Agree with this, I've never liked dark roast.
We get medium roast, usually Starbucks house blend from Costco.
Piss & Moan Table
- Thread starter Farmergreg
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Agree with this, I've never liked dark roast.
We get medium roast, usually Starbucks house blend from Costco.
Did you let someone know that you were running late? I've found that doing so can soften the blow, especially when you arrive, and start with, "Y'all are never gonna believe how stupid I am..."
I definitely did...the one person I had contact info for, which was the one who planned the meeting, plus the coworker who was also in attendance.
No one made a big deal about it and apparently there were others that were also behind and one guy that was 5 minutes later than me because he came from Atlanta and thought it was at 9 instead of 8. But it felt uncomfortable and made for a tense drive for someone who places high value on being on time if not early as a sign of respect.
Went to my usual filling station to fuel up the old MBZ. Like most European cars, it has the fill on the passenger side. So - I roll into the station, the pair of double sided Diesel pumps are on one island. Side one had a gas powered pickup with a fairly large utility trailer blocking both pumps. Ok, so I go around to the other side. Guy with a driver's side fill was there, hadn't pulled to the forward pump, so we had a basic physics problem as my front end needed to be where his front end was in order to fuel up. So I diagonal ed the Benz "close enough" and fueled up. Yea, these gas rigs could have filled up elsewhere, but shit happens. Yea, the guy on my side should have pulled forward and I could have backed in behind him - shit happens. But the fucktard on the other side pissed me off. Not only did he block both pumps on that side with a gas rig, but far worse he left it there and went into the store! Florididiot!
Oh, and to make it complete, the fuel delivery truck was half blocking access to the entire station.
Oh, and to make it complete, the fuel delivery truck was half blocking access to the entire station.
I was watching the news from Boston a few years ago they took samples of top shelf liquors. Big surprise it was cheap ass liquor that was in the fancy bottles.
They also found the only liquor in the bloody Mary was in the straw.
People are gross. I go into Walmart to take a piss, and leave. The bathroom at the front of the store had a line. So I go to the back of store open the door, just about gag to death it smelled so bad. I look someone took a dump in the urinal.
I don't really drink the good stuff straight or on the rocks either but the few times I've had the opportunity to taste something out of a $150+ bottle it at least doesn't feel like dying and I can imagine acquiring a taste for it if I had the motivation to power through it for a while. I'm far from a snob, too. I buy cheap plastic bottles cause I can't tell a difference once it's mixed.
You guys will LOVE this, just in: I decided I should apply for a "Discount Tire" credit card as they'd give me a $70 discount on a set of tires, plus give me 9 months same as cash financing. So - "why not?". Long story short: Its all about the PHOOOOOONNE!! First, they kept on wanting me to accept a text message. Nope. Then, they said "Ok, call in..."No problem. So I call in - gal tells me she'll send me a verification link to submit a 5 second video of myself with a state ID - prevent ID theft. That's great - I'm all for it! Then it turns out that said video MUST be shot with - you guessed it!- a PHOOOOOONNE!! Why the FUCK they can't accept a vid from my COMPUTER is beyond me. Got kicked upstairs to a supervisor. She couldn't offer me anything other than a mail-in form that has been notarized. That's OK - if I really needed the credit, I would certainly go that route, but as I don't, its just not worth the hassle. Both the supervisor and the first gal I talked to - this was at Synchrony Bank who backs Discount Tire's card - were very nice. I told them to please pass this nonsense up the chain of command because I'd be dammed if I was going to buy a $1,200 device with a $100/mo data plan just in order to do something like this. They said they would - they also said that I might be able to apply for the thing at Discount Tire directly - which I'll probably do unless there too its all about the PHOOOOONNE!!
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Oh c'mon, let's not pretend this is about money.
You can walk into a Walmart or a Cricket store and walk out with a smart phone for $70 and a $35/mo data plan - probably not much, if any more than you already pay for whatever it is you use.
Oh c'mon, let's not pretend this is about money.
I pay $15/mo.
Ok, but still a small enough difference that it's not financial, it's purely your refusal to have a smart phone, and that's fine. I might not have one if it wasn't issued by my employer simply because I don't believe it to have a net positive effect on my quality of life.
I'm still stuck on not being able to take a text message though...that predated smart phones by what, a decade or better? Is there a phone that will function on today's networks that doesn't at least let you receive an SMS and send by hammering it out on the number pad? I remember being excited about T9 massively reducing my keystrokes in the 2001 timeframe, right up until I blasted through my monthly text limit talking to some loose-moral'd girl from school and racked up an extra $20 on the bill.
Financials have faded into the background - that much is true (but not completely). BUT - the damn things just suck. They're a mediocre phone and a HORRID computer. The OS is brain dead by design, the screen is beyond tiny (the last computer I used with a screen that small was an Osborne-1 - a PITA then, inexcusable now), there's no real keyboard, no real mouse, sub-optimal all around. Its a luxury gadget that is better replaced with multiple devices that specialize in their function instead of this Jack of all trades, master of none.
As for texting, I seldom used it as I want a real keyboard and display to communicate with - send me a damn email. With that said, texting is fine for short messages like "Pick up some milk while you're out", or "I'm running late, will be there at 8:30" type things. Otherwise, its the province of 16 year old girls. But texting's death knell with me came about when I "suddenly" started getting SPAM texts around 2018 - I told my wife "I'm not paying for this", turned it off and pocketed the $2.50/mo fee. I don't really miss it.
Right now, this very week, I have texting turned back on temporarily as my wife is out of town on a relief mission and the people running the thing insist on using text instead of email for status updates. Its been on about 18 hours so far - haven't gotten a SPAM text as yet, but I'm waiting. I'd leave it on permanently, but I refuse to put up with the SPAM so it'll get turned back off once wife is back home.
Certainly, texting is the province of the smartphone - but I just don't see the attraction. Send me a fucking email that will arrive on my COMPUTER - you know, the thing with a real operating system, real keyboard, real mouse, and - count them - THREE large displays. And it will arrive SILENTLY on the computer, not some damn noise to interrupt my train of thought. Plus - most importantly, the email will go through my procmail and filter out all the SPAM before I ever see it. /dev/null is my friend! My life runs on email.
I have 3 dedicated Garmin GPSes for nav - which their combined cost is still well under half of what a typical smartphone costs - and there's no monthly subscription fee. No battery worries either. GPSes are great for local and "last mine" nav - for long trips I want a paper map so I can see everything. NO device will give me that - not a smartphone, not a GPS, not really even a computer unless it has a 40 inch display. My automotive music is on "Geek Sticks" AKA "Thumb Drives" that plug into the stereo - no need for a smartphone nor its battery consuming bluetooth connection. But most people seem to prefer paying air time and subscription fees for their car audio - fuck that!
Other than that, the thing doesn't do anything that isn't better accomplished on my computer - which is 12 years old as I write this, you won't see THAT with the smartphone model. Most people DO NOT need Internet "on the go" - they just think they do. If I had a legitimate need for such, it would be a laptop with a 5G card. I'd bitch about display real estate, but its usable, unlike the smarphone's tiny screen and no keyboard.
Those were my first objections to the thing when Jobs announced it in 2007. I saw the failed Newton PDA (I skipped the PDA craze too, although I can see the utility for some) grafted onto a cell phone. Ok - this might make some sense for those who need both, but as I don't - AND - the utterly obscene cost of the thing, it was a non starter. Since that time, I've seen the negative effects of the thing - everyone knows what they are, no need to go into it here - yet most people insist on having/using a smartphone anyway. Goebbels is spinning in his grave wishing he had a propaganda tool like this in his day.
Of course now, everybody has one of these things, beaming propaganda directly into their zombie brains - its ALL about the PHOOOOOONNE!! No thank you.
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I could not function without my Smartphone. I have not used my laptop in years and when I did it was for playing Solitaire. I do not answer calls from numbers I do not recognize. If it’s important they will leave a message. Youtube is on my big screen Smart TV. Iheart on my phone and bluetooth to shop stereo. I do a lot of international travel and use Whatsapp to communicate with locals. Very popular outside of this country. I take pictures when I take apart something while fixing it to help me put it back together. I use notes to keep track of my logins, passwords and things I need to remember. I would be up Shits Creek if I lost my phone. Although I have everything backed up on the Cloud.
This is a model that I refuse to have anything to do with. My life runs on email, not on texting or bullshit 3rd party data mining sites like "WhatsUp" etc. Even I will admit that smartphones *can* take good pictures under many circumstances - if the smartphone addled operator has enough functioning brain cells to turn it sideways (see ROTM EVERY fucking month). Even my flip has a camera, but I mostly use my DSLRs with real lenses for photography. I don't have to use a battery consuming bluetooth connection to play my tunes, nor pay a subscription fee to do so.
As I said before, I have a desktop computer with THREE large screens, a real keyboard and a real pointing device running a real operating system. If I'm traveling, I grab one of my laptops - I can't comprehend doing anything on a crippled smartphone. BTW, all three of my laptops are well over 10 years old and work fine. I don't need to replace them every 2 or 3 years.
I bought an Android tablet a number of years back just to see what all the hubbub was about. It wasn't bad for watching Hickok45 videos, but aside from that, I want a real computer - and this tablet, although small, is larger than any smartphone and I still find it sub-optimal for just about anything.
Part of my disdain also stems from the much observed fact that smartphones are consumption devices. I don't consume much - I'm either creating or researching. The former is virtually impossible on a smartphone, the latter is doable but very sub-optimal. I prefer to use dedicated devices that do one job, not a jack of all trades that doesn't do anything particularly well. Even when I'm on forums like this one, I have other things going on on other screens - why would I limit myself to one tiny screen?
But like you, I don't answer calls from numbers I don't recognize either - but I'm "this close" to turning off voice mail as that absolutely SUCKS. You can't skim it, you can't filter it, you can't print it, you can't really save it - and people insist on leaving their life's story on the damn thing - tell me who you are, what you want, and hang the fuck up. Or preferably send me an email if you can.
Different lifestyles. When I’m in the middle of a field at 10pm in North Dakota and a trucker texts me that he is lost and he can’t find me to pick up a time sensitive load of bees I’m glad I have the ability to get a text even though the signal is not strong enough for voice. Same when I or my Son get stuck in a field and the nearest farm house is far away it’s nice to be able to text and get help. When I’m in an area that has only SOS capability it’s nice to know I can get help. Only had to use this once for someone I came across in the middle of nowhere Nevada. I was able to contact the Sheriff to come out and help them. 2 hrs in any direction to get cell service or find internet connection for a computer. Sounds like you have a great setup for your home. Unfortunately I do business with people all over the country and I spend a lot of time in rural areas where there is no wifi capabilities except thru a smartphone. I have an iphone 8 and had to upgrade from my iphone 5 because the battery died. Luckily my eye site is still good enough and I don’t have arthritis and can still cope with a small screen.
Good for you - but is that with data?. I'd pay a lot more to NOT have to deal with a smartphone. But good on you keeping the darn thing running. My first cell phone was a bag phone - I had it for 18 years, and would still be using it today if it were compatible with modern networks. My second was a Motorola flip - and it lasted, wait for it, 7 years! It literally fell apart. The most I've gotten since then has been about 4 - although I have high hopes for my current Sonim XP3Plus.
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