What’s On Your Mind?

[lizkat]

On my mind today: how civil some people manage to be when describing road trips in today's conditions.

I laughingly chided a bro for being crazy enough to make a round trip down to mid-Long Island and back upstate again the same day, due to an overcrowded calendar. Of course I referenced the complaint of a friend who lives down there, that driving on the island is impossible now, the rotten state of the roads and signage, everyone in a tank-like SUV doing 75 and being rude but why not since so is everyone else in sight, etc.​

His possibly self-censoring reply: "Potholes did not disappoint. Also the exquisite public manners of fellow drivers."

 

[Renzatic]

What's this about goats and pajamas now?

...are they pigmy goats?

 

[Pumbaa]

What's this about goats and pajamas now?

...are they pigmy goats?

I had to google it. Only knew about bananas, not goats.

 

[Renzatic]

I had to google it. Only knew about bananas, not goats.

Itty bitty goats is best goats.

 

[Alli]

I called the local opera company today to see what Covid precautions they were taking. Long story short, none. The staff and cast are all vaccinated. Yippee. But the audience will be shoulder to shoulder with people who may or may not wear a mask and may or may not be vaccinated. I guess my season tickets are another donation this year.

 

[SuperMatt]

I called the local opera company today to see what Covid precautions they were taking. Long story short, none. The staff and cast are all vaccinated. Yippee. But the audience will be shoulder to shoulder with people who may or may not wear a mask and may or may not be vaccinated. I guess my season tickets are another donation this year.

That’s crazy… Does your state maybe have a ban on vaccine/mask mandates for such things? Most opera performers are pretty liberal, so I’m surprised they wouldn’t require it for the audience…..

 

[Alli]

That’s crazy… Does your state maybe have a ban on vaccine/mask mandates for such things? Most opera performers are pretty liberal, so I’m surprised they wouldn’t require it for the audience…..

Alabama is just like Florida. Of course there’s a ban on mandates.

 

[lizkat]

On my mind today: soon talking to AT&T in the only terms they understand, revenue dollars. They can expect a loss!

I'm pretty steamed that they funded OANN in its startup era and are now claiming well that's not really how it was. Of course that's how it was. Add lying on top of stupidity to have underwritten a fake news generator, and the way I look at it, that probably all adds up to just about how much I am paying them every month for what they euphemistically still call "spotty" cell service to my area.

So winging its way to me right now is a T-mobile SIM for my XR which will acquire a new phone number on a senior citizen discount basic line month to month, and that phone will gradually acquire the 2FA powers for various websites as I work my way through the list taking care to attend to how each site requires a change of method or device to do auths.

I figure it could take me about a month to fix the 2FAs, and then my SE phone will say sayonara to AT&T (and go to WiFi-only mode or land in a drawer as a spare), since I'm on a month to month and always brought my own devices purchased from Apple. Basically AT&T has been clipping me since 1997 when they were still Cingular and there's still the same crappy service here there always was, because they're never going to bring that fabled "tower over the mountain soon!"

Meanwhile T-Mobile has been upgrading its network and some around here say they even get a good T-Mobile signal now inside their house. So it was time to switch anyway since I can barely get AT&T in my back yard, same as Verizon, so I've always resorted to WiFi calling over my DSL.

The data breach T-mobile experienced earlier this year doesn't really faze me... I lived through the Equifax one already and my credit stuff is locked up like a drum ever since that, lol had to unlock it briefly to let T-m check my credit today. So I figure hey at last the T-m breach probably taught them something and not at my own expense for a change. And I'll still be doing WiFi streaming so I don't care if T-m throttles after 50GB or whenever they just can't handle it. I had only 8GB from AT&T and usually used zero to maybe 200KB if i was traveling. I can stream SD fine over DSL most of the time.

 

[JamesMike]

While on a short work trip to Kenya, I heard the news that a popular tourist resort, Treetops, has closed due primarily to Covid issue, no tourists. I had stayed there in the early 90s. It is famous for a visit by then Princess Elizabeth and her becoming the Queen while staying there.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

While on a short work trip to Kenya, I heard the news that a popular tourist resort, Treetops, has closed due primarily to Covid issue, no tourists. I had stayed there in the early 90s. It is famous for a visit by then Princess Elizabeth and her becoming the Queen while staying there.

Gosh; poor, Kenya.

My wonderful driver has been in touch with me a few times - by text - to check in.

 

[DT]

Having the Tesla has opened up some interesting options for parking, we were just on a trip, and a place we've stayed dozens of times I discovered has much more parking.

It's always been the surface lot right across from the main entrance, but in doing our "charge planning", I found there's a few additional surface lots, but the real discovery: they have a 4 story, covered parking garage!

With free chargers!

So I parked in the main lot, got checked in, walked back down to the car, drove around a service road I had never been down (just assumed it was for resort/facility use). Sure enough a couple of extra lots, they were maybe at 20-25% capacity, another gate the room key opened, then there it was ... covered, a row of both J1772 and Tesla specific L2/40a chargers, I wheel in next to a TM3 and TMS, plug in, and cut through the ballroom/meeting areas, maybe 5-6 minute walk (at my perky pace )

Later I moved the car to a non-charging spot (NO CHARGER HOGS), and while the main lot was packed, this was this "secret" area:

So we hit the road a few days later at ~90%, no cost to "fuel", and of course when we got home I immediately plugged in so no gas stations to deal with

 

[DT]

Wife and Daughter got selected to be on a panel for Universal Studios, so right now they're on a Zoom call, to provide feedback for the existing parks, as well as the major new expansion planned for the next few years.

 

[Herdfan]

So winging its way to me right now is a T-mobile SIM for my XR which will acquire a new phone number on a senior citizen discount basic line month to month, and that phone will gradually acquire the 2FA powers for various websites as I work my way through the list taking care to attend to how each site requires a change of method or device to do auths.

You don't want to port your number over?

 

[lizkat]

You don't want to port your number over?

I'll port it over to another line later on.

 

[Herdfan]

I'll port it over to another line later on.

.When we move to AZ in a year or so, I am going to use the dual-sim function and get a new number and keep my old one on the same phone.

 

[lizkat]

It's what I want to do. [ not move to Arizona though... are you taking a water tanker with you?]

I have heard that some companies refuse 2FA auth tied to a phone number if a device is changed [but how do they know that?] else I'd port my ATT number from SE to a second T mobile line on the XR's e-sim right now and be done with it. I have to check with the entities I actually care about and make sure I won't have to get into account recovery operations on anything crucial.

 

[Herdfan]

It's what I want to do. [ not move to Arizona though... are you taking a water tanker with you?]

I have heard that some companies refuse 2FA auth tied to a phone number if a device is changed [but how do they know that?] else I'd port my ATT number from SE to a second T mobile line on the XR's e-sim right now and be done with it. I have to check with the entities I actually care about and make sure I won't have to get into account recovery operations on anything crucial.

Northern Arizona. Sedona area. Not an issue up there, or at least not as much of an issue.

Not many thing worse than account recovery for sure.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

The fact that the clocks have gone back this week-end - which means that winter is approaching. All too rapidly.

 

[DT]

Wife and Daughter got selected to be on a panel for Universal Studios, so right now they're on a Zoom call, to provide feedback for the existing parks, as well as the major new expansion planned for the next few years.

Wow, they got contacted afterwards by the facilitator, they were like, "You really had great ideas, I love the feedback quality from your daughter, we'd like a lot more from her"

 

[lizkat]

The fact that the clocks have gone back this week-end - which means that winter is approaching. All too rapidly.

Wow, our switchback to standard time isn't until next Sunday... so we get one more week of half-&ssed "daylight" lingering until around 6pm and then the sudden plunge into pitch black suppertimes. The sop to our feelings is that at least the sun then starts straggling out of bed before a quarter to 8am -- if it even bothers to do that during the greys of November and December. I share your feelings, at least until January and return of the light!