A Dangerous Day?

Supposedly daylight savings time save energy. I guess maybe there is a small savings, but on the whole, is it really worth it?

Think about it. The Friday before this silly thing started, people were driving to work in daylight. The Monday after, they are driving to work in the dark, and they haven’t had quite enough sleep. So more accidents are likely to happen. No savings there.

When those sleepy heads do get to work, they are just a tad sleepier than normal and as a general rule, sleepy people are not at their most productive. No savings there either.

I am not the only one thinking about this. So I Googled it. Look what I found.

USA Today  In fact this dumb practice is actually costing MORE energy! And it is dangerous to our health!

Daylight Saving Time is Bad for Your Health I knew it!

There is a lot more,  just Google it for yourself.

Two states seem to be smarter than the rest, Arizona and Hawaii do not observe DST (Daylight Saving Time). maybe I should move.

So how did all this silliness start?  If you really want to know, this article on  WebExhibits is pretty thorough and very interesting.

Rant over.

Martha

Product Feedbacks

Almost every time I buy something online, I get that email from the seller:

“Please rate product”

I used to do it, but not anymore. The first time or two, the format I submitted was not satisfactory.  Please edit to include ‘yada yada’

First of all, they sent me a request.  When I responded, they acted like I was the one who wanted the feedback and wanted me to edit my response.

So guess what? I just said to hell with it and now I don’t ever ever respond to requests for feedback.

In all fairness, I suppose other retailers might not make the same error in judgment as that first one did. However, my time is worth something to me and I choose not to respond to something that doesn’t meet their requirements.

I read a letter published in my newspaper.  This letter just said what I believe to be true. Don’t annoy customers, it’s bad business. When I get those requests for feedback, I am annoyed. I delete them unopened as I consider them SPAM.

Annoyed,

Martha

All The Posts I Didn't Make

I've written a lot of posts for my blog that never got posted. For some reason I just can't bring myself to post stuff that's either political or religious.

I have text files all over my desktop for posts that will never be posted. Most of them are just gripes.

I gripe about politics all the time. I absolutely hate what politicians are doing to our country. These politicians that we send to Washington just need to start doing their job. They all seem to want to have it "my way or the highway". Never mind what the people want.

But you know, it's the people's fault. They don't vote or if they do vote, they just keep voting for the same folks who aren't doing their job.

Then there are the religious posts I don't make. This country was founded on freedom of religion. But there doesn't seem to be anything that sets folks off than their religion. They want everyone to believe their way. Again it's almost like "my way or the highway".

I just have one thing to say about politics, I won't argue with anyone as it never does any good. And about religion, I'm not going to say anything about your religion or mine.

Now I'm going to delete all those unfinished posts on my desktop about religion and politics and try to think of something better to write about.

Martha

Buying an iPad From BestBuy

After I first saw the iPad with retina display I decided I really wanted one.  Since they are not exactly cheap I didn't buy one right away.

I had a $10 gift certificate for BestBuy and when they ran an ad that offered a $30 gift certificate with the purchase of an iPad, I went for it.  I picked out a cool cover from the discounted selection and went to checkout.  I asked about the gift card as she hadn't mentioned it. She then went to get the card after verifying with another sales person that I should get one.

I learned a long time ago to really watch when checking out, so when the sales girl had a CD with a antivirus product in her hand, I told her I didn't want it. She told me that it came with my iPad! I knew better, so I watched carefully as it rang up for $27. Again I told her  'I don't want it'.  She was rather insistant and I emphasized again, "I DON'T WANT IT".

So she removed that charge and proceeded to push a waranty. After repeated "No"s by me she finished the transaction  and I paid for my purachase sans antivirus.

Since by now I was rather pissed off, I decided to request the iPad package be opened to ensure there was an actual iPad in the box. There was, so I left.

Now if I hadn't known better, I would have paid for that antivirus. I wonder how many other folks did?

Martha

How Was Your Memorial Day Holiday?

Sunday morning seemed like any other morning until I noticed pink liquid on the floor by the refrigerator. Having had a problem with the freezer a few months back with water been coming out periodically on the floor beneath the freezer (The defrost drain was frozen up), I thought maybe the problem was similar.

However it was not the same. I opened the freezer door (this fridge is a side-by-side), and everything in the freezer had melted. The sherbet had become a sickly looking liquid as had the fudge bars. (Turned out the pink liquid was from thawed strawberries) The meat was soft and totally thawed.

So began the process of cleaning and trying to figure out what was wrong with the refrigerator. This refrigerator is only 7 1/2 years old. However this wasn't the first problem we had with this refrigerator. Mind you, this is Sunday before Labor Day. The chances of getting someone out to see about it in the next few days is probably slim and none. Since we've already had problems with this refrigerator, do we want to throw good money after bad?

Decisions, decisions. A lot of retail stores are having great sales on the appliances for Memorial Day. They have 10 to 30 percentage off plus a sales tax holiday on Energy Star appliances under $2000.

But before we can do anything, we have to try to save the food that is still good in the refrigerator side. So drag out the cooler, go get ice and try to save what we can. Some stuff just has to go, mayonnaise for one. A lot of stuff needed to go anyway so the cleaning began. One cooler wasn't enough so 7-Eleven here we come. All 7-Eleven had were flimsy little Styrofoam containers, so we decided to go to Home Depot and look at new refrigerators and coolers. Those new refrigerators were gorgeous and very pricey. Keep in mind we don't want the same brand as our old undependable one. The coolers were pricey as well.

It's a well-known fact that Walmart does have good prices. So we go to Walmart, look at the crowded parking lot and go home.

We decided to look at Best Buy because they had a good flyer in the paper with refrigerators on sale. After some soul-searching and trying to decide whether or not to throw good money after bad, we decide to go to Best Buy and look at their refrigerators. The good news they have some nice ones that are not too pricey, although they're pricey enough. The bad news we can't get one before Friday. Bit the bullet and bought one. I certainly hope we get it by Friday!

So here we are, camping out in the kitchen using coolers instead of the refrigerator. At least we have a deep freeze so we have someplace to store the ice that we need for the coolers.

The coolers are gradually emptying out of all the perishable food, but some of it is probably going to have to be thrown away.

That old saying "you never miss the water until the well runs dry", well that applies to refrigerators as well. You don't miss it until it doesn't work.

Martha

This post was composed with my new Dragon Naturally Speaking software.

Playing Games

I think most of probably played the blame game when we were kids, usually trying to avoid the consequences of some action that led to something unpleasant like being grounded.

Eventually real adults figured out the blaming of others for their actions wasn't 'cool' and took responsibility for their own mistakes or actions.

Foolish me for thinking our government is run by real adults. As far as I can see, finger pointing and blaming others because the government is not working just lets me know how childish those folks on Capitol hill really are acting.

There is another game those childish folks are playing as well. I think it goes something like 'If I don't get my way, you won't either. I'll pick up my toys and go home.'

Nothing the people want is being accomplished. Everything the lobbyists want is being done.

Strange though, when something affects the Capitol Hill kids, how quickly something can happen. Like being delayed getting home on one of their many 'paid vacations' or being yelled at by the folks who voted for them the last time.

How quickly that fix was made!

Martha

Capturas

I understand the need for these aggravating verifications, but gee whiz, why do they have to be so 'blurry'!

These old and injured eyes of mine have a really hard time with these.  Sometimes it's so bad I have to ask for the voice. Sometimes I just give up and forget about the whole process.

I think there has to be a better way to escape the spam bots, but so far I guess no one has come up with a better way. But sooner or later those nasty'bots will figure out a
way to get around the capturas and then maybe, just maybe someone will get working on the better way.

Martha

Windows 8 or Windows Hate?

Which will it be? So far I am not enamored of Windows 8. I am not using a touch screen, but a regular laptop. The Metro screen has a few good points, but not enough to make it worthwhile for me. I miss the Start button, and I find the navigation to be, well, challenging.

There are seemingly some folks that like Windows 8.  I suppose once a user gets used to using it, more will like it.  The key here is getting used to it.

I started trying out this new version of Windows when the very first Windows 8 Developer Preview was made available for download. I couldn't believe my eyes when it installed.  I was totally dismayed by this 'Metro-style (Modern UI)' screen. I tried finding my way around and eventually managed to 'find stuff', but it seemed that for everywhere I wanted to go, it took more steps than in my Windows 7. This is progress? Maybe I just needed to look longer and figure it out. The 'Charms' bar wouldn't come up without a lot of clicking. (This could be related to the notebook which really isn't top of the line.)

Then Microsoft released another build of Windows 8, so I figured that maybe this one would be better, easier to use, so I downloaded it and installed it. I didn't see much difference, but it was probably stuff 'under the hood' that had been changed. That ugly (and yes to me it IS ugly,) Metro-style (Modern UI) was still there.

There are some good things about Windows 8 I like, if only I could overlook that awful 'Metro-style (Modern UI)'.

It installed very easy. It found my wireless network with no problem. (That was a big plus.) I still had problems with getting the Charms bar to come up and the so called improved method of
capturing screenshots would not work. (It did once, but never again. I still suspect my hardware.) I just couldn't 'get in to it' and didn't even try much, as other more important stuff had my
attention. However, I experimented with a combo of keys and at least for now, pressing the Win key, Fn key and Prt Scr key simultaneously did work. (Previously it worked once by pressing the Win key, Ctrl key and Pr Scr key) If I used the onscreen keyboard it worked just fine.

Then Microsoft released the last version 'Windows 8 Enterprise Evaluation'.  Same stuff. I still don't like it. I have a computer, not a tablet! What didn't work on the previous version still doesn't work n the Enterprise Evaluation.  However, the Charms bar is easier to get to. There are tweaks galore available on the Internet, but I haven't tried any of them yet. My feeling is a new Windows should work out of the box and not have to be tweaked in order to use it.

I will get Windows 8 when the final version is available to buy and install it on my Compaq but I won't buy a new computer with Windows 8.  I will buy an extra copy of Windows 7, just in case I need to install it.

Now since I just hate to give up on anything computer related, I am going to make Windows Hate into Windows 8 or at least try! (But I think the majority of folks, especially those who used Windows XP for a long time, will totally and absolutely hate Windows 8.)

I do hope that Microsoft will do a better job for desktop and laptop users when they come out with the next version of Windows.  In the meantime I am saving for a Mac. At least Apple computers don't look like my iPad!

So listen up, Microsoft! My computer is not a tablet! I don't want it to be a tablet, I want to use it like a computer! Seems like Windows Desktop and laptop users are being totally disregarded in favor of the tablet users.

Guess maybe we've been thrown under the bus!

Martha

 

 

 

Scams in the Mail

Not all scams come in email or on the web.  They come in the regular mail as well.

Today I got a 'bill' from 'Domain Registry of America'. These folks were kind enough to let me know one my domains is expiring and I should reply right away with the funds to keep it renewed. It all looked very official and legal.

Except, that domain doesn't need to renewed until December and this is July!  They also think $35.00 a year is a good price, but I don't pay even half that amount and I don't have it registered at 'Domain Registry of America'!

What a scam.  A Google search for this scuzzy scam brings up tons of sites and they are all complaining about this scam.  Some of these folks sent them money, which is why they continue to try to scam folks with letters like the one I received today.

I tried to read all of the extremely fine print on the back of this renew an send money scam, but it was way too small. I tried with a strong magnifying glass and still couldn't read it all.

This scam has been around for quite awhile, but I guess there enough folks who fall for it so it just keeps going and going like the famous bunny.

 

Martha

"How to grow our economy: Tell me what you think" (Really?)

Email from Kay Granger, "How to grow our economy:  Tell me what you think'

In all honesty, I doubt Ms Granger has anything to do with the way this plays out, but I just had to post this.

I received an email from her or so it led me to believe.  Included in the email is a survey indicating what I think is needed to grow the economy. There were a number of things listed.  In order to check the ones I felt were most important, it was necessary to reply.  So I pressed reply, checked the boxes by the things I thought were needed and then I sent it.

Please note, there was an UN-CLICKABLE  line  'Submit and join'.

So then I got this message:
"This email address is no longer active. If you wish to send Congresswoman Granger an email, please visit http://kaygranger.house.gov and click on Email Kay Granger. For immediate assistance, please call Congresswoman Granger's office at 817-338-0909 or 202-225-5071. "

Excuse me?

So now, if I want to let Ms Granger know what I think is needed, I have to go to the site mentioned, click email Kay Granger, copy everything from the email she sent to me and paste it into a form! After SHE sent me asking me to tell her what I think!

(In all honesty, there WAS a link to take the survey on the web, but paranoid soul that I am, I hardly ever click a link in email. Since I have never contacted Ms Granger or her office, this email seemed a bit 'spammy',  and how did they get my brand spanking new email address to which this email was sent?)

I don't think so.  What would you do?

Just another example of our incompetent Congress, or at least that is how it seems to me. At the very least there should be competent web/email handlers! But perhaps they feel the burden (once again) is on the tax payers to make our thoughts known.  In that case they are right.

But don't do it this way!

Martha

A Hoax Gets Started

A hoax can get started with maybe a grain of truth.

I recently received an email about a dog leading so many folks to safety during the attack of 9/11. It was very well done, with a picture of the heroic dog included. The Hoax.

It was a stirring story, except it wasn't true. I usually check to see if stories are really true, but since this wasn't of the murdering madmen variety or any one of the type I usually get, I didn't check it out.  When someone brought my attention to the fact that it was a hoax, it burned me up.  There were clues in the original email that if I had checked, I would have known something was not kosher.

The email said the dog led some of those folks from the 112nd floor.  But how many people actually know that each tower had 110 floors? I didn't!

I should have known that if this story was really true, it would surely have been televised at least once!

Now I wonder if this hoax was based on another story (which may or may not be true) about a guide dog on 9/11. Guide Dog Led Owner Down Stairs on 9/11

The reference to this story (Excerpted from Ventura County Star, April 25, 2003) does not seem to be availble.  At least I didn't find it.

So maybe, since this article is to 'persuade people to raise guide puppies', the elaborate hoax about Daisy may have been done in order to get more people to raise guide puppies.  Unfortunately in this cas the untruth may have had the effect of making folks mad instead of getting the attention the hoaxer wanted.

Of course there is always the possiblility that someone just wants to 'be funny' and see how far the hoax will spread.

Martha

Letter to Advertisers on CNN

Have you noticed that some advertisers change up their commercials once in a while?  Like Geico does. Those commercials are clever and folks will watch and listen to them.

Not so for most of those commercials on CNN.

The EXTREMELY annoying one is for some firm showing all the people screaming out their windows, 'It's my money and I need it now'.

That one is the worst and I can't get to the mute button fast enough when that one is showing.

AARP Insurance is another one.  Same old, same old. Over and over again. Another one is the 'Do you owe the IRS more than $10,000? '. There are more, too numerous to name.

I have come to the conclusion these advertisers on CNN seem to be saying:

I need money (don't we all?), I owe the IRS huge sums of money (I don't!), I need one of those scammy reverse mortgages, (So I can pay the IRS?) I need a supplement insurance from AARP (it will cost a lot).

I guess they are saving  money by not making new commercials makes sense to them, but not to me! I wouldn't buy anything from them due to the annoyance factor!

I think I will just quit watching CNN!

Martha

I Didn't Post That!

Several times I have seen posts on Facebook from folks who say "I Didn't Post That, please ignore it".

'That' is something malicious and I am wondering how 'that' managed to get posted from the user's account!

One thing could be the user has a weak password for Facebook.  But the users that posted "I didn't post that" are fairly computer savvy and should have used good passwords.

Now we are finding out that third party apps (like Farmville) are probably the culprits although they are probably not aware of the security issue.

Net-Security explains.

Egads, what next Facebook?

Martha

The Super Bowl is NOT in Dallas!

In spite of all the uninformed news media telling you the Super Bowl is being played in Dallas, it isn't true!

The Super Bowl is being played at the Cowboy's home stadium located in Arlington, Texas!  Arlington is NOT in Dallas!

Arlington is 20 miles west of downtown Dallas and is the 49th largest city in the United States.  It is also the home of the Texas Rangers, the International Bowling Campus (which houses the United States Bowling Congress, International Bowling Museum and the International Bowling Hall of Fame), the headquarters for American Mensa, and the theme parks Six Flags Over Texas (the original Six Flags) and Hurricane Harbor.  More...

Martha

Where's the Quality?

Remember that Wendy's commercial with the old lady wanting to know "Where's the Beef"?

Well, this old lady wants to know 'Where's the Quality?'

I purchased some Hanes pajamas for gifts in December.  This month (January) I have been patching and mending seams that were not sewn properly in said pajamas. Every pair. They fit loosely so it isn't a 'busting out' problem. They are always advertising on TV for Hanes underwear, but I suspect I have purchased Hanes pajamas for the last time. I think they need to spend less on advertising and more on quality control.

Appliances should last for more than five years without expensive repairs. However, the new dryer quit alerting me when the clothes were dry when it was less than two years old. The sensor that tells when the clothes are dry quit working when it was less than five years old. Now it is taking twice as long to dry clothes than it did when it was new five years ago.

The new washer sprang a leak, less than five years old.

The new refrigerator had to have a repair when it was three years old.

The new dishwasher had to be repaired less than five years old.

Oh yes, these appliances are all made by GE, which brand won't ever be purchased by me again. I just hope some company out there does make good appliances.

They don't make stuff like they used to when it was all made in the USA.

Martha

Nosy? Or Sneaky!

Much has been said about Facebook's privacy or lack thereof, but Facebook isn't the only place that wants all of your personal details.

I subscribe to a number of RSS feed and some of them are about security.

One of the these feeds is offering a free 'unofficial guide to Facebook privacy'.

To get the guide all you have to do is fill out a form.

Facebook only requires your name, age and a valid email address.

Although your birth date is not required, looks like they want a lot of information just to get a Facebook privacy guide!

What a sneaky way to get your employment details! And what will they do with all that information if a user provides it?

Martha

How About Some Imagination?

I'm talking Microsoft here!

They can't seem to come up with original names for their email clients and talk about confusion!

We have Outlook in Microsoft Office and Outlook Express in Windows XP and earlier versions of Windows.  OK, that's not too bad, but still confuses lots of folks.

Messenger and Messenger Service was also confusing to a lot of us.(Not exactly email but still...)

In Vista we got Windows Mail.  That was a bit buggy so they came up with Windows Live Mail. (That was certainly buggy for me!) Then to top it all off we get Windows Live Mail 2011!

Please, Microsoft, name the next email version something new!

Martha

Is the TSA Going Too Far?

Oh yes, they are.  I am talking about the 'search' of passengers who fly.  The initial 'pat downs' were bad enough.  Now they are assaulting passengers in a way that would be considered a sexual assault and illegal anywhere else.  Passenger Security Checkpoints

They are 'feeling up' people in a totally unacceptable way! It is absolutely outrageous!  If the people don't protest to the powers that be it will surely continue.

I know the flying public wants to be safe when traveling.  But I seriously doubt they want to be felt up.

Here is one would-be passenger's experience. TSA encounter at SAN

For what it's worth, I will never ever fly again until the TSA stops treating passengers this way!  I predict air travel will diminish, trains, buses and auto travel will get an uptick.

Martha

I really hate this stuff!

Robo calls.  These are even worse when the robo caller doesn't recognize the answer machine or voice mail.  (Do you hear me, Secure Horizons?)  And the robo caller keeps calling and filling up my voice mail.  Ugh!

It's bad enough when you call a customer service center (especially the phone company) and have to listen to some automated robot before you can get through to a real person.  Now the robot is calling us!

The supermarket keeps re-arranging where stuff is located. Pressed for time I have to search all over the store for stuff I need.

All of a sudden stuff I am used to buying is no longer sold where I shop. I really hate this!

The product I want says '0 trans fat', but the ingredients (in teeny tiny letters) list 'partially hydrogenated oi'.  Hey dummies, that's trans fat!

Those drug company commercials that want us to 'Ask your doctor'.

Those awful commercials that end up with folks in bathtubs in the middle of nowhere.  For shame!

Victoria Secrets commercials.  Just because. (I have never ever known or seen in person anyone with a figure like those models!)

There are more things that really bug me, but for now this is all I want to say.

Martha

The Faster My Internet Connection, The Slower It Gets

So why is that?  It's because of all those external ad servers!  More all the time.  Sometimes there are so many ads on a site it's hard to find any content.

I know folks need to pay the bills, but give me a break, enough already! First there is intelli-text with those irritating boxes that jump up and obscure what you want to see. It's not just personal sites either. Even CNN uses intelli-text!

I read a lot of stuff online, but sometimes it gets frustrating when I have to wait for all those ad servers to finish loading.

Just a few that I have waited for today:
Downloading data from apimg.video.ap.org
Downloading data from core.videoegg.com
Downloading data from cdn.eyewonder.com
Downloading data from s0.2mdn.net
Downloading data from puma.vizu.com
Downloading data from ads.yldmgrimg.net

There were more, but they loaded so fast I couldn't read them all.

Today I am waiting and waiting.........Trying to view Environmental Graffiti! The bar at the bottom of my browser says 'Waiting for dig.com'.  Why? I have no idea!
Now it says Transferring data from scribol.com...' Waiting for zulu.tweetmeme.com... I just don't have time for all this 'Waiting for', so I will pass on this today and just mark those feeds as read. maybe I will try again later, but probably not.

Martha