Well, groceries were already through the roof, but here where I am with Diesel now hoovering at $6.50/gallon and rising, we're starting to see the pain even more at the grocery store. Went shopping at Aldi of all places yesterday and good grief - I left with sticker shock.

I honestly don't know how people are going to make it through this cycle. You can cut down, you can make swaps, but it's to the poing now where even the store brands and generics are approaching what was, a year ago, the name brand prices.

We have really changed our eating habits here - beef is an absolute luxury now. Maybe once a month. Honestly, health wise probably better off for that one. We do a lot of things with beans, and chicken and pork is our big meat items nowadays. With it being summer, freshness has been easy to find with vegetables and such - though I wonder/worry about the colder months.

I've seen a lot in my 50+ years, but this time... I dunno, it's different.

-dmxrob

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Re: Good grief, groceries
By: Dmxrob to All on Fri Sep 18 2026 04:34 pm

Well, groceries were already through the roof, but here where I am with Diesel now hoovering at $6.50/gallon and rising, we're starting to see the pain even more at the grocery store. Went shopping at Aldi of all places yesterday and good grief - I left with sticker shock.

I've been in a bit of shock for at least the past few years now, as prices have risen fairly noticeably over such a short time. It seems everything has gotten more expensive - Fuel, food, and housing (at least housing where I am) being a few of the main things where prices have shot up, and I don't know if most people can really afford it. I feel like at some point, something will happen, and I hope things don't get dreadfully worse.

I've also noticed the job market has been fairly difficult too. It sounds like it's not just my industry (software/tech) but in general.

I know this sounds like doom & gloom, but sometimes I think of the worse case scenario.. Not sure I want to go there.

Nightfox

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Re: Good grief, groceries
By: Dmxrob to All on Fri Sep 18 2026 04:34 pm

Well, groceries were already through the roof, but here where I am with Diesel now hoovering at $6.50/gallon and rising, we're starting to see the pain even more at the grocery store. Went shopping at Aldi of all places yesterday and good grief - I left with sticker shock.

I've seen a lot in my 50+ years, but this time... I dunno, it's different.

According to Trump, everything's great (again), still cheap. He doesn't see any problem!
--
digital man (rob)

Breaking Bad quote #41:
Academy hire you right out of the womb? You guys get younger every year!
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dreadfully worse.

I've also noticed the job market has been fairly difficult too. It
sounds like it's not just my industry (software/tech) but in general.

I know this sounds like doom & gloom, but sometimes I think of the worse

I think about this often too. Like when will the masses become so frustrated that there is a tipping point. What will be the straw to break the camel's back and what will actually happen (if something actually does happen)? If a leader emerges to channel all of this angst and frustration that everyone is feeling, what would that look like? Second gilded age revolution type of thing?

These are the types of thoughts that run through my head. Not saying I think it will happen, but I do know that a whole lot of people are feeling disenfranchised, like they were promised a path and a dream and that was taken from them like a big rug pull, that the share of the pie has been grossly and purposefully funneled to the elites, and they are struggling and the old messaging that they have been fed isn't effective anymore (such as meritocracy, pulling yourself up by your bootstraps, you just need to work hard and you can do it too, etc).

|08[|07K|08N1GHT|07S|08HAD0W] |08[|07https|08://|07www|08.|07boneyard|08-|07bbs|08.|07com|08]

Re: Good grief, groceries
By: Digital Man to Dmxrob on Fri Sep 18 2026 05:46 pm

I've seen a lot in my 50+ years, but this time... I dunno, it's different. >

According to Trump, everything's great (again), still cheap. He doesn't see any problem!

Everything is a lot better than our previous democrat president.

It's going to take time to repair all the damage.

--
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Re: Good grief, groceries
By: MRO to Digital Man on Fri Sep 18 2026 08:27 pm

Re: Good grief, groceries
By: Digital Man to Dmxrob on Fri Sep 18 2026 05:46 pm

I've seen a lot in my 50+ years, but this time... I dunno, it's different.

According to Trump, everything's great (again), still cheap. He doesn't see any problem!

Everything is a lot better than our previous democrat president.

You seriously believe that?

It's going to take time to repair all the damage.

Yeah, the damage done by Trump.
--
digital man (rob)

Steven Wright quote #3:
Half the people you know are below average.
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---
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Everything is a lot better than our previous democrat president.

You seriously believe that?

Oh Gawd, another one. You must live in CA too ...sigh.

... The toughest thing in business is minding your own.

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Re: Good grief, groceries
By: Digital Man to MRO on Fri Sep 18 2026 06:42 pm

According to Trump, everything's great (again), still cheap. He doesn't see any problem!

Everything is a lot better than our previous democrat president.

You seriously believe that?

Yes i do. Those years under biden were the worst.
How can you think having a braindead abused senior was a good thing.

You seriously believe that?

It's going to take time to repair all the damage.

Yeah, the damage done by Trump.

give me some more of that damage. i do quite well under trump. i'm making more money than i've ever had.

There's been a lot of accomplishments.
He's probably the only decent politician we have left in our country.

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Everything is a lot better than our previous democrat president.

You seriously believe that?

It's going to take time to repair all the damage.

Yeah, the damage done by Trump.
--

Wait guys! Let me get the popcorn.

Anyway, from a Canadian's viewpoint here, Trump can suck it. I have to pay $2/litre for gas, my grocery prices are up, everything is more expensive. AND HE'S NOT EVEN OUR PRESIDENT!

I'll leave it there because I think there was some rule about politics or something?.. or was that fsxnet

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Re: Good grief, groceries
By: Nightfox to Dmxrob on Fri Sep 18 2026 05:35 pm

I know this sounds like doom & gloom, but sometimes I think of the worse cas scenario.. Not sure I want to go there.

You do have guns, right?

---
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Digital Man wrote to Dmxrob <=-

According to Trump, everything's great (again), still cheap. He doesn't see any problem! --

I hear him say that too. As someone who lives in a country you are at war with, it's commical to me to see how the north mexican's are suffering so bad. (US new name is "North Mexico" - I figure if the orage idiot can rename things so can I, I am at least more qualified not having been bankrupt as many times as him)

Come on now Mro, it's your turn to tell me how stupid I am, and that gas is really cheap and food is affordable.


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MRO wrote to Digital Man <=-

How can you think having a braindead abused senior was a good thing.

You have one with dementia now!!!! WTF dude? Brainwashed much?


... His eyes are so bad, he has to wear contact lenses to see his glasses.
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Re: Good grief, groceries
By: Digital Man to Dmxrob on Fri Sep 18 2026 05:46 pm

I've seen a lot in my 50+ years, but this time... I dunno, it's different.

According to Trump, everything's great (again), still cheap. He doesn't see any problem!

I'm tired of winning, boss... can we please start losing a little?

-dmxrob

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� Synchronet � Hard Drive Cafe - hdcbbs.com

Re: Re: Good grief, groceries
By: Knight Shadow to Nightfox on Fri Sep 18 2026 06:09 pm

I think about this often too. Like when will the masses become so frustrated that there is a tipping point. What will be the straw to break the camel's back and what will actually happen (if something actually does happen)? If a leader emerges to channel all of this angst and frustration that everyone is feeling, what would that look like? Second gilded age revolution type of thing?

I think this is approaching more rapidly that most people want to acknowledge. The history books are littered with when this exact scenario has played out before. People are just fed up with the constant "more, more, more" for the elites while the rest of us move backwards.

These tech bros and morons like Musk who think they are above everyone may wake up one morning to find they don't have to worry about the live forever part anymore.

-dmxrob

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Re: Re: Good grief, groceries
By: Exodus to Digital Man on Sat Sep 19 2026 12:18 am

Oh Gawd, another one. You must live in CA too ...sigh.

No, we live in reality. Where we see our neighbors struggling, our friends and family making hard decisions over if they will be able to feed their family until the next paycheck, our nephews and nieces struggling to find even a basic job, our elders going without medicine and food because they just can't afford it, ourselves watching every penny, while more and more is taking away in terms of social safety nets and public goods.

In short, we live in reality.

-dmxrob

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Re: Re: Good grief, groceries
By: Knight Shadow to Nightfox on Fri Sep 18 2026 06:09 pm

I think about this often too. Like when will the masses become so frustrated that there is a tipping point. What will be the straw to break the camel's back and what will actually happen (if something actually does happen)? If a leader emerges to channel all of this angst and frustration that everyone is feeling, what would that look like? Second gilded age revolution type of thing?

In the end of the day it does not matter, because the bottom of the problem is the mass is not productive. Sure, most of the population might have a job, but it is a fictional job that produces nothing. It looks good on paper but does not keep a civilization running.

When you analyze my close circle of friends, it is easy to notice the problem.

One of them is getting paid government money in order to create a software implementation to solve a problem which has been solved already 30 times by FOSS software implementations.

Another is getting paid in order to provide wifi coverage for government buildings, which would be ok except gov is not allowing the project to move forward because of reasons, so he spends his days sitting on his ass while getting paid his payroll for waiting for the next phase to get greenlit.

There is this guy who spent 5 years working like a mule on a product everybody outside the project knew was gonna flop. At the end he was working long shifts in order to achieve his productivity goals fully knowing the product would never be sent to production.

When you start adding telemarketers, middle managers, bureaucrats etc etc. you realize you have a big mass of the population doing nothing useful at all. This mass of useless population depends on a small bunch of dudes for doing actually necessary things (such as growing potatoes). In western countries I suspect this small group of people is not powerful enough to deliver which means western countries depend on foreign powers to fill basic necessities.

At this point you are royaly fucked up because you need to buy basics from overseas using your currency, but your currency is worth less and less each year because you produce less and less of what people actually need. This translates in inflated prices for potatoes because your whole civilization is not worth shit.

And the best part is no uprising is going to fix this because once the masses raise and place a new Comrade Stalin in power, no amount of wealth redistribution will be able to get anything better than an even redistribution of missery, since missery is the only thing getting produced one way or another.


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family making hard decisions over if they will be able to feed their family until the next paycheck, our nephews and nieces struggling to find even a basic job, our elders going without medicine and food because they just can afford it, ourselves watching every penny, while more and more is taking aw in terms of social safety nets and public goods.

Then where did you live under Biden? Cause it was worse, and not because of Covid.

... The Devil is most devilish when respectable.

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And the best part is no uprising is going to fix this because once the masses raise and place a new Comrade Stalin in power, no amount of wealth redistribution will be able to get anything better than an even redistribution of missery, since missery is the only thing getting produced one way or another.

Interesting, I like hearing various takes people have on the current state of affairs. Some people have a positive outlook, some people have a nihilistic outlook, some have a revolution/uprising outlook.

For your particular take, when you imagine things playing out, do you envision a certain outcome? It is status quo? Or rebellion? Or rome-style collapse of America perhaps?

|08[|07K|08N1GHT|07S|08HAD0W] |08[|07https|08://|07www|08.|07boneyard|08-|07bbs|08.|07com|08]

Dmxrob wrote to All <=-

Well, groceries were already through the roof, but here where I am with Diesel now hoovering at $6.50/gallon and rising, we're starting to see
the pain even more at the grocery store. Went shopping at Aldi of all places yesterday and good grief - I left with sticker shock.

$8.97/Gallon for diesel at a truck stop on I880 in Oakland.

I honestly don't know how people are going to make it through this
cycle. You can cut down, you can make swaps, but it's to the poing now where even the store brands and generics are approaching what was, a
year ago, the name brand prices.

I'm lucky I live in an area that grows a ton of food. We have a couple
of local produce markets and meat suppliers. The meat is expensive, but
worth it.

We're focused on cutting down on food waste. Buying local will help,
grocery store berries and fruits spoil so quickly that it's difficult
to use them all before they get moldy. I'll start treating them as
well, I've heard soaking them in a vinegar solution keeps them fresher.

We have really changed our eating habits here - beef is an absolute
luxury now. Maybe once a month. Honestly, health wise probably better
off for that one. We do a lot of things with beans, and chicken and
pork is our big meat items nowadays. With it being summer, freshness
has been easy to find with vegetables and such - though I wonder/worry about the colder months.

Was it a cabinet member who suggested we all eat veggie burgers? Oh,
right, except the food safety guidelines and testing for veggie-born
illnesses has been cut.

I've seen a lot in my 50+ years, but this time... I dunno, it's
different.

We're not coming back from this, not in my lifetime.



... Strange Medicine on the Desert...a Crisis of Confidence
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Knight Shadow wrote to Nightfox <=-

I think about this often too. Like when will the masses become so frustrated that there is a tipping point. What will be the straw to
break the camel's back and what will actually happen (if something actually does happen)?

They would have to put their phones down and stop scrolling. An entire
generation has been sedated.



... The Tuba is technically a percussion instrument.
--- MultiMail/Win v0.52
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Dmxrob wrote to Exodus <=-

No, we live in reality. Where we see our neighbors struggling, our
friends and family making hard decisions over if they will be able to
feed their family until the next paycheck, our nephews and nieces struggling to find even a basic job, our elders going without medicine
and food because they just can't afford it, ourselves watching every penny, while more and more is taking away in terms of social safety
nets and public goods.

I worry about the cost of heating oil this year. People are going to
have a hard time in colder climates.



... The average American needs $3.4 Billion to comfortably retire.
--- MultiMail/Win v0.52
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Exodus wrote to Digital Man <=-

Everything is a lot better than our previous democrat president.

You seriously believe that?

Oh Gawd, another one. You must live in CA too ...sigh.

Here's where you were supposed to prove how much better things are.
Instead, stooping to an ad hominem just makes you look desperate.

Let me save the next step for you, you'll allude to the OP's ignorance
and that it's not your job to educate people who don't think for
themselves...


... Wi-Fi cannot travel through smoke.
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I think this is approaching more rapidly that most people want to acknowledge. The history books are littered with when this exact
scenario has played out before. People are just fed up with the
constant "more, more, more" for the elites while the rest of us move backwards.

This is the predominant scenario in my mind as well. I just don't know when, how, or what it will exactly look like. I wonder if it will just take one small group of people or even a single person to trigger the flashpoint.

|08[|07K|08N1GHT|07S|08HAD0W] |08[|07https|08://|07www|08.|07boneyard|08-|07bbs|08.|07com|08]

According to Trump, everything's great (again), still cheap. He doesn't see any problem!

Most people who are living off of our tax money see fewer problems when they (or their party) are in charge. They only see them when others are running the show.

That said, diesel prices have been doing weird things for a while and I am not sure why. I can remember when diesel was cheaper than gas/gallon, and "they" were starting to encourage us to consider diesel vehicles. I cannot remember when that came to an abrupt end, but it did.



---
* ScorpioWeb * capitolcityonline.net * KY, USA

dreadfully worse.

I've also noticed the job market has been fairly difficult too. It sounds like it's not just my industry (software/tech) but in general.

I know this sounds like doom & gloom, but sometimes I think of the worse

I think about this often too. Like when will the masses become so frustrated that there is a tipping point. What will be the straw to break the camel's back and what will actually happen (if something actually does happen)? If a leader emerges to channel all of this angst and frustration that everyone is feeling, what would that look like? Second gilded age revolution type of thing?

Getting us all to agree what is going on is bad would be the first challenge for anything to happen.

As for what would that leader look like, I think you can already see that. A lot of people were frustrated in 2016 and elected someone who promised to make everything great again. The mess we were getting into that caused that strategy to work has just continued to get worse since.

These are the types of thoughts that run through my head. Not saying I think it will happen, but I do know that a whole lot of people are feeling disenfranchised, like they were promised a path and a dream and that was taken from them like a big rug pull, that the share of the pie has been grossly and purposefully funneled to the elites, and they are struggling and the old messaging that they have been fed isn't effective anymore (such as meritocracy, pulling yourself up by your bootstraps, you just need to work hard and you can do it too, etc).

Again I reference 2016. Lots of people, but not necessarily the same ones, were feeling frustrated and disenfranchised then, too. I worry that this is the cycle we are going to be in. The "followers" of whichever side that gets elected will believe all is well while the other side becomes the frustrated and disenfranchised group. There will be some that move between sides, of course, but the general problem will remain.


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* ScorpioWeb * capitolcityonline.net * KY, USA

Re: Good grief, groceries
By: Digital Man to Dmxrob on Fri Sep 18 2026 05:46 pm

I've seen a lot in my 50+ years, but this time... I dunno, it's different. >

According to Trump, everything's great (again), still cheap. He doesn't see
any problem!

Everything is a lot better than our previous democrat president.

It's going to take time to repair all the damage.

Assuming that is the case, Vance seems willing to admit that time is needed. Trump often makes claims that all is already well and those that complaining are the problem.


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* ScorpioWeb * capitolcityonline.net * KY, USA