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I have a credit card about to expire and need to go through all the sources who use that card and be affected when I activate the replacement. Amazon, water company, power company, insurance, Internet provider, virus protection, cellphone service, prepaid toll...
Any one I forgot will have to chase me. Life is that way!

The Ohio derailment last week had me thinking of what it takes to coordinate a multi-billion dollar operation of trains, tracks and linked control systems. My guess it's as stressful as being in the hot-seat of an an Air Traffic Controller.

This scenario may have happened at one point in time:

A young woman who recently graduated college applied to the east coast railway for the system track controller position of their new fully automated computerized system.
The person doing the interview said her college transcript was great and that she scored very high on their aptitude test including all the required computer skills.

When asked why she was applying for such a position, her response was 3 generations of her family had been employed by the railroad system and she wanted to keep up the tradition.
"Excellent" said the interviewer.

We are nearly finished with your interview, but I want to say the position you have applied for is very stressful. We want to be absolutely sure you can think clearly in critical moments of a life-or-death situation. I've got one final question.
"Okay" said the woman.
"If two trains were approaching each other at a high rate of speed, but they were on the same track, what would you do?"
She answered "Simple, I would activate the system override and switch them to separate tracks"
"And if the computer system didn't respond?" the interviewer asked.
"I'd radio down to switching watchman to switch the tracks manually." Said the woman.
"Okay" said the interviewer "What if the watchman didn't reply?"

The woman responded with "Hmmm, I'd call my uncle Roy."
"Your uncle Roy?" the interviewer asked.
"Yes" the woman responded "My uncle Roy"
"What could your uncle Roy possibly do?" said the interviewer.
"Nothing" said the woman "But after 47 years of workin' on the railroad, he ain't never seen a crash like the one that's gonna happen today!"

It's a busy Monday, so I put on a Focus - Energy - Concentration video on YouTube and moved the graphics down so it wouldn't distract me.
About 15 minutes into the video, I had to stop it because I couldn't focus on my work!

So much for focus energy... I think it's time for some aspirin.

Dr richard kimble......book him

Mistakes can be expensive and there's a saying in the woodworking industry: Measure twice, cut once. If your 'expert' doesn't know this, you need to replace him.
I make detailed drawings for the items I release to production and 'map out' any special cutting so there's no room for mistake... It's a great plan until someone doesn't read the drawings and decides they are good enough to 'wing-it' thinking it's a simple jigsaw puzzle.

Remembering the time I ordered only one sheet of really expensive material.
We priced a job that could be done using one sheet... no room for error.
Woodgrain material and I noted the steps.
#1 cross cut the front panel - do this first
#2 rip (long cut) the 2 side strips
#3 cross cut the remainder of parts

I got a call from the installer "Hey, you didn't order enough material for the job."
Sure I did... I referenced the note on the first page explaining the cutting instructions were on the second page.
"Oh, I didn't look there" was his response.



Another sheet of material had to be ordered.
The completion date was moved back (as in late) and the client was angry.
Back-charging the installer for his mistake wasn't enough compensation.
All the profit was gone.
Reputation for being on-time was blemished.

As much as I hate to admit it, a world without advertising doesn't spin very well. Products and services everywhere require advertisements for survival. Something on sale in the grocery store sells better when it's advertised, especially when the price is reduced.

Now, when I use my GPS and reach my destination, Google advertises local businesses on my cellphone. Maybe one day I'll actually use one of their suggestions.

The other day, I read in music news that Daryl Hall has filed a lawsuit against his former musical partner John Oates and has asked the judge to issue a temporary restraining order. Documents were sealed and information was sketchy. This morning, more details came forward.

Why Daryl Hall obtained a restraining order against John Oates has been (partly) solved.
It’s now been revealed that Hall is attempting to block his longtime musical partner from selling his share in their joint venture to Primary Wave Music.
Hall is arguing that Oates' plan to sell off his share of a joint venture would violate the terms of a business agreement that Hall & Oates duo had forged.

The judge temporarily blocked the sale while legal proceedings and a previously initiated arbitration continue.

Primary Wave has already owned “significant interest” in Hall and Oates’ song catalog for more than 15 years. In a 2021 interview with Sky News, Hall alluded to disappointment with the sale of his back catalog.

Daryl's statement:
“Oh, in the early days, it got sold off for me and I didn’t get the money,” he said. In the same interview, he advised artists to retain their publishing rights, saying “all you have is that.”




links:

I'm known for buying cheap office chairs. They usually last 3 to 5 years and get tossed out or handed down when a new one arrives. I've been through lots of fabric styles and a few ultrasuede versions. I dislike the bonded leather chairs as it's an emulsion of a polyurethane skin with fibers of leather for the backing. It looks and smells like plastic. Naugahyde is on my 'do not buy' list.

Also, I avoid real leather. Mostly for the expense and I don't like the smell.
Two years ago, I bought a stylish 'minimal' chair for my living room that was wood and thin leather cushions. I had to return it as the leather had a 'vomit-like' smell.

Someone I worked for years ago, bought an ultra-expensive judges chair with a high back rolled cushion top and rolled arms complete with the decorative tacks. Expensive in the range of $2,500, he made some statement his chair could easily last 15 years. Okay, but he used to shave his head and within a few weeks, the headrest started changing color from the oil in his skin! One day he came into the office (from working on something in the factory) and forgot to remove a screw driver from his back pocket. Deep scratch in the seat that will annoy him for the remaining 14 years in the life of his expensive chair!

Many stores have extended Black Friday to Cyber Saturday. Cyber Monday sales are extended to Cyber Tuesday. We're on a roll and I see special sales that should be extended all through the month of December.
Black Friday extended... extended... extended...

I pay an accountant to do my corporate and personal taxes. She's a licensed CPA and we usually work via email. I scan and send documents to her and things that require original signature go by US postal Service. I'll mail checks to her for services. We are both good with this arrangement and have been doing it for years.

Last year, I received a letter from the IRS stating I didn't pay all the 3rd quarter tax. They found an error in the calculation. She missed adding a number from a previous column to the total. My accountant review it and apologized for the error. I mailed the check to the IRS two weeks before the due date. It went out certified mail.

Saturday, I received a letter from the IRS threatening to seize my property for non-payment.

I went online to review my bank statement and my check cleared 20 days after it was mailed and 3 days before they sent out the notice. What irked me was it took more than 2 weeks for them to receive my payment. Obviously a postal delay.

Monday was a legal holiday, but the first thing today was to call and find out what happened. The agent I spoke to stated the account now has a zero balance and the interest and penalty had been removed. She noted my account in the event 'the left hand didn't figure out what the right hand was (or wasn't) doing' so I have no repercussions.

I prefer mailing checks, but in future I would consider going online to make an electronic payment... that way, they won't lien on me!

Summary: I dislike the threat, and not a "did you receive the first notice? Please send a check" Certainly the post office taking weeks for a certified letter when it should have been 2-3 days or mail mis-delivered that happens a few times a month.