Why I Won't Use Facebook

Awwww!  Remember This Guy?  He was the "Facebook" of his day!  Cutest ET in the universe or Soviet Spy?

Hello Fellow Travelers!

I never saw "ET" until recently,  Before you say it,  I know,I know, it's a wonderful movie and  everyone on the planet knows it - precisely why I avoided seeing it for 20+ years.  Too popular, it was "the McDonald's of movies" - Billions bought tickets.  Pointless elitism is at least partly responsible for my stubborn refusal to ever use Facebook.  But the truth is that I stay away from the social network because I don't really  understand how to use it and I invariably create internet chaos whenever I do anything!  And when I say anything I mean anything!  Case in point:  Last week, Facebook notified me of a family member's birthday so I ventured a rare trip to "FB land" and responded with a completely average (read: boring) "Happy Birthday" and hit "Send".

The PS said I had shared the birthday salutation with "everyone" and called me a rude name that brought my intellect into question!  "Everyone" went everywhere.  So I inadvertently wished a few people glad tidings, it might be almost a year away but it would be thoughtful, eventually, right?  It's all good, it's well-intended, nothing to have a cow about.

I don't "give birth to bovines" anymore but when I heard Facebook Founder, Mark Zuckerberg, testify before Congress my "Spidey Senses" tingled and a large log (Duraflame, maybe) was lit and added to my "Bonfire O' Stress".  Tens of millions of FB users had their data shared/stolen/sold and that fact alone was reason to be wary,  A Congressional hearing gives a measure of credibility to even the wackiest conspiracy theory.  Do I get a baby shower for that cow or what?   'Information hacked?  WTH?

And where precisely is this data?  Which of us had our data stolen?

More stress I can't handle.  And Mr. Zuckerberg?   He told Congress that he would "look into it", whatever that means...


I was just saying,"Happy BD!", I wasn't trying to break anything...

Dental Drama! I Can't Be Enlightened With A Toothache!

A "Dental Monitor" - They Exist and They Make Things Worse, Much Worse!

Hello Fellow Travelers!

This is why I always try to be prepared for the next disaster!  Zombie spider invasion?  Not likely but you never know.  Dental visits gone wrong?  Much more common but just as painful.  I had a dental emergency, I cannot begin to handle another source of pain or stress.  I'm tapped out!  So I called my regular provider and readily agreed to some services.  Tedious, expensive, nothing cosmetic, boring infrastructure stuff, right?  Wrong!  Not even close!

I went to my regular dentist and was told she was "out" and there was no indication of when she was returning so her "partner" would be treating me.  OK, fine, let's move on.  In other words, "whatever".  "Dr. Mengele" kept me waiting for 90 minutes and proceeded to drill (Through the planetary core?  To China?  For oil?).  Two hours later, "Dr. Do-very-little" announced I had a tooth requiring "a lot of work", and his partner "could figure it out".  Fine.   I'd had enough of "Dental Monitor Dude".  I came back a few days later, as scheduled, to find "Dr. FeelBad" would be treating me.  Oh joy.  He fired up the drill and I held my breath.  Many hours later I was battered and bruised but finished!  Or so I thought...

There was a lot of pain, money spent, time elapsed.  For what?  For nothing!  My PS and I discovered that "Dr. Strange" didn't do a lot of the work we had paid for!  I have to go back!  In the meantime biting is blindingly painful, so I can't eat - it's like having your jaw wired shut.

The PS isn't pleased either so I've addressed the situation like a Japanese Mob Boss in a Quentin  Tarantino film ("Kill Bill").  I didn't decapitate anyone but I think I made my point.  Using a translator (the PS) I communicated my dissatisfaction to my dentist.  My physical losses were addressed, the finances adjusted.  I don't care about pain.  Hunger is irritating, nothing more.  But the most important loss cannot be repaid, never can be adjusted, and that is the loss of time.  I feel the passage of time acutely, once time elapses you lose it forever.

Time is the one commodity that cannot be negotiated, bought or sold.  Time is both infinite and finite.  Dental visits are no way to use it.