Seattle's main bus operation is Metro Transit, and some of Metro's service has been suspended for months. It's due to a shortage of drivers, they say, but that's bullshit. It's due to a shortage of competence.

Readers who memorize my drivel might remember that last summer I was briefly a bus driver, steering short buses for the county's disabled-access system (which is a different outfit from Metro). That job offered more politics and general inanity than I wanted to put up with, so I quit.

But I liked the part of the job where I was driving the bus, so I applied to drive full-size buses for Metro. A month and a half later, they sent a psychological profile test, which I answered mostly honestly.

Then in mid-January, four months after I'd applied, Metro sent an email telling me I'd somehow passed the psych eval, and that they'd be in touch shortly to schedule an interview.

"Shortly" is five weeks later, yesterday, when their next email came. I'm supposed to sign up for an interview slot, but the earliest interview appointment is March 21, almost another month from now.

No, thanks. I've got a job, and life is too short and I'm too cranky to work for people who need half a year to even book a job interview.

The refrigerator stopped refrigerating on Tuesday. My flatmate Dean noticed it, called the landlord at 8:00 in the morning, and by 10:00 the following morning the fridge was running again.

The freezer had stayed noticeably cold, but not cold enough — all my sugar-free popsicles and frozen vegetables were thawed. The fridge was room temperature.

Surprisingly, nothing got thrown away. My factory-bagged but 70° salads were crispy when re-chilled, my almond milk still tastes OK, and my Buddig ham had done some serious sweating but it's fine too. Even the popsicles re-froze nicely, becoming yummy squeeze treats with sticks at the bottom.

My wardrobe had dwindled to not much more than t-shirts and sweatpants, so for my new job I bought some office-appropriate 'business casual' shirts from Jerzees, which is almost certainly Just Another Evil Conglomerate.

The shirts look OK and were reasonably priced, but mostly I'm delighted that I didn't have to fill up a trash can.

There were no pins or plastic clips, no tape, no ugly sticker to be peeled off the fabric and leave a residue, no piece of stiff cardboard, and there was no flyer telling me how great the company is. The simply sent the shirts, with nothing to throw away except the minimal mail wrapping.

Not such a rave review for America's Best, the chain operation that made my new glasses. They're bifocals, giving me a sharp view in the distance and up close, but things get blurry at a few feet, between near and far. Which I guess is to be expected, but you know what else is expected?

How's about a phone call or text message when the glasses are ready? They never called or texted, only put my glasses in a drawer and waited until I called to ask when they'd be ready.

News you need,
whether you know it or not

• Norfolk Southern policy lets officials order crews to ignore safety alerts

• Biden DOJ backing Norfolk Southern's bid to block lawsuits

• "Urban renewal" 2023 — "blighted" (black) neighborhood in Louisiana soon to be a freeway

• Cleveland Plain Dealer drops Dilbert after cartoonist Adams's racist rant

• Mozilla gets past Google's new rules limiting ad-blockers

• Google responds to Canadian proposal to require it pay for news by blocking news

• Twitter's death spiral leads to Politwoops' demise

• Judge orders Starbucks to stop firing union supporters after case in Ann Arbor

• Climate change, rampant urbanization fuel Brazil storm disasters

• Parts of US see earliest spring conditions on record: "Climate change playing out in real time"

• American climate migration has already begun

• Shortage of fruit and vegetables "a wake-up call" on impact of climate change

• Climate change is affecting agave crops, tequila

• Deaths in custody are a crisis, but data on them is a black hole, a new report says

• Cop who coerced informants into sexual favors won't face charges

• Jail guards charged with throwing scalding water on inmates

• About 90% of drivers searched or arrested by the NYPD in 2022 were Black or Latino

• Mississippi police officer who shot a black 15-year-old in the head won’t face criminal charges

• Cop gets six months for brutal hail beating

• Death of unarmed North Carolina man under police restraint ruled a homicide; police would not release body camera footage to assist with autopsy

• Police officer sentenced to 25 years for sexual exploitation of children

• All U.S. extremist mass killings in 2022 linked to far right, report says

• Republicans unveil bill to make AR-15-style rifle the "national gun"

• "Incredibly damning" Fox News documents stun some legal experts

• Pillow guy says he's suing Speaker Kevin McCarthy for giving Fox the J6 footage (and not him)

Mystery links
There's no knowing where you're going

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My browser history
without the porn

• Police car stops alienate communities and lead to violent deaths like Tyre Nichols's

• How black students got a quality education in the Jim Crow South

• Who benefits most from "He Gets Us" Super Bowl ad?

• While ex-elected officials invest in cannabis, I remain in prison for selling it.

• How to offer help when you don’t know what to say

• Siskel thought Taxi Driver was too violent, but Ebert loved it

• The Onion's exclusive interview with J.K. Rowling

♫♬ Mix tape of my mind ♫

• As Time Goes By — Harry Nilsson

• Desiderata — Les Crane

• It's a Heartache — Bonnie Tyler

• On a Mission — Squid Physics

• You Ain't Been Doing Nothing If You Ain't Been Called A Red — Risky Biscuit

Eventually, everyone
leaves the building

• Victor Brox

• Gerald Fried

• Allen Steck

2/25/2023
Tip 'o the hat to ye olde AVA, BoingBoing, Breakfast at Ralf's, CaptCreate's Log, HipHappyHair, Looking for My Perfect Sandwich, Miss Miriam's Mirror, RanPrieur.com, Voenix Rising, and anywhere else I've stolen links, illustrations, or inspiration.
Special thanks to Linden Arden, Becky Jo, Wynn Bruce, Captain Hampockets, John the Basket, Dave S, Name Withheld, and always extra special thanks to my lovely late Stephanie, who gave me 21 years and proved that the world isn't always shitty.