DISCOURAGING: I don’t want my orders sent by USPS

Tuesday, July 21, 2026

A chat with amazon

*** begin quote ***

ME: USPS deliveries are inconvenient and always seem delayed. Can I specify I don’t want my orders sent by USPS?

REP: understand your concern.
I can take this as a feedback so that our team will check the details and will try our best to deliver the items directly

*** end quote ***

Have to tell Puritan’s Pride the same thing. 

If they can’t deliver with UPS or FEDEX 0r something similar, then I have to take my business elsewhere.

Argh!

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APPLE: In messages, all my contacts’ pictures are gone.txt

Monday, July 20, 2026

MAC OSX TAHOE 26.5.2 (25F84)

2026-07Jul-16 DIALOGUE in messages, all my contacts’ pictures are gone.txt

*** begin quote ***

Acknowledged unfamiliar software version, sought current informationAcknowledged unfamiliar software version, sought current informationThis is a known, recurring bug with Messages/iCloud Contacts sync — it’s been showing up across macOS and iOS versions for years, and there are recent reports tied to macOS 26/iOS 26 specifically. Not something wrong on your end.
Quick fix to try first:

Apple menu → System Settings → click your name (Apple ID) at the top
Click iCloud
Find Contacts and toggle it off
Wait about 30 seconds, then toggle it back on
Restart your Mac and check Messages again

If that doesn’t work:

Check iCloud.com → Contacts to confirm the photos still exist there. If they’re intact on iCloud.com but missing on your Mac, it’s a local sync/cache issue, not lost data.
Check your iPhone — if photos are still showing there, that confirms the photos themselves are fine and it’s just your Mac’s Messages app not pulling them.
In Settings → Apps → Messages on iPhone (or the Mac equivalent under Messages preferences), toggling Shared with You off and back on has fixed this for some people.

Unfortunately, honest heads-up: several people on Apple’s own forums report this is a bit whack-a-mole — the fix works for a while, then random contacts lose their photos again weeks later. Apple’s support has acknowledged awareness of it but hasn’t shipped a permanent fix as of the reports I’m seeing. If it becomes chronic, re-adding photos manually in Contacts (Mac) tends to hold better than relying on iCloud auto-sync.

Want me to walk through the manual “re-add photo in Contacts” steps too, in case the toggle doesn’t stick?

*** end quote ***

Shame on Apple. Argh!    

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AI: CLAUDE and TEXTEXPANDER don’t seem to work well together

Sunday, July 19, 2026

*** begin quote ***

TextExpander note:
– TextExpander works in the Claude app/claude.ai input, since it operates at the OS/keyboard level.

Test message logged (2026-06Jun-14 0248):
“Test Book of Faces. 2026-06Jun-14 0248 idk IDK IDIDK GEIW FEIE FWIW fwiw Mother NatureSOME DONT WORK” – appears to be a TextExpander snippet test where some abbreviations did not expand.

*** end quote ***

Time to be an “unpaid ALPHA tester” for the nice folks at TEXTEXPANDER

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AI: CLAUDE doesn’t have access to Google Maps or your saved places

Saturday, July 18, 2026

*** begin quote ***

User: Print it

Claude explained it does not have the ability to send documents to a physical
printer, and suggested the user open the file from Google Drive or download it
to print locally.

*** end quote ***

Well that’s annoying.

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AI: CLAUDE doesn’t have access to Google Maps or your saved places

Friday, July 17, 2026

*** begin quote ***

Dialogue – June 28, 2026

USER: Delete all New Jersey saved places in Google Maps

CLAUDE: I don’t have access to Google Maps or your saved places — there’s no Google Maps connector available to me.

To delete saved places in Google Maps yourself:

1. Open Google Maps and tap your profile icon
2. Go to Saved → Your lists
3. Open each list, find NJ places, tap the three dots on each, and select “Remove from list”

Or on desktop at maps.google.com, go to Saved in the left menu and manage from there. Unfortunately there’s no bulk-delete option in Google Maps — it has to be done one by one.

USER: Create text file and save in Google Drive Claudia folder

CLAUDE: What would you like the text file to contain?

USER: The previous dialogue

*** end quote ***

Sure AI and machines are going to take over the world?

Argh!

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DISCOURAGING: Jeff Jacoby is ill and I wish him a speedy recovery

Thursday, July 16, 2026

Tuesday, July 14, 2026
By Jeff Jacoby, Globe Opinion columnist

*** begin quote ***

A note to readers from a longtime columnist
As some of you know, I am on medical leave from my job at The Boston Globe and have not been able to write my regular op-ed columns or my Arguable newsletter.

*** and ***

During the congressional debates on the amendment in 1866, I noted, Senator Edgar Cowan of Pennsylvania warned that birthright citizenship would undermine the ability of any state to defend itself “if it were overrun” — that word again — by immigrants of “a different race.”

*** end quote ***

Well, unfortunately, we can’t have “open borders” and a “welfare state”.  If those, that come here, contribute to society, then by all means “open the golden door”, BUT, (and there is always a BIG butt), if they are here for the dole, then we can’t admit them.

We have seen the abuses of our lax immigration policies and generous handouts. Birth tourism — pregnant women coming to the U.S. on tourism visas in order to obtain birthright U.S. citizenship for their newborn child becoming “anchor babies” is a very distinct problem.

End welfare; no problem.  End warfare; no problem.

Get well soon, my favorite liberal author. 

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INSPIRATIONAL: Costco cashier Tony Barzar is a millionaire by slow and steady hard work

Tuesday, July 14, 2026

https://www.wsj.com/business/retail/he-earns-33-an-hour-as-a-costco-cashier-now-hes-a-millionaire-1e9ba725?st=6YknCt&mod=1440&user_id=66c4b9c55d78644b3a882a4d

He Earns $33 an Hour as a Costco Cashier. Now He’s a Millionaire.

  • Long-tenured workers like cashier Tony Barzar are reliable, experienced and able to speed shoppers through a checkout line. Costco is willing to pay to keep them around.

By Sarah Nassauer
July 8, 2026 7:00 pm ET

*** begin quote ***

TUCSON, Ariz.—Costco cashier Tony Barzar unloaded his lunch in the breakroom, clocked in and headed for the checkout, just as he has for much of the past four decades.

That day, like most days, 60-year-old Barzar was assigned to the self-checkout area, a cluster of six registers. At 9:02 a.m., the first shoppers were ready to ring themselves up.

*** end quote ***

Not glamorous, not “big bucks”, but slow and steady wins the race.

A certainly no reason for ¾ of a million in student loan debt.

Maybe the zoomers need to adjust their expectations?

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RANT: Where are the “smart trash cans”?

Sunday, July 12, 2026

I want one that takes itself out to the curb on “trash day” and return to its spot when emptied.

Then I might believe that the machines are gonna take over the world.

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RANT: HANDICAP spaces

Saturday, July 11, 2026

Today, like many many other times, I see people use those spaces with no placard or plate. No one enforces it.  Argh!

–30–

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ANSWER – RATED BEST: The three account solution — joint, yours, and mine

Friday, July 10, 2026

FROM REDDIT
Go to LifeProTips
r/LifeProTips
•
3y ago

*** begin quote ***

LPT Request: What is a good way for married couples to manage their money? Does it make sense to have a joint account? How do you decide how much of each paycheck goes into that account?
Finance

Edit: What is a good strategy when one person earns double what the other earns?

*** end quote ***

I “believe” that there should be a common account for expenses, and each partner have their own account to use as they see fit. In my 40 year marriage, my deceased wife was a great saver because she grew up “dirt poor”. Having her “own money” gave her the ability to relax and stop that fear. There were times when she made more than me and time when I made more than her. It was never an issue because we both contributed to the common account.

I read and see where many times the “breadwinner” is control freak and the partner usually the woman is left high and dry with nothing. I think the three account solution — joint, yours, and mine — puts the bully on notice that it’s a partnership; not a dictatorship. I “feel” that anyone, who insists on control, should be dumped immediately as “not ready for prime time” and should be returned to their parent for further training. You’re not going to change anyone and they could wind up literally killing you!

Still think that it’s OK to have it anyway that works for you.  Except that BOTH partners should have “life boat money” set aside in case it’s needed.  It can be divorce, but it also can be other things like surprise parties, birthday presents, hobbies, GoFundMe’s, whatever.

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