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Paper_jam

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Everything posted by Paper_jam

  1. I've used SuperShuttle a few times without any issues** ...but not recently (several years). ** I don't know if their practice has changed, but SuperShuttle sets your rate based on the zip code where you are being picked up, and it has very little to do with rational metrics like the travel time or distance. They don't like my zip code, so even though its <15 minutes from the airport, they charge me almost double the rate that they would charge for Round Rock, Pflugerville, or Cedar Park--all of which are farther away from the airport than where I live. A cynical person might suspect that they were "redlining" or "profiling" areas with certain demographics. Edit: I'm sure they would come up with some explanation about how their service patterns don't show much demand in my area so they have to charge more because the van won't be as fully utilized, yadda yadda yadda. It's still bullshit if I have to go to a friends house who lives FARTHER AWAY from the airport to get picked up so my rate will be $20 instead of $40.
  2. I procrastinate like a sonofabitch, but for $25MM even I would put a note on my calendar or a post-it on my fridge about sending that shit in.
  3. Horrible: Star Trek: Voyager and Star Trek: Enterprise. I see someone already nominated Enterprise above.
  4. They should convert all planes to ethanol fuel and just give each passenger a tube so we can suck it right from the tanks.
  5. These cars are boring. When I was in HS I woulda killed for something like this:
  6. From 1958 to 1988, qualifying speeds went from 145 mph to 219. From 1989 until now (also roughly 30 years) qualifying speed has basically just bounced around from 220-230 depending on year-to-year rule changes. In 1990, if you had asked me how fast the cars would be lapping in 2020, I would have said at least 250. Why does it seem like technological progress on the cars has stopped?
  7. This article on KHOU's website has a video of one determined-ass lightning strike: Video: 12-second lightning strike hits same spot over and over in Fort Bend County https://tinyurl.com/yxgbzphq
  8. I enjoyed "Occupied", a Norwegian geopolitical thriller about a near-future-scenario where Russia basically takes over Norway at the behest of the EU, when Norway shuts down gas and oil production that the EU needs. Currently watching Hap and Leonard, which starts out like a buddy comedy with a dark edge but turns into a full blown, bloody, actioner. It has an underlying theme of the idealism of the '60s colliding with the nihilism and greed of the '80s.
  9. Part of the challenge is that people want different things. I'd just like to get off this "status quo" of cookie-cutter, virtually identical cars, running at basically the same performance levels for the last 20-25 years. Break open the rulebook and let there be innovation and competing designs. Stop nerfing the cars so they aren't slower than they were 30 years ago. Yes, that increases risk, but if there's no risk I'm not really that interested. Alternatively, go in the opposite direction--back to "STOCK" cars which are closely based on production cars, so that there's actually some commonality between the cars being raced on the track and what you can go buy in a showroom. Then again, the traditional car market is collapsing and even within the car market there are few race-capable RWD chassis options. There are many reasons why neither of these directions will happen, but that's what would get me interested in the sport again.
  10. If for some reason that site doesn't work out, here is another option. Their website seems to be agonizingly slow though... https://www.windowdoorparts.com/hardware/door-parts/door-hardware/door-kick-plates/
  11. Buy window units and 3 of these? https://www.staples.com/optimus-infrared-quartz-radiant-heater-white-h-5510/product_24272294?
  12. From a quick search I see that there was a bill filed earlier this year to legalize sports betting in Texas, but it's basically DOA. https://www.legalsportsreport.com/28560/texas-sports-betting-2019-bill/
  13. Dark as shit in the 78753. No lightning or thunder tho.
  14. In Texas (hell, most of the US) any dark-colored snek near water is a water moccasin! whether it is or not.
  15. A poorly designed or constructed road is more likely to result in people doing stupid shit. (Or result in situations where the consequences of doing stupid shit are more severe than they need to be.)
  16. Coming up on 17 years from a 2002 model Toro personal pace, with a 6.5 HP Tecumseh motor. Still runs strong but it's starting to put out some smoke. I've completely been shitty with maintenance on it. Changed the oil maybe 4-5 times in its life, air filter once.
  17. I'm no expert but I've been interested in aviation accidents for quite some time, and I don't recall the NTSB or other agencies to ever be concerned about releasing information quickly. It seemed to me that you often had to wait for the investigation & report to be finalized (which can take months or years) to get details like the CVR transcript or recording, or even a formal finding of the cause.
  18. They should probably reverse the basis for the pollen count and just tell us how much air is contained in a given amount of green oak dust. If this is peaking now, will it be over in two weeks or so?
  19. FWIW, I was a Freshman in Fall of '89 and I think my initial registration was done on scantron bubble forms at FAC. And I know I had to do adds and drops at the Erwin Center once. I dont' remember using TEX until maybe Spring of '90? Maybe TEX was online before then but not mandatory?
  20. He's just so wild at heart, no woman is going to lock him down.
  21. To follow up my last post, I did a quick and dirty comparison with my 2017 taxes and it looks like even considering the $3k reduction in my deductions/exemption, I owe about $500 less this year. So yay, I guess.
  22. I have about $11,000 in potential itemized deductions this year, and until this year I could have taken a 4k personal exemption. (For a total of about ~$15k in deductions). But since they eliminated the personal exemption, now the best I can do is to take the $12k standard deduction. So the the change results in me paying taxes on an additional $3k that I would have previously deducted. This is at least partially offset by the changes to tax rates/tables but I'd have to actually do some calculations to see if I recover it all.
  23. Where's our soaking rains from spring fronts? There was a mean-looking dark cloudbank ahead of me when I drove to work this morning but nothing fell out of it.
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