Assumptions Gone Wrong

 My Tuesday is the first of 4 sequential days off.  Usually I rather enjoy having this many days off in a row, but the weather forecast for the next 4 days is not that good: high humidity with thunderstorms predicted for the afternoon.  High temps are forecast to be in the mid to upper 80s (F), but the chance of thunderboomers is going to limit the time I can use my drying rack outside.  

I had a nice long chat with Verizon yesterday because they processed my monthly autopay.  I'd canceled the service and returned the router over 2 weeks ago.  Well... it seems as though I only canceled my router, and not my FIOS internet.  They assumed I was going to be using my own router.  Don't you just love when it's okay for corporate America to make an assumption, but you the consumer simply cannot?  For them it is always a gray area, but for you and I it always black or white.

Before going to work yesterday, I got a very decent upper body workout complete.  Work, itself, was oh so boring... except for my first 15 minutes on the floor.  When I got to the store yesterday the parking lot was nearly empty and I assumed it was going to be slow.  Nope.  We had one aisle associate scheduled and I walked into the department and found 6 customers waiting.  Of course, when those customers were taken care of there was no one else for the next 4 and a half hours.  No one, except myself and the aisle associate.  Slow days are upon us.

And the cultists went into overdrive yesterday when Orangie's pet Attorney General made the statement that there was no Epstein client list.  "How can this be?!" they shrieked on Truth Social and Zitter.  After everything they'd been spoon-fed for years, Bondi had to be lying.  As several people said on Threads and Bluesky, "they are so close to getting it."  Sadly, I do believe that truth is always going to be just out of reach for them.  They are correct, however, in believe she and Kash Patel are lying.  Their dark little hearts are terrified that these lies have one singular purpose, covering up the fact that Orangie's name is practically synonymous with Epstein.  They both had a penchant for little girls.  Someone else brought up the fact that Orangie had bragged about walking through the dressing rooms of the Miss Teen USA Pageant when those young ladies where half dressed.  The truth is right in front of their eyes, but they would rather assume he's telling the truth rather than deal with the black and white of reality.

Falling Down

 Here in Central PA, our morning has started off fine.  We've got a nice 70 (F) temp for us and sunny skies.  An interesting bit about those sunny skies: I just got a notification that, according to Accuweather, rain is going to be ending soon.  Looking at the skies, I can see that far to the west, near Carlisle, it's very overcast, but here in our little neck of the woods we're all sunshine.

While my transition from Fios to T-Mobile internet had been seamless, yesterday there was a blip.  I had made an appointment to return my router, something they recommend, however when I got to the Verizon store there were 2 people ahead of me who had made no appointments and only one associate was working.  I ended up waiting 40 minutes to process a 3 minute transaction.  That was a bit aggravating.  If they send me an email asking for a review it will be bad.

Today is an anniversary for me.  Ten years ago I had serious back issues.  I was constantly falling down.  L4 an L5 had already fused, and L3 and L4 were in the process of fusing, and my spinal cord was awash in disc jelly. I had to sit on my butt to go open and down the stairs, and when downstairs I relied on a walker that I was crashing on a regular basis.  I was going to have surgery, a laminectomy, but my insurance refused.  So I switched to another specialist who told me to walk, walk, walk.  Ten years ago today was my first day back at work, and though I was using a cane, I was no longer falling down.  For some reason, this is the picture I posted to celebrate that event.

Two funny things:

First, I saw that Orangie's blow bro Vlad said rather tersely that Iran does not have any nuclear weapons. This is because Iran has based their authoritarian government on his and he considers them not only staunch allies, but besties as well.  I don't doubt for a second that this is why Orangie put his 2 week hold on bombing Tehran.  I'd say that Putin is not happy with his puppet.  I would have thought he'd have realized a long time ago that for Orangie ego is far more important than anything else in the world.  I suspect Benny Netanyahu is learning this as I type.

Secondly, and this is a real hoot, I saw that Pakistan has nominated Orangie for the Peace Prize.  Remember that for him everything is transactional so they have to believe he's going to be giving them something in return, like maybe lowering their tariffs.  I'm sure most countries in the world are wondering the same thing.  Sadly for them, he's a liar and a cheat, and no matter what he promised, it will not take effect until after that prize is in his dirty little hands, which will never happen.

Playing with Fire

 Can you believe Friday has arrived?  The end of the week.  Here in Central PA our outside temp is 71 (F).  That's warm.  Humidity is on the rise.  Normally this would be a bother, but with the humidity comes the rain.  There is abundant rain in our forecast for both tomorrow and Sunday, and both here in Central PA and down in Washington DC.

Yesterday was really productive.  My laser printer is working.  I did some rearranging of furniture in the writing room.  The aquarium in the living room was cleaned.  Lots of words were written.  I also got a decent workout done.  Overall, I will admit to being rather pleased.

I'm halfway through Expedition 33.  What at first seemed to be a standard story in which a villain needs to be eliminated has turned into the tragic story of the Descendre family and their inability to deal with grief.  Verso, the only son, was killed in a war and his mother (the Paintress) keeps him alive in a canvas she painted.  His father, Renoir, wants to destroy the canvas and bring his mother back into the real world to deal with her grief.  Last night I started Act III in which Verso and his sister who was horribly scared in the war, try and stop their father from destroying the canvas.  It's complicated.

I'm having router issues.  It's the original router I got when I had FIOS installed which was probably about 10 years ago.  Last week I had a buffering problem with Netflix.  At least once a week I will turn on the TV and have to wait for the network connection.  The same thing happens to my Xbox Series X.  Last evening I had to download an update to Expedition 33 and at one point the download speed was 453 kbs.  Ouch.  So, I attempted to contact Verizon.  That was a waste of time, though I can order a newer model for $99.99, which I didn't do.  I have T-Mobile on my phone and I have never had a problem.  There's a T-Mobile tower less than 3/4 mile away, and I can get their Internet for less than what I'm paying Verizon.  So, this morning I'm contacting T-Mobile.

So, Israel attacked Iran... that should have been expected.  Little Marco said the US was not involved, well, we now know he lies... a lot.  Some sources are saying that the attack was coordinated with the US.  Orangie's blow bro Vlad is deep allies with Iran.  I think we should prepare for this to escalate.

There was an interesting article in The Guardian this morning on how America's Main Stream Media is ignoring the rising anti-Trump sentiment.  I believe that the MSM is truly concerned that the Administration will cut them off like the did the Associated Press, so they will continue to broadcast Orangie's lies and deceit.  They are not even trying to balance things out.  Their big problem is that these protests are growing in size, something the administration truly hates.  As The Guardian put it, soon MSM will no longer be able to ignore the protests.  This is why the administration is doubling down on their ICE attacks.  It's why they are forcing a confrontation in Los Angeles.  This is why cos-play Barbie (Noem the puppy killer) said troops would remain in Los Angeles until the evil mayor was gone.  This administration is playing with fire and, in the end, will end up torching itself.  When that happens, Noem and her hair extensions will be leaving on a jet plane to Russia, where she'll soon find herself working on a potato farm.

Snowball's chance in Hell

 Well, it's Thursday and we have snow.  The prediction is for 'heavy' snow until around noon and then tapering off.  The odds of me going into work are slim.  It's not that I couldn't make it there this morning, it is the getting home that has me concerned.  The storm is to last until tomorrow.

I talked to Verizon yesterday.  Several odd things happened.  I went into Chat to see if things could proceed with my getting put on hold for 45 minutes to speak to a living human.  Surprisingly, 2 seconds after I initiated the Chat, Gary was answering my questions.  When I told him I wanted to eliminate Verizon from my life he gave me an 866 number to call.  Three minutes after I called, I was speaking to Melinda.  When I told her I lived close to a T-Mobile tower, and they have $50 per month internet a door opened.  Melinda offered me Internet alone, at the same speed I have now for... are you ready for this?  $39.99 a month.  You can bet your ass they are not losing money.  They are, however, losing subscribers.  I Googled it.  People are cutting their cable line left and right, at about the same speed moderate Republicans are changing their party affiliation.  Don't get me wrong.  Verizon still sucks, they're just changing their tactics.

I rode 18.72 miles yesterday!!  Took me an hour.  I was very well pleased.  A little over 100 years ago there was a ferocious battle along the Ijzer Front between the Germans and the Allies.  I rode past concrete armaments that are still standing.

 Today, since the possibilities of my calling off are increasing at about the same increments as the snow, I will probably do a joggy / runny thing on the treadmill.

Thin Skinned Rush died yesterday.  No loss.  There is one less voice of hatred in the world.

Did anybody else see the clip with Lindsey Belle whining about 2022?  He's worried.  Really.  He wants all Republicans to unify under the Cult of Trump.  Here's a link to CNN if you want to watch.  I had to chortle at the part where he says the GOP doesn't have a snowball's chance in hell without traitorous 45.  Someone should tell that girl the Republicans don't have a snowball's chance in hell... period.

Verizon Sucks

 Oh, gosh, it's Wednesday and I'm scheduled off.  I didn't set my alarm so I slept in, that's turning into a bad habit for me.

I have eggs cooking for egg salad, and later today I'm thinking of making potato salad, sans mustard.  For some reason unknown to me some believe a tad of mustard makes it Amish (pronounced ahh - mish, with the short 'a', not with a long A).  It doesn't.  Believe me.  I grew up in the heart of Pennsylvania Dutch Country.  No mustard.

Later this afternoon I have an appointment at the Verizon Store.  I live 15 minutes away and I know it's much fast to drive there and piss and moan, then wait 45 minutes for a Chat session to open, or an hour and a half on the phone listening to their hold music.  Why am I going to piss and moan?  My rates went up $13.15.  There was no change to any of my services, Verizon just thought it was time to charge me more because the the billions of $$$ they rake in every year will never be enough to satisfy their stockholders.  T-Mobile has wireless internet for $50 a month.  Their tower is 1/4 mile from where I live and my service is excellent.  I've checked the reviews and for what I use the Internet for, occasional streaming of movies, T-Mobile would work well for me.

And what about Texas?  It's cold down in the Conservative Red state.  And Abbott, the governor, is blaming green energy, even though wind turbines and solar energy are responsible for only 16% of the energy on their power grid.  While other power grids are struggling with the Artic Blast, the Texas grid stands out because unlike other states which rely on power from multiple sources, including other smaller grids in other states, Texas stands alone.  They are a power grid unto themselves.  For years Texans have bragged about this, the fact that they rely on no one else.  I do not doubt for a second this is their punishment for voting Republican, for choosing to worship Trump over all other things.

Truth and Lies

Well, I got up this morning (0400) made coffee, and then rode a little over 4 miles.  I think I've finally accepted the fact that any type of workout is going to be done in the morning, before I go to work.  That's what I did before my schedule changed.  I have very little ambition for exercise when I get home from work.
I got a call yesterday afternoon from the receptionist at Greenfield on Graysonview (management doesn't want to talk to me) telling me the 'Estate' check had been voided and a new check made out to me was going to be cut on Friday.  A little communication on their part would have kept this issue from cropping up in the first place.
And then there is the Verizon issue.  I've been thinking about getting local channels only $25 a month.  I talked to one of their reps named Jace (probably not his real name) who told me I did not need to have a set-top box connected to my TV.  My house is 114 years old.  I have one FIOS cable coming into the house for Internet.  I do not have cable outlets in any rooms.  Well, Jace lied.  After listening to 'hold music' yesterday for over 50 minutes the service tech told me "no, you need to have a set-top box connected to at least one TV."  The only work around is to buy a 'wireless HDMI cable set.'  A bit pricey, but I think worth it.  Why, you might ask?  Because the new deal knocks $15 dollars off my old bill.  I'll be paying $84.99 a month for 2 years.
And  saw this funny thing about taxes yesterday.  Evidently a lot of people believe the wealthy should pay more taxes... a lot more.  This sort of statistic makes Republicans shriek and writhe in agony, in fact the 40% who oppose this are... Republicans.  "The rich pay more taxes?" they bellow!  They believe the rich to be special because of their campaign donations.  We all know crater-faced Steve Mnuchin and his bimbolina blond wife could easily afford to pay more than they do.
Also, yesterday, the Idiot Jerk threw a hastily thrown together luncheon hoping to entice some centrist Democrats to wallow in his shit pool    and no one showed up.  The Republicans are beginning to gnaw on their knuckles because the Democrats are.... UNITED.  That din you hear in the background?  That's the American Freedom Caucus pummeling their heads with their greedy, little self-righteous fists because the approval rating of the president they love and praise is down to 37%.  This is not the way you recover from a really bad election cycle.
Finally, Theresa May and her Brexiteers are in deep shit as well.  Parliament soundly crushed the deal she had been trying for so long to put together.  You have to remember now, many of those who voted for Brexit are the same as those who voted for the Idiot Jerk in the White House: middle-aged white people who feel they deserve so much more than they already have.   This is not a good thing for the UK which might end up leaving the EU without any kind of plan what so ever.  This is the price of greed.  Here in America we have the Idiot Jerk, the only thing he's good at is lying.

From FIOS to the Trumplodite ascension

Ah, FIOS, some of know you too well.  Me, for instance.  My 82 year old mother recently moved into a Senior Living facility.  So far everything is going well except for her one dismay, she now needs to watch Comcast rather then FIOS.  She hates Comcast because they don't broadcast the same religious channels as FIOS.  She'll learn to live with it.  Anyway, it's my job to return the two set top boxes and her router.  When I cancelled her service I was told I could return everything to an authorized Verizon / FIOS dealer.  So I toted everything across the river only to be told "we don't do that anymore, you need to take them to a UPS Store."  So, on my way to the gym yesterday, I stopped off at the UPS Store and was told "our contract with FIOS expired at the end of October."  So, when I got home, I called Verizon and was promptly told "Oh, you were given wrong information.  There are only 2 authorized dealers who can do returns in Pennsylvania, one is in Pittsburgh (4 hours away) and the other is in Philly (2 hours away).  They're mailing me boxes, and mailing labels, so I can drop off my Mom's equipment at my nearest post office.  Now, isn't that nice?

And then I saw this article in the Washington Post which I found to be on the humorous side since it was coming from a fairly conservative news source.  There is evidently some serious concern that Trump might actually get the Republican nomination, the thought of which, I'm sure, is sending all of his Trumplodites into hands free orgasms.  For many, I suspect his ascension in this political arena is the next best thing to the Rapture.  For me, well, found the comparison to both Barry Goldwater and the wonder Wendell Willkie almost heartwarming.

And what really has their concerns all riled up is the fact that a Trump nomination would severely damage their tenuous hold on the Senate.  Oh, woe is me, those poor Republicans.  One can only speculate what might happen to the GOP should the Democrats win stunningly,.. implosion has a nice ring to it, don't you agree? 

 

Another FiOS failure

Well, I've just had anther grating experience with FiOS failed customer service.  Two weeks ago, when I got rid of their TV service, I was told that boxes would be sent to me so I could mail back their equipment.  I thought this was great as there is a Post Office on the way to the Giant where I do my grocery shopping.  However the boxes never arrived.  This morning I received an email from FiOS reminding me the equipment needed to be returned by 5/20.  Since I'm not going to be able to drive until 5/21, I contacted them to see about getting a 1 day extension.  Absolutely not. there is no way they can change that date.
They gave me 2 choices, I could pay UPS to come pick up the equipment and ship it back to them, or I could have somebody drive completely out of their way to either a Verizon Store, or a UPS store where they could be dropped off.  When I say out of their way, that's 5 miles from my house, not my brother's house, which would be another 12 miles out of the way, or my friend Patty's house, another 8 miles out of the way, or my friend Jack's house which is another 9 miles out of the way.  So, we're talking about more then a little inconvenience here.

In fact, their customer service agent Carol, did as little as possible.  When I told her how inconvenient this was her comment was "well, you asked me for a suggestion."  Now, is that anyway to treat your customers?  I had 2 of their services and now I only have 1.  There is a $650 charge if the equipment is not returned in time.  It will get returned in time, believe me, but there's no way I could recommend FiOS to anyone, except possibly to someone I really didn't like.  Do you think they care if they fail one customer?  Of course not.

Cutting the cable to FIOS

It took over 35 minutes on the phone this morning, but I did cut myself free from cable TV.  Once the FIOS customer service rep realized I was serious and that no "really great deal" was going to change my mind, she was very helpful.  I did increase my Internet speed, and because of that they're sending me a new router.  I told her that once I'm able to move around better I will probably buy my own since theirs comes with a rental charge.  Anyway, what am I saving right now?  About $35 a month, or about $420 per years.  After I install my own router that figure will increase to over $550 per year, which is a rather nice savings.

There was an interesting article in USA Today where a reporter indicated that the new, slimmed down packages being offered by Verizon weren't that skinny.  I checked out their new, select packages to see how much my monthly bill would drop and found that my total savings would be about $5 per month, or $60 per year.  Who in their right mind would call that a savings.  And I would still be saddled with boodles of channels I would never, ever watch.  So I cut the FIOS' cable, after all it is just television. 

Update on Little Eddie Snowden

I did sit down and listen to one of the snippets of the Brian Williams interview with Little Eddie Snowden.  Accountability, you know?  Since I've written something about him, I ought at least hear him out... or at least listen to a few minutes of what it is he has to say to see if there is any value.  While I watched the entire clip, it took me only about 20 seconds to realize he really is a pompous, little, twerp.  The way he inflected his voice every time he said "I," told me the interview was more about self-promotion then anything else.  He really does think he is the ultimate hero, the savior of privacy and freedom, and the citizens of the United States need to give him his due thanks.  What makes his position so ludicrous is that he's living in Russia, that paradise of a country where the government is trying to annex the Ukraine.  One can only wonder if Snowden comprehends that the State Security system in Russia makes the NSA look like a quilting party, where bits and pieces of information gleaned from Verizon, et al. are stitched together in an attempt to create a cohesive picture.  I think not.  In fact, I suspect he is too overwhelmed by his righteous indignation to understand anything which falls outside his tiny orbit.

Just call me pompous

 

Verizon cracks

After six days of working, I am enjoying the first of 2 days off, though let me tell you, it hasn't all been fun and games.  One of the first things I did this morning was call Verizon - the second time in 3 weeks.  I first called them on April 23 have decided to switch my TV from FIOS to Direct TV.  After talking to them for about 25 minutes they decided to issue me a nice little credit to run for a full year, this was because I'm such a "valued customer."  The even sent me an email confirmation to let me know my new monthly payment.  When I received the email copy of my bill there was a discrepancy.  The total owed to Verizon was higher than I had been quoted - because they had raised the rate for the package I had.  That's right, they gave me a credit and then they raised my rate.

So this morning I called them back.  The first customer service rep I spoke to pointed out that on my paper bill, on page three, there was a notification that my rate was going to go up starting with this billing cycle.  Evidently this is all the notification they need to legally give you.  He also informed me this increase had been applied to every one who has the "Elite" package.  I suspect every package level had some increase, mine amounted to $5 a month.  Now I know some of you are saying that's not a big increase, but it is when you consider gasoline is up 25 cents a gallon since November, and my electric rate went up in February, and the water rate is supposed to go in June.

Making Verizon listen

Anyway, the first CSR couldn't help me so he transferred me to his Supervisor, who couldn't help me either.  The Supervisor transferred me to "Retention" because Verizon doesn't really want to lose customers.  Retention had me email my confirmation back to them, where upon they approved an adjustment to my rate for the rest of the year.  Just think, if I hadn't saved that email, my rate would have gone up because Verizon doesn't care what I'm paying for my 'essential utilities.'  Their main concern is keeping their investors happy.  Verizon doesn't care how much you pay per gallon of gas, they just want Wall Street to know their profits are going to go up by 5% this year.  The $60 adjustment to my bill for this year is not going to show up on their balance sheet.  They could do $60,000 in adjustments and it wouldn't show up, in fact they probably do.

The sad thing is that the vast majority of people who see this rate increase will simply say "oh, shit" and reach for the check book.  They'll piss and moan about how everything is costing more and do absolutely nothing.  I don't understand why so many find it so easy to become sheep.  A year from now I will probably end up switching to Direct TV because it is less expensive.  Unless, of course, Verizon decides to give me another rate adjustment, which they just might.

 

Microsoft, vampires extraordinaire

There's a lot of what I call hubba bubba going on right now about the NSA and its information gathering techniques.  Some groups are shrieking "No. No. No."  Others are more willowy saying "this is what it takes to keep the country safe."  Many are trying to find out as much about Edward Snowden as possible, curious as to why such an unimposing figure might attempt to raise himself to such a level of notoriety.  Too many do not understand by pointing the finger at the Federal Government he has taken it off of the real culprits.  All of the media giants have released statements noting all of the times the NSA has gone to them asking for data.  Wait a minute.  If the Government is spying on American citizens, why does it need to go to Apple, and Yahoo, and Verizon, and Comcast, and Microsoft to get information.  Surely the all powerful government would have that data clenched tightly in its palms.  But that doesn't seem to be the case, does it?  What Edward Snowden did was demonize the NSA  and turn the media giants into victims: poor Apple, poor Yahoo, pure bullshit.  Think about who truly is gathering information about you and your loved ones every time you text or email.  Just think, Edward Snowden might be nothing more then a dupe, a foil, a red herring in the mystery of intelligence gathering.

A dork in the tunnel of information

Who is the real culprit?  The media giants, they are the real players in this game.  If you have bundled your Internet, Cable and Phone service through Verizon, think of all of the data you are supplying to them daily. The same is true with Comcast.  Right now Microsoft is trying to burrow its way into private lives like no other entity in history with the Xbox One.  Just think, it comes with a Kinect, you know, that little device with a built in camera and microphone.  Sure, they have tried to temper fears saying you can pause the Kinect if you want, but how many are going to remember to do that?  Supposedly, when the console is turned off, it's only listening for the command, "xbox on."  So, how many three year-olds are going to walk into a room and say those words without Mommy or Daddy knowing.  Think about it, Microsoft is really trying to be Big Brother.  You know what they say about vampires?  They can't come into your house unless you invite them in.  Guess who's out to suck the blood of your privacy?

Verizon Douches America

Can I really be serious?  Of course.  I recently opened my monthly bill to discover Verizon had increased the cost of my HD Set Top Box Rental by $2.00 per month.  That's a big increase!  So I called their customer service to investigate.  I was told I had been notified on my July bill the increase was going to take place, not that I could have done anything about except pay to break my contract.

Put on your hard hats, you're about to get slammed!

The Customer Service agent informed me this increase applied to all rental boxes. I asked if this was across the country and her reply was "yes," as though that made it fair.  Don't just screw one person, or one district, or even one region, screw the whole country.  What a wonderful thing to do when the economy is in slow recovery mode.  But, of course, Verizon doesn't really care about the country, their main focus is their bottom line and how Wall Street reacts to it.  If Wall Street likes what they've done their stock will go up and their investors will be happy.  So, how big a bump will this be to their bottom line?  Say there are 5 million Americans with Fios rental boxes hit with this $2 increase Verizon gets to put $10 million to their bottom line.  In these financially difficult times Verizon is going to douche America because they can, because very few people are going to complain.  Those who use Video on Demand to get the latest movies will probably not even notice the increase, shame on them.  And, of course, the Customer Service rep I dealt was not the most cordial, but then she gets paid to deal with unhappy people day in and day out.  Actually, she was rude, which seems to be quite common with Verizon Customer Service.  I informed her that when my contract expired I will be changing to another provider, which left her unfazed, but then she, like Verizon, doesn't really care.

Verizon's sneaky, stinky price increase

Awhile back Verizon announced they were going to charge their customers an additional $2 if they chose to pay online, the charge would not effect those who set up auto payments or those who paid by check.  The outcry against this was voluminous and Verizon backed down.   I can understand why they would want this, when people pay on their own those payments arrive when ever the decision is made to pay the bill, with auto payment that revenue arrives on a specific day.  More important, however, was that this increased their bottom line, what a kick to their P & L.  That decision had not been something which spontaneously occurred to a group of boneheads at Verizon, it had been calculated out well in advance.

Knowing this, it should have come as no surprise when, upon opening my bill yesterday, I discovered that there was a price increase of exactly $2.  The rental feel for my HD Set Top Box went from $9.99 to $11.99.  I received no notification from Verizon this increase was going to take place.  Imagine all of those customers out there who are signed up for auto pay, will they notice the increase, and if they do will they complain because it's not just a surcharge on the way they pay their bill?  People need to remember that Verizon is a business, a very successful business, run by a successful CEO who gets paid very well to make sure the bottom line is always increasing.  He doesn't care how they make the increase, just as long as it hits the books.  Tough shit to the average person who has to pay more in this very slowly improving economy, we are not his problem.