(November 12, 2021 at 9:55 pm)Angrboda Wrote: I actually like Taco Bell.  I'm a cheap date.  I love fast food.

Oh, don't get me wrong.  I like it too.

Probably once a year I need a reminder why eating at MacDonald's is a terrible idea.

Two Big Macs, large fries, and a large chocolate shake.  OMG, it tastes so good!

But I feel like shit for three days afterwards.  Funny, how that works.

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(November 13, 2021 at 11:36 am)Fake Messiah Wrote:

I actually re-loaded the page on this one, thinking there was some kind of browser error.

I'm a fucking idiot...

(November 13, 2021 at 7:40 pm)A. Secular Human Wrote:

(November 12, 2021 at 9:55 pm)Angrboda Wrote: I actually like Taco Bell.  I'm a cheap date.  I love fast food.

Oh, don't get me wrong.  I like it too.

Probably once a year I need a reminder why eating at MacDonald's is a terrible idea.

Two Big Macs, large fries, and a large chocolate shake.  OMG, it tastes so good!

But I feel like shit for three days afterwards.  Funny, how that works.

---

(November 13, 2021 at 11:36 am)Fake Messiah Wrote:

I actually re-loaded the page on this one, thinking there was some kind of browser error.

I'm a fucking idiot...

 I grew up loving fast food. Fish 'n' Chips, meat pies and pasties.  When I started going to discos, the night would usually  end with a trip to a nearby greasy spoon for a steak sandwich or a hamburger with the lot (Aussie hamburgers usually have a slice of beetroot)

I think the American fast food chains began arriving in late 70's. When McDonalds arrived they announced that they would not be paying our award wages, but a lot less. They were quickly disabused of that notion by our government.

Today I can remember where  I had my last fast food hamburgers, but not when. Pretty sure it's over 20 years. Never really liked the hamburgers but quite liked the chips (french fries) and the strange goo they called a shake.

So I didn't really enjoy US fast food, especially McDonald's which were always soggy.  About 15 years ago, I was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes,  so no more fast food of any kind.  No real loss.

I guess if Maccas went, kids leaving school with no skills would need to look elsewhere for a McJob.

Australia has a rich cafe culture, where one can get a good coffee for a few dollars. Starbucks arrogantly assumed we'd love them. We didn't and they've never taken off here.

(November 13, 2021 at 8:56 pm)Oldandeasilyconfused Wrote:

(November 13, 2021 at 7:40 pm)A. Secular Human Wrote: Oh, don't get me wrong.  I like it too.

Probably once a year I need a reminder why eating at MacDonald's is a terrible idea.

Two Big Macs, large fries, and a large chocolate shake.  OMG, it tastes so good!

But I feel like shit for three days afterwards.  Funny, how that works.

---

I actually re-loaded the page on this one, thinking there was some kind of browser error.

I'm a fucking idiot...

 I grew up loving fast food. Fish 'n' Chips, meat pies and pasties.  When I started going to discos, the night would usually  end with a trip to a nearby greasy spoon for a steak sandwich or a hamburger with the lot (Aussie hamburgers usually have a slice of beetroot)

I think the American fast food chains began arriving in late 70's. When McDonalds arrived they announced that they would not be paying our award wages, but a lot less. They were quickly disabused of that notion by our government.

Today I can remember where  I had my last fast food hamburgers, but not when. Pretty sure it's over 20 years. Never really liked the hamburgers but quite liked the chips (french fries) and the strange goo they called a shake.

So I didn't really enjoy US fast food, especially McDonald's which were always soggy.  About 15 years ago, I was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes,  so no more fast food of any kind.  No real loss.

I guess if Maccas went, kids leaving school with no skills would need to look elsewhere for a McJob.

Australia has a rich cafe culture, where one can get a good coffee for a few dollars. Starbucks arrogantly assumed we'd love them. We didn't and they've never taken off here.

I'm not much of a coffee drinker. I think though that what made Starbucks work here is that there is one on every corner, not to mention in a lot of large office buildings. Want a coffee on the way to work - there's probably several on your route. It's also a popular place for people to meet (I've even had a job interview at one - not for a job there but met potential boss there). Free Wi-Fi is also a big draw. I don't think I have been to one in over two years but did go to a coffee shop a couple weeks ago with my boss and noticed that not only was the coffee drink good that I ordered, but it was about 1/2 to 2/3 of the price something similar would have been at Starbucks. But their location is not as accessible as Starbucks.

We've wandered a bit, but what the hey. Starbucks (SB) got a footprint at my last place of employment. I consider even their mildest coffee unpalatable, as did many of my co-workers. The secretary (admin, these day) would order a 30 quart vat half full and then dilute it with hot water. Then, that was OK. 

I don't like mickie-dees, and avoid eating there at all costs. I'll take the time to make a sandwich at home, "labor-intensive", or not. And I despise food preparation time. When I traveled for business, I bought SB coffee once, at LAX. I dumped it into a water fountain, and I'm sure that it cleaned out the drain. Yeesh.

The NAACP actually lauded mickie-dees for teaching inner city kids work skills. But they don't expect that the kids will work there forever. When I was a kid, neighbors used the local "talent" for things like mowing lawns, pulling weeds, and light de/construction. In my mid-teens, I've busted many a fence down for pay. Then I got to work as a mechanic's helper and made a bit more money.

(November 13, 2021 at 9:42 pm)Fireball Wrote: We've wandered a bit, but what the hey. Starbucks (SB) got a footprint at my last place of employment. I consider even their mildest coffee unpalatable, as did many of my co-workers. The secretary (admin, these day) would order a 30 quart vat half full and then dilute it with hot water. Then, that was OK. 

I don't like mickie-dees, and avoid eating there at all costs. I'll take the time to make a sandwich at home, "labor-intensive", or not. And I despise food preparation time. When I traveled for business, I bought SB coffee once, at LAX. I dumped it into a water fountain, and I'm sure that it cleaned out the drain. Yeesh.

The NAACP actually lauded mickie-dees for teaching inner city kids work skills. But they don't expect that the kids will work there forever. When I was a kid, neighbors used the local "talent" for things like mowing lawns, pulling weeds, and light de/construction. In my mid-teens, I've busted many a fence down for pay. Then I got to work as a mechanic's helper and made a bit more money.

"Mechanic's helper"? Haven't heard that one before.

At 16 I took a Summer holiday job at a service station in a very small town about 100 miles from home. Right well have been on the far side of the moon. 

My job was to fill up tanks, wipe wind screens and check under the hood. (oil, water, batteries) Was never terribly busy. I spent a lot of time perched on this old tire, reading.

I was at the service station for 12 hours a day, 7 days a week.  This was in 1963 (The year I discovered The Beatles)  I boarded with the boss and his family. I was paid 10 pounds a week. (about $US24 at the time)The boss's wife took 4 pounds for board.

There was no TV due to poor reception.  The thing I liked most was that the town bakery was right next door. I would often buy an apple square still warm, with 'a dandy' which was a 4 oz tub of ice cream.   

I was there for Xmas. We had roast goose, something I had not tried before or since, I loved it.

Oh, I like very strong coffee. I buy the best supermarket coffee I can. Usually Vittorio or Lavazza. Usually at least one of them is on sale, at about half price .Have not tried Maccas coffee because I don't trust their claim that it's made by a barista. (I suspect there's probably some difference between my idea of a barista and theirs)

"Macca's" coffee tastes like shit, based on my experience, which is about 4 years removed from my last experience. I'm pretty sure that it hasn't improved. "Mechanic's helper" would be someone who got to do all the lying on the ground getting filthy from oil and dirt while working on a vehicle. Your job would have been termed "Pump Block Salesman" here in the US. I did that for some time after I exited the Navy while at uni. I hired in, and when the boss discovered that I knew more than him about things mechanical, I was working in the repair bay, with only minimal time on the pump block, when business was slow. By the time I graduated uni, I was state-licensed for brakes, lamps and SMOG repair and inspection, and certified for engine tune-up and repair, brake repair, air conditioning service, and front end repair and alignment. I've probably missed something in there. I made that guy a ton of money in the time I worked there. I made a ton, myself. I could work Saturdays and Sundays, and summers, to support myself while at uni. I had the GI Bill from my time in the Navy, so while I wasn't swimming in dough, I was able to support myself and my wife (we met as we were both juniors) and myself.

Boru

How is this possible?