Our local country store is advertising for help.<\/p>\n
I can’t get painters nor contractors to call me back.<\/p>\n
Our landscaper is bemoaning her lack of help.<\/p>\n
I motivated a DirecTV installer to come this afternoon by offering to pay twice what he normally charges. In cash, no less. I’m still waiting.<\/p>\n
When you buy a new car .\u00a0<\/strong>C<\/span><\/span>onsider:<\/p>\n + You won’t get a CD player. You’ll be forced to subscribe to Amazon’s Audible. Don’t try ripping your CDs to MP3. You’ll get an MP3 for every track which you car will then play randomly. It really messes up a great plot. Trust me on this one. Our new Mercedes play track 1, then track 10, then track 8.I can’t make this nonsense up.<\/p>\n + You may get Apple Car Play, but not Waze or Google Maps, yet.<\/p>\n + As cars are being made safer, your visibility will be severely limited by the thicker posts in the front and on the side. Because you can’t see sidewards, this is a major safety problem. Be wary.<\/p>\n + Your new electronic “safety” features will\u00a0 be obtrusive and annoying. The steering wheel jerking and random beeping will drive you nuts.<\/p>\n + A car two-to-three years old is cheaper, less annoying — and better value.<\/p>\n CHECK. CHECK. CHECK.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n + When you take your hearing aids to the theater, make sure the batteries are not dead. Mine were last night.<\/p>\n + When you arrange a service appointment with DirecTV, make sure they and<\/strong> you agree on the date. Like today. Not next Thursday.<\/p>\n + Before you pay your credit card bill, go online and check each charge. My MasterCard got hacked subtly — over time. Eventually I had to change it. Serious pain.<\/p>\n + Check that you have signed online for Alerts on your credit card and bank accounts. They arrive every time something changes — a deposit, a debit, daily balance, etc. Useful.<\/p>\n + Never give a contractor more than 20% as a down-payment — and definitely NOT the 50% they often ask for. Never, ever.<\/p>\n + Check with your Internet provider that he can’t up your Internet speed. Most can — and for the same price you’re paying today or less.<\/p>\n Sexism and racism<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n Yesterday I ran a “joke” that many people considered racist. I sincerely apologize. I thought the joke funny. My daughter, Claire, told me, in no uncertain terms it wasn’t. I’ve reproduced the “joke” below in case you missed it.<\/p>\n As with being careful with racism, you have to be ultra-careful with sexism — how you speak to women. Flattery is out.<\/p>\n Friends in business tell me that managing teams of women, minorities, and men — of whatever hues has become fraught with career-limiting danger. Some friends tell me that perceived harassment has become a weapon, a tool for advancement.<\/p>\n My mouth and weird sense of humor has already gotten me big trouble in recent years. How I survived 30 years of managing a business without any complaints and lawsuits is one of those amazing miracles. Maybe the world was different then?<\/p>\n Some readers’ thoughts. <\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n These are funny. I promise.<\/p>\n Tourists actually buy this stuff. <\/strong><\/span>In\u00a0<\/strong><\/span>Estonia, I spied this:<\/p>\n Sadly, the shop was closed. And I couldn’t find a Putin doll in Saint Petersburg, Russia. I wonder why?<\/p>\n From Austria on sale at a tourist shop:<\/p>\n What children wish for<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n![\"Glutenfree\"](\"https:\/\/www.technologyinvestor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Glutenfree.jpg\")
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