Random Rants 94 I rant at the thread title and shake my fist menacingly.

[Kaitzilla]

It is such a joke. Not only is it excluding people who do not have a smart phone, it is expecting people to install and run unknown untrusted closed source software on their device that keeps private financial information, just to pay a quarter or something.

I went onto Park Louie's website, and they have a video showing how easy it is to pay the meter with a smartphone.

Tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap


Reddit seems to think the app alerts the meter maids somehow when the time is about to run out in addition to the customers, but surely that is a conspiracy theory.

The shady app has my credit card and email now.



Speaking of "advancements", the local Wal-Greens got the bright idea to put screens on front of all the freezers to display all the items.

Maybe change the prices from headquarters 1000 miles away too?
Who knows.

It is kind of nice, but is it really an improvement over clear see-through glass?

 

[Farm Boy]

Another reason to never drive into the city, I guess. That's sketch.

 

[GenMarshall]

I had to close out my Patreon subscriptions after my bank flagged it for suspicious activity due to Patreon moving their billings to Dublin, Ireland just recently. I ended up having to call my bank to reactivate my debit card.

"Oops! Our California payment processor is down! That's OK, we'll just use a different one in another country. What could possibly go wrong?" - Random Reddit user on r/Paytreon

 

[Kaitzilla]

I had to close out my Patreon subscriptions after my bank flagged it for suspicious activity due to Patreon moving their billings to Dublin, Ireland just recently. I ended up having to call my bank to reactivate my debit card.

"Oops! Our California payment processor is down! That's OK, we'll just use a different one in another country. What could possibly go wrong?" - Random Reddit user on r/Paytreon

My Patreon subscriptions also died on August 1st.

I'll get around to calling my bank when I feel like it.

 

[Kaitzilla]

These commercials keep playing on TV lately, and I laugh so hard I look like a deranged lunatic.


Shingles doesn't care.

Shingles DOES NOT CARE!

 

[Synobun]

I somehow managed to sprain my UCL a couple days ago in my dominant arm. I've done this before, long ago as a wee bab, and had to immobilize my wrist/thumb for a week. Right now it doesn't seem like I have to go quite that far, but the pain is annoying and the weakness is noticeable. It also has brought all my other rehab to a grinding halt, since my body is investing what little energy it has into repairing this problem.

 

[Valka D'Ur]

Any other Canadians here already fed up with Facebook not allowing Canadian news links? It would be one thing if it hit everyone at the same time, but there are still people in my political groups who can see and use links and they don't get why I have no clue in hell what they're talking about when they make some vague, useless comment and plop a link into their comment.

It's not that I can't get news. I'm subscribed to several of the CBC feeds. I just can't access them from links on FB. We're being geoblocked in our own country.

 

[Synobun]

Any other Canadians here already fed up with Facebook not allowing Canadian news links? It would be one thing if it hit everyone at the same time, but there are still people in my political groups who can see and use links and they don't get why I have no clue in hell what they're talking about when they make some vague, useless comment and plop a link into their comment.

It's not that I can't get news. I'm subscribed to several of the CBC feeds. I just can't access them from links on FB. We're being geoblocked in our own country.

The news ban actively hides links? Basically making them act like they're blocked users?

 

[Valka D'Ur]

The news ban actively hides links? Basically making them act like they're blocked users?

Yep. This is what I'm talking about. This "Virginia" person is a member of the Reboot Alberta group (where I go to get away from the insanity of the UCP-infested pages). The person who started the group is trying to encourage people to find ways to become good citizens and use that for positive results. We've got a premier who's cozy with Alberta separatists.

I have no idea what that is supposed to link to, and as you can see, the OP's comment is less than useful. I didn't know until I'd read a few other comments that this was in response to her shutting down the Marda Loop medical clinic in Calgary for trying to charge $4800/year for families to access health care that people are already covered for.

Smith's sycophants are hailing her as a "hero" and sneering that Notley didn't do anything about it (Notley is the Opposition Leader so it's not like she has the authority to do anything about it). No word yet about all the other clinics doing this same thing. Danielle Smith herself wouldn't have batted an eye (she's in favor of American-style health care) except public pressure is spoiling her fun month on the rodeo/parade circuit.

 

[Samson]

Yep. This is what I'm talking about. This "Virginia" person is a member of the Reboot Alberta group (where I go to get away from the insanity of the UCP-infested pages). The person who started the group is trying to encourage people to find ways to become good citizens and use that for positive results. We've got a premier who's cozy with Alberta separatists.

View attachment 669137

I have no idea what that is supposed to link to, and as you can see, the OP's comment is less than useful. I didn't know until I'd read a few other comments that this was in response to her shutting down the Marda Loop medical clinic in Calgary for trying to charge $4800/year for families to access health care that people are already covered for.

Smith's sycophants are hailing her as a "hero" and sneering that Notley didn't do anything about it (Notley is the Opposition Leader so it's not like she has the authority to do anything about it). No word yet about all the other clinics doing this same thing. Danielle Smith herself wouldn't have batted an eye (she's in favor of American-style health care) except public pressure is spoiling her fun month on the rodeo/parade circuit.

This is an inherent problem with link only posts. It puts the "power" in the hands of the servers, as everyone has to visit the third party site and give up their information.

 

[Valka D'Ur]

Thing is, CBC already has my information, as I've had an account there for many years. It's our national news broadcaster. But because of the federal government's squabble with the social media companies, links to news sites on FB and Instagram are banned for Canadians - or at lease some Canadians. Eventually it will be all of us, and Google is considering joining in this ban.

It's not that I can't access CBC in and of itself (though the comments don't work on two of my browsers; I can't even SEE the comments unless I'm using Firefox). It's that I can't access it via FB because I don't even see a link to whatever news outfit the other people are using. It could be any news link. Because I'm in Canada, I don't get to see it.

 

[Broken_Erika]

I accidentally left a thermos cup full of hot coffee with cream and sugar in my room when i left friday morning to goo up north, it was unpleasant to open today.
Also, my camera didn't work. And i forgot bug spray.

 

[EgonSpengler]

Well, my undefeated streak finally came to an end: I've tested positive for COVID-19 on one of those at-home self-tests.

My symptoms have been just about nothing. On Monday, I had a tickle in the back of my throat and was blowing my nose a lot. Then I stayed home yesterday. No fever, no labored breathing, no nothing, really. I was feeling rundown, and when I went for a walk around the neighborhood I got tired pretty quick and had to cut it short. I was going to post a rant here about the indignity of getting a Summer cold, but I never got around to it. This morning, I felt a little gross, but in the way you do after laying in bed for most of a day. Funny thing was, I had bought some watermelon on the way home Monday night, and it was utterly flavorless. Completely devoid of anything. I figured it just hadn't ripened. I was pretty mad. I was really looking forward to that watermelon. I was even thinking about posting a rant about that. I was madder about getting unripe fruit than I was about having a cold in August. Then tonight, while I was making dinner, I realized I couldn't smell anything. I went over and opened the trash can. Nothing. I sprayed some cleaner into the sink. Bupkes. I sprayed an even stronger cleaner into the toilet. Okay, I could smell that one, just a little, like it was wafting in the open window from the neighbor's. I guess I don't have to worry about unknowingly blundering through a cloud of chlorine gas. More than any other day, I mean.

I thought I might be one of the ones to get through this whole thing unscathed. Given how often I use public transportation, and I've gone without a mask for I guess a year now, I was amazed I hadn't gotten it. I thought I might be one of those people with the HLA-B gene variant. I even wondered if I might be one of those devilish asymptomatic carriers, blithely spreading the plague everywhere I went. I am fully-vaccinated, and iirc, one of the benefits of the vaccine is that it can knock the illness down to a shadow of its former self, if you do happen to get infected.

So now I have the rest of the week to play Baldur's Gate, watch movies, and eat very bland food. Is there anything I can do with my olfactory out of commission? I haven't smoked a cigarette in 20 years. That's not really tempting anymore. I can really clean the living daylights out of my apartment, using all of the worst chemicals known to man. I suppose I oughtta do that anyway. I wonder if any of the Asian markets in town sell durian fruit..?

 

[Valka D'Ur]

Well, my undefeated streak finally came to an end: I've tested positive for COVID-19 on one of those at-home self-tests.

My symptoms have been just about nothing. On Monday, I had a tickle in the back of my throat and was blowing my nose a lot. Then I stayed home yesterday. No fever, no labored breathing, no nothing, really. I was feeling rundown, and when I went for a walk around the neighborhood I got tired pretty quick and had to cut it short. I was going to post a rant here about the indignity of getting a Summer cold, but I never got around to it. This morning, I felt a little gross, but in the way you do after laying in bed for most of a day. Funny thing was, I had bought some watermelon on the way home Monday night, and it was utterly flavorless. Completely devoid of anything. I figured it just hadn't ripened. I was pretty mad. I was really looking forward to that watermelon. I was even thinking about posting a rant about that. I was madder about getting unripe fruit than I was about having a cold in August. Then tonight, while I was making dinner, I realized I couldn't smell anything. I went over and opened the trash can. Nothing. I sprayed some cleaner into the sink. Bupkes. I sprayed an even stronger cleaner into the toilet. Okay, I could smell that one, just a little, like it was wafting in the open window from the neighbor's. I guess I don't have to worry about unknowingly blundering through a cloud of chlorine gas. More than any other day, I mean.

I thought I might be one of the ones to get through this whole thing unscathed. Given how often I use public transportation, and I've gone without a mask for I guess a year now, I was amazed I hadn't gotten it. I thought I might be one of those people with the HLA-B gene variant. I even wondered if I might be one of those devilish asymptomatic carriers, blithely spreading the plague everywhere I went. I am fully-vaccinated, and iirc, one of the benefits of the vaccine is that it can knock the illness down to a shadow of its former self, if you do happen to get infected.

So now I have the rest of the week to play Baldur's Gate, watch movies, and eat very bland food. Is there anything I can do with my olfactory out of commission? I haven't smoked a cigarette in 20 years. That's not really tempting anymore. I can really clean the living daylights out of my apartment, using all of the worst chemicals known to man. I suppose I oughtta do that anyway. I wonder if any of the Asian markets in town sell durian fruit..?

Just don't mix anything together that would cause an explosion.

 

[EgonSpengler]

Okay, I'm already a little stir-crazy. This sucks.

 

[Kaitzilla]

It finally happened in USA #1.
A soda too large to fit into any cup holder.

I didn't think it would be you Panda Express.

Most stores have jumbo cups with a narrow base, but not you!

Spoiler :

 

[Takhisis]

jumbo cups

You are in the right thread.

 

[Takhisis]

Yay, 30% rise in meat from one day to the other. 1/8th rise in prices for flour-based products. Yay, inflation, yay!

 

[GenMarshall]

There two things I've learned over the years to never discuss with people; Religion and Politics. I'm at the point of never engaging with it since I'm just going to get burnt by them.

 

[Gori the Grey]

Man, how I miss being able to go to Colbert for some yuks after news like we've had!

(I think his first joke when he comes back will be "So . . . did anything big happen while we were away?")