That’s why I have so many pets. They are the best company.
4 Likes
I often stop in the Fillmore-Beaver area anyway. That is about the spot for a stretch and some snacks. I am considering an EV at some point so this is good information.
2 Likes
I’ve had four excellent season tickets in RES for over 25 years. To renew those this year would cost about $8400. Sorry, I’ve had enough. I think I’ll hang onto two of them and see how things go in the NIL era. One of my sons is paying for one of the seats and I’ll pay for the other one. I wonder if a backlash is coming? Maybe it’s already happening.
Oh, and please get off my lawn.
7 Likes
I don’t know what damnable marketing list I got on, but the volume of spam calls and texts I’m receiving has increased probably 10X over the past couple months. I get 8-10 spam calls and 4-6 spam texts every single day now.
So annoying.
8 Likes
My chest freezer crapped out. Hundreds of dollars of meat. Tomorrow’s garbage day. Thanks Biden.
6 Likes
Have you downloaded ActiveArmor? I was the same way and it has helped 90 percent.
2 Likes
Around 2020 I used to get a ton of telemarketing calls and since I was working from home and had time I would play around with them - pretending to be a Chinese or Indian restaurant, pretending to be mentally challenged, all kinds of other things to just waste their time. It didn’t take too long for the calls to diminish. I also have call screening on my Google Pixel phone which really helps with spam calls and texts there.
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I need to get better at dicking with those callers. Mostly I ignore unknown numbers but in some circumstances it could look real so I pick it up. The other day I got some guy from “Awards Center” calling to tell me I put my cell phone number on a “coupon” and he was calling to tell me I’d won. I fully meant to string him out. I started with, “Wow, that’s interesting.” He responded with, “Oh, it’s exciting to win something?” Then I couldn’t hold back any more. “No, it’s interesting that I’ve never put this number of any piece of paper that could get into the hands of a f-ing piece of s*** scammer like you.”
I failed to kill too much of his time to keep him from bothering others.
6 Likes
I’ve done this:
Telemarketer: Sir, we would..
Me: Ma’am
T: Sir?
Me: Ma’am. I’m not a sir, I’m a ma’am
T:???
Then they hang up
6 Likes
I had some fun with scammers, too. Calls from India claiming to be with Microsoft, there to help with some urgent problems & wanted me to navigate to a URL.
One time:
Me: “OK, OK… let me turn it on. Might take a few minutes, I use a gas powered generator”
(Wait 3 minutes)
Me: “How long have you guys had Internet? I live in a cave and just barely got electricity, so this computer thing is really cool!”
Scammer: “Wait… you live in a cave?”
Me: “Yeah, I lost a bet with Billy and he got my house and my wife”
Scammer: “REALLY!?!?!”
Me: “Hey, you gotta live large, go big or go home, right?. Well, my home is now a cave, but it’s not as bad as I thought it would be”
(Click)
8 Likes
I never say “Hello” on any call I get that looks legit. I just say my name. I know immediately if the call is an autodial, because no one on the other end answers and then I hang up. The computer is programmed to connect when the callee responds with a hello. Along with my Pixel call screening I never talk to anybody because I live in the next door cave to Ma-ake.
6 Likes
Another one I’ve done:
Guy from India named Steve: You need to pay the IRS right now or federal Marshalls will be at your door to arrest you shortly
Me: Oh my God, they are already here, what do I do?
Steve: (silent for a moment, then hangs up)
8 Likes
Speaking of the IRS…
Filed on March 10. Got a letter on April 1 (dated April 6) that said they were investigating the accuracy of my return. I decided to make Congressman Owens finally earn his keep and asked his office to investigate. Got a call today from Owens office that they heard from the taxpayer advocate center that the IRS didn’t have the 1099R forms on file for our pensions or Roth IRA conversion.
WTF?
My guess is that Musk and his chainsaw weilding minions cut too much out of the IRS staff and now we have a lot of misplaced data.
Now, if the IRS is okay with it, I will gladly amend my returns so they show I have no income from pension or Roth conversion. That would leave me with Social Security only.
7 Likes
Another one I do on occasion is answering - “Biff’s Beef and Booze , Biff speaking, what the hell do you want?”
It is usually jarring enough that they just hang up. The Biff’s Beef and Booze is an old gag my roommate used to do in college when answering our phone. The “What the hell do you want?” is actually how this old guy Ernie used to answer the phone at his restaurant in Edmonton called Ernie’s Steak Pit. He had another breakfast place that was really good. But he was notorious for being a bit cantankerous such that the saying was “go for the food and stay for the abuse”.
3 Likes
It seems I’m helping elderly ladies in my neighborhood all the time with various techinical, billing, banking and other issues. Frequently we find ourselves on the phone with some support person, I am pre-armed with the info I need to get something resolved.
Customer Support: “This is (whatever corporation) support desk, to whom am I speaking?”
Me (usually making my voice deeper): “Hello, this is Linda Smith, account #…”
(Pause)
Customer Support: “Can you please verify your account’s security pin”
(I read them the PIN in my lowered voice)
(More pausing)
Customer Support: “Okay Linda, I have your account up, how can we help you today?”
Me: “Please call me Mrs Smith…”
The elderly lady is always aghast but also giggling in the background. It’s pretty funny to see how surprised they are that it works. And to customer support around the world’s credit, I’ve never had anyone challenge it.
5 Likes
I usually don’t have much in the way of pet peeves, but this week I met my match:
Car repairs, specifically a certain luxury brand from Germany that starts with a “B”.
Mrs. Ma’ake bought a car from a family member for a great price, it looks good, it’s fun to drive, my wife looks great driving it… and boy oh boy, does that dealership know their customer market.
Pretty sure if they had branded dental floss it would be $299. The repair bill was breathtaking… but the service butlers (or whatever they call themselves) accidentally sent me somebody else’s repair bill, which was $17,500, so I guess it’s all relative.
Great place to people watch, though. Clientele breaks into roughly 3 groups:
- People with plenty o’ money - some more than others - who don’t blush at all at 5 digit repair bills or six digit cars, who might also ask for a ride to the airport because they’re flying out on a private jet to one of their other homes… on Kauai.
- Older, more established people who like the finer things in life, but can’t really hang with the first group.
- Posers, usually 20-something or 30-something guys who want to appear as playas to impress the ladies or maybe look like they could be a Huntsman or Eccles, who in reality don’t have a pot to piss in, hence the classy sign at the dealership, “We no longer accept personal checks”.
Then there’s me who normally drives a beater Tacoma with a few dents.
5 Likes
That pesky orbit of the earth thing prohibiting me from closing my garage door.
It doesn’t happen to me often, but it happened to me today. My garage door starts to go down, but then stops and retreats. The sensor believes there’s an obstruction. After checking I can clearly see that the sun is in a perfect position in the sky to reflect off of the garage door sensor, causing it to trigger.
Galelio would be proud that I figured that out on my own.
7 Likes
We have that problem twice a year with our ring doorbell when the sun is just right to trick it into ringing. Lasts about a week.
4 Likes
Packaging!
edit to explain: we spend way to much time and money, and waste way too many resources, largely non-recyclable resources, on packaging.
3 Likes
Being hungry, but not wanting to make a mess in the kitchen cooking.
Yes, I am feeling just that lazy.
5 Likes