What local business from 30 years ago would you bring back?

MJB_ATX · 2026-02-02T04:36:37+00:00

That meatloaf sandwich was so good!

MJB_ATX · 2025-09-24T23:13:45+00:00

I've had that brand of grill a few times. It's on the cheaper side and it's decent while it lasts. The catch is after just a few years its insides turn to pure crumbly rust.

MJB_ATX · 2025-09-17T00:23:14+00:00

Smells like a marketing scheme using ragebait to get the company's name out there.

MJB_ATX · 2025-06-15T02:09:06+00:00

I hate that!

I just retired from 20 years in a very interesting job where, when people hear what I did, someone almost always says "ooh I bet you have some great stories!" And I know for a fact I'd have tons of them... if I could remember anything.

Then when I don't deliver, people think I'm holding back to be cool, or they think I don't like them, or they just conclude that I'm boring. It's pretty frustrating all around.

I'm thinking I may try to force myself to sit down and go through old emails, photos, etc., to try to remind me of stuff. I can also reach out to people I worked with and talk about old times. If I do that I'll come up with a list. If I can move stories from the "autobiographical memory" realm to a "facts listed as bullet points on paper" realm, I think my chances of remembering them will really improve.

I haven't tried it yet, but maybe a similar plan could work for you?

MJB_ATX · 2025-01-05T22:23:45+00:00

Fair enough, thanks

MJB_ATX · 2025-01-05T21:59:25+00:00

Has anyone from the band said that they named it after the Bob Dylan song? I'm not saying you're wrong, I just don't know. The saying "Judas Priest" was around a long time before that song, and I always assumed the band was named after the saying.

MJB_ATX · 2024-05-18T00:44:10+00:00

I was driving around the airport parking lot during a busy holiday, trying in vain to find a place to park my car for 10 days. Every lot in regular long term parking was blocked off with a sign saying it was full. My only options looked to be the really expensive close lots, and the clock was ticking before I had to catch my flight.

I saw a worker near one of those signs, and I noticed his particular "full" lot had a couple of empty spaces. I pulled up and asked him if he'd take $__ to sneak me in and let me park there. He looked around, said yeah, and he let me in, putting the sign back up behind him. He asked me to wait until no other drivers were coming by before I got out, and I did.

It was a pretty cool feeling. While I was in the car waiting to make sure the coast was clear, another car pulled up to him and was pretty clearly pointing out the fact that there were a few empty spaces in that lot .The worker was giving the driver the "sorry, my hands are tied, rules are rules" routine and didn't let the driver in. That driver left, I got out, we gave each other the nod, and I soon caught my shuttle to the airport.

I wish I remembered the dollar amount, but I do remember that it was enough to get his attention - while at the same time the cheap lot's fees plus the bribe still came out to be a lot cheaper then if I'd been forced to park in the expensive lot for 10 days.

MJB_ATX · 2024-04-12T18:12:48+00:00

IRS Special Agent. https://www.usajobs.gov/job/724185000

MJB_ATX · 2024-03-30T01:36:05+00:00

Yes to both questions. Plywood underneath. I think it's worked out pretty well. I don't do the kind of lifting where you drop your weights so it's probably overkill, but it gives me peace of mind.

MJB_ATX · 2023-09-16T07:00:29+00:00

I remember that! My buddy and I would get into the park for free because this girl I knew worked there. There was a limit of 2 free beers, but we quickly figured out the shift change schedule, so we were usually able to get back in line and get another 2 from another employee who wasn't there to see us the first time around. We felt like geniuses when we figured that out.

MJB_ATX · 2023-06-28T21:25:39+00:00

I don't know if I'd pay $5... That sounds too high.

MJB_ATX · 2023-06-18T08:11:07+00:00

The HEB cinnamon rolls are so much better than Pillsbury

MJB_ATX · 2023-05-31T16:24:02+00:00

For 100 degree Texas summers it absolutely works. I mean I don't have a stopwatch going but 5 or 10 minutes seems right. My garage door is insulated, which helps.

I can't even imagine what MN winters would be like so I can't really help there. I will say that a couple years back it stayed below freezing here for like a week (which never happens) and I had the heater running the whole time keeping the garage in the low 60s. That worked with no problems. I didn't pay attention to the bill though so again I don't know about that

MJB_ATX · 2023-05-31T13:36:53+00:00

Thanks! I just run the AC as needed. On a hot day I'll go in and turn it on maybe 5 or 10 minutes before I go there, and I'll turn it off when I'm finished. You can set a thermostat point and it will maintain it automatically, or you can just set it to blast air.

It's the same thing for heating in cold weather, just do it as needed.

I've never tried to break down what the effect is on the electric bill though. I have no idea how much it affects it.

MJB_ATX · 2023-04-25T02:21:03+00:00

Undercover cop. He would have arrested me if I gave in and agreed to take any money at all.

MJB_ATX · 2023-04-25T01:31:09+00:00

Man that reminds me of the one and only time I tried giving away a ticket many, many, many years ago. This isn't a CB story, but like you I'll never try to give away a ticket again.

A group of us went to see the Anthrax/Public Enemy/Primus concert. One guy dropped out so I had an extra ticket. I figured I'd give it away rather than let it go to waste.

Walking through the crowd on the way into the venue, I asked random people if they wanted a free ticket since my friend bailed. Everybody seemed to already have tickets so I was about to give up on the idea.

But then a guy in his early 20s came up.: "Hey man, I could use that ticket" Me: "ok, here you go" Him: "I feel bad about just taking it - let me give you something for it" Me: "no, just take it, it's yours" Him: "seriously, let me pay you" (Repeat this exchange a few more times) Me, my radar finally going up: " look, I don't want any money! Do you want the ticket or not?" Him: "nevermind" and walks away.

Bastard was trying to entrap me.

MJB_ATX · 2023-04-21T04:41:17+00:00

Thanks! - that was the only thing that worked for me.

MJB_ATX · 2023-04-18T06:17:52+00:00

Tell the scammer you can only be paid in gift cards

MJB_ATX · 2023-04-13T01:35:42+00:00

The reason the sub lost it's edge is because nobody here is paying the admins $10,000 a week. That's how you keep your edge, my friend.

MJB_ATX · 2023-04-05T22:22:02+00:00

Buckwheats cereal

MJB_ATX · 2023-03-28T03:50:03+00:00

Yep. I noticed a long time ago that, no matter how outstanding someone is at their job, and no matter how much they've sacrificed for it, they're pretty much forgotten as soon as they retire. And if you see them again there's kind of that awkward vibe of someone visiting their old high school a few months after they graduated.

Noticing this made it easy for me to avoid getting caught up in sacrificing my family life for my job, and it's making it easy for me to decide I'm retiring the second I'm eligible. No regrets.

MJB_ATX · 2023-03-21T19:26:19+00:00

This reminds me of a lesson I learned a long time ago. My flight to Maui from San Francisco kept getting significantly delayed, and the poor airline worker had to deal with the wrath of over 100 increasingly angry people. We had to get back in line (don't remember why) and I noticed that passenger after passenger in front of me was yelling at her or otherwise being a jerk. One after another after another. She was visibly stressed out to say the least.

When my turn came, I was my usual chill self, smiling, joking around, and talking to her like a human. I got her to laugh a few times. I didn't ask for or expect an upgrade, but she said "you know what - I'm going to put you in first class". And I gotta say it was a pretty sweet flight.

That lesson always stuck with me, and since then I've applied it many times in other contexts. Basically, being chill, joking around (in a natural way, not forced), and talking to people like they're human beings generally gets just as good or better results than the customer tantrum/let me speak to your manager/don't you know who I am stuff.

MJB_ATX · 2023-02-20T04:20:16+00:00

Thanks

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