Random Rants ΠΑ: That's a paddlin'

[tjs282]

I don't understand how people tolerate cats being such total *******s. Nobody would keep a dog that bit and scratched you offensively, on purpose, without cause.

But dogs don't purr.

My rant:

Yesterday, Kabel Deutschland managed not only to alter our home phone number without asking us, but then (presumably while trying to fix their mistake) they cut off both our phone and our internet access. So today, my wife had to drive to her office instead of working from home (her preference) — which in turn also meant that she had to postpone the appointment she'd made with the mechanic, to check her car's possibly sticky clutch, and get its winter wheels fitted.

And when she gets home, she will again have to wrestle with Kabel's bloody useless 'voice-activated' 'customer-service' line (scare quotes because neither of these phrases reflect reality), until it lets her talk to a real person. Who will probably also not be able to help.

Private utility companies really shouldn't be awarded with effective monopolies, because then they have no incentive to ensure that their 'service' does not suck.

 

[Valka D'Ur]

Customer service is hit-and-miss for me. Depending on the issue and which country the customer service agent is in (after-hours tech calls are rerouted to a call center in the Philippines, rather than relatively locally, which in this case means Edmonton). Sometimes they don't actually get that for me it could be the middle of the night when I'm having a problem.

The last time I needed help, I was supposed to get transferred to another agent, and instead was cut off. This necessitated starting all over and being put back into the callback queue (after getting lost in computerized voicemail hell - I really LOATHE the voice my telecom uses to answer the phone, since it sounds like a breathy-voiced woman who's ready for a more intimate activity than making sure the customer gets to speak to a real human).

Naturally the callback occurred in the middle of my soap opera.

 

[tjs282]

True here too and it's really really stupid. The problem isn't holding something small in your hand. The problem is being distracted by a conversation/exchange with a person who is not in your here and now.

Have to disagree here.

It might be less of a problem in the US, where automatics are the norm (so driving one-handed is relatively simple) and where towns/suburbs are often built for cars/ on a grid system, but in Europe we still mostly drive stick, frequently along road-networks which were laid down back when animal-powered carts were still cutting-edge tech i.e. both hands are needed, especially for urban driving when frequent changes in speed/gear are needed to go through traffic-lighted junctions, turn sharp corners, etc.

So in addition to the distraction of conversation, holding a phone while driving (in Europe) can often cause someone to stall their vehicle unexpectedly (if their phone is in their 'gearstick' hand, preventing them from shifting gear efficiently), or even lose control of it altogether (if they're stupid enough to try and use their 'wheel' hand to gearshift, so that they can keep their phone pressed to their ear).

Under those circumstances, hands-free setups are preferable — though still not perfect by any means.

 

[Ferocitus]

I'm up **** creek!

 

[MaryKB]

I'm up **** creek!

Oh dear, what's wrong??

 

[Ferocitus]

Oh dear, what's wrong??

No paddle.

 

[Arakhor]

My father's in his early 70s, but whilst I don't think he's particularly old, he is both a senior citizen and a grandfather to school-age children, so I think that some people would certainly categorise him as old. Part of it, of course, is your personal attitude to life.

 

[Farm Boy]

Have to disagree here.

It might be less of a problem in the US, where automatics are the norm (so driving one-handed is relatively simple) and where towns/suburbs are often built for cars/ on a grid system, but in Europe we still mostly drive stick, frequently along road-networks which were laid down back when animal-powered carts were still cutting-edge tech i.e. both hands are needed, especially for urban driving when frequent changes in speed/gear are needed to go through traffic-lighted junctions, turn sharp corners, etc.

So in addition to the distraction of conversation, holding a phone while driving (in Europe) can often cause someone to stall their vehicle unexpectedly (if their phone is in their 'gearstick' hand, preventing them from shifting gear efficiently), or even lose control of it altogether (if they're stupid enough to try and use their 'wheel' hand to gearshift, so that they can keep their phone pressed to their ear).

Under those circumstances, hands-free setups are preferable — though still not perfect by any means.

<shrug> I drive a manual. Hands in an emergency never much of a problem until I was talking, turning, and lighting a smoke. Almost never need to shift in an emergency, unless driving aggressively. Lol, slow down. I could see it at freeway speeds with mergers and stuff, but I don't drive a sports car nor are most of them out there sports cars. I'm not downshifting for power at 70 mph.

But seriously, the distraction is much worse than picking up a soda and taking a drink. I think you're right tho, there's a cultural thing. I remember VW marketers having a brawl with designers over putting actual, decent, cupholders in American models. If it's harder to drive in Europe, which I'm happy to go with, it's an even better argument for banning the bluetooth conversational things inside cars and just flat revoking the license of people who use the phone and drive. I'd hit them every bit as hard as drunk drivers. They're more dangerous than the lushes.

 

[rah]

I'm old.

 

[MaryKB]

A friend of mine just forwarded to me something she saw on a help forum ... something by obviously a very young man with serious grammar and spelling issues, but his tags include "Rape/Non-Con" and "Underage"

I think I'm going to be sick.

 

[Lexicus]

A friend of mine just forwarded to me something she saw on a help forum ... something by obviously a very young man with serious grammar and spelling issues, but his tags include "Rape/Non-Con" and "Underage"

There is a Facebook tag group called something like "sounds like this post will be used as evidence in a future legal case" which seems appropriate to mention here

 

[Traitorfish]

Sometimes it feels like the online left is just a thousand people all loudly explaining why the other nine-hundred ninety-nine are really just liberals.

 

[shadowplay]

Sometimes I wish this place would go Fortnite and send an asteroid at our asses to take us offline for a while.

 

[Farm Boy]

Lol, yeah.

 

[Lexicus]

Sometimes it feels like the online left is just a thousand people all loudly explaining why the other nine-hundred ninety-nine are really just liberals.

 

[aimeeandbeatles]

It's sad how mean people can be to each other when they disagree.

 

[rah]

Sometimes it feels like the online left is just a thousand people all loudly explaining why the other nine-hundred ninety-nine are really just liberals.

Yes, that is why democrats have problems winning. Very few pass the purity test that the far left holds them to. It takes a bigger coalition to win then that thousand.

 

[Traitorfish]

Yes, that is why democrats have problems winning. Very few pass the purity test that the far left holds them to. It takes a bigger coalition to win then that thousand.

I am sceptical that the electoral success of one of the worlds largest and most well-funded political parties is determined by the in-group dynamics of commie twitter.

 

[rah]

Watching the debates as the candidates mostly fall all over themselves offering freebies to get support leads me to believe otherwise.

 

[choxorn]

On phone use- I'm with Valka on "Don't use your phone while driving, you could get yourself and/or other people killed that way", although I'd like to posit that that isn't a thing done exclusively by young people- I've seen a fair number of old people who use their phone while driving, too.

Sometimes it feels like the online left is just a thousand people all loudly explaining why the other nine-hundred ninety-nine are really just liberals.

Silly Traitorfish, being a leftist isn't about bringing social change or improving society, it's about dunking on everyone else on twitter for being insufficiently woke and proving that you are the leftiest leftist of them all, and therefore better than all the other "leftists."