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DanZemke

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Everything posted by DanZemke

  1. DanZemke

    Myth Busters

    Impressive! A biochemist my ex-wife's neighbor knew, is rumored to be working on an 8 barrel carburetor with pure cannabis injection. Expectations are very high.
  2. Nice compliment! She may even decide to keep you. :-)
  3. Mark, Yeah, it drifted. I notice that you posted your question twice on Jan 8th. The other thread is at: South Dakota, PMBs and Bank Accounts, Oh My! Both threads seem to have run their course.
  4. Me too. But I don't like reading part of an article and then being surprised that the rest is unavailable. So I block sites, that use links to articles, as one of their subscription marketing tactics. My time is not free.
  5. Kirk, I clearly failed to convey what I meant to. My example was trying to show how to easily prevent ANY access to the WSJ. Before my fix, If I started reading a WSJ article, I'd get a pop-up message saying: if you want to read the rest of the article, you must subscribe. I prefer going to another source quickly, rather than reading part of a teaser first. WSJ is just an example. I have many sites I never want to visit in my "hosts" file. Almost all of them are there because the site is behind a paywall.
  6. Kirk, You're right. I did use the words in the link you posted to search for related information. ------------ Long ago, I tired of clicking on search results that repeatedly turned into advertisements to subscribe, like the WSJ's. So I began using a low-level fix - editing a file on my computer named "hosts". I use Windows, but all OSes that access the internet have this capability. Here's my entry in that file for the WSJ: "127.0.0.1 wsj.com # Unsubscribed - 4x cost of NYT and 8x WaPo" The 127.0.0.1 is the address of a simulated DNS server, that does nothing but return a message indicating that the URL doesn't exist. "wsj.com" is the URL you want to block. And every thing to the right of the "#" is a comment. ------------------------------- Because of this, when I click on a link to the WSJ, I get: "Unable to connect An error occurred during a connection to www.wsj.com. The site could be temporarily unavailable or too busy. Try again in a few moments. If you are unable to load any pages, check your computer’s network connection. If your computer or network is protected by a firewall or proxy, make sure that Firefox is permitted to access the web." ------------------------------- I edit my "hosts" file by hand, but it's a bit cumbersome to do it this way. If you're not a techie and want to do something like this, you should probably use a utility. Here's a few from a well-respected tech site. But I haven't tried any of the utilities they suggest.
  7. Here's a Reuters link without a paywall. It's from Nov 2023 and may be unrelated to Kirk's WSJ link. US regulators push Wells Fargo to improve financial crime monitoring - WSJ
  8. I also have a Chase account. I opened it to get 5% off on my Amazon purchases. The size of Federal fines, for financial institutions, is poorly correlated with retail banking customer satisfaction. IMO, it's not a useful factor in determining where folks like us, should do our banking.
  9. And Well's Fargo's bad behavior wasn't limited to just 2023. From Wikipedia: "On February 2, 2018, the Wells Fargo account fraud scandal resulted in the Federal Reserve barring Wells Fargo from growing its nearly $2 trillion asset base any further until the company fixed its internal problems to the satisfaction of the Federal Reserve. In September 2021, Wells Fargo incurred further fines from the United States Justice Department charging fraudulent behavior by the bank against foreign-exchange currency trading customers. Bloomberg L.P. reported in March 2022 that Wells Fargo was the only major lender in 2020 to reject more home refinance applications from Black applicants than it approved." I will never be a Wells Fargo customer again. I paid off my mortgage early and closed my checking account and credit cards. WF - never again for me.
  10. Seems to be an increasing number of folks having a problem with financial institutions and mail services. Is it just a spike, or will things get worse? I have no idea. I'm protected from this as are many others, but I don't recall anyone pointing out why we won't be hassled. It's because I'm a member of an Escapees Co-op: Evergreen in Washington. I have a mailing address, similar to someone living in an apartment. A real contact address that the Post Office won't flag as a mailing forwarding service. This was an unanticipated benefit for me.
  11. A good life includes balanced karma. Perhaps your good looks and superior skills provide that balance. :-)
  12. I've never heard of "Tatties and Neeps"! I had to look them up to understand. But I don't like cabbage, so they're probably not for me. I do like cilantro, especially in salsa. No soapy taste for me! However, my pee smells bad, after eating asparagus. And the ability to smell that is genetic. Must be correlated with intellect https://www.medicinenet.com/do_all_peoples_pee_smell_after_eating_asparagus/article.htm
  13. Some what? :-( Hopefully you can do better. Please do.
  14. Ray and David - those are some pretty harrowing stories. In the spring of 1972 when I and my wife to-be were still full-time students. I was on my motorcycle and a doctor in a black Cadillac t-boned me. Luckily, I landed on bushes in the center divider. 3 months later, we were married. With me in a full-leg cast and still on crutches. So I think I was even luckier than you two were. Back to eyes. My father used eye drops because his eye pressure was near the danger line. We were thankful that he never got glaucoma. But in retrospect, he probably would have been fine without the eye-drops. Since cornea thickness is usually inherited and my mother never had an eye pressure problem, my dad probably had thick coronas, like mine. If so, he probably didn't need to take the eye drops. Oh well, taking eye drops doesn't appear to be very disruptive. But people with thin corneas run the risk of thinking all is well until glaucoma symptoms appear. Bummer. I wonder what percentage of adults know if they have thin corneas? My guess it's a small percentage - sad. :-(
  15. Your do-it yourself approach sounds like a lot more fun than my test! Related, but slightly off-topic, useful information: 2 years ago, I had a Costco eye test and was told that my internal eye pressure was very close to being too high. So I booked an appointment with an ophthalmologist. She told me my interocular pressure was fine and my glaucoma risk was low. My unusually thick corneas had caused the misleading test results. The important take-away is that if you are ever told that the pressure in your eyes it too high, make sure you your doctor knows the thickness of your corneas. It would be a shame to start taking medications you didn't actually need. Average cornea thickness is between 540 and 560 µm. A thick cornea is 565 or more, and a very thick cornea is greater than 600. My corneas are 600 and 604. BTW, she said cornea thickness is established at birth and doesn't normally change. For anyone that would like a little more information on this topic, here a link to a single page of good information on the Glaucoma Research Foundation's website. The Importance of Corneal Thickness
  16. Yes, "writing it down" is very wise advice. Given my fading memory, it can also help me avoid asking for a vaccination I've already had. ;-) Thanks!
  17. Chalkie, Thanks for pointing out that my post could be misinterpreted. I've modified it to hopefully forestall any further confusion. My cataract causes slight double vision in one eye that doesn't impede me in any way. The ophthalmologist I consulted a few years ago, said that if it were her, she would not have the lens replaced until it did. p.s. I believe in taking an active part in my health. This book, by Eric Topol was particularly influential. The Patient Will See You Now: The Future of Medicine is in Your Hands
  18. I don't have trouble seeing. And I prefer to test myself, rather than depending on a professional to do it for me. It's much easier, and just as accurate. Driver's license requirements, for Best Corrected Visual Acuity (BCVA), vary from 20/40 to 20/120, depending on the State in the US. My current state (CT), requires a BCVA of 20/40. I've had a small cataract in my left eye for about 5 years that is slowly growing. My latest BCVA test result for my left eye is 20/40. Driving Restrictions Per State
  19. One classic vision test, uses a rectangular chart with rows of letters, decreasing in size. It's called a Snellen eye chart. It measures your visual acuity (ability to see small details). You can easily make your own chart and test yourself or others. It can be printed out on paper or displayed on a computer monitor. I don't have trouble seeing. And I prefer to test myself, rather than depending on a professional to do it for me. It's much easier, and just as accurate. BUT, the test only measures visual acuity and doesn't exempt you from the need to have periodic eye exams, to detect other potential problems. Click on the following link to get your own copy. When you do, immediately below the eye chart, there's a big oval labeled "Safe Eyes America Letter Test PDF". Click on that button to get the instructions for use and an image of the chart. Safe Eyes America Home Eye Test
  20. I'm saying that banks and credit unions are risk averse, especially for small, retail accounts. And that their first-level customer support folks don't have the power to override company policies like: a residential mailing address is required to open an account. IMO, the RV part is incidental and the Patriot Act is an excuse used for their desire to minimize potential audit hassles.
  21. Mark, The Patriot Act is most likely, just a convenient excuse. IMO, the root cause is probably that they don't want your business. Is there anything you could do, that would increase your attractiveness to them? Dan
  22. I was born in a Lynwood hospital and grew up in Downey, as did all of my brothers and sisters. Thank you for deescalating our conversation. Dan
  23. Sorry you feel that way about California. It has lots to offer that is unrivaled in the US, with the possible exception of Alaska.
  24. Please try to understand that bigotry and tolerance are orthogonal.
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