Shiny Headlights

 A few days ago I shined my yellowed opaque headlight covers.  They're plastic, like so many things are on the exterior (and interior) of a car.

Scratched up too.

I cleaned them off then applied PlastX to a scrubber spunge and rubbed them down.  I did this twice on each headlight, wiping it off after each scrub job.   After that, I applied Turtle Wax, let it glaze over dry, then polished off.  So far so good.

Yesterday afternoon turned beautiful.  I'd received my second plug in device from my car insurance company.  I plugged it in, packaged up the old one to send back, and took a 20 minute drive.  I thought once I got back I'd have that email from insurance company "Good job.  You plugged in the new device."  I didn't.

The first one worked on my end, beeping when it should beep, lights on it were on.  But apparently it never communicated (via cell tower) with the company.  I kept getting alerts that I hadn't plugged in my device when I had it plugged in.  My insurance company had doubled my rates without even telling me they were going to do that when I've never had an accident or ticket.   I had called them and asked for an explanation and a cheaper rate.  Well this was their solution.  Plug in this device, you get a discount.  Only the device never worked.  At least it never communicated with them that it was working.  It seemed to work on my end.  So they said they'd send a replacement device.

I fear this second one will be the same.  The first one pissed me off royal.  It triggered all those emails about me not plugging it in, when I had, so I'd call them up, tell  them yes its plugged in......like my insurance company is my new clingy friend, the one you want to ditch.  And maybe its a scam anyhow.  Offer a discount if you plug it in, but they don't really work, they try to blame me somehow, tell me to send the device back, lose discount, pay even higher price for nothing.  That's what I started thinking last night.

My neighbor got the app type driving monitor, also when trying to find a cheaper rate.  She said she turned it off because of the constant alerts and beeps from her phone.  They're extremely intrusive.  Hey insurance companies, we're out here just trying to survive, with high gas prices, high everything and you insurance companies raising rates like crazy.  So nice your execs have yachts and second homes.  Please don't be jerking us around for sport on the side.  I don't know that my insurance company execs actually are that rich to have yachts and second homes.   I have a resentment to the ultra rich and their manipulative control freak tactics on us peons and their control over politics too.

I think its funny sometimes that conservatives howl about socialism and call health care insurance socialism but fail to see that car insurance is certainly socialism.  Good drivers paying the price for bad drivers.   The insurance roles are full of both good and bad drivers.

Here's what AI says about car insurance and socialism:

• Arguments Against It Being Socialism:
  • Not Socialized Means of Production: True socialism involves state ownership of the means of production (e.g., government-run car repair facilities and insurance companies). Private insurance is not state-owned.
  • Risk-Based Pricing: Unlike socialist distribution (based on need), insurance premiums are tailored to individual risk—higher risks pay more.
  • Profit-Driven: Insurance companies are private, for-profit entities, not public services.
• Arguments Linking It to Socialist Principles:
  • Pooling Risk: It involves a collective pooling of resources, similar to social insurance programs.
  • Mandated Coverage: Government-mandated insurance can be seen as a "social construct" to ensure collective safety, where all drivers contribute to cover the costs of accidents for a few.
  • "Privatized Socialism": Some consider it a hybrid—a private system using socialistic methods to spread costs. 

Trailer park lady with my drop trap caught an unusually marked male, we'd hoped to get for awhile.  He's extremely hormonal.   He is black but has white flecks and streaks in spots.  After she caught him, she covered the drop trap and called  me to come transfer him out.  I did.  She had a couple 2x4's atop the dark brown blanket covering the drop trap along with a small potted plant between them.  "Aw," I remarked, "how decorative." 

I got him transferred into a live trap.  Calling him Splotch.  I first met him at the park when he suddenly jumped up onto my car hood, before he realized someone was in the car and took off.

Splotch makes an appearance

Caught last night

Some of Splotch's unusual white 

Cloudy day again.  Not fair since we had some hours of sun yesterday.  Made me sun giddy.  But then there's today.  Up and down.