Labor Department Cancels Release of Much-Anticipated October Jobs Report

[progree]

19. I am truly impressed. I'm frightened to death to take the case off my desktop tower computer

in order to compressed-air-dust the insides, but it has been necessary about 4 times since I got it in 2011 (I would have "thermal event" shutdowns.

Once I had to do serious (for me) stuff back in 2000 where I replaced a hard drive and added RAM. That went well (surprisingly).

Then about 3 years ago, for my cellphone, Consumer Cellular (CC) sent me a new SIM card, and I dutifully TRIED to install it, but the instructions were horrible. I didn't know what I was supposed to do with the little key device they sent with it.

Eventually, I found something on YouTube about that - that I was supposed to poke it in a little hole, and what it looked like and the surrounding part, I eventually found something that matched my phone. But I broke the "key" poking it in the hole. CC refused to send me another key, but in one phone conversation, they mentioned a straightened paper clip would do.

Tried that, but the straightened paper clip just bent.

Youtube instructions said not to push too hard.

Eventually I found YouTube instructions that said that some older cell phones are hard to eject the SIM card tray because the parts get old and stuck together, and just push hard if necessary. But well, I already tried that and my paperclip just bent instead.

Eventually I took a straightened paperclip and needle nose pliers, and held a few millimeters of the straightened paperclip wire in the grip of the pliers -- a few millimeters of paperclip wire won't bend except under super-force. Anyway that worked -- it ejected the SIM card tray, and the tiny SIM card flew out. Fortunately it landed on the table because I would not have found it in ages if it landed on the carpet.

I put the new SIM card in. Thought it was all OK, but I noticed that the battery was draining kinda rapidly - at the rate of 10% every 3.2 hours on average. I also didn't realize for a couple weeks that I wasn't getting any texts or phone calls (causing one embarrassing incident).

Turns out the new SIM card wasn't registered properly. I tried and failed to resolve that. The website instructions just went in circles - do this, do that, if that doesn't work, back to do this -- an earlier page. No success. So I replaced the new SIM card with the old one.

Eventually, CC threatened to impose a "legacy network surcharge" of $5/month if I didn't replace my SIM. That grew to $10/month. Then they said November 10 or somesuch was the final date and I would be disconnected and blah blah and eventually lose my phone number.

I held off because I was afraid the new SIM card would drain my battery like it did before (making my phone worthless for a day trip - even with an auxiliary battery pack because that takes time to recharge the phone), and once it was registered, I feared there was no going back to the old SIM card.

But because of the imminent disconnection, about 2 weeks ago I finally called (again) about the registration issue. This time I got a real friendly one who did all the work on their end and I didn't have to follow any crappy circular website instructions. Anyway, I'm fine now. The battery drain rate is even a little less than with the old SIM card (needs to be charged about every 3-4 days when not used much)

I know during that time, the RAM prices were always fluctuating, with those prices you are quoting approaching that for "X" number of MB of RAM vs GB of RAM ( "GB" was a fantasy ).

I remember a close relative, a SPITR type (Smartest Person In The Room type - in his own mind), saying way back when in discussing new PC's with a 500 MB HARD DRIVE, that he would NEVER need any more than that.