Petty annoyances

[Aresen]

After I called the bank to dispute the charges and cancel my card, I called Peloton in the hopes that they could track the charge to the device and get the cops involved.

If they catch the guy, I'm hoping they sentence him to a year of not being able to casually mention he has a Peloton.

Now, now, libertarians don't approve of torture.

[lshap]

After I called the bank to dispute the charges and cancel my card, I called Peloton in the hopes that they could track the charge to the device and get the cops involved.

If they catch the guy, I'm hoping they sentence him to a year of not being able to casually mention he has a Peloton.

So this is straight up cc fraud, right? You had to get a new card and all?

I just went through that too (umpteenth time)... someone was buying facebook ads at 2.00 a pop and I was lucky to catch it. The suck part is switching everything over...blech.

[Hugh Akston]

After I called the bank to dispute the charges and cancel my card, I called Peloton in the hopes that they could track the charge to the device and get the cops involved.

If they catch the guy, I'm hoping they sentence him to a year of not being able to casually mention he has a Peloton.

So this is straight up cc fraud, right? You had to get a new card and all?

I just went through that too (umpteenth time)... someone was buying facebook ads at 2.00 a pop and I was lucky to catch it. The suck part is switching everything over...blech.

Yep. I think what I need to do is get a card specifically for recurring bills and a different one for retail purchases.

[Warren]

After I called the bank to dispute the charges and cancel my card, I called Peloton in the hopes that they could track the charge to the device and get the cops involved.

If they catch the guy, I'm hoping they sentence him to a year of not being able to casually mention he has a Peloton.

So this is straight up cc fraud, right? You had to get a new card and all?

I just went through that too (umpteenth time)... someone was buying facebook ads at 2.00 a pop and I was lucky to catch it. The suck part is switching everything over...blech.

Yep. I think what I need to do is get a card specifically for recurring bills and a different one for retail purchases.

I have two checking accounts. One just for internet.

[lunchstealer]

I haven't been able to set up my Peloton yet until I finish re-arranging a bunch of stuff in my house ugh.

[Highway]

I'm trying to get a PE license for another state that my company is looking to work in, but that means I have to fill out a bunch of stuff on the NCEES website, and get my previous license and exams verified. And the State of Maryland says that I have a PE and passed the test, but they have no record of me taking the FE (Engineer-in-Training) test in Maryland.

So I emailed back asking if there was somewhere else I needed to inquire, because I've got this certificate that says I passed the FE test. I included a scan of the certificate to help them out.

[dhex]

Is it a record stored in the new one stop system? Because if so stay on them bc they've had Hella issues with that platform rollout.

[Kolohe]

Hey in you’re looking in Virginia I could probably lend you my FE/EIT exam cert, I’ve never used it. I have no idea where that paperwork is though, maybe with my diploma?

[Highway]

I have no idea what system they've got it stored in, but I got a quick response saying "Thank you for providing the certificate, we've updated our records and verified your exam results." Followed quickly by an email from NCEES saying that they'd gotten the verification.

Good thing I still had that certificate. I'm definitely not the best record-keeper.

[dead_elvis]

I got my Federal jury duty considered "served" today. So this should be in Tiny Triumphs or something but the woman did her best to make me feel bad and I resent her for that. I was told verbally last fall when I postponed my duty that it would be the first week of March, and the person I spoke with also knocked it down to one week because I'm self-employed. I get a letter saying start calling Feb 28. So I log in, it says start calling March 15. ???

I think, this must be a mistake that will be corrected, and I was only supposed to do one week so in my mind I'm done; I set aside the required time, and career-wise cannot afford to turn down any work if I'm called for something next week. So I call today, and she said the notes on my file were that I had been told it was postponed to the 15th (despite the letter), but after a lot of circular discussion she kicked it up to her supervisor and then the judge. She said it was likely I'd have been required to come in on Tuesday, but because of the misunderstanding they were letting me go because they didn't want me making a fuss when I came in. While I had to be persistent on the phone I certainly don't *think* I gave off any nutjob vibes so thanks for the offhand insult. She also had a tone the whole time that because I only had to call one week I should be satisfied. Mostly I think they were annoyed that I called today instead of last week because they were already set for next week but honestly sometimes I just don't have the energy for those kinds of potentially confrontational phone calls so I hemmed and hawed and procrastinated. And really, the facts of the matter are not changed, they are still in the wrong whether I called about it tomorrow or last week.

I did my duty, but she still made me feel like she thinks I got away with something and it's sticking in my craw.

So now I'm off the hook for two years. Pretty sure there's a note in my file now saying "in exactly two years, GET THIS GUY and make sure it's a drug cartel trial"

[Warren]

UGH Jurries.
OTOH I consider juries an absolutely essential check on the power to lock people in cages. OTOH juries have proven to be absolutely ineffective at that. Part of the problem is, as they say, "juries are made up of people so incompetent they can't get out of jury duty". That's not the whole story of course. I've never sat on a jury, but I've been called to jury duty and been through voir dire, which is a process where the lawyers weed out anyone who thinks for themselves. Even were I to be selected to sit on a jury and I found the case against the accused to have left more than reasonable doubt, I don't think I have enough Henry Fonda in me to walk the other 11 people through it (Me: His testimony is irrelevant because he's a cop. Everyone Else: ). I'm pretty sure I could hold out long enough for a mistrial, if they didn't just go all "you're not voting the way we want, so we're kicking you off the jury".

The fact that we have one of the highest rates of incarceration in the world is a national shame. OTOH I wish all the people screaming about immigrants and black lives would focus more on locking fewer people up. OTOH they're not making the problems they are focused on any better.

Our whole judicial system from top to bottom needs to be overhauled. And frankly, I don't see that any incremental changes that can make a meaningful difference...

Sorry, wandered a bit off topic there. So jury duty, how guilty should you feel for not serving on it. Well as I said, I don't think you'd ever be allowed to serve on a jury because you don't just accept whatever you are told. I think that's actually what they were pissed about, that they were jerking you around to make their jobs easier and you didn't just roll over. "We don't need you." I say, shrug it off and get on with your life.

[Jennifer]

I've received jury summonses in all three states where Jeff and I have lived together (though he has only received one summons, from Connecticut, which he instantly got out of because by then we'd already moved to Virginia). The two times I got notices in CT and once in VA, they were all situations where I called the night before, and got an automated message saying I was not needed, and this concluded my jury duty obligation for the next couple years. The Georgia summons I got last year, during the first week of March demanding my presence on the 30th, but then covid shut everything down less than a week later so my jury duty summons (along with everyone else's in my county) got cancelled too.

[lshap]

I was raised to believe donating blood is one easy, moral thing that upstanding citizens can and should do. My grandparents were both in like the 100 gallon club.

So I and many of my cousins continue this tradition. My problem is that the minor trauma of donating can kick off a fibro flare. This month I've moved 4 appointments due to not feeling quite well enough. Now the website won't let me reschedule any more, only "cancel." It's like they're sick of me jerking them around.

So I feel guilty and shitty, even though I know I shouldn't. It's not like I've shirked a responsibility. And yet...sort of, dammit.

[Hugh Akston]

Simple fix: donate someone else's blood

[Aresen]

I was raised to believe donating blood is one easy, moral thing that upstanding citizens can and should do. My grandparents were both in like the 100 gallon club.

So I and many of my cousins continue this tradition. My problem is that the minor trauma of donating can kick off a fibro flare. This month I've moved 4 appointments due to not feeling quite well enough. Now the website won't let me reschedule any more, only "cancel." It's like they're sick of me jerking them around.

So I feel guilty and shitty, even though I know I shouldn't. It's not like I've shirked a responsibility. And yet...sort of, dammit.

Don't feel guilty. I donated for many years - 154 donations - but had to quit because I was I could not maintain iron levels. You've done what you can. Good for you.

[lshap]

Simple fix: donate someone else's blood

Ha!! I am having fun concocting schemes for this.

[lshap]

Don't feel guilty. I donated for many years - 154 donations - but had to quit because I was I could not maintain iron levels. You've done what you can. Good for you.

Thanks Aresen. That does make me feel a bit better.

[D.A. Ridgely]

Don't feel guilty. I donated for many years - 154 donations - but had to quit because I was I could not maintain iron levels. You've done what you can. Good for you.

Thanks Aresen. That does make me feel a bit better.

Yes, I agree. Neither my wife nor I can donate blood in the U.S. because we lived in Europe approximately during the Mad Cow Disease outbreak and -- gasp! -- ate some beef while there. ("There" being, um, Europe.)

And we're both relative rare groups: A+ and B- *shrug*

[lshap]

Don't feel guilty. I donated for many years - 154 donations - but had to quit because I was I could not maintain iron levels. You've done what you can. Good for you.

Thanks Aresen. That does make me feel a bit better.

Yes, I agree. Neither my wife nor I can donate blood in the U.S. because we lived in Europe approximately during the Mad Cow Disease outbreak and -- gasp! -- ate some beef while there. ("There" being, um, Europe.)

And we're both relative rare groups: A+ and B- *shrug*

I was blocked for a decade or so for the same reason, but they changed the timespan that disqualifies. I think it's only 1994-1997 now? Not sure but I'm allowed now.

[dhex]

Does platelet donation cause the same flareups? My mom wasn't able to donate blood most of her adult life (low BP = constant fainting) but platelets were fine. Takes a long ass time tho.

[JD]

It seems to be some kind of law of the universe that if I put on a clean pair of pants, I will spill something oily on it within the first half a day.

[Warren]

It seems to be some kind of law of the universe that if I put on a clean pair of pants, I will spill something oily on it within the first half a day.

You must master the ways of the Tide pen, the Shout wipe, and the Spray 'n Wash stick.

[Hugh Akston]

It seems to be some kind of law of the universe that if I put on a clean pair of pants, I will spill something oily on it within the first half a day.

My track pants are tasked for a week in the field, but yesterday on day one I spilled buffalo sauce on them.

[Aresen]

It seems to be some kind of law of the universe that if I put on a clean pair of pants, I will spill something oily on it within the first half a day.

At horse shows, pristine white breeches are required. Of course, the first thing your horse likes to do is wipe his lips covered in green slobber from fresh grass on your breeches.

[Jennifer]

I've been trying to forcibly reset my body clock so I'm awake during the same hours most of my fellow Americans are as well; yesterday I must have turned off the alarm and went right back to sleep because I STILL did not wake up until 6 pm. Which royally pissed me off, so last night I did something I haven't done since my grad school days (when my sleep schedule was all over the place, thanks to the wonky hours strip club shifts tended to be): I moved my clock from my nightstand to a table a couple of feet away, where I can still see the time from my side of the bed, but must get up and take a couple of steps to turn the alarm off.

Right now I am tired and overcaffeinated, but refuse to take a nap. I will wait until at LEAST midnight before I try sleeping again. (Problem is, my night-owlism is so ingrained, it's not unusual for me to be dragging ass all day and then get my second wind at night when I want to sleep. I hope this doesn't happen tonight.)