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2025 Shave Purchase Sabbatical - The Battlestar Galactica Year

BradWorld

Dances with Wolfs
Still in!

Tradere OC
Platinum (1)
Rudy Vey STF 25
B&M Nordost soap
The Holy Black Ramos Gin Fizz splash

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Here is an slightly amusing true story.

This morning I saw a lambda athena available on the bst, figured I'd use my exemption. The immediate problem was that I did not have a Paypal account. So I immediately set one up and linked a credit card with plenty of balance. I then tried to send the funds to make the purchase. No go, PP said there was a problem. No specifics, just a suggestion to call the the bank that issued the card.

I did, the bank said there was no problem on their end, in fact they did not even see an attempt use the card from the PP end. Next I called PP. The friendly customer support person could see the failed attempts. His guess was that the problem was that I had no bank account linked to the new PP account. I started to link a bank account but totally balked at the requirement to provide the account password. Not in this life, no sir.

So I gave up. I let the seller know that (sadly) I had to withdraw my offer. Next I deleted my brand new and quite useless PP account. A bit later I checked my credit card account I saw a pending $1.95 charge from PP. Then the light bulb went of. I suspect that charge was a test of the credit card, and that establishing a new PP account with a linked credit card simply takes a few hours, maybe a day or two.

Moral of the story? Dunno. I wasted my time, and the seller's. I suppose I could open yet another PP account, so to be ready for next time. But the whole thing has left a bad taste in my mouth. Uggh.

PayPal is terrible. The biggest reason I don't blow the GRUME/GRUYEREs is that I'll never use them, but it also means I have some lovely razors and soaps sitting around, that I don't need/want/like, but will not find a good home.
 
Here is an slightly amusing true story.

This morning I saw a lambda athena available on the bst, figured I'd use my exemption. The immediate problem was that I did not have a Paypal account. So I immediately set one up and linked a credit card with plenty of balance. I then tried to send the funds to make the purchase. No go, PP said there was a problem. No specifics, just a suggestion to call the the bank that issued the card.

I did, the bank said there was no problem on their end, in fact they did not even see an attempt use the card from the PP end. Next I called PP. The friendly customer support person could see the failed attempts. His guess was that the problem was that I had no bank account linked to the new PP account. I started to link a bank account but totally balked at the requirement to provide the account password. Not in this life, no sir.

So I gave up. I let the seller know that (sadly) I had to withdraw my offer. Next I deleted my brand new and quite useless PP account. A bit later I checked my credit card account I saw a pending $1.95 charge from PP. Then the light bulb went of. I suspect that charge was a test of the credit card, and that establishing a new PP account with a linked credit card simply takes a few hours, maybe a day or two.

Moral of the story? Dunno. I wasted my time, and the seller's. I suppose I could open yet another PP account, so to be ready for next time. But the whole thing has left a bad taste in my mouth. Uggh.
That is exactly what happened, they need to make this trial charge before clearing the account for use. That charge is later canceled if I am not mistaken
 
That is exactly what happened, they need to make this trial charge before clearing the account for use. That charge is later canceled if I am not mistaken
The charge was later cancelled. Surprisingly Paypal tech support did not mention this as a possible reason for the problem. I could tell from talking to the tech that the system was not giving him much to go on.

On my part I did not think to bring up the fact that I had just created the account that morning, maybe that would have made a difference. I did not realize in the moment that it was relevant. I fell prey to the illusion that everything mediated by electronic digital systems happens near instantaneously. I know better than that, but it took me a while to realize what was likely going on.

Over the years I have come to accept that the people in tech support positions are mostly doing their best to speak calmly to often angry people confused by terrible software that neither the customer nor tech support fully understands. Even the programmers behind that software barely understand all the edge cases.

No sense getting angry about it. Life is too short to let that kind of stuff make you crazy.
 
I fell prey to the illusion that everything mediated by electronic digital systems happens near instantaneously.

Banking, mostly due to anti-money laundering rules and other regulations, is generally slow. In most instances, this is a good thing; you want time for mistakes to be caught and fixed.

Even the programmers behind that software barely understand all the edge cases.

This is a generous assessment. In any complex software system, there will likely only be a couple, if that, people who understand most of the code base, and generally only at a higher level. There will be individuals within teams who have a deep understanding of their part of the system, but that knowledge is almost always siloed.

And in terms of useful documentation that can help a first level support person placate an unhappy customer? It's almost always restricted to a handful of the most common issues. After that, it is basically "have you tried turning it on and off again?"

The fragility of the software that we have allowed to permeate every aspect of our lives is actually quite terrifying if you stop to think about it. Thank the deity that we are on a spaceship speeding away from all of this! :p
 
You could always try to trade?
Would love to, but since my wants are rather narrow and my possessions few, I'm skeptical I'll find a suitable and amenable partner. Is there anyone out there who would want to relinquish their Ti-Bird for a Leaf, a Thorn, and a Henson? I'm dubious.

There's a reason modern society runs on a currency-based, and not barter, economy... and my situation just reminds me of that.
 
15 days without a hint of temptation. Tonight I returned to one of my first soaps when I got started: "Col. Williams." A puck of Williams Mug Soap and a puck of Col. Conk grated and pressed. Lathers easily and almost begins to feel like a high priced "luxury soap." Truly a concoction that is greater than the sum of its parts.

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My "exception" came in the mail today. Scott allowed me to prepay in December for the January release of The Admiral, so, it wasn't technically an exception.
Mine has arrived, too (the stand). Here’s the united setup.

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@WThomas0814
Your new bowl is a looker! Really nice! 😀👍

I've considered to polish my standard copper CC bowl, too, but as yet the polishing bug didn't get me 😉 plenty of time left in 2025 ...

Cheers!
 
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And before I forget.
The razor, which I bought on New Year's Eve has arrived, too. A 2023 Wolfman Guerilla .69 SB.

SOTD:
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That's all to report for 2025 as far as new acquisitions are concerned (I hope so at least...). There are still some new to me items in my den which I haven't even used, so I guess I should be busy enough in course of the year.

(Silently murmeling to myself "I'm here for a reason. I will repeat: I'm here for a reson..." ;) )

PS: In!
 
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First I beheld Tabarko, and now I encounter Col. Williams. Wonders never cease.
Hi,

And I use a 50/50 mix of Carden Farms glycerine and Oster tallow. I doubt anyone else on B&B, past, present or future ever has, does or will.

The Carden Farms is a local North Carolina outfit. The Oster is something from the barber shops long ago. The CF I can pick up when needed at the NC State fair. The Oster is something I spied on eBay in 2013 before I joined my first sabbatical. There is a thread about the Oster solid puck soap and Latherservice machine that once used it.


Oddly enough a thread I made at the time.

When I cut the pucks up, one-half puck of CF and one whole puck of Oster completely fills a Old Spice mug. That then lasts several years. I won't need to buy another puck of CF for at least the next five years. Probably longer. And I still have quite a few of Oster pucks on hand.

Stan
 
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