The Rules

[FleetsidePaul]

Okay. I may not be the sharpest knife in the drawer. But this makes no sense to me.

The DMV reopened in Bakersfield. Which is great. But how does this make sense when my friends businesses are all still shut down?

[special-K]

that's what I've been saying. I can't go into my local Ace Hardware to find the right screw but I can go into a crowded Home Depot to do that. Curbside can't work for everything. So business is down for my Ace a good 20-25% while business is up for the ones who are already the biggest.

Our governor lifted our stay at home order and we entered another phase of business closure. Stores are allowed to let customers in at 50% capacity, including restaurants. But some counties are sticking with keeping it tight. My county says what's good for the governor is good for us. The few metropolitan counties say nope. So I am in a four county area where 1 is yay and 3 are nay. I am on the yay side of the road and across the road is nay. Main St in town is the county line. So you can go in and eat at a couple places on one side but can't on the other, which has more businesses and the two bigger restaurants. So downtown Mt Airy is halfass open for business!!

Left Nay/Right Yay

[72c20customcamper]

Tim they closed the ACE hardware ? Mine are open have been since the start guess anything to do with home repairs supply stayed open .

[1976gmc20]

The county courthouse had a lady posted at the top of the stairs so that only one person/party could go into the clerk/treasurer office at a time, when we went to get the plates for our pickup.

Of course then we're standing there just a few feet from her. She thought it was all BS also, but it was a job.

[Stocker]

Our Ace Hardware has been open the entire time also, as well as another hardware store / lumberyard.

Not the barbershop, though. I just finished my fourth self-administered 'haircut'.

[Dead Parrot]

A lot of the rules haven't made much sense. If you are telling folks to stay home, I think you would WANT folks doing home improvement projects or planting gardens.

A normal game of Golf pretty much defines social distancing yet was banned in many states or counties.

Beaches have seemed to come in a binary state - either full open or totally closed. Why not allow a few hundred folks for an hour or so, then run them off, clean the beach, and repeat through the day?

And for the OP's picture, setup an appointment system and ban folks from showing up more then 15 minutes early. What is happening in the picture argues for dropping all restrictions and opening everything. If that is OK for a government office, should be good enough for everyone else. (not saying that line is good, but if a state office can allow it, a private business shouldn't get grief for the same level of crowding.)

[weq92f]

.
The golf courses around here have been doing record business, pretty much sold out every day!

Home stores too.

DMV still closed.

-klb

[72c20customcamper]

Originally Posted by Stocker

Our Ace Hardware has been open the entire time also, as well as another hardware store / lumberyard.

Not the barbershop, though. I just finished my fourth self-administered 'haircut'.

My hair hasn't been this long since 1977. Got the Sam Elliott look going on not planning on cutting even when the barber shops open

[weq92f]

Originally Posted by 72c20customcamper

My hair hasn't been this long since 1977. Got the Sam Elliott look going on not planning on cutting even when the barber shops open

Some things are never going to be the same!

I've now got a full face beard for the 1st time.

-klb

[FleetsidePaul]

Originally Posted by 72c20customcamper

My hair hasn't been this long since 1977. Got the Sam Elliott look going on not planning on cutting even when the barber shops open

Be careful. You might end up looking like me and nobody wants that.

[special-K]

Originally Posted by 72c20customcamper

Tim they closed the ACE hardware ? Mine are open have been since the start guess anything to do with home repairs supply stayed open .

Not closed, curbside pick up only. All smaller shops were ordered to do that. I got paint at Sherwinn-Williams. Fortunately I already had my color selected.

1- Pull into parking lot and call the store

2- Tell them my needs, which was meet at the door with sample to scan

3- Wait at door while getting wrung up, go to truck with receipt

4- I sit in truck while paint gets mixed

5- Employee opens door and waves for me to come for paint

That's how the Ace would work. They still did business but these places I usually pick up other items I see while paint is being mixed. And as far as the hardware store goes, sometimes you have to hunt around to find the right thing for your project. Even a thing as simple as finding the right screw or an alternative if just the right thing is not available. That's what their employees try to help you with. So, it's not the same as being open c'mon in and the owners of the hardwares I deal with claim about 25% drop in sales.

But you can crowd into a liquor store as long as you have your mask on. I don't know why they couldn't just limit the number of people allowed in the store same as the big boxes. It may have been owner discretion to protect their employees.

All my suppliers have remained open. In fact, no businesses that I deal with, personal or business, have been closed. I'm not a consumerist, I only buy essentials.

[1976gmc20]

Local hardware store has been open with the usual silly restrictions that no one follows.

Sometimes what you're looking for doesn't have a name, that you know in advance anyway. Just some thingamajig to connect a whatchamacallit with this other broken piece. If I wander up and down the store aisles long enough I will find it.

[special-K]

Yeah, that's what I'm saying. Or, how do you look through color samples to make a match, or just decide which way you want to go?

It's probably like playing charades dealing with customers over the phone

It's bendy flexy rigid lightweight strong and thin with tiny teeth and an eye on one end?

"Yes"

Uh... Does it talk???

[68Gold/white]

One of our states casino's opened up this week...Made me laugh...Is there a need to feed the gambling addiction???

I know folks that have totally screwed up their lives by the availability of gambling...

[blazer2007]

Corn on the cob is here now at the grocery stores and is so stupid. People are picking at it opening it to see and then putting it back and the bin is packed but you can,t get bulk buns or peanuts etc. One nice thing is stores are opening today so maybe that will lesson the crowds at home depot and wal mart

[FleetsidePaul]

Originally Posted by 68Gold/white

One of our states casino's opened up this week...Made me laugh...Is there a need to feed the gambling addiction???

I know folks that have totally screwed up their lives by the availability of gambling...

I worked with this girl. Really good looking girl. She couldn't have a computer in her house because her husband would blow his paycheck online gambling. He would also go to the casino and be gone for a couple days. Everything they owned was in her name so he couldn't hock it.

She finally dumped him.

[special-K]

Originally Posted by FleetsidePaul

I worked with this girl. Really good looking girl. She couldn't have a computer in her house because her husband would blow his paycheck online gambling. He would also go to the casino and be gone for a couple days. Everything they owned was in her name so he couldn't hock it.

She finally dumped him.

States are very concerned about the gambling addiction issues ruining peoples' lives. That's why they came up with Keno so you can gamble every three minutes from a table in front of the screen at a carry out liquor store. Or stand outside and view the screen through the window.

[dmjlambert]

I'm amazed about the people self-administering haircuts. What is it like to have hair that grows that fast? Mine grows a couple inches per year, always has. I got my hair cut some time a few months ago, probably December. I'll probably start thinking about getting a haircut in August or September. The Flowbee factory in Kerrville TX may be back in operation by then, and I've been thinking of getting one for years. It will probably pay for itself in 4 or 5 years for me. It would probably pay for itself for other people in a year or less, based on what people are saying about missing barbershops during this crisis.

[Steeveedee]

Originally Posted by special-K

States are very concerned about the gambling addiction issues ruining peoples' lives. That's why they came up with Keno so you can gamble every three minutes from a table in front of the screen at a carry out liquor store. Or stand outside and view the screen through the window.

IK,R? When I go in and buy a sixer, I see some guy standing outside the store looking in. You'd think there were nekkid wimmen in there, the attention they give. Don't get me wrong, I buy lotto tickets, much to my shame. But if you don't buy a ticket, you sure aren't going to win. Couple bucks a week, what the heck, why not?

I go to a carving club at the local senior center (well, I USED to) and there are people in there that go to the casinos all the time. I just don't get that. I grew up poor enough that I know what money really looks like. Maybe they had privileged childhoods?

[special-K]

Originally Posted by Steeveedee

IK,R? When I go in and buy a sixer, I see some guy standing outside the store looking in. You'd think there were nekkid wimmen in there, the attention they give. Don't get me wrong, I buy lotto tickets, much to my shame. But if you don't buy a ticket, you sure aren't going to win. Couple bucks a week, what the heck, why not?

I go to a carving club at the local senior center (well, I USED to) and there are people in there that go to the casinos all the time. I just don't get that. I grew up poor enough that I know what money really looks like. Maybe they had privileged childhoods?

I should buy lottery tickets, redneck retirement. I just never got programmed for that. I'll buy when it's a bazillion dollars like the rest and wonder why not other times? What do they start out at, and with far less people trying? I'd be happy winning the bottom amount I am sure.

Casinos? Not for me. I don't need any help losing money. We have people here in Maryland who spend all the money to fly to Las Vegas and gamble it away. We have casinos here. If I fly out west it will be to visit a national park, rent a house boat on Lake Powell, or just explore the area and see history, etc... learn about the area. I self entertain well.

[68C15]

Trying to figure out the closed-open strategy? Take it to the core and it all makes sense. Places that generate higher tax revenue are open. I'm not displaying my opinion (I sure would love to), this is just an observation

[richard2717]

Originally Posted by 68C15

Trying to figure out the closed-open strategy? Take it to the core and it all makes sense. Places that generate higher tax revenue are open. I'm not displaying my opinion (I sure would love to), this is just an observation

Spot on

[special-K]

I needed a 1/2" x 3' length of all thread, 9 nuts, and 9 washers yesterday so I try the buy online/curbside pickup with TSC. What a piece of crap website? User friendly it is not! Here they are the place to go for buying nuts, bolts, and washers because they sell by the pound. how do I do that online? How much do nine 1/2" nuts and washers weigh? Never got that far anyway. Never found nuts or washers on the website, only could add the all thread to my cart.

So I try Ace's website. Much easier to use. I found "nuts & washers", although the filters are for anything but size which is the best way to narrow down 5,000 different size and type of nuts possible. Where I hit my dead end with Ace was you could only buy a gross of the nuts, like 50 or 100.

So I said screw it. I'll have to stop at Home Depot on my way down the road, where I can walk in and select my 9 pieces by hand. I wanted to patronize my town businesses but it was just not possible. I could have called it in but by the time I got done with the website BS I was done trying.

[Boog]

Exactly!
I think in everybody's haste to get online like their competitors they don't get the bugs worked out of their sites first. Some are anything but user friendly.
I get frustrated with some auto part store sites. And being bombarded with ads and junk mail is the worst. Good news is I get way less junk postal mail these days. The ad blocker on my lap top gets a work out though.
I get those discount cards from O'Reillys all the time and have yet to use one. They offer 5 or 10$ off the next purchase of whatever. The price for using one is to give them my email address. I received one yesterday from them specifically offering me $10 if I give them my addy. It went straight in the trash. I'm just not going to do it. I don't use my email much anyway but it's the principal of it all. If they're concerned with saving me money they can lose the gimmicks and offer me good parts and warranty with good prices. I'm a simple man who doesn't chase coupons.

[special-K]

I'll take a coupon but not at the cost of being bombarded with e-mail. I always tell places I don't have an e-mail account when giving info. Ace mails me discount cards because I'm a rewards member. But they just have my phone#. I carry those in my truck and use them up