So trivial, yet it really ticks you off.

[Bamaboots]

The Coca Cola bottling plant here stopped production in 2012 after 110 years of bottling Coke and their other products. That cost over 80 people their jobs.

 

[GHT]

It drives me nuts that when I call a company and push 2 then 7 then 9 etc. - after having to hear that "our menu has changed" (really doubt it) and having to listen to a bunch of options to push all those buttons (and lose all that time) - to then be waiting on hold to be told, in a booming voice that repeats every thirty or so seconds - and that makes it hard for me to work while on hold - that "did you know, you can get answers to many of your question on line at our website at www.stopcallingus.com."

There is a way of dealing with that situation. A way that sometimes calls for a little ingenuity. Write a hand written letter, outlining all your concerns or complaints, keep the tone tolerant but with a subtle hint of your annoyance. Read and re-read your wording, making sure that you have avoided spelling and grammar mistakes. Ensure too, that you have avoided any kind of ambiguity. Give the receiver a date by which time you expect a response, then post it.
Your post office is similar to ours in that they offer a service like recorded delivery, meaning the recipient has to sign for the letter, so they can't claim that it got lost or that they didn't receive it.
And finally, if your handwriting isn't clear, cheat a little. Type out the letter in a font that makes an impact, print it off in black, then simply write over the type with a fountain pen in black ink.

 

[Lean'n'mean]

Of course, not everyone sees Coca-Cola as a positive thing. I never drink the stuff myself.
https://www.salon.com/2017/09/16/co...iapas-forcing-residents-to-buy-water_partner/

 

[GHT]

Of course, not everyone sees Coca-Cola as a positive thing.

Oh I don't know, it's great for cleaning coins, if you are a coin collector, that is.

 

[Lean'n'mean]

Oh I don't know, it's great for cleaning coins, if you are a coin collector, that is.

Cleaning collectable coins, in coke or anything else, greatly reduces their value.

 

[MisterCairo]

Edamame beans.

 

[Touchofevil]

I am sure that I have mentioned this before, but it rings true again: updates. If it is working just fine, why do we need an update wherein I now have to figure out how to do the mundane. Maybe, this is another sign that I am getting old.

 

[tonyb]

... Maybe, this is another sign that I am getting old.

Probably is. FWIW, I display signs of creeping decrepitude on a nearly daily basis. Yesterday I was at a Panera, a chain joint where the customer places his order and is given a pager sort of thing that goes off when the order is ready for said customer to pick up. But the pickup spot isn't apparent, or at least it wasn't apparent to me, nor to anyone else who had never been through the drill before. At their prices, they could at least afford to bring the orders to the tables.

 

[Touchofevil]

Probably is. FWIW, I display signs of creeping decrepitude on a nearly daily basis. Yesterday I was at a Panera, a chain joint where the customer places his order and is given a pager sort of thing that goes off when the order is ready for said customer to pick up. But the pickup spot isn't apparent, or at least it wasn't apparent to me, nor to anyone else who had never been through the drill before. At their prices, they could at least afford to bring the orders to the tables.

I have heard this complaint of Panera, but it was by those who are closer to AARP age than not.

 

[V.C. Brunswick]

Putting Roxy to Bed
As everyone else retires early the chore of putting the dog in the laundry room where she sleeps has devolved on me. Sometimes all I have to say is "time for bed" and she'll go to the laundry room on her own. Other times she'll get a stubborn streak and will go off in the corner behind the armchair where I sit and won't come out -- that is when she isn't running around the living room determined not to be caught! When she's in the corner, that's when I have to pull out the chair to get to her. A real pain in the a*se.

 

[Lean'n'mean]

Putting Roxy to Bed
As everyone else retires early the chore of putting the dog in the laundry room where she sleeps has devolved on me. Sometimes all I have to say is "time for bed" and she'll go to the laundry room on her own. Other times she'll get a stubborn streak and will go off in the corner behind the armchair where I sit and won't come out -- that is when she isn't running around the living room determined not to be caught! When she's in the corner, that's when I have to pull out the chair to get to her. A real pain in the a*se.

You sleep in the laundry room & let her sleep where she likes. Problem solved.

 

[Zombie_61]

I had no idea until recently that Coca-Cola New England is actually owned, thru an interlocking nest of subsidiaries, by a conglomerate in Japan. We've come a long way from the days of "your friendly local Coca-Cola bottler."

My father-in-law, an Italian immigrant, was adamant about buying American cars. During a conversation one day during the mid-1990s he was shocked when I informed him "American" cars no longer existed because all of the major American car and truck manufacturers had so many components of their cars made in other countries; Ford having transmissions built in Germany, General Motors having engines built in Japan, and so on. I also explained that non-American car companies did the same thing--Honda having components built for them here in the U.S., for example. He thought about it for a few minutes, then decided it didn't really matter to him as long as the cars still had the American companies' names on them somewhere.

 

[Fading Fast]

My father-in-law, an Italian immigrant, was adamant about buying American cars. During a conversation one day during the mid-1990s he was shocked when I informed him "American" cars no longer existed because all of the major American car and truck manufacturers had so many components of their cars made in other countries; Ford having transmissions built in Germany, General Motors having engines built in Japan, and so on. I also explained that non-American car companies did the same thing--Honda having components built for them here in the U.S., for example. He thought about it for a few minutes, then decided it didn't really matter to him as long as the cars still had the American companies' names on them somewhere.

Up until the '70s, my father was a "buy American" car guy too and he explained it to me this way. We fought a war to prevent dictatorships from taking over Europe, Asia and possibly the world. We didn't want the war and we lost way too many young men - and way too many more were maimed - fighting to win it. I have nothing against those countries getting back on their feet today, but I want to help American companies and workers do the same.

It wasn't rancor or mindless or ugly or evil or racist - it, based on his life experiences and context, was rational to him. But after buying several pieces of garbage called American cars in the '70s, he felt American car companies had failed to uphold their end of the implicit bargain and he was willing to buy "foreign" cars after that.

 

[V.C. Brunswick]

Of course, not everyone sees Coca-Cola as a positive thing. I never drink the stuff myself.
https://www.salon.com/2017/09/16/co...iapas-forcing-residents-to-buy-water_partner/

Not so Fun Fact -- If you're trying to lose weight Diet Coke is the last thing you want. Because it has no calories you keep eating and it actually acts as an appetite stimulant, whereas regular Coke is very filling and will more or less tell you that you're full.

 

[LizzieMaine]

Diet soft drinks in general are the biggest swindle ever perpetuated on a gullible public. I always shake my head when I see somebody coming out of The Clown's with a double Quarter Pounder with Cheese, two large fries, and a Diet Coke.

 

[Zombie_61]

Up until the '70s, my father was a "buy American" car guy too and he explained it to me this way. We fought a war to prevent dictatorships from taking over Europe, Asia and possibly the world. We didn't want the war and we lost way too many young men - and way too many more were maimed - fighting to win it. I have nothing against those countries getting back on their feet today, but I want to help American companies and workers do the same.

It wasn't rancor or mindless or ugly or evil or racist - it, based on his life experiences and context, was rational to him. But after buying several pieces of garbage called American cars in the '70s, he felt American car companies had failed to uphold their end of the implicit bargain and he was willing to buy "foreign" cars after that.

My father-in-law and my dad were both born in 1913, so they lived through World War I, the Depression, World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam war, and all of the "major" world events that occurred during those times. But neither were ever in the military, so they weren't "active participants" in those wars. My father-in-law never explained why he was so adamant about "American made" products, but he truly loved America so I assume that was his relatively simple motivation; love America, buy American. I can't recall ever having had a similar conversation with dad, but while I was alive he only owned cars made by Chrysler/Dodge/Plymouth; I assume that was due to brand loyalty rather than national loyalty. Regardless, neither of them ever verbally expressed an awareness in my presence that the times were changing and that we were slowly moving into a more global economy with American companies being all but forced into sub-contracting production work to companies in other countries in order to minimize production costs. I don't think the concept ever entered into their thinking. I do think it was a case of "old habits die hard", and they each did what they had done throughout their lives--they bought what they believed was the product that would give them the best value for their hard-earned money.

 

[LizzieMaine]

My grandfather was a Chevrolet man when it came to cars, but he had a bad experience with a 1935 Chevy pickup truck that soured him for life, and he only ever owned Ford trucks after that. He was never specific about what that bad experience was, but I expect it had something to do with pouring teakettles full of boiling water into the radiator on a February morning.

 

[Touchofevil]

Ugly messy EVIL wind.

 

[Zombie_61]

My grandfather was a Chevrolet man when it came to cars, but he had a bad experience with a 1935 Chevy pickup truck that soured him for life, and he only ever owned Ford trucks after that. He was never specific about what that bad experience was, but I expect it had something to do with pouring teakettles full of boiling water into the radiator on a February morning.

Having owned one Ford myself, and having friends and family who have owned Ford cars, I was a General Motors man for nearly three decades. Long story short, their disappointing handling in 2007 of a serious problem with our 2000 Buick LeSabre caused me to lose faith, so I've been a Honda guy for the last decade.

 

[tonyb]

Glass-top electric stoves.