Showing posts with label Store. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Store. Show all posts

Wednesday, April 19, 2023

My Best Friend Was Initially Named "Jack..."

 "Yer Mom" pallet jack
...Have you ever been to the grocery store and noticed that their pallet jack equipment has some type of graffiti on it?  

"Good Lord, I'm shopping at a hoodlum store!" you might think ...but, I assure you, that's not exactly the case!  xD 

"...Well, ok, then why is that?" you might wonder.

In short, it's a strategic trick of the trade that also shows off a bit of pride...  

See, pallet jacks are extremely expensive.  A good one is about $2k and can pull about 5,500 pounds (not counting it running over a tiny little piece of wood chip debris that's guaranteed to immediately stop any jack dead in its tracks)!  xD

Now, if the store you're shopping at is a high-volume store (meaning they are constantly stocking freight because everybody's buying a lot, non-stop), the jack may last anywhere from 6 months to 5 years ...It varies on many factors, but anything can happen to a jack... Someone could be pulling "the leaning tower of Pisa" juice pallet float off a truck, which could inevitably collapse, fall onto the jack, and take it completely out of circulation!  Or it could be the cheapest band-aid, most unwanted piece of shit jack in all of the store (because pulling a pallet with it is like dragging a dead elephant around), so it would therefore last longer, LOL!  ...If their maintenance team is very savvy, sometimes jacks can be salvaged and utilized a little bit longer (or it's also possible that the store is contracted with a repair company), but more often than not, that is the lifespan of a jack.

A high-volume store may have anywhere from 15-30 jacks at any given time.  For the most part, stores will order a plethora of jacks at once, so quite a few of them will all start out looking the same.  Circumstances vary, depending on profit, which is themed around whatever time of year it is ...A myriad of triaged things can eat into the budget for jacks, including other major equipment repairs or replacements, associate/customer accidents, inventory shrink/theft, the boss's coffee cup, and some other dumb bullshit... This all affects how many jacks a store will have at any given time (versus how many they actually need).  :p  

That all being said...  When the store isn't running high on the hog with jacks, and say, a vendor or the next shift comes in and steals a jack that an employee may not immediately look as tho they're using, well, it's a very frustrating situation!  All options include time being wasted, such as moving freight piece by piece with some other less desirable/useful equipment, or even by hand!  ...Which sucks because every minute counts when you're on a time-crunch deadline and need that freight on the shelf yesterday!

So... The main reason why a jack will have some sort of writing on it is that if they're marked, they are easier to locate and take back from said lazy jack[ass] thief!  ...Granted, this also takes time away from the job needing to get done, but the employee weighs their options, and in the end, it's very satisfying to gain control back over an otherwise shitty situation.

Now, the pride factor... It's a personal thing.  It depends on the employee who finds the virgin jack and gets to initiate it, honestly.  The writing is usually done in permanent marker (as those handy pens are also company equipment) and it can be found on the head of the jack or on the sides ...but you will never find it on the fork part that goes into a pallet (as that will uselessly rub off too quickly + cannot be seen under the robber's pallet).  ...I have seen jacks brilliantly named "Excalibur," "The Reefer," "Dirty Girl," "Greased Lightning," or even simply with band stickers mod podged onto them.  Some other jacks I have seen, have been very lamely knee-jerk dubbed things like "Produce," "Garden," "Mine," and "Doesn't Work" ...but hey, whatever gets the job done, right?  As long as it's not offensive and it can be gotten away with, a jack should be honored for their service with a proper name or symbol.

This jack, in particular, has "Yer Mom" written on it ...I guess this employee thought they were absolutely hilarious... I mean, can you imagine them taking it back from someone who jacked their jack, and if there was any protest, they could simply retort, "Well, I'm not done with 'Yer Mom' yet, dude!"  xD  \m/  
Lilith, queen of the overnights!
^ Don't ever do this in RL, it's not safe!  ...This is just a cute pose for SL  ;)  ♥

Some other cool little tidbits and trivia about pallet jacks...
  • Jacks should never be left out on the floor (where customers are shopping) without being used, as it's a safety hazard... You can stack jacks on top of one another to pull at least 3 (depending on how thick they are and how high up they can go) to the back room at a time!  \m/
  • A jack can pull a pallet from any side (you can even get away with moving a stupidly placed pallet diagonally, if you had to).  The best spot to use is ~3-foot side.  Sometimes you have no choice, however, and need to pull a pullet from the ~4-foot side.  The wood will break if you jam the jack all the way in, because of the way a pallet is designed ...But if you leave about a foot of your jack out/not under the ~4-foot side of the pallet, it won't... and barring any obstacles within your ~4-foot wide wake, you can pull it safely to wherever it needs to go!  \m/
  • There are a couple of ways to stop, even if you're really moving (yes, inertia can be cockblocked), especially in emergency situations (like a kid darting out in front of you, or turning a blind corner into a near collision)... First and foremost, you can drop the pallet from the jack handle.  Done deal.  However, this is usually why shrink wrap should gradually be taken down as you work the pallet (keeps the freight from flying off in these types of situations)!  ...But another way to stop a pallet's momentum is to turn the handle of the jack in opposite directions, super quickly (also known as the "swish-swish" method).  This takes some practice and skill.  Maintaining control requires you to never let go of the jack handle while doing this.  The pallet may skid a bit, but it will come to a halt.  \m/
  • A pallet is about 3 feet by 4 feet and can be stacked a little under 8 feet tall (hopefully, with shrink wrap, tho)! ...A freight truck attaches to the cargo bay at a decline (so theoretically, that minimizes any trouble pulling pallets out)... Now, in order to pull pallets from an ice truck (frozen food, usually) without slipping and killing yourself or others, you will guide the pallet into the wall/sides of the truck with your jack, and then be able to successfully descend at a safe pace against it!  \m/



Wednesday, October 14, 2020

Zamargad & ^v^/<|;) (Bats Out Of Hats), Expanded & Redecorated

Well, helloOoOoOoo, nurse!

Busy Bee
Yus, it's been a while.  Quite a few lame things have happened!  LOL, OMG...

Despite an industrial powerstrip, I believe that one of the unusually abundant, stupid, fucking thunderstorms took out my data drive, a little less than 2 weeks after getting this newer computer... So, fuck you, mother nature and backfiring technology!  ...It makes using Photoshop (and EVERY important program I need, that the data drive was intended for), fucking painful as all hell!

Additionally, my RL birthday seems to trigger every goddamned gov't agency to come outta the woodwork and threaten to take away everything I need from them to survive... So of course I was busy chasing down a bunch of paperwork and jumping a mega thousand hoops to prevent losing my so-called life ...in your fucking pandemic (...which might be a ploy to help weed out the less fortunate folk from the human race, IMO).  So of course, when all that bullshit is done, then I might have time to take this thing to the shop and be able to enjoy it as intended, OMFG!

And yup, looks like Blogger also upgraded their user interface, which I am *NOT* particularly a fan of anything other than "if it ain't broke, don't fix it."  ...Unnecessarily capitalizing "store" in the labels (no matter how I try to manipulate fixing it), not showing the Search Description without the drop-down being activated (so the "I can't fucking read this" pic link won't be revealing the same shit), automatically generating a paragraph space with just one touch of the Enter key instead of two (annoying, but thank gawd they kept the HTML edit option ...color-coded now & easier to edit, much like a Pastebin), and OH, but, yes, picture staggering and words on either side of them are now even MORE of a PITA (because you can't drag/drop images anymore) ...fucking backward, self-defeating, idiotic, Millenial bastards, just for starters!  xD  But whatthefuckever, at least my blog is still intact at the end of the day ...My sanity, on the other hand... (well, that was Gone With The Wind, eons ago)!  :p

...Plus a few other major world drama BS changes that I'm just going to go ahead and omit for meow.  :ppppppppppppp

Alrighty, so back to the original intent of this post...

Zamargad - ^v^/<|;) (Bats Out Of Hats) Skyboxes
I went from owning all of my Zamargad region, down to the smallest parcel for a while, to help pay off some RL debt.  And well, now that my loan is finally paid off, I recently bought back another small parcel!  :)  ...Now we own the whole South portion!  :D

Isis








You remember my [midlife crisis] daughter, Isis, right?  ...Yus, this "Zamargad remodeling interim" all started because of her!  xD

...Hop in, and I'll take you on a tour of the newer setup!








^v^/<|;) (Bats Out of Hats), Aerial







So let's start with our freshly redecorated ^v^/<|;) (Bats Out Of Hats) store.

We've integrated a more complete Fall/autumn/harvest theme.

The skybox wallpaper and ceiling is animated with falling leaves!  ♥

When you first land, you'll likely see this, all at the center of the bridge...
^v^/<|;) (Bats Out of Hats), Main

The sign at the top of the bridge is our logo, touching it will give you helpful information.

Right beneath it are the two spinning boxes for touchable options of joining/leaving the store group and/or Subscribr.

On the wall is our advertisement board that you can also touch for more information about Zamargad and such.

We haven't done away with our beloved Batlings we draw from the name bowl, that's right there on the floor too.

The lava lamp is our tip jar ...TYSM (should you feel any inclination)...


And in the background, at the next arch, you can see the Caspervend redelivery too...

^v^/<|;) (Bats Out of Hats), Caspervend









...Also under that next bridge arch (on the opposite side) is the store vendor and sit-able purple vortex to our rez preview platform vendor.
^v^/<|;) (Bats Out of Hats), Rezzor, 1










The huge rez platform sits right above our store.
^v^/<|;) (Bats Out of Hats), Rezzor, 2










Rez whatever you would like to see...

^v^/<|;) (Bats Out of Hats), Rezzor, 3











...Take the purple vortex back to the main store.

 
^v^/<|;) (Bats Out of Hats), Amaretto









Our Amarettos are also here, protected by pentacles.  :)

...All breedables for sale are actually on ---> our MP.
^v^/<|;) (Bats Out of Hats), PlantPets










...See our PlantPets inworld...
^v^/<|;) (Bats Out of Hats), LGH Passage







And here's our not-so-secret passage pond to our Linden Gold Hunt stuffs.

...Or you can just sit on the bench and watch the fish swim around or something!  ;)









^v^/<|;) (Bats Out of Hats), LGH Skybox









Welcome to our Fish Hunt skybox!

The totem pole surrounded by flying bats (and The Potheads flowerpot) is a passageway.









^v^/<|;) (Bats Out of Hats), LGH Worms











Yup, I think we grow and sell fishing worms ...for real!!!










^v^/<|;) (Bats Out of Hats), LGH Sunflowers










To the South are sunflowers that need watering, purtty please...











^v^/<|;) (Bats Out of Hats), LGH Snuffles








...Don't forget to pick up the Snuffle resources in the center (and buy the Fish/Gold Hunt accessories to the East)! 

...Take the totem pole TP to the main store... wash, rinse, repeat!  ;)








^v^/<|;) (Bats Out of Hats), Passages





Ah, hmm... Well, I never covered where these doors go, did I?

*giggles*

...Well, the purple door is a Majikal door that works upon collision.  You need to accept the experience to find out where it will take you!  ;)

But now, the ground door...
Oh, well!  I think that must go to, well... the ground level!  xD





^v^/<|;) (Bats Out of Hats), Ground Floor, 1











Oh, wow!  Where the heck are we now???











^v^/<|;) (Bats Out of Hats), Ground Floor, 2











...There seems to be a stirring happening from within the waters...










Zamargad - Teegle











...Yup, definitely a  secretly Majikal place of Noctem, this Zamargad...











...Look for us in the upcoming @}-- The Havens --{@ Fantasy Lands Fall Home Tour 2020!  :)  

Meanwhile, hope to see you around the grid!  ♥


Sunday, December 29, 2019

Wednesday, August 21, 2019

^v^/<|;) (Bats Out Of Hats) --INTERIM-- Gets a Face-Lift!!!


Hiya, all!

^v^/<|;) (Bats Out Of Hats) --INTERIM-- Gets a Face-Lift!!!
So... This is what we were known for.  ^
...And no, I'm not changing that banner because I'm too stubborn to give it up!  :p
Besides, it's like The Law Of Attraction... If I keep the belief of it around, it will come back.
(just most of the gaming and advertising has been put on a temporary hold for now)

And I know, I know!
I have been AFK for a LONG time, and I have a "Lost In The Mail" post I'll be putting out soon about that... But I've been working really hard inworld, and I needed to get this entry's update out first!  ;)
Thanks for bearing with me!

...It's a BEAUTIFUL day in our interim skybox!










Anyhoo...
...It's a BEAUTIFUL day in our interim skybox!


So this is most likely some of what you will immediately see when you go to ^v^/<|;) (Bats Out Of Hats) inworld.










So this is most likely some of what you will immediately see when you go to ^v^/<|;) (Bats Out Of Hats) inworld.










If you touch/click our ^v^/<|;) (Bats Out Of Hats) store sign (shown in the center), it will shout some useful information out, and offer you an informative NC.

And yus, we have gone completely CasperVend friendly now (some things have even been repackaged)!  They have great customer service, are used all thru-out SL, and most importantly - SAVE ON PRIMS!!!  ;)


To the left is our regular store vendor (of things that cannot be rezzed due to not enough prim space or it being things like, say, an avatar shape), & also our redelivery service vendor.









To the left is our regular store vendor (of things that cannot be rezzed due to not enough prim space or it being things like, say, an avatar shape), & also our redelivery service vendor.

If you sit on it, you will teleport to our regular store rez vendor...















Anyhoo, back to this...

...That animated purple vortex looking thing (on the right)...

If you sit on it, you will teleport to our regular store rez vendor...









The rez vendor is pretty easy to use...
The rez vendor is pretty easy to use...

You just click the left and right arrows at the bottom to find the merchandise you'd like to look at, make sure it's in the center panel, and then click the "rez" button at the top (and you'll see a demo)!

There are also some things (like wearables) that may give you a free demo to try on (just by clicking the "demo" button down at the bottom).

All our items are listed in alphabetical order and by their original name, so they are also easy to search for by clicking the interactive "search" button tool down at the bottom.

After having at least made sure your selection is in the center panel, you can also right-click the vendor to buy it!  ;)

Take the TP Vortex down back to the skybox...










Take the TP Vortex down back to the skybox...








In the center, you will find all kinds of interactive goodies...




And in the center, you will find all kinds of interactive goodies...

One of them is a group joiner.

Another is a Subscribr (if you have no group space left, you can still stay up to date with us).

Put your loose L$ in the lava lamp for a cool giftie!

...As well as some other things you may just want to see for yourself!
...Like that door that takes you to ground level











...Like that door that takes you to ground level, so you can bother the neighbors --despite their terraforming!  XD











Why, yus... I do believe that purple door will take you somewhere...








...BTW, this is my favorite spot to sit and float on ;)

...And, why, yus...
I do believe that purple door will take you somewhere...  ;)









All the way to the South, is our Alienum vendor









All the way to the South, is our Alienum vendor alcove, filled with all the supplies you can shake your extractor at!











Amaretto Horses










You're also going to run across things like our Amaretto Horses...












That about wraps it up for things at Zamargad Charged By Isis: The Remodeling Interim parcel






...And, well, so...
That about wraps it up for things at Zamargad Charged By Isis: The Remodeling Interim parcel...

...It only took me about 5 months to get out of my depression slump / RL abduction and get this show back on the road!  XD









Group Gifties should be coming back soon too.

And I will only say this once...
Sometimes things are a bit cheaper inworld than on the MP (I didn't wanna take that opportunity away from our customers completely).  ;)
...And no, that doesn't apply to things only available on our MP (like the breedables), as those OOAK things already have a very fair price.  ;)


...Hope to see ya around!  If not at Zamargad, at least somewhere around the grid, then!  ♥