I just want to go "big"
Some interesting rules here
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
Saturday, December 27, 2008
I Want to make DORODANGO
OK maybe I am getting carried away. Still looks like a fun way to kill a day. Learn more here.
Amtrak police arrest photographer participating in Amtrak photo contest
All I can say is WOW. We really are living in a police state.
Armed with his Canon 5D and his new Lensbaby lens, photographer Duane Kerzic was out to win Amtrak’s annual photo contest this week, hoping to win $1,000 in travel vouchers and have his photo published in Amtrak’s annual calendar.
He ended up getting arrested by Amtrak police; handcuffed to wall in a holding cell inside New York City’s Penn Station, accused of criminal trespass.
Kerciz says he was hardly trespassing because he was taking photos from the train platform; the same one used by thousands of commuters everyday to step on and off the train.
“The only reason they arrested me was because I refused to delete my images,” Kerzic said in a phone interview with Photography is Not a Crime on Friday.
“They never asked me to leave, they never mentioned anything about trespassing until after I was handcuffed in the holding cell.”
In fact, he said, the only thing they told him before handcuffing him was that “it was illegal to take photos of the trains.”
Obviously, there is a lack of communication between Amtrak’s marketing department, which promotes the annual contest, called Picture Our Trains, and its police department, which has a history of harassing photographers for photographing these same trains.
Not much different than the JetBlue incident from earlier this year where JetBlue flight attendants had a woman arrested for refusing to delete a video she filmed in flight while the JetBlue marketing department hosted a contest encouraging passengers to take photos in flight.
While the Amtrak contest page does state that trespassers are subject to arrest and fines, it also states that contestants must also stay in the “public access areas”, which describes the train platform because how else are passengers going to board the train?
Full story here
Armed with his Canon 5D and his new Lensbaby lens, photographer Duane Kerzic was out to win Amtrak’s annual photo contest this week, hoping to win $1,000 in travel vouchers and have his photo published in Amtrak’s annual calendar.
He ended up getting arrested by Amtrak police; handcuffed to wall in a holding cell inside New York City’s Penn Station, accused of criminal trespass.
Kerciz says he was hardly trespassing because he was taking photos from the train platform; the same one used by thousands of commuters everyday to step on and off the train.
“The only reason they arrested me was because I refused to delete my images,” Kerzic said in a phone interview with Photography is Not a Crime on Friday.
“They never asked me to leave, they never mentioned anything about trespassing until after I was handcuffed in the holding cell.”
In fact, he said, the only thing they told him before handcuffing him was that “it was illegal to take photos of the trains.”
Obviously, there is a lack of communication between Amtrak’s marketing department, which promotes the annual contest, called Picture Our Trains, and its police department, which has a history of harassing photographers for photographing these same trains.
Not much different than the JetBlue incident from earlier this year where JetBlue flight attendants had a woman arrested for refusing to delete a video she filmed in flight while the JetBlue marketing department hosted a contest encouraging passengers to take photos in flight.
While the Amtrak contest page does state that trespassers are subject to arrest and fines, it also states that contestants must also stay in the “public access areas”, which describes the train platform because how else are passengers going to board the train?
Full story here
AIG REVENGE
Made me feel a little better about the financial bailout. Go here for a fun little game.
Well It's not Christmas but I still want to add this to my list
Pretty cool Zuca Luggage thing here.
Friday, December 26, 2008
Thursday, December 25, 2008
Wednesday, December 24, 2008
Pension Funds Collapse: The End of Retirement?
Get ready folks, it's getting bumpy
Unless things change fast, human history will show that the phenomenon of "retirement" was limited to one generation. After World War II, when European and Japanese economies stood in tatters, American capitalism could fulfill "the American dream," since there was little foreign competition to speak of. For the first time ever, workers were promised that -- after working thirty or so years -- they would be able to securely retire. That was largely the case ... for one generation.
The second generation is having a devastating reality check. 2008 was supposed to be a watershed year for retirement: it was the first year that the baby-boomers turned 62, and the retirement frenzy was to begin (since people could begin to draw on their social security benefits). Early in the year, however, a study was conducted that found one-fourth of these boomers were delaying retirement (only the baby-boomers who were actually able to plan for retirement were studied). The economy has since nosedived, and many more retirements are being delayed. The unfortunate reality is that many who planned on retiring will work until the grave, joining the millions of other baby-boomers who never had such dreams.
The experts are calling this the "perfect storm" for retirement. Everything that could go wrong is in fact going wrong. This storm, however, was not created by supernatural forces, but the coordinated effort of big-business and their puppet politicians.
The deliberate destruction of the pension and its replacement by the 401(k) was, of course, a giant step towards attacking retirement; but now that the economic crisis has emerged, we're beginning to see just how ruinous the effects are.
At the end of September, just as the crisis was beginning to gain steam, it was discovered that in the previous year the value of stocks in 401(k) accounts had fallen by nearly $2 trillion! Much more has been lost since then. This is especially devastating since almost one-third of 401(k) participants in their 60s had 80 percent of their money in stocks (pension funds have been similarly destroyed).
The 401(k) was the scheme of the century. Corporations offloaded their "burdensome" pensions and used the combined forces of the media and politicians to sell the ruse to the public, to the great benefit of Wall Street. Workers were told that the boom-slump cycle was over, and that stocks were a sure thing. There were additional factors to invest in stocks: interest rates were so low that investing in bonds and other less-risky instruments offered only tiny returns; and since employers stopped contributing to retirement funds, a bigger return was required.
More importantly, corporations have been driving down real wages since the seventies, allowing less money to be saved for retirement, creating a mood of desperation.
Every "safe bet" for investing has been proven unsafe; the recession has left nothing untouched. After the dotcom bubble burst -- taking with it millions of people's 401(k) savings -- the housing market became the place to invest. Now the safest possible investment, too, has turned sour. For millions of people, the home they lived in was their nest egg, which they had planned to sell and move into a smaller place. No more.
Rep. Robert Andrews (D-NJ), who chairs the House subcommittee on health, employment, labor and pensions, put it bluntly: "Some will have very little, some will have almost nothing, and some will have nothing when they retire". Of course, people who "have nothing" do not retire.
This process is being accelerated by the newest trick of big business: declaring bankruptcy to destroy "pension obligations". These obligations apply with equal weight to workers already retired, many of whom are seeing their pensions slashed in half, forcing them out of retirement.
Now even the threat of bankruptcy is constantly used in union contract negotiations to scare workers into concessions, since after achieving bankruptcy, labor agreements are torn up. The threat of closing the company's doors is a very effective form of intimidation.
This phenomenon is at the center of the GM debate. The corporate politicians in congress cannot decide whether to appoint a "Car Tsar" to oversee the destruction of the autoworkers pensions, or use the proven method of bankruptcy. Not a day goes by that the corporate media doesn't join hands to assail the pension and health care benefits of the "spoiled" GM workers. The hypocrisy is sickening.
This after the UAW had already agreed to the most shameful concessions in 2007. Although concessions are often made in the name of "job security," the result is that corporations become emboldened by such acts. Eventually, every benefit of workers that contradicts company profit will be targeted. The demand for concessions never stops, and soon the point arrives when the benefits of having a union become questioned, since dues money is not paid with concessions in mind.
The autoworkers struggle is at the forefront of the pension battle nationwide, since their struggles in the 1930's originally paved the way for pensions. Equally important is the pension struggles emerging with public employees, the last stronghold of workers who receive them. Public employees will find their pensions under immense attack as the economic crisis intensifies, and government budgets are depleted (see "State Budget Crisis Deepens" on this site).
Fighting the corporate strategy of bankruptcy and business closures is an immediate need of working people. This tactic will increase in number as the crisis deepens and companies strive to "restore profitability" by drastically lowering wages. If a company attempts such a criminal act, the workers should demand a bailout for themselves; the government should take over the plant so that the workers can keep their jobs, such as was done for the banks. Management must be sacked and instead of a government bureaucrat, the workers themselves should run the business.
To win this program, new levels of organizing and solidarity are needed, such as the example of the United Electrical Workers, who occupied their factory and organized in a brilliant fashion. They won a stunning victory by utilizing the methods of the original autoworkers struggles from the 1930's. If a fight is to be waged, it must be done seriously and with determination, uniting both retired and active workers. The UEW workers have shown the way forward for the labor movement, which can no longer rely on union concessions or the promises of Democratic politicians, but only their own collective strength.
Original story here
Unless things change fast, human history will show that the phenomenon of "retirement" was limited to one generation. After World War II, when European and Japanese economies stood in tatters, American capitalism could fulfill "the American dream," since there was little foreign competition to speak of. For the first time ever, workers were promised that -- after working thirty or so years -- they would be able to securely retire. That was largely the case ... for one generation.
The second generation is having a devastating reality check. 2008 was supposed to be a watershed year for retirement: it was the first year that the baby-boomers turned 62, and the retirement frenzy was to begin (since people could begin to draw on their social security benefits). Early in the year, however, a study was conducted that found one-fourth of these boomers were delaying retirement (only the baby-boomers who were actually able to plan for retirement were studied). The economy has since nosedived, and many more retirements are being delayed. The unfortunate reality is that many who planned on retiring will work until the grave, joining the millions of other baby-boomers who never had such dreams.
The experts are calling this the "perfect storm" for retirement. Everything that could go wrong is in fact going wrong. This storm, however, was not created by supernatural forces, but the coordinated effort of big-business and their puppet politicians.
The deliberate destruction of the pension and its replacement by the 401(k) was, of course, a giant step towards attacking retirement; but now that the economic crisis has emerged, we're beginning to see just how ruinous the effects are.
At the end of September, just as the crisis was beginning to gain steam, it was discovered that in the previous year the value of stocks in 401(k) accounts had fallen by nearly $2 trillion! Much more has been lost since then. This is especially devastating since almost one-third of 401(k) participants in their 60s had 80 percent of their money in stocks (pension funds have been similarly destroyed).
The 401(k) was the scheme of the century. Corporations offloaded their "burdensome" pensions and used the combined forces of the media and politicians to sell the ruse to the public, to the great benefit of Wall Street. Workers were told that the boom-slump cycle was over, and that stocks were a sure thing. There were additional factors to invest in stocks: interest rates were so low that investing in bonds and other less-risky instruments offered only tiny returns; and since employers stopped contributing to retirement funds, a bigger return was required.
More importantly, corporations have been driving down real wages since the seventies, allowing less money to be saved for retirement, creating a mood of desperation.
Every "safe bet" for investing has been proven unsafe; the recession has left nothing untouched. After the dotcom bubble burst -- taking with it millions of people's 401(k) savings -- the housing market became the place to invest. Now the safest possible investment, too, has turned sour. For millions of people, the home they lived in was their nest egg, which they had planned to sell and move into a smaller place. No more.
Rep. Robert Andrews (D-NJ), who chairs the House subcommittee on health, employment, labor and pensions, put it bluntly: "Some will have very little, some will have almost nothing, and some will have nothing when they retire". Of course, people who "have nothing" do not retire.
This process is being accelerated by the newest trick of big business: declaring bankruptcy to destroy "pension obligations". These obligations apply with equal weight to workers already retired, many of whom are seeing their pensions slashed in half, forcing them out of retirement.
Now even the threat of bankruptcy is constantly used in union contract negotiations to scare workers into concessions, since after achieving bankruptcy, labor agreements are torn up. The threat of closing the company's doors is a very effective form of intimidation.
This phenomenon is at the center of the GM debate. The corporate politicians in congress cannot decide whether to appoint a "Car Tsar" to oversee the destruction of the autoworkers pensions, or use the proven method of bankruptcy. Not a day goes by that the corporate media doesn't join hands to assail the pension and health care benefits of the "spoiled" GM workers. The hypocrisy is sickening.
This after the UAW had already agreed to the most shameful concessions in 2007. Although concessions are often made in the name of "job security," the result is that corporations become emboldened by such acts. Eventually, every benefit of workers that contradicts company profit will be targeted. The demand for concessions never stops, and soon the point arrives when the benefits of having a union become questioned, since dues money is not paid with concessions in mind.
The autoworkers struggle is at the forefront of the pension battle nationwide, since their struggles in the 1930's originally paved the way for pensions. Equally important is the pension struggles emerging with public employees, the last stronghold of workers who receive them. Public employees will find their pensions under immense attack as the economic crisis intensifies, and government budgets are depleted (see "State Budget Crisis Deepens" on this site).
Fighting the corporate strategy of bankruptcy and business closures is an immediate need of working people. This tactic will increase in number as the crisis deepens and companies strive to "restore profitability" by drastically lowering wages. If a company attempts such a criminal act, the workers should demand a bailout for themselves; the government should take over the plant so that the workers can keep their jobs, such as was done for the banks. Management must be sacked and instead of a government bureaucrat, the workers themselves should run the business.
To win this program, new levels of organizing and solidarity are needed, such as the example of the United Electrical Workers, who occupied their factory and organized in a brilliant fashion. They won a stunning victory by utilizing the methods of the original autoworkers struggles from the 1930's. If a fight is to be waged, it must be done seriously and with determination, uniting both retired and active workers. The UEW workers have shown the way forward for the labor movement, which can no longer rely on union concessions or the promises of Democratic politicians, but only their own collective strength.
Original story here
Well I Guess I Can't Travel to Detroit
Just another case of our country spiraling out of control and more of our freedoms vanishing before our eyes.
Being Annoying Now Illegal In Brighton
BRIGHTON, Mich. -- Since when did being annoying become a crime? Since Brighton City Council approved a public conduct code Monday night, which includes fining someone up to $500 for being annoying.
One section of the bill reads, "It shall be unlawful for a person to engage in a course of conduct or repeatedly commit acts that alarm or seriously annoy another person and that serve no legitimate purpose."
The bill also states it's unlawful for anyone to insult, accost, molest or otherwise annoy any person in public.
The ordinance was modeled after one in Royal Oak, where the Brighton police chief previously worked.
The Livingston Daily Press & Argus reported that two council members expressed concerns for the language of the ordinance, but voted for it anyway.
Brighton officials said the ordinance would be subjective and the call will be made by police officers.
The amended ordinance takes effect Jan. 17, 2009.
Original story here
Being Annoying Now Illegal In Brighton
BRIGHTON, Mich. -- Since when did being annoying become a crime? Since Brighton City Council approved a public conduct code Monday night, which includes fining someone up to $500 for being annoying.
One section of the bill reads, "It shall be unlawful for a person to engage in a course of conduct or repeatedly commit acts that alarm or seriously annoy another person and that serve no legitimate purpose."
The bill also states it's unlawful for anyone to insult, accost, molest or otherwise annoy any person in public.
The ordinance was modeled after one in Royal Oak, where the Brighton police chief previously worked.
The Livingston Daily Press & Argus reported that two council members expressed concerns for the language of the ordinance, but voted for it anyway.
Brighton officials said the ordinance would be subjective and the call will be made by police officers.
The amended ordinance takes effect Jan. 17, 2009.
Original story here
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
SoCal Woman Stuck on Tracks Called 911 Before Death
In all seriousness, if you find yourself stuck on a track anywhere at any time, the first thing to do is get to a safe distance, THEN call 911!.
Full Story here
Full Story here
Monday, December 22, 2008
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
CP Rail Cuts 600 Union Jobs
More good news on the industry. From the UP site
Canadian Pacific Railway is cutting 600 union jobs, restricting air travel and suspending bonuses in a bid to weather the recession, reports the Globe and Mail citing an internal company message.
In the message to staff, CP Chief Executive Fred Green said the "coming months will not be easy ones." He said his goal is to get the "franchise back on track" by focusing on "containing costs on all fronts, in tough ways," the newspaper reported, noting Green held a town hall meeting with staff on Dec. 16.
In addition to cutting 600 jobs from its workforce of 16,000 and restricting business travel, CP also is doing away with "flex days" for office staff, the newspaper said.
Canadian Pacific Railway is cutting 600 union jobs, restricting air travel and suspending bonuses in a bid to weather the recession, reports the Globe and Mail citing an internal company message.
In the message to staff, CP Chief Executive Fred Green said the "coming months will not be easy ones." He said his goal is to get the "franchise back on track" by focusing on "containing costs on all fronts, in tough ways," the newspaper reported, noting Green held a town hall meeting with staff on Dec. 16.
In addition to cutting 600 jobs from its workforce of 16,000 and restricting business travel, CP also is doing away with "flex days" for office staff, the newspaper said.
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
St. Louis aldermen avoid red-light camera fines
ST. LOUIS — When the push to install red-light cameras came to City Hall in 2005, the Board of Aldermen enthusiastically backed the plan as a boon to public safety.
But now, three years later, aldermen have themselves been caught on tape — and some have avoided the $100 fine.
In total, at least eight St. Louis aldermen have been sent camera citations, about a quarter of the board. The lead sponsor of the camera legislation went months without paying $500 in fines until questioned about it recently. Two other aldermen got their citations dismissed under ambiguous circumstances.
Full Story here by St Louis Post Dispatch
But now, three years later, aldermen have themselves been caught on tape — and some have avoided the $100 fine.
In total, at least eight St. Louis aldermen have been sent camera citations, about a quarter of the board. The lead sponsor of the camera legislation went months without paying $500 in fines until questioned about it recently. Two other aldermen got their citations dismissed under ambiguous circumstances.
Full Story here by St Louis Post Dispatch
Monday, December 15, 2008
Obama to arrive in Washington by train !
Cool story about how President Elect Obama and Vice President Elect Biden will be travelling by train to Washington.
Story here
Story here
Sunday, December 14, 2008
Well That's Not Going to Help ME!!
I can say that I am now affected directly by our failing economy. I have recently joined the ranks of the unemployed with the layoff of over 100 of my fellow trainmen here in St. Louis. Little article from the UP follows.
Transportation Companies Prepare for Bleak '09
Some industry executives and analysts predict that 2009 could be the worst year for freight-transportation volume in three decades or more, reports The Wall Street Journal.
Ocean freighters are docking vessels and putting off delivery of new ships. Rail car production is expected to plummet as railroads put boxcars in storage, rather than buy new ones. And U.S. trucking companies are projected to buy just 101,000 tractor trailers next year, down an estimated 22 percent from this year and 64 percent from two years ago, according to freight transportation forecaster FTR Associates.
The drop comes as weak consumer spending has prompted retailers and other businesses to delay or reduce orders. As the carriers have responded, their retrenchment already has reverberated across various industries that heavily rely on haulers to transport supplies and raw materials, including U.S. automakers and home builders.
Several truck manufacturers, such as Daimler Trucks North American and Kenworth Trucking Co., are closing facilities, severely cutting back production or laying off employees.
The picture is similar on the rails. U.S. railroad carload volume dropped 10 percent last month from a year earlier, the biggest drop since the Association of American Railroads began tracking such data in 1997. Norfolk Southern Corp. plans to cut costs by reducing the number of trains it operates, laying off workers and parking some rail cars, says Chief Executive Charles W. Moorman, citing the industry's weakness last month.
For ocean shipping lines, the global downturn is particularly brutal. The lines have been slashing prices in the face of plummeting demand. Maersk Line, the world's largest ocean shipper by volume, plans to lay up eight vessels because of declining freight volume.
Not everyone in the freight-hauling industry is quite so gloomy, however. Ray Kuntz, the chief executive of Watkins Shepard Trucking Inc., says he expects business to improve in the second half of 2009 for stronger trucking firms who will pick up business as weaker competitors shut down.
Transportation Companies Prepare for Bleak '09
Some industry executives and analysts predict that 2009 could be the worst year for freight-transportation volume in three decades or more, reports The Wall Street Journal.
Ocean freighters are docking vessels and putting off delivery of new ships. Rail car production is expected to plummet as railroads put boxcars in storage, rather than buy new ones. And U.S. trucking companies are projected to buy just 101,000 tractor trailers next year, down an estimated 22 percent from this year and 64 percent from two years ago, according to freight transportation forecaster FTR Associates.
The drop comes as weak consumer spending has prompted retailers and other businesses to delay or reduce orders. As the carriers have responded, their retrenchment already has reverberated across various industries that heavily rely on haulers to transport supplies and raw materials, including U.S. automakers and home builders.
Several truck manufacturers, such as Daimler Trucks North American and Kenworth Trucking Co., are closing facilities, severely cutting back production or laying off employees.
The picture is similar on the rails. U.S. railroad carload volume dropped 10 percent last month from a year earlier, the biggest drop since the Association of American Railroads began tracking such data in 1997. Norfolk Southern Corp. plans to cut costs by reducing the number of trains it operates, laying off workers and parking some rail cars, says Chief Executive Charles W. Moorman, citing the industry's weakness last month.
For ocean shipping lines, the global downturn is particularly brutal. The lines have been slashing prices in the face of plummeting demand. Maersk Line, the world's largest ocean shipper by volume, plans to lay up eight vessels because of declining freight volume.
Not everyone in the freight-hauling industry is quite so gloomy, however. Ray Kuntz, the chief executive of Watkins Shepard Trucking Inc., says he expects business to improve in the second half of 2009 for stronger trucking firms who will pick up business as weaker competitors shut down.
Saturday, December 13, 2008
Protest in RI turns violent
Obviously, I don't know the whole story, but my guess is soon we will lose the right to assemble in public.
Full story with more pics here
Things we could do with all the bailout money
1. Eradicate homelessness in America and buy a $857,000 home for every homeless American. $3 trillion/3500000=$857,000. BUY A MANSION FOR EVERY HOMELESS PERSON.
2. Poverty in America could be eliminated for years. In 2007, there were 37.3 million people in poverty which ends up being about $80,000 per person if the 3 trillion were distributed evenly. According to the Census Bureau, poverty for a family of one is about $11,000. Assuming every person is a family of one, we would eliminate all poverty in the US for about SEVEN YEARS. NO POVERTY IN AMERICA FOR SEVEN YEARS!
3. Make every person in the state of North Dakota a MULTI millionaire (and I vote that I would get an extra few million for coming up with the idea)
4. Buy 446 McDonalds double cheeseburgers off of the $1 menu for every single 6,725,792,474 humans on this planet. BUY MORE THAN 1 CHEESEBURGER EVERY DAY FOR EVERY PERSON FOR A YEAR
5. Pay off about all credit card debt in the US, UK and Australia. PAY ALMOST ALL CREDIT CARD DEBT
6. Find a cure for whatever George Bush has.
Plus 20 more here
2. Poverty in America could be eliminated for years. In 2007, there were 37.3 million people in poverty which ends up being about $80,000 per person if the 3 trillion were distributed evenly. According to the Census Bureau, poverty for a family of one is about $11,000. Assuming every person is a family of one, we would eliminate all poverty in the US for about SEVEN YEARS. NO POVERTY IN AMERICA FOR SEVEN YEARS!
3. Make every person in the state of North Dakota a MULTI millionaire (and I vote that I would get an extra few million for coming up with the idea)
4. Buy 446 McDonalds double cheeseburgers off of the $1 menu for every single 6,725,792,474 humans on this planet. BUY MORE THAN 1 CHEESEBURGER EVERY DAY FOR EVERY PERSON FOR A YEAR
5. Pay off about all credit card debt in the US, UK and Australia. PAY ALMOST ALL CREDIT CARD DEBT
6. Find a cure for whatever George Bush has.
Plus 20 more here
Jay Leno on the Auto Bailout
I think we should bail them out. To me it’s like class warfare. The white-collar guys get a bailout and the blue-collar guys don’t? That’s crazy. You know, I’d rather help a guy with a wrench in his hand than some guy sitting in front of a keyboard.
Very appropriate article in Popular Mechanics here
Very appropriate article in Popular Mechanics here
Thursday, December 11, 2008
Top Gear Reviews the Ford Fiesta
I've said before if they would build a really great small car the rest would fall into place. Looks like they may have pulled it off. Too bad we have to wait 2 more years for it.
Monday, December 8, 2008
Sunday, December 7, 2008
Rail freight company EWS is to axe 530 jobs
This is in the UK but definitely happening here too. Story here.
More on the Big three Bailout
Barney-Frank yells at Ford CEO
video here
Seems really harsh and goes back to what I believe that people are using their dislike for the typical "used car salesman" and applying it to an entire industry. Just seems very disrespectful. Don't misunderstand the big three do fall short on some things. OK alot of things.
Case in point, if you're gonna show off your new state of the art electric car. Maybe consider putting some damn hubcaps on the turd.
What a complete DOUCHE
Cocky jerk trying to fight a speeding ticket. Must watch to the end for the big payoff.
Originally found at you guessed it Jalopnik.com
Originally found at you guessed it Jalopnik.com
Saturday, December 6, 2008
The Wiggles Puppets
I had almost forgot about these guys. I cannot begin to count the hours I watched these guys with my son when he was younger. We even went and saw them perform "LIVE". That was so much fun (for my son).
Great Argument FOR the big THREE
This is important stuff that no one seems to care about. Everyone seems to want the car companies to fail because they may have had a bad experience with one. If you think the car companies sold you a lemon, fine, but you are very naive to think the banking industry has done you any favors. At least the car makers build "something". One of the last actual "things" built in this country. I'm afraid it is too late and people will hand over everything left of this country to the banks and big government.
Friday, December 5, 2008
Funny little Post about Costco or Sam's Club
If you've ever shopped at either of these stores you can relate to this story found at Greg.org.
So we go to Costco for lunch and formula Friday, my dad, the kids and I, and it's a flatscreen frenzy. Like Rodney King-grade looting frenzy; every cart has a flatscreen and a bale of toilet paper, and I'm like, I have a flatscreen I don't even watch, and yet I want another one. I couldn't fit that box in the car, and I still want one. My dad and his wife bought the biggest flatscreen in the Triangle last spring, and I can see he wants one, too.
The kid's sitting in the cart, and she sees a guy carrying a 19" flatscreen, and she goes, "Look! He has a tiny one!" and the guy looks at her, looks at the box--I'm not making this up, my dad told me; he was investigating the flatscreen aisle while I was in the bathroom--and goes and puts it back, and picks up a 23" flatscreen.
So I go over to the palettes of Vizio 37" and 42" screens, and they are indeed rather low-priced: like $599. And so I turn to the guy with two 42's in his cart who's helping a woman put a 37 in her cart, "What's going on?" And he's all, "I've got two." "But is there a special?" And he rustles through a Costco mailer of some kind, trying to show me the $100 off while supplies last! coupon, and he finally just says, "It's another $100 off today," and points at the $599 sign, "so it's like $400!"
Seriously not needing anymore flatscreens, and being of such an age and technological sophistication that I only buy flatscreens that pass the, "But how does it look if I drop 250,000 rubber balls down a San Francisco hill?" test, I decide I'm not going to spend a thousand dollars on three flatscreens from Kirkland or whoever, we go buy an entire office partyful of Brie instead, a 550g wheel which, embarrassingly, is almost gone not 4.5 days later.
But here's the thing about buying a 3lb jar of Skippy [1] peanut butter. No one has a knife long enough to reach the bottom, and you can't just toss it out and open the other 3lb jar it was shrinkwrapped together with, because a) there's like a depression or something in the news, b) why go all the way to Costco to save 50 cents on a year's supply of peanut butter if you're just going to toss it, and c) in fact, that blob down there is actually like half a regular jar from the deli; it only looks like a small amount because it's at the bottom of a peanut butter bucket.
Wait, so the knife. No knife that can reach the bottom, so you have to stick your hand in there, and you get peanut butter all over your knuckles, because it's not like you are actually going to get a rubber spatula out--you're not baking a cake here, just making a breakfast snack--to make a freaking PBJ, which you've already psyched yourself into, so you don't want to screw it and open the microwave-sized box stuffed with the pillow-sized bags of Honey Nut Cheerios instead. And now that you think about it--i.e., right after you centrifuge and shake and coax the last splurge out--why don't they have squeezable half-gallon size bottles of Welch's grape jelly? Not that you have any room in the fridge, unless you finally get rid of that almost-full gallon of lingonberry juice concentrate, like you'd ever be away from Ikea long enough to actually develop a lingonberry jones.
So we go to Costco for lunch and formula Friday, my dad, the kids and I, and it's a flatscreen frenzy. Like Rodney King-grade looting frenzy; every cart has a flatscreen and a bale of toilet paper, and I'm like, I have a flatscreen I don't even watch, and yet I want another one. I couldn't fit that box in the car, and I still want one. My dad and his wife bought the biggest flatscreen in the Triangle last spring, and I can see he wants one, too.
The kid's sitting in the cart, and she sees a guy carrying a 19" flatscreen, and she goes, "Look! He has a tiny one!" and the guy looks at her, looks at the box--I'm not making this up, my dad told me; he was investigating the flatscreen aisle while I was in the bathroom--and goes and puts it back, and picks up a 23" flatscreen.
So I go over to the palettes of Vizio 37" and 42" screens, and they are indeed rather low-priced: like $599. And so I turn to the guy with two 42's in his cart who's helping a woman put a 37 in her cart, "What's going on?" And he's all, "I've got two." "But is there a special?" And he rustles through a Costco mailer of some kind, trying to show me the $100 off while supplies last! coupon, and he finally just says, "It's another $100 off today," and points at the $599 sign, "so it's like $400!"
Seriously not needing anymore flatscreens, and being of such an age and technological sophistication that I only buy flatscreens that pass the, "But how does it look if I drop 250,000 rubber balls down a San Francisco hill?" test, I decide I'm not going to spend a thousand dollars on three flatscreens from Kirkland or whoever, we go buy an entire office partyful of Brie instead, a 550g wheel which, embarrassingly, is almost gone not 4.5 days later.
But here's the thing about buying a 3lb jar of Skippy [1] peanut butter. No one has a knife long enough to reach the bottom, and you can't just toss it out and open the other 3lb jar it was shrinkwrapped together with, because a) there's like a depression or something in the news, b) why go all the way to Costco to save 50 cents on a year's supply of peanut butter if you're just going to toss it, and c) in fact, that blob down there is actually like half a regular jar from the deli; it only looks like a small amount because it's at the bottom of a peanut butter bucket.
Wait, so the knife. No knife that can reach the bottom, so you have to stick your hand in there, and you get peanut butter all over your knuckles, because it's not like you are actually going to get a rubber spatula out--you're not baking a cake here, just making a breakfast snack--to make a freaking PBJ, which you've already psyched yourself into, so you don't want to screw it and open the microwave-sized box stuffed with the pillow-sized bags of Honey Nut Cheerios instead. And now that you think about it--i.e., right after you centrifuge and shake and coax the last splurge out--why don't they have squeezable half-gallon size bottles of Welch's grape jelly? Not that you have any room in the fridge, unless you finally get rid of that almost-full gallon of lingonberry juice concentrate, like you'd ever be away from Ikea long enough to actually develop a lingonberry jones.
Thursday, December 4, 2008
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
Scary stuff if it's true
I don't consider myself an alarmist, or someone into conspiracy theories, but I think we are definitely walking down a dangerous road and we seem to be happy to be led.
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