The Oak St ramp, too. Even 5-6 years ago, man that area changed, and I wasn't a regular.
Blame technology…
We are using a parking pass for our stay. Though there’s no pass. The ‘U’ uses license plate reading technology. Just pull up, have the camera read the plates and the gates open and close w/o worrying about a ticket and paying.
The Oak St ramp, too. Even 5-6 years ago, man that area changed, and I wasn't a regular.
Blame technology…
We are using a parking pass for our stay. Though there’s no pass. The ‘U’ uses license plate reading technology. Just pull up, have the camera read the plates and the gates open and close w/o worrying about a ticket and paying.
Good luck. Can’t tell you how many times technology has failed the last couple years getting in and out of the lots for hockey. Scan reader works about half the time to get in, and the license plate reader rarely worked to get out so they just had to resort to leaving the arms up.
We took advantage of the oak street ramp cheat code numerous times.
You really want old school - parking for free behind the athletic fields on that road next to the railroad, tailgating next to the sidewalk sand shed and then walking across the old marching band practice lot to get to the arena. While we saved a few bucks on parking, we more than made up for it with pitchers at Sally’s. 😁
My dad retiring from Coca-Cola a few years ago hit my wallet. No longer able to pull into nearly any spot and toss the vendor badge on the rearview mirror. 😔
My dad retiring from Coca-Cola a few years ago hit my wallet. No longer able to pull into nearly any spot and toss the vendor badge on the rearview mirror. 😔
For years at Target Field there was a small lot about a block away where Mols police would park their personal and squad cars. A couple of us beer vendors got Minneapolis Police patches off eBay and would toss them on our dashboards, pull in and park. Never once was questioned and saved lots of money in parking w/o having to walk blocks away to park at other free spots. Post covid pretty much squished that scam… lol!!!
The UofM campus, especially on Washington Ave. I guess I haven’t realized how much has changed. My wife is having surgery this coming Friday and will be in hospital for 5 days. Though we have been done on campus for appt’s and a pre-op. And parking at the Washington Ave. ramp and walking up and down Washington Ave. it’s not the same, not even close.
As we walked around, I would point where all the legendary handouts were. Old Sally’s (and the new one sucks), BIG 10 (and helping WPoS taking down all the awning he won in an auction after they closed) Village Wok (best Chinese food) and even both Campus Pizza sites (legendary pizza). I even told her how you could scam and park for free for Gopher Hockey games by getting to the Washington Avenue ramp early. Getting there before prepaying and exiting and ramp while the gates were up. And if you went out after for too long and when you exited, the gates were down, just buzz in and tell them you prepaid, and they let the gates up.
Might have to hit up some other sites (Annie’s for sure), go for food runs for her while she’s done there recovering.
Village Wok is easily the best Chinese food I've ever had. Never been to China, but nothing in San Francisco China town comes close.
I also miss the Taste of Manhattan that was nearby (next to the Kinkos). I would pay $50 for one of their meat stromboli if they opened back up for a day.
Walking down Washington Ave on campus on a Saturday morning at 8am is like walking the strip in Vegas at 8am on a Saturday. No one is out, besides a couple of people and people cleaning and picking up from the night before.
@gator We are currently in Bologna Italy for a couple of months. Bologna has the oldest university in Europe. Our apartment is very near the student area and very popular for them to gather in front of each night for drinking, music, socializing as it’s on a pedestrian only street and there’s raised platforms for seating. The “party” goes on very late into the night but we were quite surprised at how polite the students are. If music starts to get too loud, it is clear other students tell them to turn in down. There’s no yelling or screaming, just the sounds of conversation and laughter. LOTS of drinking and eating pizza but there is NEVER a speck of trash the next morning, it’s all been picked up and in the dumpster nearby. When we walk through them after dinner out, no one is wasted or obnoxious, they’re just enjoying a nice evening.
Dorothy: Who’s that?
Scarecrow: A man with an axe and a can of lube. I’ll ask if he wants to join us.
I also sent an email and they confirmed there is no prepaid parking for the commencements, just pay as you enter.
FWIW I've been to Mariucci for a couple of graduations - HS and University - and never had a problem finding a place to park.
“When your best friend is the son of God, you get tired of losing every argument.”
― Christopher Moore, Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Just got back from Mariucci (no shootings) for niece’s graduation from Apple Valley. I was surprised how diverse Apple High has become. I knew Apple Valley High was one of the more diverse high schools for the south metro, just surprised how diverse it was. Eastview (Apple Valley) graduated earlier today and Rosemount graduated after. I would be interested for comparison how diverse those two south metro schools are compared to Apple Valley.
Just got back from Mariucci (no shootings) for niece’s graduation from Apple Valley. I was surprised how diverse Apple High has become. I knew Apple Valley High was one of the more diverse high schools for the south metro, just surprised how diverse it was. Eastview (Apple Valley) graduated earlier today and Rosemount graduated after. I would be interested for comparison how diverse those two south metro schools are compared to Apple Valley.
Just got back from Mariucci (no shootings) for niece’s graduation from Apple Valley. I was surprised how diverse Apple High has become. I knew Apple Valley High was one of the more diverse high schools for the south metro, just surprised how diverse it was. Eastview (Apple Valley) graduated earlier today and Rosemount graduated after. I would be interested for comparison how diverse those two south metro schools are compared to Apple Valley.
”no shootings” WTF? Diversity? Weird post bro
there was an incident outside Mariucci last night after a high school graduation. Check your local news apps.
There was a heavy police presence on campus today. After AVHS graduation, we walking to our vehicle and something happened. Two squad cars quickly pulled someone over. Both sets of officers were on either side of the vehicle. And when left the parking ramp there was an additional 2 more squad cars. Who’s knows what it was all about, just they weren’t taking any crap today. And rightfully so.
Why is it when I drive past all these road and street repair projects in the south metro and no one’s working. I leave for work between 6/6:30 and come home between 3:30/4pm.
Why is it when I drive past all these road and street repair projects in the south metro and no one’s working. I leave for work between 6/6:30 and come home between 3:30/4pm.
9/10 times when I see a road crew, one is actually working and the others are just standing there watching. I think it’s a MN law that only one of them can actually be performing work at any given time.
Why is it when I drive past all these road and street repair projects in the south metro and no one’s working. I leave for work between 6/6:30 and come home between 3:30/4pm.
9/10 times when I see a road crew, one is actually working and the other’s are just standing there watching. I think it’s a MN law that only one of them can actually be performing work at any given time.
There was an old, old, Doonesbury comic strip that featured construction workers. One frame was:
Man 1: Could you hand me a donut, Dewey? Man 2 (obviously Dewey): Ain't my job.
Obvious slam at unions.
When you tell somebody somethin', it depends on what part of the United States you're standin' in... as to just how dumb you are.
I worked in the parks department for my local city during college and they were very conscientious of this and would not allow people to stand and watch others work. People are SUPER weird about watching government employees. At lunch some crews would drive back to the city garage because people would spy on them and report them for taking too long of lunches, even if they didn't take a long lunch.
One person called to report me for shooting heroin at lunch. LOL. They said they watched me wrap a band around my arm and shoot up. Not sure what they were watching, but that clearly never happened. A quick inspection of my arms cleared that up.
Why is it when I drive past all these road and street repair projects in the south metro and no one’s working. I leave for work between 6/6:30 and come home between 3:30/4pm.
9/10 times when I see a road crew, one is actually working and the other’s are just standing there watching. I think it’s a MN law that only one of them can actually be performing work at any given time.
There was an old, old, Doonesbury comic strip that featured construction workers. One frame was:
Man 1: Could you hand me a donut, Dewey? Man 2 (obviously Dewey): Ain't my job.
Obvious slam at unions.
My son had a construction job with MNDOT. A passing motorist rolled down his window and hollered "Hey, do you need some help leaning on that shovel?" Pretty funny!
Why is it when I drive past all these road and street repair projects in the south metro and no one’s working. I leave for work between 6/6:30 and come home between 3:30/4pm.
9/10 times when I see a road crew, one is actually working and the other’s are just standing there watching. I think it’s a MN law that only one of them can actually be performing work at any given time.
There was an old, old, Doonesbury comic strip that featured construction workers. One frame was:
Man 1: Could you hand me a donut, Dewey? Man 2 (obviously Dewey): Ain't my job.
Obvious slam at unions.
Bless your heart for thinking someone has to be in a union to have this attitude.
I worked in the parks department for my local city during college and they were very conscientious of this and would not allow people to stand and watch others work. People are SUPER weird about watching government employees. At lunch some crews would drive back to the city garage because people would spy on them and report them for taking too long of lunches, even if they didn't take a long lunch.
One person called to report me for shooting heroin at lunch. LOL. They said they watched me wrap a band around my arm and shoot up. Not sure what they were watching, but that clearly never happened. A quick inspection of my arms cleared that up.
I did the same for Anoka County, and it was a similar experience. It was easier when I was a roving employee for the southern district. Locke Park behind where Columbia Arena used to be was always empty so I could hide in the truck there. That’s where most of my lunches were eaten.
Why is it when I drive past all these road and street repair projects in the south metro and no one’s working. I leave for work between 6/6:30 and come home between 3:30/4pm.
9/10 times when I see a road crew, one is actually working and the other’s are just standing there watching. I think it’s a MN law that only one of them can actually be performing work at any given time.
There was an old, old, Doonesbury comic strip that featured construction workers. One frame was:
Man 1: Could you hand me a donut, Dewey? Man 2 (obviously Dewey): Ain't my job.
Obvious slam at unions.
Bless your heart for thinking someone has to be in a union to have this attitude.
It wasn't my take, it was Garry Trudeau's. 😉
When you tell somebody somethin', it depends on what part of the United States you're standin' in... as to just how dumb you are.
Left Wednesday morning for Chicago and the drive through wisconSIN saw atleast 12 plus State Patrol. My drive back, I had to go to Dubuque, IA. and Charles City, IA. Only saw 1 State Patrol the whole return trip. Though almost every small town in Illinois and Iowa I drove through I saw the local police dept.
For my MI trips, we always see state patrol in Hudson, Wassau, and Rhinelander (one SP actually followed me from Rhinelander to the MI border one year; that was one BORED cop, lol). Make no mistake, this was not paranoia. He followed me.
When you tell somebody somethin', it depends on what part of the United States you're standin' in... as to just how dumb you are.
What’s with Woodbury and taxing me 3 different times at Cabela’s… lol!! I called the one in Owatonna and they didn’t have the firearm I was looking for. I called Woodbury and they had one. So I asked for them to hold it and I would be in later. So my wife and I ran over to Woodbury to get it and shop. We bought the firearm, 6 shirts and some fudge. They taxed the firearm separately, the fudge separately and a sales tax of 2% on those. Of course the shirts weren’t taxed. I’ve just never noticed before two separate taxes, even though they both were 6.875% on the receipt. And the 2% sales tax must be some kind of city of Woodbury tax.
What’s with Woodbury and taxing me 3 different times at Cabela’s… lol!! I called the one in Owatonna and they didn’t have the firearm I was looking for. I called Woodbury and they had one. So I asked for them to hold it and I would be in later. So my wife and I ran over to Woodbury to get it and shop. We bought the firearm, 6 shirts and some fudge. They taxed the firearm separately, the fudge separately and a sales tax of 2% on those. Of course the shirts weren’t taxed. I’ve just never noticed before two separate taxes, even though they both were 6.875% on the receipt. And the 2% sales tax must be some kind of city of Woodbury tax.
RE: firearms, they're actually taxed twice. The Pittman-Robertson Act (federal tax) levies a special tax (10% for handguns, 11% for rifles/shotguns and ammunition) on firearm and ammunition manufacturers that is allocated toward conservation and wildlife restoration efforts. This tax is typically included in the purchase price, so you won't see an additional line item for that on your receipt.
Tact is the ability to step on a man's toes without messing up the shine on his shoes - Harry S Truman
Any realtors and people selling their house... Ever since moving into our house and any house in our neighborhood or we drive past that were up for sale, were sold in less than 2 weeks. Though I've noticed since June or so, any house for sale, is on the market for awhile. There are two I know of that have been on the market since end of May. Is the housing market slowing down or are they asking for too much. I've seen their asking prices and both seem high.
Any realtors and people selling their house... Ever since moving into our house and any house in our neighborhood or we drive past that were up for sale, were sold in less than 2 weeks. Though I've noticed since June or so, any house for sale, is on the market for awhile. There are two I know of that have been on the market since end of May. Is the housing market slowing down or are they asking for too much. I've seen their asking prices and both seem high.
I am not a realtor and both recent home sales I was part of last year were off market so I'm far from an expert. I suggest what you are seeing is probably either priced too high, requires too much work, or there are a lot of homes for sale in the area so prospective buyers in the specific neighborhood have more options. Most likely a combination of factors as the market seems consistent.
It is interesting to track, homes on the lake we are on (cabin) and live very close too year round typically sell fast but thanks to sites like Zillow people seem to know where the price point should be and those in the upper end of the home's range take longer. Those priced strategically will go wicked fast. The house across from us has been on the market for over a month, it's on the lake but priced too aggressively IMHO so it's no surprised it's still on the market. There are 75-100 steps to the lake which discourages a lot of buyers - people in the price range ($700K+) tend to be older and are probably thinking about future mobility.
Fiends of my parents have been in their South Minneapolis house near Nokomis/Diamond Lakes for 50+ years and put their house on the market within the past 2 weeks. Really nice Tudor in a fantastic location and it sold in less than 3 days for significantly more ($50K+) than the original asking price.
“When your best friend is the son of God, you get tired of losing every argument.”
― Christopher Moore, Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I keep a spreadsheet of all the house for sale and sold on our street and the one street that feeds our street. We live on a big U of street and one street feeds it. It keep track of bedrooms, bathrooms, number of stalls in garage, sq. ft of house and lot size in acres. The two houses are over priced. The one is on the feeding street and across from several rental properties. The other is a larger house, nearly 3,400 sq. ft. Though their basement is large and unfinished. Still all studded and cement floor. I know them and they have lived in the house for 17 plus years. And when I saw their asking price I thought they were way over price. Their house has been on the market since the end of May and in July they dropped the price by $50,000. I wish them luck, cause they have a house being built that's nearly ready to move in.
As for lake front property. Back in the 70's my dad recalls lake front property on Flathead Lake being pennies to the dollar what they are today. Lake front property is crazy. Even not being on the lake and just having a glimpse of the lake the property taxes are crazy. We have friends on the lake, had a glimpse of the lake and some guy from California came in and bought property and built this huge house that blocked their glimpse of a view and they still pay outrages takes.
The sheer amount of road construction this summer is absolutely maddening. Where are all these laborers coming from? Honest question.
Many of the construction projects I am involved with are slow to get started, and taking significantly longer to finish due to skilled labor shortages in nearly every trade. Most notably right now seems to be masonry. Even interior remodels that used to be 12-18 weeks are now 24-30 weeks.
Is there just a glut of road construction workers compared to other trades?
Although maybe this is why it seems like there are so many projects, I drive past a lot of them and the cones and equipment are in the same place for days with zero evidence of work being done. So maybe the projects are just taking that much longer and overlapping due to a labor shortage as well???
The city of Lakeville dug this big hold in the street that feeds into our street. They worked on in for about 2 weeks and that last month the project just stopped. They hole is still there, a big pile of dirt and it's conned off. It's down to one land for both lanes of traffic and it really tight passing through. I finally called the city of Lakeville yesterday inquiring about the project. Got an engineers voicemail and waiting for a reply. Just curious are they waiting for some parts to put in the hole or did the project get forgot about after they started.
The sheer amount of road construction this summer is absolutely maddening. Where are all these laborers coming from? Honest question.
Many of the construction projects I am involved with are slow to get started, and taking significantly longer to finish due to skilled labor shortages in nearly every trade. Most notably right now seems to be masonry. Even interior remodels that used to be 12-18 weeks are now 24-30 weeks.
Is there just a glut of road construction workers compared to other trades?
Although maybe this is why it seems like there are so many projects, I drive past a lot of them and the cones and equipment are in the same place for days with zero evidence of work being done. So maybe the projects are just taking that much longer and overlapping due to a labor shortage as well???
probably a bit of all of them. There are less workers and just as many projects whether for home or otherwise (same as getting a home reno now as you allude to, it's a massive increase in lag time now). Materials are taking longer to get. All adds up.
Laborers all kind of depends who won the bid. Many are multistate companies who can pull workers from all over to do the projects on their negotiated timeline. similar to custom combine companies who send harvesters up and down the middle of the country as harvest comes around, many construction companies do similar (this is per my brother who did this for several years and would travel between northern MN and Kansas, roughly, and this was a reasonably unskilled laborer).
Taking my wife down to campus for her 4 month follow up from surgery. University Ave is a total mess and they have 3 weeks until the Gophers home opener on the 28th. It’ll be interesting if the mess is ready. Though they do have several crews working, so it’s very possible in 3 weeks.
Taking my wife down to campus for her 4 month follow up from surgery. University Ave is a total mess and they have 3 weeks until the Gophers home opener on the 28th. It’ll be interesting if the mess is ready. Though they do have several crews working, so it’s very possible in 3 weeks.
Taking my wife down to campus for her 4 month follow up from surgery. University Ave is a total mess and they have 3 weeks until the Gophers home opener on the 28th. It’ll be interesting if the mess is ready. Though they do have several crews working, so it’s very possible in 3 weeks.
The home opener isn’t for another two months. 😆
I'm guessing he's referring to the FOOTBALL home opener.
Tact is the ability to step on a man's toes without messing up the shine on his shoes - Harry S Truman
Taking my wife down to campus for her 4 month follow up from surgery. University Ave is a total mess and they have 3 weeks until the Gophers home opener on the 28th. It’ll be interesting if the mess is ready. Though they do have several crews working, so it’s very possible in 3 weeks.
The home opener isn’t for another two months. 😆
I'm guessing he's referring to the FOOTBALL home opener.
I sent the Case International Lego pic to the son, whose dad has one of the largest Case dealerships in North America. And told him his dad needs one of these. Had to send the John Deere one to you… lol!!!
