4b) Insurance companies are banks, too.

You really think there's ever going to be a Win 9? I think we're witnessing the early signs of MS nerve death. And it can't come soon enough!

I am in my 50's, you insensitive clod!

And not at all offended by nipples, nudity, whatever. But then I not a Merkin...

Don't know about Alligator, but Crocodile is delicious!

I still edit in vi, you insensitive clod!

My fear is that in 10,000 years from now we'll still be maintaining a bunch of Cobol and Java programmes!

I am a grandfather, you insensitive clod! And I'd be happy to drop my POTS for something less 'controlled'.

You're missing the educated part. If the call centres were staffed by graduates of the US high-school system, you'd be stuck with all the lack of quality that implies. At least Indian high-schoolers graduate having received a decent level of actual education.

So take the phone off the hook while you want to avoid interruptions.

I teleported home one night
with Ron and Syd and Meg
Ron stole Meggie's heart away
and I got Sydney's leg

...or something like that... (from memory)

Uhhh.. Gmail never, ever adverted iteself to be "private" iirc. I use gmail lots. I take it as read that the US spooks have all my emails regarding my bomb-building, personal messages from Allah, trips to San Diego, plans for shoe explosives, etc., etc.

Holden: You look down and see a tortoise, Leon. It's crawling toward you...
Leon: Tortoise? What's that?
Holden: [irritated by Leon's interruptions] You know what a turtle is?
Leon: Of course!
Holden: Same thing.
Leon: I've never seen a turtle... But I understand what you mean.
Holden: You reach down and you flip the tortoise over on its back, Leon.
Leon: Do you make up these questions, Mr. Holden? Or do they write 'em down for you?
Holden: The tortoise lays on its back, its belly baking in the hot sun, beating its legs trying to turn itself over, but it can't. Not without your help. But you're not helping.
Leon: [angry at the suggestion] What do you mean, I'm not helping?
Holden: I mean: you're not helping! Why is that, Leon?
[Leon has become visibly shaken]
Holden: They're just questions, Leon. In answer to your query, they're written down for me. It's a test, designed to provoke an emotional response... Shall we continue?

I have an open Wifi setup. My attitude is that connectivity has become basic infrastructure, and all "lock it down" freaks have just bought into the agenda of ISPs who don't want us to share bandwidth to boost their own profits.

If you're a guest in my home, you're welcome to use the bandwidth, along with the lights and water. Can you imagine visitig a friend only to be told, "Look, here's the PIN code to unlock the lights, and here's the key in case you want to wash your hands." Ridiculous. I accept that there's a risk of someone lurking in their car outside the property boundary to leech off my internet connection, but there's a risk of someone stealing water from my outside, unprotected taps, too. OTOH, if bandwidth were shared freely everywhere there'd be no need to sneak around "stealing" it, would there?

It's the 21st Century, man. Get over it!

A better term is "Kakistocracy" imho.

Seriously, who still bothers to own a printer?

It's been at least 6 or 8 years now since I tossed the last one. Every time I bought a new cartridge for it I ended up printing maybe a page or three, and then discovering that the ink had all dried up on the next occasion I felt a need for hard-copy, usually 8 or 12 months later. I concluded that - given the ridiculous per-page cost of owning a printer - I'm better-off driving down to a local copy shop with the content on a flash stick any time I need to print stuff. My print costs now run to pennies a year, and any Yellow Dots that might or might not get printed on the page can get traced... all the way to Southcape Copies.