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Post by artraveler on Jul 20, 2020 17:47:28 GMT -8
I had a long talk with my oldest son yesterday. Conditions in Israel regarding KFF are, in reality, about the same as here when you consider the deaths per 100,000 metrics. The is a lot of unrest in the Orthodox community over the same things we are upset about, masks and lockdown.
Conditions in the undeclared war with Iran in Syria are unchanged. The IAF is conducting almost daily strikes against Iranian installations in Syria using Israeli modified F-35. My granddaughter will enter the IDF next year and my oldest grandson is about to finish his first year and is considering officer training school. Shin Bet is aggressively pursuing Hizballah in Judea and Samaria. The current feeling is that Bibi is going to delay annexation of the Jordan Valley until after KFF has died down and the US election.
We had a long conversation about his mother and how proud she would be of her grandchildren. Professor, Doctor, Diane Schuler was murdered near her home on 7 March 1996 walking home from Hadassah Medical Center where she specialized in treatment of disturbed children. She received her Ph.D. and MD from Hebrew University. In 1978 she graduated from California State University Sacramento with a bachelor’s degree in psychology, she had just turned 19 and was pregnant with our son. A year later she was in Israel and enrolled at Hebrew University. She had an eidetic/photographic memory and could relate events she had observed word for word. I often found it maddening.
Her murderer is still at large and likely in the Palestine territory. Her loss, even after almost 25 years is a loss to the Jewish people, Israel, and all of the children she might have saved from the darkness. I morn her daily.
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Post by kungfuzu on Jul 20, 2020 19:08:15 GMT -8
I believe he would be wise to do so, but of course, if Biden wins it may make annexation a bit more contentious with the next US government.
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Post by timothylane on Jul 20, 2020 19:38:30 GMT -8
If the Yellow Jester wins, the US will stop supporting Israel against the Palestinian terrorstans. That's the direction the Demagogues are moving in, and was increasingly the Obama Gang stance in 2016. They'll object to Israel annexing much of the West Bank, and use it as an excuse, but I doubt it will really make a difference.
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Brad Nelson
Administrator
עַבְדְּךָ֔ אֶת־ הַתְּשׁוּעָ֥ה הַגְּדֹלָ֖ה הַזֹּ֑את
Posts: 12,261
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Post by Brad Nelson on Jul 23, 2020 15:07:06 GMT -8
My protector, You are our abode, one generation to the next, Since before the mountains came to birth, before the birth pangs of the land and world. From eternity to eternity, You are divine. Truly, a thousand years are in your eyes like yesterday—so quickly does it pass—or like the watchman’s nighttime post. You pour upon them sleep, they sleep … At dawn, life blossoms and renews itself; at dusk, it withers and dries up.
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Post by kungfuzu on Jul 15, 2023 12:35:17 GMT -8
Today I received my gas bill from Atmos Energy. While perusing it, I noted in red letters "ACTION REQUIRED." The action required was to pay the "past due balance" of $197.32. It should be noted that my monthly gas bill is never this high. Furthermore, I pay my gas bill on time every month. But to be sure there was no problem, I checked my records and noted the dates on which I made this year's payments and then checked my bank records to note when each payment was cleared. From Jan to June all bills had been paid and cleared by my bank.
It is also odd that this is the only bill on which this "ACTION REQUIRED" notice has appeared. All of a sudden, Atmos Energy determined that I was $197.32 in arrears. Of course this is nonsense, and I sent an email to Atmos telling them to remove the debt. Unfortunately, their customer-service line is closed over the weekend. I will have to wait until Monday to contact them by phone.
The point of this tale is to show people exactly why I never allow autopay for any of my bills. Whether the mistake is an internal Atmos problem or someone hacked my computer does not matter. Had I arranged to pay my bill with autopay, my account would be $197.32 lighter today, and that does not include last month's charges.
Do not use autopay.
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Post by artraveler on Jul 15, 2023 20:14:54 GMT -8
Atmos Energy Sounds to me that Atmos, in an effort to "help" you with the bill has moved you to budget billing. We have Black Hills Gas here. The budget billing system they use is averaged for the previous six months. Needless to say, this results in wild swings in the billing as you go through the year. In effect they want you you to pay in the summer for gas you used in the winter. The I first encountered this was when we got a gas cutoff notice with a pay or else of over $300. When I talked to customer service I got a runaround the I asked why not take the total for last calendar year divide by 12 and call that the budget billing amount? They seemed confused by simple accrual accounting. Since then, I ignore the billing and send in last years gas usage divided by 12 with a 10% increase. I currently have a $350 credit balance which will grow to about $800 by fall when we turn the heat on. I'm Sure the credit balance is driving the accountants at Black Hills nuts. They can kiss my A$$. I do not allow any creditor to access my bank account. Social security and my pension make deposits but cannot make withdrawals. I use my bank, First Security, bill paying system to pay all my bills. I write two checks a month, sometimes three, to our gardener for his services. Otherwise I pay everything on line. If a company or individual does not have online services, many small companies don't, they receive a check in the mail. I have control over who gets paid and how much. And I can set up regular payments for specific days every week, month, quarter or year. |
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Post by kungfuzu on Jul 15, 2023 22:17:11 GMT -8
I don't think that is the case because my gas bills vary greatly depending upon the time of the year. In January of this year it was almost $170. It decreased each month until in May it was about $43. The June bill i.e. this bill is for $48, plus the $197.
If they did move me to budget billing, they never told me and I have had an account with them, or their previous company, for about 23 years.
When I first started using them, our monthly gas bills over the summer were about $18. Today they are always in the forties.
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Post by kungfuzu on Jul 17, 2023 13:17:43 GMT -8
I spoke to Atmos customer service this morning and they told me that there was a computer glitch and that my account was fully up-to-date. The woman on the other end apologized several times for the mistake. She advised that a new, corrected, bill would be mailed to me shortly.
Sometime back in the 1990s, when living in Singapore, I allowed autopay from my bank. I don't recall if it was for energy, water or something else, but I was charged for something I did not use. It took me weeks to get my money back. I have never forgotten that incident and learned from it.
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Post by kungfuzu on Jul 17, 2023 13:25:04 GMT -8
Which goes to confirm one big advantage of age. At seventy, one doesn't have to be terribly intelligent and reason out all the possible bad things that can happen in any particular situation. By our age, we have experienced a multitude of screw ups, dishonest people, mistakes and random shit. We don't have to imagine, we know all the crap that can happen. That too is called "the wisdom of the ages," perhaps better said, "the wisdom of the aged."  I already knew this by the time I was sixteen or seventeen, at the latest. |
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Post by artraveler on Jul 17, 2023 19:32:28 GMT -8
I spoke to Atmos customer service this morning I assume your bull shit meter went through the roof. Computers don't just add random amounts to peoples bills for fun. The error was obviously human error and the customer service person was just repeating the crap they were told to try to keep you quiet. Now, I am a suspicious type, years of experience in a business that prospers on quasi-illegal and downright illegal. I would suggest that this was intentional, not just to your household but many others in the area on a random basis. The "computer error" response when caught out was a canned excuse. Ask yourself, how many households would just pay the bill, no questions asked? My guess is at least 50% of those who receive such a billing. Most, if not all of the others would be satisfied with an apology and new billing. Suppose, a customer base in your area of 20,000 homes and businesses. A random number of 100 are selected every month for "billing adjustment" of around $200 and 50% just pay the bill. Atmos gains an instant $10,000 net profit each billing. Again, suppose nefarious influence and the "computer glitch" happens at irregular intervals, maybe four times a year, just before or after earning are reported. It would take a team of forensic accountants to dig it out and determine who the culprit(s) are. |
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Post by kungfuzu on Jul 17, 2023 19:51:01 GMT -8
Yes it did. In fact, I expected such an answer. But there is little chance that a "computer error" would create a new line "Past Due Balance," which had never appeared on previous bills. Then to the right of that line print ACTION REQUIRED and the several lines below that print Please pay past due balance promptly.
Having also been in business, I too think like this. The type of thing you describe is not uncommon. That is why one should always check one's bills, credit card, utilities, groceries, whatever. Mistakes are made, but sometimes, companies are simply crooked.
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Post by kungfuzu on Jan 31, 2024 10:06:01 GMT -8
Well, we picked up our friends from England Monday morning and off we went to have a look at the sights. In this case, the sights were the town of Grapevine which is close to the airport. Over the last few decades, Grapevine has changed from a sleepy somewhat declining Texas town to a local tourist attraction. The people there have done a pretty good job of making the place worth a short visit. We had lunch at Tolbert's which is mildly famous for its chili and founder. I did not know this before entering the establishment. Frank Tolbert was a Texas historian and columnist for the Dallas Morning News for almost 40 years. By chance, my best friend and I interviewed him when were were in school for some type of report. Mr. Tolbert lived about mid way between my friend's home and mine, i.e. about a quarter to a half mile away. Of course, we tried the restaurant's chili and it was good. A fair amount of paprika. Later at a Starbucks while having a lemonade, our friends got notice that their flight to Australia that day had been cancelled. Off we trekked to the airport and after some back and forth, they got re-scheduled for Tuesday's flight and received hotel and food vouchers. So instead of seeing them off, we took them to the hotel and went out for a late dinner. The flight delay gave us the opportunity to spend another day with them and we picked them up from their hotel and drove them to Plano. There we had a little walk around the place and a cup of coffee. Flu Jr. loves the DART train (Dallas Area Transit) and we figured out how they could take the DART train from Plano Station directly to DFW airport. They did feel bad about the thought of old Kung having to transverse the spaghetti pile of roads that surround that place. So we put them on a train at around 3:30 and waved them goodbye. It was very good to see them again after such a long time. By the way, I was wrong. We did see them once about 10 years back. In any case, it is one of those situations where you don't see each other for years, but the moment you do meet, you take up the conversation like you had seen each other yesterday. While the above story is interesting to me, it is not the main reason I am posting this piece. That would be to say that in the eight-or-so years that I have not been to DFW airport, the area has become even more monstrous than it was. The area stretching around the 18,000 acre facility is a soulless mass of concrete with some glass interspersed in between. It is horrible. For anyone not very familiar with the roads, driving is a nightmare. I am very good with directions and charting travel, but these roads had me tense. Particularly when driving back home at night at between 60 and 70 mph. Inhuman doesn't begin to describe it. I was happy to go to bed early. Here are some of the interchanges in the DFW area.
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Post by artraveler on Jan 31, 2024 10:24:45 GMT -8
Been a long time since I have been to DFW and before that Love field. Lots of changes over the years with LA spaghetti freeways.
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Brad Nelson
Administrator
עַבְדְּךָ֔ אֶת־ הַתְּשׁוּעָ֥ה הַגְּדֹלָ֖ה הַזֹּ֑את
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Post by Brad Nelson on Feb 1, 2024 8:28:52 GMT -8
I can't imagine trying to navigate that interchange. I've actually had bad dreams about trying to navigate the relatively small ones in Seattle, although they are still pretty bizarre. This is actually an off-and-on recurring dream...maybe 3 times in ten years, that sort of thing. Must be something sike-o-logical. The real nightmare would be that if you ever drove off the edge, you'd fall straight into a large "homeless" camp. The DART sounds smart. Even with GPS and auto-directions, such interchanges would be extremely difficult. There once was a man in Plano Who didn't want to go insane-o The spaghetti road structure Would bring mentalist rupture He opted instead for a train-0 |
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Post by kungfuzu on Feb 1, 2024 10:39:07 GMT -8
Believe me, I was tired out after their visit. I drove about 200 miles, mainly around such interchanges, in a day and a half. Those roads may be an engineering marvel, but the entrances and exits for the many connecting streets and highways are not always well posted. The traffic moves at a constant 65-75 mph, and one doesn't have a lot of time to react. If one misses an exit, there is generally no way to get off for a mile or two, sometimes more. And then when one tries to get back to the road one missed, it is very easy to miss that exit as well.
My father used to say driving such highways was like "going to war." And that was over twenty years back when the roads were much less convoluted. Good eyes, a good sense of direction and fast reflexes are the absolute minimum required to successfully conquer these concrete creatures. Even with those, it is stressful to drive them.
The above notwithstanding, it was worth the effort to see my friends again.
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Post by artraveler on Feb 1, 2024 13:42:27 GMT -8
I can't imagine trying to navigate that interchange. As an experienced California driver I'm not intimidated by spaghetti freeways. My wife won't driuve on the freeway unless forced to, but you can get used too it. If you are not familiar with routing it is always best to have a navigator to help watch for signs and turnoffs. |
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Post by kungfuzu on May 1, 2024 16:14:09 GMT -8
This is in the nature of a pubic service announcement.
On February 23, 2024, the Social Security Administration (SSA) wrote to my handicapped son, thanking him for contacting them to arrange a telephone appointment with the SSA for April 19, 2024. The purpose of the “telephone appointment” was to discuss my son’s “claim of disability.”
The problems with this letter’s assertion are 1) my son is mentally handicapped and is not able to respond coherently to anyone over the phone, much less make a telephone call to SSA, which he doesn’t know exists. 2) My son’s condition is congenital. He has been receiving Supplemental Security Income (SSI) since something like 2012. Thus he would have no need to contact SSA to discuss a claim for “disability.”
I was concerned, as there was clearly some sort of mix up.
I wrote SSA on March 8, 2024 in response to SSA’s above mentioned letter advising them what I just explained above. I requested a clarification on the subject. Of course, I received no response to my letter.
SSA then sent Kung Jr. a letter dated April 19, 2024 stating that they had spoken to him on January 25, 2024, regarding his eligibility for SSI and that on basis of that phone conversation, SSA had made an “informal” decision that he was not eligible for SSI. This is completely impossible for the reasons I mentioned above. Furthermore, Kung Jr. cannot drive, and my wife or I would have to drive him to the SSA office in order to speak to anyone at SSA. Even then, he would have no idea what they were talking about.
I was now getting very concerned about SSA’s obvious mistakes and on April 26, 2024, I called the “Help” telephone no. which SSA gives on its letters, i.e. 1-800-722-1213. I was connected to a lady named, I believe, ***** who, after some investigation, told me to disregard the letter.
While this was encouraging, I planned to follow up the telephone conversation with a letter of confirmation to SSA. Imagine then my surprise when on April 29, 2024, Kung Jr. received two letters in separate envelopes from SSA dated April 26, 2026. These letters had the identical text and stated, “On January 25, 2024, we talked with you about your entitlement to Social Security Benefits. Before we can decide if you are entitled, you must file an application.” Identical letters, but each had a different ref. no.
Then on April 30, 2024, Kung Jr. received a third letter from SSA, identical to the two received by him on April 29th. Of course, this identical letter had a different ref. no. Each of these letters is categorically wrong.
I have contacted my Congressman's office to intervene.
One can only wonder how often these mistakes are made and at what cost.
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Post by kungfuzu on May 2, 2024 13:02:06 GMT -8
Here is another public service announcement.
I recently received a letter from the IRS requiring me to verify my identity and confirm that I had submitted a tax return for 2023.
It turns out someone had submitted a fraudulent tax return using my social security number and the IRS put a lock on 2023 tax returns under this no.
I had to go through a process to in order to prove I am who I say and am. I can only say, if one is not completely wired up to computer/smart phone technology, going through this process is a pain in the ass. It is also somewhat questionable as this confirmation process is handled by a private company that required you surrender your biometrics into their control. They get your face and voice details which they no doubt sell and then deposit in a government vault.
I tried to avoid this, but when I attempted to use the straightforward call-in service a recording told me that they were so busy that they weren't taking anymore calls that day.
I have completed the process and now I have to re-submit my tax return, which will cost me more money and time.
I thought modern technology was supposed to simplify our lives.
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Brad Nelson
Administrator
עַבְדְּךָ֔ אֶת־ הַתְּשׁוּעָ֥ה הַגְּדֹלָ֖ה הַזֹּ֑את
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Post by Brad Nelson on May 3, 2024 10:30:17 GMT -8
My goodness. What an enormous pain in the ass. I hope this all works out for you.
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Post by kungfuzu on May 3, 2024 16:18:19 GMT -8
Thanks. I can confirm that the Congressman's aide has acted very quickly and efficiently. She contacted SSA within about 12 hrs of my email to the Congressman's site. The first reaction from Social Security was basically that they could not find any problems with the account and everything seemed to be fine.
She then sent copies of the relevant correspondence to Social Security and advised she would get back to me as soon as SSA responded to the second contact.
While the problem with SSA touches me more personally, I find the problem with the IRS more dangerous. I had heard of such things happening, but it really does show what a clown show the government is. As I recall, the IRS just got something like $80 billion more from Congress and has added over ten thousand new employees. They are now asking for $20 billion more and want to add another 14-15,000 employees. I can only guess how these new bureaucrats will plague the people.
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I already knew this by the time I was sixteen or seventeen, at the latest. 
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