Buena Vista

Took a little trip up to Buena Vista CO this weekend. Ostensively, it was to visit our friends at Strange Craft Beer Company and celebrate the opening of their new “taproom” location. It’s not so much a taproom as a beer shed that shares a common outdoor space with a couple food trucks.

The trip was also a test run of longer trips with both of the dogs. Toby has taken a few long trips in the truck but had the entire back seat to himself. I was curious to see how well he and Onyx could share the space on a longer trip. The verdict: 4+ hours round-trip and nary a squabble broke out. Onyx is very high-strung so I expected his anxiety to manifest in whining and crying after a bit; however, he just laid down and napped.

The boys also had not really experienced a holiday weekend in a Colorado mountain town before, with the crowds of idiot tourists, and I was concerned about Tony’s penchant for nipping and herding of people. At first he was a bit apprehensive about the tons of people that clearly were not respecting his personal space, but he eventually calmed down and laid in the shade.

Overall, it was a successful trip and now that the summer holiday weekends are over we’ll likely head up more often.

It’s getting crowded on my “Companies That Suck” list

Roll Out the Magenta Welcome Mat: T‑Mobile Completes UScellular Deal

From MacRumors: “T-Mobile announced the acquisition back in May 2024, but it was contingent on regulatory approval. According to Reuters, the U.S. Federal Communications Commission approved the merger in mid-July after T-Mobile ended its diversity, equity, and inclusion programs.

T-Mobile sent the FCC a letter with a promise to end DEI on July 9, and the deal was approved two days later. T-Mobile said that it was eliminating its DEI-related policies “not just in name, but in substance."

According to T-Mobile, the UScellular acquisition is a “big win for customers.” Existing UScellular customers will be incorporated into the T-Mobile network. While UScellular users can keep their plans for the time being, T-Mobile will begin allowing them to the transition to T-Mobile unlimited plans “as networks and systems are integrated.”

I’m happy that last December, based soly on the fact that a single non-senior adult “MAX” wireless plan on T-Mobile cost me north of $150 per month, I took my business to US Mobile. I could not be happier with the coverage, customer service and the price: paying annually, I get the Unlimited Premium plan for $32.50 per month, with an Apple Watch device line included in that price.

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