1) Nothing like returning from the post office having mailed our tax returns to get an email saying "Your corrected tax form is now available."

2) Got some really nice pics of the moon this week, posted over at common_nature

3) New watch, the Brokenwood Mysteries, saw 3 episodes. They were alright, I liked them mostly for the New Zealand angle. Figured out both of the first two mysteries well in advance, and in fact figured out why we were having various elements introduced in E2 and how they fit into the resolution.

4) Speaking of music, Name That Tune has passed the exercise test. I do often recognize a song but will then generally struggle to remember the name (or exact name). What I notice I do better on is looking at them as a trivia question. For example they had 2 TV theme clues in the last episode I watched and I got them both immediately.

5) Don't know when or if a Tumblr collapse will happen, but there have been some good explainers for new-ish people over at newcomers.

1) The thing that quickly struck me with all these seesaws Trump is doing with tariff declarations is that if you know what's going to be announced the coming day or even in the coming hours, it's quite possible to game the market in your favor. Nothing like buying low when you know you're going to crash things and then selling high when you know the market will reverse course. And unlike previous presidents, Trump does not have his assets in a blind trust.

2) Our local NPR station has, like many no doubt, an all-classical channel. The morning show is hosted by a chatty host with more of a soothing approach than just a soothing voice. I noticed in the past that he always said the date and the day of the week during his sign-ins. Now that I'm retired I notice how useful this is when your don't have your workweek keeping you up at night. And given the age of the average NPR listener, this may be the start of the day for a lot of people.

By contrast I began my day with Enter Aretha playing through my head. First heard it via Luminosity's SPN vid, Bricks.

3) At the same time, there's something very soothing about listening to a dryer going in a quiet apartment.

4) In more tales from phone automation hell, I was trying to schedule a Covid booster. I had gotten the flu vaccine from this location in September, but I remembered that I'd been unable to schedule it online because I had to set up a new profile and it wasn't letting me verify it. I mentioned it to the pharmacy when I went in and they said that it would definitely be set up given the appointment. ( Read more... )

I heard via Late Show that social security signups (and probably a lot of other stuff) will be discontinued via phone, and to boot a number of offices will be closing. Sounds like the ability to talk to anyone will soon be a thing of the past.

5) I can't fathom why, when hitting voice mail, people can't just leave a message. Had 3 calls in a row from our leasing office and by the time we got to the phone they hung up each time. Even people with cell phones may not have them in their hands or might be in the middle of something when called! If you say what you're calling about you can get a quicker response.