Channeling my inner @Zorba as we get our new house setup, MIL just replaced her 30yr old SpeedQueen W/D, and I work for big tech so I’m generally into some smart home stuff. I like my fire/co2 detector will automatically turn off the furnace/fan if it detects smoke and my phone will alert me when a kid leaves the garage or fridge door open, but thats about where I draw the line. JUST BECAUSE IT RUNS ON ELECTRICITY DOES NOT MEAN IT NEEDS TO USE WIFI. Locks don’t need WiFi, my dishwasher doesn’t need WiFi, the list goes on .
Piss & Moan Table
- Thread starter Farmergreg
- Start date
Yep. I worked in "Hi Tech" my entire career, didn't like the direction the whole industry was going in basically post iPhone, and reject all the connected crap altogether. My new SleepNumber bed is supposed to be online, operated with a phucking PHOOOOOONNE, and connected to "the cloud". Fortunately, they also have an optional remote for curmudgeons like me - all too many products can't be used at all without the connections. I installed a new Chamberlain garage door opener for my tenant - it too wants to be connected to Wi-Fi and the cloud. To add insult to injury, the box included a completely useless paper "user's manual", but only a fucking QR code for the installation. That REALLY pissed me off, I had to go home, go to their website, find the damn install guide, and print part of it out. Chamberlain owes me for 2 gallons of diesel. Idiots.
Have I mentioned recently how much I detest smartphones and everything to do with them?
My mother thought I was a sorcerer when I paid for gas at the pump by "booping" my watch to the pump...
KennethS
TJ Addict
I just remembered one of my co-workers had a little girl record his voice greeting. That would really mess with the AI voice cloning.
KennethS
TJ Addict
Wanna hear something really dumb? The wife bought me a watch for Christmas. A mechanical watch, with 3 hands and a date window. Simple, basic watch. The pamphlet in the box had this:
That's just stupid on several levels - but I bet they get a fair number of takers. I'm STILL learning how much the PHOOOOOONNE is the center of so many people's lives and how they cannot conceive of a phone-less existence. The more I see, the more I'm just flabberghasted.
I paid some stupid tax this morning.
I leave for the office at 6am to avoid the shit fucks as much as possible.
That generally puts me at the office around 6:20-6:25am.
My office is in a shopping center complex.
I arrived this morning, parked, and as I arrived at the main entrance door I went to put my key in & realized it wasn't there.
I removed the office keys on Saturday prior to a hike, I can't stand extra keys knocking around in my pocket in those outings. Needless to say I forgot to put them back on & didn't notice it this morning when I left.
It's 13 degrees out.
The only other people in my office are my secretary & associate, she's on vacation and he doesn't come in on Mondays.
I'm the only psycho that shows up at this place at this ridiculous hour, I'm thinking I've got two choices, wait until at least 9am in hopes someone shows up to the complex manager's office to let me in, or lump it back home to get my keys.
After 10 minutes of contemplation I opted to drive back home, total round trip time was close to an hour.
So today I spent an hour & 20 minutes to go 20 minutes away & drove 45 miles to go 15.
That was fun.
I leave for the office at 6am to avoid the shit fucks as much as possible.
That generally puts me at the office around 6:20-6:25am.
My office is in a shopping center complex.
I arrived this morning, parked, and as I arrived at the main entrance door I went to put my key in & realized it wasn't there.
I removed the office keys on Saturday prior to a hike, I can't stand extra keys knocking around in my pocket in those outings. Needless to say I forgot to put them back on & didn't notice it this morning when I left.
It's 13 degrees out.
The only other people in my office are my secretary & associate, she's on vacation and he doesn't come in on Mondays.
I'm the only psycho that shows up at this place at this ridiculous hour, I'm thinking I've got two choices, wait until at least 9am in hopes someone shows up to the complex manager's office to let me in, or lump it back home to get my keys.
After 10 minutes of contemplation I opted to drive back home, total round trip time was close to an hour.
So today I spent an hour & 20 minutes to go 20 minutes away & drove 45 miles to go 15.
That was fun.
That’s one of my biggest fears. I go to our main office every Monday, and I’m an early-starter, too. If I forget my key, it’s a 2+ hour mistake. Sorry you had to pay that tax, but look on the bright side - you’re paid up for awhile!
That’s one of my biggest fears. I go to our main office every Monday, and I’m an early-starter, too. If I forget my key, it’s a 2+ hour mistake. Sorry you had to pay that tax, but look on the bright side - you’re paid up for awhile!
I rarely take my laptop home during the week. On occasion I'll need it for a video call or something off hours. Nearly every time I do take it I forget that thing at home. It's less than 10 minutes back but I feel like a Tim Walz every time I make that mistake. One of my guys drives about an hour and he's made that same mistake.
But other than that , how's your Monday going ? Hopefully this will be the lowpoint of the week , and you got it handled before the first office coffee .
That’s one of my biggest fears. I go to our main office every Monday, and I’m an early-starter, too. If I forget my key, it’s a 2+ hour mistake. Sorry you had to pay that tax, but look on the bright side - you’re paid up for awhile!
and the funny part is I have a drawer full of extra keys to the office, at the office. It hadn't occurred to me until today that I oughta just clip two off the herd and leave them in my car for future acts of stupidity.
While this is the first time I've done this, I've nearly walked out the door without them under similar circumstances before but I've always caught myself and grabbed the office keys before leaving, so it's not like I wasn't on notice that this was eventually gonna happen
the other funny part is even following that cluster fuck I was still the first person in the building. The ground level of the complex is retail and there's a main entrance to all of the second floor office suites & it was still locked upon my return, not surprised given the parking lot was still empty.
I've been doing this for so long sometimes I forget how late most other people show up at work. I shouldn't be surprised, I'm here a full 3 hours before my secretary arrives every day...
I have developed elaborate habits over the years to avoid forgetting or losing things, but they don't always work (especially as I age). I started writing up the habits for ensuring that I always have my office keys and laptop, and then realized that it's mind-numbingly elaborate, so you'll just have to trust me. I have selective OCD, and this is one area where it shines...
[And after bragging up my elaborate habits, I'm sure I'll forget both the keys and the laptop tomorrow morning! Mr. Murphy doesn't like braggadocio!]
Same here. The most productive part of the day for me is 6am - 9am! Even when I'm posting on WTF.
Early morning was always the best part of my day also , Think , plan , reflect , execute . All without dealing with someone else's inability to follow directions and constantly whine.
Epilogue:
As I sat here at 6:30am (now 2.5 hours ago) contemplating the drive back home I took a shot & texted the office manager, the only guy I know here; apologized for bothering him at that early hour but asked if/when he or someone would be in to hook me up with a spare key, thinking that if I decided to wait it out he may possibly respond at any time.
At exactly 9am he replied "I am no longer with the Mall, you will have to call the main office"
Christ
As I sat here at 6:30am (now 2.5 hours ago) contemplating the drive back home I took a shot & texted the office manager, the only guy I know here; apologized for bothering him at that early hour but asked if/when he or someone would be in to hook me up with a spare key, thinking that if I decided to wait it out he may possibly respond at any time.
At exactly 9am he replied "I am no longer with the Mall, you will have to call the main office"
Christ
Not really a piss & moan, but I *did* have an "interesting" day...
Started when my wife woke up at 10:15 (early for us) having heard something. Never did completely figure out what that was all about, but at 10:45, all Hell broke loose. She comes and wakes me up (again), to tell me that we're on generator, but some loads are operational, and others are not. BOING! NOW I'm awake... Grab a T-shirt and a convenient skirt and go to the main panel and turn on my voltage/current/frequency monitoring panel. 60 volts, both legs. WTF is wrong with that generator?
Long story short. The 60 volt sag was shore power, not generator. It was low enough to trigger the generator to start up. However, it inhibited the generator's output, which prevented the changeover contactor from switching over, so instead this low crap voltage is still connected trying - no doubt - to burn up refrigerator motors and Goddess only knows what else. Disconnected from that mess, genny took over and all was well. The only problem was I had no way of knowing when shore power came back on - so I monitored status on FPL's website. BTW, the low voltage confused the UPS my computer is attached to as well. Low and crappy enough to switch off shore power, but too high to turn on the inverter - apparently. Anyway, it was screaming its head off while not supplying power to the computer. Low voltage sucks - I'd rather have a dead leg, but I guess it beats an open neutral. The outage was fairly widespread, everybody had the low voltage. It lasted a couple of hours, hopefully most folks knew enough to disconnect from it.
Then I did some work on the Jeep, which I'll detail in the appropriate thread after I unload the camera...
Dance class tonite was shimmy drills - 3rd week in a row. I actually like dance drills in general, although I don't have the energy for prolonged shimmy drills that I had 20 years ago! My calves ache - that's the price we pay...
Started when my wife woke up at 10:15 (early for us) having heard something. Never did completely figure out what that was all about, but at 10:45, all Hell broke loose. She comes and wakes me up (again), to tell me that we're on generator, but some loads are operational, and others are not. BOING! NOW I'm awake... Grab a T-shirt and a convenient skirt and go to the main panel and turn on my voltage/current/frequency monitoring panel. 60 volts, both legs. WTF is wrong with that generator?
Long story short. The 60 volt sag was shore power, not generator. It was low enough to trigger the generator to start up. However, it inhibited the generator's output, which prevented the changeover contactor from switching over, so instead this low crap voltage is still connected trying - no doubt - to burn up refrigerator motors and Goddess only knows what else. Disconnected from that mess, genny took over and all was well. The only problem was I had no way of knowing when shore power came back on - so I monitored status on FPL's website. BTW, the low voltage confused the UPS my computer is attached to as well. Low and crappy enough to switch off shore power, but too high to turn on the inverter - apparently. Anyway, it was screaming its head off while not supplying power to the computer. Low voltage sucks - I'd rather have a dead leg, but I guess it beats an open neutral. The outage was fairly widespread, everybody had the low voltage. It lasted a couple of hours, hopefully most folks knew enough to disconnect from it.
Then I did some work on the Jeep, which I'll detail in the appropriate thread after I unload the camera...
Dance class tonite was shimmy drills - 3rd week in a row. I actually like dance drills in general, although I don't have the energy for prolonged shimmy drills that I had 20 years ago! My calves ache - that's the price we pay...
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