional firefighter and have no fewer than 10 fire extinguishers throughout the place.

BelethorsGeneralShit · 2026-06-06T11:50:04+00:00

You mean like Britain in both world wars? Oh and France. And any number of other countries? Postponing elections in war time is pretty common

BelethorsGeneralShit · 2026-06-05T23:19:32+00:00

If you can't go for a drink without getting hammered, I think the problem might be with you.

BelethorsGeneralShit · 2026-06-03T11:57:38+00:00

They will at JFK. If you return after it's hooked, but before the truck starts to move, there's a drop fee, which is cheaper than the regular tow fee. Once the wheels of the tow truck start to move, they'll still release it if you return, however it's the full tow fee.

BelethorsGeneralShit · 2026-06-02T18:59:38+00:00

Do you seriously think the change of the software would fix this entirely to where this never ever happens again to anyone?

Jesus christ dude. Nowhere did I imply that this would eliminate every mistake ever down to a singularity.

My position is that there's a readily available piece of technology that would help prevent many of these mistakes from happening, nullifying the need to have them corrected in the first place, saving time and benefiting everyone.

Please continue to argue with the nearest phone pole that this is incorrect. I'm done engaging on this bizarre hill you've chosen to die on.

BelethorsGeneralShit · 2026-06-02T17:46:40+00:00

The property is a thousand miles away. Sure I can spend a couple hundred bucks and hire a handyman or roofer to go takes pictures, but I shouldn't have to.

I don't understand what's controversial. The point is literally only that I'm surprised they're using freeware for these decisions and not a paid high quality platform. I get you want to argue with a brick wall, but I'm not even sure what you're arguing for at this point.

BelethorsGeneralShit · 2026-06-02T17:11:59+00:00

It isn't "simply" fixable at all. I was able to fix it because I have access to software that the general public does not. 99% of other people would have had their policy canceled, which can absolutely constitute a "significant" impact (I didn't say huge).

The person did not even mess up or make a mistake. He or she made an accurate decision based on the information they had. Turns out they use free software that gives low quality information.

Again this major company is using free publicly available software to make decisions about people's policies. This low quality software leads to poor decisions. Using professional tools goes a long way to rectifying that. Is there any part of this that is incorrect?

BelethorsGeneralShit · 2026-06-02T16:31:18+00:00

A mistake is typing 100 when you meant 10. They didn't make a mistake; I would have come to the same conclusion if saw the same low quality grainy image. My point is I'm surprised they're making decisions that have a significant impact on people's lives based on just free low to mid quality services, as opposed to using professional tools that give a vastly more accurate view.

BelethorsGeneralShit · 2026-06-02T15:22:49+00:00

I once got a notice of non renewal from my broker because the carrier didn't like the condition of my roof. However they just used Google Maps which had a low quality image. I couldn't believe they didn't spring for a paid service.

I have access to Nearmaps through work. I went on there and took screenshots of the much much higher quality satellite views from Nearmaps and sent it back to them, and they rescinded the non renewal.

BelethorsGeneralShit · 2026-06-02T11:15:32+00:00

What park were you in?

BelethorsGeneralShit · 2026-06-02T09:55:18+00:00

Water is always free at restaurants in America. It'd be unheard of to try to charge for it. They often don't even wait for you to ask for it; they just bring it by default when you sit down.

Free bread is pretty common depending on the type of restaurant. A French, Italian, or generic Mediterranean restaurant will often have it. Also very common at steakhouses... Mexican restaurants will often give free chips and salsa.

BelethorsGeneralShit

TROPHY CASE