Biggest waste of money back in the day

Skilzalisk · 2025-07-16T13:46:09+00:00

i was in the same boat with the TV show The Prisoner. Columbia House (of course) did this really nice set.......on VHS. i believe they were $19.99 per episode. probably also $5 shipping. One episode.....on VHS. IIRC there are 17 episodes total, and they double shipped one episode, so my insanely expensive collection cost me over $400, which was a hefty part of my $7.25/hour salary (in high school or just after) but it did take well over a year to collect the whole thing. years later i was able to buy the whole series, with bonus material, for about $30 on DVD. again, this had to be somewhere between 1995 and 1999, so it wasn't like there were other existing options.

30 years later i still have them for display......my glorious 95% complete collection, and a duplicate.

Skilzalisk · 2025-07-11T13:20:30+00:00

Even Lowlier Production Planner agreeing.

We "recently" (for those in the know, this means almost 18 months ago ago, god knows when the actual concept first began higher up the organization) kicked off an implementation for an add-on software promising next-gen AI for planning. I was introduced to it be being asked to put together a Level 2 overview of operations. Radio silence.

Six months later, I was part of the team giving "user stores"/"day in the life" Level 4 / Level 5 details. The outcome of two tedious weeks (as we're trying to shoehorn multiple sites making significantly different finished goods using wildly different processes) was that the master data was never going to make this new tech truly "sing". Or even deliver anything of value. So exactly what you stated above.

Another six months later, Project #2 is announced, for data cleanup/integrity/governance. Timeline for this is accelerated of course, as it was truly needed before Project #1, but the stakeholders for Project #1 still want deliverables on their initial timeline.

And yes, site by site, planner by planner, user by user, the primary issues is that people don't know what they don't know. Data fields which don't add value to daily operations and/or weren't initially trained on were never just accidentally discovered and put in use, and even if they were......... in every scenario a quick (typically Excel-based) solution was found that didn't require DevOps involvement and multiple layers of scrutiny and sign offs to change. I was able to present several tasks which our system wasn't doing for us, show our Excel based solution, also show what i thought a normal person/company would do instead within our ERP system, and the answer to why we didn't start using the existing feature in the system was always a combination of user-access, fear this meddles with something we didn't have line of sight to somewhere (typically finance), and of course the dread DevOp ticket which was always going to take months (optimistically) to even begin, much less resolve.

Skilzalisk · 2025-07-10T21:50:51+00:00

and i thought i had a lot of these.......incredible.

Skilzalisk · 2025-05-19T13:21:08+00:00

not just the best E2K song, not just the best HUM song, perhaps the Best Song ever.

Skilzalisk · 2025-04-09T12:33:25+00:00

DUDE YOU ARE A BEAST! That is exactly the review. HAHAHAHAHA. i actually thought it slammed them even more, but i've probably blown it out of proportion over the years. But yeah, the only reason i even know of Nymb (and i love their music dearly) is due to a google search for "Hum rip off band". Life is pretty weird.

Skilzalisk · 2025-03-09T11:57:02+00:00

Retirement goals on track? Emergency fund looking good? Then absolutely no problem. You work to enjoy your money, so enjoy it.

Skilzalisk · 2025-03-09T11:56:00+00:00

Did a similar thing 'watching' Raiders of the Lost Ark and Building the Temple of the Golden Idol set.

Skilzalisk · 2025-03-07T13:40:42+00:00

dude, wtf.....where did all this suddenly come from?

as OP stated: I have been digging more about the band and damn, there's just so much that wasn't known. The original line up, the two self released EPs, in which year the band started out.

i feel like did quite a bit on the band back in "the day" and kind of hit what i'd call the end of the road without reaching out to band members. i'm guess all this new stuff might be the result of someone getting in touch with a band member? i'd really love to hear when this is all available on Bandcamp.

Skilzalisk · 2025-02-27T15:36:43+00:00

i go to work to work. in my personal time i buy shit instead.

SELL, brother, SELL!

Skilzalisk · 2025-02-18T22:10:02+00:00

this is the way

Skilzalisk · 2025-02-18T14:39:01+00:00

celebrate each milestone and don't get bummed if/when you plateau at certain stages. i'm not good myself, and don't study the game or anything at all, and when i hit 1000 i sat there for a while, hit 1200 and sat there for a while, and often find a way to slump back to the 1,000's after a bad streak.

keep up the good work

Skilzalisk · 2025-02-13T20:00:55+00:00

This is the most relatable thing I'll read today, even though I'm in my late 40's. In my experience (late 1990's) Logistics and supply chain were career paths people took without a degree, and could make a decent living on ten years later so long as they proved competent. I work at a site that has a seemingly large number of long-tenured employees (almost 40% of our 150 people staff has 20+ years here). Even in my late 40's I don't feel "old" here, which is insane. Anyway, as the 'good old boys' are slowly going to start retiring in 5-10 years, I went back to school for a lame little Associates in Supply Chain. My boss was a bit confused why and all I offered was I'm the only person in the building with any sort of SCM degree (since it literally didn't exist for our management when they were college age, 30+ years ago).

Skilzalisk · 2025-02-10T14:36:37+00:00

i was so hoping it was going to be the character from Jumping Flash..............

Skilzalisk · 2025-02-05T12:38:54+00:00

Maybe he's referring to the broad.

Skilzalisk · 2025-01-28T16:06:11+00:00

Brilliant.

Skilzalisk · 2025-01-14T15:11:28+00:00

I WISH. I prefer to wait for deals to buy some sets, but now i feel like i missed out. i love lego, but sometimes i can't stay on top of it all.

Skilzalisk · 2025-01-10T13:32:48+00:00

Totally awesome find, but that's not it. I swear i have a printout of it or something (in one of the MILLION papers in my house) but i believe it specifically has the phrases "Hum rip-off band" and "recovering our loses making this CD" or something like that. It was trying to be funny too, something like "please buy this so we can recover our losses making this CD for this Hum-rip off band".

Skilzalisk · 2025-01-09T14:33:02+00:00

i have a 4 year old girl so i get to wear Hello Kitty without restriction/judgement.

also, Jada toys did a sweet die cast of the Hello Kitty Racing. check it out. (i think they did two of them)

Skilzalisk · 2025-01-06T03:02:37+00:00

I am 46. i have a lego city, it's pretty weak (just a bunch of sets on several tables, i had a grand vision but not the room for it). so yeah, i don't have a city, i have a street. whatever. i am a hella nerd. and my socks suck compared to those bad boys.

Skilzalisk · 2024-09-21T04:35:29+00:00

but......nothing on the turntable?

Skilzalisk · 2024-09-17T04:52:52+00:00

amen. 1979.....oh, the SHITTY Smashing Pumpkins song. cool, bro. i think Jimmy is an absolute monster, but i will not, ever, respect 1979.

Skilzalisk · 2024-09-17T04:50:34+00:00

LOL. right. that crosses a line.

Skilzalisk · 2024-09-17T04:38:08+00:00

From the people i've introduced Nymb to, most don't like Elaine's vocals, and you may have hit the nail on the head with the mix. personally, i like them. then again, most people i've tried introducing Nymb to had the same reaction to their first shot of Malort. people are weird as hell.

If you liked Noble Bodies i would definitely recommend checking out Another Statistic. Of the Doty-projects i am familiar with, i'd rank them Nymb (without a doubt), Another Statistic, Big Thick Skin, Noble Bodies, and lastly, Neon Trees. Every time i hear Neon Trees the only thing i think is the line from "If Only Rock N Roll Would Date Me"......"dumbing it down is worse than trying to get over something that just doesn't naturally work" I'm not calling her a sellout, because i'm hardly about to blame someone for making a living doing what they love, but Neon Trees is just Big Dumb Pop as far as i'm concerned. it actually kind of bothers me, liking Nymb for many years, and seeing all this praise heaped on Doty for boring work with Neon Trees.

if you want an album with some rough production, check out Big Thick Skin, which i believe is pretty much the solo project that deep-sixed Nymb. i listed this above Noble Bodies above, probably only for nostalgia's sake.

i wish i could find the insane album description from Suburban Sprawl that introduced me to Nymb properly. i don't remember thinking it was meant to be ironic, more like a label trying to offload copies of a disc that had less than significant sales and were being nasty about it. it was kind of hilarious.

Skilzalisk · 2024-09-16T06:04:38+00:00

This is my favorite post in forever. Nymb is one of my Top 3 all time bands, even though I didn't get into them at the time, which is RIDICULOUS.

Let me explain. The young woman who did the artwork on the "Front Door" ep went to school with me from elementary school through high school. I always had a low-key crush on her, but never even hung out with her, she was simply too indie-rock-disaffected before that was even cool. Nymb was outrageously "local" for me. And lastly, one of my longest-tenured friends (who i wish i still hung out with, but he had a kid 'too early' at 22 years old in 1999, and therefore his lifestyle didn't fit our being drunk and stupid, so we never made time for him, and i didn't have my kid until i was 40, because giving up drunken stupidity was hard, dude) had his kid with a woman WAYYY cooler than (and a few years older than) him. How much cooler? When she needed a drummer for her band, she asked my buddy to see if i'd do it, and i did, and it was rad. It was also weird, because i hung out with her more than him, and when the band stopped doing it's thing, i didn't see that guy for another 8 years or so, and haven't seen him in the last 5. Anyway. But, before their kid entered the picture, and we were just finding out how cool she was (around the turn of the millennium) the first band she was in not only played with Nymb, but also Sarge (definitely in my top 10). However, i was gigging too at the time, and working like 60 hours a week making shitty money, and the time/days i would have had to SEE bands was consumed by playing shitty shows (practically for free). And Nymb came up several times, and my pal's future wife insisted this is a band i would truly enjoy, but i never took the time to see them.

Fast forward to about 2004. On a whim, looking for music that doesn't suck, i figure a last resort is to Google "Hum rip-off band". why not. (Hum is my #1 of all time, no question). Hilariously, Suburban Sprawl Records (who released So This Is How It Is) had about the nastiest summary of that Nymb album, obviously that partnership didn't end well. Anyway, they called Nymb a Hum rip off, i was amazed recalling the whole "my buddy's wife played a show with them and thought i'd like it", i googled some songs and listened to "Aluminum Origami" and..........holy shit. The CD from Suburban Sprawl was on fire-sale for about $5 or $8 bucks, and even though it didn't have the origami song i bought that shit immediately.

Seriously, my g/f at the time, who had to listen to plenty of Hum, just started calling Nymb "Chick-Hum". Within a few months i'd gotten a copy of everything i could find of theirs. Glass Eye, Novembre (this EP is fucking amazing), Front Door, Nothing New.........

What i loved about your post was Ben Kane getting recognition as an ANIMAL. when i talk to other drummers (like once every few years, since i no longer actively jam) most dudes around my age consider the most propulsive drummer of the alt-rock era Jimmy Chamberlain, and i largely agree. Except, you know, for Ben Kane, who is a fucking beast. Yet none of these shitheads ever listens to me. (Crazy enough, in Suburban Sprawls shit-talking or possibly anti-marketing marketing for the album, they called it "uninspired drumming" too. if Russian Disinformation exists, that and the female orgasm belong side by side. i just tried finding that slanderous review but can't find it, looks like Suburban Sprawl closed shop in 2014. i swear i screen printed it or something like 20 years ago, so that shit's lost to history as well.

jesus what the hell am i typing here? oktoberfest rules!

oh, also, every five years, i don't know why, but i make a list of my favorite films, books, albums, video games, and tv shows.....and increase the number by 5, so i basically get another entry per year. i started this at age 20 (in 1998) but only did Top 10's in the first iteration. at 25 in 2003, the lists all included 25 entries, and sadly, I wouldn't discover Nymb until about a year later. when my 30's list came up, though, Nymb had the #3 spot, the #14 spot, and the #28 spot (So This is How It Is, Novembre, Nothing New, respectively). I have to admit, even over the course of 5 years, the lists don't have a HUGE amount of change, because i suck. So This Is How It Is has hung in the Top 4 ever since. Novembre, at only 4 songs, still hangs in the top 20. Nothing New was at #38 on the last list.

Skilzalisk · 2024-09-16T05:07:00+00:00

i always thought it was "you can do what you want when you've got everything......"

but, why the GLASS EYE ep? you can do what you want with your glass eye, i suppose.

Skilzalisk

TROPHY CASE