CSotD: A Pause In The Inaction
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“Many a truth is spoken in jest” and Jim Benton hits on one here. Things seem to be degenerating faster, or at least more blatantly, than expected, but I’m going to provide readers with a few laffs today while we give the editorial cartoonists some time to catch up.
Meanwhile, I hope you haven’t already spent too much on Christmas if you are dependent on the government for your income, but if you do rely on them and haven’t yet emptied your purse, First Dog on the Moon — who is lucky enough to be on the opposite side of the planet — has some money-saving tips:
Well, we all have our budgetary problems, I guess, but at least our kitchen appliances aren’t spying on us.
Except that apparently they are.
I saw Jen Sorensen’s piece several days ago and wondered what she was on about, but then I came across Arwa Mahdawi’s column in the Guardian, which explained that Sorensen wasn’t making anything up or even exaggerating.
As she (well, both of them, actually) says, the relevant question is what else is spying on us and why do we need these magical devices anyway?
I’ve been suspicious, mind you, of the notion that Alexa is listening in, but, then again, all she’d hear in my apartment is me inviting the dog to go for a walk, and I don’t even say that aloud often, since any time I put on shoes, the dog assumes we’re headed for high adventure. Which includes the grocery store.
Anyway, I suspect a lot of the belief that Alexa is listening stems from awareness, just as, when you are pregnant, you see pregnant people everywhere. We’re bombarded with ads all the time, but if you’ve got snow tires on your mind, you’ll notice the snow tire ads in particular.
In any case, I’m not threatened by Jeff Bezos knowing I want a set of snow tires. I’d be a lot more threatened if I thought Xi Jinping was collecting data, though I don’t own an air fryer nor do I talk politics with the dog while I cook.
So, of course, I got a good laff out of this Bizarro (KFS), because I’m enough of a Luddite to hate the way we’re encouraged to the point of extortion to scan this code and download this app.
I honestly see no real advantage to holding my phone over the scanner as I board a plane rather than having a paper boarding pass, particularly since you can touch any part of a paper boarding pass and it won’t disappear but you have to handle your phone as if it were a live grenade.
Constant Readers know I identify with Arlo & Janis (AMS) and this strip is a decade old but still applies.
Meanwhile, Microsoft keeps urging me to “finish setting up my computer,” which involves sending my entire life up to the Cloud where they absolutely positively won’t peek at it.
The choices they offer are yes or “maybe later” but I always think of Bob Mankoff’s famous “How about never? Is never good for you?”
They’re also willing to store our credit card numbers and expiration dates and three-digit thingies, so if an air fryer suddenly appears on your doorstep, don’t bring it inside.
I’m also seeing apps that will store my passwords, which sounds very handy except that I remember back at the dawn of time some website that did that. I can’t remember what it was called, except I think it had something to do with a gorilla or an alligator. Anyway, it stored all our passwords until it got hacked after which it seems to have disappeared.
Fool me once, etc. etc. and there may be no fool like an old fool but young fools can be a reasonable facsimile thereof.
Speaking of knowing things that just ain’t so, Tommy Siegel offers this demonstration of what may be said versus what we imagine we’re hearing.
When I was a kid, I loved Ernest Thompson Seton’s Wild Animals I Have Known, which revealed their inner lives and amazing abilities. Later, I learned how John Burroughs and Theodore Roosevelt attacked Seton and other “nature fakers” for the ridiculous nonsense they extruded.
Burroughs went about it with logic and reasoning, but Roosevelt had a gift for sarcasm that always served him well.
However, I’m threatening to become political, so check this out instead:
I should expound upon this In The Bleachers (AMS) in order to turn the borrowing into fair use, commentary and criticism, but I’ve got nothing to add except hahahahahaha. I hope that counts.
However, I could go on at great length about this Matt Davies salute to New York State’s new anti-puppy-mill law, which forbids pet stores to sell puppies (or cats or rabbits). Seven other states — California, Maryland, Maine, Washington, Illinois, Oregon and Vermont — have similar laws, and several local governments prohibit the practice.
I had a friend and coworker who loved animals and took a job at a pet store thinking she could make a difference. She found herself surrounded by genetic tragedies and brought home a blind puppy before giving up.
The law still allows stores to enter into partnerships with shelters and help arrange adoptions, which is good, but otherwise people who want a dog will have to go to a breeder or to a shelter or adoption agency.
You still have to keep your head, and not just your heart, engaged in the process. The best practice is to meet at least one of the parents, though that’s not always possible. But if you’re not familiar with dogs, bring along a friend who is and then — here’s the hard part — listen to them.
Salesmen have a term “taking mental possession,” which is where the customer begins to feel they’ve already acquired the product, well before there is any financial or legal commitment. It’s the point at which you are no longer selling but are, rather, negotiating the terms.
With a vacuum cleaner, it doesn’t much matter whether it’s any good or not, but when we’re talking about a puppy, it’s personal, and a commitment of 15 years or more.
So congratulations to NYS, but, even there, keep your head in the game.
Suzi and I thank you.
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