Black Friday insanity

[soberups]

So on Thursday night after a wonderful Thanksgiving dinner, I had to drive a relative to his home in Salem from our home in Newberg.

I got on I-5 south at the Donald/Aurora exit...and it took me 45 minutes just to get through Woodburn.

At 10:30 PM on Thanksgiving night there was about a 5 mile backup to the Woodburn exit of people trying to get to the Woodburn outlet mall. The stores decided to open on Thanksgiving instead of waiting until Friday.

People were parking their cars on the shoulder and running across the highway, climbing the guardrails, and going down thru the ditch and over the fence to get to the mall.

The mall parking lot was full...the frontage road was full...the 214 overpass over I-5 was full...and traffic was gridlocked for miles in all directions. It was insane...yet people continued to wait and wait, knowing full well that it might be hours before they could make their way to the parking lot.

I dont care if they were advertising free Glocks for every customer.....there is no way in **** I would subject myself to that sort of insanity.

What is with people? What can possibly be at an outlet mall that is so important as to make someone give up time on Thanksgiving day?

That mall is an epic failure of urban planning. The Woodburn I-5 interchange was overcrowded when I lived there 18 years ago...before the Wal-mart and the new outlet mall even existed. Now it is totally inadequate by many orders of magnitude, and it will only get worse.

That outlet mall needs to plan ahead for next year by requiring some sort of parking pass in order to park in the lot. If you dont have a pass, you should be required to park elsewhere and take a shuttle bus if you are so **** bent on getting to the mall on Thanksgiving. And I sure hope the outlet mall is paying the bill for the state troopers that I saw directing traffic...who were (deservedly) making overtime for working a holiday shift.

Rant over. Have a merry Christmas!

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[Trlsmn]

I have a phobia of large crowds so I just say no!

 

[bugeye]

The Woodburn factory stores block I5 every summer for their sidewalk sale too. I think they should have to chip in for an extra lane, but I can't even figure out how they make any money anyway. Everytime I evaluate the profitablity of just about any store I come to the conclusion they all must be laundering money for the mafia.

The most profitable business in the country just produced boilerplated paperwork, called deriviates. It seems that other self interested parties representing oceans of money are willing to sign these things even though the deal is backed by only the agreement itself. In this manner these traders have insured the worlds economy for 1000 trillion dollars, over 18 times the value of all goods and services the world produces in a year. As Godman Sachs (had to have their bubble gum bailed out last year) says, 'We are doing Gods Work'. So, they are making vast amounts of money by selling nothing to each other back and forth and it's legal, and if TSHTF the gov has to bail them out or the worlds economy becomes dust. Hey I bet these guys are forces I called the mafia?

Now there is a profitable item!

Hey, I wonder if we type in bubblegum if the auto editor will substitute a banned word?

 

[Trlsmn]

:huh:

 

[EUGENE the REALTOR]

:huh:

 

[elsullo]

A few years ago I was stuck in paralyzed traffic and observed a unique gridlock phenomenon. It was at the Lloyd Center Mall in Portland, around the parking garage entrances. The garage was completely full, including the traffic lanes, of cars trying to get OUT to leave. They were blocked from exiting by cars desperately trying to get IN to the FULL garage. Nothing could move; there was no where to go and the streets were full for miles. I was just trying to get around the entire location, and saw the same thing at all of the South Garage entrance/exits. "Never underestimate the stupidity of people in large groups."...........................elsullo

 

[Gunner3456]

I had to drive from Medford to Hillsboro and back this last Tuesday. I-5, 217, Sunset Hwy and then right back home. I was pulling a trailer, delivering a Harley.

It sure was a good reminder of why I don't live in a city. I don't know how you guys do it.

 

[bugeye]

:huh:

You guys might want to investigate the derivatives trade, it is insane and once you get it you will have a new understanding of how freeking nuts the finance guys who are ruling the world are.

The most common derivative is called a credit default swap, and it is an agreement that if some bond, company or any other financial object that a bet can be placed upon fails, the party buying the CDS will get their money back. These CDS are not regulated, no one discloses who has them and there is no money set aside to back them. In addition they sell them to anyone who wants to bet - you don't acutally have to have the security that is being insured (like buying fire insurance on your neighbors house).

Go check these out please, they explain why the gov had to bail out wall street and how crazy gamblers are betting with all our futures without having any real responsibility.

 

[MarkSBG]

"Never underestimate the stupidity of people in large groups."

Everytime an idiot proof product comes out, someone else makes a better idiot.

 

[Gunner3456]

everytime an idiot proof product comes out, someone else makes a better idiot.

Funny.

 

[raindog]

I dont care if they were advertising free Glocks for every customer.....

Maybe. If I got to pick the model, it had night sights, and they threw in two extra mags + a hundred rounds of Speer Gold Dots.

Maybe.

 

[ajf1]

Im not into crowds but I enjoy going out with my wife on this day. Those people are so serous it is easy to mess with their minds just a little bit. For example your in line and you get up to check out a few people before you say "cash only" in a voice a little louder than normal. Then kick back and watch all of the hoople heads looking around to find the sign.

 

[bugeye]

A few years ago I was stuck in paralyzed traffic and observed a unique gridlock phenomenon. It was at the Lloyd Center Mall in Portland, around the parking garage entrances. The garage was completely full, including the traffic lanes, of cars trying to get OUT to leave. They were blocked from exiting by cars desperately trying to get IN to the FULL garage. Nothing could move; there was no where to go and the streets were full for miles. I was just trying to get around the entire location, and saw the same thing at all of the South Garage entrance/exits. "Never underestimate the stupidity of people in large groups."...........................elsullo

My favorite thing about traffic jams in Portland is to see city cars with the sign 'Portland the City that Works' painted on them, yeah sure! Truth in advertising should demand the sign be 'Portland backslappers paradise' but by that token they should change the name of the country from America to 'Bend over and squeal like a Pig'.

 

[kenr74]

I guess I got lucky. I don't do any of those fancy sales but I happened to be driving home and stopped at my local Bi-Mart around noon. They had the exact gun I was looking to give my son for Christmas and it was $100 off their already good price. Couldn't resist and it only took about 15 minutes to make sure I wasn't a criminal and get out of there.

 

[Gunner3456]

What you want to do is to have your own "cash only" sign with you. Walk up and put it on the end of a checkout counter and watch the line clear out.

 

[Monkeyman]

It may have been the last time you'll have to deal with it for a while; with unemployment growing and the economy tanking, by next year most malls will be ghost towns..

No Traffic!!!

Seriously though, I can't believe people camp out all night for the right to trample each other to save a few bucks. Mixed up priorities, for sure.