I love stories like this because they show exactly how safe and secure Linux really is, or is not. In this case two kids hacked into Linux Mint just by doing what kids do best. LOL
https://securityaffairs.co/wordpress/11 ... -mint.html
Hacking Linux Mint
Re: Hacking Linux Mint
Now that was a phunny read. But I see it only applied to Linux Mint with the Cinnamon desktop.
I run the Mate desktop, and don't have an on-screen keyboard at all.
And I just checked my LInux Mint 19.3 and it does not have that caribo file or an on-screen keyboard either.
Must be something unique to Cinnamon?
But I think it is hilarious a couple of kids figured it out.
The patch was released to fix that problem right away, which is good.
I lost a couple of hours trying to figure out how to burn a USB stick.
Ever place I checked said use Etcher. I downloaded it, unzipped it, etc.
But it did not work in any of the ways shown, not even after I tried adding the repository and installing it that way.
Then I stumbled on another website that said how to do fast and painless USB sticks on Debian.
There is a program already installed on Debian to burn USB sticks with only a couple of clicks.
Right click on the ISO file, select Discs, and a window opens to show you where you want to burn it to. Click on the USB stick, and viola, it burns it super fast, like in seconds.
So now I can put my burned CD up on the waste CD shelf.
Old CDs come in handy for decorative purposes.
Cut them in half using a bandsaw, and you can use them like shingles on a decorative project inside, or on a dog house outside, hi hi.
I run the Mate desktop, and don't have an on-screen keyboard at all.
And I just checked my LInux Mint 19.3 and it does not have that caribo file or an on-screen keyboard either.
Must be something unique to Cinnamon?
But I think it is hilarious a couple of kids figured it out.
The patch was released to fix that problem right away, which is good.
I lost a couple of hours trying to figure out how to burn a USB stick.
Ever place I checked said use Etcher. I downloaded it, unzipped it, etc.
But it did not work in any of the ways shown, not even after I tried adding the repository and installing it that way.
Then I stumbled on another website that said how to do fast and painless USB sticks on Debian.
There is a program already installed on Debian to burn USB sticks with only a couple of clicks.
Right click on the ISO file, select Discs, and a window opens to show you where you want to burn it to. Click on the USB stick, and viola, it burns it super fast, like in seconds.
So now I can put my burned CD up on the waste CD shelf.
Old CDs come in handy for decorative purposes.
Cut them in half using a bandsaw, and you can use them like shingles on a decorative project inside, or on a dog house outside, hi hi.
Re: Hacking Linux Mint
That Linux hacking story reminded me of the old argument about putting a thousand monkeys in a room with typewriters and eventually one of them would produce Shakespearean prose. The developer explained how the overflow was activated which is by a simple press of the 'e' key at the right time. The kids were doing random keystrokes using two keyboards, and like the monkeys found the right combination. Also, from what I understand caribo is the driver for the touchscreen keyboard. If you don't have one, you can't have the other.
Etcher works better than any USB creation tooI ever tried. The glitch is that it is only so perfect in a Windows environment. Because of that I too did some searching for a Linux equivalent and found mkusb . That little program is readily available from their website and works on any Linux distro, even Debian. It does more than copy an iso or img file, which is why I like it. It has the ability to do a clean format of a USB stick. I can't tell you how many times that particular feature came in handy when I was experimenting with ESP partitions. It's about the only program I found that will prep a USB stick so thoroughly, plus I have used mkusb to prepare sticks for use in Etcher.
Etcher works better than any USB creation tooI ever tried. The glitch is that it is only so perfect in a Windows environment. Because of that I too did some searching for a Linux equivalent and found mkusb . That little program is readily available from their website and works on any Linux distro, even Debian. It does more than copy an iso or img file, which is why I like it. It has the ability to do a clean format of a USB stick. I can't tell you how many times that particular feature came in handy when I was experimenting with ESP partitions. It's about the only program I found that will prep a USB stick so thoroughly, plus I have used mkusb to prepare sticks for use in Etcher.
Re: Hacking Linux Mint
I remember that story, forget the name of what they called it though.
Well, I'm sending this message on the Silver Yogi Debian 10 Mint.
I emptied my .cache file completely, but still it was over 10 gig in my /home directory but no files other than what were on the desktop. Apparently my settings came along with it without copying other files. But I don't know for sure yet. I just installed Google Chrome, and am hoping I can find on the HD if all the older Google Chrome crapola is still needed.
All I had to do to burn a USB was click on Disks, select the ISO from my desktop, and the USB stick from places, and it burned a perfect copy.
I did have one problem during install, at the very end when it went to write grub, I thought it had hung.
So I reformatted the hard drive and gave it a second shot, once again it hung at grub.
A few online searches told me what the problem might be, but then one comment was made that I heeded.
He said just leave it go overnight if necessary if you have many OSs on other HDs.
So, I let the install get that far again, then went down to the house for two hours and when I came back, it was all done.
I spent this morning installing the programs I use, some of them no longer available.
I've not yet installed Thunderbird, but I know from the past I have to get my backup files to get it going right with all of my e-mails from various sources intact.
Now I still have to set up all the things I'll have to look up how to do them again, hi hi.
Well, I'm sending this message on the Silver Yogi Debian 10 Mint.
I emptied my .cache file completely, but still it was over 10 gig in my /home directory but no files other than what were on the desktop. Apparently my settings came along with it without copying other files. But I don't know for sure yet. I just installed Google Chrome, and am hoping I can find on the HD if all the older Google Chrome crapola is still needed.
All I had to do to burn a USB was click on Disks, select the ISO from my desktop, and the USB stick from places, and it burned a perfect copy.
I did have one problem during install, at the very end when it went to write grub, I thought it had hung.
So I reformatted the hard drive and gave it a second shot, once again it hung at grub.
A few online searches told me what the problem might be, but then one comment was made that I heeded.
He said just leave it go overnight if necessary if you have many OSs on other HDs.
So, I let the install get that far again, then went down to the house for two hours and when I came back, it was all done.
I spent this morning installing the programs I use, some of them no longer available.
I've not yet installed Thunderbird, but I know from the past I have to get my backup files to get it going right with all of my e-mails from various sources intact.
Now I still have to set up all the things I'll have to look up how to do them again, hi hi.
Re: Hacking Linux Mint
I have several choices for making bootable USB memory sticks. Etcher works exactly the way you describe pointing and clicking. But, as I say, I only use it in a Windows environment. I never tried to install it in Linux because mkusb works the same way but without the cute GUI Etcher uses. I've also had success using gparted to format USB for EFI booting. When I want to customize my partitions, that is what I use in fact. The install of the live .iso is then a manual process. Seems like a lot of trouble, and it is, but I learned how to do all these things when I tried to install some wayward Linux OS and it got stuck trying to install grub. That seems to be a common glitch in certain Linux installers. I have a way around that when the Ubuntu Ubiquity installer is used. Installs can be done without grub in those cases. Then it's just a matter of installing grub after the fact. The failure of the grub install is related to a bug in the Ubuntu line of operating systems. They don't know what to do when Ubuntu has been previously installed into the EFI partition. Thus it hangs. I'm surprised to read that you are experiencing something similar with MBR boot. At least you got it to install eventually. All I get is an error message and the install is aborted.
If I were not so lazy I would be able to send THIS to you on my ASUS tower with Linux MInt Cinnamon. That is what I installed to replace the Ubuntu I favored for so long. I have a few OS's installed here but default into Windows. If I want to live on the edge, I can boot into one of those other Linux systems also installed here. It's hard for me to see what fun you are having, although I'm not surprised to learn about the problems. All I do is wipe an existing partition, or created a new one, and do a clean install. I only use a handful of additional programs so that I don't spend a lot of time customizing the system. If it boots at all, it usually goes well.
If I were not so lazy I would be able to send THIS to you on my ASUS tower with Linux MInt Cinnamon. That is what I installed to replace the Ubuntu I favored for so long. I have a few OS's installed here but default into Windows. If I want to live on the edge, I can boot into one of those other Linux systems also installed here. It's hard for me to see what fun you are having, although I'm not surprised to learn about the problems. All I do is wipe an existing partition, or created a new one, and do a clean install. I only use a handful of additional programs so that I don't spend a lot of time customizing the system. If it boots at all, it usually goes well.
Re: Hacking Linux Mint
Here is one for you to think about.
How does one install six or more different OSs on a bootable USB Stick, so they can select which OS to install.
Are they installing something like GRUB so they can select which OS to install?
The only way I know to burn and ISO to a Stick, uses the entire stick, so 325 mb on a 32 gig stick, wastes a whole stick, hi hi.
That being said, I have Copied several iso files to save them, but they won't work until you actually burn them as an iso to another device.
Well, as I said, I let the hang sit while I ate dinner, and it finally got through the install, and am on the new Debian 10.0.7 Mate right now. After I installed some programs that were working perfectly on Debian 10.0.6, I had one that wouldn't open or run.
Did a check on-line for why, and it was several posts of different lib files I needed, but none of them were available in the repositories. Then I ran across a post that said I only need this one. Turns out it was in the repository and installing it got the program to working as it should.
I was truly amazed that ALL of my settings and everything just worked, including my e-mail files without moving them manually after the install. I guess copying only the home directory and not the other directories was enough. Made it fast and simple once grub found all the garbage on drive 2 I forgot was even in there, hi hi.
My primary external drive gave me a fit for some reason. Got the message could not mount external media, unreadable.
I just turned it off for a day, and this morning when I turned it on, it came right up, no problems. Perhaps it was still mounted on the older OS, and I didn't unmount it properly. In any case, it is working now.
I don't like the Cinnamon desktop, which is why I use Mate. I do have Linux Mint 19.3 installed on another computer, in fact it's on the new computer I bought for Debi. Seems to run like a top with Linux Mint, whereas Windows10 was like molasses in the dead of winter.
I have a lot of programs I have to run, many for business purposes, quite a few for personal use, and of course Farcebook to play Farm Town, hi hi. That's about the only game I don't really have time to play, but do so anyhow, since I've been playing it for like 10 years or longer now. Have to break up the work day somehow. I also play FreeCell and Spider almost daily also.
How does one install six or more different OSs on a bootable USB Stick, so they can select which OS to install.
Are they installing something like GRUB so they can select which OS to install?
The only way I know to burn and ISO to a Stick, uses the entire stick, so 325 mb on a 32 gig stick, wastes a whole stick, hi hi.
That being said, I have Copied several iso files to save them, but they won't work until you actually burn them as an iso to another device.
Well, as I said, I let the hang sit while I ate dinner, and it finally got through the install, and am on the new Debian 10.0.7 Mate right now. After I installed some programs that were working perfectly on Debian 10.0.6, I had one that wouldn't open or run.
Did a check on-line for why, and it was several posts of different lib files I needed, but none of them were available in the repositories. Then I ran across a post that said I only need this one. Turns out it was in the repository and installing it got the program to working as it should.
I was truly amazed that ALL of my settings and everything just worked, including my e-mail files without moving them manually after the install. I guess copying only the home directory and not the other directories was enough. Made it fast and simple once grub found all the garbage on drive 2 I forgot was even in there, hi hi.
My primary external drive gave me a fit for some reason. Got the message could not mount external media, unreadable.
I just turned it off for a day, and this morning when I turned it on, it came right up, no problems. Perhaps it was still mounted on the older OS, and I didn't unmount it properly. In any case, it is working now.
I don't like the Cinnamon desktop, which is why I use Mate. I do have Linux Mint 19.3 installed on another computer, in fact it's on the new computer I bought for Debi. Seems to run like a top with Linux Mint, whereas Windows10 was like molasses in the dead of winter.
I have a lot of programs I have to run, many for business purposes, quite a few for personal use, and of course Farcebook to play Farm Town, hi hi. That's about the only game I don't really have time to play, but do so anyhow, since I've been playing it for like 10 years or longer now. Have to break up the work day somehow. I also play FreeCell and Spider almost daily also.
Re: Hacking Linux Mint
This is how you create a multi-boot USB memory stick: https://www.pendrivelinux.com/yumi-mult ... b-creator/
Quite a while back, when I was learning how to make Linux On A Stick, several programs for making said sticks came to my attention. Rufus was the preferred method at the time, but that was only good for a single OS on a memory stick. I was hesitant to try YUMI because, well, why would you want to multi-boot from a stick? Anyway, one day I decided to put three Linux distros on a memory stick. To be honest I don't recall which three I installed, but one of them was similar to Knoppix, but it wasn't Knoppix. It was just full of utilities. To my amazement the installation went flawlessly. The OS selection menu did look a lot like Grub, but it wasn't Grub. I believe it was something written especially for YUMI (Btrfs based?). The problem, however, was that the selection menu was too good. It recognized that the third OS wasn't really an OS but a live CD with a bunch of utilities. It installed it all but put it into a sub-partition. Thus I had to click twice just to find it as a boot option. It called that menu "Tools" which is exactly what that iso was all about. But that's not where I wanted it to be installed and I could not find a way to put it in the higher tier menu. So, YUMI worked fine but didn't suit my particular fancy. LOL
rEFInd is something very similar to YUMI in that it is a bootloader manager. The advantage of rEFInd over YUMI is that the former works with both MBR and EFI, but the latter is only for MBR. The way rEFInd does it is to find every location of a bootable Linux kernel and offer to boot into it directly without the need for using the ESP version of Grub. That particular capability saved me from several disasters where Linux hijacked the MBR or ESP partition and would not allow booting in any way, shape, or form. I mentioned elsewhere that Ubuntu can be installed without installing Grub, and using rEFInd is the way you boot that up in order to install/repair Grub - if you choose to do so. Right now I abandoned Grub on this tower and only use rEFInd. Grub gets installed as a matter of course, but I don't have it as the primary boot manager. On the laptop I keep the Windows boot manager as the primary boot mechanism and have rEFInd as an option. Thus I can boot the laptop either way. Plus, when I have Linux On A Stick plugged into the lappie, its Grub overrides the default manager and the system boots from the USB instead. In effect I have three choices for a means to boot the laptop.
Sometimes I have to install the MATE desktop in order to get Linux to boot at all. It's an issue with the video card drivers that Linux hasn't perfected yet, but I must say they are getting better at it. The last install of Mint recognized my video cards, both of them, and even had the nVidia drivers in their repository. So, not only does Mint install nVidia drivers during install, it updates them as necessary as well. The HUGE improvement is that Cinnamon now works as intended and I don't have to scale down to MATE or Xfce. MATE and Cinnamon are pretty much the same as far as function goes. Cinnamon has a better interface that is more graphic intensive. I can see why it may not work on older computers.
Quite a while back, when I was learning how to make Linux On A Stick, several programs for making said sticks came to my attention. Rufus was the preferred method at the time, but that was only good for a single OS on a memory stick. I was hesitant to try YUMI because, well, why would you want to multi-boot from a stick? Anyway, one day I decided to put three Linux distros on a memory stick. To be honest I don't recall which three I installed, but one of them was similar to Knoppix, but it wasn't Knoppix. It was just full of utilities. To my amazement the installation went flawlessly. The OS selection menu did look a lot like Grub, but it wasn't Grub. I believe it was something written especially for YUMI (Btrfs based?). The problem, however, was that the selection menu was too good. It recognized that the third OS wasn't really an OS but a live CD with a bunch of utilities. It installed it all but put it into a sub-partition. Thus I had to click twice just to find it as a boot option. It called that menu "Tools" which is exactly what that iso was all about. But that's not where I wanted it to be installed and I could not find a way to put it in the higher tier menu. So, YUMI worked fine but didn't suit my particular fancy. LOL
rEFInd is something very similar to YUMI in that it is a bootloader manager. The advantage of rEFInd over YUMI is that the former works with both MBR and EFI, but the latter is only for MBR. The way rEFInd does it is to find every location of a bootable Linux kernel and offer to boot into it directly without the need for using the ESP version of Grub. That particular capability saved me from several disasters where Linux hijacked the MBR or ESP partition and would not allow booting in any way, shape, or form. I mentioned elsewhere that Ubuntu can be installed without installing Grub, and using rEFInd is the way you boot that up in order to install/repair Grub - if you choose to do so. Right now I abandoned Grub on this tower and only use rEFInd. Grub gets installed as a matter of course, but I don't have it as the primary boot manager. On the laptop I keep the Windows boot manager as the primary boot mechanism and have rEFInd as an option. Thus I can boot the laptop either way. Plus, when I have Linux On A Stick plugged into the lappie, its Grub overrides the default manager and the system boots from the USB instead. In effect I have three choices for a means to boot the laptop.
Sometimes I have to install the MATE desktop in order to get Linux to boot at all. It's an issue with the video card drivers that Linux hasn't perfected yet, but I must say they are getting better at it. The last install of Mint recognized my video cards, both of them, and even had the nVidia drivers in their repository. So, not only does Mint install nVidia drivers during install, it updates them as necessary as well. The HUGE improvement is that Cinnamon now works as intended and I don't have to scale down to MATE or Xfce. MATE and Cinnamon are pretty much the same as far as function goes. Cinnamon has a better interface that is more graphic intensive. I can see why it may not work on older computers.
Re: Hacking Linux Mint
YUMI looks very interesting, it also explains how some guys have many tools that require booting into them on one stick.
But it looks like they only have an .exe Windows file to install it. Even so, it looks like the perfect tool to do that with.
All the rest is interesting, but Yogi always figures thing out, hi hi.
I have Debian 10.6 mint on the Silver Yogi, been using it a long time now.
I installed Debian 10.7 mint on the Silver Yogi and although it works great, I found the WiFi card not recognized.
Did a little web search and found just what file to install to get it working. I don't use WiFi, but like to have it to see what neighbors reach my computer, when my own WiFi in the house won't. I now have an access point up her though.
Even so, it won't do any good if the CAT5e cable goes south on me.
I did try it in repeater mode right after I got it, and it will work if I place it in the garage by the man door to reach the router in the house.
I don't mess around with other Distro's much anymore, and when I do, like I have Linux Mint 19.3 Mate installed on another computer as it's main OS. It gets daily updates so I can see if I need to run upgrade on my other computers, hi hi.
But it looks like they only have an .exe Windows file to install it. Even so, it looks like the perfect tool to do that with.
All the rest is interesting, but Yogi always figures thing out, hi hi.
I have Debian 10.6 mint on the Silver Yogi, been using it a long time now.
I installed Debian 10.7 mint on the Silver Yogi and although it works great, I found the WiFi card not recognized.
Did a little web search and found just what file to install to get it working. I don't use WiFi, but like to have it to see what neighbors reach my computer, when my own WiFi in the house won't. I now have an access point up her though.
Even so, it won't do any good if the CAT5e cable goes south on me.
I did try it in repeater mode right after I got it, and it will work if I place it in the garage by the man door to reach the router in the house.
I don't mess around with other Distro's much anymore, and when I do, like I have Linux Mint 19.3 Mate installed on another computer as it's main OS. It gets daily updates so I can see if I need to run upgrade on my other computers, hi hi.
Re: Hacking Linux Mint
If you really want to experiment with YUMI you might want to consider creating the USB Stick on a Windows machine dedicated to that purpose. That's exactly how I make most of my Linux On A Sticks now, but I use VirtualBox instead of YUMI. WIndows is the host and it runs the VM software which in turn creates and/or runs Linux. I then remove the stick from the VM and plug it into any computer that can boot from a stick. It works slick when it works at all. LOL
My two computers default boot into Windows; Windows 7 and Windows 10. There are two additional Linux OS's installed on the Win 7 machine and likewise two other Linux OS's installed on the Win 10 machine. This is my standard setup. I have a box full of Linux On A Stick systems that I keep current but don't do much else with them. They exist solely for experimentation purposes. The Linux virtual boxes are part of my security paranoia. I'm not sure it's very effective, but I feel better knowing a bad actor has to penetrate two operating systems before they get to whatever is in my virtual box. And, I keep nothing of importance in those boxes, but they do provide some anonymity when I do financial transaction online.
YUMI is designed for the guy you call to come out and fix your broken system. He brings his laptop, of course, and a box full of USB sticks; one of which is YUMI with all the software tools on it. A lot of power can be packed into a small package that way, plus your presence on whatever system you plug into cannot be traced once you remove the stick. You might know something happened, but you won't know who, what, when, or how. LOL
My two computers default boot into Windows; Windows 7 and Windows 10. There are two additional Linux OS's installed on the Win 7 machine and likewise two other Linux OS's installed on the Win 10 machine. This is my standard setup. I have a box full of Linux On A Stick systems that I keep current but don't do much else with them. They exist solely for experimentation purposes. The Linux virtual boxes are part of my security paranoia. I'm not sure it's very effective, but I feel better knowing a bad actor has to penetrate two operating systems before they get to whatever is in my virtual box. And, I keep nothing of importance in those boxes, but they do provide some anonymity when I do financial transaction online.
YUMI is designed for the guy you call to come out and fix your broken system. He brings his laptop, of course, and a box full of USB sticks; one of which is YUMI with all the software tools on it. A lot of power can be packed into a small package that way, plus your presence on whatever system you plug into cannot be traced once you remove the stick. You might know something happened, but you won't know who, what, when, or how. LOL
Re: Hacking Linux Mint
With my luck, if I went to all that trouble, by the time I needed a utility it would have been superseded, hi hi.
I'm trying to find more things I can do to earn money, but almost all of them require my doing things that are impossible for me to do anymore. Oh well! I'll think of something some day, if'n I live that long, hi hi.
I'm trying to find more things I can do to earn money, but almost all of them require my doing things that are impossible for me to do anymore. Oh well! I'll think of something some day, if'n I live that long, hi hi.
Re: Hacking Linux Mint
There are a lot of "earn money from home" ads you must have seen. Every one that I looked into, and that was not too many, had some kind of limitation that involved you making somebody else rich. I'm thinking you would be very good at producing those ads because you have the kind of mind that can come up with great ideas out of the blue - and outside the box. I don't know how exactly you would offer consultations for ways to make money at home, but I do know you have been very successful starting up businesses in the past. A lot of people could benefit from what you know if there was a way to spread the word from your office chair.
You gave me one idea a while back which still has me thinking. Selling Linux On A Stick to high school kids would produce some small scale income using just the equipment you have at your disposal. I know there are people already doing this kind of thing, but you don't have to compete with the corporations. All you are looking for is a few extra bucks that some kids and/or their parents would be interested in spending. Now with the emphasis on working from home, I'd suspect there is some niche market for operating systems you can carry around in your pocket.
You gave me one idea a while back which still has me thinking. Selling Linux On A Stick to high school kids would produce some small scale income using just the equipment you have at your disposal. I know there are people already doing this kind of thing, but you don't have to compete with the corporations. All you are looking for is a few extra bucks that some kids and/or their parents would be interested in spending. Now with the emphasis on working from home, I'd suspect there is some niche market for operating systems you can carry around in your pocket.
Re: Hacking Linux Mint
I actually did something similar to that not to long ago.
Not ads for get rich quick schemes or cons, hi hi.
I offered pet trick training consultations, since I pulled all the info off my website and never put it back up there.
It went well for about six months, then most of the new folks sampling, only had questions about behavioral training.
When I told them I only teach them how to teach their pets how to do tricks, and that they already should be well mannered, they didn't come back with more questions.
I started to put a course together to sell, but had some serious competition out there by someone who had videos and all kinds of things. So I stopped doing it.
Everybody want's to video chat these days, and most days I can barely talk at all without hacking and coughing.
I did put together about 10 lessons, in small simple steps, and each time I talked to a person, I would put a number by their name so I knew what lesson I already sent to them. The first three lessons were free, because they were basically what they had to do to prep an animal to be ready to learn how to do tricks. I charged ten bucks for the next seven lessons and provided help if they were having a problem doing them.
The biggest problem for most folks was they did not have the patience needed to get a few tricks down pat with their pets.
You don't teach them a trick in one session, it is a series of steps, taking one small step at a time.
And what do you do with a pooch like mine who doesn't like treats, hi hi?
I used to train exotic birds to do a lot of things, and more or less burned out on it.
Which is why my parrot, although he could do many tricks, now just does a few, hi hi.
You might find this hard to believe, but I've helped at least 100 people, of not more, come up with ideas for businesses they could start on a shoestring from their kitchen table and grow from there. And I don't mean businesses I started then sold once they were profitable.
This wasn't as hard to do 20 to 30 years ago as it is today. Most younger folks and many adults don't know how to think outside the box. Much less be able to spot things that are missing from the marketplace.
Of course in today's crazy Big Business doing everything, it is almost impossible to get a product into a retail store if it is not something their chain or suppliers handle on simple computer ordering systems.
I can come up with about 20 businesses I could do off the top of my head, if I was physically able to do so.
Do you know not very many people have hobbies anymore. They are too busy with their nose buried in a cell phone.
Before I moved south, I made many different things for various hobbies of which orders came from hobby shops all around the country. Some things had to do with model railroading, other with doll houses, some with model planes, and ships, etc.
I also made Christmas ornaments sold by Venture Department Stores, and had one unique design for them to push each year.
But nearly every one I made, it wasn't long before some Chinese company would duplicate it, cheapen it, and sell them by the millions to all the rest of the stores.
I think I told you about the time I was making cedar shingles for doll houses, wallpaper, and a few other things.
The cedar shingles actually sold quite well, and I had about 30 hobby shops around the country carrying them.
Then some company came out with a whole line of different styles of shingles, packaged fancy, for about 4 times higher priced at retail than mine were, but because he had a whole line, and three of them looked just like mine, stores just began buying from them. I still had a few stores left selling mine, and because of the other company they could up the price a little more than it should have been.
MIne was packaged in a plastic bag with a folded cardboard top, fancy printed in color later on, which hung on pegboards.
Then I switched from vinyl bags to clear glassene bags which cost about double, but looked nicer with the full-color top. This helped sales a little more than I had before. I always had more shingles per bag than my competitor, but then they decided to go with small boxes, about the size of a cough drop box with 4 times more in the box than they had in bags. The box had a clear glassene front. Even so, one box was never enough to do an entire roof.
I got my foot in the door with Michael's on another product I made, so dropped making the little shingles. Sales were good so their headquarters ordered from me for all of their stores. This went on for about a year, then they decided to have a similar item made in China. It didn't work as well, nor had the quality mine did. But that ended my sales to them when their shipment came in.
OK, I've been rambling on about ancient history too long already, hi hi.
Not ads for get rich quick schemes or cons, hi hi.
I offered pet trick training consultations, since I pulled all the info off my website and never put it back up there.
It went well for about six months, then most of the new folks sampling, only had questions about behavioral training.
When I told them I only teach them how to teach their pets how to do tricks, and that they already should be well mannered, they didn't come back with more questions.
I started to put a course together to sell, but had some serious competition out there by someone who had videos and all kinds of things. So I stopped doing it.
Everybody want's to video chat these days, and most days I can barely talk at all without hacking and coughing.
I did put together about 10 lessons, in small simple steps, and each time I talked to a person, I would put a number by their name so I knew what lesson I already sent to them. The first three lessons were free, because they were basically what they had to do to prep an animal to be ready to learn how to do tricks. I charged ten bucks for the next seven lessons and provided help if they were having a problem doing them.
The biggest problem for most folks was they did not have the patience needed to get a few tricks down pat with their pets.
You don't teach them a trick in one session, it is a series of steps, taking one small step at a time.
And what do you do with a pooch like mine who doesn't like treats, hi hi?
I used to train exotic birds to do a lot of things, and more or less burned out on it.
Which is why my parrot, although he could do many tricks, now just does a few, hi hi.
You might find this hard to believe, but I've helped at least 100 people, of not more, come up with ideas for businesses they could start on a shoestring from their kitchen table and grow from there. And I don't mean businesses I started then sold once they were profitable.
This wasn't as hard to do 20 to 30 years ago as it is today. Most younger folks and many adults don't know how to think outside the box. Much less be able to spot things that are missing from the marketplace.
Of course in today's crazy Big Business doing everything, it is almost impossible to get a product into a retail store if it is not something their chain or suppliers handle on simple computer ordering systems.
I can come up with about 20 businesses I could do off the top of my head, if I was physically able to do so.
Do you know not very many people have hobbies anymore. They are too busy with their nose buried in a cell phone.
Before I moved south, I made many different things for various hobbies of which orders came from hobby shops all around the country. Some things had to do with model railroading, other with doll houses, some with model planes, and ships, etc.
I also made Christmas ornaments sold by Venture Department Stores, and had one unique design for them to push each year.
But nearly every one I made, it wasn't long before some Chinese company would duplicate it, cheapen it, and sell them by the millions to all the rest of the stores.
I think I told you about the time I was making cedar shingles for doll houses, wallpaper, and a few other things.
The cedar shingles actually sold quite well, and I had about 30 hobby shops around the country carrying them.
Then some company came out with a whole line of different styles of shingles, packaged fancy, for about 4 times higher priced at retail than mine were, but because he had a whole line, and three of them looked just like mine, stores just began buying from them. I still had a few stores left selling mine, and because of the other company they could up the price a little more than it should have been.
MIne was packaged in a plastic bag with a folded cardboard top, fancy printed in color later on, which hung on pegboards.
Then I switched from vinyl bags to clear glassene bags which cost about double, but looked nicer with the full-color top. This helped sales a little more than I had before. I always had more shingles per bag than my competitor, but then they decided to go with small boxes, about the size of a cough drop box with 4 times more in the box than they had in bags. The box had a clear glassene front. Even so, one box was never enough to do an entire roof.
I got my foot in the door with Michael's on another product I made, so dropped making the little shingles. Sales were good so their headquarters ordered from me for all of their stores. This went on for about a year, then they decided to have a similar item made in China. It didn't work as well, nor had the quality mine did. But that ended my sales to them when their shipment came in.
OK, I've been rambling on about ancient history too long already, hi hi.
Re: Hacking Linux Mint
You made a comment about wanting to do something within your means that could also generate an income. After chatting with you for so many years it has become apparent to me that you have done exactly that many times in your past. You are not just good at starting up a business, you also have a wealth of knowledge that can be shared with others who have similar ambitions. That sharing can be in many forms but probably not like what you were able to do in your past. One currently popular way of getting the word out is by creating a blog using something like Word Press. I know how you feel about that particular app, but I think you could amass a following and thus become somewhat influential. A blog would be an excellent vehicle for attracting like minded people which in turn must have some profit potential. All that can be done from the chair you are sitting in right now.
I'm really out of touch with today's generation. I don't know what interests them or how they go about amusing themselves. Your comment about them not pursuing hobbies might be true in the traditional sense, but there is still a need to fill in a lot of idle time. Many of those people with their noses stuck to their mobile devices are using high tech to pass the time that traditional hobbies used to occupy. The emphasis today is on social interaction as a way to fill idle time, but that does not take the place of alone time. Perhaps today's generation of kids are not collecting stamps, knitting sweaters, or playing moldie oldies on a 45 rpm turntable, but there are a lot of talented and smart Millennials out there if you know where to look for them. Truth be known, most of them don't want to own or run a big corporation. Many just want to save the planet from implosion. Sure, there are still air heads floating about the environment, but the kids of today are not a lot different than the kids you and I grew up with. They just have different toys.
I'm really out of touch with today's generation. I don't know what interests them or how they go about amusing themselves. Your comment about them not pursuing hobbies might be true in the traditional sense, but there is still a need to fill in a lot of idle time. Many of those people with their noses stuck to their mobile devices are using high tech to pass the time that traditional hobbies used to occupy. The emphasis today is on social interaction as a way to fill idle time, but that does not take the place of alone time. Perhaps today's generation of kids are not collecting stamps, knitting sweaters, or playing moldie oldies on a 45 rpm turntable, but there are a lot of talented and smart Millennials out there if you know where to look for them. Truth be known, most of them don't want to own or run a big corporation. Many just want to save the planet from implosion. Sure, there are still air heads floating about the environment, but the kids of today are not a lot different than the kids you and I grew up with. They just have different toys.
Re: Hacking Linux Mint
The few times I've sat down with folks, or talked to them via e-mail, even though they wanted to do something, they didn't know how, and didn't want to spend the time to learn. I'm the one who ended up doing most of the research for them, and even figuring out ways they could do it on a tight budget. I was partially paid for my time, and one fellow sent me a few bucks after he was up and running, but then I never heard from them again.
It takes a lot of hard work to get a business up and running, and it always does take some up-front money for permits and licenses, and getting your legal requirements set up properly.
I had a gal a few months ago who wanted to know what it took for her to be able to sell cupcakes she made in her kitchen.
I decided to find out for her, and once I did, she was no longer interested. Didn't matter though, she could never have passed most of the requirement necessary.
I did find out a way she could do it, by setting aside a corner of her patio room as a sterile environment. But even then, the inspections, permits, and license was too much for her to worry about. So I don't think she was all that gung ho to start with. Besides, at the quantity she wanted to produce, it would take three years before she saw the first dime of profit.
I did give her an idea though. Just make the cupcakes, use a package sealer to seal them in bags, then take them around to office buildings to sell. Even then she should have insurance and form an LLC to protect herself.
We do have a few kids around here who got together to form a shopping service for some elderly clients.
I think there are like four of them, one for each store. The stop and pick up the shopping list, then go to the store to get what the people wanted, and bring it to them. I did learn they don't go to the store until they have four orders for that store though. So some of the ways they work has changed a little. They don't run to the store and run back. You have to have your order in by Monday, for a Tuesday delivery. They do have a refrigerator and freezer at their office, and I think a couple of kids have small refrigerators in the trunk of their car, or in back of a van or SUV. Don't see how they are making money at it though. Fifteen bucks errand charge, plus 10 cents per normal item, 15 cents for refrigerated, and 20 cents for frozen items.
You know how long it takes to go grocery shopping, hi hi.
It takes a lot of hard work to get a business up and running, and it always does take some up-front money for permits and licenses, and getting your legal requirements set up properly.
I had a gal a few months ago who wanted to know what it took for her to be able to sell cupcakes she made in her kitchen.
I decided to find out for her, and once I did, she was no longer interested. Didn't matter though, she could never have passed most of the requirement necessary.
I did find out a way she could do it, by setting aside a corner of her patio room as a sterile environment. But even then, the inspections, permits, and license was too much for her to worry about. So I don't think she was all that gung ho to start with. Besides, at the quantity she wanted to produce, it would take three years before she saw the first dime of profit.
I did give her an idea though. Just make the cupcakes, use a package sealer to seal them in bags, then take them around to office buildings to sell. Even then she should have insurance and form an LLC to protect herself.
We do have a few kids around here who got together to form a shopping service for some elderly clients.
I think there are like four of them, one for each store. The stop and pick up the shopping list, then go to the store to get what the people wanted, and bring it to them. I did learn they don't go to the store until they have four orders for that store though. So some of the ways they work has changed a little. They don't run to the store and run back. You have to have your order in by Monday, for a Tuesday delivery. They do have a refrigerator and freezer at their office, and I think a couple of kids have small refrigerators in the trunk of their car, or in back of a van or SUV. Don't see how they are making money at it though. Fifteen bucks errand charge, plus 10 cents per normal item, 15 cents for refrigerated, and 20 cents for frozen items.
You know how long it takes to go grocery shopping, hi hi.
Re: Hacking Linux Mint
That's an interesting service offered by the local kids. All I have to do is go to Schnucks website, place an order, and they will deliver it. There is a fee and a time delay, but I believe that fee is waived during this pandemic. I know Target will do the same thing as does Walgreens. There probably are other stores offering home delivery as well. All of them, of course, will deliver via USPS/UPS if you don't mind paying the shipping fee. Then too, if you order enough they usually will not charge for shipping. I ordered two bottles of dish soap from Walgreens not too long ago and I could have had it delivered the same day for a fee or "free" if I waited a week for the post office to deliver it. It was something like $6 worth of soap and I don't see how they could make a profit using UPS to deliver. I have had perishable food delivered too, but the cost of doing that is outrageous. For my birthday last year my #1 daughter ordered lox and bagels from an honest to goodness New York deli. The lox were not fresh but needed to be kept cool. They shipped it all in a styrofoam box with a block of dry ice to keep the contents cool It came via FedEx overnight delivery. Had to be at least $30 shipping added on to the cost of the food. It was probably the best meal I've eaten down here in O'Fallon, but unbelievably expensive. One Christmas we received a box of Omaha frozen steaks from my wife's brother. It was the same overnight FedEx in a foam box delivery. Those Omaha steaks are over rated by they way, but it was a lovely gift none the less. Apparently you can get anything you want delivered to your door.
And, I found this opportunity to work from home which you might find of interest. Perhaps your diet won't allow for such things, but they are paying $30/hr. Check it out: https://lifehacker.com/earn-30-hour-as- ... 1846114971
And, I found this opportunity to work from home which you might find of interest. Perhaps your diet won't allow for such things, but they are paying $30/hr. Check it out: https://lifehacker.com/earn-30-hour-as- ... 1846114971
Re: Hacking Linux Mint
FWIW: Places that have a lot of deliveries get a discounted shipping price.
UPS used to back tractor trailer trailers up to my brothers loading dock for him to fill.
When business was booming, they picked up the full trailer and left an empty one every day.
Then they cut it down to every other day.
He paid the same price for every shipment going out, whether it was a big box or a little box.
He didn't have to weigh or measure any of them on the particular contract he had with them at that time.
He got both the 500 to 1000 pound per shipment discount, plus the 1,000 to 2,000 cu. ft. discount.
It didn't really matter how many packages or separate deliveries were on the truck, as long as the load was over 500 pounds and over 1,000 cu. ft. A few times he went over 2,000 cu. ft. and apparently they didn't notice because he was not billed more than his contract amount.
Walgreens has never charged me for home delivery of prescription items, probably because the insurance covers mail order drugs. But I cannot add a non-drug item to my order. Those they charge a delivery charge for, and they come via a separate delivery service, usually UPS, while drugs often come USPS.
I'm a diabetic, so have to lay off the sweets. Although I'm allowed a piece or two at bedtime, hi hi.
My late wife and I were secret restaurant evaluators for several years.
The pay sounds high, until you break down the actual amount of time spent doing the job and filling out all the paperwork.
You would not believe the number of things we had to evaluate, but most of the places we ate were upscale places too.
Some of the things on the evaluation are not even done at most restaurants. Such as a napkin placed under a cold drink, or our silverware laid out in proper order for the number of pieces of silverware. Again, most restaurants just give you a wrapped bundle of silverware, hi hi. We did those kinds of places also, but what we were evaluating really had nothing to do with the food, our job was to watch the wait staff and bus boys, etc. We got big bonuses for catching certain infractions too. Also got a policy change at a chain of restaurants after we saw something horrendous happen. A rack of glasses was stored above the ice maker, and a glass got broken an shards fell into the ice maker. That is the only instance where we notified management instantly of the infraction, and he was quick to shut down the ice maker for a complete cleaning. Then after that, the entire chain no longer stored glasses over their ice makers.
Normally, we would never approach management, because they are not supposed to know we are there. But some issues such as the one we witnessed where it could cause a major lawsuit for the chain, we were told to notify the manager of a possible hazard situation, but to do so only as a customer who noticed an event happen.
I've never liked the meats from any of the packaged meat outfits like Omaha Steaks or Colorado Prime, etc.
The most expensive gift I ever sent to someone was to my cousin The Duker, when he was stationed in Alaska.
I sent him a red ripe watermelon, and you know how much those things weigh, hi hi. Plus all the red tape of shipping a produce item across state lines, hi hi. He received it in perfect condition too!
I think I also mentioned the time I called him on the phone when he was flying SAC, which meant no one knew where he was or what he was doing, at least not that they could disclose anyhow. Back then you paid for long distance phone call by portions of a minute too, and I was on hold for a long time waiting for him to come into the hangar and be told he had a phone call waiting.
Sadly, it scared the bejesus out of him, because he instantly though one of his parent may have died, in order for someone to get through to him. When he learned all was OK we talked for about 5 minutes, then he had to get back to his plane, but could not say what he was doing at the time either. Once he was home, then he told me all about how amazing it was I tracked him down for a phone call. He basically said I did the impossible, hi hi. It helped to have a relative in a high place with the Red Cross, hi hi.
UPS used to back tractor trailer trailers up to my brothers loading dock for him to fill.
When business was booming, they picked up the full trailer and left an empty one every day.
Then they cut it down to every other day.
He paid the same price for every shipment going out, whether it was a big box or a little box.
He didn't have to weigh or measure any of them on the particular contract he had with them at that time.
He got both the 500 to 1000 pound per shipment discount, plus the 1,000 to 2,000 cu. ft. discount.
It didn't really matter how many packages or separate deliveries were on the truck, as long as the load was over 500 pounds and over 1,000 cu. ft. A few times he went over 2,000 cu. ft. and apparently they didn't notice because he was not billed more than his contract amount.
Walgreens has never charged me for home delivery of prescription items, probably because the insurance covers mail order drugs. But I cannot add a non-drug item to my order. Those they charge a delivery charge for, and they come via a separate delivery service, usually UPS, while drugs often come USPS.
I'm a diabetic, so have to lay off the sweets. Although I'm allowed a piece or two at bedtime, hi hi.
My late wife and I were secret restaurant evaluators for several years.
The pay sounds high, until you break down the actual amount of time spent doing the job and filling out all the paperwork.
You would not believe the number of things we had to evaluate, but most of the places we ate were upscale places too.
Some of the things on the evaluation are not even done at most restaurants. Such as a napkin placed under a cold drink, or our silverware laid out in proper order for the number of pieces of silverware. Again, most restaurants just give you a wrapped bundle of silverware, hi hi. We did those kinds of places also, but what we were evaluating really had nothing to do with the food, our job was to watch the wait staff and bus boys, etc. We got big bonuses for catching certain infractions too. Also got a policy change at a chain of restaurants after we saw something horrendous happen. A rack of glasses was stored above the ice maker, and a glass got broken an shards fell into the ice maker. That is the only instance where we notified management instantly of the infraction, and he was quick to shut down the ice maker for a complete cleaning. Then after that, the entire chain no longer stored glasses over their ice makers.
Normally, we would never approach management, because they are not supposed to know we are there. But some issues such as the one we witnessed where it could cause a major lawsuit for the chain, we were told to notify the manager of a possible hazard situation, but to do so only as a customer who noticed an event happen.
I've never liked the meats from any of the packaged meat outfits like Omaha Steaks or Colorado Prime, etc.
The most expensive gift I ever sent to someone was to my cousin The Duker, when he was stationed in Alaska.
I sent him a red ripe watermelon, and you know how much those things weigh, hi hi. Plus all the red tape of shipping a produce item across state lines, hi hi. He received it in perfect condition too!
I think I also mentioned the time I called him on the phone when he was flying SAC, which meant no one knew where he was or what he was doing, at least not that they could disclose anyhow. Back then you paid for long distance phone call by portions of a minute too, and I was on hold for a long time waiting for him to come into the hangar and be told he had a phone call waiting.
Sadly, it scared the bejesus out of him, because he instantly though one of his parent may have died, in order for someone to get through to him. When he learned all was OK we talked for about 5 minutes, then he had to get back to his plane, but could not say what he was doing at the time either. Once he was home, then he told me all about how amazing it was I tracked him down for a phone call. He basically said I did the impossible, hi hi. It helped to have a relative in a high place with the Red Cross, hi hi.
Re: Hacking Linux Mint
I believe the Walgreens here too will deliver prescription drugs free. The soap I got, also with free delivery, was for a limited time only and designed to be proactive regarding the pandemic. Many years ago I used to have my prescription drugs delivered by mail. I believe the company handling that at the time was bought out by Walgreens. What they are doing today might be the same thing they did twenty years ago. At the moment I prefer to order my refills on the Walgreens web site and go to the store physically to pick them up. It's a lot easier to settle any discrepancies doing it that way, plus it gives me reason to get out of the house once in a while.
I often wondered about those "secret shopper" jobs and if they were worth pursuing. It might not pay what they advertise but you do get to eat in fancy places or shop for unique food items. The best deal along those lines is when you do reviews of products. I know of a lady who has a blog and she is constantly getting free items from manufacturers for her review. It's not that simple, of course, in that she spent a lot of time establishing herself as an influencer. Once you get a certain number of people following you, a magic power descends upon you. You can do anything and say anything and get away with it free. Sounds like a political job in many respects. LOL
I often wondered about those "secret shopper" jobs and if they were worth pursuing. It might not pay what they advertise but you do get to eat in fancy places or shop for unique food items. The best deal along those lines is when you do reviews of products. I know of a lady who has a blog and she is constantly getting free items from manufacturers for her review. It's not that simple, of course, in that she spent a lot of time establishing herself as an influencer. Once you get a certain number of people following you, a magic power descends upon you. You can do anything and say anything and get away with it free. Sounds like a political job in many respects. LOL
Re: Hacking Linux Mint
That's the way I do it. I get an e-mail saying I have a script due for refill, and I can click the link which takes me to their website, and it says your reorder is now placed. OR I can go straight to the website and turn on or off automatic ordering for some things.
The only thing that drives me crazy about Walgreens is they call on the phone every few hours with the same into I got in an e-mail or on the website. And I have that part turned off, or so it says on the website button marked OFF, hi hi.
There effort of getting my scripts all available at the same time backfired on them, because the insurance companies wouldn't go along with that plan.
My late wife and I were both product evaluators and restaurant evaluators.
Doing product evaluations often required our going to a meeting place and watching a long video, sometimes several videos. We were paid 20 dollars per hour while there. Afterward, we were often given products to take home to test. Normally these were not marked other than Product A, Product B, and sometimes Product C. In most cases, you were supposed to use up all of Product A before using Product B. They say this is because you won't have the full impact of the product if you switch back and forth to do the test. Normally we would get around 30 to 100 dollars after we turned in the paperwork, and they determined whether you really tested the product or not, based on how you answered the questions. Even if they thought we might not have answered some of the questions they way they thought they should come out, we always got paid something anyhow.
Restaurant evaluations are actually the easiest and most fun to do. But whichever chain contracted for them to do the evaluation, what we were looking for could be something entirely different than what another chain is looking for.
You are normally not paid up-front and have to be able to buy the dinner and drinks on your own dime at first.
Then when you turn in the receipts, you are reimbursed your cost plus 5 to 10% extra on that part.
The whole thing is, you MUST do each of the things listed on the instructions, plus watch everything going on around you at the same time. The items on the list may be to go to their bar area first and have a drink. Then go to the rest room, then go back to the waiting area before being seated at a table. You cannot let any of your papers be seen, so you can't fill them out there. But they did give us this little 1-1/4 inch wide by 4 inch tall notepad we could conceal in our hand, but preferred we didn't use it either.
It does take some time to learn all the things they want you to observe and comment on in the questionnaires.
We were usually paid 20 bucks for each page of questions we answered. Often it was four or five pages too.
If they sent us to a restaurant that was more than 10 miles from our home, they also paid us another 20 bucks for that.
Most of the time we are not evaluating the food itself. It mostly covered the service, and did the server do all of the things that chain requests them to do.
Some of the other things we had to watch for was, for example, did a lady set her purse on a table, either before, during, or after they ate, and was the table sterilized before being set up for another customer. Not just the wash off job by the bus boy, unless you saw him using a sanitizer.
Did any server touch their face or hair. Everyone touches their face, so it is mostly if they touched their hair. Pushing your glasses back up isn't observed as an infraction, but only if they wiped their face or nose. If a server covered their mouth when they coughed, did they go to the restroom before doing anything else to wash.
Plus the usual things, like placing and empty ashtray over a used ashtray before moving it from the table. The napkin under glasses, the little disk under a coffee cup on the saucer, was anything missing from the table that should be there, etc.
During the period of time when they had smoking and non-smoking sections, was the air-flow moving away from the non-smoking section toward the smoking section. In the smoking section was there an ash tray on the table when you were seated.
Did a servers hand touch any food item on the plate they were placing in front of you.
Did a bus boy brush against any customer while moving about the restaurant.
As I said, a lot of things we had to watch out for, and comment on the forms we sent in.
Plus one of the forms had to do with server politeness, speed of doing their job, and doing it right.
Such as set down plates from the left and take from the right, at tables.
Places with booths had different methods for each chain. But the key thing was a server never passed a plate close to a customer. They were supposed to pass it down the center of the table and set it in front of the customer, no right left there.
Many customers in booths, even in the most fancy of places, will stack there plates near the serving end of the table, hi hi.
As I said in a previous post. It took longer to fill out all the paperwork after you got home, so you could easily have 4 hours tied up for each evaluation you did. If you were good, you made around 20 bucks per hour and had your food cost reimbursed with a little extra there too.
Many servers, bus boys, and others, got a bonus if they were considered shopped by us with an excellent review.
This included the greeters, and those who sat us as well. We had to comment on each person who had something to do with our dining experience.
As an aside: When we were doing product evaluations, sometimes we didn't have a meeting to attend first. They would just send a product and asked us to give it a try. We got a whole case of Kool Aid soda pop, which never went to market, that stuff was horrible. We also got an entire case of toilet paper, of which we never thought would sell, because of the suggested retail price of the product. It was like Charmin at almost twice the price. I do think it did come out though, but I don't remember the name, heck it could have been Charmin, hi hi.
For another company I tested some small tools, gave every one a bad report, so they quit sending me stuff, hi hi.
Some of them had such poor designs to them, they were nearly impossible to use properly.
I carry a Leatherman Tool, and have now for over 50 years.
Some of the tools they had me try were similar to Leatherman Tools.
One of them was so bad it would destroy your pocket in under a week, sharp bulging edges, etc.
A pair of anvil cutters for tree branches and flower stems. I think the stuff from China was of a better quality.
This thing kept bending so was out of alignment even on small twigs. Horrible tool, and the blade didn't hit in the same place on the anvil each time you squeezed it. Flimsy metal, weak spring, slippery handles, really bad.
Somebody tried to copy a screwdriver like the Fiskar muti-drive tool. Now it had a comfortable grip, the tool tips stuck out of the handle just like on Fiskar's, but they would not lock into the head. Only a magnet inside the head held them in place, so they would often stay on the screw you just used them on. The drivers themselves looked like the kind you buy at the store today, but the head they went into must have been cheap pot metal. It broke off the shaft on around the tenth wood screw I was tightening on our deck.
All in all I think they sent about six small tools for me to try, and since they were all garbage and got a bad review from me, they quit sending them to me, hi hi.
The only thing that drives me crazy about Walgreens is they call on the phone every few hours with the same into I got in an e-mail or on the website. And I have that part turned off, or so it says on the website button marked OFF, hi hi.
There effort of getting my scripts all available at the same time backfired on them, because the insurance companies wouldn't go along with that plan.
My late wife and I were both product evaluators and restaurant evaluators.
Doing product evaluations often required our going to a meeting place and watching a long video, sometimes several videos. We were paid 20 dollars per hour while there. Afterward, we were often given products to take home to test. Normally these were not marked other than Product A, Product B, and sometimes Product C. In most cases, you were supposed to use up all of Product A before using Product B. They say this is because you won't have the full impact of the product if you switch back and forth to do the test. Normally we would get around 30 to 100 dollars after we turned in the paperwork, and they determined whether you really tested the product or not, based on how you answered the questions. Even if they thought we might not have answered some of the questions they way they thought they should come out, we always got paid something anyhow.
Restaurant evaluations are actually the easiest and most fun to do. But whichever chain contracted for them to do the evaluation, what we were looking for could be something entirely different than what another chain is looking for.
You are normally not paid up-front and have to be able to buy the dinner and drinks on your own dime at first.
Then when you turn in the receipts, you are reimbursed your cost plus 5 to 10% extra on that part.
The whole thing is, you MUST do each of the things listed on the instructions, plus watch everything going on around you at the same time. The items on the list may be to go to their bar area first and have a drink. Then go to the rest room, then go back to the waiting area before being seated at a table. You cannot let any of your papers be seen, so you can't fill them out there. But they did give us this little 1-1/4 inch wide by 4 inch tall notepad we could conceal in our hand, but preferred we didn't use it either.
It does take some time to learn all the things they want you to observe and comment on in the questionnaires.
We were usually paid 20 bucks for each page of questions we answered. Often it was four or five pages too.
If they sent us to a restaurant that was more than 10 miles from our home, they also paid us another 20 bucks for that.
Most of the time we are not evaluating the food itself. It mostly covered the service, and did the server do all of the things that chain requests them to do.
Some of the other things we had to watch for was, for example, did a lady set her purse on a table, either before, during, or after they ate, and was the table sterilized before being set up for another customer. Not just the wash off job by the bus boy, unless you saw him using a sanitizer.
Did any server touch their face or hair. Everyone touches their face, so it is mostly if they touched their hair. Pushing your glasses back up isn't observed as an infraction, but only if they wiped their face or nose. If a server covered their mouth when they coughed, did they go to the restroom before doing anything else to wash.
Plus the usual things, like placing and empty ashtray over a used ashtray before moving it from the table. The napkin under glasses, the little disk under a coffee cup on the saucer, was anything missing from the table that should be there, etc.
During the period of time when they had smoking and non-smoking sections, was the air-flow moving away from the non-smoking section toward the smoking section. In the smoking section was there an ash tray on the table when you were seated.
Did a servers hand touch any food item on the plate they were placing in front of you.
Did a bus boy brush against any customer while moving about the restaurant.
As I said, a lot of things we had to watch out for, and comment on the forms we sent in.
Plus one of the forms had to do with server politeness, speed of doing their job, and doing it right.
Such as set down plates from the left and take from the right, at tables.
Places with booths had different methods for each chain. But the key thing was a server never passed a plate close to a customer. They were supposed to pass it down the center of the table and set it in front of the customer, no right left there.
Many customers in booths, even in the most fancy of places, will stack there plates near the serving end of the table, hi hi.
As I said in a previous post. It took longer to fill out all the paperwork after you got home, so you could easily have 4 hours tied up for each evaluation you did. If you were good, you made around 20 bucks per hour and had your food cost reimbursed with a little extra there too.
Many servers, bus boys, and others, got a bonus if they were considered shopped by us with an excellent review.
This included the greeters, and those who sat us as well. We had to comment on each person who had something to do with our dining experience.
As an aside: When we were doing product evaluations, sometimes we didn't have a meeting to attend first. They would just send a product and asked us to give it a try. We got a whole case of Kool Aid soda pop, which never went to market, that stuff was horrible. We also got an entire case of toilet paper, of which we never thought would sell, because of the suggested retail price of the product. It was like Charmin at almost twice the price. I do think it did come out though, but I don't remember the name, heck it could have been Charmin, hi hi.
For another company I tested some small tools, gave every one a bad report, so they quit sending me stuff, hi hi.
Some of them had such poor designs to them, they were nearly impossible to use properly.
I carry a Leatherman Tool, and have now for over 50 years.
Some of the tools they had me try were similar to Leatherman Tools.
One of them was so bad it would destroy your pocket in under a week, sharp bulging edges, etc.
A pair of anvil cutters for tree branches and flower stems. I think the stuff from China was of a better quality.
This thing kept bending so was out of alignment even on small twigs. Horrible tool, and the blade didn't hit in the same place on the anvil each time you squeezed it. Flimsy metal, weak spring, slippery handles, really bad.
Somebody tried to copy a screwdriver like the Fiskar muti-drive tool. Now it had a comfortable grip, the tool tips stuck out of the handle just like on Fiskar's, but they would not lock into the head. Only a magnet inside the head held them in place, so they would often stay on the screw you just used them on. The drivers themselves looked like the kind you buy at the store today, but the head they went into must have been cheap pot metal. It broke off the shaft on around the tenth wood screw I was tightening on our deck.
All in all I think they sent about six small tools for me to try, and since they were all garbage and got a bad review from me, they quit sending them to me, hi hi.
Re: Hacking Linux Mint
I've only dealt with CVS and Walgreens down here in O'Fallon. Back in Illinois there was a Jewel/Osco chain of stores that I favored. I had all my prescriptions filled there because they had their act together. Down here the pharmacists seem to be unaware of such things as company web sites. As you have experienced, the instructions I give on the website are invisible and unknown to the people in the store. I point this out to them frequently and all I get back is a shrug. I'm dealing with Walgreens these days due to insurance requirements, but CVS was the same way. My answer to all this miscommunications is to ignore every communication from the pharmacy. I can't ignore the phone calls but they get an earful each time. That doesn't help because each call is made by a different person and they don't record my complaints or pass on any pertinent information I give them. That is why I prefer to order online and pick up in person. If they can't get it right using the website they offer, I'll just stand there and wait until they give me what I want. 
Those restaurant evaluations sound like a PIA. However, taking notes as you go along would not be a problem in 2021 if you owned and used a smartphone. Everybody is clicking their phone while the food is being prepared and the staff would never know if you are writing about them or chatting with your cousin in Paducah. Filling out the forms when you came home would still be a challenge. But, like any job, doing these evaluations have to be something you like to do in order for it to be worthwhile. The compensation is only part of the experience.
Those restaurant evaluations sound like a PIA. However, taking notes as you go along would not be a problem in 2021 if you owned and used a smartphone. Everybody is clicking their phone while the food is being prepared and the staff would never know if you are writing about them or chatting with your cousin in Paducah. Filling out the forms when you came home would still be a challenge. But, like any job, doing these evaluations have to be something you like to do in order for it to be worthwhile. The compensation is only part of the experience.
Re: Hacking Linux Mint
You are definitely right about the left hand not knowing what the right hand is doing.
What kills me is I will get an e-mail saying my prescription is ready.
Then ten minutes later a phone call saying there was a delay in order, they are fighting with the insurance company over it.
Ten minutes after that I will get another phone call saying my prescription is ready.
I go up there to pick it up and it is not ready yet.
That is why I started having them deliver those that don't require a signature, hi hi.
I could never have afforded to eat at many of the restaurants I was sent to evaluate.
Even though we did have to pay for the meal at the time, we always got that refunded within a day or two.
I also never knew Selber's Catering also had a small private high-dollar restaurant either.
They never advertised it, but the place was packed with super rich folks, hi hi.
Good thing we dressed up as best we could for that one, or we would have really been out of place there, hi hi.
Made us wonder why they would use an evaluation service, since they were not a chain.
But in our checklist was a couple of very odd things to watch for.
Apparently they were trying to catch a thief on their wait staff.
So we watched every waiter, and all were pristine in their job.
We saw no funny business at all going on by any of them.
About two or three weeks later, we heard a waiter at Selber's was arrested for selling drugs to patrons.
When they brought your change to your table, you got this bag of mints in the change tray.
If I was smart, I would have caught that some folks got two or three bags, but probably wouldn't have thought anything of it at the time. I was looking for a thief, not a drug pusher, hi hi.
What kills me is I will get an e-mail saying my prescription is ready.
Then ten minutes later a phone call saying there was a delay in order, they are fighting with the insurance company over it.
Ten minutes after that I will get another phone call saying my prescription is ready.
I go up there to pick it up and it is not ready yet.
That is why I started having them deliver those that don't require a signature, hi hi.
I could never have afforded to eat at many of the restaurants I was sent to evaluate.
Even though we did have to pay for the meal at the time, we always got that refunded within a day or two.
I also never knew Selber's Catering also had a small private high-dollar restaurant either.
They never advertised it, but the place was packed with super rich folks, hi hi.
Good thing we dressed up as best we could for that one, or we would have really been out of place there, hi hi.
Made us wonder why they would use an evaluation service, since they were not a chain.
But in our checklist was a couple of very odd things to watch for.
Apparently they were trying to catch a thief on their wait staff.
So we watched every waiter, and all were pristine in their job.
We saw no funny business at all going on by any of them.
About two or three weeks later, we heard a waiter at Selber's was arrested for selling drugs to patrons.
When they brought your change to your table, you got this bag of mints in the change tray.
If I was smart, I would have caught that some folks got two or three bags, but probably wouldn't have thought anything of it at the time. I was looking for a thief, not a drug pusher, hi hi.