Dave Richards for April 22nd….…………
--So, did you receive your $1,200 stimulus money from the federal government yet? Those who had earlier arranged for direct deposit of their federal income tax refunds were the first to get theirs. The Fabulous Denise and I never did that. We let Uncle Sam send it to us in the mail, so we will wait. I heard there was a backup at the White House because the President himself wanted to endorse those checks so you’d know where they came from.
Have you noticed how unreliable the Internet has been getting recently? If you go to the government website to find out why you haven’t received your stimulus check, you generally don’t get an answer you can use. The computer equivalent of “Darned if I Know” comes back. Virtual public meetings suffer from squeaks and squawks and chirps and now and again a participant drops off. In my own world, getting a 2 megabit audio stream a quarter mile away on a 50 megabit circuit is impossible for at least 8 hours a day.
Yes, the mind boggling abilities of the Information Superhighway are being put to the test these days. Because I am technically minded, I can tell you it would likely cross your eyes to realize just how much Internet resources it takes to simply watch a high definition TV show from Netflix or Hulu on your ‘smart’ TV. But when you multiply that by thousands of people doing it and add in the sizable demand for bandwidth that video conferencing puts on the system, it is easy to understand the failures.
It could be worse. I have a friend in northern Nevada whose kids are in jeopardy of not finishing school this year because the Internet in that area is just not capable of delivering the lessons via Internet to all the students of that rural school district at any price. I suppose we here in Rhode Island can just thank our lucky stars we don’t have to deal with that problem.
Come to think of it, about the only thing which is working better than usual on the Internet these days are the vile and malicious email attacks. Boy, they’re getting good at them, I’ll tell ya. Here’s a reminder to don’t click on any link in any email, even if it comes from a friend unless you were told to expect it by the sender in a non-email communication. I know that sounds a bit ‘over-the-top’ in the careful department, but I don’t think it is and here’s why.
As well as I know that rule, I almost fell for a malicious email last week which looked for all the world like it came from a close friend who lives in Wisconsin. It even had a previous email I had sent him (I recognized it) pasted at the bottom, that’s how authentic it looked.
Obviously some creeps had gotten into his email account and had all this data at their disposal. And obviously the old adage “idle hands are the Devil’s tools” rang true as the new idle time available to these creeps was put to the Devil’s use.
Anyway, a small amount of caution is just not enough these days. Be extra careful out there…….
--I will leave you this week with this cheery thought. No matter how bad it seems we have it, somebody else has it worse. Let’s all have consideration for those of good heart who are tested these days. I know that smiling at one another is problematic with a mask on your face, but a kind word or gesture will do the same good work.
Case in point. I met a good soul the other day when I went to pick up a prescription. The clerk was clearly overwhelmed with work and I could have easily understood if she had been short with me. But while she clerked-out my sale she made a funny face at the price. I knew what the price would be and I was content to pay it. But she took extra time to go to another computer terminal and look up a discount coupon for me which cut the price in half. Now, if that isn’t a shining example of good Christian love and caring I don’t know what it is. I said a special prayer for her that night.
Lets of us all take her example and take the time to care about and help others in all our daily lives.
--That's what I think. What do you think? Comments to: dave@onworldwide.com or postal mail to Dave Richards, WOON Radio, 985 Park Avenue, Woonsocket, RI 02895-6332. Thanks for reading.
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