Not Like They Used To

Here's an old adage which many of us use: 'They don't make 'em like they used too'. I'm not so sure that it applies generally.

I remember a day about 30 years ago where a guy in the Shop remarked about cars, 'They don't make 'em like the used too' and me Pops replied, "Good. I'm glad the don't". His point was that even in the 1990s he wasn't having the amount of car troubles he was having in the 1960s. Cars by and large were made 'better than they used to'.

I second that. I don't have nearly the amount of car issues I was having in the Nineties, and I readily admit that what I drive isn't anywhere near mint condition (Quiet, Ron). The fact is that powertrains (the engines and transmissions) are capable of a quarter million miles on many vehicles today; Dad recalled that when a car might  hit 100,000 in 1952 it was such an anomaly as to be almost unbelievable. Rust out is much more rare than it once was too.

On the whole, they do make them better than they used too, and that's good. I need the aftermarket. 

Two And Four

Well, they looked awful in Tampa, losing three games in simply horrible fashion. Then they took the first two from the Astros in Houston before tanking pretty bad in the third match. So we find the Detroit Tigers with two wins and four losses six games into the 2023 Season.

That ain't bad. Truth be told, I expected them to be 1-5 at best to start the year. The Tigers aren't likely to be good this time around, and starting things off with six road games against perhaps the two best teams in the American League did not bode well.

But hope springs eternal, and they face the Red Sox in the home opener today. I may just take the afternoon off and watch. If the boss will let me.

Marty's Two Cents

I have literally never, ever had someone give me their two cents worth. It never happened to me. Until yesterday.

In my snail mail was an envelope from the Detroit Medical Center which, from the outside, sure looked like a check. Curious as to what it could be about, I of course opened it, to discover that it was indeed a check made out to me for two cents.

There's no explanation other than 'Refund for Cosgriff, Charles'. The pay line proudly proclaims: ZERO dollars and TWO cents. There's a reference number, but I have no idea what that could mean. I'm not told which doctor I overpaid, or for what service I was so egregiously overcharged. Still, I'm two cents richer. Maybe I'll go to Europe or take a cruise. Honey, we won't lose the house after all.

Anyway, I must hurry to the bank. I only have 180 days to cash it or it becomes invalid.

Due Credit or Stopped Clock?

I still don't trust government. It's incompetent, and to a great degree because it tries to do things which it is incapable of doing. Education comes to mind; we've all had our share of horror stories about the DMV too I'm sure.

But in the interest of playing fair, the Michigan Secretary of State deserves props from me this morning. When I ordered my new license plate sticker online last Wednesday a window opened to tell me it would be three weeks in coming. That was an acceptable time frame, as my April birthday was just about three weeks off then.

Lo and behold, the new registration and tag came today. Or yesterday, Monday as it were. 

Well, okay, credit where it's due. Everything came in under three weeks. But I still don't trust those incompetents.

Dental Veterinarians

Did I tell you about my dentist appointment last week? I did? Well, I'm sure I didn't tell you enough, so pull up a chair.

I'm getting crowns and a bridge, so they wanted to make molds of my teeth. As any of you who have had teeth molds made know, the excess of whatever gunk dentists use to make them tends to make you gag. So of course I began to gag. The dental assistant instructed me to 'breath through your nose and wiggle your toes'. Very Suessian. "It distracts the brain from the gag reflex," she somewhat helpfully explained. 

Consequently, I tried my best to become a nose breather and wiggling my nine-and-a halfs, wondering all the while where the candid camera was mounted, expecting to become the next internet sensation.

Later, the dentist and the DA (dental assistant - not what you just thought) were visually examining the alignment of my teeth. I kept my mouth closed while the dentist pulled my lips back with his fingers to see what things looked like. All I could think was, so this is what a horse feels like. Which leads me to the question:

Are dentists and vets all that different?

Easy Sales

I like sales. Sales are like, "Here are things. Give me $250 for them." 

And folks do. Just like that.

I like sales. Such power over people who trust me implicitly. Bwa-ha-ha-ha!

No. Just, No

A recent customer tried to use his credit card to make a purchase. It wouldn't go through.

He tried another card. It would not go through either.

His third card wouldn't work. "Would you take my check?" he asked.

Uh, no.  I'm not even sure I can take your cash now.