Wolfgang von Skeptik

THE FINANCIAL CRISIS IS TEMPORARILY...

...SOLVED, DUE TO AN emergency loan from a dear friend, for which many thanks. But it turns out I was wrong about some important details: eBay did deposit the money, not to my bank account but to a special PayPal account created just for the purpose, funds which I can debit by buying more stuff on eBay but cannot transfer to my bank account. Half the money was paid out for an eBay purchase I made two weeks ago -- a purchase for which I assumed my bank account was being debited, part of the panic associated with the crisis. Since I can't access the special account any other way, and since PayPal ignores my repeated inquiries about access, the remainder of the money is effectively lost: so much for eBay's vaunted "fraud protection." The process of applying for "fraud-protection" is anything but applicant-friendly, and contrary to eBay's deceptive propaganda, the long-promised payment itself is nothing more than the on-line equivalent of a store credit, spendable only via additional purchases -- purchases I have no need for or intention of making.

But I'm still not going to be posting for who knows how many more days. I've been down since Thursday with the worst case of influenza I've ever had -- this despite getting vaccine last fall due to age and chronic conditions -- and I'm so sick, I'm too weak to stay out of bed for more than a few minutes. Moreover, it's not getting any better: horrible deep wracking lunger-type cough, unbelievable glue-like chest congestion, raging sore throat, bouncing fever. No question it's flu -- which makes me wonder if the vaccine I got wasn't maybe a worthless placebo. Perhaps part of one of those infamous government experiments?