Is this a look of sheer terror or what?
Thursday, July 31, 2008
The Scream!
Remember my Costa Rica trip? Do you recall when I mentioned that one of the girls was terrified on the Zip Line tour, but did it anyway? Well, finally I have aquired the photo of her doing the Tarzan swing. I know, I am truly a bastard for posting this….but I just had to.
Fat Bastards Are About to be Outlawed!
It’s ironic, but all the time I try to tell people that if you let the government do it they will take away your rights. Surprisingly enough, most people either don’t believe it or choose to not do anything about it. Some of them even go so far as to encourage it provided that it supports their agenda.
Recently there has been a moratorium by the LA City Council in which they are banning any new fast food restaurants. Their reasoning? Poor people eat like shit and that they must save them from themselves by restricting their choices of food. Today they can’t go so far as to tell them they can’t eat that food. They just might have to go out of the city to find it.
The fast food restaurants countered by indicating that they have some healthy stuff on their menu and that it’s not where you eat, but what you eat. I agree.
Now, I completely agree it costs less money to eat like crap than to eat healthy. I have this problem all the time – especially being on the road. But the article also failed to mention that the majority of people in the LA area are either Hispanic or black and that both of these minorities have a cultural diet laden with fatty foods.
So let’s say you ban fast food from the area. Do you think a Whole Foods Market is going to go an area that is poor and can’t afford their products? Do you see a Del Friscos moving into a crime ridden and poor community? I don’t fucking think so, Tim.
Besides, as far as I am concerned if you want to be a Hamdog eating machine, sucking down cream soda while laying waste to an entire truck full of Oreos you should be able to do that.
But think about this….if “they” can make it illegal for fast food restaurants to do business we aren’t too far off from making it illegal, or fining / taxing you, for being a fat bastard.
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
Here is an article from The Consumerist. It's a classic example of how we have screwed ourselves into the credit crisis.
The New York Times has an article that tells the unfortunate tale of Diane McLeod and her love affair with debt. She started out "debt free" when she got married, but after a divorce she'd managed to accrue $25,000 in credit card debt. Despite not having a down payment or any assets, Diane was given a $135,000 mortgage. Over the next few years, illness, underemployment, and shockingly irresponsible spending combined disastrously with the bank's willingness to refinance her loan as her home appreciated (for a fee, of course). 5 years later, Diane owes $237,000 on her mortgage. She's in foreclosure now, and a recent sheriff's auction of the home did not draw a single bidder. A similar house down the street recently sold for $84,000 less than she owes on her home.
The NYT says there is a bright spot at the end of the tunnel for Diane. She's still getting credit card offers from "Urban Bank."
I blame the banks and executives for being greedy. But! I also blame people like Diane for being morons. This complete lack of responsibility is her own fault.
The New York Times has an article that tells the unfortunate tale of Diane McLeod and her love affair with debt. She started out "debt free" when she got married, but after a divorce she'd managed to accrue $25,000 in credit card debt. Despite not having a down payment or any assets, Diane was given a $135,000 mortgage. Over the next few years, illness, underemployment, and shockingly irresponsible spending combined disastrously with the bank's willingness to refinance her loan as her home appreciated (for a fee, of course). 5 years later, Diane owes $237,000 on her mortgage. She's in foreclosure now, and a recent sheriff's auction of the home did not draw a single bidder. A similar house down the street recently sold for $84,000 less than she owes on her home.
The NYT says there is a bright spot at the end of the tunnel for Diane. She's still getting credit card offers from "Urban Bank."
I blame the banks and executives for being greedy. But! I also blame people like Diane for being morons. This complete lack of responsibility is her own fault.
Gas at the Pump
It’s sad. I went to the pump a few days ago and put $85.00 worth into my truck. The pump cut me off at that point and I still wasn’t full. I’m glad I have a motorcycle, but I wish I had more room to carry stuff on it.
Jack Daniels at the Bank!
I took my “penny jar” with me into the bank last week. I always put all the change from my pockets into the jar at the end of the day. I am the kind of person that will pick up pennies and other coins when I find them on the ground. I also get a lot of silver in there. I don’t understand why people don’t keep their coins? It’s still money and it still spends. I typically average between $175 ~ $225 when the jar is filled, which takes about 2 years.
Everyone at the bank got a kick out of my jar. It’s a ½-gallon of Jack Daniels. You can probably imagine the usual comments such as “did you have fun drinking that?” or “I sure wish I had some.” Etc. I guess people don’t do that every day.
The bank charges about $3.50 to count your coins for you. It’s not worth my time to count it all up so I dumped it in one of their bags and they send it off to the vault for counting. I’ll find out how much it was in a week or so.
Obama or McCain?
To quote a friend of mine....
"I'm truly concerned that if Obama gets elected we are all fucked. At least if McCain gets elected he'll use lube."
Sunday, July 13, 2008
Wasted Time
I added it up and between June 30th and July 12th I have an accumulative total of about 62 hours of travel time. Somehow I still managed to squeeze in a full work-week, too. It didn’t help that I was supposed to get from DFW to SJC and had a layover flight. It was delayed, and that caused me to miss the last flight out of San Diego (the connecting airport) to SJC. I had to get a hotel for the night. And yes, this is not even the same trip as the DIA fiasco I just mentioned.
Rude People
People are just rude. When I was on this last trip there was this lesbian / dyke chick and her son / daughter. I’m not sure if it was a boy or a girl for sure one way or the other. It looked like a boy, but she / he had fingernail polish on so I wasn’t sure.
We were all on the flight together and not-so-oddly enough ended up at the same car rental agency once we landed in San Jose. I was in a pretty foul mood at this point because although I had spent about 20 hours traveling my client had left me VM while I was in the air that the project was postponed. I figured I would go ahead and get the car and get something done while in CA. I needed a morale booster so I got a convertible. They had a red Mitsubishi for rent so that’s what I got.
Right before I signed the paperwork the agent next to me said “where did the red car go?” I looked up and it was the lesbian and her son / daughter standing there. We figured out that I had just swiped the red car. They had two others so I asked the lady if she really wanted the red one. She said yes. I didn’t care either way so I told the agents to give her the car and I’d take another color. The agents were a little put off by this but re-did the paperwork. I took a burnt-orange one (cooler color anyway). Through all of this the dyke-chick didn’t say one word to either myself or the agents. Not a quick thank you, not anything.
I was half tempted to tell the agent “fuck her rude ass, give me back the red one.”
We were all on the flight together and not-so-oddly enough ended up at the same car rental agency once we landed in San Jose. I was in a pretty foul mood at this point because although I had spent about 20 hours traveling my client had left me VM while I was in the air that the project was postponed. I figured I would go ahead and get the car and get something done while in CA. I needed a morale booster so I got a convertible. They had a red Mitsubishi for rent so that’s what I got.
Right before I signed the paperwork the agent next to me said “where did the red car go?” I looked up and it was the lesbian and her son / daughter standing there. We figured out that I had just swiped the red car. They had two others so I asked the lady if she really wanted the red one. She said yes. I didn’t care either way so I told the agents to give her the car and I’d take another color. The agents were a little put off by this but re-did the paperwork. I took a burnt-orange one (cooler color anyway). Through all of this the dyke-chick didn’t say one word to either myself or the agents. Not a quick thank you, not anything.
I was half tempted to tell the agent “fuck her rude ass, give me back the red one.”
Wednesday, July 09, 2008
Pissing Off The Travel Gods
I must have really rubbed someone the wrong way. All of my last few trips have been nightmares in some way, shape, form or fashion lately.
it doesn't help that the airlines are totally jacked up right now. They are overcharging, over selling flights, and implementing policies that make it more difficult to get on and off the airplane. I've heard figures that up to 90% of all flights are delayed, and I'd say based on my experiences this is true.
I was in Montana for the 4th of July weekend. I had a great time and flew home on Monday. I took a morning flight because it was the only thing I could get at a reasonable price. I hate morning flights. I hate getting up at the crack of dawn to catch a plane. Hate it. Hate it. Hate it. Some of my colleagues love it because the first flight of the day is already at the gate and ready to go.
But not mine. Nope! I get up at 5:00am and make my way to the airport to find out my flight is going to be delayed. To make it better, my connecting flight is also delayed out of DIA. I've said it a thousand times. DIA sucks. I get fucked every time I go through there, but at least I'll make my connecting flight.
And I did....mainly because it was delayed by 5.5 hours! By the time I got back into TX I had been traveling for over 12 hours. That's ridiculous when you really think about it.
And then the fun starts. I am supposed to work on some gear at my house and ship it off to China prior to catching a flight out Tuesday afternoon. You are following this right? Get home late Monday night, fly out Tuesday afternoon.
Monday morning I get up early and the gear has been ordered wrong so I need new parts. I ship it to CA where I am about to fly to so I can work on it there. I get my laundry done and my friend comes to pick me up. Before I even leave the house the flight is delayed. Give me a fucking break. And it really chaps my ass that you still have to check in "on time" or they will fuck you at the ticket counter.
Fine. Get to the airport. The flight is 1.5 hours delayed by the time they board the plane. We get on the plane, they pull out from the gate and park it while a storm comes in. WTF? WHY do they make us get on the plane and back off the gate if we have already blown the on-time-departure metric by 1.5hrs and then park us in a tin-can if they know we aren't getting off the ground?
I sit on the plane for about 45 mins. There are 40 planes stacked up in front of us but we finally get off the ground and are gone. There is no way I am making my connection in San Diego unless it was heinously late, too. And of course, it wasn't. So I missed it. Sorry, last flight out. You're fucked!
I spend the night in San Diego and go back to the airport this morning. I get on a flight that almost made it out on time. I fly to San Jose and I get off the plane and listen to my VM. My client has postponed the job I was supposed to do. 22 hours of traveling at this point, car is paid for, hotel is paid for and now I am in San Jose with a billion other things I could have been working on and they postpone while I am in the air.
What the hell did I do to piss the travel gods off so much? I have no idea, but I am going to KFC tonight and sacrificing a bucket of chicken in my hotel room with some candles. I may even smear peanut butter on myself.
it doesn't help that the airlines are totally jacked up right now. They are overcharging, over selling flights, and implementing policies that make it more difficult to get on and off the airplane. I've heard figures that up to 90% of all flights are delayed, and I'd say based on my experiences this is true.
I was in Montana for the 4th of July weekend. I had a great time and flew home on Monday. I took a morning flight because it was the only thing I could get at a reasonable price. I hate morning flights. I hate getting up at the crack of dawn to catch a plane. Hate it. Hate it. Hate it. Some of my colleagues love it because the first flight of the day is already at the gate and ready to go.
But not mine. Nope! I get up at 5:00am and make my way to the airport to find out my flight is going to be delayed. To make it better, my connecting flight is also delayed out of DIA. I've said it a thousand times. DIA sucks. I get fucked every time I go through there, but at least I'll make my connecting flight.
And I did....mainly because it was delayed by 5.5 hours! By the time I got back into TX I had been traveling for over 12 hours. That's ridiculous when you really think about it.
And then the fun starts. I am supposed to work on some gear at my house and ship it off to China prior to catching a flight out Tuesday afternoon. You are following this right? Get home late Monday night, fly out Tuesday afternoon.
Monday morning I get up early and the gear has been ordered wrong so I need new parts. I ship it to CA where I am about to fly to so I can work on it there. I get my laundry done and my friend comes to pick me up. Before I even leave the house the flight is delayed. Give me a fucking break. And it really chaps my ass that you still have to check in "on time" or they will fuck you at the ticket counter.
Fine. Get to the airport. The flight is 1.5 hours delayed by the time they board the plane. We get on the plane, they pull out from the gate and park it while a storm comes in. WTF? WHY do they make us get on the plane and back off the gate if we have already blown the on-time-departure metric by 1.5hrs and then park us in a tin-can if they know we aren't getting off the ground?
I sit on the plane for about 45 mins. There are 40 planes stacked up in front of us but we finally get off the ground and are gone. There is no way I am making my connection in San Diego unless it was heinously late, too. And of course, it wasn't. So I missed it. Sorry, last flight out. You're fucked!
I spend the night in San Diego and go back to the airport this morning. I get on a flight that almost made it out on time. I fly to San Jose and I get off the plane and listen to my VM. My client has postponed the job I was supposed to do. 22 hours of traveling at this point, car is paid for, hotel is paid for and now I am in San Jose with a billion other things I could have been working on and they postpone while I am in the air.
What the hell did I do to piss the travel gods off so much? I have no idea, but I am going to KFC tonight and sacrificing a bucket of chicken in my hotel room with some candles. I may even smear peanut butter on myself.
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