The Vent and Rant Thread

[Stitchawl]

Originally Posted by poohbear_nc

Stitchy - thanks for the info on the Omron - I've seen commercials but dismissed them as a gimmick - I'll have to check them out.

They ARE gimmicky. But they work for 'our' purpose. As I said, I don't know if they actually cure anything, or if they work to lose weight or build muscle (I've seen them advertised for both,) but they DO give a good massage. Just be sure to slowly increase the power intensity over 10-20 seconds. Too strong and it stings. The pads loose their stickiness after about 15-20 placements, then just run them under cold water while rubbing gently with your fingers. Do NOT use a sponge or paper towel to clean them. Let them dry completely and you're good to go again. They are good for about 10-15 cleanings before replacement is needed.

The device shuts off automatically after about 20 minutes. To reset, turn the dial to 'off,' and if you want more massage, just slowly turn it back on. Experiment with different placements of the pads, different massage settings (it offers tap, knead, push, and rub,) and different setting for the area of the body (shoulder, sole, leg, waist,) as well as wide area and point. For my back, I use the 'waist' setting, wide, and knead, and move the pads starting just on either side of my spine for the first round, and moving outwards towards my hip bones for a second and third session. As a matter of fact, I've got it running on my back right now as I type. Feels gooooood.

Stitchawl

[MickeyC]

Originally Posted by poohbear_nc

Ice never works for my back - just tightens it up more - I find intense heat - hot as I can stand - works the best.

Stitchy - thanks for the info on the Omron - I've seen commercials but dismissed them as a gimmick - I'll have to check them out.

Have you tried a foam roller? They are about six inches in diameter and very firm. Sit on it and cross your legs at the ankles so all your body weight is on your right hamstring. Roll back till the roller is near the back of your knee then roll toward. Do this about ten times then cross your legs so all your weight is now on your left hamstring. Roll that one ten times too.

Doing this very effectively stretches your hamstrings which pull down on your back causing much of the pain. Until I learned this, the only cardio I could do was swiming. Now I routinely work out on the elliptical trainer, stair climber, stationary bike and treadmill and have no back pain.

[cromag]

Originally Posted by trichobezoar

...
I wish I could root my Kindle Touch! I found out just recently that I could root my Nook Simple Touch, but I'm afraid to try it on the one NST I have. It's in excellent condition. If I had another one to experiment on, I would. *nods*

If you want a spare Nook ST to root without risking your primary reader, they're pretty common and fairly inexpensive on auction sites like Ebay.

I got mine at Goodwill's auction site. You have to read the description carefully, and there is some risk (since they don''t accept returns). Prices tend to be good, but be sure you factor in shipping.

[Hitch]

First, ditto on the foam rollers--I use them. Hurt like hell, mind you, but excellent for stretching out the bits and pieces.

Secondly: somehow, someway, today, we got too enthusiastic about trying to do too much on the new Lenovo Thinkpad Yoga (S1), and screwed up my Dropbox. Granted, I was trying to get cute and permit access across my Wifi Lan, thinking I could avoid data collision by simply allowing the laptop to "see" the files, grab what I needed, work on it on the Laptop, and then save it back to the folder, like a regularly-networked folder. {sigh}. (And, yes, before anyone says it, I should have RTFI'd and thought about Dropbox's LAN Synch; but I was trying not to put DB on the laptop, given the vast amount of DB space I use, and yes, again, I know I can selectively synch only X folders to the laptop, thanks. I was too cute by half.) Needless to say, some tears later, we have to resynch and re-index it. A few hours ago, it was ONLY indexing 100,762 files. Now it's at 75+K files. LOVELY.

I'm seriously considering Lenovo's Reach for the endless cloud apps, but honestly...UGHGHGHGHGHGHGHGHG!!!!!

What really kills me is, yes, I DO know better.

Hitch

[eschwartz]

Was it just a matter of reverting files to a previous version, which required replacing the whole dropbox with a preserved Dropbox that was correct? Or did all the files get deleted, or what?

Because there is a nice tool for reverting Dropbox to a specified time, which saved my bacon after accidentally updating my Dropbox to a REALLY old version of my Calibre Libraries. I cloned it, made a new app secret, and gave it persistent login.

https://github.com/eli-schwartz/dropbox-restore/

It ended up being faster to rollback the changes and let Dropbox continue syncing.

[WT Sharpe]

Hey! Who wants to talk about ☼Customer Service☼? On October 13, 2014, I sent the following request to Virgin Mobile:

From: <Yours Truly>
To: Ourteam@virginmobileusa.com

On other people's caller ID I appear as "K***** R***". Obviously this person had the phone number before me. How do I change that to read "Tom Sharpe" or "WT Sharpe"? I've had friends and family not pick up because they knew no "K***** R***." It's aggravating.

On October 15, 2014 I received the following reply:

From: Ourteam@virginmobileusa.com
To: <Yours Truly>

Hello William,

Thanks for contacting Virgin Mobile Customer Care.

We are always happy to help you with your requests.

We have updated your account and changed the name of "K***** R***" to "WT Sharpe". It may take up to 5 business days for the changes to be visible when calling.

If you need additional assistance, feel free to let us know how we can assist further or contact us at 1-888-322-1122 (or *86 from a Virgin Mobile handset). You can reach us Monday through Friday from 6:00 AM - 10:00 PM CST, Saturday and Sunday from 6:00 AM - 9:00 PM CST. As a kind reminder, always make sure to include your Virgin Mobile phone number and PIN on all replies.

Thanks,

<Representative's Name>
Virgin Mobile At Your Service
www.virginmobileusa.com

After more than 5 business days elapsed, I tried the phone route as suggested in the email, and after my ear got numb from waiting my turn, again was promised in an accent I could barely understand that my request was being expedited and would be fulfilled within 5 days. Then on November 17, 2014, I replied:

From: <Yours Truly>
To: Ourteam@virginmobileusa.com

My number is 757 582-9109. You may call for my pin. Please, please, please change my caller ID name from "K***** R***" to "WT Sharpe". I've been very patient, but Verizon is looking better and better to me.


– Tom

To which a different customer representative replied,

From: Ourteam@virginmobileusa.com
To: <Yours Truly>

Hello Tom,

Thanks for contacting Virgin Mobile Customer Care.

We are sorry to know you are having problems with your Caller ID.

We have escalated your issue and we are working on your Caller ID to get it fixed.

Case ID: <number removed>.

Please allow 24 to 72 hours for a new update.

If you need additional assistance, feel free to let us know how we can assist further or contact us at 1-888-322-1122 (or *86 from a Virgin Mobile handset). You can reach us Monday through Friday from 6:00 AM – 10:00 PM CST, Saturday and Sunday from 6:00 AM - 9:00 PM CST. As a kind reminder, always make sure to include your Virgin Mobile phone number and PIN on all replies.

Thanks,

<Different Representative's Name>
Virgin Mobile At Your Service
www.virginmobileusa.com

To which I replied this morning:

From: <Yours Truly>
To: Ourteam@virginmobileusa.com
Obviously this is some new meaning of the word "escalated" of which I was previously unaware.

I am still "K***** R***" to anyone who has caller ID. Even those persons I may have to contact in an emergency who have no idea who K***** R*** is. Please change the caller ID that appears on other people's phones when I call to "WT Sharpe". Please.

My number is (***) ***-****, and my pin is ******.

Please. I've been asking since mid-October.

— Tom

[covingtoncat73]

Good lord. Yep, finals are upon us. A student was screaming on their cell phone and punched their fist into a window (the neighboring building, thankfully, not the library). Exeunt, pursued by campus security.

[WT Sharpe]

Originally Posted by covingtoncat73

Good lord. Yep, finals are upon us. A student was screaming on their cell phone and punched their fist into a window (the neighboring building, thankfully, not the library). Exeunt, pursued by campus security.

Is that a high school or college campus?

[covingtoncat73]

Originally Posted by WT Sharpe

Is that a high school or college campus?

College.

[WT Sharpe]

Well, at least the student is taking out their frustration on inanimate objects. Better property damage than hospital bills.

[samhy]

Originally Posted by WT Sharpe

Hey! Who wants to talk about ☼Customer Service☼? On October 13, 2014, I sent the following request to Virgin Mobile

First, good luck to you.
Second, today I learned that in the USA the mobile phone company is providing a user ID so that people will know who is calling them

[cromag]

Honestly, WT Sharpe, one of the happiest days in my life was when my contract with Verizon Wireless expired and I could drop those #@*& bums and their telephone robot zombies! I dreaded having to call them over problems -- and yet had to do so, very often!

Went with Consumer Cellular and I have been absolutely thrilled! They had to walk me through a problem with MMS messaging -- a human answered when I called, explained the problem, and then called me on my landline to answer any questions I might have while going through the process. Coverage, in my area at least, is good -- I believe they use the AT&T network. (Also, discounts are available for AARP members.)

[Bilbo1967]

We just found out that one of my wife's cousins committed suicide this morning. It's a close knit family and she's really upset. Mental health problems are #£%&ing horrible!

[WT Sharpe]

Originally Posted by cromag

Honestly, WT Sharpe, one of the happiest days in my life was when my contract with Verizon Wireless expired and I could drop those #@*& bums and their telephone robot zombies! I dreaded having to call them over problems -- and yet had to do so, very often!

Went with Consumer Cellular and I have been absolutely thrilled! They had to walk me through a problem with MMS messaging -- a human answered when I called, explained the problem, and then called me on my landline to answer any questions I might have while going through the process. Coverage, in my area at least, is good -- I believe they use the AT&T network. (Also, discounts are available for AARP members.)

If they're on the AT&T network, that means that unlocked Fire would probably work on it. (It doesn't on Verizon or Virgin Mobile.) Plus, I am an AARP member.

[red_phoenix]

Originally Posted by Bilbo1967

We just found out that one of my wife's cousins committed suicide this morning. It's a close knit family and she's really upset. Mental health problems are #£%&ing horrible!

You, your wife and your wife's family are in my thoughts Bilbo.