Author: wwducat

About: Writer, Technology guy, Photographer, Possibly EX-Software QA Engineer, Worker Bee. Interests: SCUBA, Working out, Friends, New Views, New Vistas, Photography
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Okay, I gotta ask. “Is It me? Why does it take 35 minutes to schedule a repair?”

30d3a08e 29b0 4c41 b8cc 7782df488013_1.87300e8b77a46036169a870b9ed84d75.So, not to get too detailed, because that would be boring and unnecessary. 

I’ve got a small problem with the RO unit under the sink. No leaking or anything it’s just the unit isn’t producing the proper volume of water.

No problem. I looked at the calendar, and noted that the routine service was only a couple of months off. So I called the service organization starting at 8:00 AM with the intention of scheduling the repair and the routine service at the same time.

It rang & rang but never in the menu prompts did they list hours. Well, maybe they’re busy… I called again at 8:30. Still no answer. 9:00 still no answer. 9:30 finally an answer. The person asked if I could hold. Of course I can. 8 minutes later she came back on the line.

I tell her I’m trying to schedule a repair and since it’s so close let’s do routine service at the same time. 

She spent the next 8 – 10 minutes telling me about a special discount for long time customers where they’d replace the water softener control head I have, with the next newer version that has wifi connectivity and is supposed to use less salt and less water for regeneration.

It’s only 6K to get this new improved system.

“Uh no thank you. I just want the repair and routine service.”

She says, “Please hold.”

Then she wants to know if I have the carbon unit. What? 

She explains further that the carbon unit has a second tank full of carbon as either a pre filter or post filter. I tell her I don’t have a carbon tank.

“Please hold.”

Then she comes back with a date late next week. Great thanks.

Then I’m transferred to the RO unit people. They tell me that they’ll come up 3 days earlier and, “Oh have you heard of our new improved RO unit that takes up less space under your sink. For a limited time this new system is only $1800 and it can be financed through Home Depot!”

“Uh no, I just want to have the unit I have repaired. I have no desire to spent $1800 on a house I’m trying to leave.”

“Well if you’re moving out of state we have dealerships all over the country and in some of Europe and Dubai. Where are you moving? “

“Home to the midwest where the water is filtered through sand and limestone and is pure and tasty without a filtration system. Thank you very much.”

“Okay, we can be there on Tuesday. The repair and yearly service will cost approximately 300.00”

“Great… I’ve got you in my calendar.”

I’m standing there after hanging up the phone and wondering to myself WTF? Why did it take 35 minutes to schedule a repair?

I was also wondering why the price for their new improved RO unit seemed really out of line. Nearly 2K, as it turns out is on the high side but a quick price check says some units are 4K. I’ll tell you what, for that kind of money the RO unit better be dispensing water that’s better than Ponce de León’s fountain of youth.

What the hell happened to placing the call and hearing “Yes Sir, the unit is not leaking is that correct? Great. We’ll be there on Tuesday if anything happens between now and then please call us back to have the repair expedited.”

This shouldn’t have been more than a 10 minute call, if that.

If this is the future…

I’m terrified to make an appointment for car service. I’ll be on the phone for a couple of hours while they try to upsell me a new vehicle when what I want is an oil change. Perhaps if the ashtrays were full I’d consider a new vehicle.

That latter reference will sail right over the younger set.

It used to be kind of an insult. It was a way to point out someone’s frivolous spending. There was a time when some people bought new cars every year.

Th 594139445.It was considered bad form and a waste of money. So if someone said, “Look, Andy has a new car. He must’ve filled up the ashtrays in the old car.” They meant it as an insult.

I’m becoming more convinced that the future is not the bright shiny cool life we were promised in The Jetsons.

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Robert Kennedy Jr dropped out of the presidential race.

Damn!

I figured this was coming. Between the mainstream media completely ignoring OR belittling his campaign in favor of Biden/Harris now Kamala/Walz and the sheer momentum that Trump continues to build, Kennedy never really got a fair hearing in the public forum.

Honestly, I like the guy. I think he’s got some good ideas and he’s made some really great points during his campaign.

He’s endorsing Trump which makes sense because the Democrat party is absolutely nothing like the party of his Father or Uncles.

His family, the rest of the Martha’s Vineyard crowd has all but disowned him over his “Defection” from the Democrat party. Thanksgiving dinner is likely to be a bit awkward.

I hope that Trump finds a cool spot for Kennedy in his administration. It would be great if Trump could make use of Kennedy’s knowledge and legal expertise to help clean house in Washington D.C.

Head of the FBI? Better yet, Head of the DOJ? Yeah that would do very nicely. Then go after all the bullshit illegality and suspension of constitutional rights that Wray and Garland have not only allowed… but ordered.

So that leaves literally only one logical choice for President. Here’s a clue… It Ain’t Kamala!

That cackling bitch needs to loose so badly that she’ll never consider running for a fucking thing ever again.

She’s not fit to be the night watch person at an abandoned restroom on an abandoned pier, on a dried up lakebed in the middle of nowhere.

(Yeah, tell us how you really feel dude!)

I’m sad to see Kennedy couldn’t get a fair shake. I really hope that Trump puts him someplace where he can really make a difference.

Apparently Kennedy flamed the shit out of the Democrat party in his speech. I’m going to make a point of looking it up and hearing what he said.

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Google got there first.

Apple Wallet California state ID hero_inline.jpg.large_2x.Google Wallet is now supporting California mDL as of today Friday, 8/23/2024

mDL (Mobile Drivers Licenses)

I’m still not sure exactly where, “there” is. Sure, Google beat Apple to the punch but honestly so what?

There’s an article from FoxLA that largely says nothing…

California driver’s license now available to add to Google Wallet

It again reiterates the TSA piece at selected airports. But doesn’t really say much about other benefits of having your driver’s license in your phone versus your wallet. Especially since you still have to carry the physical Driver’s License.

Again… The point?

Sure it’s neat but so what?

What benefit does this provide to the actual user?

Student ID use cases seem to be more beneficial.

Some colleges allow the students to have their Student ID on their phone which grants the students access to dorms, libraries, cafeterias, and other on campus amenities.

Some corporations in addition to Apple are putting their employee IDs on phones which eliminates the annoying lanyards with your ID dangling and if you’re a tech, getting in your way constantly as you access machines. In this case the ID on the phone opens doors and eliminates a whole bunch of problems with leaving your ID card in your car, or having the ID card lost or stolen because you dropped it when you meant to shove it in your pocket.

A lot of companies have polices about not wearing your corporate ID outside the corporate campus. This is particularly true of aerospace companies.

I can see the student ID and Employee ID and their immediate utility. Thus far, the benefit of my Drivers License on my phone, escapes me. Perhaps it wouldn’t, if I flew more.

Being able to validate my alcohol purchase at the grocery store in a self checkout line would be useful. Not having to tell the pharmacist my date of birth and name when I pick up a prescription would be useful. But neither of those cases are remotely available at this time.

Congrats to Google for getting there first in California. Good for you guys. 

But what now?

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So Demokrat Komrades – Do you feel betrayed?

You should!

Who did you vote for in the primary? Biden?

Were you able to vote for anyone else? Kennedy perhaps?

Probably not!

Kennedy would have been a good choice if you’d had the choice which your party prevented you from seeing in many states, much less voting for.

So now, without a single vote Kamala Harris is your candidate. How’s all that Trump hatred playing out for you? What about your party breathlessly claiming to be “Saving Democracy”?

This doesn’t seem like democracy. It seems more like Bait & Switch. Or something much more like communism or 3rd world dictatorships.

You VOTED for Biden. You Primaried him as your chosen candidate for president. You voted to have him run for a second term. Your choice has been ignored? Thrown Out? Shredded?

Alternatively it seems to prove that when it comes to Democrat candidates, they’re completely interchangeable without difference or consequence. Biden or Harris are both plug & play.

Hell, we still don’t know what Kamala’s plan to fix anything really is. Oh, she’s delivered a lot of words, but they don’t seem to have much meaning behind them.

I don’t understand how the average Democrat voter isn’t pissed off as hell and marching in the streets. Isn’t this pretty much what you claimed Trump would do if elected? I’ll tell you guys a little secret. The rest of us would probably join you protesting and marching in the streets because this whole Kamala substitution seems wrong.

I get how the machinations happened. Kamala is VP to Biden. It’s a lot like you’ve 25thed Biden then put Kamala in the incumbent slot. Except you didn’t! Biden is still President Kamala is still VP.

I’m beginning to think that you Democrats aren’t really interested in “Saving Democracy” I’m beginning to think you’re just about despising Trump and you’re literally willing to do anything to make sure he’s not President again.

If Trump wins, what are you going to do? Have Biden declare through some insanely obscure law that Trump didn’t win, then step aside to usher Kamal into the Oval Office? What then? Suspend elections indefinitely due to some crises?

Or is the plan to cast doubt on the outcome of the election just long enough to put Trump in jail for a traffic ticket, or wait for an assassins bullet?

Will you expect the people of America to just take it?

Well it’s done now. There’s no going back.

We’ll just have to see how the dice turn up.

I’m hoping Y’ll don’t roll snake eyes.

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Isn’t that an Interesting Trend?

Over the past couple of days I’ve had something going on with my back. So I’ve been sitting in a straight backed chair or lying on the floor.

This has given me time to be both frustrated and happily doing some reading about upcoming computer stuff.

This led me to investigating various applications for my phone, iPad, and Computer. Some of the new apps look interesting, and some of the older recommended apps might be useful even if I have to pay for them.

Before I load, much less buy an app I look at the reviews. Usually on the Apple App Store the best reviews are presented first. It’s the date you have to pay attention to. That best review might actually be 2 years old.

I’ve found that if I sort the reviews by date an interesting bit of information is often revealed.

Many of the apps show a reduction in the number of stars in the reviews and growing customer dissatisfaction. Which is kind of useful, and also very strange. You’d expect the applications to improve over time.

Sure there might be some glitches and transient discontent when new features are added or when the OS changes. But you’d expect those issues to be really minimal. What I’m seeing instead is very consistent death spirals. It’s like a version of an app stumbles and the app never recovers.

Over time, the comments and ratings get worse and worse until no-one is rating or complaining. So the question is, has the app stopped selling? Are people simply not rating it anymore? Or some combination of both?

When I find an app that has no new ratings for a year or more I tend to pass.

What surprises me, is how many apps fit the criteria for me to pass.

Oh, I’ll check other sources too. If I’ve got my eye on something I’ll check other reviews from publications where the journalist is paid to walk through the application as long as they’re not getting any kickbacks for a good review I’ll tend to trust their evaluation.

I wonder why application quality seems to be dropping. I also am glad to find out that it’s not just me that’s seeing it. I know I’m critical and wonder sometimes if I’m too critical.

In this case perhaps I’m not. If other people are walking away from poorly constructed subscription models where the “Benefit” of regular updates degrades rather then improves an application then I’m right there with everyone else.

All this being said, I don’t have a lot of apps on my phone and when something no longer serves me, It’s gone. There’s a journaling app that I’ve been subscribed to for several years. I like it because it’s available on all my devices.

The Apple Journaling app is really very nice, but it’s only available on my phone and I don’t like typing on my phones keyboard. I’d hoped that Apple would bring the app to iPad and then I’d use the iPad keyboard. Had they done that, I’d have cancelled the subscription to the other journaling apps and figured out how to move my journal entries to the Apple native app.

Apple didn’t, but they have extended continuity to a point where I can interact with my phone using my Mac screen and keyboard. Essentially opening a terminal to my phone. This means that I can move all the journal entries into the Apple’s Journalling app on my phone without having to be limited to the little tiny screen and keyboard.

If this works like it appears it will, then I’ll cancel the subscription to the journaling app and move happily on without spending money I don’t need to.

In this case it’s not that the journaling app I pay for had degraded, it’s that it has become redundant. Day One is still quite nice and it’s syncing across devices is well done.

I suppose I was looking at the apps because with the new Apple operating systems being released in the next few months. I was investigating to see what subscriptions I could get rid of and then trying to determine if I wanted to get rid of those subscriptions.

Fantastical for example, is super nice. It unifies todo, and calendar, into a single application. IOS and Mac at one time did this but someone decided that these functions needed to be divided into two apps that both had to be open, in order to go about my day.

Fantastical stepped in and corrected what was clearly a screw up on Apple’s part. With the upcoming OS releases, they are reunifying ToDos and Calendar and Fantastical’s days may be limited on my systems. Honestly Fantastical’s subscription model is pricy. While I like the application itself, I’d prefer to have only one and the Apple Calendar / todo list would serve my needs jut fine.

Fantastical would still be relevant for all the folks who want their work calendar and personal calendars displayed on their all their devices correctly.

I suppose at heart I’m a computer minimalist.