Blocking

We get two or three calls about four days a week from some kind of spam service.  It doesn't leave a message.  Well, I thought, since it always comes up as the same number, why not block it?

How about Because Verizon doesn't think it's worth providing this service in your area?

The Phone Company.  Still demonstrating Lily Tomlin / Ernestine's sincere regard for warm, friendly, effective customer service. 

Library Fun

Nothing douses the warm feelings that libraries give me faster than finding out that for a new book that I lost (actually, don't even remember getting, but they say I did, so I'll believe them) -

• costs $35,00, new, hardcover, from Amazon,  and 
• Amazon is selling it for $20.97, but 
• the library wants to charge me the full undiscounted cost,plus
• a fee to do it.  

They must have a lousy purchasing arrangement.....

Grievances

Is it so terribly wrong that I feel that the people popping out of the woodwork with complaints about actions taken more than a decade ago have foregone their right to expect my support?  There are modifiers to that, of course -- how many times did something happen?  How serious was each event?  Did you benefit from acquiescence? 

I. know that some would say Oh, so now you're blaming the victim?.  I'm not.  I do feel, though, that some of them are looking for a free pass. I doubt they're lying, but -- why, this late? I know their answer --  Well, we couldn't speak, no one would believe us then, now the climate is right. I hear that.  But I don't entirely buy it.


And yeah, my ire is motivated when I see this latest event, with Franken, motivating Trump the Chump cawing about Oh so now Franken is exposed, you guys, lets all castigate him, while the GOP and half the known universe did and does NOTHING to castigate him -- murmurs of disapproval, thats about all I've seen -- seeing that makes it worse. 

Gaming

I just learned that it is common now to buy a game that won't let you do all of the flashy things  - launch missiles, or use specialized skills, or something -- unless you 'level up' by either playing for what I consider an insanely long time, like dozens or hundreds of hours, or by paying real money to the vendor in order to play at the advanced level.  This after you have spent real money to get the damn game.

This is like learning to play chess and finding out that the knight won't jump until you fork over some cash first. Or the queen can only go half the board length in one move.   Why would anyone do this?  Why is it normal? 

There are mobile homes...

... and then there are Mobile Homes.

Observation

If I get a communication from some organization, and the communication includes a phrase like We're excited to announce..., the odds are very good that I won't be all that thrilled, and maybe even actively pissed.

Also, the Run for Something organization is... interesting.  Even if they do have a millenials only bias.  I just added them to my list of people to whom we'll regularly donate. The Anti-Trump resistance: it is fractured and squabbling, but it lives.