rant and rave

This is where ranting and raving occurs. Venting. Blowing things out of proportion. That kind of thing.

AVG broke my system!

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AVG Antivirus broke my system!  Instead of coming to my OGL and posting something, I’ve spent the past 1.5 hours trying to sort through why my computer is broken – specifically, why Explorer Patcher has been quarantined by AVG Antivirus.  It actually started last night when my computer couldn’t open a simple .txt file.  Then more of it this morning!  They claim it contains a trojan virus.  I really don’t believe it does!  It’s just an add-on program that changes the goofy Microsoft Windows 11 look of a computer back to Windows 10 or 8 or 7 or whatever you like.  It takes the stupid context menus out, gets rid of the silly screen one sees when punching the Windows button, etc.  An hour and a half!  Buggar off, AVG!  Stop trying to rule how I live my life!

activities, Starbucks music

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Been busy the past few days.  I installed some deadbolts in the rear of a rental property, cleaned out part of the garage, completed my taxes, blew out all the leaves from the red shale rock on the East side of the house, and attended a pot-luck supper at the community centre.

Boy, the music at Starbucks sucks.  There was some opera tenor bellowing away like a sick cow in the previous song, and now we have show tunes.  Should a person run the risk of sounding like a complainer, put up with it, or leave?

I left.

vultures (or Rogers)

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So we’re back with Shaw / Rogers after a brief stint with TekSavvy.

A few weeks ago we had switched over to TekSavvy for internet, TV, and phone.  Then we got a bill from Rogers for S2477.86 – almost 25-hundred dollars – a cancellation fee.  We signed up a year ago to a faster service and, apparently, inadvertently, signed a 5-year agreement with them.

Fine, except that the 5-year agreement was a contract that, somewhere in fine print, stipulated a fee of 50% of the remaining contract if we cancel.  FT and I were on the phone for an hour trying to sort it out.  In the end, FT decided to reinstate the internet and cable TV so as to avoid paying that fine.

So, although TekSavvy seemed to be a good company with which to sign up, we are now stuck again with … Rogers <say it with disdain> … for another four years.  Vultures!

another one bites the dust (HBC Neo MC)

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I cancelled another credit card – this time HBC’s Neo MasterCard.  Why?  I think 24% is a bit excessive, don’t you?  As well, I can’t download transactions into Microsoft Money (my accounting software).

You’d be surprised at how many banking / credit card people who don’t know the difference between transactions and statements.  Transactions are they actual purchases, payments, charges, etc. that one incurs, downloadable as digital whatnots that financial or spreadsheet software can read.  Statements are paper or PDFs that you can download to view the transactions of a given period.

Scotiabank, Home Depot, HBC Neo, and Walmart MasterCard all have no downloadable transactions.  So, I rarely use them … except for Scotiabank because they give me a sweet interest rate.

engine light, cups, snow

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I’m at Northside Dodge (now called Gary Moe) having the Chrysler Town and Country diagnosed.  The engine light came on a few days ago.  So now I have some downtime in the ‘service lounge’.  What to do?  I should have brought receipts to do finances.  At least I have a cup of coffee.

I went to Starbucks today for a Pike Place coffee and brought my own cup.  The server poured coffee into a paper cup and then threw the paper cup in the garbage can.  I called him on it; he said it was to measure the right amount of coffee.  What is the point of bringing my own cup?

It’s snowing again.  It started yesterday afternoon while we were working.

FT’s road trip, house #2, new fridge

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FT is on the road again, on a trek to Saskatchewan with TF.  So I’m on my own now for two weeks.  Nothing wrong with two old guys rattling across the prairies in a Pontiac.  They went last year, making this a now annual event.

This leads me to my next topic – travel.  I haven’t gone anywhere this year.  I’ve been working on the rental properties and the teardrop trailer, working only half days the past few weeks because of the heat.  Since Floyd’s leg started acting up, I’ve decided to take it easi(er).

The plumbing for the rear suite (formally called the garage) at house #2 is now complete.  It passed inspection just yesterday.  It is still a garage for now as there is still a bay door in it.  But that will soon disappear.  Next task: framing interior walls.

On my way back from trying to pay the Gutter Shop for work to be done at house #2 (turns out they closed down their storefronts, and Google hasn’t caught up to it), I stopped at Starbucks for a cup.  Nice day for a coffee in a shady outdoor area.

I bought a new fridge a week ago, and it finally arrived yesterday.  It’s a Whirlpool 18 cu. ft. freezerless fridge.  The problem is, it has to go back.  The fridge door is not reversible!  I haven’t seen a fridge with no reversible door for ages.  So I called, and they’re sending someone in the next few days to bring it back.  So I ask you, why would they make a fridge that 50% of the population cannot use?

Their explanation is that it is stainless steel.  …  What?  What the heck does that have to do with it?  I thought and have come to the assumption that people who want stainless steel fronts do not want extra holes with plugs in them.  There aren’t many fridges out there without freezers, so pickings are slim.  In the mean time, FT has opted for a normal fridge with freezer at the bottom.