Month: March 2017

The ends of my 2 driveways looked something like this…

This week’s snowstorm ranks up in my top 3 worst evah for snow removal. About 15 inches of damp damnation fell here in the snowbelt, followed by a mercury nosedive. I initiated round 2 of operation “#hatesnow” at 8PM, and by then there was a mountainous 18 degrees of separation between me and a clear driveway. The wet snow on the roads turned to dense clumps from cars and trucks passing, so by the time plows uh, plowed it in front of my driveway, it was in the form of snow boulders. Frozen snow boulders. Above the din of music coming from my earbuds, strings of creative profanity filled the air as I struggled to push my snow blower through the frozen barrier. I even cursed Esla, the Ice Queen at her ill-timed suggestion that I “let it go.” As I slammed my right hip up against the heavy machinery, the music died. Ah. With phone in right pocket, the audio jack must have popped out. No. The audio jack was bent, but of course I could shove it back in, right? Wrong. It broke off in the socket. Deep. Irretrievable.

At this point, you may be thinking tweezers, needle-nose pliers, super-glue, or even the old bic pen trick… Did I mention irretrievable?

So, this is a problem. Not only could I not plug headphones into the phone any longer, but with the jack stuck in the phone, it would not deliver sound. At all. That meant no phone calls, no viral videos, and no tunes. Unacceptable.

To make a long blog post short… The solution:

• The Android app Soundabout – bypasses the headphone jack so sound will work normally, including to Bluetooth sources, like…
• SENSO ActivBuds S-250 – Wireless Bluetooth Headphones – an absolute steal at 36 bucks.

Let there be Rock.

This week, the current occupant of our Oval Office showed the discipline to read from a teleprompter for an hour before congress and the American people. That amazing achievement had pundits declaring he had finally acted “presidential,” and his supporters in my social network called it “great,” and implored me to “give him a chance.” Of course, our previous president was pilloried by these same folks for teleprompter use, but that’s a story for another post.

I thought about it. For about a minute. Then I thought about a scene from “It’s a Wonderful Life” when a desperate George Bailey was on the verge of accepting a business proposition from Mr. Potter, a despicable character who spent his life taking advantage of others with his enormous wealth.

Looks just like 45 without the rug…

The scene went something like this for me:

Me: [shaking Trump’s hand] Okay, Mr. Trump. [drops Trump’s tiny hand after realizing the twisted orange man was never going to change from the small, vulgar man he’s always been] No… no… no… no, now wait a minute, here! I don’t have to talk to anybody! I know right now, and the answer is no! NO! Doggone it! You sit around here and you spin your little webs and you think the whole world revolves around you and your money. Well, it doesn’t, Mr. Trump! In the… in the whole vast configuration of things, I’d say you were nothing but a scurvy little spider. You… [to Trumps’s assistant, Steve Bannon] And that goes for you too! [to Kellyanne Conway] And it goes for you too!

Just no.