[Roboman]

DA333DC4-9B9E-40BD-AA70-3AA02FBA85EA.jpeg

Great shot (and beer ) I looked up Virus vodka in case it was a hoax. No, it's the real deal, with the following commendations:


100% GMO-Free Corn

Gluten-Free

6-Times Distilled

Terrepure Ultrasonic Filtration

Kosher Certified

Made in America


What to say?

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[ds968]

One of their marketing slogans ( Im not kidding ) is Get infected !

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[Roboman]

One of their marketing slogans ( Im not kidding ) is Get infected !

 

Oh dear oh dear, that is a very unfortunately slogan given the present circumstances.  But what to do?  Nobody can predict the future holds and I'm sure the slogan was effective at the time..... you say "is" .... that one must have been pulled, eh?

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[ds968]

Must have been pulled since I looked at it , a wise move and maybe permanently pulled.. but it was there !


Edit : nope, still there as of today .. see below : 1). Spread the virus. 2) Get infected . WTF, why havent they taken this down , unless they think the slogan ( as disturbing as it is now ) may actually increase their sales ..


   

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[Roboman]

Yes, that is disturbing.  We don't have a TV, we stream movies on occasion, but mainly listen to the radio ..... the first couple of weeks were predictable about how it wasn't our fault, and how the politicians were/are to blame.  Now the conversation has moved to how we are going to exit this and go back to "normal".  I truly hope that what was normal is now confined to history and the new normal will be a much wiser/kinder ..... but that google post suggests I may be disappointed.

 

How to make a difference?  It's too late for me to run for office (and I have too many skeletons in the cupboard ).  Any senators/politicians in 968Forums?

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[Rap]

Who doesn’t have skeletons in their closet. Mine constantly make noise trying to get out! Robo I hope you are right about a new normal. I suspect only a few of us will have experienced a blessing of the lockdown which is to reorient our lives. 

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[ds968]

My suspicion is the new normal will still be somewhat drastic, but only for a short while ..maybe six months to a year at most, unless this virus or another one rears its ugly head again and resurfaces in the winter time ..otherwise, Im thinking by next year although people will not have forgotten this crisis, theyll probably dismiss it as well, it was what it was , but its no longer now and go back to the old ways..

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[Roboman]

Rap/DS - skeletons rattling ..... true, and you're right, we probably aren't the only ones in that situation, and also hoping for a new normal.

 

Okay, so here is how I hope influence a new normal.  The idea is "think global act local" .....

 

March 15th, a day before lock down in France I was elected onto council (something as a surprise as 1) I was only invited to run two weeks before hand, and 2) the French usually vote for French).  Because of Covid19 it is yet to be ratified, but I hope it will be the case as I came 6th from 30 .... 15 are elected.  I would happily run for mayor, but I'm not French, so I have to be content with being part of the team; "managing your manager" is something of which I have experience, so we'll see how things progress.  Anyway, moving on ...

 

I think we all now have some experience of how convenience stores really are convenient, working from home creates stronger local associations, etc etc.  So that's where I am - strengthen rural infrastructures, strengthen rural facilities (medical/educational/recreational, etc), increase opportunities for a more diverse workforce, attract the populous into the gaps between the big cities, reduce unnecessary travel, reduce pollution.  I suspect, but don't have the evidence (I was an academic so can't help myself) that many would like to live in the countryside but do not because the appropriate "facilities" do not exist.  It's okay to be attracted to city life, it's not okay to be repelled by the lack of rural opportunities.

 

Expand my "local" thoughts onto a global scale and you get more in-country manufacturing, better quality local jobs, increased pride in the workforce, reduced lines of logistics, less pollution etc etc. We all know it's good for us, but the constant drive for profit margins over all else sends us in the opposite direction.

 

But how to make it happen?

 

Well on a personal basis, and that is where it has to start eh, a couple of years back my wife and I decided to stop saving money by driving to hyper-markets for cheaper food and petrol, and to put the majority of our money into our village. The petrol and groceries are more expensive, but it is a much nicer experience.  We talk to people we know, we don't drive an hour in each direction, we don't waste our lives on mindless  journeys.  Sure we still drive, but the balance is towards pleasure as opposed to functionality.

 

So once elected I shall, in a gentle way, be encouraging my village mates to do likewise.  I shall also be trying to attract businesses from the cities to start up here (work from home / restaurants/ rural activities).  Most villages suffer during Winter, so it is important facilities exist during that time and not just during the Summer.

 

Okay I have to stop this; maybe more at a later date.  Hopefully I won't be too disillusioned!

 

 

Dan, Bob, Chris (and some others), I will have a special request for you next week.  Not telling now, but I've been trolling the fora .......

 

Have a good weekend 968ers

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[ds968]

I’ve always been a huge supporter of the small, family owned, local business concept, as far back as I can remember .. even more so important now than ever IMO, but fundamentally, I am willing to pay significantly more money to buy products or services from those kind of businesses vs. the mega-chain stores . I will never buy coffee at Starbucks ( actually their coffee sucks no matter what ) , I won’t buy anything at Home Depot unless I can’t find it at one of the independently owned / franchise ACE hardware stores, the same with grocery shopping ; there are quite a few family owned stores around here, including sizable ones, somits rare that I need to go to a Safeway / Albertsons or Luckys , or Kroger, etc. I even seek gas stations that are family owned franchises ( Chevron and Shell have those ) no matter how many more cents per gallon it may cost ..usually not more than $0.10, so who cares .. The one exception is Costco .. I am addicted to Costco for a lot of my bulk purchases .. And I’m probably going against the grain here, but I don’t really spend too many nights up concerned about saving the rest of the world, I’m more of a micro-cosmos kind of dude..

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[Roboman]

Good one Dan, more people should support the little/family business.  And as for going against the grain, hey nobody is 100% and you make up for it by being an All Blacks fan 

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[Rap]

Micro cosmos dude. Please explain. That sounds like progressive liberal bs from a well seasoned man of the world. I also support local business but am not against convenience or saving money. Since I’m doing more shopping now, my wife generally does it, I’ve come to appreciate the inexpensiveness of vegetables from Aldi’s. Why are they so much cheaper than a wegman’s ? I don t know but paying substantially more for the same makes no sense to me. I drive two hours to support a small business to work on my 968’s.  Can’t say this is local. I support many small wineries in Ca. Can’t say this is local or inexpensive. 

I see change with more emphasis on family and doing that which is important to you. Luckily the sale of our business started a reorientation of my thought process two years ago. Now I hope to further refine it.

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[ds968]

What ?! Quite the contrary ; progressive liberal bs would be caring about / saving the rest of the world .. which I don’t . And it’s not as if I’m paying double for major items like appliances, or who knows what .. we’re talking about maybe + 10% or + 20% or so on some grocery items, some “nuts and bolts” or or a bunch of other household items from the hardware store, so I’m not “ waisting “ that much money spent on what I consider a good cause..

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[Roboman]

I think that unless you are a legislator then all you can do is fight your own corner and feel good about it.  I hope the present restrictions will cause people to focus on locally sources items, thus by default supporting small business and reducing transport/pollution.  The balance is difficult: a narrower range of in season products; freshness; social shopping experience vs one-stop-shop and of course cost.   I also recognise that my support for the small guy is influenced by where I live; if I was around the corner from Aldi, or drove past Walmart on the way back from work, the balance of my choices might well be different.  So we do what we do, but now is the opportunity to do things differently and think about the experience; break some habits!

Have a good weekend  

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[Rap]

I think you have to have the opportunity to support the local guy before you can do it. Here we have the ability to support some roadside farmers although I don’t know if their prices are competitive. 

 

I still don’t understand what a micro cosmos dude means.

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[Roboman]

I think you have to have the opportunity to support the local guy before you can do it. Here we have the ability to support some roadside farmers although I don’t know if their prices are competitive. 

 

I agree Rap and I'm not criticising anyone; it makes little sense to drive out of the middle of a city to a small farm unless you particularly want to.  However, there are many who go in the opposite direction; heading to soulless mega-marts while the local guy struggles with economies of scale.  All I can report is my own experience where, for a not huge increase in cost, I now have a much more pleasant shopping experience, generally better tasting produce, less mindless travel, greater interaction with my neighbourhood, and a feeling of contributing to the survival of our village.  Enough said.  I think we are on the same wavelength but are in different circumstances.  Cheers!

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[ds968]

Not to preach my philosophy here, but half ( ok, 47% if you want to be picky ) of all employment in the U.S. is provided by small businesses. Private industry that is, not counting government employees.

So they contribute to the health of our economy just as much as the mega companies like the Walmarts, and Home Depots, General Motors, etc. etc. So in my view small businesses deserve at least the same consideration, and argualby , even a more so than the big conglomerates becuase they have far, far less buying power to make their products just as price competitive, and theyre the first businesses who barely survive, often on the brink of extinction. The mega companies have gradually done a good job of putting them out of business. Sadly during this pandemic that risk is even more pronounced, and may become reality if the stimulus is insufficient to keep them afloat . So am I willing to give up some convenience and spend a bit more to support the local guy ? Yup . But I may be in the minority. On the bright side, it looks like some states are slowly easing restrictions, but imposing all precautionary conditions ; masks, distancing , and so on.

p.s. I, for one , dislike the term social distancing , why is isnt it called physical distancing ?! Were no less sociable now at a distance, in fact I observe were even more courteous, helpful , aka sociably closer ! Cheers !!

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[Rap]

Creative destruction is a concept we often hear when describing capitalism. It is somewhat harsh but accurate. How many small business fail in the first year? That can’t all be attributed to big box employers although I see the power they have over smaller businesses. To our detriment many small businesses will fail due to the China disease. Perhaps some were insufficiently capitalized or just barely getting by to start with. This and other facts will come out later when the smoke settles down. Dan are you sure the 47% number isn’t the number of people who don’t pay taxes? I agree with you that giving up some convenience and paying more has it’s positive merits although I would imagine it’s only for spot purchasing.

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[Roboman]

"Creative destruction" .... what spectacular spin terminology; "creative" sounds very positive but is the exact opposite ..... well, for the small business anyway.  I have a friend who spent a decade in China (Beijing/Guanjou/Shanghai) giving workshops on business startups.  The mantra was "Go hard, fail fast".  The idea being don't limp along for a few years and lose everything, go 120% to make it work, and be prepared to pull out rather than be thrown out.  So many entrepreneurs are prepared to fail a few times early on in their career, which adds to the stats you allude to Bob, but in fact they are building experience for what they hope will be "the big one".  That's just about used up my business acumen, my background is engineering, not marketing.  I don't know about anybody else, but I am forever thinking that something is a useless idea, won't catch on, won't sell .... only to be wrong again.  Whoever came up with the name "Teenage mutant ninja turtles"??????

So how are we surviving lock down everyone??  I figure I'm going to be okay as bad luck comes in threes ..... after lock down (1)  I dropped and shattered my phone (2) and two weeks later badly sprained my ankle (3) ... so I recon I'm okay, especially as the new phone I was sent wasn't new so I sent it back and my leg is still up in the air for most of the day, so I couldn't get out and invade someone's space if I wanted to.  Happy days!

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[ds968]

I have no idea how many people dont pay taxes Bob, I only know that historically Ive paid enough taxes to support those people . ;-) ;-)


On a separate economic impact subject ; everyone is talking about the plunging gas prices. Yeah, low gas prices right now is like a bald guy winning a hair brush in the lottery. BTW, is your car also getting 3 weeks a gallon ?


p.s. at least the good news is that essential workers are getting a little commute cost relief ..

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[Waylander]

Flouted the rules today and went out for a country lane thrash in the 968,


Brill

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