The Adult Kid lives in that town as well...near the Virginia. She hasn't mentioned anything about their power, so I assume she and her boyfriend are good.
My power has been out for almost 6 hours. The houses on the other side of the street are fine. This sucks.
Get solar. That way when the power goes out, you still lose power and you get to additionally rage about the overreaching megacorporations that prevent you from using your own power even when you're generating it.
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Back at the airport. Heading to Seattle.
Wow, what a day!
Holy crap. I just got a text from Ameren saying that they got my power back on. 10 1/2 hours early. And I can see my smart thermostat in the app, so it probably is. I am surprised and happy.
And that's why they do it. Whether it's Verizon, AT&T, or PG&E (our local power company), when the finally give you a fix estimate it's their absolute worst-case scenario. Which makes perfect sense -- enraged customers don't call in and complain if the power's back early.
My "favorite" example was when PG&E estimated our outage after a windstorm at 3 days, so I actually went into the studio shed, got out the generator, unpacked it, started reading the instructions and figuring out what I'd need (turns out they ship it without oil and I only have a supply of 5W-30 for the Prius), and by the time I was ready to walk to the store and get oil the power came back on.
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Watching the monthly, "Now Amazon orders its workers to relocate to xxx," continues to make me pat myself on the back for dodging that bullet. No amount of pay would be worth the crap their employees have to put up with.
Holy crap. I just got a text from Ameren saying that they got my power back on. 10 1/2 hours early. And I can see my smart thermostat in the app, so it probably is. I am surprised and happy.
The ancient art of exaggerating work time to look better when you finally finish it!
Watching the monthly, "Now Amazon orders its workers to relocate to xxx," continues to make me pat myself on the back for dodging that bullet. No amount of pay would be worth the crap their employees have to put up with.
Eh, eating is overrated anyway...
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So this morning, I had my first annual checkup since turning fifty. Here is how it started...
Nurse Cathy, looking at my charts while doing my intake:
"So today we're going to give you the shingles vaccine. You're due for your next colonoscopy or cologuard, which do you prefer? Do you have advanced directives or a living will? I see you haven't had a pap smear or a mammogram in 3 years. Your height is 5' 6 1/2"."
Me: "No it isn't, I'm 5'7". Almost 5'8"."
Nurse Cathy: "Not anymore. Welcome to your fabulous fifties."
F***. Me. To. H***.
Watching the monthly, "Now Amazon orders its workers to relocate to xxx," continues to make me pat myself on the back for dodging that bullet. No amount of pay would be worth the crap their employees have to put up with.Eh, eating is overrated anyway...
It's not the low-end delivery drivers or warehouse workers they're screwing (they're already all pretty much "as screwed as possible"). These are the tech workers who can (and should) walk to greener pastures.
It used to be that (as my former boss put it), "If they're breathing and they can spell their name right, we'll give them an interview."
Times shifted and tech work dried up. Then it boomed again, and now it's pretty bad. But...
...that's because a bunch of hucksters have convinced execs that AI is going to replace all these expensive white-collar workers within the next 5 years, so they're overcompensating with layoffs.
Once they see what AI can actually do right now, there's going to be another hiring boom.
Nioh 3 comes out the next year...
And it will have actual jumping?!
I love this one:
California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) Final Notice: Enforcement Begins June 21. Our records show that as of today, you still have an outstanding traffic ticket. Pursuant to California Administrative Code 15C-16.003, if you fail to pay by June 20, 2025, we will take the following actions:
1. Report to the DMV violation database
2. Suspend your vehicle registration effective June 20
3. Suspend driving privileges for 30 days
4. Go to the toll booth to pay a 35% service fee
5. You may be prosecuted and your credit score will be affected
Pay Now:https://dmv-ca. govgod.top/pay
Please pay now, before enforcement, to avoid a license suspension and further legal trouble. (Reply Y and reopen this message to click the link, or copy it to your browser.)
It is so mind-bogglingly bad, your mind shudders that people fall for this. Impus Major's favorite part was govgod: your government is your god, which is the only reason I included the full URL. DON'T USE IT. I broke it intentionally, just in case. Otherwise it's verbatim.
And Shiro put it depressingly well: People who might catch on aren't worth the time, so you need to make the come-on so horrible that only the truly gullible will bother at all, saving you tons of time come the harvest.
EDIT: And yes, if you try to look up the nonexistent "California Administrative Code", you're immediately told, "This doesn't exist. It's a scam." So you really have to try hard to fall for this one. And the depressing thing about the Reddit thread is the number of people saying, "Yeah, I almost fell for this one!" Why would you willingly admit that?
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'Limey', I hear you ask, 'Have you been sweeping up eyes today?'
Well, how strange that you ask - why, yes, I have!
Have I got a part-time job as Igor?
Am I doing evening classes at Necromancer School?
Or did my stepson spill an entire packet of googly stick-on plastic peepers down the back of the couch?
Why the Archimedean method of teaching fails with my kids: : "So, other than the electrical wiring in the house, what else can carry a huge amount of current?"
"The kids."
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Apparently Uber is the same the world over.
GothBard set up a ride from her workplace to Heathrow (a 2-hour trip costing over $150) two days ago. The driver showed up 5 minutes early. She was ready, but still in her hotel room, so when he called she told him, "I'll be right down." He canceled her as a no-show.
To make things even more "fun", she re-booked with Uber and Uber sent him right back to pick her up. It's not just that it's going to be an extremely unpleasant ride with someone who obviously didn't want to do it, but a woman alone in a foreign country with a guy with obvious issues for the next 2 hours is pretty darned dangerous, thank you, Uber. (Not so much that GothBard is in danger from this guy -- she's in a country where guns are far less common, and I'm fairly sure she'd kick his a**. But she is a strong woman with years of martial arts training.) Uber should've flagged this guy as bad news the moment he canceled someone's ride before the appointment time.
I went to a random Lidl to check if they have a cheap blender - I saw one in another Lidl on Wednesday and now I decided to giver it a try.
When I was walking around with a box containing the blender and a small backpack that I considered purchasing (I will need something to carry books for games, and I could use something to comfortably carry liquids when going on longer walks), I was approached by a security guy who politely asked me to hide my knife - which coincidentally I purchased in my Lidl on Wednesday. I shrugged surprised, took it off belt and put it into pocket, and then he almost made me laugh when he asked if that's a tactical knife (no, it is a regular camping knife - and sold by Lidl right now), and if I carry knife for defense (no, I do not, I carry knives as tools which they are).
Ah, well, after some searching (not my Lidl, and because it clearly took over locale of another grocery chain, it is off when it comes to product placement) I found milk and went to the self checkout... Only for the machine to tell me that the product is blocked. I expected that because it is boxed device the assistant needs to check if customers aren't trying to carry something else inside the box.
Nope. The cashier came after a while and apologizing a lot said that the product blocked means she isn't able to sell it (likely the product was locked in the database, or maybe not properly added to the database).
*sigh*
I really started getting myself hyped for giving that blender a try...
No chance of UK Lidl selling knives of any description, dear me, no.
I’m pretty sure that Safeway has kitchen knives of low quality for sale.
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I don't think NobodysHome has mentioned it, so I will:
Today is his birthday!
Word of warning for those of us who are a little older, if your doctor recommends the Shingrix shingles vaccine, it can really beat the c**p out of you for a couple of days.
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I don't think NobodysHome has mentioned it, so I will:
Today is his birthday!
Damn you and your tattling ways!
Word of warning for those of us who are a little older, if your doctor recommends the Shingrix shingles vaccine, it can really beat the c**p out of you for a couple of days.
Can confirm.
I swear, if I hadn't experienced it in my own youth, the whole, "Well, we assumed that since you had a car you'd be doing all the driving for us. For free," thing would incense me.
Impus Minor's girlfriend is flying in for a remote visit, at which point there's a planned caravan to Santa Cruz to pick up the remaining group members who moved there (for some reason Santa Cruz is one of the top destinations for Albany grads).
Impus Major: Wait a minute! That's 9 people we're supposed to be bringing up from Santa Cruz! How are we going to fit all those people?
Friend: We're going to have two cars: One with 5 and one with 4.
IM: Who's driving the second car?
Friend: We thought you were.
So yeah, without so much as a "by-your-leave" to us or a, "Hey, Impus Major, check with your parents to make sure this is OK," they planned a massive all-day road trip with both of OUR cars with both of OUR kids driving.
I'm sorely tempted to put one of the cars in the shop just to be a butt about it.
But, they've been planning this trip for 6 months, so I will chastise, but not prevent them from going.
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Achievement unlocked: I have successfully given three separate medications to my dog. Turns out he shares my fondness for aged Irish cheddar, so all I have to do is squish the pills into cheese cubes.
TL:DR
(My dog got attacked by a neighbor's foster-dog while No-Longer-Teensy Valeros was walking him Thusday evening. Puncture wound from fang just behind right shoulder. Vet yesterday. Antibiotics, pain meds, anti-inflammatory med, plus medicated wipes to clean the wound twice a day.)
Yes, the neighbor Venmo'd me the entire cost of the vet bill without complaint immediately after I texted a copy of it to her. Which is good, because it was four hundred bucks.
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My dog would skillfully nibble the hotdog chunk away and leave the pill. I don’t remember if I tried cheese, though. It’s been a long time since I had a dog.
My dog would skillfully nibble the hotdog chunk away and leave the pill. I don’t remember if I tried cheese, though. It’s been a long time since I had a dog.
That's what our former dog used to do with bread, meat, and peanut butter. Never tried cheese with him because I had no idea that dogs like it until a few months ago.
THE CHEESE TAX
THE CHEESE TAX
Achievement unlocked: I have successfully given three separate medications to my dog. Turns out he shares my fondness for aged Irish cheddar, so all I have to do is squish the pills into cheese cubes.
TL:DR
(My dog got attacked by a neighbor's foster-dog while No-Longer-Teensy Valeros was walking him Thusday evening. Puncture wound from fang just behind right shoulder. Vet yesterday. Antibiotics, pain meds, anti-inflammatory med, plus medicated wipes to clean the wound twice a day.)
Yes, the neighbor Venmo'd me the entire cost of the vet bill without complaint immediately after I texted a copy of it to her. Which is good, because it was four hundred bucks.
Rabies check? Or everyone's been vaccinated?
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Flappy Chirpday, NH! I hope you got a bunch of useless knick-knacks and clutter. I know how much you love those.I don't think NobodysHome has mentioned it, so I will:
Today is his birthday!
What a shame we can't Reply All to the post and ensure he's tagged in every single subsequent message.
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What a shame we can't Reply All to the post and ensure he's tagged in every single subsequent message.Flappy Chirpday, NH! I hope you got a bunch of useless knick-knacks and clutter. I know how much you love those.I don't think NobodysHome has mentioned it, so I will:
Today is his birthday!
Limey gets biscuits.
Rabies check? Or everyone's been vaccinated?Achievement unlocked: I have successfully given three separate medications to my dog. Turns out he shares my fondness for aged Irish cheddar, so all I have to do is squish the pills into cheese cubes.
TL:DR
(My dog got attacked by a neighbor's foster-dog while No-Longer-Teensy Valeros was walking him Thusday evening. Puncture wound from fang just behind right shoulder. Vet yesterday. Antibiotics, pain meds, anti-inflammatory med, plus medicated wipes to clean the wound twice a day.)
Yes, the neighbor Venmo'd me the entire cost of the vet bill without complaint immediately after I texted a copy of it to her. Which is good, because it was four hundred bucks.
Vaccinated.
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Today is game day!
And we just leveled up for today's session, so hello, Aura of Protection!
Can't believe I'm actually enjoying playing a paladin.
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Today is game day!
And we just leveled up for today's session, so hello, Aura of Protection!
Can't believe I'm actually enjoying playing a paladin.
Is that, "Without barreling over a gaggle of diseased commoners to get the healing they can't afford?"
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Uber Update: It's better and worse than I thought:
(1) No, GothBard did not have to ride with the same guy who ditched her.
(2) The new guy told her she should never make reservations for an Uber, and explained:
- Uber allows drivers to cancel after 3 minutes of waiting in the specified location, and then pays them a cancellation fee. The driver estimated that the other guy made about $50 by leaving without having to drive all the way out to Heathrow.
- Uber does not require the driver to be there at the appointed time; they can arrive a few minutes early and then leave.
- This has become a cottage industry for Uber drivers in the U.K.
So in summary, GothBard made a 5:30 pm reservation. The driver arrived at 5:25 pm, called her, then left at 5:28 pm. BEFORE THE RESERVATION TIME. He was paid some amount for this. GothBard was charged a $20 cancellation fee (which she appealed and they waived... ONCE). And, according to her second driver, this is standard practice for Uber drivers in the U.K. if you make reservations.
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That's so incredibly stupid.
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Uber Update: It's better and worse than I thought:
(1) No, GothBard did not have to ride with the same guy who ditched her.
(2) The new guy told her she should never make reservations for an Uber, and explained:
- Uber allows drivers to cancel after 3 minutes of waiting in the specified location, and then pays them a cancellation fee. The driver estimated that the other guy made about $50 by leaving without having to drive all the way out to Heathrow.
- Uber does not require the driver to be there at the appointed time; they can arrive a few minutes early and then leave.
- This has become a cottage industry for Uber drivers in the U.K.So in summary, GothBard made a 5:30 pm reservation. The driver arrived at 5:25 pm, called her, then left at 5:28 pm. BEFORE THE RESERVATION TIME. He was paid some amount for this. GothBard was charged a $20 cancellation fee (which she appealed and they waived... ONCE). And, according to her second driver, this is standard practice for Uber drivers in the U.K. if you make reservations.
I always considered Uber to be dodgy, but didn't know about that particular bit of sharp practice.
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It's almost like the gig economy is a slapdash bandaid over a broken system leaving desperate people behind in a world where the people in power don't benefit from fixing it.
Is that, "Without barreling over a gaggle of diseased commoners to get the healing they can't afford?"Today is game day!
And we just leveled up for today's session, so hello, Aura of Protection!
Can't believe I'm actually enjoying playing a paladin.
::blows raspberry::
Also, PM.