makuus

I’m getting strong Hide the Pain Harold vibes.…

I just continue to be amazed that, instead of the old, tried-and-true method of giving people what they want—a solid, reliable car at a good price, and a stellar charging network in the places people want to be—a man of his means keeps trying weird gimmicks.

You know, I don’t actually know. Have been conditioned to avoid using them that I don’t even think about them.

Oh, I acknowledge that.

However, there are two things I get hung up on. One, can’t pay by check—Costco doesn’t accept checks. And, two, the traditional no-limits cards are generally Amex, which they don’t accept—only Visa.

So, yes, while nothing else you said was wrong per se, I’m still left to ponder just how the transaction would go down.

I know everyone’s general focus is on the cost of the thing and how ridiculous it seems, completely ignoring that it’s a Scotch that was aged longer than the overwhelming majority of us—me included—have been alive, and that there are some people for whom that taste is very much worth it.

Me, I’ve wrangled with exactly how you’re meant to pay for the thing and walk out the door with it. Am I bringing $27K—plus tax—worth of cash—three straps of hundos?—to Costco and having the cashier count it? Do I get pulled into the manager’s office instead? Or, do I put this on my Costco Citi Visa? Will they decline it, even if I have the credit limit? Can I sub in another Visa, since that’s all they take? Do I get walked out the door, or do I get a receipt for the checker to sharpie a line through?

The first time I encountered this, it scared the shit out of me. Only by rationally eliminating possibilities was I able to calmly dig in, learn about the Epley Maneuver, and get some relief.

It still pops up on occasion, but a couple of rounds of the Maneuver and I’m usually back to normal.

I confess that I’m 25 years into my career field and I still don’t “get” “OKR” and “PKI”.

I know what the acronyms mean and have looked at definitions dozens of times. But, when I see them in practice, I figure that there’s something I’m still missing—some arcane knowledge only revealed to project managers and executives—because they’re always somehow nonsensical to the business, like someone filled in a Mad Lib.

I need to find ways to insert “you have been reliably informed” into my day-to-day…

For what it’s worth, they’ve had a “Neuro Fuzzy” rice cooker (https://www.zojirushi.com/app/product/nszcc) for years—ours is at least 10 years old at this point. And, I would bet this is a trivial extension of that—using some decision tables supplemented with heat feedback—with only the addition of a user feedback mechanism, rather than any, true “AI”.

We are in his debt. He showed great courage.

Correction: If they’re voting Republican, they’re united on abortion. You can be a principled objector, but the moment you cast a vote for a Republican—particularly at the national level—you are, like it or not, casting a vote for everything that the party stands for and that includes ending abortion protections.

Not only that, but, I feel like dude there is over the 4’8”-5’2” height requirement for Minnie. Like, that’s hard to prove from a photo like this one. But, given his proportions in relation to the railing and other features in that photo, my first impression would not be to think him short enough.