Small Talk: We'll Be Right Back

[ennui]

4 hours ago, aquarian1 said:

They are always purged from solicitation lists and cross-sell offers.

Well, I'd sure like to get purged. I get at minimum five credit card offers every week, not including the offers I get via email. It's not a stretch to think bankrupt people get bombarded, as well.

[bilgistic]

48 minutes ago, ennui said:

Well, I'd sure like to get purged. I get at minimum five credit card offers every week, not including the offers I get via email. It's not a stretch to think bankrupt people get bombarded, as well.

Here you go!

Quote

OptOutPrescreen.com is a centralized service to accept and process requests from consumers to "Opt-In" or “Opt-Out” of firm offers of credit or insurance. OptOutPrescreen.com is a joint venture among Equifax Information Services, LLC, Experian Information Solutions, Inc., Innovis Data Solutions, Inc., and TransUnion, LLC (collectively the "Consumer Credit Reporting Companies")...

...OptOutPrescreen.com is the only internet website authorized by Equifax, Experian, Innovis and TransUnion for this purpose under the FCRA. Please note that, as a security precaution, consumers should never provide their personal information to any other company or person in connection with requesting Opt-In or Opt-Out services. OptOutPrescreen.com will not contact consumers via email, telemarketing or direct mail solicitations.

I promise it's legit. I have never gotten another offer since registering.

To get off mailing lists, I use Catalog Choice (includes all kinds of mailers, not just catalogs). I HATE junk mail, and it has gotten me off of every list except the stupid local paper weekly coupon mailer. I don't need a free hearing test or pressure washing on the house I don't live in, and I sure wouldn't consult that mailer for a recommendation if I needed either, anyway. I have contacted the paper, and still can't get off the list. That garbage mailer goes directly in the recycling bin.

Edited March 26, 2017 by bilgistic

[Silver Raven]

3 hours ago, stillhere1900 said:

I just saw a commercial for VistaPrint, and the guy looks lust like that dude the ladies on Survivor nicknamed "ken Doll"

Anyone know if it's him ?

He is a model, but I can't find anything about a particular ad.

[Prevailing Wind]

I've done the OptOut and Catalog Choice and I rarely get mail now, as I do most of the financial/medical ins. stuff "paperless."  I can't seem to get Viking Cruises to stop sending me their catalog, however.  I can't afford a freakin' Viking Cruise.

[riley702]

Detassling involves removing the top of the plant where the tassles will later emerge. They had rows of two that you left alone to develop tassles and rows of 6 where the detassling machine carried you on little cages down the rows of 6 to pull out the tops. That way they could make hybrids. The detassling machine was mounted on a special tractor that would straddle the 2 rows to be left alone and extended 3 arms on each side with a little cage or platform on the end for you that went between the rows to be detassled. Deroguing was earlier in the season where you walked down all the rows with a hoe and chopped out any plant that looked different or deformed.

Edited March 27, 2017 by riley702

[riley702]

Just a quick note. I have something pretty important going on in my life, but don't want to clog up the threads, yet wanted my pals in my most active threads to know. So, the link is here: 

http://forums.previously.tv/topic/26532-chit-chat/?page=98#comment-3121390

Please limit discussion to that thread, please. Thanks.

[ennui]

Link followed. Thanks for letting us know.

Since this is the place for cat people, there's a cat that patrols the parking lot where I live. I can't figure out if it belongs to anyone, but I was thinking about leaving some food out for it. I would not leave food out overnight because we have rats and raccoons, but was thinking a couple of sardines in the evening might be helpful. Thoughts? It's not frightened of people, but not particularly friendly, either. 

[CoderLady]

@ennui, if it looks healthy and is just standoffish but not freaked out by strangers it probably belongs to someone. Cats are loners who like to patrol their territories. Think of him (and it's most likely a him -- toms have large territories) as a small, furry Aragorn.

A free meal probably wouldn't go amiss, though.

Edited March 30, 2017 by CoderLady

[Ohwell]

I am not a cat person but I find it funny that they seem to be drawn to me because I ignore them.  My niece has a cat and she  (the cat) does everything but stand on her head to try to get me to pay attention to her. I drive her crazy, lol.

Edited March 30, 2017 by Ohwell
clarification

[ennui]

I first recall seeing this same cat a few years ago, but it was only sporadically, like once a month. Now I see it every day, even in my oak tree. I wonder if it ever sleeps!

Oooohhh... I just thought of something. New construction down the street. Maybe that was the cat's prior stomping grounds.

Edited March 30, 2017 by ennui
I know nothing about cats.

[riley702]

43 minutes ago, Ohwell said:

I am not a cat person but I find it funny that they seem to be drawn to me because I ignore them. 

That is actually good manners in the cat world. Someone staring at them may seem like a threat. 

[janie jones]

There's nothing* I hate more than seeing a cat wandering around a neighborhood.  Why is that okay?  You'd never see people being okay with a dog just wandering around the neighborhood** so I don't know why it's okay for cats to, especially given how detrimental cats can be to the area wildlife.  "My cat hates being cooped up inside."  Well, so does every other fucking housepet on this planet.

*Well, not nothing.

** Unless that dog is Wishbone.

Edited March 30, 2017 by janie jones

[peacheslatour]

16 hours ago, CoderLady said:

@ennui, if it looks healthy and is just standoffish but not freaked out by strangers it probably belongs to someone. Cats are loners who like to patrol their territories. Think of him (and it's most likely a him -- toms have large territories) as a small, furry Aragorn.

A free meal probably wouldn't go amiss, though.

"Not all those who wander are lost"

[mojoween]

Mookie is an indoor cat and he seems perfectly content.  When I pick him up and carry him outside to say good-bye to my husband in the morning he doesn't even try to get down and run away.  If he starts to get antsy, it's mostly to look back and reach plaintively for the door as if to say "please take me back where it's warm and dry and there is an endless supply of food."

When we take him out on his leash he mostly just lays in one spot, then gets up and walks to another spot.

I don't even put him in a carrier to go to the vet, just put the leash on and hold him.  It's so funny because he doesn't care about dogs, and most of them seem scared of him, but he HAAAAATES other cats.  I've never heard him growl like the time I took him to my mom's to meet her kitten for the first time.  He made the same noise last time we were at the vet and he saw a cat in a carrier.

[chessiegal]

A little over 3 years ago, a pretty gray cat appeared on our deck, sniffing the grill. Since we grill year round, I figured it was smelling the residue of grilled food. After he/she appeared regularly for a few days, I started putting out a dish of dry food. After a few weeks, what turned out to be she started letting me pet her. Then I found out she had been declawed front and back (who does that?!?!). We didn't have a kitty at the time, so I encouraged her to move in, which she did, and she has never looked back. She's become quite the Mama's girl, and is currently curled up next to me. Happy indoor kitty here.

[peacheslatour]

Quote

Then I found out she had been declawed front and back (who does that?!?!).

What? That's horrible. It's bad enough to do the front. I wish vets would start refusing to do it. Like they did with ear cropping and tail docking on dogs.

[FormerMod-a1]

Catios are a real thing.  This is just one example.

[Bastet]

1 hour ago, peacheslatour said:

I wish vets would start refusing to do it.

Mine does refuse.  When my previous vet (who was active in the fight against declawing, long before I heard about it in larger circles) retired and I had to go interviewing for a new one (after coming up with a short list based on recommendations), that was one of my questions, because I wasn't going to give my business to someone who'd perform it.

Edited March 31, 2017 by Bastet

[bilgistic]

2 hours ago, aquarian1 said:

Catios are a real thing.  This is just one example.

I told our managing director at work that I wanted him to build me a catio (for me) off the side of the building. His eyes began to glaze over and drift away when I told him what a catio is.

[Prevailing Wind]

Where I work, two of the six vets will do declawing, but only as a last resort, when the only alternative is euthanasia. Dr. E. won't do it to protect furniture, but if people are getting scratched badly, she'll do it. Dr. W says she didn't become a vet to maim cats, but Dr. S. thinks his new couch is more important. He got so much scorn from staff members at work, he's postponed it for now.  (Yay!!! Score for the scorners!!)

There used to be a black cat that lived above me that was declawed (front only) but he wanted to go out. George was forever chasing after Blackie to get him back inside until finally he said screw it and let Blackie go out. That cat was outside more than he was inside and was quite happy.  He knew that if I was home and bad weather came up, he could find safe haven in my condo, even though it made my Scooter unhappy. He was killed by a careless driver.  George didn't get another cat.

I  have that problem, too. Bosco's middle name is A-GoGo, because if you open the door, he's a-gone-gone. He loves to be outside. But we have coyotes, so I make sure he doesn't go out too early in the morning and comes in before dusk, when the coyotes are more active. I also leave my front door ajar, so he can come bounding inside in case a UPS truck comes thundering after him.  He has all his claws which DO need to be trimmed right now. He won't let me. Stella balks, too, but I managed to get her rear nails trimmed last night - and ONE on her left front foot.  Of course, being a condo, we're prohibited from erecting Catios.

[smittykins]

China came to me already declawed front and back, but neither of my two previous cats were.  I didn't find it a problem to get them to use scratchers(mine have preferred horizontal, cardboard or sisal-wrapped posts).

Edited March 31, 2017 by smittykins
Horizontal and vertical are two different things

[Jamoche]

My Maine Coon is an escape artist - I have to stick one foot in the crack as I open the door or she'll be out in a flash. She can go on the patio any time she likes (third story, no ground access), but going out the front is so much fun. I know it's a game to her because when I was on crutches and then a cane for a couple of months she never once tried to run out, even though she had a wide open door and plenty of time to do it.

[Brattinella]

My cats THINK they want to be outside, but the one time they DID, the older male just froze up in the flower bed, and the younger female jumped on top of the A/C and screamed to be let back in.  They DO get bird TV at the windows, though. :)

[mojoween]

We have squirrel TV and when they jump on the porch rails Mookie claws at the windows and then looks sternly at me and runs to the sidelights.

[peacheslatour]

57 minutes ago, Brattinella said:

My cats THINK they want to be outside, but the one time they DID, the older male just froze up in the flower bed, and the younger female jumped on top of the A/C and screamed to be let back in.  They DO get bird TV at the windows, though. :)

One of our cats saw a SQUIRREL! on the front porch when my hubby opened the door to get the newspaper. He raced outside, got about five feet down the walkway, realized where he was and turned around and belly crawled right back in.

[Silver Raven]

I used to live in a condo that had patios with six foot fences.  My cat liked to go out on the patio and look under the fence to see what was going on but never made any move to jump the fence.  One time a stray cat jumped the fence and came at him, but I ran out and chased it off.  Max was traumatized for a while, but went back out again.  The problem was leaving the sliding door open to let him go in and out, because flies loved to come in when it was open.

[Jamoche]

51 minutes ago, Silver Raven said:

I used to live in a condo that had patios with six foot fences.  My cat liked to go out on the patio and look under the fence to see what was going on but never made any move to jump the fence.  One time a stray cat jumped the fence and came at him, but I ran out and chased it off.  Max was traumatized for a while, but went back out again.  The problem was leaving the sliding door open to let him go in and out, because flies loved to come in when it was open.

I've got a patio door insert - full-length glass, just like the real doors, with a magnet to hold the catflap closed. I used to have the kind that you put in the screen door but you could only use it on warm days; with a bit of experimenting I found weather stripping to seal the gaps left by adding the extra panel.

[theatremouse]

Anyone know anything about cars? Mine was deemed mechanically fine last it was serviced, which was only a month ago. But today when I was out at one point it randomly jerked to the right for a second. Scared the crap out of me. Luckily nothing came of it and it didn't happen again and I have no idea what it means. Maybe there was some ridiculous wind gust? I'm supposed to do a lot driving tomorrow and now I'm wondering if I should cancel those plans. I don't know enough to know if that's smart or if I'm both ignorant and paranoid.

[Ohwell]

I don't know much about cars but I'd definitely have it checked out before taking a long drive.  Maybe have them check the wheel alignment? 

[Prevailing Wind]

Quote

The problem was leaving the sliding door open to let him go in and out, because flies loved to come in when it was open.

Well, that gives 'em something to do once they come back in. Stella's a master at knocking a fly right out of the sky. I don't mind the random fly, 'cause I know she'll get it, but last night there was a stink bug in the house. Fortunately, it was on a magazine that I just carried over to the door, opened the door and showed the stink bug the way out.

Bosco went out the last time we had snow. Got as far as the end of the porch when he decided he didn't like getting his feet so coldly wet, so...he jumped on the stairs going to the upstairs condos and ran up there, all the while being chased by the stuff that was making his feet cold; he couldn't get away from the stuff!!  Once he got up there, he sat on Oliver's doormat and yowled. Vince, Oliver's cat-dad, was already dressed for snow, so he came out, picked up Bosco and carried him back down stairs and handed him to me. I don't think Bosco will ever go out in snow again - that is, if we ever DO get snow again in Atlanta.

[ennui]

20 hours ago, theatremouse said:

Anyone know anything about cars? Mine was deemed mechanically fine last it was services, which was only a month ago. But today when I was out at one point it randomly jerked to the right for a second. Scared the crap out of me. 

Was the pavement uneven? It almost sounds like your wheel caught in a pothole. 

[Brattinella]

1 hour ago, ennui said:

Was the pavement uneven? It almost sounds like your wheel caught in a pothole. 

That is about the only explanation for a one-time-only event like that.  Or a rock in the road.

ETA: Is it a front-wheel drive?

Edited April 1, 2017 by Brattinella

[ennui]

Unfortunately, you have to wait and see if it happens again. Could be a wheel bearing (but it's loud when they go out), a tie rod ... or nothing. A pothole.

[theatremouse]

Thanks. I didn't see a pothole but my first thought was did I hit a rock or something small enough not to notice but awkwardly shaped enough to jerk me. It is front wheel drive. I've also been not-urgently planning to get a new (to me) car soonish anyway. So if it happens again, it may speed that up, since I already promised myself this car is not worth repairing in any way. 

[Babalu]

On 3/30/2017 at 11:14 PM, aquarian1 said:

Catios are a real thing.  This is just one example.

I never knew catios were a thing someone could build for you, but my husband jerry-rigged one for our cats when we lived in Hawai'i. It wasn't pretty, but they loved it, especially the seven-foot, three-level cat post he built.

We now live in a house with a caged courtyard, and, like @Jamoche, have an insert with a cat door so they can go in and out at will. it works really well, EXCEPT Skeeter fell in the pool a couple of weeks ago. Fortunately, she figured out how to climb out.

On 3/30/2017 at 10:51 PM, peacheslatour said:

What? That's horrible. It's bad enough to do the front. I wish vets would start refusing to do it. Like they did with ear cropping and tail docking on dogs.

Both our cats are feral rescues, though only Skeeter acts wild. We think she may have some neurological damage, too, and was biting and scratching us a lot for quite a while. Our vet suggested de-clawing, but I couldnt do that; luckily, after years of working with her, she's much better now - not perfect, but better. She's very sociable and we love her a lot, but I think a lot of people wouldn't have had as much patience with her and she would have been euthanisized if she'd ended up in a lot of other homes.

[peacheslatour]

Quote

She's very sociable and we love her a lot, but I think a lot of people wouldn't have had as much patience with her and she would have been euthanisized if she'd ended up in a lot of other homes.

Well, bless you for that. I know it takes a lot of patience but cats are very capable of being trained. We are now to the point where the cats sit quietly while we trim their claws. Takes five minutes about once a month.

[mojoween]

Mookie thinks we are the heathens of the universe when we clip his claws.  He doesn't care when we tell him it's for his own good and he'll stop sticking to the carpet when he comes tearing around the corner at playtime.

However, even though he hates it and squirms a bit, he still allows it to happen.  Probably because he knows the doughnuts* will follow.

*We call his treats (Temptations, he loves those things) doughnuts because I saw a paper at the vet that said that ten Temptations is the equivalent of a human doughnut.  Now when I need him to do something I say "do you want a doughnut?!?" and he seems to know what that means.

[peacheslatour]

Quote

(Temptations, he loves those things)

OMG my cats love those things so much we refer to  them as kitty crack. We call them "noms", we say who wants noms? and they come running. I swear they actually count them as we drop them into their dishes to make sure there are an even number for each.

[Brattinella]

Just now, peacheslatour said:

OMG my cats love those things so much we refer to  them as kitty crack. We call them "noms", we say who wants noms? and they come running. I swear they actually count them as we drop them into their dishes to make sure there are an even number for each.

Truly, they are kitty crack!  I just bring out the bag and rattle it and say "What's this?" and we are off to the races.  And they DO count them, I swear!

[chessiegal]

When we moved into our house in 2010, we had a different kitty, RIP Clara. One day my husband opened the front door to get the paper, and there was a big ole snapping turtle sitting on the front stoop. He shut the door and called me to come see what was at our door. Of course Clara followed me to see what was going on. She took one look out the side window, and every hair went up, and I swear she did a backwards moon walk. So he went out the garage and snapped this picture after Clara eventually went back to the window to keep an eye on this monster. It was so funny.

[mojoween]

We took a ride to PetSmart today to meet the Easter Bunny.  What you don't see is that Mookie was SO pissed off at me.  He was hissing at random fixtures but generally he was so good.

Edited April 8, 2017 by mojoween

[bilgistic]

3 hours ago, mojoween said:

We took a ride to PetSmart today to meet the Easter Bunny.  What you don't see is that Mookie was SO pissed off at me.  He was hissing at random fixtures but generally he was so good.

That bunny is the stuff of nightmares. Mookie's WTF?! face is pretty fantastic, though.

Edited April 8, 2017 by bilgistic

[smittykins]

Mookie looks grumpy!

[mojoween]

Hahaha he is a very structured cat so this interruption to his routine was very unwelcome.  He did enjoy sitting on the register belt rubbing his face all over everything in sight when we were checking out.

He sheds like a maniac when stressed and I had to use six sheets on the lint roller to get SOME of the fur off before I washed my sweatshirt.

[Aquarius]

3 hours ago, mojoween said:

Hahaha he is a very structured cat so this interruption to his routine was very unwelcome.  He did enjoy sitting on the register belt rubbing his face all over everything in sight when we were checking out.

He sheds like a maniac when stressed and I had to use six sheets on the lint roller to get SOME of the fur off before I washed my sweatshirt.

Is there such a thing as an unstructured cat?  I've never met one.

That look on his face is pretty priceless.

[ari333]

Mookie's face says it all! as if to say, "You're so gonna get it when we get home. " :-)

[Calamity Jane]

On 4/8/2017 at 2:08 PM, bilgistic said:

That bunny is the stuff of nightmares. Mookie's WTF?! face is pretty fantastic, though.

My daughter's Golden was certain that the bunny's nose was a ball that needed to be pulled off and chewed into submission.  Got a cute pic anyway.

[proserpina65]

On ‎03‎/‎25‎/‎2017 at 4:52 PM, aquarian1 said:

^ That's not actually true either.  I've worked in credit cards for 15 years, we never ever offer credit cards to people with bankruptcies.  They are always purged from solicitation lists and cross-sell offers.  At every banks I've ever worked at.  Usually, if you have a bankruptcy you'll have to get a secured card, or a very very low line card (like $100-200) and we don't mail those offers out.  

I declared bankruptcy in October 2015.  A week later, I received 10 credit card offers, including two from companies whose cards I'd had when I filed for bankruptcy.  They weren't all for secured cards or low credit lines either.  And I keep getting them almost every week, although they have trailed off to low credit line cards.  One of which I will eventually get, because I'll need to start rebuilding my credit, very carefully.  So some companies do not automatically purge potential customers from their lists just because of bankruptcies.

Edited April 25, 2017 by proserpina65

[FormerMod-a1]

1 minute ago, proserpina65 said:

A week later,

This is the key phrase.  It takes more than a week for communications between credit bureaus and banks and everything else to update all the information. Most pre-screened credit card offers take 60-90 days to complete (that's strategy decisions to mail drop timing).  So any mailing you get today, started with lists and data from weeks to months ago.  Also, most banks only get updated bureau data on their customers monthly.   So, if it was prospecting it would take a couple of months, and for banks you're a customer with it would take at least 1 month.

[proserpina65]

1 hour ago, aquarian1 said:

This is the key phrase.  It takes more than a week for communications between credit bureaus and banks and everything else to update all the information. Most pre-screened credit card offers take 60-90 days to complete (that's strategy decisions to mail drop timing).  So any mailing you get today, started with lists and data from weeks to months ago.  Also, most banks only get updated bureau data on their customers monthly.   So, if it was prospecting it would take a couple of months, and for banks you're a customer with it would take at least 1 month.

That does explain a lot.  Although I did still get stuff from American Express for months.  Maybe they're slower for some reason.