Just hang up
If you feel like you get more phone calls from robots than from actual humans, you’re probably right. According to a Nov. 20 press release from Whistle Out (whistleout.com), an online technology comparison service, a recent study found that the residents of New Hampshire receive a staggering number of spam calls. “New Hampshirites receive 144,221,100 robocalls annually,” the press release reported. “That’s 103 per person.” New Hampshire ranks 33rd in the number of these calls, and 12th in preventing them.
QOL score: -1
Comment: It could be worse. According to WhistleOut, “Southern states are hit the hardest by spam calling: Louisiana residents receive the most robocalls per capita (339) in the U.S., followed by Georgia (307), South Carolina (248), Alabama (248), and Arkansas (238)” It could also be better; Utah has the fewest, with 78 calls per person.
So many mice
TheNew Hampshire SPCA is up to its eyebrows in mice. As it described on its website on Nov.14, the SPCA was approached by a man in the lobby, hoping to surrender some pet mice. “The man was overwhelmed by the sheer number of mice in his possession,” the NHSPCA wrote, “initially stating he had 150 pet mice in his home. Subsequently, he clarified that he actually had 150 tanks with mice in them. Depending on the size of the tank, there may be more than a dozen in each. The mice were not separated by sex and were reproducing uncontrolled. Many of the females came to the shelter pregnant. By Tuesday morning, more mice had been born. Our current estimate is that there are an approximate 400 still at the man’s home, but we may be looking at intaking as many as 1,000 mice in total.”
QOL score: -1
Comment: A breeding pair of mice and their offspring can produce more than 5,000 mice in a year, so this is a tribble-like compounding problem for the SPCA. “Community members wishing to help are encouraged to foster, adopt or donate,” the organization wrote on its website.
Plowy McPlowface?
The New Hampshire Department of Transportation tapped the public last month to find names for its fleet of snowplows. As reported by WMUR in a Nov. 27 online story, the DOT has accepted suggestions for names from the public for one of its plows. On the DOT website, a guideline for the names said that suggestions should be unique, polite, short and politically nonpartisan. The deadline for suggestions closed on Nov. 29. The DOT will look over the suggestions, then post some of the best ones online for the public to vote on. The voting will take place between Monday, Dec.9, and Friday, Dec.13. Visit dot.nh.gov/name-plow-contest.
QOL score: +1
Comment: The WMUR story reported that “the Massachusetts Department of Transportation held a similar contest earlier this year. Some winners included Edward Blizzard-Hands, Snow-B-Wan-Kenobi and Sleet-Wood Mac.”
QOL score: 75
Net change: -1
QOL this week: 74
What’s affecting your Quality of Life here in New Hampshire?
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