So trivial, yet it really ticks you off.

[Benny Holiday]

A truck fully-laden with thesauruses overturned on the freeway on the edge of town the other afternoon, spilling the books all over the road. The resulting traffic chaos was terrible, appalling, atrocious, awful, severe, shocking, horrendous and dreadfful.

 

[Tiki Tom]

Not to mention discursive.

 

[KILO NOVEMBER]

Here's a two-fer fer your Friday consideration.

Every business conversation, or meeting, or whatever, will inevitably produce some saying "reach out to so and so". It started with a TV commercial jingle in the 1970's with AT&T encouraging phone users to make long distance calls to family members.

Every time I hear that phrase it irks me. It's crept in to the language from a commercial I heard far too many times back in the day, and it's used by people who had yet to be born when it was invented, AND it makes me think of this:

The second one is this, and don't stop me if I've said it before. "It" is the verb "verify".

I got a call on my mobile phone before I got out of bed this morning (I'm retired, so I have a lot of time to sleep and gripe.)

The call was from a home improvement store to tell me that the expected delivery of a washing machine we bought last week and expected today would be delayed as it had arrived damaged from Maytag.

When I called back to get the low-down, the young woman on the other end insisted that I verify my identity. I explained that I'd be willing to verify the information she had, but that I expected that she wanted me to provide information so that she could see that what I said matched what she had on file. I explained that if that was the case, it was she and not I who would be doing the verifying, that's the way the verb works.

Oh, and she used the phrase "reach out" twice in different contexts during the call.

 

[FOXTROT LAMONT]

A truck fully-laden with thesauruses overturned on the freeway on the edge of town the other afternoon, spilling the books all over the road. The resulting traffic chaos was terrible, appalling, atrocious, awful, severe, shocking, horrendous and dreadfful.

Talkin Strine now mate, talkin Strine. So wheres Sheilahs this mess?

 

[Benny Holiday]

No sheilahs in it cobber, just a drongo bloody truckie spilled 'is load mate.

 

[tonyb]

It happened again today — a door-to-door solicitor ignored my clearly displayed “No Soliciting” sign at the front walk. He acknowledged that he saw the sign but he came to his door anyway. And he seemed to find it amusing when I objected.

Are these jerks compelled by their employers to document some number of contacts or something? It’s smelling a bit like what Wells-Fargo did a few years back, when bank employees opened new accounts for existing customers without their knowledge or permission, this in an effort to meet the demands of the higher-ups to sell more “product.”

 

[Trenchfriend]

Why grocery stores got ready "onion bits" in their freezers? Somehow, I miss the point. Is there a shortage in kitchen knives, these days? Jesus...

 

[Zombie_61]

Why grocery stores got ready "onion bits" in their freezers? Somehow, I miss the point. Is there a shortage in kitchen knives, these days? Jesus...

Oh, I can do better than that. Several years ago I was walking through the "grocery" section of a store with a friend, and I saw a product that was called "Crumbs". Upon closer inspection I learned it was, indeed, a box of deliberately broken cookies, intentionally packaged for, apparently, people who are too lazy to bite into one. Without missing a beat, upon seeing it my friend declared we were in the "How to Make the Best Out of a Bad Situation" aisle.

 

[FOXTROT LAMONT]

No sheilahs in it cobber, just a drongo bloody truckie spilled 'is load mate.

Ah, sheilahs no, bloody roo that.

 

[tonyb]

Why grocery stores got ready "onion bits" in their freezers? Somehow, I miss the point. Is there a shortage in kitchen knives, these days? Jesus...

I can see how a person wanting just a little onion at a time would find utility in this. I use onion quite a bit and even I find myself tossing out largish sections of onions that went bad before I could use them.

 

[FOXTROT LAMONT]

Oh, I can do better than that. Several years ago I was walking through the "grocery" section of a store with a friend, and I saw a product that was called "Crumbs". Upon closer inspection I learned it was, indeed, a box of deliberately broken cookies, intentionally packaged for, apparently, people who are too lazy to bite into one. Without missing a beat, upon seeing it my friend declared we were in the "How to Make the Best Out of a Bad Situation" aisle.

I'm an insomniac with a few days off and playing percentage horsecap at Assinibiola and Yonkers using exacta and trifecta box bets. Sometimes a small bite is a best bet at smaller
night venues.

 

[Edward]

Why grocery stores got ready "onion bits" in their freezers? Somehow, I miss the point. Is there a shortage in kitchen knives, these days? Jesus...

I can see how a person wanting just a little onion at a time would find utility in this. I use onion quite a bit and even I find myself tossing out largish sections of onions that went bad before I could use them.

There is that. My wife buys this sort of thing a lot. We occasionally use whole onions and slicing them up rips the eyes out of both of us, no matter what we do. These pre-sliced ones save that trouble and generally work out no more expensive either. The lack of wastage is a big plus; even if we use a whole onion, being able to have the equivalent of several in a bag, pre-cut, that goes in the freezer saves buying them almost daily or throwing half of them out all the time because a bag goes bad faster than we can use them.

 

[belfastboy]

It happened again today — a door-to-door solicitor ignored my clearly displayed “No Soliciting” sign at the front walk. He acknowledged that he saw the sign but he came to his door anyway. And he seemed to find it amusing when I objected.

Are these jerks compelled by their employers to document some number of contacts or something? It’s smelling a bit like what Wells-Fargo did a few years back, when bank employees opened new accounts for existing customers without their knowledge or permission, this in an effort to meet the demands of the higher-ups to sell more “product.”

Much of my working life was in technical sales. Each December we were tasked with compiling budgets for our territory for the next year. They were detailed and as we were a manufacturer the detail included the number of each valve model and sizes I would sell. I was very good at doing this. But every year my budget would come back, rejected as the shareholders needed bigger numbers. So then I would compile my second budget which was the bullshit budget giving them the numbers they 'needed'. Then each quarter my job entailed me explaining to the higher ups why I didn't meet my sales projections. It was all too much Lewis Carroll ish but I was their top salesman so I could be pissy about it all and not get fired.

 

[FOXTROT LAMONT]

There is that. My wife buys this sort of thing a lot. We occasionally use whole onions and slicing them up rips the eyes out of both of us, no matter what we do. These pre-sliced ones save that trouble and generally work out no more expensive either. The lack of wastage is a big plus....

A bachelor, Irish confirmed lost in kitchen, appreciative of this and any tips so tendered.
Thanks a bunch.

 

[tonyb]

Much of my working life was in technical sales. Each December we were tasked with compiling budgets for our territory for the next year. They were detailed and as we were a manufacturer the detail included the number of each valve model and sizes I would sell. I was very good at doing this. But every year my budget would come back, rejected as the shareholders needed bigger numbers. So then I would compile my second budget which was the bullshit budget giving them the numbers they 'needed'. Then each quarter my job entailed me explaining to the higher ups why I didn't meet my sales projections. It was all too much Lewis Carroll ish but I was their top salesman so I could be pissy about it all and not get fired.

Yeah, it’s best to be hard to be rid of. It often works that way in smaller businesses, where everybody knows who is pulling his or her weight and who ain’t, whatever their titles.

 

[tonyb]

I just now read of a person whose occupation is “home decor trend forecaster.”

I could do that that, too. Taupe. Lavender. Ferns.

 

[GHT]

I just now read of a person whose occupation is “home decor trend forecaster.”

I could do that that, too. Taupe. Lavender. Ferns.

When you watch something like a documentary or something that requires a commentary or explanation, that voice that you hear is that of a Voice-Over-Actor.
How much do voice actors make per year? Assuming you get one job every business day, you can earn a salary between £26,000 and £104,000. Many voice actors will earn much more by doing more than one job per day and projects like television adverts command residual payments, meaning that the actor gets paid every time that the advert is screened.

 

[FOXTROT LAMONT]

When you watch something like a documentary or something that requires a commentary or explanation, that voice that you hear is that of a Voice-Over-Actor.
How much do voice actors make per year? ....

...As a financial engineer/global investment strategist, ''voice overs'' are part and parcel,
however Ascot I let slip past without thought. I've concentrated on the States, so my home
office computer email jail cell slammed shut. I've no notions per Prince of Wales nor tomorrow's Britannia Stakes to pass out favourites to much sour disappointment.
This episode makes for a mea culpa stakes apologia topper track.

 

[GHT]

My landline telephone service is now supplied by a division of the fuel conglomerate Shell Oil, actually they are known as Shell Energy, the latter sounding far more removed from fossil fuel.

Shell Energy Retail, the division responsible for all things telephone and internet are about as inept as it's possible to be. Since taking over they have persisted with their policy of payment by direct debit from all their account holders.

We, who refuse to tolerate giving access to our bank accounts, are harangued with the utmost vigour. For example, my last correspondence from them came with a harsh warning about my late payment. Not only was it not late but their warning letter was dated two weeks before it reached me.

This month's bill has arrived, dated ten days ago, checking down the list of methods of payment, I see that the good old way of paying by cheque is still available. Cheque payment has to be, in this instant electronic age, the slowest, time consuming and hopefully, most annoying method of payment there is. Alibi me, the cheque is in the post.

 

[FOXTROT LAMONT]

like that penmanship.