I Didn’t Know This

Late this evening, after I’d turned off the outside lights (except for the strings of lights on the Christmas decorations), I received a text message on my phone from someone claiming to be an Amazon delivery driver. I wasn’t expecting a package until tomorrow, so I flagged the message as spam and deleted it.

An hour later, I checked the e-mail account I use exclusively for Amazon and it said that a package had been delivered. Checking the front porch, sure enough there was tomorrow’s delivery. My first same-day delivery as a 28-year Amazon customer. This got me checking on Amazon’s policies.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html

Deliveries can occur between 6:00 a.m. and 10:00 p.m. local time. To avoid disturbing you, delivery drivers may knock on the door, ring the doorbell, or directly contact you for delivery only between the hours of 8:00 am – 8:00 pm local time, unless your delivery is scheduled or requires a signature. For those deliveries, drivers may place a call or text to the phone number you provided for your order. They should not attempt to deliver the package outside 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. unless they are able to reach you.

So the driver was trying to reach me to get approval for the delivery, that he made anyway. I think it’s ridiculous that deliveries should ever be promised for as late as 10 PM, and I am not at all comfortable with the idea of drivers texting my cellphone number. When I entered my cell number to enable 2-factor authentication, I didn’t know I was giving them permission to have drivers text me. Not liking this.

Biden Plays His Trump Card

Joe Biden pardons his son Hunter.

Trump will not be able to undo the pardon when he takes office. And its sweeping nature means the Trump Justice Department will not be able to reopen the long-running criminal probe of the president’s son.

https://news.yahoo.com/haven-t-seen-pardon-sweeping-051200296.html

What else could he do, knowing what Trump would do after taking office? He would have used the Justice Department for a revenge attack against Biden by putting his son through the wringer. Revenge for what? Winning the 2020 election.

I was going to post this commentary by Jon Stewart a couple of weeks ago, but then waited for a better opportunity, and Biden’s pardon is it. “Playing the norms” is for losers.

Who to Believe?

On a music show chat board last night a guy who lives in Ohio said he has neighbors who believe that Trump is already the president. He isn’t, but he’s acting as if he is and lying as he always does.

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum denied proposing to US President-elect Donald Trump that Mexico will close its border with the United States as he claimed in a post on Truth Social.

https://www.cnn.com/2024/11/28/politics/trump-mexican-president-call-tariffs/index.html

Trump operates on a transactional basis. I’m sure Sheinbaum would tell him what she wants in return for her efforts to manage the border. How about doing something to reduce American demand for drugs and limiting the flow of American guns into Mexico?

The Cold Facts of Heating Oil

My oil-fired furnace is now over 25 years old. A lot older than it was in that picture. It’s from the first week of this site, September 2006.

This year for the first time, at the insistence of the oil company, I’m on a monthly payment plan. Until this heating season, paying for each oil delivery individually, the thermostats were usually set to 65 during the day, and 59 at night. The result was a chilly house.

Now that I’m being billed the same amount every month year-round, I’m not worrying about the cost of each oil delivery, or the thermostat settings. They’re set to 70 degrees all day and 65 at night. So, yeah, I’m burning a lot more oil, but enjoying the comfort level.

Although I have no intention of selling my house, which is held in a trust, I can imagine that an oil burner with forced hot water heat would be a negative on the real estate market. How long can I wait to replace the heating system, and what should I get to replace it?

My friends the Sinnotts replaced their oil furnace with Mitsubishi heat pumps. They love the system, especially because the house now has air conditioning. I’m looking forward to seeing their heat pump setup and, oh yeah, maybe looking at some original Joe Sinnott art.

I mentioned my house being in a trust because of this cautionary tale: