TICTH the YouTube ad algorithm. I had the Praetorius Christmas Mass playing whilst I was washing up this morning, and I kept getting gambling ads. I couldn't skip them as my phone was safely out of reach of the sink.
TICTH the YouTube ad algorithm. I had the Praetorius Christmas Mass playing whilst I was washing up this morning, and I kept getting gambling ads. I couldn't skip them as my phone was safely out of reach of the sink.
So much for cunning plan. I've been waking quite late this week, so about 8.25 I dragged myself downstairs, and started ringing when the phone said it was 8.29. Message saying the phone would not be operational until 8.30, press 1 if urgent, 0 if to cancel appointment. Repeated once. Then switched immediately into busy signal, which was repeated when I disconnected and tried again.
I'll see how the Patient Access thing works.
I am consigning the branch of a well known high street chemist where I normally get my prescriptions which seems to be incapable of regularly getting in reliable staff. I today went in to see if they had my prescription which I am sure was for last week. No. They did not seem to have even ordered it. I know they were going to BUT it took me three efforts to get the assistant to get the right date. I assume that she went with the middle one which means it will be booked for sometime next week. If this did not seem to happen every other time I go to collect a prescription I would be more lenient on them.
We gave up on what I assume is the same well known high street chemist, as they seemed incapable, as you say, of finding reliable staff. Started using an independent chemist, much more reliable.
Royal Mail, Streatham. for the second time it has lost a parcel aimed at my neice. This time I have a signed for record from it's posting by me, but nothanaged to delivering else. Should have done tracked. They have managed South Wales - locked down, Gloucestershire, Oxford, Tenterden and Brighton - both tier 4, but South London has something wrong. And a nice turned wooden pot from the Faroes, and a set of knitted things from Sainsburys. And who knows what else from other people.
Does yours have an online patient portal? Mine does. I sign in, can order a refill and schedule it, see whether it's ready or not, etc. Plus I signed up for e-mail notification, so I get a heads up when it's ready, or if it's delayed. I can also be notified by phone or text.
TICTH the dozy bint who rear-ended my sister this afternoon and whose first words to her were not "are you OK?" but "do you know how much this f***ing car cost?"
I hope she doesn't try to weasel out of her responsibility like the lads who rear-ended me last year, who claimed it was my fault for stopping on a blind bend - so I didn't hit the very large John Deere tractor hauling a very large crop spraying device coming toward me. Are there witnesses? (Reminds self to reinstall rear facing camera. It doesn't half change the behaviour of cars behind me.)
I don't think there were witnesses, but I think the other driver will try and wriggle out of it.
I also consign to the Nether Regions the toerag who hacked my Facebook account, but say a heartfelt thank you to the Shippies who are FB friends who warned me about it.
Password changed again - do these hackers think I have infinite space in my address book to write down new passwords?!?!?
It is a lovely sunny day, although rather cold, and I know it's Christmas Day and all that, but I have just gone to the fridge to get out the packet of two cooked chicken breasts as I decided I'd rather have one of those with veg today instead of the WFF Turkey dinner. So what do I find? Uncooked chicken breasts. I checked the shopping list which I keep in docs on computer and which I took to Tesco on Tuesday and it clearly said 'cooked'. So I suppose I might as well have the turkey dinner instead! The uncooked ones are now in the oven wrapped in foil, so no extra washin--up would be required, but that's nnot the point!
I shall take a copy of the shopping list next time I go and mention that I was a bit fed up about it, and they're very good, by always providing an Assisted Shop, but I shall ask would they please make sure the assistant is one who reads all the words. I suppose I'll just have to double-check the exact content of every item before I leave the shop ....
Ah, well! Excuse me if I heave a small sigh! And of course, if that's all I've got to worry about today, then I'm very lucky!:)
TICTH the YouTube ad algorithm. I had the Praetorius Christmas Mass playing whilst I was washing up this morning, and I kept getting gambling ads. I couldn't skip them as my phone was safely out of reach of the sink.
(Thanks for the recommendation Piglet.)
Have you tried installing a decent ad-blocker?
Alas this is the YouTube app on my phone. As I refuse to pay for the free version I have to endure them unless I can press skip at the correct time.
Password apps are a wonderful thing.
My parents and brother (both tier 4) had a fortune spent on them for special delivery food presents the other day.
TICTH the YouTube ad algorithm. I had the Praetorius Christmas Mass playing whilst I was washing up this morning, and I kept getting gambling ads. I couldn't skip them as my phone was safely out of reach of the sink.
(Thanks for the recommendation Piglet.)
Have you tried installing a decent ad-blocker?
Alas this is the YouTube app on my phone. As I refuse to pay for the free version I have to endure them unless I can press skip at the correct time. [...]
Tip: Do not use the YouTube app. On mobile, use a browser, e.g. Firefox, with the Adblock Plus add-on; that way, you can watch stuff without any ads. Works for me on my mobile (Android).
I don't think there were witnesses, but I think the other driver will try and wriggle out of it.
I also consign to the Nether Regions the toerag who hacked my Facebook account, but say a heartfelt thank you to the Shippies who are FB friends who warned me about it.
Password changed again - do these hackers think I have infinite space in my address book to write down new passwords?!?!?
Grrrr ...
If you’re rear-ended, it will almost always be regarded as the rear-ender’s fault. The Highway Code expects you to drive at a sufficient distance behind another driver that if they make an emergency stop you are able to stop safely behind them.
Running into the back of them is prima facie evidence of being too fast or too close. Virtually the only defence is that they reversed into you.
@BroJames is right. Having twice (in both cases, many years ago!) been guilty of rear-ending the car in front, I know whereof I speak (to my cost)...
A nasty little Scrote once rear-ended my Ford Cortina Mk I whilst My Old Dad was driving (I was not in the car). Scrote refused to co-operate, so we took him to the Small Claims Court, and won.
My sister got rear-ended once by a cable car in San Francisco. The same rules apply. (They only go about 9 mph, but there's a lot of momentum in one of those things.)
I was rather sorry for the guys who rear-ended me. Young enough to have expensive insurance, driving a courtesy car from the garage where one of them worked, and not too close or too fast, really. The emergency stop was just not short enough. They had been too close before the junction we had gone through, but had no reason to suppose I would have suddenly become stationary. They would have had a problem with the monster had I not been there. It was wider than the part of the road it was using. And I know myself there was a delay in interpreting the situation - very small, but who expects a heap of green filling up a road that is supposed to have two lanes width?
They did offer to do the work themselves, but as it turned out to be a write-off, that would not have been a good idea.
TICTH the red tape I am going to have to go through getting my brother signed up for disability. I am probably going to have to get a lawyer for this, and pay for it. But he has no income at all, and is very obviously disabled, you would think that would be enough, but no, he's supposed to apply for it himself, which he can't do because he's f-ing disabled.
Motor manufacturers (yes you, F*rd) who provide a wheel nut spanner so cheap it splits when you try to use it 👹
I got a call from our lodger (formerly known as the Unexpected Guest) to say he'd picked up a puncture and the provided equipment for changing the tyre had failed. Cue self setting off to help in the cold armed with multi-head wheel-brace which did the job. The original manufacturer supplied item had split! Journey back via garage to get tyre fixed and ask them to order a proper replacement spanner.
TICTH all the fuckers with idiotic fireworks that basically just go 'boom' and shake the house. This is not about beauty, this is not about celebrating the end of a year, or the beginning of a new year. This is just a cheap excuse to make a helluva lot of noise, and create a real public danger with all their incendiary devices, such as risking damage to life and limb and other people's and public property.
I may have to call the cops. Who will be rather busy anyway. Bastid bangers!
TICTH the red tape I am going to have to go through getting my brother signed up for disability. I am probably going to have to get a lawyer for this, and pay for it. But he has no income at all, and is very obviously disabled, you would think that would be enough, but no, he's supposed to apply for it himself, which he can't do because he's f-ing disabled.
You have all my sympathy! We had the same hoo ha when income revenue wanted my stepmom to do her tax returns in spite of having dementia. I forget how that worked out now. Are there any charities in the local area you could approach for advice? They can sometimes point to organisations that can send someone to help (or at least that has worked for people I know in the UK.)
Update on this, supposedly the Medicaid person at the rehab is going to take him through the process. I have to call at some point this week and check on the progress.
We had to go to the home of a developmentally disabled guy during the first lockdown to be there for the phone call from the disability certification people, which of course they expected him to handle himself (::frustration::). In English, what's more. We put the phone on speakerphone, and the woman asked a question ("What's your SSN?") and almost hung up because he didn't answer her. It took me saying in a very loud voice, "Hold on, HE CAN'T ANSWER YOU, he's disabled!" before they developed some common sense and let his mother (Also with no English!) answer for him. After a mad flurry of effort to get a Vietnamese interpreter on a conference call. Meh.
And Mr. Lamb sitting right there all along, a professional interpreter, large as life.
TICTH staphylococcus aureus. The little bugs are trying to give me hell with cellulitis in my legs for the third time. Hopefully this time I have started treament in time to avoid the major problems of the two previous infections.
Sky have locked my account and email accounts. Trying to unlock them involves going round and round in circles with this b***** automated woman who doesn't understand my answers and thinks my TV is not working. Yet the info sky gives for unlocking is ring this number, and speak to the automated woman................ Grrrr.
I get the feeling that this is de ja vous all over again but I am so over mistakes in take away orders. Full service restaurants or drive throughs- it doesn't matter. They want to have people patronize their struggling businesses yet 90% of my orders have some mistake in them. I'm not even exaggerating. Jeez! I don't want to seem like a Karen, but is it too much to ask that I get what I ordered? Or that I don't need to sit in the parking lot to open my bags to double check before I drive home?
I get the feeling that this is de ja vous all over again but I am so over mistakes in take away orders. Full service restaurants or drive throughs- it doesn't matter. They want to have people patronize their struggling businesses yet 90% of my orders have some mistake in them. I'm not even exaggerating. Jeez! I don't want to seem like a Karen, but is it too much to ask that I get what I ordered? Or that I don't need to sit in the parking lot to open my bags to double check before I drive home?
Or, as I just did, spend 15 minutes in one lane waiting to be attended to while the other lane whizzes by, and the guy behind me is getting VERY AGGRESSIVE with his big, big truck.
Meanwhile, my inquiries are met with: "One moment."
I'm thinking of going elsewhere. Trouble is, the other places are equally crappy in different ways.
TICTH staphylococcus aureus. The little bugs are trying to give me hell with cellulitis in my legs for the third time. Hopefully this time I have started treatment in time to avoid the major problems of the two previous infections.
My sympathy to you, Ex_O. I finally got a doctor to understand just how horrible that is when he got it himself, giving me a little malicious pleasure... Fast treatment is the best thing you can do for it.
These big organisations can be utterly maddening. Sometimes in the past when going round and round in circles, it has helped me to find a UK address and send a snail mail rant. This usually provokes a human response & someone to communicate with at last.
Thanks for all Shippies' help. Last night I turned my computer off completely. I came this morning armed with IP addresses, advice etc. and grimly determined to get somewhere and found everything absolutely fine! Isn't techie life amazing!!!
TICTH my insurance company, which has decided in its infinite wisdom that my physical therapy visits should be capped at 20 a year, regardless of medical necessity. Assholes.
(To get the full flavor, you might want to consider that I dislocate/sprain/sublux something about once every six weeks or so, AND the normal recommendation is 2 to 3 visits a week.)
The small Imp, or Daemon, that lives inside one's PC or laptop does, I suppose, sometimes get tired and/or crotchety, and in need of a kip.
Many, many moons ago, long before the Internet had come to dominate my life, I had a desktop AppleMac. After about 2 years it died. I took it to be looked and was told that the internal battery (like half an AA battery and non-rechargeable!) had run out. New battery - computer returned to life. After that I knew what to do and would go to Tandy's when needed and buy a battery. Annoying but, ultimately, seemples!
The small Imp, or Daemon, that lives inside one's PC or laptop does, I suppose, sometimes get tired and/or crotchety, and in need of a kip.
Many, many moons ago, long before the Internet had come to dominate my life, I had a desktop AppleMac. After about 2 years it died. I took it to be looked and was told that the internal battery (like half an AA battery and non-rechargeable!) had run out. New battery - computer returned to life. After that I knew what to do and would go to Tandy's when needed and buy a battery. Annoying but, ultimately, seemples!
Ooh, Tandy’s, as I read that I immediately smelt the shop, sort of slightly burnt plasticky kind of smell - a real blast from the past!
@Thomasina Yes, techie life can be bizarre, but hurrah for your happy ending! @Lamb Chopped I add my curses at your insurance company's behaviour.... Grrrrrrr!
How I liked Tandy's. And Maplin. Who is providing the services they did?
eBay?
Seriously - a lot of traders sell on eBay exclusively (no shop, lower overheads etc. etc.), and, if you use eBay today you will note that most items are *Buy It Now*, with none of that auction nonsense!
Granted, you may not get the personal advice you'd get from a RL shop, but if you know what you're looking for, it's a good place to start.
(I speak only as a satisfied user of Mr E Bay's Magic Electric Interweb Emporium, but, as usual, caveat emptor - let the buyer beware...)
It's not just the advice, it's the wandering round the shelves finding things that I didn't know I needed until I saw them, or things that fulfilled a need that I knew I had but did not know there was anything around to do the job. Can't do that on ebay. (And I never do auctions now. What, never? - Hardly ever - got something the other week which had had no bids because I was the only person who wanted it!)
I hope all the Tandy/Maplin staff are out there somewhere doing things which use their skills, but finding them isn't easy. (It used to be little shops run by men who had been in R.E.M.E.* for National Service.) I suspect some bought up stock at closing down and have marketed it on ebay, but that only works if you know what you want.
*Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers
Comments
(Thanks for the recommendation Piglet.)
Have you tried installing a decent ad-blocker?
I'll see how the Patient Access thing works.
MMM
Does yours have an online patient portal? Mine does. I sign in, can order a refill and schedule it, see whether it's ready or not, etc. Plus I signed up for e-mail notification, so I get a heads up when it's ready, or if it's delayed. I can also be notified by phone or text.
FWIW, YMMV.
I also consign to the Nether Regions the toerag who hacked my Facebook account, but say a heartfelt thank you to the Shippies who are FB friends who warned me about it.
Password changed again - do these hackers think I have infinite space in my address book to write down new passwords?!?!?
Grrrr ...
I shall take a copy of the shopping list next time I go and mention that I was a bit fed up about it, and they're very good, by always providing an Assisted Shop, but I shall ask would they please make sure the assistant is one who reads all the words. I suppose I'll just have to double-check the exact content of every item before I leave the shop ....
Ah, well! Excuse me if I heave a small sigh! And of course, if that's all I've got to worry about today, then I'm very lucky!:)
Alas this is the YouTube app on my phone. As I refuse to pay for the free version I have to endure them unless I can press skip at the correct time.
Password apps are a wonderful thing.
My parents and brother (both tier 4) had a fortune spent on them for special delivery food presents the other day.
Tip: Do not use the YouTube app. On mobile, use a browser, e.g. Firefox, with the Adblock Plus add-on; that way, you can watch stuff without any ads. Works for me on my mobile (Android).
If you’re rear-ended, it will almost always be regarded as the rear-ender’s fault. The Highway Code expects you to drive at a sufficient distance behind another driver that if they make an emergency stop you are able to stop safely behind them.
Running into the back of them is prima facie evidence of being too fast or too close. Virtually the only defence is that they reversed into you.
A nasty little Scrote once rear-ended my Ford Cortina Mk I whilst My Old Dad was driving (I was not in the car). Scrote refused to co-operate, so we took him to the Small Claims Court, and won.
They did offer to do the work themselves, but as it turned out to be a write-off, that would not have been a good idea.
I got a call from our lodger (formerly known as the Unexpected Guest) to say he'd picked up a puncture and the provided equipment for changing the tyre had failed. Cue self setting off to help in the cold armed with multi-head wheel-brace which did the job. The original manufacturer supplied item had split! Journey back via garage to get tyre fixed and ask them to order a proper replacement spanner.
Now warming up with a dram in front of the AGA,
I may have to call the cops. Who will be rather busy anyway. Bastid bangers!
You have all my sympathy! We had the same hoo ha when income revenue wanted my stepmom to do her tax returns in spite of having dementia. I forget how that worked out now. Are there any charities in the local area you could approach for advice? They can sometimes point to organisations that can send someone to help (or at least that has worked for people I know in the UK.)
We had to go to the home of a developmentally disabled guy during the first lockdown to be there for the phone call from the disability certification people, which of course they expected him to handle himself (::frustration::). In English, what's more. We put the phone on speakerphone, and the woman asked a question ("What's your SSN?") and almost hung up because he didn't answer her. It took me saying in a very loud voice, "Hold on, HE CAN'T ANSWER YOU, he's disabled!" before they developed some common sense and let his mother (Also with no English!) answer for him. After a mad flurry of effort to get a Vietnamese interpreter on a conference call. Meh.
And Mr. Lamb sitting right there all along, a professional interpreter, large as life.
@Ex_Organist I hope your early intervention makes a difference...
Swearing can, too.
Or, as I just did, spend 15 minutes in one lane waiting to be attended to while the other lane whizzes by, and the guy behind me is getting VERY AGGRESSIVE with his big, big truck.
Meanwhile, my inquiries are met with: "One moment."
I'm thinking of going elsewhere. Trouble is, the other places are equally crappy in different ways.
My sympathy to you, Ex_O. I finally got a doctor to understand just how horrible that is when he got it himself, giving me a little malicious pleasure... Fast treatment is the best thing you can do for it.
These big organisations can be utterly maddening. Sometimes in the past when going round and round in circles, it has helped me to find a UK address and send a snail mail rant. This usually provokes a human response & someone to communicate with at last.
Ah, the old "turn it off and turn it on again" ploy!
The small Imp, or Daemon, that lives inside one's PC or laptop does, I suppose, sometimes get tired and/or crotchety, and in need of a kip.
(To get the full flavor, you might want to consider that I dislocate/sprain/sublux something about once every six weeks or so, AND the normal recommendation is 2 to 3 visits a week.)
Ooh, Tandy’s, as I read that I immediately smelt the shop, sort of slightly burnt plasticky kind of smell - a real blast from the past!
@Lamb Chopped I add my curses at your insurance company's behaviour.... Grrrrrrr!
We used to refer to that as 'the IBM solution' but there is a posher phrase - 'the I-O toggle'.
eBay?
Seriously - a lot of traders sell on eBay exclusively (no shop, lower overheads etc. etc.), and, if you use eBay today you will note that most items are *Buy It Now*, with none of that auction nonsense!
Granted, you may not get the personal advice you'd get from a RL shop, but if you know what you're looking for, it's a good place to start.
(I speak only as a satisfied user of Mr E Bay's Magic Electric Interweb Emporium, but, as usual, caveat emptor - let the buyer beware...)
Actually, I think I meant Maplin ... though I've used both. Did Maplin swallow up Tandy?
The premises now sell Persian rugs...(or did - I presume they're not counted as essential).
I hope all the Tandy/Maplin staff are out there somewhere doing things which use their skills, but finding them isn't easy. (It used to be little shops run by men who had been in R.E.M.E.* for National Service.) I suspect some bought up stock at closing down and have marketed it on ebay, but that only works if you know what you want.
*Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers