March 9, 2019

Yesteryear
One year ago today: March 9, 2018, the scooter is still here.
Five years ago today: March 9, 2014, daylight savings again?
Nine years ago today: March 9, 2010, Smolensk?
Random years ago today: March 9, 2013, this dashing fellow.

Okay, so these are not the real pictures. Shhhh, let's see if anybody says anything. But I will have you know all these photos were taken by me in the last 48 hours. Enjoy, I don't know which ones will make the grade.

           My spider sense tells me you don’t want a second travel log this week, so today you get the “Saga of the Cell Phone.” It’s the story of activating a simple flip-phone, American style. And it will give you a better idea of how badly this country has gone downhill from the place I grew up. The problem of today began in late 2016, when I disobeyed one of my own rules. In third world areas like Florida, do not buy the last one of anything. You are not that lucky to find the last one on the shelf. Back then, I found two identical Alcatel flip-phones, brand new in the sealed packages. So I bought them both.

           They are getting harder to find, since even the government doesn’t like their lack of “snoopability”. It also means by the time I get to the second phone, any hope of warranty or return will be long gone. No problem, both packages are identical, I chose one and activated it. A few months ago I broke the gorilla glass from crawling around in the attic. I can only read the area code of anybody calling. I put up with it until y’day, when I learned I be travelling.

           So, over to the phone place in the car. The new cell phone will not turn on. The logo appears, but then it times out. The clerk cannot activate my phone number. Taking a closer look at the new phone, there is a smudge on the screen that should not be there. The second thing to notice is the screws on the back of the new phone do not appear to be seated all the way. On the left panel, a seated screw, on the right, the “new” phone. I tighten them, but no effect. This means a trip to Wal*mart, where they advertise Alcatel flip-phones. Back to the phone store to discover the phone is locked by Trac-Phone. That means a credit card is required for use, which I don’t do.


           Back to Wal*mart, where the lady in the phone department tells me Alcatel won’t work with Virgin. I hold up my phone and tell her this phone has worked on Virgin for years. Oh, she says, they changed all that. I said nonetheless, you gave me wrong information and I want to talk to somebody who knows for sure. Oh, he went home at 4:00 o’clock. Go stand in line at customer service for the money back, then return to the phone store which has a note back in five. Knowing what that means in Florida, I return home. Eighteen miles on the car through the city, but that’s not their problem. Well, America, if you had any spine left, yes, you’d make it their problem because they are the ones that caused it.

           And that is what has changed about America. Before, the stores hired people who know the products. The store backed the product and if they got too many returns, they dealt with their suppliers. Yes, you paid more for all this, but it was convenient and kept the supply chain on their toes. It is what made it the American way, and that was the best way the world has ever seen. They took it away. Now everybody’s policy is to pass the cost on to the other guy, usually the consumer.
           Yes, I hear the hew and cry, how are companies supposed to make any money if they take responsibility for what they sell? Easy. Bring back the 30-day money back guarantee and give it some teeth. You return it to where you bought it and they, not you, deal with whoever built it. You’d see a quick return to the good old days when they made things that lasted. It probably cost me $120 chasing around today and I have no decent phone still.

           I thought maybe I could remove the screen from the new unit and plug it into the old. Nope, I don’t have any tools fine enough to take out the screws. However, I found my old Samsung, and if it can be activated, I’ll use that only for incoming calls. I’ll do that in another state. I will always blame Sony for the collapse of the American system, since they were the first big name product to start screwing around with the then-standard 30 days return no questions asked. They suckered people into paying for their own warranty, calling it a “service contract”. And we all know how bloody well that worked out.
           But, yes I know. Dream on. They’ve let the rot sink in so deep it would be cheaper to start over on Mars. Thankfully, there is more than one private company out there who knows it. If NASA had been in charge of the Columbus voyage, they’d still be sailing the Pinta north and south a hundred miles off the Portuguese coast by 1592. “Los Misiones de la Shuttelando” or something. It would not be the first time we’ve cracked down on these unsavory practices. Another state just outlawed cashless stores and a $2,000 fine for not obeying. But, the exempted stores like Costco which have a membership. Watch the reaction.

Wait for the rest. I was on the road, like 13 hours. Okay?