Anger, Faith, and Growth | andyblumenthal
Walmart Store Is Where We Go
This is the store where I bought my shirt, my shorts, my socks, my shoes, that I'm wearing right now. This is the store where I got my cell phone. This is the store that the people help me check out when stuff doesn't scan correctly and they type in the right serial number on the cat water fountain I bought last week. And this is the store where I get a refreshing drink at the Subway and they always have a kind word for me. This is the store where I bought my bananas and the girl working there was so green she didn't know that green was green and ripe is yellow. This is the store where General Tso's chicken is made fresh right there and the deli dude serves it with a smile. This is the store where the lady in the bakery always helped me find the cherry pie when I can't see it right away. And never minds helping a not so young guy. This is the store that the two dudes in electronics are always helpful finding whatever gadget I need. And this is the store where people who are on break always help me find whatever I'm looking for including a cat water fountain.
I was there just a few days ago and needed help finding some eye supplement and I asked a man behind the doors near the pharmacy and he promptly came out and found exactly what I needed and then proceeded to help someone else find their items.
God bless those wonderful workers at Walmart. They are my friends and Neighbors. My heart is broken for them.
How can someone go in there and hurt people? How… how… WHY? My Beavercreek Walmart.
— David Bogrees
The Death Of Surplus
I thought the surplus electronics market in Dallas was a byproduct of local manufacturing, after all we have some heavy hitters in our back yard: Texas Instruments, Maxim (Dallas Semiconductor), ST Micro (at one time), Diodes Incorporated. If we widen our radius to include Austin (3 hours down the road) we can make a much more impressive list by including: National Instruments, Freescale Semiconductor, better yet I'll just insert the graphic I'm pulling data from right here:
Texas Electronics Map Source: Texas.Gov Granted, not all of these are companies that manufacture silicon, or even have manufacturing facilities here in Texas. That doesn't necessarily matter for surplus to exist. Back to my point of where surplus originated. While I wasn't completely wrong (these companies certainly have helped contribute to the surplus electronics market) the beginnings of surplus storefronts date back to World War II. Did anyone see that coming? Neither did I. However it does make sense, the US government would have had a large stock of "stuff" to get rid of at the end of the war.
Enter the sale of government surplus all over the nation, usually near air force bases. So this is how the more generalized concept of a surplus shop came to be in existence; mix in the domestic manufacturing of electronics in the 1970's and we have electronics surplus shops aplenty.
My First Hand ExperienceI didn't really appreciate how valuable my local electronics shop was until watching Beers in Bunnie's Workshop – Workshop Video #36. If you haven't seen the video you only need to know that [Ian] of Dangerous Prototypes and [bunnie] of Andrew [bunnie] Huang are standing in [bunnie]s work-space in Singapore drinking beer and talking about the lab that is [bunnie]s life. You with me now? Okay, there is a point in the video where the two discuss the ability to run down the street and buy a connector as something only available in Singapore or Shenzhen. Let me briefly pause here to clarify that I'm not comparing my local electronics shop to the Shenzhen market or Sim Lim Tower in Singapore, only stating that I too can hold parts in-hand before purchasing them. I'm also not [brandon] of Dangerous Prototypes or Andrew [brandon] Huang, clearly.
I do however have an electronics selection at my disposal that is unmatched until you get to the west coast shops. I went on a bit of an adventure with the owner [Jim Tanner] of my local shop [Tanner Electronics] to take some pictures of the retail floor and a few behind the scenes (warehouse) shots that you can check out after the break.
Storefront Panorama One of the Last Remaining Tanner Electronics is one of only 3 surplus electronics shops that are still operating in Dallas. However, in the mid to late '70s there were quite a few:
Another one that was quite popular was Charlie Wilson's 15¢/lb surplus pile. I wasn't aware that this type of thing was going on in Dallas, but it was exactly as it sounds. Charlie Wilson would rent a big truck, load it up with surplus electronics and dump it in a parking lot for customers to sift thru and pay by the pound.
There is also a sidewalk sale that still exists in Dallas and has been around since the early 70s. Every 1st Saturday of the month vendors meet in Downtown Dallas to sell what started out as ham gear in the early days but has devolved to a wide variety of items that you might see at a flea market. The majority of the vendors are selling electronics, but the errant perfume stand or name brand knock-off clothing peddler can be seen as well. The vendors start to set up their booths as early as 9pm the Friday before and will remain open until 2pm Saturday. I've made more than one trip downtown in the middle of the night. The most memorable was the time I went for a backup server and it started raining as I was carrying it to the car. So now it's 4am and I'm running thru downtown Dallas with a 2U Dell PowerEdge (okay maybe it wasn't a stride that was visually pleasing, but it was all the effort I could make with a machine that size in-tow). Yeah, you can buy a server at 4am under a bridge in Dallas no problem, given it's the 1st Saturday of the month and you have cash money.
Shopping Surplus
[Jim Tanner] in his warehouse trolling everyone that has ever asked for SMD parts, to which he always responds: "We don't have ANY surface mount parts."Walking into one of these shops is very different from ordering parts online, as we all have become accustomed to. They are surplus shops, they only have surplus items for sale. What does that mean? That means you can buy any number of items that may not be available next time you come in the shop. In fact you could buy a motor or motor assembly and never be able to find one of them again. There's a chance you might not ever find data on the motor either, I know what you're thinking: "My Google-Fu is strong. I find parts and data no one else can." Yep, I thought the same thing but the fact of the matter is that some of these parts are custom made for specific designs and even calling the manufacturer yields no data.
However, this system creates an advantage of equal magnitude. Surplus shops get parts and assemblies for extremely reduced prices which means we can buy them from the shop for orders of magnitude less than others are asking for the same item.
Texas Instruments also had regular auctions where you could pick up anything from components to motor assemblies to test equipment. The only thing you couldn't find at these auctions was anything branded "Texas Instruments".
Adapting to SurviveObviously the domestic manufacturing of electronics has moved from continent to continent a few times since the '70s. This puts shops that mainly dealt with surplus suppliers in grave danger of closing the doors. Things had to change as the surplus well dried up. Where you could previously only purchase values of resistors that had been sold to the shop as surplus, now you can buy any common value of resistor in a variety of power ratings as well as capacitors of common value in a variety of materials.
What started with filling in the resistor values to meet customer needs is now display cabinets and shelving dedicated to the hobbyists. Arduino and Raspberry Pi compatible bits and pieces can be found along with current issues of Makezine without looking too hard. However a keen eye will spot a row of boxes behind the microcontroller display marked "Z80A", "Z80B", "Z80 DMA", "Z80 PIO", "1 Meg D-RAM". Which is but a few rows before original 7400 series can be found, not to be confused with 74LS, or 74HC, or 74HCT, or ALS or 4000 series CMOS which can all be found behind the counter in through hole packages and sold by the each.
Talkin' Shop with the Old Timers
[Jim's] doomsday stash = one tube of every TTL IC he's ever come into contact with.As a college senior in Electronics Engineering I get exposed to quite a bit of information on a daily basis, most of it I don't commit to memory (my profs don't read this, do they?). But at [Tanner's] I am subjected to information from the old timers that is unparalleled. I'm not saying you should drop out and watch YouTube instead, but there is an education available thru shared experience that you won't find in a classroom. If you don't believe me go binge watch [Bil Herd] videos and tell me if it's the same as reading a textbook. Or if you have a million hours to spare fire up [Dave Jones]' YouTube channel and see how that compares to a circuits 101 course.
There is a reason the two aforementioned men have a nerd-cult following, they were around when you still had dataBOOKS and you couldn't answer obscure questions with a quick "Okay Google…". I only mention them because you're sure to know who they are, but rest assured there are people of similar caliber near you. These veterans have committed an enormous amount of information to memory and its a resource we lost when the storefronts closed.
Surplus stores are fading away. But the biggest loss isn't the availability of inventory, it's the loss of culture. If you don't know already where to find them in your area, start by looking for the local ham radio or retro computing club. If you can stoke the local talent in you area, sit them down and explore their cache memory after asking them: "Hey, what's a curve tracer?". Believe me, you're in for a conversation you won't soon forget.
What Stores Are Open, Closed Thanksgiving Day 2023?
If you're planning to shop before or after you eat this Thanksgiving, you're in luck. Some retailers will keep their doors open on Thursday, Nov. 23. This includes some big-name stores, like Whole Foods Market, which will remain open with holiday hours at most locations.
MORE: Restaurants open on Thanksgiving Day this year
Not every store will be open, however. Target has made a permanent decision to keep their doors closed on Thanksgiving. Walmart will also be closed. Here's what we know about store hours on Thanksgiving Day 2023.
Stores Open On Thanksgiving 2023 Big Lots - OpenBig Lots will be open Thanksgiving Day from 7 a.M. To 9 p.M. And will offer one-day deals, including 50% off toys.
CVS - OpenMost stores will be open, but make sure to check with your local store to confirm.
Dollar General - OpenThe discount store will be open with extended hours on Thanksgiving from 7 a.M. To 10 p.M. Local time.
HEB - OpenStores will be open with limited hours from 6 a.M. To 12 p.M. On Thanksgiving.
Kroger - OpenKroger, Fred Meyer, Ralphs and its other subsidiaries will remain open until 5 p.M. Local time on Thanksgiving Day. Pharmacies will be closed for the Thanksgiving holiday.
Sprouts Farmers Market - OpenThe grocery store will be open on Thanksgiving 2023 but will close early at 2 p.M. Local time.
Starbucks - OpenMost locations will be open, but store hours will vary by location.
Wegmans - OpenThe market will be open until 4 p.M. Local time on Thanksgiving Day.
Whole Foods - OpenAll stores with be open on Thanksgiving Day with modified store hours. Check your local store location for hours.
ACME Markets - OpenACME Markets will be open on Thanksgiving, as well as Black Friday from 8 a.M. To 4 p.M.
MORE: The best Black Friday deals under $100 from Amazon, Walmart and more
Stores Closed On Thanksgiving Best Buy - ClosedThough closed on Thanksgiving, the consumer electronics retailer has extended store hours during the holiday shopping season, open from 9 a.M. To 9 p.M. Monday through Saturday and 9 a.M. To 8 p.M. Sunday.
BJ's Wholesale Club - ClosedThe company will continue its tradition of closing on Thanksgiving Day.
Costco - ClosedAll locations will be closed on Thanksgiving.
Dick's Sporting Goods - ClosedThe retailer will close all stores on Thanksgiving Day, and most locations will be open 6 a.M. Local time on Black Friday.
Home Depot - ClosedThe home improvement retailer is closed on Thanksgiving and reopens for Black Friday, with store hours depending on location.
Kohl's - ClosedKohl's will be closed on Thanksgiving 2023 and will reopen at 5 a.M. Local time on Black Friday.
Macy's - ClosedMacy's stores will be closed on Thanksgiving Day.
Target - ClosedAll Target stores will be closed on Thanksgiving Day, with most stores reopening at 7 a.M. Local time on Black Friday.
Trader Joe's - ClosedTrader Joe's stores are closed nationwide on Thanksgiving, along with Christmas Day and New Year's Day.
Walgreens - ClosedWalgreens will close its doors on Thanksgiving 2023 for the first time in its company history.
Walmart - ClosedFor the fourth year in a row, Walmart stores will remain closed on Thanksgiving.
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