Storms lead to storming SCs!

[Teefies2]

So tonight around 7:30pm, a huge storm moved through our area. I'm talking raining sideways, lightening all over the place and the power was going off and coming back on. Finally, the power went out for good. It was weird, but only our side of the street lost power. Yay. :/

Of course, it's Friday night, we have lots of people in the store wanting "stuff". We're a pharmacy, so some of these people actually needed the "stuff" ... but those aren't the ones I'm posting about.

People that actually needed the "stuff" - like insulin for their diabetes, etc. - were cool when we told them we couldn't stay open. They said they understood and would be back when the power came back on. Those others though ..... mind you, it's pitch black in the store, lightening and thundering (raining sideways!) outside. Those people UGH

Me: I'm sorry but you'll have to leave, we are closing.
SCs: But I only need this one thing!
Me: I'm sorry, our registers are down.
SCs: I'll pay CASHHHH!!!!!!!!

Rinse lather repeat. I got to the point where I was telling people we couldn't open the registers without power. What was so important they MUST have it right now????


Beer, cigarettes, pregnancy tests Yes, that's correct boys and girls, beer, cigarettes and pregnancy tests.


You need beer or cigarettes? Go across the street where they actually HAVE power. Hate to lose the business, but I. Can. Not. Serve. You. Pregnancy test?? Really?? I'm pretty sure you'll still be either pregnant or not in the morning, come back then.

Power stayed off past our closing time. I had to lock the store without setting the alarm because there was no power to the alarm. Fortunately, about 1/2 hour later the power was restored and my SM was able to go to the store and set the alarm.

I don't have to be at work until 4pm tomorrow, I'm having a few

[EricKei]

Obligatory relevant video link.

I wish I could say I was surprised about people coming in for those absolute necessities like warm beer when the store was closed.

Sucks that folks couldn't get their meds (I really hope they didn't wait until they were out) -- but there was nothing you could do about that!

[Shyla]

I bet the pregnancy test person didn't sleep well that night but you're right. They'll still be able to take the test tomorrow. What I would hate the most is having to leave the building while it was raining sideways.

[catcul]

I may have said this before, but my sister told me something funny about the snowstorms when she lived in Alexandria, VA. When they called for snow, the busiest store in the strip mall was the liquor store.

"I don't need Snap, Crackle, and Pop. Give me Jim, Jack, and Jonnie."

[NorthernZel]

"I don't need Snap, Crackle, and Pop. Give me Jim, Jack, and Jonnie."

Hell yeah!

I remember our last "Big 'Ole Blackout" back in 2003/2004 (we don't experience that many power outages since most of our lines are underground), we simply hankered down in our community room that happened to have a big beer cooler, and we set the target to "drink all the beer before it gets warm". We succeeded

[Trixie]

A few years ago we were supposed to get a snowstorm on a Friday. It was bad enough that they were already closing schools the night before and a lot of people were already planning to take the day off. I don't think I even sold so much alcohol on just a normal weeknight. We're talking big bottles of wine and lots of hard stuff. And I'm sure someone here will take that joke and run with it.

[Nunavut Pants]

*lightning

"Lightening" is the process of becoming less dark. "Lightning" is the electric discharges in the sky.

(Sorry, leftovers from an argument an old CW and I had because SPELL CHECK CANNOT BE WRONG when in fact it was wrong.)

[wolfie]

The spell check wasn't wrong, it just ran up against one of its major limitations which makes it no substitute for proofreading. If the misspelling of the desired word happens to be the proper spelling of another legitimate word in the spell checker's dictionary, it won't be flagged as an error. In this case, "lightning" and "lightening" are both legitimate words, so a spell checker won't flag the use of the wrong one.

In this month's specials at Pilot/Flying J (chain of truck stops), the flyer page posted above the urinals in the men's washroom has a similar issue. One item on special is a "no tools" refrigerant containing UV dye (for leak detection) and leak sealer. The description on the flyer says that it seals leaks in houses. I think they meant "hoses", but "houses" is a legitimate word.

[Deserted]

If the misspelling of the desired word happens to be the proper spelling of another legitimate word in the spell checker's dictionary, it won't be flagged as an error. In this case, "lightning" and "lightening" are both legitimate words, so a spell checker won't flag the use of the wrong one.

There is something to be said for spelling-and-grammar checkers. I'm actually kinda interested in trying a certain supposedly-free product that advertises on Youtube, to see if it's as good as they claim.

[Nunavut Pants]

In this case, "lightning" and "lightening" are both legitimate words, so a spell checker won't flag the use of the wrong one.

The annoying part was that the dictionary used by that spell-checker Way Back When had actually left out "lightning". And co-worker was trying to insist that "lightening" was the correct spelling because spell-check said so...

[wolfie]

Even now, a large number of spell checkers have the incorrect spelling but not the correct spelling for some words. This isn't the case of a similarly-spelled word - what they have in their dictionary is just plain wrong. Just try to get a spell checker to not bitch when you type in "colour", and to flag it when it's misspelled as "color".

[Nunavut Pants]

That's a good point, but in some regions the version with the "u" is incorrect, and the version without is correct. It is obviously an American-centric viewpoint (my apologies for that, as an American and a software engineer!) but this example is at least completely correct in those locations.

My gripe was with an actual word that is correct throughout the English-reading world, but was flagged as wrong and a similar-spelled word that means something very different substituted in.

Anyway, sorry for derailing the thread with my own personal peeve.

[Deserted]

Just try to get a spell checker to not bitch when you type in "colour", and to flag it when it's misspelled as "color".

Just need to make sure you have the "English" dictionary installed, instead of the "American" one.

[wolfie]

I chose "Canadian English" as my dictionary. "Colour" is the correct spelling, but the spell checker insists otherwise.

[Deserted]

Can you edit the dictionary? At least, add and remove words on an individual basis? I aways have to add my last name to any new program I use. (Non-standard spelling. So non-standard that people generally pronounce it wrong. Never mind that the usual guess appears to be the correct pronunciation from 400 years ago...)

It might be worthwhile for you to just switch to the British English dictionary.