Awesome ;)

[JLSleather]

Since re-locating to MN, my mail box is EVEN MORE full of CRAP. While folks in MN seem quite friendly, they do like to sell you what they can.  And seriously -- it's a bit like stalking.

For anyone who didn't know that, the sale of a house is generally widely available information.  Even if it doesn't show in public records, it does show on realty sites 'n' such.

And apparently, these predators watch for the sale of homes for people to "market" their crap to.  I've received "stuff" from everyone from landscapers to siding installers, carpet people and curtain people, gyms and satellite providers, assorted restaurants and misc crap ... blahblah...

Get a grip, folks.. the roof and siding are relatively new.  The lawn is fine.  I have a phone, so if I need something I'll call and ask.  Filling my mail box with junk is probably the NUMBER 1 way to ensure that I will never buy anything from you.  The kids' dogs got new license, but NOT from the animal place that stuffed my mail box.

So, here's teh amusing part.  I put an ad on craigslist -- wanted: info on how to call off these idiots who all want to "help" me.  And I'm getting some fairly quick and thoughtful responses  

They do seem quite proud of "vets" around here.  Not that that's "bad", but it was a vet who broke into my front porch and stole $1000 worth of fishing tackle a while back, so being a vet does not BY ITSELF mean anything at all at my house.

[JLSleather]

They're gettin' even better.  Just a part of one response from a fella ...

...I'm thinking of a trap door below by mailbox; If I don't like what I see I'll release the second lid to the garbage can planted underneath.
...Wonder if its just the 'homeowners' who get pounded with it or if the renters are informed about the 'great savings' they could be making (sarcasm)...once the wallets' out, you aint saved anything!
No where to put the paper?....take up fishing, I use it to clean fish...probably what its worth! Seriously now, they think I'm gonna be into organic recycling too? I mean, we do get a good NW front coming through every so many days but that still won't cut it! 
 

[alpha2]

Um, y'all moved to MN.

You know...Hubert Horatio Humphrey...Jesse Ventura...Al Franken... In the words of the Reverend in Blazing Saddles..."Yer on yer own!"

[MADMAX22]

Yeah bastards sell all your info right away. It also becomes public record at the court house when you buy land/house which is what this website is built off of 

http://www.familytreenow.com/

I recommend opting out your info from it 

In order to safeguard your information and have it removed from the Family Tree Now website follow the following steps:
- Type http://www.familytreenow.com/optout into your search engine - Read the step by step instructions listed and click the square marked "I'm not a robot."
- Once a green check mark appears next to "I'm not a robot" click on the Begin Opt Out Procedure.
- The page will redirect you to a search page. Enter your name and click search. (You may have to try variations of your full name.)
- The website will provide a results page of possible matches for your name. Find your information by clicking on the record details.
- Once you find and verify it is your record and not someone else with your surname click on the "Opt Out" button on the page. The page will be refreshed with a message that reads "Your opt out request is being processed. Please allow up to 48 hours for your record to be removed."
 

All of this doesnt matter anyhow, no company gives two ****s about your info generally speaking unless they can get money from disseminating it.

Think that cool new law got passed as well allowing all the online companies to do whatever they want with your info including openly tracking all your moves without any form of recourse. 

Great stuff, gotta love technology or should I say business/technology

[JimTimber]

We got a couple half price meals out of the coupons that came in one of those "Welcome to the neighborhood" mail packets (that had at least 30 useless ads in it).  Best I can figure we landed on someone's "list" when I was shopping a re-fi on the house note.  Never did do a new loan, so we aren't in that pile of product the bank's selling on their behalf.

Our suburb gets money from the proceeds of the recycling program in the form of free "not garbage" disposal days for residents a couple times a year (the stuff the dump charges you for).  I shred the name/address labels and the rest goes happily into the bin for removal.

[JLSleather]

13 hours ago, JimTimber said:

money from the proceeds of the recycling program

That's a big part of my aggravation.  SInce you have another bin you can put all this crap in, people are apparently able to just ignore it.  Many people think it's "okay".  But how is this okay?

• Trucks and equipment mine petroleum products and plants.
• These products use petroleum and other fuels to turn the raw materials into paper and ink (and similar).
• Trucks burn fossil fuels to deliver all of the above to printers, mills, warehouses....
• Electricity (often fossil fuels) is used to print the petroleum onto the plants.
• Trucks burn fossil fuels to deliver all of the people (whether they want it or not).
• I get a bunch of stuff I don't want, so I put it in this "bin".
• Trucks burn fossil fuels to pick up all of the poop, and transport to a "recycling".
• Fossil fuels used to "melt it down" again ....

ALL for something I didn't want in the first place.  I can't be the only one who thinks this is moronic.  Next thing you know, your mailbox contains "flyers" telling you to limit the number of fish you eat, since the water is now contaminated with the crap the "manufacturers" dumped in it.  Seriously.. where did you think the "waste" part was going?!@

You want the REAL kick in the groin?  You know.. the one that you SEE every day?  That guy in front of you causing the backup on I-94 is on his way to print MORE of this crap ...

[JimTimber]

If you want to devote your life to stopping junk mail, I'll cheer you on.  It's not a battle I choose to engage in. 

When we relocate to Crow Wing County, I'll see it as free kindling for the fire pit.  Life's too short to worry about things I cannot stop, think positive.  They're sending you free fire starters and glue over-spray protection for your work surface.

Logging (required for the paper) is actually beneficial to the environment since we've stopped allowing forest fires to reset the age of our timber stands.

[JLSleather]

It's true -- "you kaint fix stupid".  But, within the boundaries of my lawn there are some things you just can't do.  You and your boyfriend want to do cocaine.. have at it.  But not at my house

Whole thing was intended to be funny - -no more and no less POINTLESS than anything else you see / read.  Course.. the QUICKEST way to get somebody to do something is to have them think it's THEIR idea

[JimTimber]

Might want to close up that glue bottle. 

[JLSleather]

Verified.  never hurts to check that

But I'm tellin' ya - it aint me Hillbilly boy at Walmart today, carryin a S/W on the way into Walmart.  Don't think I ever seen anybody armed at Walmart before (at least not so openly), but you could feel teh crazy radiating off the guy.... no idea who decided that guy should carry a gun (assuming that anyone actually did).

 

[LumpenDoodle2]

On 31/03/2017 at 0:50 AM, JLSleather said:

Verified.  never hurts to check that

But I'm tellin' ya - it aint me Hillbilly boy at Walmart today, carryin a S/W on the way into Walmart.  Don't think I ever seen anybody armed at Walmart before (at least not so openly), but you could feel teh crazy radiating off the guy.... no idea who decided that guy should carry a gun (assuming that anyone actually did).

 

I did see a picture of a little old lady in a supermarket somewhere in America.   She had a gun on her hip you could have downed an elephant with.   First thought I had was "mmmm.....  If I was a bad person and wanted a free gun, I'd bop grannie over the head and take hers".

As to your flyer problem, it's going to get even worse.  Apparently, your President has just repealed the internet privacy thing, so anyone can now buy your info.  So no more opt out options.

 

 

[JimTimber]

I can affirm your assertion.  St Cloud is a magical place that has all the illusions of being a modern society, but in fact is made up of knuckle draggers and a transient population of students and the support roles that accompany them.  The outlying population is amongst the most racist people I've ever experienced.  Some of the immigrant populations give good reason to form negative opinions, however I've never stooped to assert it had any relation to their ethnicity,  rather a lack of comprehension that lower-central Minnesota is not run like Somalia.  I.e. wildlife present in the community park is not free-range food (might want to keep a close eye on your pets btw).

I spent 2.5 years there finishing my bachelor's at St Cloud State (6 semesters), and would've had a job teaching in the film department had I wanted it.  I never applied.  I saw my time there like a prison sentence; something which must be served to move beyond, not a joyous experience I wanted to keep enduring indefinitely.  I don't imagine much has improved in the past 15 years.  I have friends who live around the area, and they all want to move out too.

[JLSleather]

7 hours ago, JimTimber said:

all the illusions of being a modern society

I actually think this "modern society" illusion is largely the same regardless of a few hundred miles.

Kid I talked to the other day says the Electrolux plant is closing.  He has decided that is "because of all the Somalis".  But, the Electrolux plant up the road from where I moved also closed (a few years ago) and best of my knowledge i've never met anyone from Somalia.  That plant in northwest Iowa closed because W.A.S.P. laborers depended on their union to keep their job - complete with increasing pay and benefits - whether they actually DID anything or not.  I agreed with the closing, personally, since I would not personally pay people AT ALL, much less pay them $1000-$1500 per week to do NOTHING (which I personally witnessed repeatedly).

The apathy at the plant down there does not mean that is also the cause here, but it does make it suspect.

I assume the difference between here and the twin cities is about 60 miles - and not much else.  My TV states violent crime up in Minneapolis by 37% (channel 17 two days ago).  So, the people want more police "protection" - more money to pay them for more hours.  Gotta wonder if that 37% of violent crime INCLUDES the assorted police currently facing criminal charges, or are the police crimes IN ADDITION to that?

In the end, everything from people stuffing mailboxes with something to sell to global companies wanting to save on labor costs to police beating the crap out of somebody because they don't realize they're being filmed... all the same -- attitude is "gimme what I want regardless of the next guy".  

Meet the new boss.  Same as the old boss.

ALl of that to say this:  I don't say much - or even think about -- "immigration".  I find it absolutely RIDICULOUS for a nation of immigrants to go on so much about immigrants.  We've all seen the dna testing right -- that claims they can tell you where you "came from"?  So, how many of those "ancestry" things come back saying "north american"?  MAYBE 1 in 1000?  Mom's side of the family clearly Austrian/German, and Dad's side from up the road from LumpenDoodle (that area anyway).  So, wouldn't it be a bit ignorant for me to go on about "immigrants"?!@

I know there are some who will want to jump in on that but -- careful!  You'll say you were BORN here in the US.  And so was I. And so were those kids some call "anchor babies"... born in the U.S. to parents who were not born in the U.S.  Go back a few generations, and this was all of us (you "native americans" or "indigenous" americans excluded).

Ah.. no point winding up over it.  When the alleged "basis" for teh country has "all men are created equal" written up by slave owners .... well -....

[Mattsbagger]

I have no problem with immigrants either. For 2 reasons. 1. I grew up in Wisconsin and all summer Mexicans were in the state picking cucumbers. And it was a job that was "too low" for the locals. They worked as long as the sun was up. B. I now live in Colorado and I see begging on all the corners. Anything will help signs. With a Starbucks coffee and a cell phone. I'm in the office dispatching now but as of last month I delivered to construction site. What I saw was Mexicans working on these sites. Never saw one on a corner asking for anything. And I'm the 3rd generation in this country from Norway on my mom's side. Her grandfather didn't even speak English. My grandfather spoke English with an accent. 

[JLSleather]

On 3/30/2017 at 0:32 PM, JLSleather said:

Whole thing was intended to be funny - -no more and no less POINTLESS than anything else you see / read.

IN case that wasnt' clear - the FUNNY part was not my CL post, but that people were REPLYING to it

 

[LumpenDoodle2]

Well, it's Saturday night, what else is there to do.

[JimTimber]

If you haven't found out how racist St Cloud is, you just haven't been there long enough.  You're also likely white, which means you're not going to be treated to it the same as if you weren't.  It was racist against the non-Somali African immigrants long before the Somali influx.  My Asian friends were also treated differently in St Cloud -  I witnessed it first hand.

That you don't know the difference between Minneapolis proper, North Minneapolis, and every other suburb in the 500+ square mile 7-county metro is also indicative of why you don't know that the 45 mile distance dividing the areas also has a large phase shift from how things work down here.  Andover is only about 10 miles from the concrete jungle of what people associate with "Minneapolis" and there's still active farms there.  You can go a matter of blocks and change your world in this area.

[JLSleather]

Well, it's true I don't "know" minneapolis.  I know the routine, though.. I remember years ago in DC.. you see the lincolm memorial... the washington monument... with a bunch of street vendors surrounding all the above followed by 3 miles of standing-room-only wall to wall prostitutes (course, you never see that angle on the tv).

I'm going to 'guess' that MN is the same as anywhere else, basically.  The increase in the crime rate is likely not as drastic as it's made to sound --- but bigger statistics look better when we're asking for more money (and we never DON'T ask for more money).  But it concerns what that spookey blonde girl calls "downtown"... which I assume is the problem.  If people are getting mugged on "shop row", business slows - and we can't have that.  But if they're mugged 3 blocks over, not our concern and we don't care!

I'm not racist.  At all.  But that Mexican food restaurant that opened recently on Division Street SUCKS   Never goin' back there again.

 

[dougb]

Minneapolis has a violence problem, primarily in one precinct due to a gang war.  Minnesota is basically a safe place to be.  Never lived in St Cloud, but it is still small town USA and it takes a while for long time residents to really accept new comers- and college students are always new comers.  It helps to be Norwegian and to like lutefisk.  You are in driving distance of good hunting, bird and fur,  and fishing.  Last time I drove through, I saw a few exotic bars by the road side.  One went out of business-speaks to the quality of their acts.

 In another month or so, get Deep Woods Off and keep it handy.  DEET is your friend.  Otherwise. low brass 7 shot will work until the big ones hatch.

 

[JLSleather]

Yikes.  St.Paul agrees to pay $2M (yeah, that's million) to that INNOCENT guy who police assaulted and set the dog on.  Permanent damage to an innocent man's leg.  Not crazy enough?  On the news this morning, they gave back that cop's job. Maybe you can wave to him on the street today ...

You can check the details in the news about anywhere...

http://www.startribune.com/st-paul-police-to-release-video-of-k-9-biting-officer-kicking-man/400018031/

 

[LumpenDoodle2]

70 second of having your leg chewed by a dog, then getting kicked by a policeman several times because you wouldn't lie still?

Mmmmmm........

I pity the poor police who do their job properly, and are tarred by the dirty brushes of those others.

[JLSleather]

56 minutes ago, LumpenDoodle2 said:

because you wouldn't lie still

And - seriously - would ANYBODY "lie still" with a 150 pound dog ripping pieces off your leg?  With FIVE armed cops around this guy who hasn't done anything, you STILL needed to tell the dog to "get him"?

 

[JLSleather]

 

One more reason to reduce the tax liability in every conceivable way.  Your tax dollars at work...

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO/AP) — Friday marks one year since the death of ... Prince, and Gov. Mark Dayton has declared the day will be deemed “Prince Day” in the purple state.

“Prince ... showcased Minnesota to the world,” Dayton said.... Among other things, the Interstate 35W Bridge in Minneapolis will be lit in purple, as it was a year ago...

And somebody thinks I should pay for that? 

[LumpenDoodle2]

I'm just going to put my purple beret on, and sing 'Purple Rain', while waiving my plastic pretendy 'electric flicker' safety candle in the air.

[JLSleather]

1 hour ago, LumpenDoodle2 said:

 

I'm just going to put my purple beret on, and sing 'Purple Rain',

 

It's not the cost of the lighting, actually.  The question that must be asked, if MN has such a "dilemma" about ID cards and govt spending, why are we paying the governor to spend time on this?