Category Archives: Uncategorized

In ‘The Subscription Model’ (https://wordpress.com/post/innoparticularorder.blog/124) I pondered how change had come upon the things we *thought* we owned, and speculated on a future where our cars would stop working because of some remote software-based intervention. Much to my surprise, I was just ahead of the real thing; turns out, the Congress has this year passedContinue reading “Nobody asked me but…(Vol 2 – all rants)”

So this past calendar year I retired from working, and (happily) from looking for jobs. Don’t get that wrong; I have been *very* fortunate, was always employed in the very competitive (read: bloodthirsty) world of corporate IT, and have been lucky to find and retain posts even as I saw colleagues drop from theirs andContinue reading “Why I race”

In an earlier post the question was posed ‘Why Does NASCAR Hate Racing?’ (spoiler alert: the post does not in fact provide the answer to that question). But there are plenty of other questions about NASCAR, its motivations and the consequences of those motivations. Beyond eliminating wide swaths of actual racing , NASCAR seems onContinue reading “NASCAR in a blender”

Frequently my posts describe, let’s say, unsatisfactory interactions with the companies I attempt to do business with. Happily, today this old curmudgeon reports an experience that shows that customer service is alive and well and still fighting to prevail in some corners of corporate enterprise. I own an Earthquake-brand electric log splitter. Now, before youContinue reading “Customer Service…Lives!”

I’m no spring chicken, and I’ve owned *lots* of cars (OK, I confess I still have a few). I use the word ‘owned’ in its former sense of the word, and not in its apparent form going forward. What’s that, you say? Well, catching my eye today is just the latest chapter in the seemingly-escalatingContinue reading “The Subscription Model”

…how come the cashiers at the grocery store, when they forget to scan your coupons, aren’t allowed to just scan and refund?  Instead, we all get to go wait in the customer service line to get our coupon money.  Actually, how come the cashiers can’t just scan our coupons at the *beginning* of our orderContinue reading “Nobody asked me, but…”

Oh dear, this is familiar. One of my *favorite* race tracks, Dover Speedway, has been acquired by none other than Speedway Motorsports Inc. Let’s define the players here. Dover Speedway, a one mile, oval, high-banked, high-speed race track in Delaware has been hosting NASCAR races since the 1960’s, I believe. I have been attending racesContinue reading “No Immediate Changes Are Planned”

I have spent *many* years managing computers enormous, personal, and all the sizes in between. It is these ‘personal computers’ that are responsible for today’s bile-laden rant, and their habit of always doing ‘stuff’ when you want to be using them for something, you know, productive. You know the picture: you go to your computerContinue reading “The God key”

Those who know me will confirm that I am an avid fan of auto racing, and indulge in it locally myself whenever I can. NASCAR is, of course, the preeminent stock car racing series in the country, and I have followed series that for a long, long time. That said, I have to wonder, justContinue reading “Why does NASCAR hate racing?”