Life in the age of Mighty Microsoft . . .

 ‘Twas a couple days of consternation and confusion.  The venerable computer got confused.  It would boot up just fine, but the start thingy wouldn’t work.  I tried a bunch of stuff to recover, like reverting to previous set points without any joy whatsoever.  Also, it wouldn’t complete a security scan with either of the security programs I have..  It said a file was missing.  That is all Microsoft stuff.  My question to myself was, if they knew this kind of thing could happen which is why they had recovery routines, and their program was set to require certain files to run, and if the file needed was missing a notice was provided to explain that a file was missing, well then, why the hell couldn’t or wouldn’t they just go ahead and reveal the name of the missing file?

But no! Resetting Windows was the solution, after copying all non-application files for later copying back onto the disk.  A reset “loses” files, including application files.  And now my  Windows 10  does not resemble the Windows 10 I used to have as a result of a series of updates from the original Vista system on the machine.  A venerable machine, right?  And all applications have been erased including my old Office Professional.  I am to use a newer Office from Microsoft, which requires me to give my name, birthday, address and a bunch of other info they need for reasons unclear but I am pretty sure are not beneficial to me.  I did not answer their questions; I feared where it was trending — are you vaccinated, ever voted for a Republican, speak any languages, engage in kinky sex activities, and I don’t know what all.

Anyhow, we are back in business.  I even got my screen image loaded back on, so now there’s a familiar spot picture of my bride of many years with her back to the Pacific Ocean from high above Depoe Bay in Oregon.  

I am proud of that picture.  It’s the only good picture I ever took in my life, and my wife photos well.  I, on the other hand, cannot except just that once, use a camera or look good in a picture.  I usually look like I am smothering a sneeze and holding back a fart.  Both.  At the same time.

Why does the bank claim I have no money when I still have checks left?

 Money is easy to understand.  And if we had any money, well, I don’t know what we would do but I know our kind and caring government, staffed by credentialed morons under the watchful gaze of elected sleaze monkeys, would immediately act to snuff that nonsense out.

Money is something of value which is conventionally and conveniently exchanged for other things of value.  What we have, instead, is government debt.  Every dollar bill you own is evidence that the government owes you . . .a dollar.  But be not concerned because the government debts to all those who have dollars, and that means any and all without regard to how those dollars were obtained or who or what obtained them, worldwide, are all secured by the full faith and credit of that self-same kind and caring government.

  

But it can all work out, provided we transact exchanges between one another based on value, that is, goods or services, and prices can be established and stabilized by large numbers of similar transactions, that is, the market.  Government debt is almost like money, in the way it can work out.  And if government injects additional debt/dollars into circulation by buying goods and services it needs, it is still mostly okay.  Full faith and credit, right?  Debt/dollars are still matched up with goods and services of value.

We can complicate things by banking accommodations like accounts and credit cards and charitable moochery, but if it’s all still a matter of dollars traded for goods or services, with glitches smoothed out by market responses.

Well, okay, but what happens if the government starts giving out dollars without getting goods and services in return consistent with market prices?  What happens when payments are made where no value is exchanged in return, like for the so called social safety net, or international aid, or crony capitalism, or covid cash?

In that case we have an increase in dollars available for a finite supply of goods and services which has not increased.  Law of supply and demand — prices go up on everything you buy and everything it takes to produce what you need to buy together with the costs of getting what you want to buy to you.

And if that is a spot of bother, how about the government’s increasing its debt by borrowing?  Hey, just pay it off with more dollars later.  Print more dollars; pay the debt with more debt/dollars and kick that can of worms down the road as many times as you must.  Damned the mixed metaphor; full speed ahead. It’s all good because full faith and credit, right?  We have sputtered along like this for a good long time, at least since we went off the gold standard and probably a long time before that.

And what exactly is full faith and credit?  It is short for, “You can trust me, you know I am good for it, right?”  So, look around. Is the government trustworthy, and I don’t mean this president or congress or any of the ones before.  I mean the government that does money.

We are so screwed.

The state of masking today. . .

 We went out today as we do nearly every day, despite retirement, for one thing or another.  We have been beset upon by the medicos.  Seems like all the doctors we have met over the last five years got together one weekend and had a meeting where it was resolved that during this May, they all should scan, test, palpate and sample whatever first came to mind in light of their special knowledge.  So . . . we have been meekly accepting their ministrations, rather than present complications for them as I did back when I was a man.

Anyhow, masks were worn by all at the hospital.  No surprise there.  At all the other locations we visited, no masks. 

I think we’re done.

Has it really been that long since I posted last? Yup.