I want to thank everyone who’s donated so far during this pledge drive–some quite generously. But we’re still less than halfway to the goal, so if you haven’t already donated and you’re a fan of this blog, I hope you can go ahead and send a few bucks (or a lot of bucks) my way. Click below to make a one-time donation (or sign up for a monthly subscription).
You can also donate to me on Venmo at David-Futrelle-1.
Thanks again; I can’t stress how much your support means to me.
–David
I’d love to donate just to cheer up Sad Mammoth With Big Toes, but the damn cat’s going to cost me somewhere north of $200 tomorrow at the vet for his exam and blood tests. And an undetermined smaller amount for alcohol, Neosporin, and bandaids from shoving him into the crate.
Smol Sad Toon Mammoth is very cute, though.
Chipped in what tiny amount I could, it has been very bad year so far. 😱😰
The cat cost over $300. Neither of us are happy.
OT: I am cautiously optimistic that my recent internet connectivity woes may actually have been resolved. That last time, the tech on the phone speculated that my modem might be going bad and shipped me a new one. It arrived, and I installed it on Sunday while my equipment was down to install updates and do related maintenance. (I really, really don’t like messing with the power bar while the machine is up, in case the wrong thing comes loose.)
It’s now been three days without an incident, and fortunately setup was quick (5 minutes to get everything back how I like it, up to and including port forwarding rules).
Crossing my fingers that it will now be stable for another several years.
Unfortunately, there is no plausible similar explanation for the recent recurrent water pressure and contamination problems. Certainly nothing where I just have to spin the wheel of tech support fortune a few more times until I get a competent tech, a correct diagnosis, and a quick to install widget shipped to me free of charge …
@ Surplus to Requirements
There. Fixed that for you. I mean, seriously, does it mean anything to you that you can’t get anyone to agree with you? Your arguments revolve around everyday shit
That’s not very constructive, nor is it warranted by the content of my immediately preceding comment. And what is with the Project Veritas style shit? Overtly putting words in my mouth with a bogus “quotation”?
I feel bad about the financial troubles of this once beloved blog. I really do.
But then I look at the comments and see that the Surplus to QAnon pipeline is still going strong, and I just can’t stand for that. I’m sorry.
@surplus
Well I have to monitor your internet activity but I get bored easily of your stuff so I just turn it off for you to make my job easier.
@ Surplus to Requirements
You understand hyperbole, exaggeration, and mockery. However, you raise an interesting question. I am serious and not trying to get a rise out of you when I ask: What would be constructive to you?
You write novels (hyperbole) to reject basically any suggestions that would change your routine or require much effort or risk, to argue with everyone over your perception of the world as being out to get you… I feel like we have tried all kinds of things over the course of years on this website in an effort to be constructive, so what do you want here?
@Surplus to requirements
Interestingly enough, when our city reduced the water pressure in our area, I assumed it was a response to the statewide drought and never once thought they were trying to make my life harder, even though it was annoying AF.
@Surplus: Your narcissistic paranoid fantasies are PARTICULARLY inappropriate in this thread, where David’s talking about very real problems keeping this needful and useful blog afloat.
David’s well within his rights to ban you, and he’d get no argument from absolutely anyone else here. And probably more money. The only reason he hasn’t is that he’s an uncommonly kind person and you’re not a MAGAt — as much as you behave like them. But your screeds are costing him money thanks to data serving costs, which, as we have established is the problem under discussion, not your paranoid whines and laziness.
Me, I miss ^K PLONK from the old Usenet days. If people can’t be trusted to clutter up a place with their wallowing histrionic fantasy bubble — thereby ignoring everyone else, who’ve been working to be helpful and getting abuse in return — they shouldn’t be allowed in, just like people who crap on the floor and/or smoke in no-smoking areas.
@Elaine: Hee. LMK if you figure out a good solution.
@.45: But he couldn’t do his jack-off fantasizing if he could give a good answer to that question, which is why he never answers it! Bitching, pouting, and being self-centered and lazy is his funnest thing to do!
@.45,
He wants to be given a magic button that will, with no effort, cost, or risk on his part, make his life as easy and trouble-free as he imagines everybody else’s lives to be.
This is NOT hyperbole, he has demanded this “magic button” several times in those very words.
And no, Surplus, I’m not going to track down the exact posts where you said it, because I have better things to do than to indulge your fantasies.
Ooh, I found about $5 in an old PayPal account. But I don’t have or want Venmo.
I will send it when it gets to my bank account.
.45 is the one who dragged that argument into this thread, not me. (And others, including you, then piled on.)
All I did was make a very not-paranoid post saying my internet problem might have been fixed, but that I have no idea what to do about the poor water reliability that developed at around the same time.
If you want to castigate someone for “contaminating” this thread, get mad at .45.
This will be my last comment in this thread on this topic.
Let me translate surplus real quick into English
“Shut up you dumb ass bitch. Don’t you know I am the most important person on the planet. If I get a paper cut it’s worst then your leg getting cut off. I am the main character of life so obviously my life should be annoyance free and easy. Do not speak to me as if we are equals ever again you piece of trash. Now bring me the head of the one who is responsible for my ice cream ( that I left out) melting. “
Is there any way to donate that doesn’t, directly or indirectly, require a credit card?
@GSS ex-noob – But this isn’t true, because I’m part of “absolutely anyone” and I don’t think it’s fair the way people are ganging up on him in this thread. He made a comment about getting his internet fixed (before complaining about something water-related, but not in a long-winded way) and this time it was someone else who started an argument.
It’s not because I like Surplus better than anyone else – I mean, I don’t really know you, but you all seem like cool people – it’s just that I don’t like to see people get treated unfairly.
@epitome: But he’s interrupted DOZENS of posts that are either on-topic or have devolved into cats and music, as we are wont to do.
And it’s ALWAYS the same narcissistic paranoid whining about how someone in this mega-capitalistic world is targeting him, personally, for minor inconveniences the rest of go sigh, whatever and deal with. When he asks for solutions, they have always been given, and he always rejects them because they don’t contain his magic button. AT LENGTH.
He whined a tome last week (and here) about how terrible it was that his power went out, it must be some evil plot against him personally. Not the fact that infrastructure is old and all the people on his block were also affected. He had to make TWO WHOLE PHONE CALLS!!1!! before it came back on. It was soooo much trouble! Meanwhile, I didn’t whine in February or March when my power was out for nearly 2 days. I called the line a couple of times, they said “It’s a transformer, we have to replace it, it’ll be fixed by 6 PM Thursday.” And lo, at 5:30 Thursday, it came back on. My neighbor and I grumbled at each other a bit, and that was it.
So, y’know, if he’d STFU about his minor personal problems, stop abusing the kind people here who provide excellent solutions (and have even more serious problems, like our trans* and chronically ill members, plus those who are supporting family through incurable medical problems), bother to contact the local help agencies, or do anything but subject us to his constant persecution fantasies, there wouldn’t be any problems.
Frankly, he’s been attacking us first and repeatedly — it’s only now we’ve gotten totally fed up. What he needs is to not bother us with his trivial problems. What we REALLY think he needs is to see a shrink, but since the shrink can’t fix all his problems in one session, he’s not going to do that.
And FFS, the water and internet are NOT connected. They can fail independently.
Shorter: He started it.
I do apologize for saying “everyone” (hyperbole). Let’s rephrase that to “a majority of”. You are to be commended for being so kind, though.
And I reiterate that his personal complaints about his utilities are PARTICULARLY inappropriate in his particular thread.
(Also, he can’t even stick the flounce here.)
@surplus, I’m putting you on moderation. I’ll let through on-topic comments, but you can’t keep using the comment section here as a dumping ground for your problems (which in many cases are the same problems and inconveniences we all have to endure) and then lash out at those who try to offer you some sort of help. It’s not a healthy pattern, for you and for the other commenters.
I want to once again thank everyone who has donated. (And if you’re too broke to donate I certainly understand!)
@David: THANK YOU for both the site and the moderation.
I have finally donated my tiny amount. It’s the best I can do. Next year, after tax season (if we’re all still around), I can maybe do more. MAYBE.
Ah, by the way, if it matters, due to an unexpected medical emergency, I will not be donating for at least the next couple of weeks. Just FYI