November 16, 2005
As we pull in Ktreva spots the salesman that sold us Janine and her van. He comes over to say hello and to see how things are going. The first words out of my mouth are, “Andrew, I’m having issue with your service department, AGAIN.” He asks me to wait and he runs to get the Operations Director, Tim. Tim introduces himself and asks how I can help him.
Tim learned a valuable lesson today. Do start a conversation with an open-ended question to a customer you have been warned that is extremely unhappy. You could see the flood of information wash over him. He was swept away in the torrent of displeasure. After I finished my 10-minute dissertation that ended with the statement, “I love your sales department, Andrew is the best. But I will never buy another vehicle from this dealership because of the service department. I’ve contacted General Motors to find the next closest dealership that does warranty work, after my truck is correctly finished I will NOT step foot into this dealership again. I’m also making sure that everyone I meet knows about the problems I’ve had.”
My voice never reached the level of yelling. It didn’t need to. Being a re-enactor, I’ve learned to speak from my diaphragm so that my voice projects clearly. Everyone in that service area knew exactly what had happened and how displeased I was. Other customers were looking at my out of the corner of their eyes. Tim says to me, “Let me look into everything and give us a second chance to make everything right.” Much to his shock my response was, “This was your second chance.”
He walked over to Janine to check out the door. When he walked over to the door, he immediately noticed that it wasnÂ’t sitting properly when closed. It wasnÂ’t lining up with the rear door/front quarter panel. Plus when he opened it, it creaked again! He called over the Service Advisor, Joe, to look at it and he pointed out the problem. This actually gives me some hope that they will fix it correctly this time. IÂ’m not going to hold my breath though.
When I called yesterday, I was told they would have a rental car waiting for me when I arrived. Since I went on my lunch break, and my wife was with me, we had a limited time to get in and out. Well to make matters worse for Tim, the enterprise rental people had left and there was no car waiting for me. They called and paged the guy for 30 minutes and he still hadnÂ’t shown up. My wife was late back from lunch, so she called her supervisor to warn her. IÂ’m salary so if I take a longer lunch, thatÂ’s okay. Finally, they asked if they could just drive us to work and have Enterprise drop off a vehicle. Since Ktreva was late, I said yes.
After getting to work, I have a call from the Enterprise rent-a-car agent. They are going to pick me up after work and get me the vehicle. All I know is that IÂ’m getting a GM product. It had better not be a Chevy Aveo.
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The first being, what is with this rash of older women sleeping with teenage boys? When I was a teenager, you never heard of stuff like this. Moreover, some of these women are actually good looking ladies. CanÂ’t they find a man their age? What is the attraction of a teenage boy? It canÂ’t be the financial security or their ability to provide. Think about it. They really have nothing to offer other then awkward teenage sex. Yet these women keep picking them up! Ladies, maybe you can help me understand the mentality there. If anyone has any clue as to why a woman would do this, please fill me in.
IÂ’m not saying that when I was 15 I wouldnÂ’t want some woman using me as her sex toy. I think that is every teenage boys dream. Stuff like this just never happened when I was a kid. This is a relatively new development in the last 10-15 years. If it did happen when I was younger, then the women where much better about keeping it concealed.
The second thing that stuck out to me was this little blurb:
”Under Georgia law, teenagers may marry as long as they are at least 16 and have the permission of a parent or guardian. Those restrictions are waived, however, when a female applicant is pregnant”
OkayÂ… so if Bobby John 14 and Sally Mae 13 get it on and Sally is impregnated, they legally can marry in Georgia? ThatÂ’s how IÂ’m reading that. Is there a rash of teenage pregnancies in Georgia? IÂ’m not saying that to be mean, I really want to know. When I was in Middle and High School, I remember girls and guys talking about getting married as soon as they turned 18. (You have to be 18 in Illinois). Some of these kids were really stupid; they were even talking about having babies.
In my mind, if this was the law in Illinois, I could see some of these couples talking it over and deciding they canÂ’t wait until they where 16 to get married. They decide that since they want a baby anyway, they will have sex and get the girl pregnant. Some of you are probably thinking IÂ’m exaggerating. No, trust me, IÂ’m not. The four distinct couples I am thinking about I could see doing this. Why? In each case, the girl was pregnant by 15 because she wanted a baby!
If any of you are from Georgia and can answer the question on this law, I would appreciate it.
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Right now as I look out the window it is snowing. The lovely, cold white specks of crystallized frozen water is falling from the sky. It is slowly gathering in a fine dusting on the grass, pavement and vehicles. Ice is starting to form.
The flakes are twisting and turning as they fall to the ground.
more...
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November 15, 2005
Orriginal Post:
For those of you that have been around a while, you all know how much I love my truck. When I first bought Janine, I shared with you part of the story as to how I was able to swing the cost of this truck. It all had to do with the Lou Bachrodt Chevy dealership in Rockford Illinois. Their service department sucks in ways most foul. In March of 2004, my wife was involved in an accident. The Chevy Venture we had just bought 7 months earlier looked like it was totaled. BTW, if you are curious as to what a Chevy Venture will do to a Ford Focus, letÂ’s just say that the focus loses with injuries and the Venture my wife walked away from with out a mark. The accident was an off-centered head on.
This incident started the whole ordeal with the service department. The fixed it, we were able to pick it up in late May. When we went to get it, there were problems so we left it for them to correct. They did and a couple of days later we were happy to have our van back. After a couple of days, the ABS lights started coming on. We took it back, they said there was a problem with the assembly and replaced it. We were fine for a couple of weeks when the front wheel started making a funny knocking sound that you could feel through the floor board. We took it back they said one of the supports was bad and they replaced it. A couple of weeks later the brakes are grinding. We take it back. They say the pads and rotors are bad and need replacing. Fine, this was on one of the font wheels that needed replacing in the accident I thought. I pay for new rotors and pads. A month later, the brakes are grinding again. I take it back, and AGAIN they say the pads are bad. Every time we took it back between April and August, they would bill additional to our insurance. Why? They where the ones that didnÂ’t do it right the first time. When our insurance stopped paying, they tried to bill us. That was when I got involved with the billing process. Fortunately, my insuranceÂ’s legal department became involved and resolved the issue.
After explaining that they where just replaced, they said sometimes that happens and replaced them for free. A couple of months later the van starts making a funny knocking sound from the front passenger side. We take the van in and drop it off early in the morning. I call them to see what is going on around 1:30PM and they ask me when IÂ’m dropping it off. To say I was a bit annoyed that they lost my vehicle would be an understatement. They find it and say they canÂ’t get it to make the sound when I go back that evening.
A couple of days later the sound is worse. I make an appointment and drop it off. By 9 AM, they call me to say they can’t hear the noise, can I come and see if I can get it to make it. I leave work to go show them how to check for a noise. Upon arrival, I am greeted by my service adviser and a technician. We climb into the van and go for a drive. We aren’t out of the parking lot when I hear the noise, I turn to the tech and say, and “You do hear that right?” He apologizes for bringing me down; he doesn’t know how he missed it. Later that day I’m told the front passenger brake assembly is bad and needed replacing… Wait, wasn’t that just replaced a couple of months earlier? As well with new rotors and pads? YES IT WAS! But they did it for free… So I was okay. It was this time that I noticed they where having a sale on trucks. This got me to thinking that maybe it was time for me to get a new vehicle.
We get the van home and youÂ’ll never guess what. The same noise is there! We call the dealership and tell them we will be dropping the vehicle off on Friday. IÂ’ve finally hit that more then slightly annoyed stage. When I called, I told them that I would be dropping the vehicle off BEFORE 7 AM, as I had to be to work by 7AM. I was told by the same service advisor I had used the three previous visits, Gus Santa Olalla, that he would take care of it. When I dropped off the van, I saw all the trucks there and decided I was going to buy one that day when I picked up the van. When I got to work, I called the sales guy I liked and told him I wanted to buy a vehicle, and set up an appointment with him.
When I hadn’t heard from Gus by 2:00 PM I thought I should call to see what was going on. When I called, he said he was waiting for me to drop off the vehicle. Now I finally lost control of my anger. I explained that I had again dropped it off early that morning. When Ktreva and I had gotten there at 4:00 they had the van in the service bay, and you could tell it had not been looked at. When I went to address my concerns, with my loosely composed self, Gus seemed not to care. He was busy focusing on other issues and customers paper work and just nodding. He didn’t even look at me while I was talking. Finally, I said to him, “Do you just not care about my concerns?” He became defensive, saying he was paying attention and tried to paraphrase what I had said. At this point, I didn’t care; it was the straw that broke the camels back. I told him that I did NOT want his people working on my vehicle anymore and that I will take it somewhere else. I collected the keys and walked into the showroom to tell my sales guy that I no longer was interested in buying a vehicle from his company.
When I tell him why, he asks me to hold on and talk to the GM. That is exactly what I did. After explaining everything the GM said he was sorry, he didnÂ’t want to loose me as a customer and let him look into it while I look at the trucks. He said he would make me a good deal, and he did. ItÂ’s amazing how much anger a $12,000 discount cures. Now I didnÂ’t put this in my original tale, but the day I bought it they told me I could take it home that night. I had told them I did not want their service department touching my truck. After the paperwork was done and I was waiting with the GM, a VP and the Financing Manager the Service manager comes in and tells me he canÂ’t let me have it that night. Since it was April 1st, everyone thought he was joking.
Nope while washing the truck, one of his guys slipped and broke the driver side mirror off. It was going to take at least three days to order the part. The GM said he would take a mirror off another truck and put it on mine. (I have the fancy electric expand/retract mirrors for towing) I would be able to pick it up the next day by noon. True to their word, they called me at 10:30 and the truck was ready. They had called in some mechanics on their day off to fix it.
That was seven months ago. Why am I telling you this now? Well the dealership is up to old tricks. I took my truck in because the door wouldnÂ’t open/close properly. They told me it was a simple fix; it probably was just the striker. I told them I didnÂ’t think so, but they insisted. I left Janine with them this morning. When I went to pick her up at 3:30, I was apprehensive. They called and told me it was just the striker that needed adjusting. Fine, but I didnÂ’t think that was going to do it. When I get there, sure enough the door opened and closed just fine. I thought maybe they fixed it, so after initially refusing to sign for it until I had a chance to inspect the vehicle; I went back and signed the paperwork. It didnÂ’t cost me a dime.
All was well until I hit the road. Now it sounds like IÂ’m driving around with my door ajar. Do you know that whistling sound you get when the door isnÂ’t shut all the way or if you have, the window cracked open? That is what it sounds like, I rolled up and down the window a couple of times, and then I opened and shut the door a couple of times. Nope, it sounds open. So now, I have to take it back. IÂ’m having horrible flash backs to the van problems. How many times am I going to have to take my truck back to get it fixed? If it werenÂ’t for the fact it was warranty work IÂ’d take it elsewhere. The problem is that all the GM dealers in Rockford that would do it, are owned by the same company.
Oh, and to make matters worse, they lied to me about the problem. I have the invoice in front of me of what they did. They replaced, completely, the striker AND latch assembly. There is a “charge” for a special order. Since it is warranty work, that means either they are milking General Motors or they really did and pulled it from another vehicle and have to replace that one.
Tomorrow on my lunch, I have to take my truck back and let them work on it again. They had better prey on all that is good and holy in the world they fix it right tomorrow. If they donÂ’t, IÂ’m not sure what kind of unholy hell I will raise.
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November 14, 2005
Due to the length of this post, I put the rest in the extended entry.
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November 12, 2005
Go check out Death by Caffeine. "Pop" in your weight, select your favorite caffeinated beverage and see if you are drinking anywhere close to a lethal amount.
Man, it only takes 301 cans of Diet Mountain Dew to kill me. Good thing I barely drink it anymore!
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Between the long hours, shier exhaustion and the other responsibilities we have; we have not been able to spend more then a couple of waking hours together over the last couple of weeks. I was discussing this with one of my co-workers today and she mentioned she sees her x-husband more then that each week.
This brings me to my question; does this mean my wife and I are now legally separated? If so I need go make sure I grab her back before she realizes her newfound freedom. The last thing I need is her realizing how much better then me she could do.
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I know that Blackfive has his shirt.
Harvey has a store of his own. (Does anyone else find it amusing that the name of his shop, Bad Example Goodie Shop, makes the acronym BEGS?)
Dr. Phat Tony also has a little shop set up.
But those are the only ones that I A) know of, 2) Read 4) like.
What am I going to do with all these shirts? Well I can be blog fashionable at blogmeets. Maybe I can promote blogging while shopping in local stores. Mostly IÂ’ll probably wear them to exercise in so I donÂ’t funk up my good shirts. Hey, what do you care? After I paid for it, itÂ’s mine and I could use it to dust my furniture! You get the money either way.
If any of you out there have a little “swag” shop set up, and I missed it on your side bar, let me know.
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November 11, 2005
Normally I only shoot primitive black powder. (ThatÂ’s a flintlock to those not familiar with them). I own a couple of .22 long rifles. Okay, by a couple I mean five. But I havenÂ’t had anything else in years. Just because of the kids, my wifeÂ’s discomfort of modern firearms and no justifiable need for one. Well other then I really, really wanted one.
That changed today. While at a local sporting goods a couple months back I saw they had a .357 magnum. I asked the guy working the counter if I could look at it. I liked it, nice feel, good grip and nice balance. In all this talk of shooting, I decided I was going to buy it. Dreams sometimes just arenÂ’t meant to come true. Upon arrival at the store, they had sold it and had no more in stock. The only other .357 they had I didnÂ’t like. Reserved to not buying the handgun, I purchased some .22 rounds and my hearing protection. On my way to pick up clone, I saw another sporting goods store. Something inside me told my brain I should just stop and look. What was it going to hurt?
I walk up to the counter and they have 7 different .357s on display. Looking through the case I didn’t really see one I liked. Then, in the corner of the case in an area kind of hard to see I saw it. Not just and .357, but the .357 I had wanted since I was in College. A stainless steel Taurus 7 round .357 revolver with a 6 ½ inch barrel It weighs 40 oz and is 10 ¾ inches overall in length. I thought to myself, the last time I looked at one of these, the store was asking around $500.00 for it. That was a bit more then I wanted to drop on a revolver that day. They had it on sale for a great price $279.00.
Faster then my brain could register, I pointed to the revolver and said to the guy behind the counter, “Me buy that.” Yes, that is exactly what I said. He pulled it out, removed the trigger lock and handed it to me. It fit in my hand perfectly. Looking up, I tell the guy, “This is the one I want, I’ll take it.” (I was much more eloquent when my brain wasn’t in shock.)
Here she is:
The only problem is that due to Illinois law I canÂ’t pick it up until Monday. That means I wont have it for this weekend. The nice thing with the .357 is that if Ktreva wants to shoot it, to help her get over her fear of firearms, I can put the lighter .38 special round in it.
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Then the time came to give blood. I’m sitting in the booth while they ask me questions, check my blood pressure, and make sure my blood is good. When the nurse went to stick my finger, she asked me if I had a finger I preferred. She turned her back to get something, when she turned around, I’m holding out all ten fingers. With a smirk I respond, “One of these please.” She just laughed it off and grabbed the closest finger to prick. One of the questions they ask is, “Have you ever paid or received money for sex?” Being in such a good mood my tact switch was stuck in off and I just blurted out, “No, but if you’re offering….” She almost fell out of the chair laughing. I was her first customer of the day and she told me it’s always nice to start with someone that has a sense of humor.
When she was finished with me, and I collected my $20.00, she passed me off to the next nurse. This one was going to actually take my blood. She seemed to be in bad mood… until I came along. Everyone loves Contagion! (When it’s not work related) First question she asks me is, “Any allergies to latex?” You know where this is going, if you don’t then you must be new to this blog. “Nope, I love latex… do you have preformed or the paintable kind?” The nurse looked and gave me one of those knowing/naughty smirks. Ahhh… hit the nail on the head.
I’ve always had problems when I give blood, well not me as much as the nurses do. No, it has nothing to do with my incessant harassment! It has to do with the fact I have deep rubbery veins. They have a hard time getting them the first try. I warn the nurse about this, just as a precaution. She assures me she won’t have any problems. She grabs a needle, and is getting ready to insert it. I ask her, “Do you have a bigger needle?” She looks at me with concerns and asks if I’m nervous. With my biggest mischievous grin, I respond, “No, I just always thought bigger was better.” She started laughing… which in hind site may not be a good thing as she was about to jab a needle in my arm.
She tells me it’s okay to look away. “Nope, I like to watch.” I say dripping with double entendre. I think she almost slipped while inserting the needle when I said that. One would think that I would learn my lesson… but I don’t. The needle went in on the first try. When I remarked on how well she did, she responded with, “All you have to do is hold it gently, yet pull firmly until it straightens. Once I have you where I want you, I just slide it in.” Grinning like a schoolboy, “You have a very lucky boyfriend.” She turned a very interesting shade of red while she was laughing.
We get talking and joking about some of their worst patients. Then the machine tells her I’m done, I’ve given my pint. I try to get her to take a second pint. Telling her, “Look, I’m a big guy. I have extra blood! Hell, I’ve lost more then two pints from a minor head wound and was okay… minus the concussion.” By this time all the nurses on the bus where laughing and joking with me.
As I’m getting ready to leave, they remind me to eat something and “… drink a lot all day.” Whipping around I look at them and smart off, “Oh don’t think I won’t! Especially since you gave me permission to. Might not make my manager or wife happy, but I’m just following the nurses orders. It’s easier to get drunk after giving blood!” The nurses are rolling their eyes and giggling. Apparently, I haven’t lost that old college charm… yet.
Getting back into the office, IÂ’m still smiles and laughs. IÂ’m joking with people and just having a good time. Two of my minions speculate that the reason IÂ’m happier and nicer after I give blood is that they drain away the evil.
I just like giving blood; I like the idea that with one pint I could save up to three lives. The feeling that I did something good and helped others is satisfying. Then again, maybe itÂ’s the fact that I know my blood may be out there slowly converting others into minions of mine. Seriously though, if you havenÂ’t given blood or donÂ’t, you should look into it. It takes no more then maybe an hour out of your day, it doesnÂ’t cost you anything and you are saving lives. Plus the free cookies arenÂ’t bad.
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To all of those that have served in the past.
Through peace and war, foreign and domestic, you have always been there when your country has called.
To all of you I say Thank You.
Thank you for protecting my family, my friends and myself.
Thank you for defending my lifestyle and freedoms.
Thank you for all that you have done.
Happy VeteranÂ’s Day.
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November 10, 2005
Also, a small free paper called the Rock River Times has an easy to follow breakdown of what some of the possible abuses a government can do under home rule.
The more I read about it and the probable possible abuses that can be perpetrated legally by politicians, the more I find myself against it. IÂ’ve actually taken to publicly speaking out against it in various forums. I just hope that the other citizens of Rockford realize the dangers before they turn over their only form of checks and balances to power hungry politicians.
If you want to see the rest of my posts on Home Rule in Rockford, Illinois, Click Here.
BTW anyone that would be so kind as to assist me in spreading the word, please link to this post. If, like most people, you just search for "Home Rule Rockford" all you get is pro-home rule sites.
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Since Clone is two and a half, this is his third time having a family photo. When he was only 6 months old, he was fine. All he had to do was lay there. Since he pretty much just slept, there was no problem with him posing. I donÂ’t think anyone expects a great family photo involving a 6 month old. If they do, they never had kids.
The next year, when Clone was 18 months, we had problems. He did not want to cooperate at all. He would refuse to sit still, cry and scream. The photographer we had was a patient individual, but you could tell she was starting to be frazzled from the whole situation. None of the pictures where turning out all that good. Finally, the photographer was able to get Clone to settle down and smile on three different poses. It only took 45 minutes.
This year was the exact opposite. Clone, in a trait that is definitely not like me, loved having his picture taken. The photographer would tell him to say “cheese” and he would repeat it over and over. After the first picture, even before the photographer said anything he would start yelling out “cheese!” He sat still and did an excellent job of cooperating. He even tried to help the photographer rearrange the studio for different backdrops and poses just so he could have his picture taken again.
It was Boopie and myself that were the problems this year.
Boopie has been going through this ritual for the last 8 years, plus all the other photoÂ’s he has had taken. This year he just could not keep from looking at the stupid monitor to see what the photo would look like. Finally, the photographer would get a picture where everyone looked good, except BoopieÂ’s eyes would be glancing to the side to look at the monitor in anticipation of seeing the photo. This happened a good dozen times.
When it wasnÂ’t Boopie looking off to the monitor, it was my stupid glasses. IÂ’ve worn glasses since I was in kindergarten. Every year I had school photos, family photos, sports photos, etc. In every one, I was wearing glasses. I know how to hold my head so the flash doesnÂ’t reflect off them. Not this year, this year I had a mental meltdown. I would hold my head normally and when the flash would go off, there was a big reflection of the flash covering part of my face. We had at least four photos that would have been perfect if I had tilted my head down just a little.
The boys were great and very well behaved. I only had to get on their case once, and that was when we were trying to check out. The ladies behind the counter where having difficulties with the checkout system. It took longer to check out then to have the photo’s taken. Both boys had enough waiting and wanted to get on to other things… like dinner and playing. They started to get a little loud and rambunctious. I kept telling them to settle down. There would be a moment or two of quiet and then they would start up again. This forced me to use my “mad dad, you’re really in trouble voice”. I remember what it was like to be a boy at these photo shoots. They are boring and you just want to go do something else. Both boys were just trying to entertain themselves. That does not excuse them from being little hellions.
All in all, it was a good shoot, the boys where cooperative and well behaved on the most part, and we should have our Christmas cards in about a week!
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So the oil companies made a huge increase in earnings?
ConocoPhilips earned $3.8 billion in the third quarter, an 89 percent increase over a year earlier. But Mulva (exec for ConocoPhilips) said that represents only a 7.7 percent profit margin.***”
*** Emphasis mine.
If I did my math correctly, that is a profit margin of $292.6 million dollars. Good for them and their stockholders! Since when is it wrong to make a profit in America? I thought that was the point of our society, the ability to work hard and make money. There are accusations that there was price gauging after Katrina and Rita to make this money. The companies are claiming they raised the prices to help reduce the length of time and the severity of oil shortages. I believe it was a little bit of both. I can picture an oil exec wondering what to do with the impending shortage of oil and deciding to raise the price. When the American public continued to pay the inflated prices, they just continued to let it sore.
Over the last two and a half months, I’ve had people ask me about my nonchalant attitude towards gas prices. While others where up in arms complaining about it, I just sat back and rolled with it. When others would complain how much it cost them to fill their tanks, I would think about my next oil change. How can I be like that? Simple, if I can’t afford to pay $3.75 a gallon, then I don’t drive… as much. Remember people, my vehicle gets 12 miles to the gallon. I thought about the gas mileage when I purchased it and said to myself, “If I can’t afford the maintenance/upkeep on this vehicle, then I can’t afford to buy it.” I knew what I was walking into. Okay, I didn’t know gas would rocket over $3.00 a gallon. Not everyone thinks like that? Tough. The poor didn’t buy a new car, right, but they didn’t need that 8-cylinder gas-guzzler either.
If the gas companies can get Americans to purchase gas at $3.75 a gallon, then I say let them charge $3.80! When the price of gas rises above what a reasonable person is willing to pay, the amount of gas purchased will drop. It’s supply and demand in action. Someone needs to explain to me why this is wrong other then, “The poor can’t afford to drive.” Hey, I’m not exactly rich, both my wife and I work to eek out a living. If they can’t afford gas, then maybe they need to look into cutting expenses elsewhere, cut back on driving or maybe start carpooling.
This leads me right into the next issue I have with this whole thing:
”Some Republican and Democratic lawmakers have suggested that oil companies should funnel some of their earnings to supplement a federal program that helps low-income*** households pay heating bills”
*** Once again emphasis mine
What you talking about Willis?! First off, if the government did decide to step in and prove that capitalism is bad, instead of doing something that benefits everyone, they are going to do something that benefits only a portion of the public. ItÂ’s nice to know that the lawmakers are thinking about all of the American public. Why is it that I highly doubt that most of the profits these oil companies made came from low-income households? Actually, IÂ’m pretty sure that itÂ’s those of us that have the bigger vehicles or do a lot of driving, and continued to do so after the prices rose, that those profits stemmed from.
This is bullshit! I am taxed to pay for welfare, Medicare, social programs, and social security. Then IÂ’m basically forced to donate to charities at work. This is on top of my actually donating money freely to numerous charity organizations of my own free will. Yet, now they want to take the money that they say was wrongfully taken from me by the oil companies and instead of giving it back to me, they want to give it to someone else?
What the hell kind of restitution is that? That would be like having someone break into my house, steal my stuff and instead of my insurance paying me, they give it to the family down the street where dad hasn’t held a job for more then 3 weeks over the last 10 years. Why would they do that? “Because I have a job and can afford to buy new stuff and he is underprivileged.” That is essentially what the government is telling those that don’t qualify for these programs.
If the feds actually feel the need to do something about the oil companies, why not do something that would benefit everyone? Maybe instead of fining oil companies they should have them reduce the price at the pumps by so much over a period of time. This way those that actually paid for the profits can receive some of their “stolen” money back.
Some of you might think I’m being insensitive to the underprivileged. To those of you that believe that; I say, “Gum nudge my left testicle.” I worked hard to go to college, get an education and work my way up in a company that doesn’t appreciate anything I do… yet pays me decently. Others can do the same… and should have.
So what do you think about this whole thing? Discuss this over lunch and get back to me.
Posted by: Contagion at
12:38 PM
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November 09, 2005
1) The people in the state of Washington donÂ’t feel that I am mature enough to make my own decisions. Smokers arenÂ’t smart enough to quit and Non-smokers arenÂ’t smart enough to stay away from smokers.
2) The state of Washington is now on my list of places I never want to visit. It joins the super happy fun cities of Dallas and Fort Worth, Texas, any place in South or Central America and all third world countries.
Posted by: Contagion at
12:42 PM
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I applaud Andy Reid and the Philadelphia Eagles for the way they are handling T O. A four game suspension, including last weeks game versus Washington, and then they are planning to deactivate him for the rest of the season. By deactivating him, that prevents another team from picking him up. That also means they have to pay him for the rest of the season, outside the games he is suspended. Why would they do that? Two words: Salary Cap. With the signing bonus, if they released him now it would go all to this and next years salary cap. That more then likely would put the Eagles over the top and then they would have the penalties for it. By keeping him, yet deactivating him, itÂ’s actually cheaper on their salary cap to do it that way. Moreover, they can try to trade him to another team so they could take some of that salary cap hit after the season is over.
Personally, I like the idea just because he canÂ’t play then. He has always given me the impression of a man who only is interested in himself, fame and money. To me it seemed he would do anything to get media attention, either stupid stunts or shooting his mouth off in press conferences. Instead of relying on his talent, which to be honest he is one of the best wide receivers in the NFL, he relied on controversy to get him into the spotlight. Every time I saw a press conference involving him, I saw a man that would promote himself and slander his teammates. By taking him off the field, they have removed him almost completely from the spotlight. There will be no announcers talking about how many touchdowns he made in a game, no analysis talking about how effective he was last weekend. More importantly no pre or post game interviews. You are hitting him where it hurts the most.
Players like T O are nothing more then a cancer to their teams. Football is a team sport. Guys like this donÂ’t bring anything to the team. They actually eat away at the camaraderie, the unity, the morale and the goals of a team. Could you work with a person that continually bad mouths you, tries to grab the spotlight for themselves, and gets in your face when things donÂ’t go their way? I know I canÂ’t. The only way to get rid of a cancer like this is to cut it out. That is exactly what Andy Reid and the Eagles did. They realized this player is doing more to hurt the team then to help it. In a show of class, they decided they were not going to put up with his antics anymore. Good job guys, good job!
There are other primadonna football players out there beside TO. How I would love to see every team handle them in the same manner. That wonÂ’t happen, but it would be nice. I know that as soon as the Eagles release TO or start to trade him around, another team will pick him up.
Rumor has it that the Green Bay Packers are one of the leading contenders to work a trade for T O. IÂ’ve heard this from three different sources, none of them confirmed from a reliable source. I pray this is just a rumor and not true. Many fans would rather suffer a 5-year losing streak then to have this cancer on our team. Actually, I donÂ’t think this rumor can be true, why? Because of salary cap reasons. Green Bay just cannot afford to pay him his contract under their dangerously tight salary cap as it is.
Posted by: Contagion at
12:37 PM
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November 08, 2005
How stringent is this ban? Check this out:
“Initiative 901 would ban smoking in bars, restaurants and other indoor public sites and workplaces throughout Washington. It also would prohibit smoking within 25 feet of doors, windows or air vents of public places."
***Emphasis mine
ItÂ’s bad enough you want to take smoking away in barsÂ… but to make these poor people exercise walk what could end up being blocks in a city is just mean!
25 Feet from a door, window or air vent?!?!?! WTF? Maybe you donÂ’t smoke, but maybe you have a friend who does. You all go out for a night on the town. After a couple of drinks, your friend decides he wants a cigarette. WaitÂ… He canÂ’t smoke in here because of the law. They head outside, only to be reminded they canÂ’t just stand outside the door. They have to be 25 feet away from doors, windows (open IÂ’m assuming or it makes this scenario even worse) or air vents. Now your friend goes walking looking for somewhere to grab a cigarette. Everywhere he turns, there is a door, window or air vent. After thirty minutes, he gets irritated and lights up anyway, only to get a fine/ticket/arrested for smoking. Hopefully by now you are wondering where the hell your friend is and go to find him. Both of you end up losing a good hour out of your night because of this BS.
Maybe you’re a non-smoker and your saying: “Contagion, he should just quit smoking. This will help motivate him to quit.” To which I respond, “Why don’t you get off your high horse and quit thinking your better then other people.” Why should he have to quit? He likes smoking, he knows the risk, (Hell since the 80’s everyone knows smoking is bad for you.) why should he have to quit? Because you don’t like second hand smoke… Ahhh, well now I understand. Since you can’t stay the hell out of a bar or restaurant that allows smokers, the smokers should be punished. Got it… dumbass.
Okay, IÂ’m a smoker. I know itÂ’s bad for me, I know it is slowly killing me. I donÂ’t care. ItÂ’s my choice. Maybe I want to drink, eat red meat, smoke and die a slow happy death. I know the risks and IÂ’m a big boy, let me make the decision for myself. When other people try to take away peoples ability to smoke, it makes me want to smoke even moreÂ… Just because I know it pisses someone off!
Hey, IÂ’m afraid every time a loved one or I gets behind the wheel of a car they will be in a horrible maiming accident caused my a reckless driver. Maybe I should lobby to have cars outlawed since IÂ’m worried someone might hurt my family or me. I can disguise it as a bill to help the environment and promote safety. Okay, IÂ’m going to extremes, but I rank both scenarios as being on the same page.
I always felt it should be up to the individual business to determine if they allow smoking or not. It should not be the government dictating to the business not to allow people to smoke there. If JoeÂ’s bar doesnÂ’t allow smoking, then I donÂ’t go there, IÂ’ll go to JohnÂ’s bar that allows it. For people that donÂ’t smoke, they can go to JoeÂ’s bar. If a non-smoker wants to hang out with the smoker, one will have to compromise.
Posted as part of Breakfast.
Posted by: Contagion at
07:47 PM
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This new system has complicated the process to the point of annoyance. Now you have to go online through their very user-unfriendly system called Concur. Then you have to create an expense report AND an itinerary if you traveled. If you used your company card, you need to wait until the expenses show up in the system before you can put in for reimbursement. Once gone through all that, adding each line and correcting all the mistakes that the auto transfer system makes you can “submit” it. What they mean is that it sends an electronic signature to your manager, and then it prints a copy for you to fax to another office.
Putting it like that makes it sound not so bad, IF IT WORKED! I went to Texas October 17 through the 21st. I paid for EVERYTHING with my corporate card. The items never showed up in Concur like they where supposed to. Every time I asked someone about it, they told me, just wait it can take some time. So I waited and checked every couple of days. Yesterday I received a Bill from the Corp Card company wanting payment. When I came into work today, my charges STILL were not showing. To say I was irritated would be an understatement. When I contacted the help department, I received the same song and dance. This time however I refused to listen to them and explained; ItÂ’s been over 2 weeks and nothing has showed up, yet I have a bill to pay the card. Now someone says, well it must not have transferred, lets look at it. Sure enough, it didnÂ’t transfer properly and I have to manually transfer the charges.
Then when we first switched to this system, I was told that if you paid on your corporate card, you don’t need receipts. The system will accept what is received from the card company as proof of payment. Okay! That makes sense; they already have the charges on the card and can see from where the charge originated. Why would they need another receipt? Well once again, I was misled. Nope, if you have purchases for meals or taxi/limos/car services you still need a receipt. Now, it is looking like I’m going to be stuck with paying close to $100.00 out of my pocket, because I don’t have those receipts. I had them when I came back from my trip, but was told, “You don’t need them”. To the best of my memory, I believe I threw them out. That was AFTER I was told I didn’t need them because I used my corporate card!
Everyone that I have talked to that uses this new system hates it. They all have the same complaints and have run across the same problems, including the receipt issue. One person I talked to is still waiting for reimbursement from a trip they took back in September!
Under the old system, I would have submitted my form the day I returned and would have received payment by this Friday at the latest. With this new system, I may not get reimbursement untilÂ… ever
Posted by: Contagion at
02:01 PM
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Â…ItÂ’s a long storyÂ… a very long storyÂ… And no IÂ’m not sharing it!
Posted by: Contagion at
08:26 AM
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November 07, 2005
The question is do I nominate someone or multiples and who and why? That is a tough question, because anyone I regularly visit I feel deserves a nomination for various reasons. (Content, personality, assistance, etc) Nevertheless, IÂ’m not going to nominate everyone. However, I am going to nominate three people. Why three? Why notÂ… do I have to explain everything I do? YouÂ’re not my wife! (Unless Ktreva is reading, this and IÂ’ll explain to you later) Just chalk it up to the fact that I like the number 3.
Here I go.
First, I nominate Graumagus of Frizzen Sparks for Spades. His Retrosexual code alone warrants him a nomination. His wit, that has been turned into chain letters and even hit various media outlets, would be enough to earn such a nomination. Throw in the fact that when heÂ’s not trying to kill himself through sleep deprivation, and actually posts, heÂ’s a pretty funny guy. That locks in my vote.
Secondly, I nominate Ogre of OgreÂ’s Politics and Views for Diamonds. IÂ’m not sure if he even would want his own playing card but IÂ’m nominating him anyway. Whenever I ask him for assistance or e-mail him a question, he promptly responds and assists me. Sometimes I wonder why the hell he stays in North Carolina with all of his posts. Anyone that can put up with the Carolina political problems and all of my questions deserves a nomination. Plus as his Thrall I believe IÂ’m obligated to.
Thirdly, I nominate CalTechGirl of Not Exactly Rocket Science for Hearts. And not because she was begging for a nomination. Every time IÂ’ve asked for technical help with code or with my blog, she has stepped up and tried to assist. My side bar very easily could have said I was a Thrall of hers if Ogre hadnÂ’t beaten her to the punch. SheÂ’s even given advice on personal issues IÂ’ve posted in the past. That and if I didnÂ’t nominate one female IÂ’m sure someone would label me a sexist. (ThatÂ’s a joke CTGÂ… DonÂ’t hurt me!)
There you go my three nominees. As I said above, if I could I would nominate everyone on my side bar. A lot of you deserve it for various reasons, so please no hate mails/comments about how much I suck because I didnÂ’t nominate you. However, if you really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really want to know why I choose those three over you, go ahead and e-mail me. IÂ’ll be more then happy to lie to you! 
Myself, personallyÂ… I donÂ’t think I could qualify as the instruction card!
UPDATE: I added the suites for each person per this post over at aarons.
Posted by: Contagion at
01:08 PM
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