Pandemic Report
The latest stats from WaPo:
Other Notes
Well, a first for me as a new(er) car owner (still making payments). I have to admit, I like the convenience of my auto key FOB, a remote keyless entry device. It'll auto-unlock the driver's side as you approach the vehicle which can be confusing (the sales guy was demonstrating remote locking while I had the FOB in my pocket; I ended up leaving the FOB away from the car to convince myself the car was locking). I always worry: did I leave the iron on back home, the lights on the car, forget to lock the car? The lights on have been a thing since my early work career; I was in a mini-car share from southwest Houston to Clear Lake City where I was a NASA contractor. I forgot to turn off my lights one morning and came back to a dead battery. That ended the car share as one of the guys freaked out {his wife was pregnant at the time but she wasn't in labor; I guess he couldn't depend on me turning off the lights in the future.) I think the lights on at (versus after) the time the current car is shutdown will shut off after 30 seconds although I haven't tested them. My prior Olds automatically ran with lights on; Not true for the new car; I got pulled over once by police on the way to BWI in the new car early morning; he pointed out my headlights weren't on. Embarrassing; I hadn't done much overnight driving, and I was so used to the lights being on all the time. The funny thing is, I've probably told a dozen drivers they left their vehicle with lights on over the years and they generally react in a pissed off fashion claiming auto-shutoff.
I knew the FOB must have had a battery source, but I had never been briefed on it. So after one recent errand run, when I stopped the car, I got a message that the FOB battery was low and needed to be replaced. I didn't know the specifics of battery impairment and auto functionality/ I do have a spare FOB in my safe. I did find a Youtube video on replacing the battery for my car model and double-checked the coin battery required for replacement. (easily fulfilled by Amazon although it might take 2-3 days; luckily, I don't drive daily and you can purchase a set of batteries).
The most annoying part was actually replacing the battery itself, not really addressed by the video in question, not obvious to someone with stubby fingers and short nails. After finally managing to dislodge the used battery, I discovered the way that worked for me was to tilt the battery down into the slot towards the back hooks and snap down. (Jamming into the slot doesn't work.). A visible red blink on button pushes (e.g., to lock/unlock) implied success, but a real test that the replacement battery was good was driving the car and no longer seeing a FOB battery message when I stopped the car.
I finally replaced my old Canon personal printer/scanner. It served its purpose over the years but had annoyed me with innumerable paper jams with a front-loading paper tray. The printer business makes its real money on ink replacement. When my old one finally broke down, I was annoyed because I wanted to scan my 2 COVID-19 vaccine cards (max 4 shots per card). I ordered an inexpensive model (under $50) from Walmart.com (which is not much more than the cost of the two printer cartridges included), I was initially confused because it turns out the printer is top-loaded. The printer driver installation was problematic, but seemed to be resolved in part by applying the latest Windows Update driver. I was confused by what happened to my scan utility, which in the past was referenced in the Start/Programs menu. I eventually found a tip basically suggesting doing a Windows search for the executable, and I quickly added it to my taskbar. Functionality is fine, and I actually prefer the sleeker footprint.
I visited Sam's Club for the first time in a couple of months. I've occasionally covered trips in my nutrition blog. My shopping list varies: if available, $5 rotisserie chicken makes the list, and I can usually find fresh grass-fed bricks at $5/lb. in 3 brick packs. I don't buy a lot of bread; usually my local store carries twin-packs of 100% whole wheat for under $5. Not this visit for some odd reason, but they did offer a twin-pack of Old Tyme "Omega Me Crazy" sprouted grains bread for $5+. I'm a big fan of Ezekiel bread (about 6.17/loaf at Walmart). I decided to try it out. About 14 net carbs a slice: a little more than I like but I don't eat a lot of bread. I also found a superfoods-supplemented oatmeal variety. Other purchases were more context driven. For instance, I saw one good deal on nutritional shakes than on my visits to my more local Walmart.
Egg prices are still out of control. Walmart is showing its "value" dozen are 5.64/dozen and out of stock. I can still recall just a couple of years back when the same eggs cost under 80 cents/dozen. Some of this may be driven by high holiday demand, which should be tapering down. But sticker prices still shock; I can remember a small bag of shredded iceberg lettuce used to cost like 92 cents a bag for ages, and it has more than doubled since then. I tend to shop opportunistically when possible. To give a telling example, Lidl around Christmas had a bone-in portion of smoked ham for roughly 65 cents/lb. (These are fully cooked but you generally want to warm them.) I'm still eating ham...
I was recently curious given breakfast anytime craze, what about lunch/dinner all day? I remember back in 2001 on a Wisconsin project I was traveling to, I hadn't had eggs in weeks, so I did order eggs (yes, on the dinner menu). The waitress was visibly annoyed; she probably figured my tip would suck. This was before eggs in a buffet were a thing in hotels with free breakfast. I've mentioned McDonald's was the subject of my group's capstone project in our MBA business strategies course. My co-leader used to meet his future wife at a midpoint between cities. My folks brought up a large family on a meager NCO paycheck. So for us, McDonald's was a special-occasions treat, like for First Communions. I won't go into our analysis and recommendations here. I remember buying my 8-month niece some fries at my SIL's suggestion. So anyway, one morning I took my 3- or 4-year-old nephew to McDonald's for fries, only to be told it was a half hour until they switched to their lunch menu. Hash browns? Hell, no. We went and got doughnuts for the family elsewhere.
So, I've felt bad ever since depriving him of fries. He's now an IT consultant and capable of buying his own fries. I told him I still owed him fries. He thought it was hilarious. Well, we recently nearly lost him over a heart attack on a family reunion for his nuclear family. I told one of his little brothers to tell him I don't think his doctor is going to let me buy him those fries...
Anyway, it seems like they keep the breakfast and lunch grills at different temperatures, so KISS--one grill. It was a Ray Kroc thing. I won't go into detail here, but you can probably hear my eyes roll. We had a couple of East Asian (India or Pakistan) team members who were basically dead weights on the team. One of the Krocisms was there was only one way to cook a burger--fry it; vs. say boiling, steaming, etc. hot dogs. So that's why they didn't serve hot dogs. So, I would have to fight off their putting stupid Krocisms into the presentation. You can buy hot dogs anywhere without vendor confusion: ball parks, street vendors, fast food places, etc. I remember I had invested in one of their DRIP plans until I had to liquidate during the Great Recession. I wrote a several page letter of suggestions about 20 years back, based on things I would like to see as a road warrior looking for healthier alternatives. To give a minor example, they could offer bottled water. I got back some letter from some lawyer assuring me MCD never saw the letter, they don't accept unsolicited suggestions, etc. I wasn't looking for a jackpot. Maybe a few free meal vouchers if they found merits in my suggestions. Other fast-food places often encourage feedback.
But there are times I do wish I could eat regular meals outside lunch/dinner hours. To give a simple example. I've often taken early flights (before 6AM). If I'm between flights after 9 AM, I want something more substantive. Or I've occasionally worked overnight shifts. So it turns out there are some chains which will serve a broader menu (but some * may require a longer wait):
- Carl’s Jr./Hardees
- *Chick-fil-A
- Del Taco
- Jack in the Box
- Sonic
- Steak ’n Shake
- Taco Bell
- Whataburger
- White Castle
