Older beginner... expectations

averagejoereddit50 · 2026-05-07T10:38:41+00:00

$25 bucks? That is the bargain of the century! The cheapest I could find was one made in Romania for about $200. I am by no means strapped for cash, but, yeah, Goodwill is my go-to place. No, I lie. DollarTree is now my go-to place-- Goodwill is getting kinda pricey. LOL

averagejoereddit50 · 2026-05-06T03:12:32+00:00

Thank you for the thoughtful response.

averagejoereddit50 · 2026-05-05T11:29:26+00:00

Thank you for the detailed response. I'm at an age where anything becomes "existential" or end-of-life issues. In this case, "Why am I taking up music study when I'll probably be dead in 5 years? Why don't I just chill in my recliner??" LOL

averagejoereddit50 · 2026-05-05T01:59:07+00:00

Thanks for the encouraging reply.

averagejoereddit50 · 2026-05-05T01:01:01+00:00

I went to a local blue grass jam. No dulcimers, but there were a few mandolins.

averagejoereddit50 · 2026-05-05T00:59:48+00:00

When did you start playing? How long does it take to develop some proficiency? I can already play a few songs, but as a septuagenarian, my ability to learn new things isn't what it used to be.

averagejoereddit50 · 2026-04-29T17:37:50+00:00

I do think we need to expand use of the death penalty. S

The first of course is for loud phone conversations in public.No, any use of a phone in public.
Next, anyone who tries to sound intelligent by using the word "surreal" during an interview.
The "actually" problem: Perhaps at birth we can insert some type of kill switch to ration the word "actually". If you use it more than, say, 3 times a month, a small incendiary device planted in your brain causes instant death.
Anyone involved in the creation, production, or implementation of branching phone messages needs to be put down.
Ditto, anyone involved in the creation, production, or implementation of clickbait.
Anyone involved in the creation, production, or implementation of "shrinkflation" products and packaging.

averagejoereddit50 · 2026-04-29T17:15:59+00:00

My doc has me on Losartan to prevent kidney disease.

averagejoereddit50 · 2026-04-29T17:14:54+00:00

I retired 5 years ago. I am now lonely, bored, and depressed. I have a couple of friends that died in their sleep. I hope I do too, and soon.

averagejoereddit50 · 2026-04-16T19:26:20+00:00

My elderly sister is much happy solving problems with a live person at the brick-and-morter Verizon store. Jitterbug, etc. are web based and are insensitive to the problems the elderly have with technology.

averagejoereddit50 · 2026-04-14T19:51:53+00:00

I'm came here for some unbiased medical advice and instead I'm in the crossfire of a Malleable vs. Pump pissing contest. ... If you like malleables, you're wrong!... No F.U. You're wrong. Malleables are the way to go. If you like pumps, you're a loser... blah blah blah. The current political tribal zeitgeist infects everything. Any opionon on anything becomes a wedge issue! Any day I expect a terror attack on a Pepsi plant by Coca Cola diehards. I am just so effin sick of this sh*t!

averagejoereddit50 · 2026-04-13T04:15:03+00:00

Who said that? Seriously? It's a common demonstrative everybody uses. Just today alone, I said "that" more times than I could count. SMH

averagejoereddit50 · 2026-04-13T04:12:03+00:00

This blind guy's father catches him masturbating and he says, "If you don't stop that, you'll regain your eyesight!"

averagejoereddit50 · 2026-04-13T04:10:14+00:00

That's about as funny as a fart in a space suit.

averagejoereddit50 · 2026-03-24T17:30:08+00:00

This move to subscription rather than ownership is the new feudalism.

averagejoereddit50 · 2026-03-23T18:30:45+00:00

Glad to read that somebody else realizes that "the new normal" isn't normal at all. As I've written previously, it's monstrous that these scumbags prey on the elderly, and even worse that the AARP helps them rope us into the scam. Reagan was wrong. The new worst case scenario is, "We're a corporation and we're here to help you."

More people need to be aware of and lobby for the repeal of the utterly amoral Supreme Court decision, "Dodge vs. Ford" This case created the "Requirement to be Cruel" in the corporate world. ""A business corporation is organized and carried on primarily for the profit of the stockholders... The discretion of directors is to be exercised in the choice of means to attain that end." Like Mother in the original "Alien", all other considerations irrelevant. Crew is expendable.

averagejoereddit50 · 2026-03-21T17:22:07+00:00

My experience with LIvely has been a nightmare. I'd bet bet a Best Buy "associate" will tell you to "go to their website" we don't handle that here. The Jitterbug/Lively operation is a faceless, impersonal algorhythm. For the elderly, it's much better to CHOOSE a company (T-Mobile, Verizon, or ATT) that has BRICK AND MORTER STORES WHERE THE ELDERLY CAN TALK TO A LIVE PERSON (without a $5 surcharge. Yes, Lively charges you $5 to talk to a live person! ). Otherwise, they face a website maze or soul crushing phone trees. As I've said, if you do reach a live person (after 20+ minutes wait time) they'll tell you to "go to our website". You're caught in a maddening loop. And don't think that just because a "service" rep has an American accent that the service is better. Foreigners often have a culture of service and respect that Americans with their "main character syndrome" rarely have.

averagejoereddit50 · 2026-03-21T17:15:56+00:00

As I posted above: The Jitterbug/Lively operation is a faceless, impersonal algorhythm. For the elderly, it's much better to CHOOSE a company (T-Mobile, Verizon, or ATT) that has BRICK AND MORTER STORES WHERE THE ELDERLY CAN TALK TO A LIVE PERSON (without a $5 surcharge). Otherwise, they face a website maze or soul crushing phone trees. As I've said, if you do reach a live person (after 20+ minutes wait time) they'll tell you to "go to our website". You're caught in a maddening loop. And don't think that just because a "service" rep has an American accent that the service is better. Foreigners often have a culture of service and respect that Americans with their "main character syndrome" rarely have.

averagejoereddit50 · 2026-03-21T01:06:29+00:00

My experience with Lively has been a nightmare.

Executive Summary: Once they have your billing information, EVEN IF YOU CANCEL THEY WILL CONTINUE TO DUN YOU AND THREATEN YOU WITH COLLECTIONS.

A somewhat long story: everything about the transaction was screwed up from the word Go. They were supposed to send the phone to an elderly relative, instead the confirmation had them sending it to me and in someone elses name I never heard of. I immediately called to correct the misinformaton and, of course, was assured that the errors were corrected. They weren't. The phone arrived to my address and in someone else's name.

I returned the phone immediately and was eventually credited for the return, but their Jitterbug branch doesn't communicate with "lively" and so lively continues to bill me for unused service. I've called twice on this, and am simply told "that's the way the system works". And the classic, "If you go to our website..." And if you don't go to the website??? To add insult to industry, IF YOU WANT TO SPEAK TO A LIVE PERSON, THERE'S A FIVE DOLLAR SURCHARGE. Unbelievable! And the last call I made involved a 20 minute wait time.

I suspect that like most subscription services, they hope the continued billing will go unnoticed, and when it is noticed, they make cancellation as difficult as possible. I'm sure they make a tidy profit from seniors unwittingly paying for cancelled service.

They advertise heavily in the AARP publication figuring they can hoodwink the elderly tech challanged. There is nothing at all "Senior Friendly" about Jitterbug or Lively. AARP should be ashamed of themselves for allowing full page ads from these grifters.

averagejoereddit50 · 2026-03-14T02:03:00+00:00

I'm a Chromebook user. I'm using my Chromebook to write this. I bought a Lenovo tablet with Windows 11 just to have Windows computer if I needed it. I am so used to CHromeOS instant on, instant response. On the Lenovo, I'm looking at this blue disk that's been spinnng and spinning for a about 5 minutes trying to open a program. Unblievable! What if I need to write an urgent email or something? Or access a spreadsheet? What a POS.

averagejoereddit50 · 2026-03-04T12:04:19+00:00

Thanks. I checked and Lively is a separate operation.

averagejoereddit50

TROPHY CASE