Should have added: they are in a fairly major area - Palm Beach County, Florida. Not exactly rural, though admittedly not known for its night life or 24/7 lifestyle; I guess I’ve been spoiled, transit-wise, by NY and by DC standards.
The time I arrived in my daughter’s town in Vermont, by train, at 11 PM… I knew enough to try to arrange for a cab in advance and STILL couldn’t get a ride. In a town of 15,000 people, that’s more understandable (but I was very glad I booked a hotel only a mile away from the station, not 2… the town is not oversupplied with sidewalks or streetlights).
Our was good enough, except for all those times it wasn’t, and we’d have five to fifteen minute “down times”. Then they grew to half an hour of sloth-speed DSL. We finally got AT&T to come out, and they checked our phone lines.
Squirrels had nibbled the insulation off a couple of wires, then did it again a month later. So we gave in and got “real” internet (blazing speed, or so it feels when you’re used to the Squirrelly stuff).
Ours was “good enough” until COVID hit and I was working full time from home, plus having two grandkids at the house three days a week doing remote schooling… Then I realized how sucky it really was.
I must be very fortunate that DSL is sufficient. Your mileage may differ.
In any event I still find that the offers I’m receiving to upgrade leave a lot to be desired. I wish these internet provider companies would take a hint from the tire stores around here and just tell me the “out the door” price. I’d rather pay more if I feel I’m dealing with a reputable company - not one that has hidden fees and taxes buried on the back of the offer in the fine print.
Rant: Brioche is a thing. That hamburger bun you’re calling brioche? It is not brioche. You would not actually WANT a brioche bun for your hamburger. But your marketing wizards have now spoiled another word, and it seems like the entirety of North America now agrees that “brioche” means “white bread with a dark, shiny glaze.”
Rant ②: You either indent a paragraph, or you put a space between the paragraphs. You either italicize a title, or you put it into quotes. Why do my students insist of doing both of these things? (I know the answer to the first one is “Word does it automatically, so it must be right”; I think the answer to the second is “the internet does it, so it must be right.”)
The best burger I’ve ever had in my life had a white chocolate brioche bun, made by the restaurant’s own boulengerie. It was very sweet but that worked with the rest of the burger. (This was the Hexx in Las Vegas.) Sadly, neither the restaurant nor my favorite burger exist anymore; I tried to go back this year and they were gone. It must not have survived Covid.
I thought about that after I posted… maybe it’s personal. Americans famously like really sweet bread, so maybe we DO like brioche buns. I tend to put ketchup on a burger, which is already sweet, so I don’t want mine any sweeter. Plus, I like the bun to be light, and I find brioche heavy.
Damn the world for not catering sufficiently to my preferences!
I did buy a loaf of sliced brioche bread from a grocery store once, underestimating how seeet it was. It was way too sweet for anything but dessert. I had planned on using it for sandwiches.
I dont see an August thread, so Ill do it here. Yes, my bf had been depressed and then had to deal with a leaky ceiling(almost 4 weeks now) so was in a bad mood, which hed take out on me(youre not very bright among others),. Weds, I was finishing bible study and he called. I went outside and he said he was freaking out. Hed wanted me to vacuum his couch before he showered( it hadnt been used and was dirty, he was going to sit on it as his friend moved it for him to protect his electronics). I left a few minutes early. I also felt like a mom, what grown man calls saying hes freaking out.
I havent seen him for 2 days, I figured hes giving me a break from his bad moods. I took the home aide job for him Id had last autumn, but part time this time. He called and asked if Id get him a coffee to stay awake while I was there. I use food stamps.
He says hell “take care of me”, for it, meaning sex. Ya know, Id rather be compensated with a few bucks. I dont want sex that much that I exchange goods for it, hes got the sexes confused.
Damn.
I don’t blame you - especially if there’s a free service that is “reliable enough”.
A friend suggested we look into Go Go Grandparents, an “add on” service where you actually phone someone for pickup (something Uber / Lyft generally do not offer - you MUST have a smartphone). They will handle ordering the ride, for a “small per-minute surcharge” that apparently begins from the minute you call to request the ride, until after you get dropped off. That could be a fairly long time, especially if it takes a while for the driver to arrive, and there are complaints about the service not being reliable.
It must not have survived Covid.