Greg's Horrible Waste of Internet Bandwidth

I kinda enjoyed last year's " 2024 Year in Review " so I figured I'd try a 2025 version...  2025 Highlights... Life:  Well, I stayed "pre-tired" in 2025; hell, I didn't even look for work at all. It's kind of boring - I do need to get out and be more productive - but it seems I work hardest at trying not to work hard... Again, though, if something juicy pops up then I'll certainly consider it, but I don't have any motivation to go looking for it. In January, the VITA tax prep thing started up again and this time they not only made me a site coordinator they also put me on their steering committee..."no good deed" and all that. Fantastic program, well worth the time and effort. Volunteer to assist, if you're so inclined (you'll get trained). In May we both enjoyed a nice week in Cancun, courtesy of a German fraternal organization I belong to (its annual convention and I am a delegate). Cancun is neat but I think we enjoye...

(Greg note: I recently, and involuntarily, got a ride on the front of a bus -- while still firmly seated in my GTI...read on...) Insurance statement of Greg Amy, driver/owner of the VW GTI I was traveling westbound on I-90 near Stafford NY on 09/27/25 at approximately 11AM EDT. It was good weather, with the highway dry and the skies mostly clear. Traffic was on the heavier side but flowing well. I was in the left (passing) lane, passing a slower line of traffic in the right lane that included cars, trucks, and some RVs. I passed a black pickup truck pulling an RV trailer which was following a large bus-type Class A RV flat-towing a red compact utility vehicle. As I cleared the black truck/RV, it pulled into the left lane behind me, slowing slightly and flashed its headlights as if to indicate to the Class A that it could pull into the left lane in front of it. I had not yet cleared the Class A. As I got to the front of the Class A and was almost clear of it, I experienced a sudden and ...

(Last updated 11/10/25, with consistent news/discussion link updates at the end) Speed Cameras You may be aware that Middletown CT has added speed cameras. The first Middletown speed camera was activated on June 6th on Rt 66/Washington Street immediately inside the city limits. There are two additional sites with cameras installed but not yet active, on Country Club Road and Westfield Street. [11/10/25 update: these two locations are going live November 17th ] These came about due to a renewal in a 2021 state law allowing speed cameras. Initially limited to work zones only, Public Act 23-116, approved in late 2023, renewed those work zone cameras, adding " any municipality may authorize the use of automated traffic enforcement safety devices.. ."(1) Middletown jumped right on that bandwagon, becoming the second municipality in Connecticut to install speed cameras; Washington CT was the first. City Ordinance 12-24 was approved by the Town Council on July 26, 2024. (2) Soon aft...

 Re: "Driving Me Crazy" Below is a "letter to the editor" I wrote to the author of a GRM article of the same title. So I see I'm not alone... I really thought I was; alone, I mean. You know, we're getting older, observing the world, not willing to take the chances we did before. Maybe, just maybe, the world's not changing, it's us - you and me - changing, slowly turning into that guy who drives the old Buick down the road, Fedora firmly attached, hands at 11:30 and 12:30 on the wheel driving at 20 mph slower than the prevailing speeds. Maybe it's just us. Getting old. You know? But the more I observe...the more I think it's not us that's changing, it's the world around us that's changing (stick with me here). And maybe that's the same perspective as the 11:30-12:30 o'clock Buick guy, watching the world changing around him, with his wife in the right seat screaming, "Harv, slow down, yer drivin' like a bat outta he...

Greg's 2023 Year in Review   2024 Highlights...and Lowlights Life:  April '24 was the month that my unemployment insurance ran out and, faced with lack of interest in my resume along with insulting and broken job search processes, I gave our finances a deep review and made the decision to pull the ripcord and bail out of the market. I officially unofficially "pre-tired" on my 60th birthday. I'm not against accepting future employment, but I'm just not going to get on my knees and subject myself to that disaster of a process. It's really broken, y'all. I really do feel for young people looking for a job, a mate, and a house, because all three of those are being managed the same way now...swipe left, swipe right. Hateful. But if I keep my eyes and ears open, then maybe I can meet that perfect employer through family, friends, and social contacts (I'm all set with the "mate" and "house" part, thx). We'll see. In the meantime......