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ScottS

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Posts posted by ScottS

  1. On 3/25/2021 at 9:05 AM, WBT said:

    Alvin is one of the tiny old ones from before they started to take over the world.  Speaking of which, the original in Lake Jackson closed and is now a car wash/detailing place.  Back then you could buy a mug and get 49 cent refills for life.

    There's a big one on 59 in Wharton.

    You would be incorrect about this.  The original Buc-ee's is still going strong at the corner of Oyster Creek Drive and Old Angleton Road.  You are correct in stating that one of the old-school small ones is now a car wash and detailing place, but that one was not the original Buc-ee's.

    https://buc-ees.com/locations/

    image.thumb.png.62f826bf54e782599cb9df017e749b7f.png

    2 hours ago, Wally Fairway said:

    Holee-Shit
    Now it has been over 25 years since I left Texas (well Houston), I've been back every few years or so, and I've driven to SA, Austin, Brenham, CC, etc) so I've seen Buc-ee's before. In March we drove to Fla for spring break (13 of us & I'm too cheap to fly them all), but people are bat shit crazy in Georgia about a Texas sized convenience store, with 100 gas pumps, maybe that many bathroom stalls/urninals, all kinds of crappy snacks & drinks, a million kitschy souvenirs though they do have decent sandwiches for travelling. Hell there were traffic jams getting out of the parking lot, had to drive around to find an open pump; I swear these are the same red-neck idiots who will stop to see the worlds biggest ball of string.....which we would also stop at for Mrs. Fairway. 
    And yes she did buy Buc-ee nuggets to bring back home to friends and family  FML

     

    (sidenote - I cannot believe there is not a thread for all things Buc-ee's on this board, or maybe I couldn't find it)

    As someone who grew up in Lake Jackson and remembers when Buc-ee's started and was just a local convenience store chain, it still amazes me to see what they have become.  I caught a snippet of the Dave Ramsey show on a local station the other day and they were talking about Buc-ee's.  I've heard the guys on SiriusXM on the college sports channel talking about it.  I know plenty has been said about Buc-ee's on this site and on the old one, good and bad, but one cannot argue the business success the brand has become. 

  2. MIT doing research on the important things in life.

    MIT Scientists Twist Apart More Than 1,000 Oreos in Search for Perfect Method

    Quote

    It’s safe to say many people eat Oreos the same way. They twist them apart, then consume the cookie as two separate creme-covered wafers.

    Yet more than a century after the Oreo’s inception, many connoisseurs haven’t solved a frustrating problem: how to twist it so both wafers end up with filling on them.

     

    Michelle Deignan, vice president of Oreo in the U.S., said there’s no secret method. That, it seems, made it a worthy challenge for some scientists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

    “I’ve always been annoyed that I have to twist them apart and then push creme from one side onto the other,” said Crystal Owens, a Ph.D. candidate in MIT’s mechanical engineering department.

    She led a group of researchers on a quest to figure out if there was a trick to getting the creme to glom onto both halves.

    Usually, Ms. Owens studies materials that could be used as ink for 3-D printing, squishing them between two counter-rotating metal plates in a device known as a rheometer to study how the fluids deform and respond to torsion, or twisting forces.

    One day during the Covid-19 lockdown in 2021, she said, “we just kind of realized that this is a perfect analogy for what happens when you try to twist open an Oreo.” 

    So she and her colleagues set out to discover if there was a solution to the cookie conundrum. 

    In a recent study, they glued Oreos of various flavors to the rheometer, then twisted them at different speeds. Materials with similar mechanical properties to Oreo creme—toothpaste, yogurt, ice cream—split down the middle when subjected to enough torsion, Ms. Owens said.

    After putting more than 1,000 Oreos to the test, the researchers discovered that the fickle filling stuck to just one wafer about 80% of the time.

    And the speed of the twisting didn’t matter. Even at the rheometer’s slowest twisting speed, which took about five minutes to separate the halves, the creme stayed on one side. At the maximum speed—about 100 times faster than a person can twist—the creme flew off both halves, Ms. Owens said.

    “We also tested the cookies by hand—twisting, peeling, pressing, sliding and doing other basic motions to get an Oreo apart,” she said. “There was no combination of anything that we could do by hand or in the rheometer that changed anything in our results.”

    That suggests the creme is stronger than it is sticky, so is more likely to stay together than adhere to the wafer. 

    She and her colleagues published their findings last April in the peer-reviewed journal Physics of Fluids. In their paper, they shared suggestions on how Oreo, which is owned by one of the world’s largest snacks companies, Mondelēz International, could tweak production to address the issue. 

    One idea was to flip the wafers so that the more textured outside surface, which contains the word Oreo, would face inward, said Max Fan, an undergraduate in MIT’s department of mechanical engineering and co-author of the study. 

    Another was to attach both wafers simultaneously to a blob of creme. Ms. Owens and her colleagues think that the wafer to which the filling is applied first has a tighter bond to the creme.

    The company declined to share specifics on the Oreo manufacturing process, but Ms. Deignan said that Oreo “loved this data-informed creativity.”  

    Thomas Schlathölter, a physicist at the Netherland’s University of Groningen who wasn’t involved in the study, had his university students try to replicate the MIT team’s results with Dutch Oreos. They twisted by hand, which may have affected the outcome, he said.

    “To my surprise, many students observed a pretty even splitting of the filling,” Dr. Schlathölter said. “European Oreos seem to be different.” He thinks the difference is in the creme formula.

    MIT’s Ms. Owens said she suspects the manufacturing process is different in Europe, not the recipe. Oreo’s Ms. Deignan had no explanation for the differing results.

    Oreos are sold in more than 100 countries, and social media is filled with opinions about how best to eat them. One YouTube video with more than 13 million views, called “you’re eating Oreos WRONG”, shows a woman skewering the creme with a fork and drowning it in milk. Others involve using straws as pipettes to get the creme soggy.

    Ms. Owens said she is looking to apply the same study concept to other snack foods, such as macarons, ice cream sandwiches and Nutter Butter cookies.

    The Oreo research, she said, was a fun, easy way to make her regular physics and engineering work more accessible to the general public. She and Mr. Fan developed a simpler rheometer to test the cookies, which they dubbed an “Oreometer,” that people can 3D-print at home. It uses rubber bands and pennies to twist apart the cookie.

    “For me this all started as a personal question,” Ms. Owens said. “But I guess everyone else was also thinking like, ‘Oh, let’s understand my Oreos better.’ ”

     

  3. Bruce Willis Diagnosed With Dementia After Retiring Due to Aphasia

    Quote

    After Bruce Willis’ family announced in March 2022 that the 67-year old actor had been diagnosed with aphasia and would retire from acting, his condition has now progressed into frontotemporal dementia.

    His family posted a statement on Thursday about Willis’ latest diagnosis.

    “Since we announced Bruce’s diagnosis of aphasia in spring 2022, Bruce’s condition has progressed and we now have a more specific diagnosis: frontotemporal dementia (known as FTD). Unfortunately, challenges with communication are just one symptom of the disease Bruce faces. While this is painful, it is a relief to finally have a clear diagnosis,” his family wrote in a statement on the Association for Frontotemporal Degeneration’s website.

    Rumer Willis also shared the news, along with a photo of her father, on Instagram.

     

    Frontotemporal dementia, which is often diagnosed at a younger age than other forms of dementia, can be characterized by personality changes, speech difficulty and motor impairment. It’s the cause of 10% to 20% of all dementia diagnoses, according to the Mayo Clinic.

    Willis’ acting career began in the early 1980s with roles in films like “The Verdict,” “Blind Date” and “Sunset.” In 1985, his career boomed with his starring role opposite Cybill Shepherd in the ABC series “Moonlighting” and his iconic performance as action star John McClane in 1988’s “Die Hard.” In addition to starring in four “Die Hard” sequels, he’s had memorable turns in “Pulp Fiction,” “12 Monkeys,” “The Fifth Element,” “The Sixth Sense,” “Armageddon” and more.

    During his 40 years of acting, Willis’ movies have grossed more than $5 billion around the world. He’s been nominated for five Golden Globes (winning one for “Moonlighting”) and three Emmys (winning one for “Moonlighting” and another for his “Friends” guest role). In the last several years, he’s only appeared in an assortment of direct-to-video movies. His last major film role was in 2019’s “Motherless Brooklyn” and the M. Night Shyamalan movie “Glass.”

    Bruce Willis’ Career in Photos, From ‘Moonlighting’ to ‘Glass’

    Read the Willis family’s full statement below.

    As a family, we wanted to take this opportunity to thank you all for the outpouring of love and compassion for Bruce over the past ten months. Your generosity of spirit has been overwhelming, and we are tremendously grateful for it. For your kindness, and because we know you love Bruce as much as we do, we wanted to give you an update.

    Since we announced Bruce’s diagnosis of aphasia in spring 2022, Bruce’s condition has progressed and we now have a more specific diagnosis: frontotemporal dementia (known as FTD). Unfortunately, challenges with communication are just one symptom of the disease Bruce faces. While this is painful, it is a relief to finally have a clear diagnosis.  

    FTD is a cruel disease that many of us have never heard of and can strike anyone. For people under 60, FTD is the most common form of dementia, and because getting the diagnosis can take years, FTD is likely much more prevalent than we know. Today there are no treatments for the disease, a reality that we hope can change in the years ahead. As Bruce’s condition advances, we hope that any media attention can be focused on shining a light on this disease that needs far more awareness and research.  

    Bruce always believed in using his voice in the world to help others, and to raise awareness about important issues both publicly and privately. We know in our hearts that – if he could today — he would want to respond by bringing global attention and a connectedness with those who are also dealing with this debilitating disease and how it impacts so many individuals and their families.  

    Ours is just one family with a loved one who suffers from FTD, and we encourage others facing it to seek out the wealth of information and support available through AFTD (@theaftdtheaftd.org). And for those of you who have been fortunate enough to not have any personal experience with FTD, we hope that you will take the time to learn about it, and support AFTD’s mission in whatever way you can. 

    Bruce has always found joy in life – and has helped everyone he knows to do the same. It has meant the world to see that sense of care echoed back to him and to all of us. We have been so moved by the love you have all shared for our dear husband, father, and friend during this difficult time. Your continued compassion, understanding, and respect will enable us to help Bruce live as full a life as possible. 

    -Emma, Demi, Rumer, Scout, Tallulah, Mabel, and Evelyn 

     

  4. The next Bosch novel is another Bosch and Haller adventure.

    https://therealbookspy.com/2023/02/03/michael-connellys-next-harry-bosch-mickey-haller-novel-announced/

    Quote

    On November 7th, 2023, Harry Bosch and Mickey Haller are back in Resurrection Walk, the highly-anticipated new novel from #1 New York Times bestselling author Michael Connelly.

    ...

    Defense attorney Mickey Haller is back, taking the long shot cases, where the chances of winning are one in a million. He agrees to represent a woman in prison for killing her husband, a sheriff’s deputy. Despite her conviction four years earlier, she still maintains her innocence. Haller enlists his half brother, retired LAPD Detective Harry Bosch, as investigator. Reviewing the case, Bosch sees something that doesn’t add up, and a sheriff’s department intent on bringing a quick search for justice in the killing of one of its own.

    The path to justice for both the lawyer and his investigator is fraught with danger from those who don’t want the case reopened. And they will stop at nothing to keep the Haller-Bosch dream team from uncovering what the deputy’s killing was really about.

     

  5. 4 hours ago, Sandbagging Steve said:

    LSU, I believe, is our first or second most-played game outside of conference affiliation not named OU. I believe there are five or six SEC teams in our top 10 most played games OOC not named OU. I believe Texas/OU would have a much richer tradition with some of the current SEC teams if politics wasn't in play.

    I haven't followed this thread closely, mostly because I don't care what the scheduling in the SEC ends up being, and also because I tend to ignore threads when I see they have devolved into a pissing contest between posters.  Which means I end up ignoring most threads after the first couple of pages.

    However, the above statement caught my attention.  I was curious if the assertion about LSU is correct, so I went to the Texas page on Winsipedia to see.

    image.thumb.png.fdbd729db31b7045f3ede9295f72ed97.png

    Not counting the schools in black that Texas played back in the 19th century or during WWII...I guess LSU is the second most played team behind Tulane that has never been a conference game.  Or 3rd most played if you count the majority of OU games that were OOC before the formation of the Big XII.

    I don't know about the 5 or 6 SEC teams claim on your part, though.  That would take more research than I want to undertake right now.  You maybe right.  Or not.  I am going to go out on a limb and say you are either right or wrong about that.

    • Hook 'Em 1
  6. On 1/31/2023 at 4:18 PM, Had Enough said:


    If that’s how you choose to look at it, I can’t stop you.

    Perhaps go back to my original statement.

    It’s more of an observation than a spin. It’s not to say we suck or we’re overrated. It’s that we have a ton of close misses. Maybe more so than any program in any sport.

     

    5 hours ago, Droopy said:

    To put it into perspective for me, Nolan Ryan also had a lot of "close calls" with no-hitters and he is also still known as one of the greatest of all time. People get bogged down in numbers sometimes and forget that the journey to even get to Omaha is not a cake walk. Getting to Omaha is an accomplishment, winning there is even more so, let alone, taking it all down. Now, you can tell how special Nolan was looking at the number of no-hitters, but his numbers showing how close he was are even more impressive. That's how I view Texas Baseball. 🤘

     

    • 7 career no-hitters (next-most is 4)
    • 12 career 1-hitters, tied with Bob Feller
    • 18 career 2-hitters
    • 31 career 3-hitters

    I'd say Duke in basketball is the type of comparison you are looking for.  Five national championships, six runner-up finishes, and 17 total Final Fours.

    I offer Jack Nicklaus as an individual comparison.  Everyone knows about the 18 majors but he also has 19 runner-up finishes at majors and 56 top-five finishes.

    • Hook 'Em 1
  7. 2 hours ago, Brisketexan said:

    Oh, she still complains.

    And, I mean...I don't eat chili mac on a regular basis.  But hell, healthy grub like a greek salad with extra pepperoncini has a similar effect.  The poor gal can't catch a break.

    What noxious cloud would some Hormel Chili Cheese Beer produce from you?

    HORMEL Chili Cheese Brew_Media 3

    https://www.ktvu.com/news/hormel-unveils-new-chili-cheese-beer-in-time-for-super-bowl

    Quote

    AUSTIN, Minn. - Hormel Chili is adding to this year’s Super Bowl excitement with its first-ever beer: Hormel Chili Cheese Brew. 

    Announced on Tuesday, the makers of Hormel teamed up with brewers at Modist Brewing Co. to create an unexpected sip inspired by the famous cheese dip.

    "Hormel Chili Cheese Brew is the latest example of Hormel Chili leveling up game day snacks around one of the biggest snacking occasions of the year – the Super Bowl," a spokesperson with Hormel Chili told FOX Television Stations.

    So, how can beer taste like chili cheese dip? According to the company, the American lager features Minnesota Pilsner barley malt and flaked corn. With this corn chip-flavored base, Modist Brewing Co. added a mix of savory spices and hints of cheddar cheese powder to bring the flavors of Hormel Chili Cheese Dip to life. 

    "Football season is just as much about the game as it is about delicious food and drinks, and the people you enjoy watching the game with," said Jason Hron, Hormel Chili’s brand manager said. "This year we were inspired to bring fans together and create something everyone can agree on – an irresistible sip that unites the best flavors of our famous Hormel Chili Cheese Dip."

    According to the company, the 4-pack of beer is currently available on its website and can ship in time to enjoy during Super Bowl parties on Sunday, Feb. 12. 

    Last year, the brand gave one fan the chance to win a Hormel Chili Cheese Keg, a gameday appetizer innovation that combined Hormel Chili and cheese inside a fully functioning half-barrel keg. 

    Hormel Foods Corporation, based in Austin, Minnesota is a global branded food company across more than 80 countries worldwide. Modist Brewing Co., based in Minneapolis, opened in April of 2016 aiming to push past traditional brewing to create unconventional beers through experimentation. 

     

  8. 8 hours ago, 0xdeadbeef said:

    I'm waiting for the day (soon) where I can ask an AI bot like ChatGPT to do my work, and then turn that work in as my own.  There is probably going to be a window of a few years before employers get smart and cut out the middle man. 



    Big Tech Exec1:  We can have AI write our new software product for $10 Million, or we can hire 50 US developers, or 500 Indian developers. 

    Big Tech Exec2: Screw it, human software always sucks.  Let's just pay the money and get the software complete today. 

     

    ChatGPT passed a Wharton MBA exam. (Behind a paywall so sorry for not quoting the article.)

  9. 5 minutes ago, Hook1997 said:

    I hear you, but you are talking about a town of 10k ppl that also doesn’t have a huge high end product clientele.  Of course HEB isn’t throwing out their best in Ingleside.  I’d guess that one is along the lines of the one in Yoakum that’s basic everything only.  

    Oh, you are totally correct.  And I certainly don't think that there should be one of the larger stores in Ingleside.  But it has got to be one of the smallest HEB stores left in the whole chain.  It is smaller than most of the Buc-ee's stores.  Not the best picture but on the few I could find that shows the entire store.  There is a vacant lot next to the store so there is room to expand.  No reason the Ingleside HEB can't be a little bigger with a larger selection.

    image.jpeg.2a232ba6a10030c83747bcb93a25730c.jpeg

  10. On 1/5/2023 at 10:10 AM, tx 3 putt said:


    H‑E‑B calallen suuuuuucks. That area needs a new store, asap 

     

    On 1/5/2023 at 10:36 AM, Nueces River Rat said:

    Yeppppp...    They own a big piece of land out here on 624 past the high school.   They put in all the underground utilities a couple of years ago after sitting on it for years letting a Farmer grow a crop on it and taking advantage of the Ag exemption and paying like a couple thousand bucks on a multimillion dollar piece of property.   Go figure.

    They haven't done anything yet to it although they have signs out there now marketing pad sites for the frontage of the property for restaurants and the such.  With something like 5000 new homes in planning stages over the next few years west of US 77/I-69 that should be enough roof tops to get the project going because the lack of roof tops was a reason they slow tracked it after making a big deal they were going to build out here.  RIght now they are really focused in getting their stores built and open in the DFW area.  

     

    On 1/5/2023 at 11:00 AM, Hook1997 said:

    I never knew H‑E‑B’s could suck so bad and vary in quality so much until I went to a few in Corpus.  Comparing these to Austin H‑E‑B’s is a night and day difference. 

     

    On 1/5/2023 at 11:08 AM, tx 3 putt said:


    corpus also needs another store 

     

    On 1/5/2023 at 11:22 AM, Nueces River Rat said:

    The Plus Store on Saratoga and in Flour Bluff which are the newest ones in the area are as close to the Austin / San Antonio stores as we get.     The one that kicks everyone's ass is the new one in New Braunfels!  I can't wait to move up that wait in few years to enjoy the better offerings in a whole bunch of different things.

     

    On 1/5/2023 at 11:43 AM, Hook1997 said:

    Very true, if I go for a big trip I go to the Saratoga plus store.  I live on Ocean close to downtown though so the ones close to me are pretty bad.  What’s with every single one having a different layout too?  I get thrown off between Roberts, SPID staples and Alameda, all different.  

    Until you shop at the Ingleside HEB on the regular, you all can STFU.  All the stores you are bitching about are light years better than the Ingleside HEB.  Could I go to Portland or Rockport?  Yes, but both are kind of a pain in the ass to get to.  Aransas Pass is better than Ingleside but not by much.

    • Haha 3
  11. The Riverdance guy may be on the clock.

    "Lord of the Dance" Flatley treated for "aggressive" form of cancer

    Quote

    DUBLIN, Jan 12 (Reuters) - Irish-American dancer Michael Flatley has undergone surgery for an "aggressive" form of cancer and is under medical care, a statement on the "Lord of the Dance" creator's Instagram account said.

    Flatley, 64, rose to fame as a lead member of the "Riverdance" troupe, whose show-stopping performance at the 1994 Eurovision Song Contest propelled Irish dancing into the global spotlight. He later opened his own "Lord of the Dance" show.

    "Michael Flatley has been diagnosed with an aggressive form of cancer. He has undergone surgery and is in the care of an excellent team of doctors. No further comments will be made at this time," the statement released late on Wednesday said.

    Flatley has previously said that he was diagnosed with a malignant melanoma in 2003.

    Flatley, born in Chicago to Irish-American parents, most recently wrote, directed and starred in the action film "Blackbird", which was released in cinemas last year, four years after its completion.

     

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