My sister got rear-ended once by a cable car in San Francisco. The same rules apply. (They only go about 9 mph, but there's a lot of momentum in one of those things.)
I was rather sorry for the guys who rear-ended me. Young enough to have expensive insurance, driving a courtesy car from the garage where one of them worked, and not too close or too fast, really. The emergency stop was just not short enough. They had been too close before the junction we had gone through, but had no reason to suppose I would have suddenly become stationary. They would have had a problem with the monster had I not been there. It was wider than the part of the road it was using. And I know myself there was a delay in interpreting the situation - very small, but who expects a heap of green filling up a road that is supposed to have two lanes width?
They did offer to do the work themselves, but as it turned out to be a write-off, that would not have been a good idea.
TICTH the red tape I am going to have to go through getting my brother signed up for disability. I am probably going to have to get a lawyer for this, and pay for it. But he has no income at all, and is very obviously disabled, you would think that would be enough, but no, he's supposed to apply for it himself, which he can't do because he's f-ing disabled.
Motor manufacturers (yes you, F*rd) who provide a wheel nut spanner so cheap it splits when you try to use it 👹
I got a call from our lodger (formerly known as the Unexpected Guest) to say he'd picked up a puncture and the provided equipment for changing the tyre had failed. Cue self setting off to help in the cold armed with multi-head wheel-brace which did the job. The original manufacturer supplied item had split! Journey back via garage to get tyre fixed and ask them to order a proper replacement spanner.
TICTH all the fuckers with idiotic fireworks that basically just go 'boom' and shake the house. This is not about beauty, this is not about celebrating the end of a year, or the beginning of a new year. This is just a cheap excuse to make a helluva lot of noise, and create a real public danger with all their incendiary devices, such as risking damage to life and limb and other people's and public property.
I may have to call the cops. Who will be rather busy anyway. Bastid bangers!
TICTH the red tape I am going to have to go through getting my brother signed up for disability. I am probably going to have to get a lawyer for this, and pay for it. But he has no income at all, and is very obviously disabled, you would think that would be enough, but no, he's supposed to apply for it himself, which he can't do because he's f-ing disabled.
You have all my sympathy! We had the same hoo ha when income revenue wanted my stepmom to do her tax returns in spite of having dementia. I forget how that worked out now. Are there any charities in the local area you could approach for advice? They can sometimes point to organisations that can send someone to help (or at least that has worked for people I know in the UK.)
Update on this, supposedly the Medicaid person at the rehab is going to take him through the process. I have to call at some point this week and check on the progress.
We had to go to the home of a developmentally disabled guy during the first lockdown to be there for the phone call from the disability certification people, which of course they expected him to handle himself (::frustration::). In English, what's more. We put the phone on speakerphone, and the woman asked a question ("What's your SSN?") and almost hung up because he didn't answer her. It took me saying in a very loud voice, "Hold on, HE CAN'T ANSWER YOU, he's disabled!" before they developed some common sense and let his mother (Also with no English!) answer for him. After a mad flurry of effort to get a Vietnamese interpreter on a conference call. Meh.
And Mr. Lamb sitting right there all along, a professional interpreter, large as life.
TICTH staphylococcus aureus. The little bugs are trying to give me hell with cellulitis in my legs for the third time. Hopefully this time I have started treament in time to avoid the major problems of the two previous infections.
Sky have locked my account and email accounts. Trying to unlock them involves going round and round in circles with this b***** automated woman who doesn't understand my answers and thinks my TV is not working. Yet the info sky gives for unlocking is ring this number, and speak to the automated woman................ Grrrr.
I get the feeling that this is de ja vous all over again but I am so over mistakes in take away orders. Full service restaurants or drive throughs- it doesn't matter. They want to have people patronize their struggling businesses yet 90% of my orders have some mistake in them. I'm not even exaggerating. Jeez! I don't want to seem like a Karen, but is it too much to ask that I get what I ordered? Or that I don't need to sit in the parking lot to open my bags to double check before I drive home?
I get the feeling that this is de ja vous all over again but I am so over mistakes in take away orders. Full service restaurants or drive throughs- it doesn't matter. They want to have people patronize their struggling businesses yet 90% of my orders have some mistake in them. I'm not even exaggerating. Jeez! I don't want to seem like a Karen, but is it too much to ask that I get what I ordered? Or that I don't need to sit in the parking lot to open my bags to double check before I drive home?
Or, as I just did, spend 15 minutes in one lane waiting to be attended to while the other lane whizzes by, and the guy behind me is getting VERY AGGRESSIVE with his big, big truck.
Meanwhile, my inquiries are met with: "One moment."
I'm thinking of going elsewhere. Trouble is, the other places are equally crappy in different ways.
TICTH staphylococcus aureus. The little bugs are trying to give me hell with cellulitis in my legs for the third time. Hopefully this time I have started treatment in time to avoid the major problems of the two previous infections.
My sympathy to you, Ex_O. I finally got a doctor to understand just how horrible that is when he got it himself, giving me a little malicious pleasure... Fast treatment is the best thing you can do for it.
These big organisations can be utterly maddening. Sometimes in the past when going round and round in circles, it has helped me to find a UK address and send a snail mail rant. This usually provokes a human response & someone to communicate with at last.
Thanks for all Shippies' help. Last night I turned my computer off completely. I came this morning armed with IP addresses, advice etc. and grimly determined to get somewhere and found everything absolutely fine! Isn't techie life amazing!!!
TICTH my insurance company, which has decided in its infinite wisdom that my physical therapy visits should be capped at 20 a year, regardless of medical necessity. Assholes.
(To get the full flavor, you might want to consider that I dislocate/sprain/sublux something about once every six weeks or so, AND the normal recommendation is 2 to 3 visits a week.)
The small Imp, or Daemon, that lives inside one's PC or laptop does, I suppose, sometimes get tired and/or crotchety, and in need of a kip.
Many, many moons ago, long before the Internet had come to dominate my life, I had a desktop AppleMac. After about 2 years it died. I took it to be looked and was told that the internal battery (like half an AA battery and non-rechargeable!) had run out. New battery - computer returned to life. After that I knew what to do and would go to Tandy's when needed and buy a battery. Annoying but, ultimately, seemples!
The small Imp, or Daemon, that lives inside one's PC or laptop does, I suppose, sometimes get tired and/or crotchety, and in need of a kip.
Many, many moons ago, long before the Internet had come to dominate my life, I had a desktop AppleMac. After about 2 years it died. I took it to be looked and was told that the internal battery (like half an AA battery and non-rechargeable!) had run out. New battery - computer returned to life. After that I knew what to do and would go to Tandy's when needed and buy a battery. Annoying but, ultimately, seemples!
Ooh, Tandy’s, as I read that I immediately smelt the shop, sort of slightly burnt plasticky kind of smell - a real blast from the past!
@Thomasina Yes, techie life can be bizarre, but hurrah for your happy ending! @Lamb Chopped I add my curses at your insurance company's behaviour.... Grrrrrrr!
How I liked Tandy's. And Maplin. Who is providing the services they did?
eBay?
Seriously - a lot of traders sell on eBay exclusively (no shop, lower overheads etc. etc.), and, if you use eBay today you will note that most items are *Buy It Now*, with none of that auction nonsense!
Granted, you may not get the personal advice you'd get from a RL shop, but if you know what you're looking for, it's a good place to start.
(I speak only as a satisfied user of Mr E Bay's Magic Electric Interweb Emporium, but, as usual, caveat emptor - let the buyer beware...)
It's not just the advice, it's the wandering round the shelves finding things that I didn't know I needed until I saw them, or things that fulfilled a need that I knew I had but did not know there was anything around to do the job. Can't do that on ebay. (And I never do auctions now. What, never? - Hardly ever - got something the other week which had had no bids because I was the only person who wanted it!)
I hope all the Tandy/Maplin staff are out there somewhere doing things which use their skills, but finding them isn't easy. (It used to be little shops run by men who had been in R.E.M.E.* for National Service.) I suspect some bought up stock at closing down and have marketed it on ebay, but that only works if you know what you want.
*Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers
People who say they want things that you are offering then never show to pick them up. I offered a table on a free gifting site in our area. Three people asked to have it. I drew names and let them know who had won it and the winner never answered my message, so on to winner number two. Yes, they wanted it, then they never showed up to get it. I message them again and they said they had found what they wanted at a thrift shop. Let person number 3 know they could have it. No answer. I reposted it and person number 3 said they wanted it again. They plan to pick it up Monday. Fingers crossed. Very time consuming trying to give something away.
Every two months we have a week-long "large item pick-up" in our alleys. We cannot put our things out until a week before. If I have things I want to get rid of, but can't (or don't want to) take to a thrift shop, I put them out a week in advance. They usually disappear right away, even if it's just scrap metal or wood. I don't think the city has ever picked up any of my things. I would much rather have someone take them who can use them than have them wind up in the landfill. Quick and easy!
We are not allowed to just put things out here. Donate to thrift stores are closed at the moment, Pay to take it to the dump, but hate to do that with nice things, or offer it free pick up in your house.
When we downsized I put loads of 'stuff' on Freecycle, from fabric scraps to a three seater sofa. I don't recall many times that items were not collected, and only one occasion when there were no takers
It's amazing what people can find a use for!
Freecycle is a bit limited at the moment; it's running, but only in local areas, only if the objects can be left outside safely for the person to collect, and a whole lot of other caveats.
I'd be happy to leave the old dining table and chairs outside "free to a good home", but I really don't know if it's "done" here. Having said that, there was a bloke clearing out a cupboard in the entryway to the flats a while back, who said anyone could take what they wanted, but I'm not sure how much was taken and how much he had to dispose of himself.
That might be my best bet: the entryway is covered, and there's plenty of room - there was an old electric stove (in much worse nick than my furniture) left there for a few days last week.
I don't know; for a few days it was sitting there, and then it wasn't, so it could have been, as you say, nabbed, or someone could have been paid to take it away. It wouldn't have been much use, except for scrap - the control buttons were all missing, and it was in pretty bad shape. However, I think a good lot of the other bloke's stuff was - and there was a fair bit of it.
Are there charities that will pick up donated items on schedule? Here, that would include Goodwill Industries and the Salvation Army. I know that SA started in the UK, so I presume the UK version picks things up. Dunno if you have GI there.
ETA: "On schedule" meaning you arrange a time with them.
In Oz we have the Salvos and Vinnie's (St Vincent de Paul Society). They will pick up but are understandably choosy about what they will accept (i.e no rubbish). A phone call to clarify always helps.
Otheewise in most places there is a 4 monthly local council drop-your-junk on the footpath and hope toGod some scavengers will make a dent in the pile. and the Council truck pick up the rest for disposal. There is stuff Council won't collect such as motor oil, half-empty paint cans and other hazardous substances. The onus is on the dumper to take those to an appropriate place for final disposal.
I have been checking the websites of charities which will come and uplift furniture or large amounts of stuff from your home - I've had Cancer Research do this in the past. But currently, owing to COVID-19 restrictions, their shops are shut and they are not AFAICS making collections.
In Edinburgh it used to be that the council would collect bulky items on an arranged date, for free (at first, though I think you had to pay thereafter).
In the first instance I would check with Linlithgow Council to see if they offer similar.
In England, certainly, it's district council led, and you'd have to check what happens locally. We have a paid collection service, an online form that allows us to book and pay for up to 7 large or unsuitable items to be collected. The objects can then be left outside a day or so before collection with a note on them giving the collection number. The price increases the more items to be taken incrementally, so it's the same price for 5 to 7 items. It's more expensive to have one item collected on its own than it is per item for 7.
I've done this a few times, several recently as it's surprising what picks up and retains the smell of weed. My daughter's funky luggage did a great job of scenting the entire flat. And sofas cannot be taken by charity shops unless they have the right fire certification.
Last time I did this I had a couple of mattresses to go out so added everything else that was hanging around not suitable for the ordinary bins to get it up to seven items. The pile included a broken computer chair and some printers. I had to phone at the last possible minute to change the collection details as everything but the mattresses had been taken by some random bloke in a car looking for trash to steal.
Comments
They did offer to do the work themselves, but as it turned out to be a write-off, that would not have been a good idea.
I got a call from our lodger (formerly known as the Unexpected Guest) to say he'd picked up a puncture and the provided equipment for changing the tyre had failed. Cue self setting off to help in the cold armed with multi-head wheel-brace which did the job. The original manufacturer supplied item had split! Journey back via garage to get tyre fixed and ask them to order a proper replacement spanner.
Now warming up with a dram in front of the AGA,
I may have to call the cops. Who will be rather busy anyway. Bastid bangers!
You have all my sympathy! We had the same hoo ha when income revenue wanted my stepmom to do her tax returns in spite of having dementia. I forget how that worked out now. Are there any charities in the local area you could approach for advice? They can sometimes point to organisations that can send someone to help (or at least that has worked for people I know in the UK.)
We had to go to the home of a developmentally disabled guy during the first lockdown to be there for the phone call from the disability certification people, which of course they expected him to handle himself (::frustration::). In English, what's more. We put the phone on speakerphone, and the woman asked a question ("What's your SSN?") and almost hung up because he didn't answer her. It took me saying in a very loud voice, "Hold on, HE CAN'T ANSWER YOU, he's disabled!" before they developed some common sense and let his mother (Also with no English!) answer for him. After a mad flurry of effort to get a Vietnamese interpreter on a conference call. Meh.
And Mr. Lamb sitting right there all along, a professional interpreter, large as life.
@Ex_Organist I hope your early intervention makes a difference...
Swearing can, too.
Or, as I just did, spend 15 minutes in one lane waiting to be attended to while the other lane whizzes by, and the guy behind me is getting VERY AGGRESSIVE with his big, big truck.
Meanwhile, my inquiries are met with: "One moment."
I'm thinking of going elsewhere. Trouble is, the other places are equally crappy in different ways.
My sympathy to you, Ex_O. I finally got a doctor to understand just how horrible that is when he got it himself, giving me a little malicious pleasure... Fast treatment is the best thing you can do for it.
These big organisations can be utterly maddening. Sometimes in the past when going round and round in circles, it has helped me to find a UK address and send a snail mail rant. This usually provokes a human response & someone to communicate with at last.
Ah, the old "turn it off and turn it on again" ploy!
The small Imp, or Daemon, that lives inside one's PC or laptop does, I suppose, sometimes get tired and/or crotchety, and in need of a kip.
(To get the full flavor, you might want to consider that I dislocate/sprain/sublux something about once every six weeks or so, AND the normal recommendation is 2 to 3 visits a week.)
Ooh, Tandy’s, as I read that I immediately smelt the shop, sort of slightly burnt plasticky kind of smell - a real blast from the past!
@Lamb Chopped I add my curses at your insurance company's behaviour.... Grrrrrrr!
We used to refer to that as 'the IBM solution' but there is a posher phrase - 'the I-O toggle'.
eBay?
Seriously - a lot of traders sell on eBay exclusively (no shop, lower overheads etc. etc.), and, if you use eBay today you will note that most items are *Buy It Now*, with none of that auction nonsense!
Granted, you may not get the personal advice you'd get from a RL shop, but if you know what you're looking for, it's a good place to start.
(I speak only as a satisfied user of Mr E Bay's Magic Electric Interweb Emporium, but, as usual, caveat emptor - let the buyer beware...)
Actually, I think I meant Maplin ... though I've used both. Did Maplin swallow up Tandy?
The premises now sell Persian rugs...(or did - I presume they're not counted as essential).
I hope all the Tandy/Maplin staff are out there somewhere doing things which use their skills, but finding them isn't easy. (It used to be little shops run by men who had been in R.E.M.E.* for National Service.) I suspect some bought up stock at closing down and have marketed it on ebay, but that only works if you know what you want.
*Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers
It's amazing what people can find a use for!
That might be my best bet: the entryway is covered, and there's plenty of room - there was an old electric stove (in much worse nick than my furniture) left there for a few days last week.
ETA: "On schedule" meaning you arrange a time with them.
Otheewise in most places there is a 4 monthly local council drop-your-junk on the footpath and hope toGod some scavengers will make a dent in the pile. and the Council truck pick up the rest for disposal. There is stuff Council won't collect such as motor oil, half-empty paint cans and other hazardous substances. The onus is on the dumper to take those to an appropriate place for final disposal.
In Edinburgh it used to be that the council would collect bulky items on an arranged date, for free (at first, though I think you had to pay thereafter).
In the first instance I would check with Linlithgow Council to see if they offer similar.
I've done this a few times, several recently as it's surprising what picks up and retains the smell of weed. My daughter's funky luggage did a great job of scenting the entire flat. And sofas cannot be taken by charity shops unless they have the right fire certification.
Last time I did this I had a couple of mattresses to go out so added everything else that was hanging around not suitable for the ordinary bins to get it up to seven items. The pile included a broken computer chair and some printers. I had to phone at the last possible minute to change the collection details as everything but the mattresses had been taken by some random bloke in a car looking for trash to steal.