Wasn't there also cement ordered around this time too? I seem to remember something about that.
I have a daughter that wants to be a pilot. She is still young, but well on her way to getting all the training. It'll be a decade until she can work for the airlines though. Hopefully by then, the DEI stuff will be gone. She will be completely trained and safe, I'm sure, however I would hate to have her go through her career always wondering if she was the token woman. She wants to earn her positions too, not have them handed to her. I promise, if she flies you in 10 or 15 years, you can be assured she is a good pilot! We are putting a lot of our finances, time and energy into assuring she is!!!
Unfortunately, people don't turn off their TV during halftime, they will just turn it down or wander away. So their views get counted.
I think TPUSA did a good job for their first halftime show, and even though the views on YouTube were disappointing to me (the most I saw was like 5 million), it was also on Rumble (which wouldn't load for me) and, I think own or whatever the news network is called.
The energy of the TPUSA show was kinda low, too many slow songs. However, I do think it was good for a first effort! I don't see it as a big win, however it also wasn't just a continuation view of watching the game. People had to intentionally tune in, so that means 5 million people intentionally went through the effort! That's pretty good!
We have put stuff on Amazon. Since we do custom work.. we cast each ring individually, each one is hand done... it's hard to meet Amazon's deadlines for sending the items out. Plus, their return policy is very easy, and we have to abide by it. People can return all work, even custom work. PLUS, we don't have direct contact with the customers, and we cannot contact the customers, so it's very easy for someone to order a 24k gold ring, then send us back a lump of lead and Amazon will always rule in their favor. We haven't had that happen, but it's always a possibility. We now just sell off our site, talk to our customers, and have a more personal business.
The Amazon of jewelry are those people overseas who get costume jewelry made with cheap metal and labor, or buy it from Temu, and sell it for double or triple what they paid. Make it sparkle, even temporarily, people will buy it. Temu gets a bad rap, but most anything you get from Amazon anymore came from there. I looked up a jacket I liked on Amazon for $40, and it was on Temu for $15. Even the pictures were the same. I actually am talking to my kids about how we can do that too. You really can make some good money there!
Even in the jewelry business, as long as the item is "assembled" in the USA, jewelers can say they are "Made in the USA". We know several sites that say made in the USA, but they actually have it made it Thailand for a LOT cheaper than we can here. They get it to the states, put a file to it or whatever, and say it's Made in the USA.
I think the advent of the internet, cheap metals and lab created stones has made people not care for value and quality. It used to be get a good ring for your wedding because it needs to last as long as your marriage, now people want temporary sparkle in their ring AND their marriage. Both are disposable anymore. So that's where the jewelry business is. When we got into it 15 years ago, it was dignified. Now it's selling itself out! We were and are staying true to our standards, and our customers.
Anyhow, long story got long!!! Disposable society always seems to win!!! There are still people who want quality, but the majority just want a sparkly adornment!
I will withhold my excitement until I KNOW it's happening. I've had too many false starts to get too excited. I will watch with some trepidation though!
Nope. Not only did we pay the 5k deductible both times, but our premiums went up. They got all of it back from us!! Between that and employees getting more and more demanding for money and special hours and free things, spending all their time on their phone, and just sucking us dry, it was time to hang it up. Luckily we did before gold and silver went crazy, and before lab diamonds really hit with the force they have now. The store was a wild ride, that I am certainly glad to be off! We still are in touch with the industry, and the stores right now are hurting. They are repricing literally on the spot, and people don't understand that it's not the price the store bought at, but the price it will take to replace the item. It's a rough business.
It's an endless cycle with the evidence... they recovered it after insurance covered the cost (after deductible). So they wouldn't return it because it was evidence. She (yes, she! A teenager!) was turned over by her Mom. Since she was a minor, they bargained down the charges. The police kept the evidence in case bigger charges were brought up. Then they kept it because heck, insurance already covered it. So last I heard, it was still "evidence" kept by the police. I'm sure at this point they've sold it off to make money, since we live in a commie state. It's been... geez.. pre-covid. Since she was a minor, we never got any compensation from her or her family, she got off with, I think probation. It was such a pain that we finally had to just let it go. Too many other things we had to do... broken glass, broken door latch, broken showcases, inventory, clean up... we lost a lot of money. The second break in, nothing was ever recovered. we just had to clean up and cover the costs.
Not high enough of a markup!! We needed extra security, upgraded cameras, security not tied to the electricity so someone couldn't turn off the power and break in... plus we needed big safes, trustworthy employees, shatter proof showcases... so much extra money goes into keeping the inventory safe. Plus extra insurance. We had two break ins. Insurance doesn't like to pay. We lost more than product. The police recovered some of the stolen items and they keep it as "evidence" and we never saw it again. There is way too much expense in the business. We just finally got tired of it and had to close.
Patriots leading by a huge margin in the first half. Black out happens right at half time... when the lights come up, it's Michael Jackson, Prince, and Elvis singing "Let's go Crazy".
There's no way for the woke to turn off the feed. Trump emerges after the song is done, from a row of fireworks. All the musicians part for him, and he says "As you probably have realized, we are taking back our country."
Then they break into "He's Bad!" from MJ, and some gospel music from the King. Trump does his dance.
That's my prediction.
I mean, he did sell his blood. Everything has a price, and he had his. It's not like he was coerced or taken without his consent.
I don't agree with what happened, if it happened, however he did it.
There is so much pressure, I'm sure, when you are a "celebrity" to be young, to look great, and to still be able to eat and drink like a young adult. Oh, and have the energy of a young adult when you are on stage! I don't doubt they will do whatever they need to to keep it up and look good.
I was the fitness manager for a medium sized city, and I felt the pressure. People would see me at the grocery store and evaluate my shopping cart while they chatted with me. They would watch me workout, and tell me what they saw me do/didn't do wrong. I heard from others gossiping about how I looked like I was letting myself go when I got pregnant. I had to keep up an image people had of me. That was a medium sized town, I can't imagine the pressure they feel from each other, their paycheck, and the public. Look at the pictures of famous people who get older and gain weight... they are shamed. "Skip a lunch!" or "Wow, she really let herself go" Seriously. We can't let people be human.
I have definitely gained weight since my days as a manager, and had some kids. However, I don't go to that town anymore, and if I did, I know I would be very self conscious. The pressure was real.
Anyhow, my point is he willingly sold his blood, got the money, and Diddy was happy to get it. Doesn't make it right, but we have to stop the public pressure and age shaming too.
I felt bad because for a few years I believed all that was said about MJ. Then I started really looking into him, and realized that I think he was really protecting children, and he was the abused one. So he was making sure they didn't get abused like he was.
I am glad people are coming around to him. I feel really bad for him and have always wondered if he was murdered.
We were in the jewelry business, so we gave information to make people comfortable with the product and so we could sell it to them. The amount of false information surrounding the product is ridiculous (no! It's not worth it to us to switch your stone! And any reputable jeweler won't do it... it's not worth being closed and sued for your measly under 2k stone!! Although in the case of an imminent divorce, one party or the other will ask us to change it out to a CZ beforehand) People take advantage of you for sure.
OK so David Copperfield, I heard is retiring. I wonder if his relationship with Epstein in why...
I pray to GOD he is still alive!!!
HA! I do love some Will Shat. Is this a Super Bowl commercial? I'm glad they release them all beforehand so we don't have to rush to the TV and see them when they come on!! I do think Raisin Bran is a scam, however this commercial is great!
I think it's good, I appreciate Trump's morality and honesty. However, the libs will take some more convincing. They are doing victory laps about his name even being mentioned, and the anonymous calls saying Trump did something are being taken as gospel. They are insane. We need military tribunals.
Who is she?
Commie Colorado.
TWO!!!! MORE!!!! WEEKS!!!!! Haha!! Yeah. I wonder when all this will come out. My guess? yeah never.
I told them how easy it was to change my name, even on my licenses. They came back with "well you are privileged. You have an easy time getting transportation to all the places you need to get to, and getting through all the government bureaucracy. Not everyone has it as good as you." So back to their everyone is poor and disabled, and YOU are able bodied and privileged. Same old boring story from them.
unfortunately, shady companies come in on the internet and undercut brick and mortar. We had people bringing crap stuff they bought off the internet asking us to repair it. They'd also come in for information from us, take up our time and our employees time that they could have been doing something for us, and then the customer would leave and go get their crap on the internet using the free information they got from us. We sold high value items, and they would use us for all they could. Then they'd demand free stuff, free or discounted repairs, expect us to exchange their shoddy crap for our quality items, telling us that they may have got it off the internet, but it's nice stuff. They'd want us to price match. It was ridiculous. They are used to Amazon service, free shipping, and all the perks that Amazon can negotiate. We couldn't do that. I just don't see brick and mortar making a come back.
There were a few internet sites that tried to compete with Amazon... one was blue something or purple something... but they just never took off. Amazon has a hold on people and has a strong business model. Hopefully some day someone will figure out how to compete, but until then, they reign supreme.
Yeah... I remember that. I had hope seeing the red folder. Instead we had 4 years of Biden being led around by the Easter Bunny and Trump sitting in a court room. Now I hope the real movie has begun!!
If no-one watches the stupid bowl, no-one cares. I will support the cause and not watch.
HA! Makes me laugh because she loves to watch those investigation shows into how and why planes crashed. She also is going to take 3 years of aircraft maintenance before she graduates high school (homeschool for the win!), because even if she isn't an aircraft mechanic, she will be able to look at the plane after it's been worked on to make sure it's been done right.. I will save the problems you listed and share it with her, to make sure we work to overcome any of them! Thank you for sharing!