The Savvy Boomer

Breaking up is hard to do

If you're a boomer, you'll remember Neil Sedaka's hit song from the 60's, "Breaking up is hard to do."  Neil was singing about relationships back then but the song can also be applied today to the world of phone, cell, internet, etc. contracts.

I'm sure you have tried to cancel a service that is billed on a monthly basis and even though you are reasonably certain that you have nothing more than a month to month commitment, that seems to cause nothing but problems.  The person you talk to at the service provider, has 1 goal when you call to cancel and that is to finish the call with you still being a paying customer.

Great tits will never become extinct

Because they are able to adapt to climate change.

Happy Mother's Day

Like many leading edge boomers, my mother has passed.  I miss her a lot but I'll always remember her as the person who was always there for me no matter what-period.  If you are still fortunate enough to have your mother, I envy you, but not entirely, because I know I had the best mother ever.(on the right beside yours truly)

I also miss my grandmother (on the left) who once told me "it's a good thing that women have babies because if we had to rely on men, the human race would only have lasted one generation."  Such a wise lady she was.

Tim Horton must be turning over in his grave

If you are a Canadian, you know that Tim Horton's is the place you go for coffee and a donut.  I am always amazed at the lineups in the drive-thrus whenever I pass a TH.  They also have several outlets in the Eastern U.S. For those who don't know, Tim Horton was a Canadian hockey legend back in the 60's and 70's who was killed in a horrific car accident in his 40's when he was finishing off his career.  His widow took over the business and eventually sold it out to corporate interests.  It's now the blue-collar Starbucks of Canada.  I hate Starbucks but Tim Hortons was OK-until now.

Recently, an employee was fired by some daft git manager for giving a Timbit (the leftover of the donut hole) to a baby .  Tim was an incredibly tough guy with a big heart for kids, and I know for a fact that he would kick this jerk's ass back to Monday for firing the employee.  District manager Nicole Mitchell said giving away food is against the rules.  Well, patronizing some company that hires managers who have their heads where the sun don't shine is against my rules. 

On their website it says "The Tim Horton Children's Foundation is committed to providing a fun-filled camp experience for children from economically disadvantaged homes."  Clearly, that is what Tim Horton was all about and the manager who fired this employee needs to go.  Until then, a boycott is obviously the answer.

Win a copy of Donna Summer's new release, "Crayons"

On the album's release date, May 20, courtesy of Sony/BMG, a copy will go to one lucky reader chosen at random who leaves a comment about Donna on this post.

I remember the first time I heard Donna Summer.  I was driving home from work in my new 1976 Lincoln Continental Mk IV, (that I had purchased with the commission I made on selling 1 computer-how times have changed) the radio on a contemporary FM station, when "Love to Love you Baby" came on.  I immediately cranked the volume as other commuters stared at this young(ish) guy wearing the standard IBM uniform, a pin striped suit, in astonishment that blaring disco music was coming out of a car that was usually driven by old farts. (ahhh yes-that would be me-30 years ahead of my time.) I couldn't believe how long this incredible piece of music went on.  What a song!!  What a singer!! I immediately headed for the nearest record store to buy any 8 track tape (yeah, I had all the goodies on that gas guzzler) that had any Donna Summer music on it.  Disco was taking off and Donna Summer soon assumed the throne as the Queen with megahits like Bad Girls, Last Dance and Hot Stuff. 

32 years later, Donna is now a grandmother, and I drive a car that would fit in the Lincoln's trunk.  Any time I hear one of her classics, I crank the volume way up but unfortunately, the body doesn't remember, nor indeed is it capable of all the cool moves I learned from the only dance lessons I ever took-Disco!!   But Donna Summer still has the pipes to allow her to release her 1st album in 17 years called "Crayons."   Donna's video about the album and the press release can be seen by clicking on the link below. 

Here's my solution for that noisy cellphone user

How many times a week do you ride the bus or sit in a coffee shop or some other public place where some daft git (Canuck for asshole) feels its his/her right to let the rest of the world know how important they are by speaking so loudly on their cell phone that they are an embarrassment to everyone within 20 meters except themselves?  I've always wondered how to let the person know what a jerk they are being, but lets' face it, other than the odd dirty look, most people, wanting to avoid a verbal or perhaps even physical confrontation, do nothing.

But then I found a post on CJ Writer's blog that very eloquently sums up my frustration and disgust with these ignorant gits.  So what I have done is made a tiny URL of it and written it on a piece of paper that I have put in my wallet.  The next time I come across one of these inconsiderate loudmouths, I'm going to give them the paper and say, "Since you use that brand of phone, I think you'll find some really interesting info about a different way to use it on this site."

Now of course, I'm neither young nor have a beard and chances are that the git was talking about something else other than his/her love life in a location other than the bus, but still, they should get the message.  Since many of these offenders are 1/2 my age and usually look as though they are either rejects from the WWE or the local gangster population, I won't be all that anxious to run into them again. But if I do, I'm sure they'll thank me for pointing out their social faux pas.  Or not? 

I'm not worried about them retaliating against the blog's writer, C.J. Levinson, whom we have linked to before, because he is in Sydney Australia, 1/2 a world away from me.

AARP sponsored seminar/webinar on retirement

AARP, along with Business Roundtable, SEIU, and NFIB are sponsoring a conference where experts will discuss how baby boomers can help make their assets last in retirement.  The moderators include Tom Nelson, AARP; Christian Weller, Center for American Progress; Eleanor Blayney, Financial Planners Association; Lynn Dudley, American Benefits Council and Jamey Delaplane, Davis & Harman. Speakers include representatives from government, business and the private sector such as the Employee Benefit Research Institute, the Senate Finance Committee, and Ameriprise.

The event is on May 14th from 9 -3:30 in the Ronald Reagan Building, Atrium Ballroom in Washington but will also be available via webcast: http://www.aarp.org/money/financial_planning/retirement_security_webcast.html

Questions can be submitted via web after each panel.

Click below to see the agenda

Boomer social networking sites languishing in traffic

Another month and none of them are showing much but close to flat line growth and Boomj even dropped 44% in traffic in April.  That puts Eons back as the largest traffic site in this niche but there was even more bad news there as their recently hired CTO has left.  Combine this with a 70% drop in traffic in the last year and it looks as though not much is going right for Eons.  Click on the graphic below to get all the numbers.

Don't depend on a VOIP phone to make a 911 call

VOIP is slowly replacing land lines as the system of choice for telephone calls.  The main reason to switch is cost but there is usually a sacrifice of line quality, something that is surprisingly slow to improve.

There are basically 2 types of VOIP available for consumer use.  One is an internet model like Skype, where calls are made from your computer and the other is a service like Vonage which allows you to use a regular hand set which is connected to your internet.  There are a few variations of these available but they all ultimately rely on an internet connection.

The biggest downside however to any internet phone is the fact that they should not be used for 911 service.  The tragic consequences of using a VOIP phone to call 911 for a Calgary family are reported by the CBC. 

A sad end to the Kentucky Derby

After watching a thrilling victory for winner Big Brown, I watched with great  sadness as the unthinkable happened when the only filly in the race, Eight Belles, who finished a strong second, collapsed a few hundred yards after crossing the finish line.  She had somehow broken both front ankles and had to be euthanized immediately.

I've watched and attended thousands of horse races and have witnessed the odd sad occasion when a horse breaks down during a race, but I've never seen a double bone break after a race was over, especially when she ran so well.   I hope the investigation that always follows these occurrences doesn't turn up anything that the owners were negligent in allowing her to run a distance that she had never run before.