Well I might just go Luddite after all

Post all off topic / off the wall content here!
Post Reply
User avatar
a nameless entity
Posts: 1823
Joined: Wed Jul 13, 2005 8:04 pm
What is the middle number? (one, TWO, three): 3
extraextraantispam: No
NoMoreSpam: Silver
Location: In the wind. Or wishing I was.

Well I might just go Luddite after all

Post by a nameless entity » Sat Oct 19, 2013 5:08 pm

I might just go Luddite after all. Perhaps more from necessity rather than choice. I rather enjoy threatening to quit this PC and internet nonsense from time to time, and then settling back into hypocrisy once my current PC vexations are soothed.

However this time I may end up offline for an unknown length of time due to:

1) My contract with my ISP is due to expire in the coming month. My current bill went up by 4 dollars since the discount expired and a price increase that happened in July got factored into the bill for the few days past the contract date that the current month's charges cover. I will not accept any narrower bandwidth than I am now using, nor will I pay any more than I have been. So they either accept my terms for a year or two, or we are done. It was only a $5 discount anyway, and the price increase is unjustified. If they can't give me that little concession, we are done. I expect that we are indeed done, but perhaps they'll yield. But I'm not holding my breath. And I'm in no hurry to sign on with the only other high speed provider in the area.

2) As David pointed out in his new thread about Avast, there are problems with that once awesome free anti virus product. I am presently without any working anti virus program. The update to Avast 2014 failed, and I cannot even uninstall and reinstall.
I am behind a router and Zone Alarm, so I think I am safe if I only come online to safe havens like this one. If I am not, then so be it. At worst case scenario, the cyber scum win, and this 11 year old PC will be retired. I cannot afford a replacement until I can collect my Canadian "social security". And that is 17 months away at the earliest. Plus the time it will take to "save up" for the new PC once there's a little more money coming in.

3) Oh what the heck was my third point? That I'm getting too old and crotchety? Yeah well we already knew that, didn't we? I've either already covered the third point I was going to mouth off about in 1) and 2) or have forgotten it completely.

Oh, well heres one: After being offline for a while I may not want to come back and start putting up with all the inherent bs again.

4) There is no number four. Except that nameless may get his hypocrisy taken from him by forces beyond his control, and end up keeping his word despite himself. Ha ha.
I'm a man........but I can change........if I have to........I guess

User avatar
Dr.Flay
Posts: 268
Joined: Sun Apr 07, 2013 6:35 am
What is the middle number? (one, TWO, three): 2
ExtraAntiSpam: Blue
extraextraantispam: Yes
NoMoreSpam: Silver
Location: Kernow, UK
Contact:

Re: Well I might just go Luddite after all

Post by Dr.Flay » Sat Oct 26, 2013 3:05 am

I can help with the Avast removal
http://rejzor.wordpress.com/avast-cleanup-tool/
I have not used this tool, but I have used a few of his others.

You can get away with no running AV if you lock-down your browser and use a few tools or browser plugins.
AV scanning of files can be dealt with online before you DL (VirusTotal), but cannot stop "drive-by" infection from embedded code.

Most AV now slows Windows, but you can compromise with the settings.
If you are confident your PC is clean, switch your AV from scanning during reading and writing, to only scan when writing files.
This makes a big difference to the speed of using the PC, but will not stop the lag when the AV sucks all your CPU during running an installer etc.

Find some browser plugins
http://my.opera.com/dr-flay/blog/online-anti-malware
Harden your browser
http://www.techsupportalert.com/content ... ncerns.htm

Choose your next AV
http://www.virusbtn.com/vb100/latest_comparative/index
http://chart.av-comparatives.org/chart1.php
Image
chaoticdreams.org - @TheChaosMod - Web IRChat - [url=irc://irc.quakenet.org/chaoticdreams]IRChat[/url]

User avatar
Hermskii
Site Admin
Posts: 8501
Joined: Sun Jul 10, 2005 9:56 pm
What is the middle number? (one, TWO, three): 2
ExtraAntiSpam: Blue
extraextraantispam: Yes
NoMoreSpam: Silver
Location: Houston, Texas
Contact:

Re: Well I might just go Luddite after all

Post by Hermskii » Tue Oct 29, 2013 8:13 am

You can live without eating good food too.

Have fun with that.

I think you should call someone to fix your PC.

I think you should try harder to find another ISP.

I think you should come here daily and post.
~Peace~

Hermskii

User avatar
Kelly
Posts: 131
Joined: Sat Dec 01, 2012 2:29 am
What is the middle number? (one, TWO, three): 2
ExtraAntiSpam: Blue
extraextraantispam: Yes
NoMoreSpam: Silver
Location: Coos Bay, Oregon

Re: Well I might just go Luddite after all

Post by Kelly » Tue Oct 29, 2013 8:30 am

Save your good data and reformat. Bad AV installs mostly never get fixed right because they operate at root level. You may think it is but recurrent problems afterwards hint at the damage done.

On two of my systems I use AVG free but I don't run anything on my personal laptop. I'm just smart where I go and never click links.

'Free' software is never free, there's always a catch and the companies are becoming increasingly aggressive in how they attach advertisements.
When everyone you ever known is headed for a headstone
I don’t wanna give the end away but we’re gonna die one day

User avatar
a nameless entity
Posts: 1823
Joined: Wed Jul 13, 2005 8:04 pm
What is the middle number? (one, TWO, three): 3
extraextraantispam: No
NoMoreSpam: Silver
Location: In the wind. Or wishing I was.

Re: Well I might just go Luddite after all

Post by a nameless entity » Tue Oct 29, 2013 10:32 am

Hermskii wrote:You can live without eating good food too.

Have fun with that.

I think you should call someone to fix your PC.

I think you should try harder to find another ISP.

I think you should come here daily and post.
I believe I am eating fairly healthily, and I try to keep the portion sizes down and curb the snacking. However I've been noticing the same as everyone else that food prices keep trying to creep upwards, and never fall back down to previous levels after the latest excuse, whatever it may be, to raise the price still higher.
Quitting my ISP will give me another 50 bucks a month to use.

I see no point in "fixing" this PC when it's 11 years old. I will maintain it like I would an older car, and run it into the ground.

The only other high speed internet provider has vexed me every time I try to talk to one of their phone jockeys. The last time I called the jockey very skillfully lead me around in circle of double talk while seeming to answer my questions. Before I knew it he had stopped talking about the deal I was inquiring about and was trying to get me to say yes to a package deal costing upwards of 3x more. Classic bait 'n switch tactics. F*** 'em. :evil:

I thought it was Hook's job to post here every day. What happened?
I'm a man........but I can change........if I have to........I guess

User avatar
a nameless entity
Posts: 1823
Joined: Wed Jul 13, 2005 8:04 pm
What is the middle number? (one, TWO, three): 3
extraextraantispam: No
NoMoreSpam: Silver
Location: In the wind. Or wishing I was.

Re: Well I might just go Luddite after all

Post by a nameless entity » Wed Oct 30, 2013 8:54 pm

a nameless entity wrote: 1) My contract with my ISP is due to expire in the coming month.
So they either accept my terms for a year or two, or we are done.

4) There is no number four. Except that nameless may get his hypocrisy taken from him by forces beyond his control, and end up keeping his word despite himself. Ha ha.
I called them today and they did accept my terms. In return for one of their own.
I get the same discount as last year. There's a small increase of $2.26 a month, part of which is tax. They apparently opened up my bandwidth a little, as part of a revamping of their various internet plans that they sell. So I'm pretty much getting what I'm paying for, over all. In return I can no longer opt out of the plan for free if my PC dies during the 1 year contract. So it will cost me $75 + 30 days notice. Which of course means I would pay for 30 days worth of online time that I cannot use on top of the fee. I didn't grasp that when I agreed to this new contract. But I'll worry about that terrible scenario only when/if it happens. :|

So what this means is that my hypocrisy has won out again.

You may now take turns at pulling my chain. :? :mrgreen:
I'm a man........but I can change........if I have to........I guess

User avatar
Hermskii
Site Admin
Posts: 8501
Joined: Sun Jul 10, 2005 9:56 pm
What is the middle number? (one, TWO, three): 2
ExtraAntiSpam: Blue
extraextraantispam: Yes
NoMoreSpam: Silver
Location: Houston, Texas
Contact:

Re: Well I might just go Luddite after all

Post by Hermskii » Thu Oct 31, 2013 8:01 am

I still got a good PC for you the second you say you want it. Great to know you are stuck with us another year too!

Hook would be here posting but now that he has become what GameTracker considers to be the best Redeemer Only Mod Server in the world he is too busy for us over here. Kudos to him on that too, I checked the ranks this morning and he was 2 ranks higher than the next nearest redeemer server.
~Peace~

Hermskii

User avatar
Hook
Posts: 3444
Joined: Fri Feb 16, 2007 9:41 am
What is the middle number? (one, TWO, three): 3
extraextraantispam: No
NoMoreSpam: Silver
Location: Minnesota USA (Just West of MPLS - by a pond beneath a tree - Dead & Buried)
Contact:

Re: Well I might just go Luddite after all

Post by Hook » Fri Nov 01, 2013 7:00 am

Well, as I said in the other post ...
"My big problem is I cannot even SEE Hermskii's forum on my work computer - it is Blocked there - "GAMES" it says. :roll: "
I hate it, because i have little time at home to go to forums. :|
=Hook= of Hook's UT Place - Hopelessly Addicted to UT99!
Forum: https://hooksutplace.freeforums.net
CROSSBONES Missile Madness {CMM} (GT Top 50)
PRO-Redeemer | PRO-SNIPER-Redeemer | SEEKER-Redeemer
Birth Place of ALL Seeker/Scoped Deemers!
IP: NEW IP to come!
CROSSBONES Monster Hunt {CMH} (Special Edition MH by mars007)
IP: 108.61.238.93:7777

User avatar
a nameless entity
Posts: 1823
Joined: Wed Jul 13, 2005 8:04 pm
What is the middle number? (one, TWO, three): 3
extraextraantispam: No
NoMoreSpam: Silver
Location: In the wind. Or wishing I was.

Re: Well I might just go Luddite after all

Post by a nameless entity » Sun Dec 15, 2019 4:20 pm

a nameless entity wrote:
Sat Oct 19, 2013 5:08 pm
I might just go Luddite after all. Perhaps more from necessity rather than choice. I rather enjoy threatening to quit this PC and internet nonsense from time to time, and then settling back into hypocrisy once my current PC vexations are soothed.


3) Oh what the heck was my third point? That I'm getting too old and crotchety? Yeah well we already knew that, didn't we? I've either already covered the third point I was going to mouth off about in 1) and 2) or have forgotten it completely.

Oh, well heres one: After being offline for a while I may not want to come back and start putting up with all the inherent bs again.

4) There is no number four. Except that nameless may get his hypocrisy taken from him by forces beyond his control, and end up keeping his word despite himself. Ha ha.

The only other high speed internet provider has vexed me every time I try to talk to one of their phone jockeys. The last time I called the jockey very skillfully lead me around in circle of double talk while seeming to answer my questions. Before I knew it he had stopped talking about the deal I was inquiring about and was trying to get me to say yes to a package deal costing upwards of 3x more. Classic bait 'n switch tactics. F*** 'em. :evil:
Well ha ha ha, it seems I guessed the future very accurately. :lol:

Almost exactly 3 years after I posted my luddite thread I got fed up with my ISP and quit them. 6 months later my 14.5 year old P4 died.

Now it is six years since I posted my luddite thread, and I am very ignorant of new PC hardware. And I had completely forgotten the dirty tricks the Bell phone jockeys were playing on me.

Getting back online is NOT going to be easy. Maybe I won't bother.
I'm a man........but I can change........if I have to........I guess

User avatar
a nameless entity
Posts: 1823
Joined: Wed Jul 13, 2005 8:04 pm
What is the middle number? (one, TWO, three): 3
extraextraantispam: No
NoMoreSpam: Silver
Location: In the wind. Or wishing I was.

Re: Well I might just go Luddite after all

Post by a nameless entity » Mon Jan 16, 2023 5:10 pm

It certainly is vexing to try and live life the same old way you always did when the world won't let you.

I bank with "The Royal Bank" of Canada. The only thing royal about them is their name. (Originally they called themselves the Merchant's Bank.)

Like all other large banks in Canada, they started closing branches all over the place in the late 90's early 2000's. Many small towns no longer have any access to banking. (There oughta be a law, and probably was. Wonder when it was repealed?)

Well, last week my bank branch closed for "remodeling". They're open again, but the tellers are gone!!! :o
I like to pay my bills at my bank. I enjoy the walk downtown, and liked the personal touch. Well, that's all gone now. And all other branches will soon catch up and lose their tellers too. More layoffs by an already ridiculously wealthy corporation! :x
I had to use the newly reprogrammed ATM to do bill payments. :evil:
I think the lady showing me the "new system" said that the ATMs will no longer give out cash. I hope I misheard that.
I'd quit these suckers, but have a 65+ accounts that don't charge fees. So I'm stuck with them, as no one offers that sort of thing any more.

They've been trying to force everyone to bank online for years. I will continue to resist that, for as long as it's possible. :evil:
I'm a man........but I can change........if I have to........I guess

User avatar
Hermskii
Site Admin
Posts: 8501
Joined: Sun Jul 10, 2005 9:56 pm
What is the middle number? (one, TWO, three): 2
ExtraAntiSpam: Blue
extraextraantispam: Yes
NoMoreSpam: Silver
Location: Houston, Texas
Contact:

Re: Well I might just go Luddite after all

Post by Hermskii » Sat Jan 21, 2023 9:34 pm

I'm 55 and never felt so old. I apologize to my kids for the world they will inherit. I remind them it was all the democrats fault starting with Bill Clinton specifically. BTW, Biden is the worst President ever. No democrats need respond. It doesn't matter how much I can prove it; you won't believe me because you are uninformed and refuse to actually pay attention. How sad is it that my children will inherit enough to never work again and yet I'm still worried their government will find a way to take the money I earned the hard way and give it to people who don't appreciate hard work and think they deserve my kid's inheritance.

How old are you now Nameless. I know I ask ever several years. I used to like Canada, but you may have a leader up there who governs like a democrat. Sorry.
~Peace~

Hermskii

User avatar
a nameless entity
Posts: 1823
Joined: Wed Jul 13, 2005 8:04 pm
What is the middle number? (one, TWO, three): 3
extraextraantispam: No
NoMoreSpam: Silver
Location: In the wind. Or wishing I was.

Re: Well I might just go Luddite after all

Post by a nameless entity » Mon Jan 30, 2023 4:55 pm

Hermskii wrote:
Sat Jan 21, 2023 9:34 pm
I'm 55 and never felt so old. I apologize to my kids for the world they will inherit. I remind them it was all the democrats fault starting with Bill Clinton specifically. BTW, Biden is the worst President ever. No democrats need respond. It doesn't matter how much I can prove it; you won't believe me because you are uninformed and refuse to actually pay attention. How sad is it that my children will inherit enough to never work again and yet I'm still worried their government will find a way to take the money I earned the hard way and give it to people who don't appreciate hard work and think they deserve my kid's inheritance.

How old are you now Nameless. I know I ask ever several years. I used to like Canada, but you may have a leader up there who governs like a democrat. Sorry.
Hmmm..... I'm not a democrat. So all I'll say (after just deleting a long diatribe against the so called "Conservative" party of Canada) is this:

I've noticed that in a number of U.S. states where the Republicans held power for decades (eg. California) and made a total mess of things to the point that a Democrat was finally elected as Governor, then had the temerity to blame the Democrats for the debacles that they themselves caused, as they left power!
What kind of twisted thinking is that? :? :wink:

I'm about to turn 70 years old, feel it, and am pretty sure I'm getting rather crotchety in my old age. (Although I enjoy being in total denial when I'm having a good day. ;) )

Talk to a financial advisor. There are ways to avoid or reduce inheritance taxes. One is to put your assets in common with your wife (& sons when they are older). Then they just inherit by right of survivorship. In the mean time you can buy life insurance, which is tax free. I forget how exactly it affects your estate and how it helps, but it does reduce the tax burden on your estate when you pass. Find out exactly what you can do down there in Texas. :)
I'm a man........but I can change........if I have to........I guess

User avatar
Hermskii
Site Admin
Posts: 8501
Joined: Sun Jul 10, 2005 9:56 pm
What is the middle number? (one, TWO, three): 2
ExtraAntiSpam: Blue
extraextraantispam: Yes
NoMoreSpam: Silver
Location: Houston, Texas
Contact:

Re: Well I might just go Luddite after all

Post by Hermskii » Wed Feb 01, 2023 9:11 pm

Thanks for the suggestions. Tell me. Do you think California is doing ok or better now than when it was last run by a republican? Just curious.

Now here in the good old USA, AT&T cable removed the 34 rated news show called Newsmax and replaced it with some crap called First Choice. I have never heard of first choice but tried it and didn't think much of it. AT&T carries 21 news channels and 19 of them are liberal. They got rid of OAN last year and Newsmax this year. Fox is really all that is left besides this fourth rate First Choice they replaced Newsmax with. This is the problem with corporations. Not that they make too much money but rather they can have too much power. This is a great example.

Thank God Elon bought out Twitter. It won't be enough though. Google Facebook and Amazon are still hard left leaners.

I might have to go luddite too Nameless. I hate feeling old. Do male salmon go back upriver every year to mate or just once being their last year?
~Peace~

Hermskii

User avatar
a nameless entity
Posts: 1823
Joined: Wed Jul 13, 2005 8:04 pm
What is the middle number? (one, TWO, three): 3
extraextraantispam: No
NoMoreSpam: Silver
Location: In the wind. Or wishing I was.

Re: Well I might just go Luddite after all

Post by a nameless entity » Mon Feb 13, 2023 5:00 pm

RE: Financial advisors: You'll have to talk to someone as the advice I gave you may not apply in the USA and Texas as it does up here. But I'm sure things are similar, especially regarding life insurance. Do you still have inheritance taxes down there? You might be able to beat or reduce them if holding everything in common with inheritance by right of survivor-ship is legal where you live.

I don't know what to say about your news outlets. Oddly enough, the only US station I can still pull in on my antenna is a FOX affiliate, but they run MSNBC news. :o
I am frustrated that the rest of the US stations have reduced their power output to local only low levels. No more NBC, ABC, CBS, or PBS for me.
I always used to find that the most balanced reporting came from PBS.

I don't hear enough about California's political or economic scene anymore to have an opinion. I just remember that things had gone to hell under the local right, and when the left got elected, the departing right blamed the left for all the problems that they themselves had caused. :?

Salmon only get laid once. Then they die. Since it would definitely be a one time thing, should I put visiting a whore house in AZ or is it NM, on my bucket list? ;)
I'm a man........but I can change........if I have to........I guess

User avatar
Hermskii
Site Admin
Posts: 8501
Joined: Sun Jul 10, 2005 9:56 pm
What is the middle number? (one, TWO, three): 2
ExtraAntiSpam: Blue
extraextraantispam: Yes
NoMoreSpam: Silver
Location: Houston, Texas
Contact:

Re: Well I might just go Luddite after all

Post by Hermskii » Wed Feb 15, 2023 7:28 pm

Your opinion makes sense abut California based on the news stations you had. Interesting. You had ABC, NBC, CBS and PBS and felt PBS was in the middle. Can you list then with the most liberal first and PBS in the middle and the most right leaning station at the end so when I read your answer it shows the most right to the right and the most left to the left? Let me also stress not one of any of those stations you listed are considered even close to the middle if you asked a hard-core conservative such as myself. You don't have to do as I asked as I made my point. The vast majority of Americans get their news from those stations which explains why there are so many liberals in the good old USA. They have only watched these same stations you mentioned. All of the free ones on VHF and UHF.

I'm thinking to try to back-off of politics because it is pointless to argue with people who argue back and they admittedly only know "their half" of the story and still think they are informed.

I apologize if any of you feel I'm attacking you. I'm not. I sit and watch hours and hours of news every single day so I do pretty much know the whole story. Most people don't have the time or interest to commit so much time to news and that is not their fault. I'm told I'd be much happier if I stopped watching so much news.
~Peace~

Hermskii

Post Reply