Little Things That Irk You: The Hateful 08

[fishbowlhead]

If you think Meta are just that good normally that you can explain away other perfect instances as good profiling and yet now they suddenly don’t know that profiles on their own systems are actually a person’s name, that’s just looking to twist things to fit your narrative.

Adding Asura’s responses to my irk about this topic.

They are all absolutely listening in illegally and tracking everything you do. I had everything locked down on tictok a few weeks ago, i had the app open while watching Cyberpunk Edge Runners on Netflix, 20 mins later edge runner clips started appearing on tictok, I’ve never searched for it on my phone or anything else.

First and last social app i ever download, i only had a fake account anyway.

[randombs]

[MENTION=5941]Asura[/MENTION], Dogg said the friend has the same name as the city he got ads for, not that’s she’s from that city.

Having said that, I reckon it’s just that her name matched a keyword that caused the ads about the city to pop up. WhatsApp and Instagram are bound to know her name but their algorithms might not care and just match keywords without worrying about the context.

Showing me ads for trips to Sydney after I become friends with someone called Sydney sounds exactly like the thinking a machine to me.

of course now I’m realising a couple of those calls were on WhatsApp, which is Meta and where I have probably agreed for them to do what they like. I still do not like it. This cyberpunk future sucks.

A while ago I was in a WhatsApp video call with my parents and I was drinking water in a branded/promotional cup I got from work. The next day, ads for that cup were in my FB feed. It wasn’t even a new cup; I’d had it for a year or two at least.

[Blobcat]

I've had a particularly nasty ear infection since at least Thursday. I could only just function on ibuprofen to stay at work till the weekend to which it has become debilitating.

On Friday my GP practice proved yet again how useless they are. Their phone lines open at 8:30an and it's nigh on impossible to speak to anyone let alone to get an appointment. I called and was 14th in the queue, only to have my call dropped by them after nearly a 20 minute wait. They have an automated phone service that does not work and I have reported it before as it asks for a surgery code you have no idea what it's on about. They have an E consult service which is basically a questionnaire to determine if you should be see/ speak to a GP. Mine said speak to a GP.

Just before lunch I walked to a nearby GP which had a pharmacist who I spoke to who advised I definitely needed to see a GP as I needed antibiotic ear drops which can't be offered unless prescribed. I called my GP again immediately afterwards to be 2nd in the queue, 1st, then after 10 mins..."sorry, this number cannot be recognised, please check the number and dial again" and my call is dropped.

Online 111 tells me again I need to see a GP but time has run out to do so unless I go to A&E. At that time ibuprofen was keeping it manageable to carry on with my evening.

Yesterday morning after only getting about 4 hours sleep it's worse I get an Uber to the nearest walk in center from opening and am there for over 2 hours. Lovely GP who was working on his own until 12 saw me and after barely looking in my ear says I definitely have an ear infection and gives me a prescription for antibiotic ear drops and some codine.

Codine doesn't help at all, ibuprofen is wearing off quicker and the drops make it flare up worse but I'm hoping it's a case of feeling worse before it gets better. The pain and sensation is maddening, it's all I can hear and feel constantly 24/7. From 1-10 in pain when 10 is where pain is when you fall unconscious, at its peak it's 8 bordering on 9 and I'm just rolling on the floor with it.

My weekend is ruined and I can't get away from it, it's made my right side of my jaw so swollen I can hardly eat. If there is no improvement tomorrow I don't know what I'm going to do appart from camp outside my GP to be seen or spend a day wasting time sat in A&E as I just can't take it anymore.

[fishbowlhead]

The GP system has completely collapsed and should be torn down and built back up again. Starting with GP’s actually doing some dam work.

[Blobcat]

The GP system has completely collapsed and should be torn down and built back up again. Starting with GP’s actually doing some dam work.

The thing is, the GP's arn't that bad once you get in, its their phone line/ reception and all 5 alternatives to supposedly help that are actually are all broken that piss me off.

In the last 4 years I have had to resort to going to A&E and walk in centres 3 times, wasting around 24 hours cloging up their waiting rooms for issues that would have taken maybe 15 mins max each to solve or diagnose. The one time I have gotten into my GP was when I somehow got through to the reception and reported back how every single option they had was broken and pointed out the time slots they must have reserved for their automated system (that didn't work) must all be available since no one could book. I got a nurse to call me back and eventually they insisted I came in. They still weren't very helpful pointing out the obvious but hopefully they now have a record of said flair up I had (they said they couldn't find my more serious one I had to go to A&E about just before our honeymoon consisting of a facial swelling closing my eye).

I find it bizarre that at the dentists where I work at, anyone of our patients with pain or swelling, we must make every effort to see/ prescribe or do something for them within 48 hours of them calling. We bend over backwards to fit them in somehow, messaging dentists for advice etc. If it is impossible to see them or an unregistered patient, we give them the out of hours clinic number which we never hear anything too bad about them apart from it sounding similar to a walk in centre as you may need to wait a while.

We bend over backwards to treat patients and get them help, doctors avoid picking up the phone and blame you for not hacking the system if you complain. I hate to be the problem taking time and energy that is more needed for people with real emergencies but I now understand why our A&E departments are in such disarray and ambulances are queueing hours to have their patients seen.

[Atticus]

This time every year I gain an hour and then lose it straight away trying to adjust a flaming g-shock. They’re a nightmare.

[charlesr]

For the last couple of months while dropping the kids off at the pool, some of them have stubbornly held on a tiny bit, so instead of one-and-done, it's just smears around. Although maybe it should be in the happy thread, because today they just went off to swim without any bother. No idea what changed. lol. Thought you should know.....

[Asura]

The GP system has completely collapsed and should be torn down and built back up again. Starting with GP’s actually doing some dam work.

To be fair; it should be started with the government committing to reform the NHS at great expense, taxed from various additional sources, ideally including those who can afford private healthcare.

Then again, I'm not the person to ask. I'd outlaw all private schools. Make the rich send their kids to the same schools as the poor, and offer them the chance to patronise them to improve their lot.

[Hirst]

Was going to stick this in the car thread, but I think this is more of an irk to be honest. Actually, it's a disaster. I was at a friend's house and heard a massive bang and a load of shouting, then a group of SE Asian folks (from accent/appearance my guess Vietnamese or Cambodian) running around waving metal poles and shouting, who then suddenly scarpered.

The vague story I have pieced together is that two cars were involved and were chasing and/or ramming each other and one smashed into my car and then quickly fled the scene. The police turned up and weren't much help to be honest, other than seizing the car that hadn't hit mine. I then arranged my own recovery and I've gone from having a nice driving car that I've owned for about 15 years into having this collection of parts.



The problem is that when you own a car like this, insurance is more of a protection racket than something you can actually realistically claim under. The car is worth about £3000 (I know it doesn't look it), but realistically the insurance will give me about £250 for it, scrap it and then double my premium - I know this is the case. Basically it's a case of if anything happens, you just have to fix it yourself. I estimate the repairs will be about £2000-3000, there is some structural damage which will need righting and a lot of parts which aren't that easy to come by. It's not worth doing, but I'll do it because I've owned it for years and have a lot of good memories.

In the meantime I've got to figure out some way of getting to work out of my own pocket. The days of being able to buy dirt cheap runarounds for £200-300 are long gone, so all I can see now is a massive fire sale of anything I've got that is worth any money. Probably sell most of my game stuff. All because some selfish idiots can't drive. Really hope they got badly injured in that crash, it will save me a job if I ever find out who they are.

[fishbowlhead]

Good old insurance, good for absolutely nothing, apart from from taking your money obviously.

[Lebowski]

The GP system has completely collapsed and should be torn down and built back up again. Starting with GP’s actually doing some dam work.

A lot of GPS are now run by private firms, my brother was telling me about the company that runs there GPs, he's never managed to get a direct appointment by ringing the surgery the only time he's ever been able to get in is via a 111 referral. Even if he gets through a minute after the lines are open he's told they have no appointments left and to try again tomorrow.

too many massive for profit franchises are muscling in and under quoting tradtional non profits for surgery services and then offering patients a rubbish service. There doesn't seems to be anywhere you can complain to or anyone overseeing them, you think their would be a way to raise issues with a governing body for patients of these zombie surgery's that don't seem to be fully functioning or offering really poor or in this case non existent patient care.

I couldn't believe how bad it was for him and its made me wonder how long it will be before this is the norm as far as i can tell my surgery isn't run by a larger company and isn't a chain, and at the moment we have no issues getting appointments but i wonder how long this will be the case.

[fishbowlhead]

Going back to this, I finally shook off the flu on Friday (it definitely wasn’t covid), finally after 4 weeks, gp wouldn’t help as appointments were 6 weeks away. Visit my nephew for his birthday on sat, Monday i’m sick again and last night i had cold sweats & shaking, today uncontrollably coughing again.

Ring gp up today to get steroids for keeping the asthma down (i get asthma when i get a virus) 21st November for an appointment. Or call for triage tomorrow.

So the plan is to kill off the entire workforce of the uk then?

[Anpanman]

Our GP is actually really good, appointments are easy to get and have some very good additional services. Our jabs have been there and really well run. Our second and boosters were good fun as they allowed members from the posh end of town to get theirs, great seeing their panicked faces as they tried to cover up their expensive jewellery and clothing tags from the inquisitive looks from the locals and also wondering if their Jags would be on bricks when they went outside to the car park, or perhaps if they would even be alive when they got to the car park.

Only negative would be it takes one minute and forty seconds to get past all the waffle on the phone to get to the selection part where it says if you think you are having a stroke or heart attack press one - seriously.

[Lebowski]

Our GP is actually really good, appointments are easy to get and have some very good additional services. Our jabs have been there and really well run. Our second and boosters were good fun as they allowed members from the posh end of town to get theirs, great seeing their panicked faces as they tried to cover up their expensive jewellery and clothing tags from the inquisitive looks from the locals and also wondering if their Jags would be on bricks when they went outside to the car park, or perhaps if they would even be alive when they got to the car park.

Only negative would be it takes one minute and forty seconds to get past all the waffle on the phone to get to the selection part where it says if you think you are having a stroke or heart attack press one - seriously.

Is your GP run as a not for profit or do a private company own and operate it most of the privately run ones are the problem

[Anpanman]

Ooh now that's a really good question, I think they may be not for profit but I'm not sure.