Random randomness

Kraken · Post by **Kraken** » Fri May 24, 2019 6:12 pm

Blackhawk wrote: Fri May 24, 2019 10:35 am Or just actively block Java on that page. It breaks some animated page elements when they use them, but prevents their 'out of views' popup from working.

Turns out there's a Firefox plugin that allows one to block javascript, either per domain or per tab, with a simple click.

Anonymous Bosch · Post by **Anonymous Bosch** » Fri May 24, 2019 6:35 pm

Kraken wrote: Fri May 24, 2019 6:12 pm
Blackhawk wrote: Fri May 24, 2019 10:35 am Or just actively block Java on that page. It breaks some animated page elements when they use them, but prevents their 'out of views' popup from working.
Turns out there's a Firefox plugin that allows one to block javascript, either per domain or per tab, with a simple click.

You can also do it effortlessly with the uBlock Origin adblocker (e.g. I have mine set to block all javascript by default, and only allow it on the sites I trust).

Kraken · Post by **Kraken** » Fri May 24, 2019 9:44 pm

Anonymous Bosch wrote: Fri May 24, 2019 6:35 pm
Kraken wrote: Fri May 24, 2019 6:12 pm
Blackhawk wrote: Fri May 24, 2019 10:35 am Or just actively block Java on that page. It breaks some animated page elements when they use them, but prevents their 'out of views' popup from working.
Turns out there's a Firefox plugin that allows one to block javascript, either per domain or per tab, with a simple click.
You can also do it effortlessly with the uBlock Origin adblocker (e.g. I have mine set to block all javascript by default, and only allow it on the sites I trust).

Ahh, so I see. I'm already running that, but only using it as a backup to AdBlock Plus.

Blackhawk · Post by **Blackhawk** » Fri May 24, 2019 9:48 pm

Ditch AdBlock and turn on Ublock. Ublock doesn't allow sites to bribe them to let ads through.

Kraken · Post by **Kraken** » Sat May 25, 2019 12:20 am

I run them both simultaneously for maximum blockage. Any reason not to?

Blackhawk · Post by **Blackhawk** » Sat May 25, 2019 12:35 am

Kraken wrote: Sat May 25, 2019 12:20 am I run them both simultaneously for maximum blockage. Any reason not to?

Ad blockers run off of a 'block list' on what to allow through and what not to. Ublock Origin and AdBlock use the same lists. It isn't going to blow anything up, but you're not really gaining any extra protection, while you're using more than double the resources (Ublock uses fewer resources than AdBlock.)

Kraken · Post by **Kraken** » Sat May 25, 2019 12:44 am

I don't browse the web on my phone so resources aren't really a consideration -- my desktop PC has plenty of RAM and CPU cycles.

On this screen, Adblock showed 3 items blocked and uBlock showed 2. With Adblock disabled, uBlock shows 5. OK, Adblock is fired.

dbt1949 · Post by **dbt1949** » Sat May 25, 2019 5:08 am

You show getting popup adds for OO?

Blackhawk · Post by **Blackhawk** » Sat May 25, 2019 9:51 am

Likely just running scripts. I show four blocked on OO, and they seem to be related to embedded YouTube videos. IE - the videos are seen via OO, so YouTube's ads are seen via OO. At least they would be if I weren't running the blockers.

Kraken · Post by **Kraken** » Sat May 25, 2019 12:02 pm

dbt1949 wrote: Sat May 25, 2019 5:08 am You show getting popup adds for OO?

Only on the text box. I don't know how to read the report that shows what the scripts are.

GreenGoo · Post by **GreenGoo** » Sat May 25, 2019 6:51 pm

Grabbed uBlock, because why not.

Smoove_B · Post by **Smoove_B** » Tue May 28, 2019 9:49 am

There really is no world where it should take 50 minutes on the telephone to switch the date of service transfer for DirecTV. I'm not talking about giving the details and figuring out what needs to be done - that was already set up. Just trying to move a scheduled date to another one. 50+ minutes. I mean, really.

EDIT: And at 53 minute mark, they hung up on me.

stimpy · Post by **stimpy** » Tue May 28, 2019 9:54 am

I have asked my previous doctors office for a copy of a form that was filled out 4 years.
They are treating me like a criminal for requesting it.
I thought I had a right to my medical records?

Isgrimnur · Post by **Isgrimnur** » Tue May 28, 2019 9:54 am

Your first mistake is doing it by phone. Use e-mail or chat support when available.

Smoove_B · Post by **Smoove_B** » Tue May 28, 2019 9:56 am

I tried - online system was not letting me change service date; was told to call. I'm about ready to detonate.

Isgrimnur · Post by **Isgrimnur** » Tue May 28, 2019 9:57 am

There's always the social media route.

Smoove_B · Post by **Smoove_B** » Tue May 28, 2019 10:14 am

An hour and 15 minutes later, still no resolution. They literally cannot change the calendar date for service modification from one day to another. Meanwhile, my service is scheduled to move this Saturday. Their resolution? We'll call you back. Maybe I'm switching to cable. I've only been a customer for 19 years, who cares?

dbt1949 · Post by **dbt1949** » Tue May 28, 2019 2:10 pm

My wife destroyed another end table this morning with her armored wheel chair.
<sigh>
My life is a thousand cuts.

Paingod · Post by **Paingod** » Tue May 28, 2019 2:21 pm

Isgrimnur wrote: Tue May 28, 2019 9:57 am There's always the social media route.

I also like to check the website for things like Vice Presidents and other senior management. I'll carpet-bomb their email using standard permutations. My success rate is pretty high, given that I'm blindly emailing executives. Sometimes I get a call back within the hour to fix my issue.

EX: If Bob Jones is the VP of Customer Service for Spectrum at spectrum.com... I'll send off an email to bjones@spectrum.com, bob.jones@spectrum.com, bobjones@spectrum.com, rjones@spectrum.com, jonesb@spectrum.com, and jones.bob@spectrum.com hoping one will land in his inbox.

LawBeefaroni · Post by **LawBeefaroni** » Tue May 28, 2019 4:24 pm

stimpy wrote: Tue May 28, 2019 9:54 am I have asked my previous doctors office for a copy of a form that was filled out 4 years.
They are treating me like a criminal for requesting it.
I thought I had a right to my medical records?

You do and they have to keep them for a lot longer than 4 years.

However, depends on what kind of form it was. Not all forms go into the medical record. They should if an office is smart but not all forms are required to.

pr0ner · Post by **pr0ner** » Tue May 28, 2019 7:11 pm

Smoove_B wrote: Tue May 28, 2019 10:14 am An hour and 15 minutes later, still no resolution. They literally cannot change the calendar date for service modification from one day to another. Meanwhile, my service is scheduled to move this Saturday. Their resolution? We'll call you back. Maybe I'm switching to cable. I've only been a customer for 19 years, who cares?

How often do you get signal loss with your dish and bad weather? I'm thinking about dish as an option when I move, but I worry about losing signal when it rains really hard or we get accumulating snow.

Smoove_B · Post by **Smoove_B** » Tue May 28, 2019 7:25 pm

It does happen a few times a year, yes. Snow isn't usually a problem (my dish is mounted under roof line so it's sheltered a bit), but a heavy wet snow does require I go out with a broom and sweep it off (it's only about 7 feet off the ground, not a big deal). Heavy thunderstorms or snow clouds will absolutely interrupt the signal and then you're hosed. However, with the ability to download quite a few major shows to the DirecTV DVR on demand, it's not as much of a problem as it used to be. I guest the tl;dr is that it happens but not often enough that I'd consider other options because of it.

stimpy · Post by **stimpy** » Tue May 28, 2019 8:01 pm

LawBeefaroni wrote: Tue May 28, 2019 4:24 pm
stimpy wrote: Tue May 28, 2019 9:54 am I have asked my previous doctors office for a copy of a form that was filled out 4 years.
They are treating me like a criminal for requesting it.
I thought I had a right to my medical records?
You do and they have to keep them for a lot longer than 4 years.

However, depends on what kind of form it was. Not all forms go into the medical record. They should if an office is smart but not all forms are required to.

They confirmed over the phone that they have it, but the constant barage of questions about why I need it and what I'm going to do with it seems wonky. On top of that, they are dragging their feet at supplying it. I tried to show up unannounced today, but the road to get there was washed out......

Smoove_B · Post by **Smoove_B** » Wed May 29, 2019 11:42 am

Last night via chat: We totally changed that service appointment for you
This morning: They did not

I've now spent close to 3 hours on the phone and in a chat window with various customer support representatives, all of whom have assured me they can help me (they cannot). Three times I've been assured the date was changed; it has not been. I've had just about enough.

gilraen · Post by **gilraen** » Wed May 29, 2019 11:48 am

Just tell them to cancel your service instead, so they can transfer you to customer retention people instead. They might be more competent and have more authority to make changes.

Smoove_B · Post by **Smoove_B** » Wed May 29, 2019 12:03 pm

Yup. I went that route and was repeatedly assured my problem could be addressed (it hasn't). After 3+ hours I was told that the only person that can modify the service date is the original agent that took the order. What kind of absurd scheduling system is that? Regardless I've been assured (once again) it will be handled by tomorrow morning. Really looking forward to it.

Paingod · Post by **Paingod** » Wed May 29, 2019 12:35 pm

Leatherman multi-tools are awesome.

My wife got me a Wave years ago and it's been in my pocket almost every day since and has been used countless times. Three weeks ago it was exactly what I needed to shave wood at our camp site so I could get a fire going and keep the family warm - it was a soggy day and there was no fire starting kit at the site, so we would have been cold and miserable without it. The only dry wood was full-sized hardwood logs, so I got to work on them. I managed to snap the tip of the blade off while prying at a splinter to get a bigger bit of kindling, though.

Searching for a replacement blade online was fruitless. One might cost me $13 if I wanted to buy it used on eBay, but I couldn't find a simple replacement. I contacted Leatherman and they told me why... all of their products have a "Lifetime" (25 year) guarantee. I shipped my damaged mutli-tool off to them a couple weeks ago and they've replaced the blade at no cost and it should be in my mailbox when I get home. I've felt naked without it!

hitbyambulance · Post by **hitbyambulance** » Wed May 29, 2019 1:50 pm

Paingod wrote: Wed May 29, 2019 12:35 pm I contacted Leatherman and they told me why... all of their products have a "Lifetime" (25 year) guarantee.

Tweezerman is the same. i've always had great customer service from them.

Brian · Post by **Brian** » Wed May 29, 2019 1:57 pm

I've never broken a Leatherman. I've either lost them or had them stolen.

I currently have a Wave riding on my hip in its holster.

The Wave is great but my previous one was much better. I'd have to do a little research to find the model name for it.

Edit: It was the Super Tool.

That's the one that was stolen. All the others I lost (except one I gave my daughter).

hitbyambulance · Post by **hitbyambulance** » Wed May 29, 2019 2:04 pm

Brian wrote: Wed May 29, 2019 1:57 pm All the others I lost

and all the Leathermans (Leathermen? lol) i own were found ones

Trent Steel · Post by **Trent Steel** » Wed May 29, 2019 2:45 pm

Smoove_B wrote: Tue May 28, 2019 9:49 am There really is no world where it should take 50 minutes on the telephone to switch the date of service transfer for DirecTV.

On the TELEPHONE?!?

Kraken · Post by **Kraken** » Wed May 29, 2019 3:37 pm

Trent Steel wrote: Wed May 29, 2019 2:45 pm
Smoove_B wrote: Tue May 28, 2019 9:49 am There really is no world where it should take 50 minutes on the telephone to switch the date of service transfer for DirecTV.
On the TELEPHONE?!?

Did you even try texting them a dick pic? I hear those get results.

Smoove_B · Post by **Smoove_B** » Wed May 29, 2019 3:41 pm

If this isn't resolved prior to 12pm tomorrow, I will burn a motherforker to the ground.

Anonymous Bosch · Post by **Anonymous Bosch** » Wed May 29, 2019 4:09 pm

Paingod wrote: Wed May 29, 2019 12:35 pm Leatherman multi-tools are awesome.

My wife got me a Wave years ago and it's been in my pocket almost every day since and has been used countless times. Three weeks ago it was exactly what I needed to shave wood at our camp site so I could get a fire going and keep the family warm - it was a soggy day and there was no fire starting kit at the site, so we would have been cold and miserable without it. The only dry wood was full-sized hardwood logs, so I got to work on them. I managed to snap the tip of the blade off while prying at a splinter to get a bigger bit of kindling, though.

Searching for a replacement blade online was fruitless. One might cost me $13 if I wanted to buy it used on eBay, but I couldn't find a simple replacement. I contacted Leatherman and they told me why... all of their products have a "Lifetime" (25 year) guarantee. I shipped my damaged mutli-tool off to them a couple weeks ago and they've replaced the blade at no cost and it should be in my mailbox when I get home. I've felt naked without it!

Sorry, but as unarguably useful as multitools can be, you used the wrong tool for the job.

Uncle Bill's Sliver Gripper is the simple tool you need, especially if you spend any time working with wood or metal (though I strongly recommend sharpening them with a file to achieve the best results). They're terrific for quickly and easily digging in to remove splinters, but they're also mighty useful for extracting ticks/chiggers and the like. Better yet, they easily clip on and off a keychain so they make for an effortless EDC item to keep around:

EDIT: Oops, I misunderstood your post -- upon re-reading, you were digging at a splinter on a log. D'oh!

Z-Corn · Post by **Z-Corn** » Wed May 29, 2019 5:11 pm

Trent Steel wrote: Wed May 29, 2019 2:45 pm
Smoove_B wrote: Tue May 28, 2019 9:49 am There really is no world where it should take 50 minutes on the telephone to switch the date of service transfer for DirecTV.
On the TELEPHONE?!?

Trent Steel · Post by **Trent Steel** » Wed May 29, 2019 5:18 pm

Z-Corn, we can officially hang out now.

Paingod · Post by **Paingod** » Thu May 30, 2019 6:33 am

Anonymous Bosch wrote: Wed May 29, 2019 4:09 pmEDIT: Oops, I misunderstood your post -- upon re-reading, you were digging at a splinter on a log. D'oh!

I'd have some serious issues if I snapped the tip of a knife blade off trying to dig out a regular splinter.

Z-Corn · Post by **Z-Corn** » Thu May 30, 2019 8:51 am

Trent Steel wrote: Wed May 29, 2019 5:18 pm Z-Corn, we can officially hang out now.

Trent Steel man, let me tell you my story man...

Kraken · Post by **Kraken** » Thu May 30, 2019 9:03 pm

People Map of the US, showing the most famous (based on Wiki lookups) person from just about every little burg in the US. In my town it's Priscilla Chan, wife of the Zuck. My town has about 40,000 residents, so it drills down at least that far.

Holman · Post by **Holman** » Thu May 30, 2019 9:13 pm

Kraken wrote: Thu May 30, 2019 9:03 pm People Map of the US, showing the most famous (based on Wiki lookups) person from just about every little burg in the US. In my town it's Priscilla Chan, wife of the Zuck. My town has about 40,000 residents, so it drills down at least that far.

My childhood neighborhood: Michael Stipe
My high school: Courtney Cox
My current city: Will Smith

My kids' school: Kevin Bacon (which I think wins the game for them?)