Moderators: LawBeefaroni, $iljanus
The entire album is frighteningly prescient these days.
Golden times may be winding down.Carpet_pissr wrote: ↑Sun Sep 05, 2021 11:20 pm
I guess that policy gets around in the community that likes power tools, but prefers not to pay for them.
Next time your power tool locks up because it lost authentication, thank the thieves.Home Depot has come up with a creative, tech-savvy way to thwart organized criminals from stealing tools off of their shelves.
The home improvement chain has begun stocking power tools that will not function without first being activated via Bluetooth at checkout, according to Business Insider. The tactic will allow Home Depot to continue selling the products without locking them behind cases and negatively impacting the legitimate shopping experience.
The only thing keeping Walgreen's around is pharmacy. They lose by billions on regular retail.After months of seeing its shelves repeatedly cleaned out by brazen shoplifters, the Walgreens at Van Ness and Eddy in San Francisco is getting ready to close.
The drugstore, which serves many older people who live in the Opera Plaza area, is the seventh Walgreens to close in the city since 2019. “The last day is November 11,” Walgreens spokesman Phil Caruso said.
“All of us knew it was coming. Whenever we go in there, they always have problems with shoplifters, ” said longtime customer Sebastian Luke, who lives a block away and is a frequent customer who has been posting photos of the thefts for months. The other day, Luke photographed a man casually clearing a couple of shelves and placing the goods into a backpack.
“I feel sorry for the clerks, they are regularly being verbally assaulted,” Luke said. “The clerks say there is nothing they can do. They say Walgreens’ policy is to not get involved. They don’t want anyone getting injured or getting sued, so the guys just keep coming in and taking whatever they want.”
They'll just move on to other expensive stuff. The video above looked like mostly electrical wire. The guy in the video muttering that is thousands of dollars was probably dead on. The one wooden spool dumped in the back looked like electrical wire and could have been hundreds of dollars on its own.LawBeefaroni wrote: ↑Mon Sep 06, 2021 9:43 amGolden times may be winding down.Carpet_pissr wrote: ↑Sun Sep 05, 2021 11:20 pm
I guess that policy gets around in the community that likes power tools, but prefers not to pay for them.
Next time your power tool locks up because it lost authentication, thank the thieves.Home Depot has come up with a creative, tech-savvy way to thwart organized criminals from stealing tools off of their shelves.
The home improvement chain has begun stocking power tools that will not function without first being activated via Bluetooth at checkout, according to Business Insider. The tactic will allow Home Depot to continue selling the products without locking them behind cases and negatively impacting the legitimate shopping experience.
True but power tools are far easier to fence. Trying to sell spools of electrical wire is a lower return business.malchior wrote: ↑Mon Sep 06, 2021 9:51 amThey'll just move on to other expensive stuff. The video above looked like mostly electrical wire. The guy in the video muttering that is thousands of dollars was probably dead on. The one wooden spool dumped in the back looked like electrical wire and could have been hundreds of dollars on its own.LawBeefaroni wrote: ↑Mon Sep 06, 2021 9:43 amGolden times may be winding down.Carpet_pissr wrote: ↑Sun Sep 05, 2021 11:20 pm
I guess that policy gets around in the community that likes power tools, but prefers not to pay for them.
Next time your power tool locks up because it lost authentication, thank the thieves.Home Depot has come up with a creative, tech-savvy way to thwart organized criminals from stealing tools off of their shelves.
The home improvement chain has begun stocking power tools that will not function without first being activated via Bluetooth at checkout, according to Business Insider. The tactic will allow Home Depot to continue selling the products without locking them behind cases and negatively impacting the legitimate shopping experience.
Yeah. Maybe these guy were just shopping for their hot home makeover project.LawBeefaroni wrote: ↑Mon Sep 06, 2021 9:54 amTrue but power tools are far easier to fence. Trying to sell spools of electrical wire is a lower return business.malchior wrote: ↑Mon Sep 06, 2021 9:51 amThey'll just move on to other expensive stuff. The video above looked like mostly electrical wire. The guy in the video muttering that is thousands of dollars was probably dead on. The one wooden spool dumped in the back looked like electrical wire and could have been hundreds of dollars on its own.LawBeefaroni wrote: ↑Mon Sep 06, 2021 9:43 amGolden times may be winding down.Carpet_pissr wrote: ↑Sun Sep 05, 2021 11:20 pm
I guess that policy gets around in the community that likes power tools, but prefers not to pay for them.
Next time your power tool locks up because it lost authentication, thank the thieves.Home Depot has come up with a creative, tech-savvy way to thwart organized criminals from stealing tools off of their shelves.
The home improvement chain has begun stocking power tools that will not function without first being activated via Bluetooth at checkout, according to Business Insider. The tactic will allow Home Depot to continue selling the products without locking them behind cases and negatively impacting the legitimate shopping experience.
Or they're contractors.malchior wrote: ↑Mon Sep 06, 2021 9:56 amYeah. Maybe these guy were just shopping for their hot home makeover project.LawBeefaroni wrote: ↑Mon Sep 06, 2021 9:54 amTrue but power tools are far easier to fence. Trying to sell spools of electrical wire is a lower return business.malchior wrote: ↑Mon Sep 06, 2021 9:51 amThey'll just move on to other expensive stuff. The video above looked like mostly electrical wire. The guy in the video muttering that is thousands of dollars was probably dead on. The one wooden spool dumped in the back looked like electrical wire and could have been hundreds of dollars on its own.LawBeefaroni wrote: ↑Mon Sep 06, 2021 9:43 amGolden times may be winding down.Carpet_pissr wrote: ↑Sun Sep 05, 2021 11:20 pm
I guess that policy gets around in the community that likes power tools, but prefers not to pay for them.
Next time your power tool locks up because it lost authentication, thank the thieves.Home Depot has come up with a creative, tech-savvy way to thwart organized criminals from stealing tools off of their shelves.
The home improvement chain has begun stocking power tools that will not function without first being activated via Bluetooth at checkout, according to Business Insider. The tactic will allow Home Depot to continue selling the products without locking them behind cases and negatively impacting the legitimate shopping experience.
I don't know how it is there, but here copper scrap is big business. People have been known to break into houses that are under construction and strip all of the wiring out, or break into construction sites, ignore all of the tools, and just steal the cable. They then turn it around and sell it by the pound to scrapyards that don't ask too many questions.LawBeefaroni wrote: ↑Mon Sep 06, 2021 9:54 am True but power tools are far easier to fence. Trying to sell spools of electrical wire is a lower return business.
Scrap copper is what, $2-3 a pound now? I imagine it would be a a combination of ease theft, ease of fencing, and $/lb. Not that criminals are always all that smart.Blackhawk wrote: ↑Mon Sep 06, 2021 3:36 pmI don't know how it is there, but here copper scrap is big business. People have been known to break into houses that are under construction and strip all of the wiring out, or break into construction sites, ignore all of the tools, and just steal the cable. They then turn it around and sell it by the pound to scrapyards that don't ask too many questions.LawBeefaroni wrote: ↑Mon Sep 06, 2021 9:54 am True but power tools are far easier to fence. Trying to sell spools of electrical wire is a lower return business.
Re: Political Randomness
Pebbles. Canadians throw pebbles. And aren't shot at by the security detail.Max Peck wrote: ↑Tue Sep 07, 2021 5:20 pm It could be worse. At least they're not throwing rocks at him.
Compare and contrast the seriousness (or lack of) of the numbers "69" and "420"
This response was sent from his city e-mail address with his e-mail signature identifying his role, office, and contact info. He sounds nice.REMOVE MY NAME AND YOUR BIDEN SUPPORTING SOCIALIST OR "AOC" COMMUNISIM (sic) SUPPORTING SHITHEADS REMOVE ME ALL TOGETHER FROM YOUR E-MAIL LIST
Since it was unsolicited, I wouldn't send an official complaint but definitely flag him in your database. If you know his supervisor, maybe bring it up on next contact but if you don't, I wouldn't bother. The supervisor may share the same hysteria.Skinypupy wrote: ↑Thu Sep 16, 2021 9:40 am My company sent an e-mail invitation to all our contacts in state, county, and city government, inviting them to a virtual event focused on building trust in government. The invite was about as generic as it gets, essentially saying "As you move into a new school year or government budget cycle, building trust is more important than ever. Join us on XXX date with XXX author to discuss how building trust can impact your organizational results."
This is the response we received from a County employee in Florida District 3 (Key West) today:
This response was sent from his city e-mail address with his e-mail signature identifying his role, office, and contact info. He sounds nice.REMOVE MY NAME AND YOUR BIDEN SUPPORTING SOCIALIST OR "AOC" COMMUNISIM (sic) SUPPORTING SHITHEADS REMOVE ME ALL TOGETHER FROM YOUR E-MAIL LIST
I'm so tempted to try and find a way to raise this up the chain on his end. "Just thought you might like to know that these are the sort of communications coming from the official e-mail addresses of your county employees."
With a sense of righteousness on a public soapbox. This is my experience so it must be true. Literally every time I have to spend any appreciable time in public there is a loud, for everyone to hear "private" conversation making these proclamations with varying degrees of spin on hatefulness/politeness.LawBeefaroni wrote: ↑Thu Sep 16, 2021 9:53 am I think that's a great example of where we are though. Not only are people so angry and polarized, and often hateful, they are also compelled to let everyone know it.
And I learned a new word. Thanks.
Maybe he was triggered on "building trust in government". If you had said "building trust in soul-sucking corporations, btw, which are also people my friend" you would have gotten a happier response.Skinypupy wrote: ↑Thu Sep 16, 2021 10:48 am The crazy thing is that my company is about the furthest thing from "AOC supporting socialists" as you could possibly imagine. Quite the opposite, as we often get accused of being far too conservative.
I can only assume that the simple suggestion that building trust might be a helpful thing to do is what set him off. I guess that kinda goes against the whole conservative ideal of "rugged individualism", if you squint really hard.
If Twitter has taught me anything, the answer to this question is a definite "Yes".
A government employee that is enraged by the idea of trusting the government is... actually pretty on point for Trumpism.raydude wrote: ↑Thu Sep 16, 2021 12:03 pmMaybe he was triggered on "building trust in government". If you had said "building trust in soul-sucking corporations, btw, which are also people my friend" you would have gotten a happier response.Skinypupy wrote: ↑Thu Sep 16, 2021 10:48 am The crazy thing is that my company is about the furthest thing from "AOC supporting socialists" as you could possibly imagine. Quite the opposite, as we often get accused of being far too conservative.
I can only assume that the simple suggestion that building trust might be a helpful thing to do is what set him off. I guess that kinda goes against the whole conservative ideal of "rugged individualism", if you squint really hard.
Yeah. Probably true.Ralph-Wiggum wrote: ↑Fri Sep 17, 2021 8:34 amIf Twitter has taught me anything, the answer to this question is a definite "Yes".
And why shouldn't they be, if they don't identify as a female?TheMix wrote: ↑Fri Sep 17, 2021 9:47 amYeah. Probably true.Ralph-Wiggum wrote: ↑Fri Sep 17, 2021 8:34 amIf Twitter has taught me anything, the answer to this question is a definite "Yes".
Because unless you know someone personally (or responding to a tweet, email, etc., where they specifically said that they identify as something else) - the default is "pregnant women". And if Twitter has taught me anything else, it's that usually the people offended are not the actual person involved but the "woke" crowd around them - again, in the context of a generalized message, like one from a company, not a direct conversation with someone who knows their preference.
But what's the harm in changing the default term to "pregnant person"?
The Unicode Consortium has finalized Unicode 14.0, adding a total of 838 new characters to the standard, which dictates how text and other written characters are handled in most of the world's software. Most notably for everyday users, Unicode 14.0 includes 37 new emoji characters, including multiple hand gestures and additions like "melting face," "biting lip," "troll," "beans," "pouring liquid," "pregnant man," and "pregnant person."
The "pregnant man" and "pregnant person" emoji are important for inclusivity and representation, since some transgender and non-binary people can be pregnant. The "other keywords" for both emoji suggest possible alternate uses like "bloated" and "full." But the emoji names for both characters were specifically changed from "man/person with swollen belly" to "pregnant man/person" back in February in order to be consistent with the name and intended usage of the extant "pregnant woman" emoji.
There are lots of possibilities here. This might be a lot of noise by the French as they are pushed back and lost a big contract that threatens their vision of EU independence. It could be Biden sleepwalking into another foreign policy disaster entirely of his own making that reflects his lack of credibility with our partners. It also could be a good long term move. We seem to be slowly backing away from the old NATO alliance and possibly cozying up with the Japanese, India, Australia, and UK to confront China. It is hard to say how it'll pan out yet but personally I have very little faith in Biden's foreign policy judgement so I'm going with option 2 for now.
Here's the best analysis I've read so far:malchior wrote: ↑Fri Sep 17, 2021 8:09 pmThere are lots of possibilities here. This might be a lot of noise by the French as they are pushed back and lost a big contract that threatens their vision of EU independence. It could be Biden sleepwalking into another foreign policy disaster entirely of his own making that reflects his lack of credibility with our partners. It also could be a good long term move. We seem to be slowly backing away from the old NATO alliance and possibly cozying up with the Japanese, India, Australia, and UK to confront China. It is hard to say how it'll pan out yet but personally I have very little faith in Biden's foreign policy judgement so I'm going with option 2 for now.
In the end, Mr. Biden’s decision was the result of a brutal calculus that nations sometimes make in which one ally is determined to be more strategically vital than another — something national leaders and diplomats never like to admit to in public. And it was a sign that as Mr. Biden begins to execute what the Obama administration, 12 years ago, called the “pivot to Asia,” there is the risk of stepping on political land mines as old, traditional allies in Europe feel left behind.
“As much as the pivot has been described as pivoting to Asia without pivoting away from someplace else, that is just not possible,” Richard Fontaine, the chief executive of the Center for a New American Security, who has long ties to both the Australian and American players in the deal, announced on Wednesday. “Military resources are finite. Doing more in one area means doing less in others.”
It also apparently means hiding negotiations from some of your closest allies.
By the time the Biden administration began engaging Australia and Britain seriously about its emerging strategy to counter China, a three-year-old contract worth $60 billion or more for a dozen submarines, to be constructed largely by the French, was already teetering, American officials said. The submarines were based on a propulsion technology that was so limited in range, and so easy for the Chinese to detect, that it would be obsolete by the time the first submarines were put in the water, perhaps as long as 15 years from now.
There was an obvious alternative: the kind of nuclear-powered submarines deployed by the Americans and the British. But American and Australian officials agreed that if the French caught wind of the fact that the plug was going to be pulled on one of the biggest defense contracts in their history, they almost certainly would try to sabotage the alternative plan, according to officials who were familiar with the discussions between Washington and Canberra.
...
Even before Mr. Macron recalled the ambassadors, Mr. Biden’s aides seemed taken aback by the ferocity of the French response, especially Mr. Le Drian’s characterization that it was a “knife in the back.” They have suggested the French were being overly dramatic and believe the two countries will gradually return to normal relations. History suggests they may be right: A huge breach prompted by the British and French invasion of the Suez Canal in 1956 was eventually papered over, as was the “Nixon Shock” with the Japanese in 1971, when the United States gave no notice about its decision to come off the gold standard.
In this case, American officials said the decision to toss over the existing French-Australian contract, and replace it with one that would bind Australia technologically and strategically to the nuclear submarine program, generated virtually no internal debate, participants said. The reason was straightforward: In the Biden White House, the imperative to challenge China’s growing footprint, and its efforts to push the U.S. Navy east, to the next island chain in the Pacific, reigns supreme.
