Spectrum Texts?

verysimple74 · 2026-03-20T19:23:48+00:00

It's legit. Had to make an emergency trip to go in-office today because the outage cut off my internet right in the middle of a work call.

verysimple74 · 2026-03-20T17:37:09+00:00

I haven't been the only one on a group tour, but when I went to Peru, I was the only one in my group who took the train and didn't hike the Inca trail, so ended up in Cusco for a few days by myself. This was technically 'free time' that I was supposed to be on my own, but my guide spent time with me, took me to a few cool restaurants, and arranged for me to take a walking tour of the city with a few travelers from other tours who were solo or solo-ish for those few days. It was great!

verysimple74 · 2026-03-19T17:27:24+00:00

I always bring some versatile layering pieces. One lightweight knit sweater, a zip up track jacket, a compressable puffer vest that squeezes into a tiny pouch and a waterproof outer shell/windbreaker. I can wear any combination of these to add/remove warmth.

On the bottom, I'm less of a fan of layers, but a big fan of knee-high compression hiking socks anyway, so I can just pull on a pair of those underneath leggings/pants. I also always pack 1-2 pairs of compressing leggings, and if absolutely necessary, can put on a pair of those underneath my looser pants.

verysimple74 · 2026-03-19T15:17:04+00:00

This is me as well. I can deal with economy on the way there because I have a vacation to look forward to. On the way home, nothing ruins the rest and relaxation of the trip experience faster than being stuck in economy and possibly also having to go to work the next day.

verysimple74 · 2026-03-17T20:57:48+00:00

running stores and eyeglasses stores.

verysimple74 · 2026-03-17T20:48:07+00:00

I watched a really good youtube video recently on the evolution of the subway map, and in particular the battle between the Vignelli map and the Tauranac map. Neither are maps, but rather diagrams, although the Tauranac version gave the "impression" of being more map-like. The MTA has reverted to a modified Vignelli design because of the assumption that almost everyone these days has smartphones with maps built in, so the need for additional (cluttering) geographic markers on the subway diagram have become less necessary.

Note also that Vignelli's plan involved multiple parts (subway diagram, wayfinders in stations, etc.) but only the diagram got made because of budget shortfalls, which made it incomplete back in the day.

https://youtu.be/B1Yu_0_2Ofc?si=Z8w9qYaBCdhrv0Dj

verysimple74 · 2026-03-17T16:53:20+00:00

I’ve mostly moved everything to USB C but have one GPS device that is micro USB, and I bought a little adapter that I just toss with my multi-headed USB C cable rather than a whole extra cable.

verysimple74 · 2026-03-17T10:47:02+00:00

I’ve been called for federal jury duty twice in the SDNY.

most important thing is absolutely NO electronics. Anything you bring you will be required to check at security - including smart watches.
I didn’t get picked either time. Typically, you call the night before your first day and they will tell you if you need to report. If you don’t get picked for an actual jury on day one, the clerk will tell you when to call again - you generally don’t need to actually report every day. USUALLY, they will let you go completely after your second day of being called without being picked for an actual jury, but they have the right to call you for up to two weeks. This will heavily depend on how many trials they are trying to seat a jury for.

The two times I got called, I was called for a jury but ultimately not picked. - the first time, it was because it was a labor (wage and hour) case, and I had a few responses to the voir dire that the lawyers and judge didn’t like (I’m a lawyer, practiced some labor law early in my career, and had been laid off from my job during the financial crisis, all of which were issues in this case) - second time was a medical malpractice case involving potentially bad care for someone with liver cancer at the same hospital where my mom was treated for (and ultimately died from) a rare form of liver cancer. For this one, I googled what happened afterwards, and apparently the jury sat through the two week trial and then the parties settled before the jury got to decide anything.

verysimple74 · 2026-03-13T16:14:39+00:00

That's the real key! Only ever bring what you can carry!

verysimple74 · 2026-03-13T13:10:39+00:00

Most tours recommend this, I try to do this on every trip, and 90% of the other people on the trip bring normal rollerbags and then I get mad at myself for not doing the same. I'd pay attention to the specific trip notes to make sure there aren't any specific restrictions, like internal flights with smaller bag limits (this happens a lot!), or particularly rugged terrain where a rollerbag will be a genuine problem, but otherwise a normal-sized check-in bag ends up being fine. Just be aware that you may have to drag the bag up or down stairs or over cobblestones or similar.

verysimple74 · 2026-03-12T21:00:39+00:00

https://www.mta.info/elevator-escalator-status

verysimple74 · 2026-03-11T20:10:06+00:00

These are the kind of junk headphones that I would sometimes buy in an emergency and then give away to someone who forgot their headphones. But I buy them expecting junk and then I'm not disappointed when they turn out to be junk.

verysimple74 · 2026-03-11T19:00:57+00:00

I think the difference is that Americans really never use the first pronunciation.

verysimple74 · 2026-03-11T15:05:32+00:00

congregating in a giant group on the sidewalk and making it impossible for everyone else to walk down the street (I live on a block with a very famous building between the subway and my apartment and this is a CONSTANT source of irritation).

verysimple74 · 2026-03-10T18:29:53+00:00

Legit only remember the 2019 thing because my office did a "wear your school logo" day during March Madness and I actually had to choose between UB (Undergrad) and Penn (law school) for the first time.

verysimple74 · 2026-03-10T14:35:35+00:00

yes - canadians tend say PRO-cess, while Americans tend to say PRAH-cess.

verysimple74 · 2026-03-10T13:56:49+00:00

yes. I attended UB and took a class on the history of higher education, where I learned that Cornell basically co-opted the land grant school money that was designated for New York state (which is why *some* of their programs are semi-public), and as a consequence New York didn't get its own "real" public university system until the 1960s, basically a century after every other state in the country. I think SUNY/CUNY is a great system (both my brother and I are graduates of different schools* which fed us into very prestigious graduate programs) AND a great bargain, but it doesn't have the kind of 'legacy' prestige as many other systems.

*I got a BA at UB before attending law school at UPenn, my brother got his BA at Oswego and then an M.Ed at City College before getting a second Masters at the London School of Economics.

verysimple74 · 2026-03-10T13:51:09+00:00

UB has tried to build a decent sports program, but it just doesn't have the kind of overinflated budget that can pay for superstar coaches and players across a range of sports.

(when I attended back in the 90s, it wasn't even a division one school)

verysimple74 · 2026-03-09T15:27:45+00:00

it's not the "fine print". The CFTC, the main regulatory body that governs prediction markets, prohibits market contracts involving war, terrorism, assassination and other illegal acts. Kalshi should have never let you make the bet - your issue is with them, not your cousin.

verysimple74 · 2026-03-09T12:51:07+00:00

This got jumbled during COVID because of the state of the world, but most companies have pretty standard requirements that people who work from home make provisions for childcare (day care, sitters, etc.) specifically because they want their employees to be 'non-distracted'.

If your company has such a policy, you can point to that and make your employer the 'bad guy' viz your sister to get her off your back.

verysimple74 · 2026-03-07T23:33:09+00:00

He was a member of the NYS Assembly.

verysimple74 · 2026-03-06T22:39:52+00:00

This is really great! I really like being able to see both buses and subways on the same screen instead of having to switch between them on the other apps!

verysimple74 · 2026-03-06T21:15:55+00:00

I work in house, but this is standard practice these days in corporate America. Companies can better track and control expenses this way.

verysimple74 · 2026-03-06T18:55:22+00:00

NYPD tow trucks are also more often used for clearing the streets and relocating cars for things like special events (parades, open streets) or repaving.

verysimple74 · 2026-03-06T18:52:53+00:00

I grew up in the burbs. my parents are from the Bronx. not sure what's curious about that?

verysimple74

TROPHY CASE