? ? ?

               

                I turn 81 today (gasp!) but still have more questions than answers. Here are some of them:

--If the definition of insanity is doing the same things over and over and expecting different results, why is that the only way to accomplish some computer functions?

--Has anyone succeeded in opening one of those crease-and-tear mailers without resorting to scissors or destroying the darned things?

                --What is a bitcoin? Where can you get one? What can you buy with it? Why should anyone care?

                --Is there a more-overused word than “even”? How does it make “better” better, or “worse” worse?

                --In its Olympics coverage, as NBC ever interviewed an athlete who hasn’t survived a life-threatening illness or injury, or whose grandma hasn’t just died?

                -- Don’t you love it when a TV ad for a drug is followed by one from a “bad-drug” law firm offering to sue the maker on your behalf?

                --Why are companies that use the internet permitted to employ “privacy” agreements that are intentionally overlong and difficult to understand? Those things speak volumes about the effectiveness of our “consumer protections”.

                --How much money do companies save by having online-application systems that require a half hour of a rep’s time to walk a customer through?

                --Who are all those strangers who say they want to be my Facebook friends? Is my photo popping up on their screens and are they wondering who I am?

                --Why does anyone put anything online with the expectation that the world won’t read it?

                --Aren’t most of our best travel memories about things we blundered into rather than set out to see?

                --How can either political party face the voters after their failure to prevent drug companies from charging six-figure annual sums to families whose members suffer from rare but curable illnesses?

                --Why do people keep returning to places that have experienced multiple natural disasters? Couldn’t they just move up the road a few miles to avoid the really dangerous spots?

                --Is there a better way to stifle discussion in a public body than to strictly apply Roberts Rules of Order? I think they were devised to turn substantive issues into procedural ones.

                --Why is it that catchers, who see more pitches than any other players, have no better judgement at the plate than the others?

                --If tax-resolution firms really can settle people’s overdue tax bills for pennies on the dollar, why should anyone bother to pay in full and on time?

                --Is there greater testimony to inequality in Major League Baseball than the Oakland A’s offering 81-game season tickets starting at $871 for 2019 while a single “prime” box seat for a Chicago Cubs’ game sells for about $700?

                --I’m probably the last person to notice this, but aren’t men’s clothes a lot skimpier than they used to be? The form-fitting look isn’t a great one for some of us older guys.

                --Isn’t calling out Trump’s lies, gaffes, character defects and crimes like counting grains of sand on the beach? After a while the effort pales.

                --Is there a better sign of old age than the necessity to insure every trip?

                --Can you name a worse baseball broadcaster than Alex Rodriguez?  

                --Don’t you chuckle over those doctor’s-office phone calls telling you to come for your appointment a half-hour early when you know they won’t see you until they’re a half-hour late?

                -- Why is it that every time you get competing bids on a home-repair job you get a great disparity in estimates? It makes you wonder if they’re looking at the same job.

                --Did you see those Domino Pizza TV ads promising to fix potholes that jar its products on deliveries? Has there been a more-pointed commentary on the sorry state of municipal services in many cities?

                --What’s the big deal about losing-candidates’ concession speeches on election night? Once the votes are counted the tallies speak for themselves.

                --Does every high-class steak house in American play Frank Sinatra records?

                Just askin’.