h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

(I've covered this in 2 other threads this morning but I think it deserves its own).

Ikea.

Love.
Meatballs, chips, gravy and jam.

Hate.

Being herded round like cattle - it's always so busy.

PP.

Amazon. You can find everything there you need and they make buying so damn easy.

But. Well - there are lots of buts. They think they know you and try to sell you stuff. Who knows what they are doing with our data. And various scandals involving taxes, of course.

Having dealt with a General Body meeting our our Branch of the Royal Canadian Legion last evening, I can say that my most common love/hate relationship is being in the Executive Committee of these sorts of things. We were equally involved in our Royal Canadian Air Force Association and other family support agencies for most of 30 years. While the aims and goals of both are wonderful for the veterans and community at large - - - the actual "making stuff happen" is often aggravating. It would seem that some people stand for the committees and chairs just to make life more difficult for the rest.

And yet? We will stand for positions for the next term again.

( This term, my wife wears 3 of the 20-some hats: Membership management, Bursaries and the Honours & Awards Committee. I am 'only' the Secretary and the Treasurer. With a membership of close to 1,200, there is much to be done. )

" It would seem that some people stand for the committees and chairs just to make life more difficult for the rest" [Rev Nick]

Sounds just like my organization.

You join a committee, you're going to find committee hacks. A1165475

So far, the committee hacks I've known have been quite capable. Trying to offer constructive criticism to them takes quite a bit of finesse, plus loads of substantiating documents. But once they've been convinced by your documentation, they're apt to be on board wholeheartedly.

Look, people who are burnt out need someone to recognize their plight and provide just enough help to let them regain their equilibrium.

It's possible that I may have some traits of the committee hack myself. I work on distancing myself enough to stay centered, though.

Not me. I was involunteered to be my club's chapter Secretary and Road Captain for over a decade. I never wanted the job. For several years, I did my job well. I only learned that if you do a job well, they give you more jobs. Then I just basically stopped doing my job, doing the absolute minimum required before any repercussions arose. They still kept giving me a job. So, I quit.

I feel much better now.

"doing the absolute minimum required before any repercussions arose. They still kept giving me a job." [Baron Grim]

I've been there, too. I didn't want to be the leader of my collective bargaining group, but I kept getting elected through three sets of contract negotiations. Finally, someone decided that we could do better by signing up as a local chapter of a state union. I was gracious about giving up my position, of course. Very gracious....

The absolute minimum rarely works, people just assume you are under the weather but will come back swinging. I've been half lucky - dismissed from some things because others with political goals want to clear a path. Other cases, I saw the problems rising and stepped out voluntarily.

You have exactly the right instincts for doing the job right, Nick. But you did well to get out gracefully.

One of my love/hate relationships is Google. Say what you like about their browser, but it finds straightforward searches very efficiently. And I love Maps and Street View.

But Chrome sucks, as do most of their office apps. It makes you wonder whether the guys in California have ever actually used them.

Google, definitely.

I love some of the things Google does well, as you mentioned, but I hate how Google is hoovering up all our personal data.

I haven't really started using Google Assistant on my phone, but I gave it a try. Then I noticed that it's voice activation is basically always on! My phone specifically has a tactile activation that's more than adequate, a squeeze on the sides of the Pixel 2 will bring up Assistant (and do a few other tasks depending on context). But while testing this, I noticed that saying "OK Google" would open my phone and activate the Assistant. I dove into the Settings and I could only disable it to a point. If I'm on my home screen, it will be listening to me waiting for me to say "OK Google". I don't want my phone listening to me unless I've physically activated it.

Have you considered trading it in for a Stupid Phone?

Maybe someone should manufacture an actual stupid phone, if there are others like you who hate the smart variety.

Oh, no...

I love the smart part, and I rarely use the phone part.

These devices really shouldn't be called "phones". There must be a better name for them. Devices? Mobiles? JeeJaws?



I'm actually, seriously considering removing myself from all screens as I recently admitted to myself that I spend nearly every waking hour staring at one screen or another.

I hate my life.

I'm not going be the pot that calls the kettle black, as I sit here staring at my computer screen....

I do achieve a sort of parity, though. For every hour I spend on the computer, I spend another hour reading books (not the ebook type) or getting physical exercise.

Yeah, for me they're not screens, they're portals to different world where I meet people like h2g2ers Good idea about balancing screen time with other activities, though...

I do have a love/hate relationship with some things on my screens - eg I like how Facebook enables me to connect with people who aren't on h2g2 but hate the way that it makes changes for its benefit rather than mine and I'm forced to adapt because I want to continue to connect...

I can't sit still for very long. I'm sure that's just me. I don't like remotes because getting up to change channels or recordings is refreshing.