The Vent and Rant Thread

[Cinisajoy]

Originally Posted by covingtoncat73

Cool! I might go to the Gulf National Campgrounds in the Fall. It is an inexpensive trip.

I misfigured.
It will be $90 total for lodging. That is for 5 days. About $230 for fuel. And eats will be about $200.

[covingtoncat73]

Originally Posted by Cinisajoy

I misfigured.
It will be $90 total for lodging. That is for 5 days. About $230 for fuel. And eats will be about $200.

Wow. Awesome. Another vacation I do is to visit my cousin in Boston (she's been up there since grad school). Anyway, that is just the plane ticket and lunch out (she is a pretty good cook and likes to cook but we are usually out and about during the day. Lunch is never over $20).

[Cinisajoy]

Our meals usually run between $17 & 25 for 2 people.

[gridlewak]

Originally Posted by cromag

I tried that once. It corrected "Zinfandel" to "Infanticide" -- which totally changed the spirit of my post!

I know how you feel. Last year, my partner was away doing a teaching/speaking tour on the other side of the country with a 4 hour time difference. She texted me late one evening and asked me if I had been asleep. My intended reply was that although I was in bed, I was reading, not sleeping.

It wasn't till after I hit 'send' that I noticed that instead of saying that I was "in bed", it changed it me being "inbred". While I wasn't overly happy, my partner got a big laugh over that.

[Blossom]

Google keyboard use to be decent with its predictions. Earlier this year they introduced a new feature that keeps track of everything you type and tries to predict your words. It's horrible. It always changes even right words now. When I type on it changes it to in. If I type of it changes it to if. I'm constantly fighting it with the most common of small words.

Sent from my Nexus 7

[badgoodDeb]

Originally Posted by Blossom

Google keyboard use to be decent with its predictions. Earlier this year they introduced a new feature that keeps track of everything you type and tries to predict your words. It's horrible. It always changes even right words now. When I type on it changes it to in. If I type of it changes it to if. I'm constantly fighting it with the most common small words.

Sent from my Nexus 7

( Blossom -- a few quote marks in your last two sentences would help! I had the dickens of a time parsing them, while reading.
If I type "of" it changes it to "if" would have been easier to read!

Not that it matters much. )

[Cinisajoy]

Originally Posted by badgoodDeb

( Blossom -- a few quote marks in your last two sentences would help! I had the dickens of a time parsing them, while reading.
If I type "of" it changes it to "if" would have been easier to read!

Not that it matters much. )

It looks like her auto fill was on overtime.

[Blossom]

Originally Posted by badgoodDeb

( Blossom -- a few quote marks in your last two sentences would help! I had the dickens of a time parsing them, while reading.
If I type "of" it changes it to "if" would have been easier to read!

Not that it matters much. )

Sorry! TapaTalk ate the italics. It's fixed now.

[DMcCunney]

Originally Posted by Blossom

Google keyboard use to be decent with its predictions. Earlier this year they introduced a new feature that keeps track of everything you type and tries to predict your words. It's horrible. It always changes even right words now. When I type on it changes it to in. If I type of it changes it to if. I'm constantly fighting it with the most common of small words.

I replaced Google Keyboard with the open source [url=https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.pocketworkstation.pckeyboard&hl=en]Hacker's Keyboard[/i]. It has a better layout, and doesn't try to predict what I'm going to type next. Android really, really wants you to use the stock Google keyboard, so there are two different places you have to specify use an alternative, but once you have it works well.

But even that is strictly "in a pinch" for short bits. I have a case with built-in USB keyboard that normally gets the nod. Onscreen virtual keyboards are actively painful for extended text entry, and an external keyboard was a first addition for the tablet. (I also have a Logitech Portable USB keyboard for use traveling when I'll have a bag to carry it in. The larger size aids speed.)
______
Dennis

[ProfCrash]

Golf does not have to be expensive. You can find used clubs or good to excellent clubs on sale as new merchandise is brought in. In the US we have public golf courses that are pretty darn good and not that expensive to play on.

It has a reputation as being a snobby sport but I know lots and lot of folks who play because it is fun and they don't spend a ton of cash on it.

Personally, I find it boring and annoying and cannot make it past three holes before I pull out something interesting to do. I prefer mini golf. My Dad loves it and plays all the time. Lot of folks play it because it is a good place to talk business. (shrugs)

[Katsunami]

Originally Posted by Katsunami

I've had it. I'm shrinkifying my life.

I've actually started. This weekend I broke down the old desktop computer and removed all the cables. More than half of the stuff that was stored in a closet in the bedroom has already been removed.

Pity that I now need to actually order something to move along... the organ has a cheap 40 inch TV above it, which is used as a sheet music display. I wanted to mount this TV behind the piano now, but not against the wall, as I want the piano setup to be a stand-alone unit. The Ergotron monitor arm that became available after breaking down the old computer is not heavy/big enough for a 40 inch TV, so I had to order a bigger one.

(Don't worry: the home-made piano stand can take the TV. It carries the 46 pounds of the piano at the front, and the TV+Stand will be around 16 kg at the back. The stand itself weighs about 70 pounds, and is made out of solid 28mm beech.)

After finishing the piano setup, I'll move the stuff that's still in the bedroom closet to the computer room. Then everything is cleaned up, and all the stuff that is potientiallly worth something is in the computer room. Then I can get to sorting that out:

- Sell
- Give away
- Throw away

After that is done, the 'big' technology I'll own will be:

- New laptop (2016) and old laptop (2008) as backup
- 1 phone, 1 tablet (to be replaced; 5y/o), 1 Kindle PW
- 1 TV + Blueray player, audio system + a mini-computer as music player.
- 1 piano (with a TV and stick-computer for sheet music; no speakers, as I play with headphones exclusively, as it's an apartment)

That's basically everything regarding the big technology. Apart from that, there will be one bookcase that will hold the few Blu-Rays and hardcover books I still have. I've cleaned those out last year, keeping only the absolute favorites. (I've also given away all of the old games I had, after I've spent a few years re-buying the ones I really wanted at GOG.com during their sales.) The chess and go boards will be put in the closet for when I want/need them.

While going completely minimalist, like "I own nothing that cannot be carried around while traveling", or "How to own 25 things or less", would be a bridge too far, but I think this will nicely shrinkify my life and uncrap the apartment.

edit: I've also re-purposed an older 1TB drive as backup, and ordered a new one as 'originals' companion. That will be used to offload unused, but still important files from the laptop.

Basically those are files that I might need in the future, but don't need to have available all the time, transferring them to the external disks frees up hundreds of gigabytes on the laptop's hard drive. If I need one of these files (which is only rarely), I can search the external drive.

After that, I'll sort the files in \Documents that aren't yet sorted, and then the laptop is cleaned up as well.

[Cinisajoy]

I am beyond LIVID.
I pay my credit cards the day I get the statement in. I got a credit card statement last month.
Minimum payment $48.08
Payment due date 08/05/16

This month I get the credit card statement.
Payment made 7/11/16 $50.00
Late fees 08/05/16 $27.00

How the heck can it be late if I paid it before the due date and paid more than the minimum?

You can bet good money that Friday, we will be at Wells Fargo cancelling that card.
Oh and as of tomorrow, the only thing left on it will be that late fee.

So if you have a credit card through Wells Fargo, check your statements carefully.

[Blossom]

Did you call customer service and tell them? I would. We only use debit cards but when I had a capital one they did something similar.

Sent from my XT1528

[Cinisajoy]

He is trying to reach them right now. Luckily he got lunch.

Update: The guy on the phone would say nothing but your payment was late.
We will be going to their local branch Friday and cancelling the credit card. And will never do business with them again.

[wodin]

Bring your bank statement showing the payment dated before the due date and demand that the late fee be refunded. I've done that before when a payment was credited late (actually I did it by phone) and have gotten the refund.