I have been working on reprogramming my Mountain City Arts site, and so I have not had a lot of energy to put into the blog right now.  That means it’s a great time to update some of my old posts.  A few of you may remember a few of these.

Cascade: I took Procter & Gamble to task for allowing defective dishwasher detergent to reach consumers and then making excuses for it.  After my post, I went to the library and looked up what Consumer Reports had to say.  They recommended “Finish” All-in-One Tablets on the basis of price and performance, and that’s what we have been using since.  We are very satisfied with the results.

Grrrr…ate:  This was my rant about a persistent telemarketer.  They never called again.  My threat to bring in the State Attorney General must have scared them off.

Write-A-ChecTV:  This was the post where I promised to get rid of DirecTV as a result of their latest rate increase.  Guess what.  Now we’re recording episodes of Pawn Stars.

TSA: We Have Air Security Down Pat (or is it Pat Down):  Remember the big to-do about pat-downs and body-scanners in airport security lines?  Like so much else in life, things that seem so important today aren’t so important a few months down the road.  They become the nuisances you live with, like horseflies at the pond.

Whence Angry Perturbations: In this essay, co-written by Wordsworth, I lamented the uncivility, anger and hatred expressed by anonymous internet commenters.  I have since come across several articles expressing the same concerns, including this one from Slate.  But I am glad to report one case where this nuisance is finally being addressed, if only because of its financial impact.  The Asheville Citizen-Times, one of the newspapers cited in my post, now requires its commenters to have Facebook accounts and post comments under their Facebook identities.  Although no substitute for an actively moderated forum, at least this is a sign someone is aware there’s a problem.