Shake my head, with a big SIGH!.. I am so tired of having to interact with stupid people and snowflakes.
So this is going to be a rant posting.
I used to advocate for veterans. No more. Too many just want people to do things for them that they can do for themselves, or won't do what they need to do to improve their situations. Its like talking to a wall. So now when one asks for my help, I refer them to the VA. Friends of mine, several who also were advocates, all have burned out just like I have. We still help some, but are very picky about who we help.
I am also tired of helping people who CAN help themselves, but will not. No, you won't go out and spend 90 bucks on a printer that you need, or an OBD reader (car/truck diagnostic hand held readout computer) for 70 bucks, but you will spend 4 to 9 thousand on new Quads for yourself and your kids that you use sparingly on weekends between May and September. Mean while your truck/car breaks down 3 times a year and you get frustrated because it costs you a over 100 dollars to take it in and have a mechanic check it out to tell you whats wrong with it, (simple sensor replacement) when the OBD reader could tell you what the problem is in about 30 seconds.. DUH!
I have been in electronics since I was 14. Back then we still used vacuum tubes. The digital age was just beginning, so I had to learn that too, but it was in its infancy and progressed rapidly. Now few things use the tube technology. Everything is digital which makes some things easier to troubleshoot.
Been a PC computer tech since they first came out. My first PC ran DOS .99 beta, before DOS became the first official PC user programing language. I owned an original Mac. And what was then called an IBM, which is now called Windows systems. I stayed with the windows operating system as the one I use, but still can and do know and can operate MAC systems as well.
From windows 3.0 all the way up to windows 10, I have ran them all.
From 8088 CPU based computers to the new AMD/Intel chips of today, I have worked on Desktops, Towers, Laptops, smart phones, and tablets. And just about every major brand name out there.
And I am tired of stupid people who should not own any of it.
People who do not manage their passwords properly are a real thorn in my side. I tell them to get a small note book, write down the website address, the log on name used, the password and what date they created it and leave a few spaces below for later info.. They do not. I tell them to write this info in a note file and save it to a flash drive or (back then a floppy disk) or a back up. They do not. Then they wonder why I cannot hack their system so they can reset the password without losing data.
I tell them to back up critical data incase their Hard drive dies.. they do not. Then they whine when they lose it all.
Then I got the ones that write it down in several locations, with Password info scattred on dozens of sheets of note paper, scattered thru out their desk area or office room, and they cannot remember where it is. Totally unorganized.
I help a lotta folks on limited resources. Retirees on limited funds, disabled people on limited funds, etc. Many have older systems that must be upgraded, yet they want me to keep their old windows 7 machine (and yes one guy was still running windows XP), on line and working but found out they can no longer access their email because their system is no longer supported.
Hard drives and DVD/CDs are becoming a thing of the past. New tech is SSD (solid state drives) and flash drives. Yet folks want me to fix their older machines to keep them running and/or replace components that you cannot even get anymore.
Then there are the PHONE people.. The ones that shouldn't even own a cell phone. If they do, it should be a simple talk and text only phone and nothing more. Smart phone with dumb users is what I call them. I have spent hours and hours trying to teach people how to use their smart phones. And many times it ends in frustration.
New tech for internet and new printer setup software now requires you to have a smart phone with its own internet access, to set up the new printer or internet hardware from your ISP (internet service provider). Not everyone owns a smart phone, and still some who do (because they had no other choice but to get one) don't have a clue as to how to use them. It gets frustrating. They cannot set up these devices without one.. or if they do not have an email address or a phone number.. I have several people here who do not own a phone at all!
And since land lines are now a thing of the past (very few left), most people who have what looks like a land line, is actually a phone hooked up to cable TV system. So its either no phone, Cable Phone or a cell phone. And the cell phone users want the cheapest phone (least capable) phone they can get.
And I am now telling people that I no longer do that stuff.. In reality I do it for a few close friends and relatives.. no others.
Then you got the snowflakes. They are all over the place.. say the wrong thing and you get banned, you get ignored, you get shamed, you get ostracized, you get shunned. It may be as simple as accidently dropping an F-bomb, or sharing an opinion that someone else doesn't like or agree with, or whatever.
It is like being thrown in facebook jail, where you are not allowed to post or say anything for a week, 3 weeks or a month. Or you get banned, or your page shut down.
But this is happening in the real world. And I am tired of it all.
I haven't owned a TV since 2006. My voice mail is full of robo calls and I am having my phone service provider shut off voice mail. I will only do texts and voice. Yes I have an expensive Smart phone. I do not used it as a computer as some people do. But every once in a while when I am on the road I will use some of the higher capabilities of it.
The smart phone was not intended to do what a desktop can do, and a laptop cannot do what a desk top can do. My 10 inch screen tablet cannot do what either of them do, and I use it to play one game - Boom Beach.
I find myself slowly but steadily unplugging from the world. Soon I may not even have internet anywhere but on my cell phone and that will be limited to just a few people.
I stopped giving out my new email address and my phone number. I tell people they don't need it. It is amazing how many companies refuse to do business with me if I do not give out an email address, or phone number, or both. What I find amazing is the looks I get from snowflakes who cannot believe that I can live without either one of them.
Walgreens sent me so many robo calls, my provider now blocks their calls. Same with spectrum health. And they are not happy about it. But like I told them.. Stop the robo calls or it would happen. They did not and it did. Now they can text me or send me a snail mail message.
Soon I will just have snail mail and a basic cell phone that does talk and text only. No 2 lines, no video calls, no voice mail. Just a cell phone.
And I am finding I am enjoying the peace and quiet and solitude.
