Scam?

Well, the scam problem I mentioned a couple of posts ago has been resolved. I feel a tiny bit - but only a tiny bit - embarrassed; the service they claimed to be offering was, in fact, one which I had purchased some years ago - but they changed the name of the fershlugginer thing. I'm glad, though, because the resulting confusion led me to check them out on the 'Net, and they appear to be a less-than-savory bunch. The service was, in any case, not particularly useful to me - certainly not worth what they were charging.

Before making the opt-out call, I contacted my credit card companies asking them to refuse any charges from this company. One of them was quite happy to do so; the other refused. I'm giving serious thought to paying off the second card and closing it out. (On the other hand, it is useful to have a second card in case of emergency situations...)

Ah, bah. I wash my hands of the whole thing.

Movie Night again

I just watched The Blackboard Jungle. This was apparently the parent of a string of films such as To Sir, With Love and Up the Down Staircase - naive new teacher takes on tough students and ultimately prevails. I haven't seen UtDS, but The Blackboard Jungle is definitely grittier than To Sir, With Love. Apparently it was a groundbreaker when it came out (1955), but a lot of it seemed predictable to me. Also, the about-face in attitude by the teacher's wife seemed unmotivated to me. But it's a pretty good film nonetheless.

Biscuits

Well, that was interesting.

A couple of days ago, I picked up a pack of a dozen biscuits. They weren't browned, so I wasn't sure how long to heat them in the microwave. I have now learned the following:
1) Two minutes on high is wa-a-ay too long for a single biscuit.
2) The smell of smoke upsets Murphy a very great deal. Ben didn't seem to be bothered by it much.
3) The battery in my smoke detector needed changing.
4) The unpleasantness of getting smoke out of the house is only compounded by 90/90 weather.

I've always said that I love learning new things...

Bosox

I promise, this'll be my last post of the day.

The Boston Red Sox have long been my favorite AL team. It is partly for this reason that I am prepared to forgive them for taking two out of three from the Padres earlier this week. But it's mostly because they beat the Dodgers tonight, which, coupled with the Padres' win over the Yankees (hah!), puts the Friars back in first, all by their lonesome.

(Sorry about this. I've been a Padres fan for thirty-five years now, and first place has been a rarity over that span - almost as rare as being ahead of the Evil Blue Empire. You'll just have to forgive my excitement about this season.)