I girded myself for a trip to Sam’s today to lay in some provisions for my sister’s impending visit.  Since it’s usually just me and the dog, I was woefully understocked for hosting two adults, two children, and a dog for a week.  As expected, Sam’s was a zoo.  Aside from dealing with the rude and inconsiderate people in the store, spending a bit over $300 at the register, and tearing my favorite shirt on my truck’s tailgate as I loaded the stuff¹, everything went fairly well. 

Anyhow…  after unpacking everything and doing some straightening up in preparation for their arrival I realized that it was nearly 4:00 and I hadn’t eaten anything since breakfast.  As I ate, it occurred to me that while we have a word for a late breakfast/early lunch, I’ve never heard of one for a late lunch/early supper (or dinner, depending on your predelictions).  I suppose that it would either be “linner” or “lupper,” neither of which have the same friendliness as “brunch.”  Thanks to a quick Google search, I learned that I’m not the first one to think of it, and that there are actually people out there who use both words.

¹ Note to Avalanche designers:  make that stupid little rubber spacer thingy on the tailgate so that it doesn’t fall off.  The current design sucks and doesn’t take into account someone leaning against the side of the tailgate to reach stuff inside the bed.

I realize that catalogs have long lead times.  But can we at least wait until September or so to bring out the fleece jackets, coats, and flannel shirts?  It’s bordering on 90° outside right now.  It’s too damn hot for the “fall” catalog.

Last week I mentioned that Charter had finally figured out that people were switching to FIOS.  I’ve also noticed since I dropped them that I’ve been flooded with flyers in the mail.  I got two of them yesterday and another one today. 

Granted, a few of them weren’t targeted (i.e. they were addressed to “Resident” or “Our Neighbor at…”), but for the most part they’re addressed to me.  You have to wonder about the utility of carpet-bombing a former customer.  Especially one who has told you in no uncertain terms that he isn’t coming back. 

It might be amusing (in a grim, low-expectations, sort of way) to try to get them to stop sending me crap… 

I’ve never had an AOL account, so I’ve always been grimly amused by the crap that people go through just to cancel one.  However, I think this incident takes the cake.  The AOL user, suspecting he was going to be mistreated, decided to record the call himself.  The recording has been posted and linked in numerous places (accessible from the above link).

However, this guy also has a weblog, where he recounted the story.  In the comments I found this jem, which may just perfectly summarize AOL’s business practices with respect to cancellation:

An AOL account is like herpes. Once you’ve got it, you’ve got it for life.

Heh.

Another lesson learned from my stay in Dalhart:  always keep some cash on your person.

I have a habit of not usually having more than $20-$30 on me at any one time.  Almost everything I buy these days is done with my debit card.

When I got to Dalhart, I only had about $15 in cash.  I was lucky in that the local pizza delivery places would take credit cards, or otherwise I would have had to have walked several miles in the heat to get to the nearest ATM.

So, I think I’m going to get $40 or $50 extra when I go to the ATM today and fold it and stash it in one of the compartments in my wallet.  That way it’s out-of-sight until I should need it in an emergency.  I also used to keep a couple of $20’s hidden in the truck, but got out of that habit.  I may do that, too, when I get the truck back.

I used to think it was a bit paranoid.  But perhaps it was just prudent.

To get around having their products kept behind the pharmacy counter and limited and logged, some allergy/cold products are now being reformulated to use Phenylephrine HCl instead of Pseudoephedrine.  You can see this in the labeling, which usually features “PE” somewhere on it. 

I call my packing habits when on long trips the “+1 plan.”  I tend to pack one extra of everything, which paid off yesterday (being the 11th day of my 10 day trip).  However, I forgot to pack an extra day’s worth of Claritin-D.  I found an ALCO store within walking distance of the hotel on Sunday and went there in search of allergy medicines.  This store doesn’t have a pharmacy, so they didn’t have Clairitin-D or any of the generic equivalents.  Instead, I tried to make do by getting a package of loratadine (the allergy-controlling portion of Claritin-D) and a package of Phenylephrine HCl (PE).

On Monday I discovered that I don’t get along with the PE very well.  Unlike pseudoephedrine, the PE makes me extremely sleepy.  Perhaps for some people it’s an acceptable substitute, but it definitely won’t work for me. 

As usual, an effective product is being replaced by an ineffective one due to government regulation.  I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised by now.

I just hope that the makers Claritin-D and the generic equivalents don’t give up completely on it due to the meth madness regulations.

I guess I’ve been indelibly scarredmarked by being born in the 70’s, as there are just certain things where CB slang comes immediately to mind.

In this case, the Chevrolet dealership in Amarillo arranged for a rental car through Enterprise.  Since GM is paying, they chose the economy model, so I ended up in a Cobalt.  I immediately dubbed this car “The Roller Skate,” in honor of CB slang for a small car.  And it is definitely small, especially so for someone accustomed to an Avalanche.

This car was also pretty much bottom-end when it comes to options.  I’d forgotten just how much of a pain it is to deal with manual locks and just how much I’ve come to depend on cruise control (as the occasional foot cramp I experienced last night will attest). 

I saw on the news this morning that Dallas has declared this to be Mav’s Spirit Week or some similar nonsense.

Didn’t we leave all this juvenile “Rah! Rah!” crap behind in highschool?  Maybe instead of silly spirit the city might want to focus on something more useful?  Like perhaps trying to get a handle on the free-fire zone down in Lower Greenville?

Aside from people yapping on cellphones, the other distracted driver that I often encounter encroaching on my lane is the makeup artist.  Usually she’s driving with one knee while applying eyeliner and looking in the mirror.

I cringe each time I see a woman doing this, since it gives me a lurid vision of a punctured eyeball in the ensuing wreck…

So I see that the world health nannies have declared today to be “World No Tobacco Day.”  I used to be mildly sympathetic to the anti-smoking message, but as the anti-smoking groups have become more militant and have managed to use the power of the state to step on private property rights, my sympathy has dwindled to microscopic proportions.

I’ve decided that in the grand tradition of eat-an-animal-for-PETA day, I will honor “World No Tobacco Day” in my own particular way:

Perhaps the cloud of smoke will keep them away from my door (or, if I’m lucky, it’ll kill ‘em dead on the doorstep through the hyper-deadly dangers of “second hand smoke”).