What’s on your mind?

[mtbdudex]

So in this post I'm kind of coalescing / pulling together the past various posts talking about retirement, aging, music, etc......

Some of Joni Mitchell's "The Circle Game" lyrics rather sum things up:

And the seasons they go round and round
And the painted ponies go up and down
We're captive on the carousel of time
We can't return, we can only look behind
From where we came
And go round and round and round
In the circle game

And go round and round and round
In the circle game

^^^


Joni is such a gifted soul.
To have written such music so young, just blows my mind.
I’ve heard and sang every song here countless times.

Have you seen CODA?
I’m guessing yes.

For me, and my funeral planning, I’ve included Joni’s songs in it.
Just redid our estate trust plan.

 

[Apple fanboy]

I am really getting tired of people trying to run scams against me all the time. Calling on the phone, emails, text messages, people knocking on the door. Electronic filtering of texts, phone calls, and emails are mostly effective. But still a few get through each day and if I turn off the filtering, there are several dozen fraudulent solicitations each day.

A few each day? I get a few a year. Maybe time to be more selective about who you give your number to.

 

[Chuckeee]

A few each day? I get a few a year. Maybe time to be more selective about who you give your number to.

And my email and home address too!

 

[mtbdudex]

The whole diamond ring thing and how it’s propagated among society still blows my mind.
What a scam, a huge scam to make people rich, and others feel l they are not worthy.

Blood diamond - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[rm5]

I am really getting tired of people trying to run scams against me all the time. Calling on the phone, emails, text messages, people knocking on the door. Electronic filtering of texts, phone calls, and emails are mostly effective. But still a few get through each day and if I turn off the filtering, there are several dozen fraudulent solicitations each day.

I have a dedicated email for making internet accounts with. I never receive any marketing or scam emails, ever. I love it.

Just thinking about how I am going to move forward in life. Girlfriend broke up with me last fall. It was my fault, and I accept what happened and am moving on from it. There were a lot of people I rooted out of my life and I feel better about things now. I need to get my Driver's License, I failed my road test last year as well and the weather has been pretty horrible so I haven't had much time to practice.

Getting a driver's license would be a good idea, in my opinion. I have mine, but I hardly ever drive. I hate driving with a passion, so I have no motivation to practice. But also I don't have a car—and I'm glad I don't, and I dread the day when I do need one. Fortunately, as it stands, I can put my money towards buying albums (actually meaningful to me) instead of paying for car maintenance.

I talk to a lot less people these days and just keep to myself. Something I should have done years ago, and it's worked out nicely.

I'm the opposite. Lately I've been getting better at talking to MORE people. And literally just talking in general—never been my strong suit. I spent far too long without any friends. Right now is literally the first time in my life I have felt included and valued by people my age outside my family.

 

[SilverSpooned]

Getting a driver's license would be a good idea, in my opinion. I have mine, but I hardly ever drive. I hate driving with a passion, so I have no motivation to practice. But also I don't have a car—and I'm glad I don't, and I dread the day when I do need one. Fortunately, as it stands, I can put my money towards buying albums (actually meaningful to me) instead of paying for car maintenance.

I'm the opposite. Lately I've been getting better at talking to MORE people. And literally just talking in general—never been my strong suit. I spent far too long without any friends. Right now is literally the first time in my life I have felt included and valued by people my age outside my family.

I know how to drive and I basically know what I need to do for the test, main factor is someone else's opinion of my driving being the determining factor of that.

It's good that you have found people to feel valued with. I will find that eventually, but it may not be for quite a while.

 

[rm5]

It's good that you have found people to feel valued with. I will find that eventually, but it may not be for quite a while.

I personally really needed that, but not everyone does. I respect that! If you don’t need it, that’s your choice!

 

[Apple fanboy]

The whole diamond ring thing and how it’s propagated among society still blows my mind.
What a scam, a huge scam to make people rich, and others feel l they are not worthy.

Blood diamond - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

I spent about £35 on Mrs AFB engagement ring nearly 30 years ago. I’m pretty sure it’s not been a problem in our marriage!

 

[goldmac2006]

A few each day? I get a few a year. Maybe time to be more selective about who you give your number to.

Same here, I only get scam texts occasionally. I used to have silence unknown callers on my iPhone, but I turned it off a bit later because I don’t want any calls from school or work to go to voicemails unless I’m focused on my iPhone, like during Sleep or Reduce Interruptions.

What’s on my mind right now, y’all, is that I finally conquered the first week back to school after a two-month-long holiday break. And now, it’s starting to feel like summer and spring weather is approaching California. The 80s are coming!

 

[rm5]

And now, it’s starting to feel like summer and spring weather is approaching California. The 80s are coming!

Here in Wisconsin, I doubt it'll start warming up in any meaningful way until April or May. Still like 4 degrees. I've still not really gotten used to it even in my second year, as a southwesterner.

 

[Apple fanboy]

Same here, I only get scam texts occasionally. I used to have silence unknown callers on my iPhone, but I turned it off a bit later because I don’t want any calls from school or work to go to voicemails unless I’m focused on my iPhone, like during Sleep or Reduce Interruptions.

What’s on my mind right now, y’all, is that I finally conquered the first week back to school after a two-month-long holiday break. And now, it’s starting to feel like summer and spring weather is approaching California. The 80s are coming!

I just don’t give my number out all that much. Calls are usually from Mrs AFB.

Like others I use an email address I just access through webmail where I have to give one. My personal email address is for me. Not Amazon etc. to sell on.

Not getting any warmer here, but the days are getting longer.

 

[bousozoku]

Interestingly enough, although I indeed do have transportation, a 2021 Honda Civic Sport Hatchback that I purchased towards the end of 2020, I don't drive nearly as much as I did in my younger days. Of course the Pandemic interrupted all of us being able to casually leave home all that frequently or feeling safe doing so (for a while anyway).

However, even after the worst of COVID-19 eventually became a disappearing mirage in our rear view mirrors, now in better times when we're all free to move around as we choose and go where we need and want to go, for some reason I've found that I still tend to stay at home much more than in the past. Some of it may be my own introverted personality and inclination towards being a homebody, and some of it may be actually age-related, too. I'm finding that it seems to be true that most of us seem to slow down more and more as we age. Especially if an individual doesn't have any pressing health problems, this all just kind of sneaks up on us!

I just don't feel the need to get in the car and go somewhere every day or even a few days a week. This, though, is also complicated by increasingly developing cataracts (another not-so-nice thing which for most of us comes along as our years on this earth progress through time). I don't drive at night any more and I tend to drive just around my local, familiar area rather than venturing out on road trips the way I used to do.

For people who do not have their own transportation readily available, yes, this becomes a problem in terms of trying to deal with public transportation or other means of getting to where one needs to be. That only adds to the pressure already being felt by the aging process. There are various agencies and other resources which help with this, but right, it's not the same as being able to decide to go somewhere, sometimes at the last minute, and simply pick up one's key fob and get into one's own car. This is one reason that many older people actively resist the idea of giving up their driver's license, even in situations where it is clearly an issue and needs to be addressed. Independence is important to most people and as one gets older, that independence becomes even more treasured.

Yesterday, I walked over two miles to get some fast food and shop in two stores before calling for an Uber ride, which cost the most.

I've tried to walk home with heavy groceries but it doesn't work well any longer. The bus sort of works but it's once an hour.

The best I can do to enjoy is take the camera for a walk.

 

[bousozoku]

I am really getting tired of people trying to run scams against me all the time. Calling on the phone, emails, text messages, people knocking on the door. Electronic filtering of texts, phone calls, and emails are mostly effective. But still a few get through each day and if I turn off the filtering, there are several dozen fraudulent solicitations each day.

I got another "you forgot to pay your tolls" scam text message today.

 

[rm5]

I just don’t give my number out all that much.

I don't, either, for that very reason. I also made my Instagram account private due to scams, as well. I still accept follower requests and follow people back if I know them. If I don't, I just delete them. Pretty easy.

 

[Clix Pix]

Yesterday, I walked over two miles to get some fast food and shop in two stores before calling for an Uber ride, which cost the most.

I've tried to walk home with heavy groceries but it doesn't work well any longer. The bus sort of works but it's once an hour.

The best I can do to enjoy is take the camera for a walk.

That must be very frustrating for you. Sometimes life just isn't fair, is it?

Taking the camera out for a walk and exploring what's out there and what you want to shoot is definitely a nice diversion from everyday life and its issues..... Keep on doing that!

 

[Clix Pix]

I got another "you forgot to pay your tolls" scam text message today.

Occasionally I get those and I simply delete them...... it really is annoying, though, isn't it? For you, ESPECIALLY when you do not even own a vehicle in the first place!

 

[Matz]

I’m fortunate to have a good spam filter (Spamsieve), which catches 99% of the spam. I still check my spam folder, as it occasionally filters a good email, which I then use to train it further. I wish there wasn’t a need for it, but evidently there is.

 

[Clix Pix]

I am so, SO ready for Spring and warmer weather to start arriving! This has been an unusually cold winter in the DC area and, OK, over the past couple of months Mother Nature has had her way with throwing us snow, ice, and very cold weather......Let's start seeing her gentler side now.....

 

[DaveFromCampbelltown]

A few each day? I get a few a year. Maybe time to be more selective about who you give your number to.

No, they use robo-diallers to just randomly generate numbers. If it rings, it gets recorded. If it answers, it gets recorded. So, if your home phone as an answering machine, you will get more calls.

Australia has implemented spam call filtering at the national level, but still some come through, because they are able to spoof local numbers.

 

[bousozoku]

That must be very frustrating for you. Sometimes life just isn't fair, is it?

Taking the camera out for a walk and exploring what's out there and what you want to shoot is definitely a nice diversion from everyday life and its issues..... Keep on doing that!

Doing my best. When was life fair? 😁

I'm slower to go out with equipment because, in 2017, I was attacked and robbed of equipment, and my current equipment is somewhat heavy, but I can't let anything stop me, can I?

 

[bousozoku]

No, they use robo-diallers to just randomly generate numbers. If it rings, it gets recorded. If it answers, it gets recorded. So, if your home phone as an answering machine, you will get more calls.

Australia has implemented spam call filtering at the national level, but still some come through, because they are able to spoof local numbers.

We had donotcall.gov for longer than I've had a mobile phone and it's supposed to stop everything but political and emergency calls, and fines are US$10,000 for each offending call, but I doubt they can find the offenders.

 

[DaveFromCampbelltown]

We had donotcall.gov for longer than I've had a mobile phone and it's supposed to stop everything but political and emergency calls, and fines are US$10,000 for each offending call, but I doubt they can find the offenders.

When they are allowed to spoof fake numbers, what can you do?
There was one small business in Aus. that had their number used for some particularly bad calls. The unwarranted pushback they got was unbelievable.

 

[rm5]

First time I've taken out a classical piece in at least a few months. I really haven't had much time to practice this term—three days a week at most. Barely enough to prepare for my lessons. And definitely not enough to learn my insanely hard set for jazz combo, I hardly have that together and the concert is in 2 weeks. I used to practice every day for at least 2 hours—and that's what I should be doing. That's why I say my schedule is too much.

But anyway, I worked on a Bach Partita tonight, and I think I finally realized I was using the wrong approach to learning it. I was learning it as I would a pop song, or jazz tune, which is NOT the way to learn classical music. Since I am not classically trained (and have never taken classical lessons), no one ever told me this. But I'm really glad I noticed—I was able to learn the first page and a half in one hour. I bet that's slow compared to classical piano majors, but I actually feel proud of myself.

I also ensured I was up on reading by going through random pages of hymns. First time I'd done that in at least a month. Yes, you WILL lose reading ability if you don't practice consistently. That happened to me last summer, when I really had no motivation to practice - and so I didn't, for like two whole months. Before, I could read most anything, and by the start of the school year in September, I noticed I lost a considerable amount of sight-reading ability. Right when I came back people were asking me to sight-read stuff, and I couldn't do it. So finally getting that back up.

 

[bousozoku]

When they are allowed to spoof fake numbers, what can you do?
There was one small business in Aus. that had their number used for some particularly bad calls. The unwarranted pushback they got was unbelievable.

Oh, I believe it.

There was a "Karen" incident a few days ago, and someone heard something in the background and tracked the information to the wrong person. People didn't notice that it was the wrong person and started threatening her.

 

[splifingate]

I talk to a lot less people these days and just keep to myself. Something I should have done years ago, and it's worked out nicely.

Just remember that you're definitely gana have to talk to your Driver's Test Proctor when the time comes