The Miscellaneous Thought Thread

[chadwpalm]

Dumb. Cash is a wonderful way for families to vacation on a budget.

I have a friend that strictly uses cash for budgetary reasons. She uses the whole Dave Ramsey envelope method. It works for her and she likes doing it.

I'm a very strict budgeter too, but I use online budgeting tools. I haven't carried cash in 20 years. I have my paychecks direct deposited and use my credit cards to purchase things and then pay off the balances each month. I don't deviate from my budget and its allowed me to live a completely debt-free life (aside from my student loans). Not everyone is disciplined enough to do that, so I understand that using cash for budgeting can help in that regard.

I don't really have an opinion as to whether using banks is bad or good, or whether a cashless society is bad or good, but I think people should be allowed to whatever payment method they want if that's what they feel more comfortable doing.

Even with kiosks that transfer cash to gift cards or debit cards I'm sure people would want to either be able to get cash back if they don't spend it all, or have assurances they can use the debit cards anywhere.

 

[TP2000]

I have a friend that strictly uses cash for budgetary reasons. She uses the whole Dave Ramsey envelope method. It works for her and she likes doing it.

Good for her. I listen to Dave Ramsay sometimes, but then I have to turn it off because some of the people are so ridiculously in over their head that it's just painful to listen to. The young couples who can't afford a down payment on a starter home because they have several thousand dollars per month spent on new car payments, or absolutely no savings with 3 children and a luxury timeshare they're trying to get out of. (the timeshare, not the kids)

I'm no Steve Forbes, but I've managed my life with moderation and reasonable sanity. It worked, and then I got to splurge on some stuff after middle age. It's not rocket science, it's just compounding interest and free market capitalism.

I don't really have an opinion as to whether using banks is bad or good, or whether a cashless society is bad or good, but I think people should be allowed to whatever payment method they want if that's what they feel more comfortable doing.

Up until now it seems to be so random and rare in this country, that it hasn't really come to a head. But I imagine that period is coming to an end. Listening to the LA politician on the radio yesterday talk about moving to outlaw cashless businesses in LA, and she was very liberal politically, it's an issue that I think a lot of people would be concerned about from all parts of the socio-political spectrum.

It's probably one of those things that's going to end up at the Supreme Court in a few years. That'll be interesting.

 

[TP2000]

Thank you! Behold, the power of reading comprehension!

This isn't Illinois or Georgia where a month of no rain is very unusual. It's California, a very different climate, where we only get the bulk of our rain during the winter, mostly November to March. Much of it as Sierra snowpack that feeds the massive state reservoir system.

One month of hot weather in August doesn't create a drought in California. If it did, we would have drought every year and every August. That's not how the climate works out West.

The California drought is over now. This is good news, not bad news. Happy. Good. Slip-N-Slide and Grizzly River Run.

 

[Rich T]

I don't like that idea at all.

Yesterday afternoon on KFI AM 640, they had an interview with an LA politician who was putting forward a proposal to make it illegal in Los Angeles for businesses to not accept cash from customers. There's apparently a group of people that are called "un-banked", who don't have a bank account or debit card and rely on cash only. Who knew? They are also the reason payroll check cashing places exist, because they have no bank account and don't want one.

The thought is that in the need for DEI goals and to be equitable, you have to accept cash if you are a private business.

But even though I've been, I guess, "banked" since I was 14 and opened my first savings account with my dad during my first summer job, I approve of that.

Looking at this 20 dollar bill in my wallet, I am reminded of two things;

1. "THIS NOTE IS LEGAL TENDER FOR ALL DEBTS, PUBLIC AND PRIVATE"
2. Andrew Jackson had a feathery Disco Era haircut that was way ahead of his time.

My thought is that I’m ok with this as long as a customer can easily put their funds on a gift card with NO FEE and then, at day’s end, easily get their remaining balance back in cash.

I see this as less of an issue than theme park food prices. In the end, when people pay to enter a park, they’re agreeing to play by the park rules, including the awful pay-to-win queue policies that so many guests have now accepted as normal.

I’m curious as to why Busch/SeaWorld thinks it’s a good idea to implement this just now at the Tampa park… the one big park that tourists have to make a hefty drive out of the Orlando area to visit.

 

[MoonRakerSCM]

If anyone has noticed a Nasa DC-8 doing low passes over the LA metro area the past few days, it's part of this study-

Low Altitude Flights Study Everyday Emissions

Often research associated with air quality and pollution prioritizes transportation – especially car emissions – as an area of focus.

www.nasa.gov

 

[Disney Irish]

It's almost like there's some folks that just hate good news.

There is no drought left in California now. It's over*. (*Except for the 1.38% of the state's land mass still in Moderate Drought.)

California swings from wet to dry every few years, over and over again, for thousands of years. That's not going to stop.

Here's a graph of California's wet years vs. dry years going back to 1895, when good record keeping began statewide. Can you point me to the year when California changed its weather patterns "long term"?

View attachment 739257

California

Current state-level drought information for California: .

www.drought.gov

Its not that people hate good news, its that you're glossing over the facts. The fact is the current drought "alert" might be over but the fact is California will not recover from the many years of drought in just one rainy season.

The fact is that the droughts in California are getting longer and more intense and more dense. You can even see it in the graph you provided, where the peaks are almost hitting 100% and are longer.

Its funny you posted about this because the LA Times just ran an article on this very thing -

https://www.latimes.com/projects/california-drought-status-maps-water-usage/

"The drought in California and the American West has been worsened by rising temperatures caused by climate change. Scientists in 2022 found that the region as a whole, from Montana to California to northern Mexico, experienced the driest 22-year period in more than 1,200 years.

Since 2000, the U.S West. has grown warmer and drier. Data from the U.S. Drought Monitor shows that the region has plunged deeper into extreme drought over the past several years. Scientists have increasingly said the West is experiencing “aridification” driven by human-caused climate change, and they have called for the region to prepare for drier conditions in the long term as temperatures continue to rise.

Compared with 2022, conditions in the U.S. have improved. About 50% of the country is at least abnormally dry, according to the drought monitor."

 

[CaptinEO]

The alternative is selling the most boring burgers, hot dogs, and pizza that you can imagine.

I'd take potentially too interesting over too basic.

Not at all! I want well made japanese food not biria ramen. You can make things good without them being generic or a crossover.

 

[lazyboy97o]

I don't really have an opinion as to whether using banks is bad or good, or whether a cashless society is bad or good, but I think people should be allowed to whatever payment method they want if that's what they feel more comfortable doing.

Why does the person taking the payment not get to decide to accept what they are most comfortable handling? There are costs associated with each type of payment method, so which ones should businesses have to cover?

I’m curious as to why Busch/SeaWorld thinks it’s a good idea to implement this just now at the Tampa park… the one big park that tourists have to make a hefty drive out of the Orlando area to visit.

They’re kind of the park that seems to be expected to really push how much they can cut in operating costs.

 

[Communicora]

I was going to mention the huge Chinese community in Vancouver. In the 1970's I had friends who moved there, a lovely Vietnamese couple named Ghet and Grace who escaped the Communists just before the fall of Saigon. Ghet would take us to all these fabulous little restaurants in Vancouver's burgeoning Asian neighborhoods back then that I as a typical white American guy would have never been able to know about.

This seems like a miss for DCA's new San Fransokyo food court remake. From the info I saw, it looks like they've gone sort of a mall food court "fusion" route instead of creating a Chinese takeout place like this.

DCA used to do a good job with their Lunar New Year events using the old Burger Invasion counter service location as a seasonal Asian offering. But I can't think of any Disney theme park outside of Tokyo DisneySea that has a permanent and truly good Chinese restaurant offering, can you?

Have they announced the date for Downtown Disney's Din Tai Fung yet?

 

[Parteecia]

Knott's has been that way for over a year, although many of the little booths still take cash.

"At Knott's Berry Farm, we want you to have an fun time with your friends and family, without sacrificing safety in any way. That’s why we’re moving toward all cashless payments throughout the park. ..."

Cashless Payment Options | Card & Apple Pay | Knott's Berry Farm

At Knott's Berry Farm, we want you to have great day without sacrificing safety in any way. That's why we're moving toward all cashless payments. Learn more!

www.knotts.com

 

[PiratesMansion]

Knott's has been that way for over a year, although many of the little booths still take cash.

"At Knott's Berry Farm, we want you to have an fun time with your friends and family, without sacrificing safety in any way. That’s why we’re moving toward all cashless payments throughout the park. ..."

Cashless Payment Options | Card & Apple Pay | Knott's Berry Farm

At Knott's Berry Farm, we want you to have great day without sacrificing safety in any way. That's why we're moving toward all cashless payments. Learn more!

www.knotts.com

Yep. All Cedar Fair and Six Flags parks have been cashless for a few years. There was a small, family run park in Pennsylvania (Waldameer) that really pioneered the cash-only thing-I want to say they've been doing it for almost a decade. The way CF in particular explains it makes it seem like it's not that bad or difficult to work around, but then I'm not a person who typically deals in cash, so I can't truly speak for how cumbersome it is for a cash-only person.

 

[mickEblu]

Yep. All Cedar Fair and Six Flags parks have been cashless for a few years. There was a small, family run park in Pennsylvania (Waldameer) that really pioneered the cash-only thing-I want to say they've been doing it for almost a decade. The way CF in particular explains it makes it seem like it's not that bad or difficult to work around, but then I'm not a person who typically deals in cash, so I can't truly speak for how cumbersome it is for a cash-only person.

I don’t like how they make it about safety though. To me that insinuates that the quality of some of your clientele isn’t great and that having cash can compromise your safety. Has anyone ever felt unsafe using cash at Disneyland? And for all I know people don’t feel unsafe using cash at Knotts either but that’s the message it conveys.

 

[mickEblu]

Anyway, on my way to Knotts for the first time in almost two decades. I’ll report back. Looks like Ghostrider is closed

 

[PiratesMansion]

I don’t like how they make it about safety though. To me that insinuates that the quality of some of your clientele isn’t great and that having cash can compromise your safety. Has anyone ever felt unsafe using cash at Disneyland? And for all I know people don’t feel unsafe using cash at Knotts either but that’s the message it conveys.

I admittedly skimmed parts of this particular convo, so I probably don't have the most nuanced understanding of what concerns people have about using/not using cash, or how often safety was brought up as a reason to justify going cashless. I do agree that for the most part, safety is a bit of a nothing argument. The one reason I could understand is that if there's was somehow some sort of robbery, there's not a whole lot that can be done if they choose to rob a card only establishment. I imagine any "safety" argument is mostly a positive way for companies to try and spin the change to the public, rather than cop to the fact that it's a lot easier for the park operators to just push people to cards-assuming the card readers don't ask 30 questions a person it's faster, they don't have to worry about their CMs giving back incorrect change, drawers coming short at the end of the day, they don't have to waste labor on counting and handling cash, etc. So I can see the pros from an operational perspective, and given that most people probably use credit in some capacity or other I feel like it wouldn't be a big deal for most guests. But given that cards charge fees and some people are inherently excluded from cashless businesses, these companies as well continue to accept cash IMO.

Anyway, on my way to Knotts for the first time in almost two decades. I’ll report back. Looks like Ghostrider is closed

Probably to get it in shape for Haunt-they're going into their busiest time of the year, and so they like to make sure that their star attraction is ready beforehand, so that those who want to waste two hours out of the 6/7 they have total for the event in line for GhostRider (instead of partaking in the things you can only do during Haunt and not during a regular operating day) can have their needs met.

Not sure how much interest you have in Haunt given that it's extra (although if you have a regular parking pass it'll also work for Haunt), but I'm super pumped about all the new mazes and things they have going on for their 50th! I have my first visit to Scary Farm since 2019 coming up in October and I couldn't be more excited.

 

[PiratesMansion]

I stumbled on, and quite enjoyed, this 70s episode of whatever Wonderful World of Disney was called at the time, in which the Osmonds, Kurt Russell, and some woman that I kept having to remind myself wasn't Barbara Eden gallivant around the park. Donny and brother # 3 get separated from the others to much concern from the rest of the group, and all sorts of shots of vintage Disneyland are on offer.

By the end, they highlight the then-new Haunted Mansion, and there were a few clips of their ridethrough journey that I have seen elsewhere in other contexts (particularly not-Barbara Eden in the stretching room). But until we get there, stay for such highlights as...The Indian Village! A terrifying Eeyore costume glimpsed for half a second! Kids of the Kingdom! A random park guest butt montage! Impressively tight harmonies from the Osmonds (brothers only, apparently Marie wasn't quite a thing yet)! Kurt Russell of indeterminate teen age years acting as a de facto host! Stock Disney applause sound effects! DisneyQuest promos in the commercial breaks! And much more.

I joke, but I really did enjoy this. And it does reinforce that despite a great deal of change over the years, not all of it positive, a lot of the park is still basically intact.

 

[TP2000]

I stumbled on, and quite enjoyed, this 70s episode of whatever Wonderful World of Disney was called at the time, in which the Osmonds, Kurt Russell, and some woman that I kept having to remind myself wasn't Barbara Eden gallivant around the park. Donny and brother # 3 get separated from the others to much concern from the rest of the group, and all sorts of shots of vintage Disneyland are on offer.

By the end, they highlight the then-new Haunted Mansion, and there were a few clips of their ridethrough journey that I have seen elsewhere in other contexts (particularly not-Barbara Eden in the stretching room). But until we get there, stay for such highlights as...The Indian Village! A terrifying Eeyore costume glimpsed for half a second! Kids of the Kingdom! A random park guest butt montage! Impressively tight harmonies from the Osmonds (brothers only, apparently Marie wasn't quite a thing yet)! Kurt Russell of indeterminate teen age years acting as a de facto host! Stock Disney applause sound effects! DisneyQuest promos in the commercial breaks! And much more.

I joke, but I really did enjoy this. And it does reinforce that despite a great deal of change over the years, not all of it positive, a lot of the park is still basically intact.

Agreed. One of the best episodes ever, in my opinion.

Kurt Russell singing "Sugar, Sugar" at Plaza Gardens is a gem.

But are you just going to pretend that the entire Kids Of The Kingdom segment doing "This Land Is Your Land" wasn't a part of this? Because that production number is iconic. When the girls are singing on the submarine, I almost fall off the couch laughing. Every. Single. Time.

I've also promised myself that I'm not going to die until matching sweater sets come back in style. I'll be here waiting.

And now.... The Kids Of The Kingdom.



Perky as all hell, isn't it?

 

[Rich T]

I stumbled on, and quite enjoyed, this 70s episode of whatever Wonderful World of Disney was called at the time, in which the Osmonds, Kurt Russell, and some woman that I kept having to remind myself wasn't Barbara Eden gallivant around the park. Donny and brother # 3 get separated from the others to much concern from the rest of the group, and all sorts of shots of vintage Disneyland are on offer.

By the end, they highlight the then-new Haunted Mansion, and there were a few clips of their ridethrough journey that I have seen elsewhere in other contexts (particularly not-Barbara Eden in the stretching room). But until we get there, stay for such highlights as...The Indian Village! A terrifying Eeyore costume glimpsed for half a second! Kids of the Kingdom! A random park guest butt montage! Impressively tight harmonies from the Osmonds (brothers only, apparently Marie wasn't quite a thing yet)! Kurt Russell of indeterminate teen age years acting as a de facto host! Stock Disney applause sound effects! DisneyQuest promos in the commercial breaks! And much more.

I joke, but I really did enjoy this. And it does reinforce that despite a great deal of change over the years, not all of it positive, a lot of the park is still basically intact.

This incredible, lovable slice of American cheese is a perfect time capsule of both 1970 Disney and 1970 family TV fare in general. As a kid, I watched this on its original broadcast— and to this day, that version of “This Land is Your Land” is the version that springs into my memory whenever I hear that tune.

 

[TP2000]

This incredible, lovable slice of American cheese is a perfect time capsule of both 1970 Disney and 1970 family TV fare in general. As a kid, I watched this on its original broadcast— and to this day, that version of “This Land is Your Land” (where the classic song is turned into a DL commercial) is the version that springs into my memory whenever I hear that tune.

Me too.

In the 1990's I used to take long-distance Amtrak trips to see friends and family, just for fun. On The Coast Starlight, the fancy overnight train that goes from LA to Seattle, they had the Pacific Parlor Car which was a domed lounge for sleeping car passengers to relax in. In the evening in the Pacific Parlor Car there was a lady who would play an electric piano and host sing-alongs after dinner. The bartender and lounge car hostess would pass out sheet music as a learning aid.

This Land Is Your Land was always on Amtrak's list of sing-along songs. I refused to look at the sheet music the lounge car hostess would pass out and instead just sang the 1970 Kids Of The Kingdom lyrics. Woody Guthrie be damned.

 

[Parteecia]

often safety was brought up as a reason to justify going cashless.

I believe in Knott's case it was justified/explained as pandemic-inspired less contact.

 

[mickEblu]

Anyway, on my way to Knotts for the first time in almost two decades. I’ll report back. Looks like Ghostrider is closed

Man, that is was rough! Where do I start? Wow, water parks are gross. It was different when you were in your teens/early 20s. As a parent all you can think of is all the germs. Soak City was packed! Lines for the slides were all an hour long. You had lines before lines just to grab a tube and get in a line. Also very poor decision to go to Soak City and Knotts Berry Farm on the same day. Overall just a real hot $hit show. I don’t see myself going back even with the annual pass. Also just a really poor decision to try to cram Soak City right before Knotts. We didn’t even get there until about 2pm. Stayed for about an hour and a half, did practically nothing but hang around that Splash Zone and left. That brutal sun, no shade and pandemonium took a lot out of us though. Our kids didn’t know what to do with themselves. Wanted to do all the nasty stuff like the Pee Pee River, wave pool and little kiddie splash zone where the water was 100 degrees. A real Nightmare.

Really loved the grounds by Independence Hall with the lagoon and all that grass were the picnic tables are located. Apparently Knotts didn’t get the memo on the AstroTurf. The area had a real old school simple charm to it that I enjoyed. Something that I can’t quite pinpoint brought me back to my childhood. Those bathrooms there are disgusting though. Smelled like the bathrooms at the beach.

Started my day at Knotts by eating at Mrs Knotts. Im here to settle the debate once and for all. Plaza Inn is better. It wasn’t bad. It actually tastes more homemade with a simple flour batter. A little bland though. Now to the positives- they give you a ton of food even if I’d prefer a $15 meal with half the amount of food to the ton of food they give you with the $26 chicken dinner.

I get the Boysenberry hype now! It was the perfect compliment to that tray of soft fluffy biscuits and butter they brought out. Tastes Mixed Berry like. Not too sweet. Not too tangy. Those biscuits were great and the highlight of the meal. In a different stratosphere than the one you get at Plaza Inn. Boysenberry pie a la mode was also good. I’m not even a berry pie guy. Our waiter was very friendly. I’m pretty sure what we ordered didn’t include 5 slices of pie and free beverages. I even liked the cafeteria chicken noodle soup in all it’s starchy glory. Just felt like something they would eat in the old west. From what I understand the restaurant was just renovated. Would have liked to have seen it before they gave it the modern farm to table vibe.

Enjoy the whole feel of the marketplace area and shops right outside of Knotts. Didn’t really step into the shops though. I’m going to save so much money on merch! Haha. And because I definitely won’t be going to Knotts every two weeks. Lol. More on that later.


Part 2 at Knotts coming after this desperately needed shower…