Dealing with boneheads.

It so happens that,  I get maybe three or four phone calls in a day from a number that I do not recognise.   Or sometimes it's a "Private Caller",  and I figure why would I answer,  when they clearly want their privacy?
So,  a lot of calls go unanswered.   If your name and number are in the in-house phone system,  then it will come up after a couple rings.   Or,  if somehow your name is attached to your number,  it will come up. 
Hey,  I might answer.   Maybe it's someone whom I've called and they're calling me back?
Could happen.
Most times,  the number has been reported as some sort of Robo call or scam.  If, that is,  there's any way to find out more about the number.
Let Google do the work.

And don't get me wrong,  I *appreciate*  if a credit card company calls to tell there's something up with the card.  I do,  really.    However....

This morning,  as happens from time to time,  there was a phone call.   Number didn't look familiar to me,  so I left it.   Next thing I know,  there's a "voice mail"  message,  and so I check it out.
Sometimes those "voice mail"  messages are just a click,  or someone telling you you've won a cruise.

Riiiiiight.

Turns out,  the lady leaving the message claims to be from Canadian Tire.

First of all,  they call themselves,  "Canadian Tire Bank",   but they are not a bank.   So I'm not sure what the heck that's supposed to mean.   But anyway,  I call the number that she left,  and proceeded to sit on hold for 20 minutes.

Twenty f**king minutes!   That was my limit,  so I hung up.

"High call volume",   which tells me that you need to do some hiring.   Or,  possibly so many people have had their cards messed with that,  maybe there are a lot of folks callin' ya??

Either way,  answer the damned phone!

Since it was the "fraud"  line,  I figure I had better pursue this,  so I call the number on my statement.

Now,  you have to understand that,  I owe a whopping $13.54.   It's due September 6th. 

I check my online banking situation and,  sure enough it's due to come out the day ahead of time,  so I'm still not sure why the heck they have decided to waste by now a good half hour of my time.
I had called the number that's on the statement,  which was a *different* number than the one that the lady who left the message quoted.
Had to go through the usual "press this" "press that"  to then get put on hold.

Well,  turns out somehow when they issued the new improved "Triangle Master Card"  I *guess*  there must have been some information that got out?    There was no admission of this, I'm just making this up.  The thing is, there were purchases made that had nothing to do with me.  And coincidentally,  this transition just took place a few weeks ago. 
I'm not a big believer in coincidences.


And I don't get it.   Each and every time I use that card (and it ain't that often, trust me,  thirteen bucks,  remember?)  I have to put in a four digit pin.  Not my house address.  Not my phone number.   Not numbers that anyone is going to guess.  But maybe if you order sh*t on line??   Maybe the pin isn't required?

Don't know.

I don't use that card for anything on line.

And that's a good thing.

So no,  I didn't order anything from "Brother"  (a printer maybe?)  or whatever that other thing was that she mentioned.  I forget.  Didn't care.  Wasn't me.
They needed my email address in case they have to send me an affidavit.  Right,  somehow I suspect another deluge of junk emails.

After I cut up my card and cancelled my account,  I was asked "is there anything else we can do for you today?"  I hate when they ask that.  Are they just *trying* to aggravate me even more?
First of all,  all that you've "done for me today" is piss me off,  why would I want to keep talking to you?

 I simply asked first of all, "Is this recorded?"  To which she replied in the affirmative,  so I said,   "Then record this,  if you call me and ask me to call you back,  don't make me sit on hold!".  "Answer the phone.  That's all.  Just answer the phone"
 And really,  it's not the fault of the poor unfortunate simpleton on the other end,  so I was civil. 

No,  really. 

Surgery sweet almost.


That's it.  I feel better now.

Thanks for moving your eyes back and forth.

Oh,  and when they send the new card?  I'll probably cancel that account.  I don't think I can trust "Canadian Tire Financial" or "Canadian Tire Bank"   with anything more than maybe keeping the lights on and the air condition running.

Keep your stick on the ice.

The final application.

I hope.

I was actually starting to write "The final solution",  but that has a whole other meaning.  Not a good one.

Although,  we are talking about...  extermination.  But I'm only talking about wasps.  Honestly.

Man,  I'm digging myself a hole here.


The other morning,  I was out on what was then the shady side of the house knocking back the weeds,  and I realised that the hoe I was using had just the right shape that would allow me to pry off the top area of the trim without getting too close to the wasps.

So,  yesterday morning,  before they got too active,  I did just that,  which allowed me to see just what the heck was going on behind it.


Can't see much,  actually.

The ones that have survived are still going in and out of a tiny gap in the foam up there at the top.






This evening at dusk,  I got up there with a step ladder and sprayed in another dose of Wilson's "One Shot".

Even though really,  it's taken more than just the one shot.  Hate to say it.  I guess you're supposed to be able to get this stuff directly onto the nest,  but like I said, these guys are up in behind the foam insulation somehow.  No bueno.

I'll see if there are any dead bodies in the morning.   There were a few yesterday morning after I removed the trim,  but when I went back out to take another look,  they were mysteriously gone.  Maybe blew off?   Dunno.

Did a little more prep work on the painting end of things today.   I'm on to the next colour,  so I had to go back to one spot where it looked like I had a bit of a thin spot and put on a wee bit more.
Hate when that happens.

Wednesdays can be a bit of a wasted day for me anyway,  as I go to breakfast with a bunch of other old farts and generally complain about whatever is bugging us at the moment.  Right now it's the number of high rise condos that are being built in our downtown core.  Which is one of the reasons that Burlington has slipped way down to number 31 on the "livability"  scale that some group or other put out a while back.  We were ninth in 2017. 
Don't get me started.

Not sure how accurate it is,  but if they use the same criteria year after year,  then I suppose there's some credibility to the study.  Some magazine called Money Sense.

*****

Saw these suspicious looking characters wandering up the street yesterday.  This is what happens when you're painting with no window coverings and the camera is close at hand.

Think they're Jehovah's?

 Maybe Seventh Day Adventist.

    It's been a few years,  or I dare say *decades* since we've had anyone come to our door selling their particular brand of piety.  I think I've got the message across.
I won't elaborate.

Well, except that,  there was this time,  and this was the first summer we were here in 1992, when  two ladies came up the driveway and wanted to "chat".    I said I didn't mind,  but as I was cutting the grass at that very moment and it had to get done,  and they had interrupted the proceedings,  I simply asked which one of them wanted to keep doing the work?  You know,  so I could sit and "chat".
I *love* to sit and chat!

Hey, it's what I was doing this morning at breakfast!

However,  neither of them thought they were up to cutting the grass.  Lazy Bastards.
They looked fit to me.  I mean,  you do all that walking around lugging a bible or whatever,  you have to have a bit of stamina.  Don't you think?


All I know is, I've certainly never shown up at some stranger's door *uninvited*  and asked if we could "chat".   Like,  what are you thinking?

I realise that,  back in the Depression,  when men were truly down and out,  they might show up at a stranger's door asking if there might be a little food to spare,  but times have changed.  And those interlopers across the road look pretty healthy.

I think I'm getting off on a bit of a rant here,  so you can fill in the rest.  Or join in,  if you wish.

I suspect that's it.

Thanks for stopping by.

Here's hoping for a bit of cooler weather.

Weekend on the water.

Which means,  the painting was put on hold,  but I finished another wall today.
I can't say exactly that I'm as enthusiastic about painting as I once was?   Or maybe,  I never really was.
I had thought,  that the last time I painted,  would be the *last time I painted*.   But no.  We don't like that colour anymore.

Anyhoo,  I took along my somewhat beat up Canon G16 which,  as it turns out,  still takes good photos,  even though it's gotten wet on at least two occasions.   *sigh*
The first time it happened,  I dried it out,  and discovered that the built in flash would no longer work.  So fine,  I bought a flash for the hot shoe,  and that was the answer to that little issue.  Carry on.   Then,  earlier in the sailing season,  I managed to get the poor thing wet again,  and this time it seems that I can no longer use the viewing screen.  Thankfully there is a range finder lens that at least allows me to compose a shot of some sort.   The problem is,  I have no idea what I'm taking a picture of or how it turned out until I upload it to some sort of other device (like this computer) and see what I got.   Kind of like back in the old days when using film.  We never knew what we got until we picked up our prints or a contact sheet from the lab.

This particular regatta was held at a yacht club/marina community not far from here called "Newport" where it would seem that a developer was allowed to scoop out a marina,  then build condos all around and create this little community.

Once you buy a place though,  you don't automatically get a slip,  as the slips are deeded separately.  Plus,  there are way more dwellings than slips.

So,  I did manage to get a couple shots in,  but it was a wee bit windy for the first two races,  and I was busy.   Our Fore Deck guy was having an issue with one of his eyes and couldn't make it,  which meant that Muggins here volunteered to do Fore Deck.   I keep a set of knee pads in my sail bag for just such a contingency.

I'm getting just wee bit long in the tooth for doing Fore Deck however,  and I'm feeling a little bit of discomfort here and there today from essentially thrashing about on the front end of a boat.

Now,  you might be wondering just why I used the term "weekend",  when the regatta was only a one day affair?   Well,  we ferried the boat down there Friday night,  sailed Saturday,  had dinner there,  listened to the band,    and then the skipper was going to simply motor the boat all the way back to Bronte on Sunday,  and I offered to sail it back with him if he'd be willing to drive me back afterwards to pick up my vehicle.   So that was the plan.
And as it was,  the wind on the Sunday was somewhat better than the Saturday,  as it was a very nice 10 or so knots out of the West.  Realistically,  they could have had a two day regatta,  but maybe that's just not realistic.

Bit of a before and after,  although I should have looked at the first one,  as I screwed up the angle.

And,  if you make your own millwork (trim etc.)  then you can also make it so you can remove it for painting.   A couple of those pieces are from the kitchen,  since I want to touch up the finish on an area just above the range.

Needs to be cleaned,  sanded and refinished.  Of course,  I have to take down that metal rod.

Thus:

I unhooked the little puck lights and shoved them up into the cabinets for now.

Such exciting stuff,  yes?

I'm out.

Thanks for stopping by.


Here's a video posted by Newport Yacht Club:

Click on the link.

The boat that's "getting close"  is us,  TARDIS.  I'm in the yellow shirt.

Just click "not now"  when it asks if you want to create a new account.   There you go.