tamias6

As a customer, why should I have to buy a car through a middle man when Tesla proved it very much possible and doable to order a vehicle online and pay only MSRP eliminating dealer markups? That's a savings of several thousand dollars. Also why should I as a customer have to go through the hassle of haggling with a dealer for a final purchase price when I can pay the price I see just like buying somthing from the grocery store. I could imagine how much of a pain it would be to spend hours haggling a Meijer red shirt for a fair price for a bottle of milk and a leaf of bread. That would suck. No I'm all for cars being sold directly by their makers and paying the price on the tag without haggling. Oh, Tesla Model Y Long Range owner speaking here. Buying the car online was a smooth experience. The service center on 29th street had polite informative staff that treated us right and gave us honest answers and helped us every step of the way. And during the one and only time the car needed servicing, the mobile tech was extremely nice and very helpful. If this is the future of buying cars, I'm all in.

Built it!! This is major as it would definitely change the look of the skyline. The view from the S-curve would be epic.

ICCF plans to build Tapestry Senior Living Center at the corner of Wealthy and Division.

Don't lose hope on Starlink. The system is far from complete with tens of thousands more satellites still to to be launched into orbit before all is said and done with. In the meantime, Starlink may not be as fast as fiber. But the more satellites go into orbit, the faster internet connections will get. Eventually every square inch of the entire planet will be covered by broadband low latency internet access measuring in the multi gigabits.

For the past several days, I've been seeing the articulated Laker Line buses stopping at the stations up and down Lake Michigan Dr. I assume the drivers assigned to the route are currently being trained. I absolutely love the looks of the busses. Kind makes it seem like little ol' Grand Rapids has finally put on its big city pants.

I live in the Westside area a few blocks from Stocking Elementary School.. Fall of last year I signed up for AT&T's fiber service as soon as it was available in my area. 1 gig up and down for 70 bucks per month. In addition Comcast decided that their stupid monthly data caps were more important than getting my money. So after nearly 7 years with being on Comcast's not so reliable service I was very happy to tell them were they can shove their equipment and then give them the atomic middle finger. Been very happy with my new fiber internet service since.

As of yesterday, the Alpine Meijer has received the new automated checkouts in the new one way labyrinth design on the grocery end. Also the newly renovated Alcaholic beverage section is complete and operational. The area looks very nice. It features some fairly high end looking shelving and displays and a help counter complete with its own cash register. At the front of the store between the south staircase and the retail entrance are two new rooms. One is an open room accomadating electric mobility scooters and their chargers. The other room accomadating metal shelving is small storage area accessible by a door.

Yesterday I was at the Alpine Meijer. The south end automated checkout lanes are pretty much complete. The cue line is directed to 8 checkout machines by a one way labyrinth lined with display shelves that have yet to be stocked. The machines themselves are surrounded by a 4 foot high partition. The exit from the new automated checkouts is via an 8 foot wide opening with a cashier placed behind a podium to supervise the machines and help customers. I hope the automated checkouts at the north end are redone in a similar way as the new configuration should put an end to the anoying log jam of people waiting in line and make things flow more smoothly in the surrounding area. Just off the south end of the new automated checkouts is an "L" shaped knee wall defining a new cart corral area. The wall itself is complete. However the flooring in the area is still a work in progress. Though I did not go to the grovery end of the store this time, I did get a glimpse of new alchaholic section from a distance. It appears a new wooden grid with spot lights attached all over has been suspended from the ceiling about 12-15 feet above the alcoholic section. I'll see about getting a closer look next time I do a meijer run.

My fiancee and I participated in today's protest. We got a chance to see many of the artworks painted on the boards. I do agree that the art needs to be preserved. Things are moving and shaking in ways not seen since the 1960s. The artwork is very much a part of history in the making. They do need to be preserved so it helps future generation learn about the movement and what it stands for and why this movement came to be.

Was at the Alpine Meijer a couple of days ago. Two major things to report. First off, the new Akcaholic Beverage section seems to be nearly complete. New coolers have been installed on the north end of the area. The cooler is arranged perpendicular to the rest of the grocery aisles. The entire area which is about 4 aisles wide is completely enclosed from the rest of the store and will be accessible via a gateway that can be closed off by a retractable barrier. Not sure why this is so as the Alpine Meijer is the first meijer to have an enclosed alcoholic section. Secondly the reconfiguration of the checkout lanes is progressing. Some shelving has appeared around the new lanes. Oh and one last thing. Bottle Return has been reopened. However, due to the ongoing COVID19 pandemic, there is a limited capacity of 10 people at any given time. An employee is monitoring the entrance to maintain the capacity limit. Inside plexiglass panels have been installed between each bottle return machine, a COVID19 counter measure to help reduce viral spread.

I was at the Alpine Meijer yesterday. I noticed a structure made of metal studs the size of a coat closet appear on the east end of the trench dug into the floor.

Oooh wow do I remember doing up that Sketchup project!! I had a boatload of fun with that one. I still would love to see a signature project on that lot for real

I won't shed tears over Charlie's Crab closing. They were overly snobby. They turned away my brother and his wife because they did not like what they were wearing (average street clothes) and waaaaay over priced.

Looks like the exterior paint job at the Alpine store is complete. BTH,, I liked the previous paint job much better than what's there now. To me the building looks a bit drab. Maybe its fitting of the sad world we are living in right now. That's for another subject. Anyway, inside progress on the floor replacement has made it into the meat department and is making inroads in the produce department. Of note due to the revisions to the governor stay at home order, there are signs on the entrances stating that face masks are required in order to enter the building. Not much else to see since I was in a hurry. But it looks like work is just about done. Once the flooring has been fully replace I think that will call it raps for the Alpine Meijer's cosmetic renovation.

Maybe they need to add another patient tower to handle Covid19 patients.