These puzzles and such are usually the last thing we share at the end of a post so you can spend some time on them. In the spirit of the season we’re just gonna toss this right up here first thing. We can discuss it in the comments if you need a little help or feel particularly good about yourself and want bragging rights. Either way. Click the image to view larger.

Facebook ads are often targeted based on things you have interacted with previously; by which I mean articles you’ve linked to or online searches, not things you have talked about… or thought about. It makes sense. If you are Googling microwaves you are probably thinking about buying a microwave so Facebook shows you ads for small appliances the next time you are on. Anyway… FB knows that I interact with church things; links to church websites, ads about conferences, that sort of thing. Facebook is vaguely aware that I’m “religious” but it is no expert on the specifics. There again, I believe FB is a commercial enterprise which is secular in nature and not trying to end religious freedom and expression in this country. The ad above was probably tagged with words like church and baptism and the FB algorithm thought “Clark likes those things, let’s show this ad to him.” I do not need to be baptized into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, however, so no thank you, I’ll just keep scrolling.

McDonald’s was a different place in the 70’s. It’s probably a good thing they don’t have a million styrofoam clam shell containers and ash trays on every table but they also lost the aesthetic of being a real restaurant where people want to sit down and enjoy a meal together. Also whatever this is:

Because at some point McDonald’s looked around and said “Starbucks is doing well. Let’s do that instead of what we’ve been doing.” Look at the shape and color palette of the modern locations and tell me they were not trying to look and feel like Starbucks. It’s very different from the red roofs and bright colors that attracted children back in the 70’s and 80’s. They made a 180 on their target demographic. I often lament that Pizza Hut was a unique experience but they decided to trade that in for an experience more like what Papa John’s and Dominoes were doing. “Standing out” is no longer considered a successful business model and I’m not sure why; but the trend has always kind of been there. Look at today’s crossover SUV’s. They all kind of look the same, at some level, if you can see past your brand preference or had none to start with maybe. 15 years ago I speculated everything was turning into a wagon. Now everything has turned into fat cars. Teresa’s current car, a 2009 Kia Sportage, looks like a traditional SUV, back when passenger car-like bodies were mounted on a small truck frame. Today’s Kia Sportage looks like a car crossed with a bloated tick, just like every other crossover on the market. Porsche, the people that built iconic sports cars like the 911, now build a crossover SUV, which is just code for fat car. But all the way back to the 50’s and 60’s if one car company did something that turned out to be popular then the next year all the car companies had something similar. As pickup trucks went from respectably sized to do the job at hand to who can build the largest grill they all did the same thing at the same time. In theory we should have more variety in consumer goods than ever before; but the analysts that predict consumer trends are really just closely following them. Anything innovative will be watched carefully. If it’s unpopular it will disappear and if popular then it will duplicated, by every other brand, in a very short period of time. Be yourself was a trend that has run its course.

File this under “You could, but will you?”

There is something wrong with this clock. It took me a minute, no pun intended. Actually I could not figure it out and went to the original post comments to look for clues. Fewer people rely on this style of clock and I believe those that designed/manufactured this didn’t take the time or care enough to think it through. Let me know what you come up with.

The thing about the Twitter account is true. Mike Edgette, shown above riding piggyback, figured it out in 2017. He not only received the painting but 52 $5 KFC gift cards, or a one year supply of free KFC. (You gotta think in pre-pandemic terms.) KFC still follows 11 people, I checked just this morning.

The Plymouth Voyager III was not just like every other minivan. It also never made it into production either. The idea is that you can have the best of both worlds. If you need a nimble run around vehicle the cabin separates and is powered by a *three cylinder engine. When you need to carry 11 passengers, just dock with the people-hauler complete with two rear axles and its own 4 cylinder engine in the rear. Tom Gale at Chrysler also gave us the Dodge Viper and Plymouth Prowler. There are no bad ideas, just some that make it into production and others that do not. This vehicle was developed in 1989 and unveiled in 1990. Interior images are hard to come by and I have been unable to determine if this prototype still exists. And if you’re wondering, yes, I like it.

*The Wikipedia entry says both halves were powered by their own 4 cylinder engine. Other sources I have read claim the front cabin was a 3-seater powered by a 3 cylinder engine designed to run on propane. When the fully assembled vehicle needed the power the two engines worked together to produce 225 horsepower.

I think that about does it for the deja vu this week. All other things being equal there should be a Monday morning post. The Georgia Bulldogs play Texas tonight. Win or lose I hope to see a good game; I’m just glad we don’t have to play Vandy this year!