|
Post by impulse on Jul 25, 2023 9:55:38 GMT -5
So my folks FINALLY found my old comic book collection that was taken away from me in 6th grade (apparently my step-dad had put it up in the rafters of the garage). Most of it has unfortunately been nibbled on by various rodents, but a lot of it hadn't, which surprised me the most. Some of it is probably fairly valuable (Not like Action Comics #1, let's not kid ourselves here..) and now I'm just scratching my head as to what exactly to do with it all, there's certainly a whole lot more that I don't even remember getting Well, I would think that part is obvious. Catalog the list of intact stuff and share it here, ideally with photos.
|
|
|
Post by Cei-U! on Jul 26, 2023 3:21:13 GMT -5
So just when I thought things were finally settling down, I go to my doctor yesterday and am told I have a heart murmur. They say it's probably nothing to worry about--it's likely just a slight thickening of the aortic valve tat frequently comes with age--but they're scheduling me for an ultrasound "just in case." See? I knew I shouldn't have expressed any optimism.
Cei-U! Grrr!
|
|
|
Post by Icctrombone on Jul 26, 2023 10:51:17 GMT -5
I don’t care what anyone says, Black Dog is Led Zeppelin’s best song.
|
|
|
Post by tartanphantom on Jul 26, 2023 11:29:07 GMT -5
I don’t care what anyone says, Black Dog is Led Zeppelin’s best song.
Nope, I disagree. But it is a great high-energy tune, and probably their best from Zep IV onward. And it ain't Stairway to Heaven, either.
Although, I must admit that I'm more partial to the earlier blues/folk phase of Zeppelin, so there's that. In fact, my personal favorite Led Zep album is Zep II.
|
|
|
Post by Slam_Bradley on Jul 28, 2023 14:38:50 GMT -5
I was in trial all day Wednesday and half the day yesterday on a three count information alleging Grand Theft by Possession of Stolen Property; Burglary and Grand Theft. The jury found him guilty of all three counts, but the Judge had already entered a Judgment of Acquittal on Count One because the Prosecutor did not prove that the truck in question was stolen (so the jury was absolutely wrong). I did not actually say this during the trial...but certainly felt like it.
|
|
|
Post by Cei-U! on Aug 1, 2023 16:03:03 GMT -5
So it looks like I've gone to war with Amazon. Oh, joy.
Cei-U! I summon the shots fired!
|
|
Roquefort Raider
CCF Mod Squad
Modus omnibus in rebus
Posts: 17,155
Member is Online
|
Post by Roquefort Raider on Aug 1, 2023 18:03:18 GMT -5
So it looks like I've gone to war with Amazon. Oh, joy.
Cei-U! I summon the shots fired!
A sibylline yet ominous statement! What happened?
|
|
|
Post by MWGallaher on Aug 1, 2023 19:54:42 GMT -5
Tomorrow I'll be initiating my retirement process from NASA, to be scheduled for Groundhog Day 2024. It was a very sudden notion that clicked in me early in July, and when I ran the numbers, I discovered I'll be taking home more in retirement than I do working right now. So with no unmet career goals and plenty to keep me busy, and with financial comfort assured, I'm finally ready to shuck the daily responsibilities to the civil service. I've already outlasted all but one of the group that was there when I hired in back in 1983. So six more months (or less, if we get the government shutdown I'm expecting in October), I'll follow the space program as an enthusiast, not a professional. I'll keep my teaching gig, but I won't be coming back as a contractor, like so many of my colleagues have done. I look forward to spending more time with reading, art, music, language, puzzles, math, writing, and travel!
|
|
|
Post by Cei-U! on Aug 2, 2023 1:57:26 GMT -5
So it looks like I've gone to war with Amazon. Oh, joy.
Cei-U! I summon the shots fired!
A sibylline yet ominous statement! What happened? They've suspended my account due to "suspicious activity," which apparently translates to "I waited too long between orders," and they won't remove the hold until I provide them with a form of verification (a bank statement with the last four digits of my debit card number specified) my credit union doesn't provide. The only workaround Amazon will offer is to close my account and open a new one. but if I do that I lose access to the books in my Kindle library, which I would have to repurchase. So I guess my next move is to contact a lawyer.
Cei-U! If I hadn't already wanted to kick Jeff Bezos' ass, I sure do now! Grrrr!
|
|
Roquefort Raider
CCF Mod Squad
Modus omnibus in rebus
Posts: 17,155
Member is Online
|
Post by Roquefort Raider on Aug 2, 2023 5:12:10 GMT -5
What the hell, Amazon???
|
|
|
Post by EdoBosnar on Aug 2, 2023 7:20:37 GMT -5
They've suspended my account due to "suspicious activity," which apparently translates to "I waited too long between orders," and they won't remove the hold until I provide them with a form of verification (a bank statement with the last four digits of my debit card number specified) my credit union doesn't provide. The only workaround Amazon will offer is to close my account and open a new one. but if I do that I lose access to the books in my Kindle library, which I would have to repurchase. So I guess my next move is to contact a lawyer.
(...) To me at least, this seems like a problem that could and should be resolved with one or two phone calls to Amazon's customer service (and maybe also your credit union). That you actually have to seek the aid of outside legal counsel for something like this is ridiculous beyond words.
|
|
|
Post by tartanphantom on Aug 2, 2023 9:37:04 GMT -5
Tomorrow I'll be initiating my retirement process from NASA, to be scheduled for Groundhog Day 2024. It was a very sudden notion that clicked in me early in July, and when I ran the numbers, I discovered I'll be taking home more in retirement than I do working right now. So with no unmet career goals and plenty to keep me busy, and with financial comfort assured, I'm finally ready to shuck the daily responsibilities to the civil service. I've already outlasted all but one of the group that was there when I hired in back in 1983. So six more months (or less, if we get the government shutdown I'm expecting in October), I'll follow the space program as an enthusiast, not a professional. I'll keep my teaching gig, but I won't be coming back as a contractor, like so many of my colleagues have done. I look forward to spending more time with reading, art, music, language, puzzles, math, writing, and travel!
Pretty soon you'll be able to do this with no apologies.
|
|
|
Post by codystarbuck on Aug 2, 2023 18:12:09 GMT -5
They've suspended my account due to "suspicious activity," which apparently translates to "I waited too long between orders," and they won't remove the hold until I provide them with a form of verification (a bank statement with the last four digits of my debit card number specified) my credit union doesn't provide. The only workaround Amazon will offer is to close my account and open a new one. but if I do that I lose access to the books in my Kindle library, which I would have to repurchase. So I guess my next move is to contact a lawyer.
(...) To me at least, this seems like a problem that could and should be resolved with one or two phone calls to Amazon's customer service (and maybe also your credit union). That you actually have to seek the aid of outside legal counsel for something like this is ridiculous beyond words. You mean their outsourced "customer service?" Yeah, good luck with that one. My late wife had her dealings with that mess. My account got locked out, due to similar nonsense and I just flipped them the bird and order through alternative methods that don't involve Jeff Bezos and his blood money. However I don't have any digital purchases or libraries through them. For good reason, as I never liked the terms of such things, nor do I trust cloud servers. Call me cynical; but, I learned one valuable lesson in the military and that was Murphy's Law is absolute: "Anything that can go wrong, will go wrong." Plan for it and don't trust anything to work as advertised. That lesson has stood me well for the last 30 years.
|
|
|
Post by MWGallaher on Aug 2, 2023 20:03:32 GMT -5
Tomorrow I'll be initiating my retirement process from NASA, to be scheduled for Groundhog Day 2024. It was a very sudden notion that clicked in me early in July, and when I ran the numbers, I discovered I'll be taking home more in retirement than I do working right now. So with no unmet career goals and plenty to keep me busy, and with financial comfort assured, I'm finally ready to shuck the daily responsibilities to the civil service. I've already outlasted all but one of the group that was there when I hired in back in 1983. So six more months (or less, if we get the government shutdown I'm expecting in October), I'll follow the space program as an enthusiast, not a professional. I'll keep my teaching gig, but I won't be coming back as a contractor, like so many of my colleagues have done. I look forward to spending more time with reading, art, music, language, puzzles, math, writing, and travel! Pretty soon you'll be able to do this with no apologies.
Believe it or not, one of the first songs I learned to play on the piano!
|
|
|
Post by codystarbuck on Aug 3, 2023 20:37:42 GMT -5
Well, @#$%! I just found out that my aunt died, nearly a month ago! She was my mother's younger sister and I knew she had some health issues, related to sunstroke, after passing out on a golf course and being unconscious for an extended time, a while back. She already had respiratory issues and back problems, before that. She lived in Arizona, and most of the news of that part of the family I got second or third hand, usually. Since my mother passed away, before the pandemic, I am missing the central information point for many, since I am not on Facebook. The last I knew, my aunt, who lives here in town, told me that my cousin was unable to care for her, on his own, anymore, and had to place her in an assisted living facility. She had memory issues, related to the unconsciousness and wouldn't know who people were and had trouble remembering things she had just been told. My mom's youngest sister, lived near the one who passed away (she had three sisters, one who lives where I do and two that retired to Arizona, near each other) but I rarely hear from her. My local aunt (who was the next oldest, after my mother, who was the firstborn), lost her husband early last year and I saw the youngest aunt and her husband (my only remaining uncle) here, for the internment of his ashes, back in the spring. Of course, I lost Barb, In November.
My uncle Roman, who was married to the aunt who just passed away, died of a heart attack, about 2 or 3 months after my mother passed away (My mother in September 2019), which was a sudden thing. My cousin, who is a little younger in age than I am, has lost his dad and now his mom, in the span of about 3 years, give or take a few months. His older brother committed suicide, when I was in college and I know that affected him. He later realized he had a drinking problem, after we saw each other at a holiday gathering and I told him about my sister's ex-fiance, who was an alcoholic and wouldn't or couldn't stop, leading to her cutting off the engagement He kept drinking and died from complications, with my sister discovering his dead body, in his apartment (they remained friends and she kept hoping he would seek help). My cousin realized he had many of the same behaviors (he is a computer programmer and he was doing a lot of partying, during the Dot.com boom, in San Francisco). He got himself help, which was good. He had been taking care of my aunt, since my uncle died and he remarked to my local aunt that she was the only family he heard from. I tended to get things passed on by my mother and I didn't have my cousin's contact info, but then ran into my own issues, with Barb.
It sucks getting old. Now, on my mother's side, I just have 2 of her three sisters living, and one of their husbands. My dad's side is completely gone, except for one uncle's second wife. Other than that, it is just my generation of cousins and spouses and kids. Last night, I glance at my bedroom wall, as I was putting down the book I was reading, to go to sleep and saw a photo of Barb and I with her mother and her mother's boyfriend, from early in our relationship (the first year) and I am the only one in that photo still alive. You reach a certain age and you find yourself nearer to the end of people's lives (and your own) than the beginning or even the middle. You just have to hope that you used that time well and hang on to the fond memories,
|
|