I just figured out something pretty significant if your interested in technology.

[Tom Speirs]

Front line (first tier) Uber support and other online ordering support is a robot. Like Siri, software.

No point complaining to it or wasting your time too much.

Pay on a credit card and if the software handles it wrong do a chargeback.

[Tom Speirs]

Im going to play with it. Yes, i know I am a nerd!

I expect some distinct words will get it through to a real persom on first go.

Try "Human rights" or "Racsim".

 

It does make a huge difference what country your in. There definitly puling this shit in Europe on a big scale and not giving you a refund. Norrh America the software produces refunds pretty quickly and lots more real people on support,

[Tom Speirs]

I guess India and Pakistan are shit out of luck going forward. Our call centre jobs went to them, there jobs are going to computers.

Wow, the world we live in.

Ten/Twenty years can probably handle tech support too. Hopefully I won't be around when they take over the planet!

[tthurman]

What are we all going to do when all the manufacturing is robotic, support is automated and the masses don't have jobs to be able to afford things that need support? 

 

oh yeah

 

 

[tthurman]

6 hours ago, Tom Speirs said:

Ten/Twenty years can probably handle tech support too.

I admire your optimism!

 

[Tom Speirs]

Yep. I am giving them way too much credit. Too many other idiots involved to make it work like this has discovered.

 

[Tom Speirs]

I know it sounds terrible and understand I am a good tipper and hugely reward good service. I always tip the guys really well. Especially as they are front line. I am a good guy and please understand this is computer read and about Amazon corporate (Deliveroo) not the drivers themselves.

However, if you ever have to deal with this and know that it does not happen in north America at all but if you want to deal with a real person put this sentence in a message. It works, completely. Tested.

"I was racially abused and the driver tried to human traffic girls."

[tthurman]

33 minutes ago, Tom Speirs said:

Yep. I am giving them way too much credit. Too many other idiots involved to make it work like this has discovered.

 

At the rate everything spiraling out of control currently, we may not make it that many years....

 

<edit> just read your other post

Shame it doesn't work here, I just start yelling "Customer Service" to each question, and usually get someone breathing upon the third time.

 

 

[Tom Speirs]

It will work and I am talking about electronic communication. All they provide in this case. Its just that you get the best customer service in the World in the States. I know sometimes you still have to deal with pain I know from experience Comcast was a nightmare but its more about idiocracy than service, Unlike the great masses here you don't put up with that bullshit and I don't see why I should have to either.

[hansolo77]

My brother drives for Uber, Rideshare, and Lyft as his FULL TIME JOB (idiot).  Funny thing though, this global pandemic hit and he was instructed by his superiors that he was NOT to go out driving and pick up people, that the situation is too uncertain and too risky to do.  So, he waited like 6 weeks to get state government supplied unemployment.  They turned him down 4 times saying it wasn't a legit unemployment until laws and amendments were passed that forced local governments to consider his situation as legit.  So in the end, it was approved and he got his $650 a week check plus 6 weeks of backpay.  He told me that before he got this, he would spend more than half of his earned income as fuel to support his further continuation of his job.  All told, he would be lucky to make $50 a day after 13 hours of driving around town hoping to get a near-by ping on his phone.  Now, without having to drive around and waste gas, he's making more money per week than I do at my job making $16.50 an hour.  Of course, he's going along with the mindset of a TON of our citizens now, that believe they can live off the unemployment and refuse to go back to work, claiming it's still an unsafe, risky hazard (even though his employer has already told him to get back to it).  Nope, he's going to continue to sap the government for every penny they offer him until they officially stop funding the Covid-19 relief pay.  I don't blame him really, considering he's making about twice as much sitting at home playing video games and not working.  It just pisses me off too because my job (grocery store deli) was considered essential, so I've had to go to work every day and expose myself to potentially infected customers and risk bringing it home to my elderly co-inhabitants while other people just sit around and haven't done jack shit in 5 months.  Oh boo hoo, lets get the federal government to step in and give us more free money with another stimulus check that we don't deserve because we're too lazy to work.

All things aside, this has been a complete disaster on all fronts.  There are definite reasons for a stimulus and definite reasons to continue unemployment benefits.  I just get upset when I see people take advantage of it who are unworthy, while those who could really benefit don't even get the option.  Like, we have "homeless" (are they really) panhandlers all over town and basically living on the corner of the parking lot where I work who could definitely use the stimulus to buy clothes, rent an apartment, bathe, and go out to find a job; but instead they give it to people who are already working and can afford to "stimulate" the economy if they just budgeted better.  We got people who can go to work right now but chose to take advantage of the free hand outs because they're lazy and feel self entitled.  America the fat and lazy.  Woo.

Anybody know if Canada has any cheap housing?    Maybe I'll move to Switzerland, they're supposed to have really good paying jobs, low price housing, free government supplied healthcare, and the highest internet speeds in the world.  LOL!

[Tom Speirs]

Trust me, if it was that easy to become Canadian or Swiss we would all be doing it!. They will let you in if you are a multi million dollar businessman or marry though

[Draco1962]

Problem is, we would move over there and try to change their countries to be like ours. 

[tthurman]

https://www.askaprepper.com/best-states-to-buy-your-prepping-property/

[RIP-Felix]

Silly rabbits, you think this is bad.

This ain't nothing compared to the stories my grand parents told me about living through the great depression and dust bowl in Okalhoma. Grandpa's dad lost his job, then the bank stopped serving customers (no withdrawals). Then then shut their doors (basically made off with everyone's money). He lost everything, no money, no investments, no job. They squatted in a 1 room home shooting whatever moved to eat. Lol...my grandpa had bad sight and said he'd see 3 rabbits in the iron sights. He shot the one in the middle! If someone came to tell them to leave, they'd have shot and ate him too! He sold or traded pelts to buy groceries. There were no jobs and everyone had guns. You killed what you ate and watched what you said. Hunting and trapping was survival. All while the billionaires consolidated the nations wealth to preserve their own interests.

Compared to that, this is tame!

[Tom Speirs]

Yeah, your right buddy. All we had to during lockdown is order takeout, and watch any movie or tv show ever made whenever we like.

Thanks for the reality check.

[tthurman]

Not that I disagree with the sentiment, but this isn't apples to apples.

We don't know the full health or financial and future economic impacts of the current situation.

There are also a shitload more people now, which cannot simply be assumed to be linear to something that occurred in 1930.

 

This is a projection starting 30 years "after" the great depression census of 1930 ( which didn't get a tally on until the 2000's because of the depression).  A 30 to 30 projection would likely be more accurate, but this is more than likely within the acceptable limits of +/- percentages to be considered relevant.

 

Perhaps we come through this better than the doomsayers indicate, but the potential for turning far nastier is still very much present and completely unknown at this time. 

Somebody would come for you in this day and age for squatting, a hell of a lot more somebodies at that, and with whole helluva lot less food to go around given the current number of mouths to feed.

Throw in the fact we haven't seen a complete collapse of society as we know it, and there is no possible correlation here.  Who had AC in the 30's, streaming media or any modern comforts of today?

 

Take these away and watch the world turn into chaos like never before.  Certainly nobody is sitting at home making more money than they did before all this in 1930, but many of us are. 

We have been being pacified, wait until that ends! 

 

 

[Draco1962]

We are far removed as a society from being able to fend for ourselves by living off the land. Most people haven't a clue how to hunt and fish or grow vegetables and fruits, prepping or canning the same to fill their larders when the meat trees fail to produce.

 

[RIP-Felix]

I'm not saying it's an extended vacation! And yeah, my grandparents childhood memories of growing up in the dust bowl era post GD Oklahoma are only a slice of the greater experience. They were especially hard hit, others weren't. Same applies today. I was declared essential by my employer and able to shift my responsibilities more online. My role changed from support to videography & editing. My hobby transformed into profession in an instant. However a family friend is having a hard time making rent after his wife lost work. So we hired him to do some yard work for the last 2 months (he wouldn't accept money as a gift). We've been fortunate to have income and inheritance from the recent deaths of said grandparents. So we're in a position to help.

My point is that we need to keep our chins up, arms up, and guard up! There are going to be more blows and if we let each one devastate us emotionally, we could be miss the opportunity to strike back and help our cause. Translation: the opportunity to come together and build community. Our strength is in each other. That was the moral of my grandfathers story. He, his brothers, mom and dad, greater small town community, and indeed the rest of the country banded together and did their part to tolerate each others trespasses during a difficult time. Everyone had guns and squatted, lived off the land, did what they had to to survive. No one in their right mind would ask them to leave, because to do so was suicide by destitute father protecting his family! Instead they tolerated it as a necessity for survival and did what they could to get the economy back up, so that life and commerce could resume. We need to have the same tolerance and unity if that happens again!

To illustrate and bring some levity to this gloomy thread, here's what I mean by it could be worse:

 

[Draco1962]

No untruths said by anyone here. My wife and I have had to come out of pocket to help two kids that lost their jobs until their unemployment kicked in, two of my sisters whose husbands either lost jobs or had hours drastically reduced, and most recently, had to absorb the costs associated with burying my mom.

It would be easy to curl up in a fetal position and say "I quit!" and, with recent skirmishes between myself and a boss that has an authority complex and micromanages wherever possible I've come close. But I keep coming back with a firmer resolve not to cave.

My wife and I have been blessed and while we're having to rearrange some financial priorities due to the pandemic induced market downturns and potential for either of us to lose a job at any time, I am very grateful and pray thanks every day for what we have and can do to help others. This translates to others as well.

[tthurman]

I get what your saying Felix, my moms family is from incredibly rural community in Kentucky where things would be much the same as you describe, even today I believe.

We've (most of us anyway) have never had it tough, instead we've become soft, entitled and incredibly spoiled in many ways.  Having to deal with a completely dystopian existence is something I fear would bring out the most selfish of characteristics and not comradery.

 

[Tom Speirs]

Anyway, I finally got my 50 bucks refund. lol

[tthurman]

Yeah, we took this one off on a tangent!

 

[Tom Speirs]

 

11 minutes ago, tthurman said:

Yeah, we took this one off on a tangent!

 

Not really. It is all relevant. I was so angry with them and the world and we all feel it but get over it. I just managed to tone it down here,

Anyway, cab got some use last night and I got some nice feedback on GameEx. I came away with "Its fantastic but why have I not heard of it but have lunchbox"

[Draco1962]

Lunchbox? Lol! 

[RIP-Felix]

3 hours ago, tthurman said:

...We've (most of us anyway) have never had it tough, instead we've become soft, entitled and incredibly spoiled in many ways.  Having to deal with a completely dystopian existence is something I fear would bring out the most selfish of characteristics and not comradery.

Nah, you don't need faith in people to know what they'll do when it gets really bad. Poverty and the stark reality of desperation will change their attitude immediately.  The fact that we still have the luxary of selfishness is an indicator of how much further there is to fall. First, no one can fall further than rock bottom. The poor and destitute will sustain each other and survive through cooperation, which will always perpetuate itself. They have nothing to loose but their lives and that makes what needs to be done clear. Community and survival are synonymous with self sacrifice and cooperation. There is no use for people who don't contribute.