u/Icehippo73

My son's rep emailed that they're starting to send these out soon.

Anyone gotten one yet, or have an accurate timeframe of when they're sent out?

I went by the soft opening of Pop Up Bagels in Bethesda this morning.

They started out, not surprsingly, as a pop-up in Connecticut before going viral, moving to brick and mortar, and rapidly expanding due to a big VC push.

Their concept is small batches of fresh from the oven bagels dipped in tubs of cream cheese, instead of slicing and spreading. They only have a few bagel flavors, but lots of cream cheese flavors, so there are plenty of customization options.

The bagels themselves are small, about 2/3 the size of an average bagel place, but have a nice crunchy exterior and a fluffy interior, not nearly as dense and stodgy as many bagel places. They're really quite tasty.

And I'm probably never going back.

Why? An immensly boneheaded minimum order policy. An order of three bagels with a small tub of cream cheese for $15.60 is the smallest order you can get. In some locations, the minimum order is six.

That's right, you can't go to the store and grab a single bagel with cream cheese, and about 90% of the time I'm going to a bagel place, that's what I want to get.

It's truly baffling to me, but they keep expanding, so either there aren't many people that share my concerns, or VC is keeping them propped up until they fail. Who knows.

All I know is that in the space of a few blocks, we have a Bethesda Bagels and a new Call Your Mother, both of whom make good bagels, and let me buy one if I so desire. I'll be going to those places instead.

What's the best place for fresh blue crab in the area?

And please don't say Bethesda Crab House...too many bad experiences there.

My RingConn 2 worked really well.

When I opened the app in the morning, all the info was ready for me to look at. I'd get notifications during the day if there were any sort of issues.

With the new ring, it seems to only update when I open the app, and goes through a long process every time I open it. It also only gives me alerts if I'm opening the app manually.

In addition, I've never felt a vibration for the ring, which is one of the new features I was happy about.

I've double checked, and all of my setting are the same with the 3 as they were with the 2.

Any ideas?

EDIT: Deleting and reinstalling the app did the trick. If you get a new RingConn, keep this in mind!

Finally had a chance to really test out the upgrade. Here's my verdict:

City Driving: Nearly perfect. I have what must be a really complicated commute for FSD to deal with, from the suburbs of MD into downtown DC. We pass stoplights, four way stop signs, one way roads, complicated traffic circles, constant construction, and virtually every other challenge that you can imagine. 14 has been as close to perfect as you can get...I haven't had to intervene once in multiple trips. The only issue is that the car really wants to speed in 25 mph zones, and I have to lower it to sloth any time I see a speed camera coming up.

Highway: Good and bad. On a 5 hour round trip from MD to NC, I was mostly impressed. Routing was perect, lane changes made sense, and there wasn't any jerking or phantom braking. The only issues were speed...Hurry mode was mostly going 15 miles over the speed limit, while Standard usually did about 3 over. We need a happy medium. I want the car to go a maximum of 10 miles over the limit, which avoids speeding tickets, while still maintaining a good pace. It was a massive blunder to take out the ability to do this, and I'd be shocked if they didn't bring it back. The only other issue was a tendancy on both modes to camp in the left lane far to long.

I did need one intervention though, and it's an issue I've seen other have as well. The car tried to enter a closed HOV lane, seemingly ignoring the big gates. Would it have hit if I didn't intervene? I'm guessing no, but I wasn't going to take that chance.

So final verdict...it's really getting there. I'm getting to the point where I honestly believe the car is a better driver than I am, although clearly it's not perfect yet.

There're a lot of things I like about 14 Light on my 2019 M3, but stop signs drive me crazy...the car stops completely, waits a few seconds, and then finally goes, even if there's no one else around.

Are there any of the drive modes that treats stop signs like humans actually do?

Since this is opening soon, I was checking the place out online, and apparently the mimimun order is three bagels and a spread for close to $15.

Can that possibly be true?

My son is finishing up a three week pre-college program at Brown.

There's a lot he's loved about the place, but he's been really disappointed in the food at the Ratty...said the menu is really repetitive, and the food itself isn't very good.

Any chance the food is better during the school year, and they pare down the menu during the summer?

I love their diet lemonade, but it's been missing from the fridge for months. Anyone know if it's ever coming back?

So I finally got around to finishing the show.

There was a scene late on where Fanny was handling a jewel that cracked, and the time traveling buzzing sound was all around her.

It was never mentioned/referenced again.

What was the significnce of that? Did I miss something later?

Any organized/semi-organized pick-up soccer at Brown during the summer?

In the section about Athletic Activities, they ask for the number of years you've participated. Does that mean in high school, or in general?

And is there a way to differentiate sports you played that weren't for a high school team?

So I've been playing baseball for 10 years, but it'll be 4 at school. Do I put 10 or 4?

And I've been on a non-school swim team for 8 years. Do I put that as 8?

A bit of a reach here, but I thought I'd try.

My son will be up at Brown for a few weeks at a summer pre-college program.

He's a huge soccer fan, and would like to watch the games with a big group of people.

Are there any places on campus where people gather to watch?

thanks

My son is working on his "why do you want to go to west point" essay.

He really wants to be a military doctor, and wants to write his essay about pursuing medicine.

I was concerned that they might be more into applicants that really want to command infantry, or more of the "leading solders into battle" types, and he might be better off being a little less specific of what he wants to do.

What do you all think?

Was a bit curious...

I respect that vegans don't want to consume any products from animals that are exploited for their dairy products.

But does it bother you that so many humans are exploited as migrant labor to pick the fruits and vegetables that we eat in our country?