Category Archives: rambling

stupid instagram signup attempt

A lot of people post Instagram links that I cannot see because they require a login. I decided to get an account to have a look around and was pleased that, unlike TikTok, an app wasn’t required for signup, only an e-mail.

I followed a few friends and had a look around. That’s all.

Day 3, I get blocked with a notice that my account was locked for community violations. I hadn’t even done anything yet. No Uploads, nothing. It demanded a phone number to unlock. I assume getting the number was its goal.

I have a spare virtual number, so I provided and confirmed that. Bam! It moved on to the next step seen in the image. I actually started to do it but was lacking the dexterity and coordination that day.

I decided that this is too stupid for words, and it doesn’t even say that providing the image will be the end of it. There might be more.

Fuckit. Don’t need it. I’ll never see anyone there.

gay travel long time ago

Old story. Part one.

Pre-Internet traveling abroad, not knowing where to go, arriving Madrid and wanting to dance in a gay club the first night, a quick yet unreliable way was to get into a taxi, and if the driver didn’t look like he’d be bothered by it, ask where to party.

I stopped a few cabs looking for a younger driver who might know what was trendy. All of them were old, so I got in with an old one and asked. He confidently popped it into drive.

He drove me to the red-light district full of sex clubs and workers walking the street. I asked the driver, “but where are the dance clubs?”

He said, “I thought you wanted sex?”

Me, “well sure, maybe later, but I need some hours of drinking and dancing first.”

I paid, got out, and asked some people in the street if they knew. They pointed me to some nice clubs.

Part two. Many years later.

Once the Internet got going, and early way of finding the party places was to go to a net cafe and get on certain channels on IRC (Internet Relay Chat). Mérida, Mexico, was well set up in that way. Clear, quick, information, and offers of company to the clubs.

I figured anybody that eager might not be a good date, and I was with my spouse anyway, so we’d just log off and go ourselves. At least in the clubs, we could look somebody over first.

Funny how things go.

savings bonds redemption

Something I had put off a long time.

I got out some paper U.S. Savings Bonds that I knew had matured some time ago and were no longer earning interest. There is an online tool that will tell you the status of any that you might have.

I took them to the bank and redeemed ’em. It’s not something that happens frequently, so it took the lead teller to assist.

The bonds had the bank names on them from where they were bought: Valley Bank of Phoenix and Triad Bank of Greensboro. Both of those names are now gone. I remember Valley National had a great retro logo.

Now I have a little mad money! 💰👍

Savings Bonds were once a popular way to save money and were often given as gifts.

Tasiki’s Bedroom — (forwarded, see link under image)

Tasiki’s Bedroom —

personal banking fuckup

Here’s a good one.

The itty-bitty place that handles my banking had a website malfunction Friday night which caused my browser to reload a few times. I got locked out due to “repeated attempts.” I have to call to regain access which I did Monday morning.

Because I had 2-factor authentication on, “that’s 3rd party,” they have to contact somebody else to reset and get back to me. They haven’t.

I’m thinking that like many places, services have been farmed out and they have no ability to operate them.

I’d think that a customer losing account access might be a thing, but no.

will you just hold the damned product?

When somebody hands you something, the natural thing is to reach out and take it.

With a flyer, it’s not too bad, because it can be tossed away easily. As part of a sales pitch, it’s harder. Once it’s in hand, the sale is half made. Odds go way up. The sales person then has leverage.

It tried this once on a liquid miracle cleaner person at the door. They kept pushing the bottle at my hand during the talk, tapping against it a couple of times. I kept my arms limp at my sides. Then they tapped my stomach with the bottle getting frustrated and saying, “will you just hold the damned product?”

We were both surprised and started laughing about it. I bought some just for the fun of the encounter and the strange charm of the salesperson.

The miracle cleaner was average but had a fresh exciting scent.

some political youtubers that used to be good

Some political YouTubers I just can’t do anymore. The daily show is 3+ hours, EVERY day. I don’t know how that can be possible. Is there any time for life outside of production?

The shows are inefficient. The first hour is about fundraising and likes with lots of popups, over and over. As it drifts into the content, constant shoutouts to the Superchat (people who pay up). Stop, start, stop, start.

A little content finally drifts in but the “likes” and “support” reminders keep coming in. “We need a 1000 likes, but we only have 300 with 1200 viewers. C’mon people.”

I’ve had to give many of them up. They used to be good. Painful.

as a teenager, having a “foreign” car

The old “foreign” cars were sometimes a disaster.

A long time ago, I had an English car, a Triumph TR-6. The electrical was 100% bad in it. The Lucas parts sucked, especially the alternator.

A mechanic modified the bracket and put an AC/Delco (General Motors) in it. That problem ended.

The distributor caps also cracked a lot. I could super glue them a few times but then would have to replace. I started stocking several at a time on a shelf.

I twisted an axle one time and had to wait 3 weeks for an expensive replacement from England. Somehow I put it in myself.

All that work just to enjoy a few minutes driving it every now and then when it decided to run.

Triumph owners used to joke, “well, at least it’s not a Fiat.” Talk about grasping at straws.

old pic of me

For some reason, one Sunday we all had to go outside and pose for pics beside some random overgrown bushes and weeds.

I might have been thinking, “if my armpits start stinking, I’m going back inside.”

ncsu bell tower ages ago

Random memory:

Late 1970’s, I was walking along Hillsborough Street in Raleigh. I was passing the NCSU Bell Tower and heard You Light Up My Life by Debby Boone being played on it.

It was an amazing surprise. I noticed that the door at the base of the bell tower was ajar, so I pushed it open and went in there. I discovered an old friend from high school in there operating the controls.

After a great reunion, she invited me to every concert she gave on the tower. ♥️