Rant of the Day v2.

[Smeagol]

Re the McAfee scam responses above;

A good friend has informed me that he has lost £68,000 after being scammed when 'renewing' his Norton anti-virus subscription. I am not privy to the full details yet but suffice to say that the person concerned is no fool and not easily duped.

[ricardian]

Incompetent scammers!
This was sent to the email address that I use in my capacity as secretary of the Visit Stronsay group visitstronsay.com.

[Pontius Navigator]

You going to take her up on it?

[emjay]

A software utility was purchased over the Christmas break and then down loaded from the Net. Efficient and painless process with the correct amount sucked out of the account that corresponds to the proffered card.
Then, contrary to what it said on the tin, the downloaded version was incompatible with the target system.

Oops - fired off an email and was pleasantly surprised to get a response within two hours, acknowledging the problem and cancelling the purchase. Full marks.

However, the money, pretty well instantly extracted from the account "may take between 30 and 45 days" to return.

The merchant claims they don't have it (which makes sense since typically a credit card payment is not credited to the merchant's account for several days). I certainly don't have it - the hole in the account is evident. So has the money slipped into to some other dimension to reappear later?

Hmm.....

[PHXPhlyer]

Cable and Internet Bill

My bill for cable and internet has gone up yet again.
I am to the point now of cutting the cable and going the streaming route.
The difference between internet + cable vs. internet alone is ~$125.
I don't watch but a fraction of the channels available, especially the too many shopping and Spanish language channels.
Any recommendations for a streaming service that would include local stations, news, and sports? I am also partial to documentaries, history and science types.
All of my TVs are "smart" with decent internet connectivity.

PP

[Rwy in Sight]

I had such a conversation about a Mi Box that offers the local satellite programs. I am not sure how it works in other areas of the world.

[PHXPhlyer]

My TVs are all LGs with all of the streaming apps either preloaded or downloadable.
I just need to figure out which services will give me the most bang for my bucks.
I already have Netflix and Apple TV through my wireless carrier and Disney + through my kids.
I need to research Direct TV, YouTube, and Sling, and probably several others.
Any feedback about these and any others greatly appreciated.

PP

[CharlieOneSix]

Just received this signature on the bottom of a communication from a female(?)..WTF? Life used to be so simple...

Anne xxxxxxxx
Dataflow Team Lead
NWS/NCEP/NCO
she/her/hers

[Boac]

I would reply:

"Dear she/her/hers...."

"Yours me/me/mine"

Thus avoiding having to gender-identify - a fate worse than death.

[Pontius Navigator]

Death/birth

[4mastacker]

Received a text message from my GP's surgery that the "Consultant Pharmacist" needed to speak to me urgently about my medication as a result of my recent blood tests. Phone call booked for 10.30, eventually rang at 10.50. After much flannel and waffle the message was basically "keep taking the tablets". Twenty five minutes of my life that I won't get back. Still it keeps someone in a job.

[Pontius Navigator]

Daughter just returned to Europe on the DFDS Dover - Dunkirk ferry.

Just arrived in Calais. Polish lorry drivers not amused.

[Boac]

For heaven's sake, only 40 klix out! Wouldn't you have been proud.....?

[Woody]

Just had an email from the company that I had booked and paid for our Day Two PCR tests on return, due to the latest u-turn from Boris we can now get lft ones at an unspecified price reduction, so many other people have done the same thing meaning no lft tests are available, so we can have PCR tests at the same price, which just shows how much money they were making beforehand

[Undried Plum]

An elderly (mid-80s) woman in the village has been a chain smoker for 60 years and has several of the pulmonary and vascular problems that you might expect. She also consumes silly amounts of spirits on a daily basis.

In the past week she's eaten nothing and in the previous week had eaten little more than a few bits of toast and some milk. She's been in increasing abdominal pain, so this morning her husband consulted the NHS24 helpline. After going through what was obviously a computer based Q&A the operator said the he should dial 999 immediately and request an ambulance.

He did so. The ambulance dispatcher said that they are not sending ambulances for anything other than cardiac and road traffic accident cases.

He arranged for a neighbour to take her directly to the A&E of a very large hospital a dozen or so miles away.

The A&E triage people immediately identified that it was acute appendicitis with an imminent risk of a burst. They put her on a surgical ward and started a course of potent antibiotics pending a risk assessment for an appendectomy.

I'm appalled that the Scottish Ambulance Service has degenerated to such an extent that they cannot perform their prime function.

I should add that the ambulances in Scotland now have a spiffing new livery which explains to any Gaelic speaker who does not speak English (are there any such people?) that the boxy looking van with the blue lights and the wailing siren is an Ambaileans, which I'm told by a Gaelic speaker is pronounced "ambulance". Nice to see the SNumPty Government has got its priorities sorted out.

[Pontius Navigator]

Daughter just returned to Europe on the DFDS Dover - Dunkirk ferry.

Just arrived in Calais. Polish lorry drivers not amused.

1. Turns out her ticket was TO Calais. Lucky it was not FROM Harwich
2. She had Dutch plates and was waved through with no customs, health, or immigration checks whatever.

[1DC]

Seems like your daughter qualifies as a female navigator PN..

[Pontius Navigator]

1DC, been there, seen that.

Copilot "what's that big island on the right?"
Nav "Africa"

Captain "Scottish this is....."
London "This is London....."

F111 at Cottesmore
"You put in Wittering, it goes to Wittering"

Arrived at Harwich, good very of our ferry to Zeebrugge
Don't travel when the clocks change.

I am sure military cockups surpass civvie ones. At that we are professionals. When was that last time an airliner took off with blanks on place.?

[Woody]

When was that last time an airliner took off with blanks on place.?

You haven’t read about the EK 777 on take off from DXB to IAD then

[OFSO]

Looking on the internet at failure points for our central heating boiler I note that "if the boiler is eight years or more old consider getting a new one..... "

I don't have to explain why this is a rant.