Do you pronounce Buc-ee’s with a hard or soft c?
“Buck-ees”
After Bucky the Beaver.
So not like Gary Busey? 
There usedta be Wawas in my part of Maryland, then they disappeared. Looks like there are still some locations out in the county.
ETA: First store I ever saw milk in plastic bags.
Buc-ee’s is known in Texas not only for clean bathrooms but also for paying its employees unusually well by Texas standards.
Buc-ees is also known for filing ridiculous lawsuits regarding trademark infringement.
Never heard of Buc-ees before - and that is a ridiculous case.
I went to prep school with two of the Scheetz heirs, who were nice enough. I have no particular loyalty to any chain, though - convenient location and not brand identity is most important to me.
Sheetz got my vote. We don’t have them in my neck of the woods, but I’m impressed by their size and cleanliness whenever I visit my family in NC. And they have the best tire pumps I’ve ever seen.
Regarding recently used cooking appliances, a few that were missed:
Stand Mixer.
We did a good bit of baking in the leadup and during the holidays, including from scratch bread, and really don’t care to hand-knead when there’s this wonderful tool for the job.
Immersion Blender.
Because it’s my go to for making various cheese spreads, hummus, and other dips, along with a ton of sauces.
Blender (Full sized / standing)
So many blended drinks leading up to and during the holiday. Mostly Banana’s foster and Old Plantation Rum Milkshakes.
When I was in college, there was a Wawa just off campus. No gas. Went there probably at least once a week for deli sandwiches because the cafeteria only had brunch and dinner on Sundays, and I missed out on brunch due to church.
And I also missed the immersion blender option. As I am a Swiss resident, it’s almost required to have one.
I’ve never been to a Sheetz with blue bathroom lights. I live in Johnstown, where we have 7 stores, and frequently travel to others in my job as a merchandiser. Some weeks I will visit as many as 20 for my job and a few others on the side during travel to Allegheny, Washington, and Fayette counties.
(If more info is in the linked article, I couldn’t read it. I’ll have to hunt for a physical copy.)
The store where they first tried it was in New Kensington, PA. It was a huge success according to the article and the chain would be trying it in other locations.
I act as if people have good intentions, but I expect to get burned sometimes. I just prefer to live life that way.
But I am pretty naive. I’ve been almost scammed a couple of times. Back in 2016 I had a seizure and had to rely on Uber for six months to get to work. My husband was worried I was going to end up hurt because it is my natural inclination to trust people. I also try to avoid hurting people’s feelings, including strangers, so I can see why he would be worried, but nothing happened. I ended up talking to a driver who ran a nonprofit and helped him out on a volunteer basis for a little while.
So far, I’ve done okay. I’ve been absolutely screwed over at times, but that’s a part of life.
For one, I don’t think it is “often repeated advice” “that you should assume all people have good intentions”. I think it’s often repeated advice that you should assume many people don’t, and I think it’s often repeated advice that you should assume many people do, but I don’t think I’ve ever seen advice to assume that absolutely everybody has good intentions.
For two, I’m not taking either of those options, because I think it’s wise to say that without prior evidence to the contrary one should start encounters by behaving as if the other person has good intentions, but naive not to be ready to shift gears if they provide contrary evidence. (Sometimes of course they provide it in the first moments of the encounter. No, you’re not calling me from Microsoft.)
But it’s drastically unwise to assume that nearly everyone has bad intentions and act accordingly, because you’ll piss off a lot of people who will then actually have bad intentions because they’re pissed off, but wouldn’t have if you approached them differently.
All bastards are bastards, but some bastards are bastards!
Yeah, I’m not sure I’ve ever heard it repeated.
When people do or say things that could have more than one explanation, I try to look for the most well-intentioned interpretation. I won’t always assume that’s the one that was intended, but I try to at least leave myself open to the possibility.
In the case of anyone trying to sell me something, I assume that their intention is to get money from me—in ways that may or may not be fair and honest, and that may or may not be to my benefit.
Indeed.
Catching up on the last three weeks’ worth of polls:
Wendy’s is closest (1.3 miles), followed by Popeye’s, D’Angelo, McDonald’s and Burger King (1.7 miles). I’d pass two Dunkin’s and a Starbucks on the way to Wendy’s.
Cat names: Angel, Lily (both normal for a human), Jiji, Nandi (both odd for a human), and Eraser (possibly borderline abusive for a human.
Wi-fi: “Wye-Fi”
Colas: Whichever is cheapest. My daughter likes RC best, but I seldom buy it for her because it’s usually the most expensive. (She usually drinks Dew, anyway.) Last time I was at the commissary, though, the prices per 12-pack were $4 for RC, $5.50 for Pepsi, and $7 for Coke.
Other sodas/pop: Fanta and Squirt. No preference on the others. (Never heard of Surge or Jarritos.)
Ginger ale: Vernor’s, of course! But I’d really rather have Goslings ginger beer.
Summits: Not sure. I drove to the top of Haleakala, but don’t remember if I got out of the car or just sat there for a while.
I want both butter and jam/marmalade on my toast. But if I only use one, it will be butter.
Convenience store: Cumberland Farms or Henny Penny. 7-11 is fine as a convenience store, but I don’t think I’ve ever bought gas there.
As to the presumption of good intentions… it’s not advice, exactly, I’d say. It’s more like a worldview, an ethos. And for me it’s highly situational - there are places, times and people to whom I will extend the presumption, but there are others to whom I definitely won’t.
The theme to Starblazers has been living in my head rent-free for the last forty-five years.
Whether or not I’ve left the house with pants is a crap shoot, but by golly Starblazers is in there.