I've been in e-mail contact with a reporter from the YDR and I'll be talking to them by phone later today in regards to the recent logging at Lake Redman (Kain Park).
Duane Close from the York Water Company has agreed to meet with the members of YAMBA to discuss what's going on with the logging activity.
I'm sure we'll have some questions for him like............
-Whenever our club does any new trailwork, a naturalist from the Parks department comes out and inspects the area with are going to disturb so that we don't harm any habitats that need preserved. Did the York Water company do this? I kinda doubt it as there isn't much left where there used to be flora, fauna and old growth forest.
Now it's just dirt and tree stumps.
-When we the area be re-planted with new trees? Previous areas logged by the water company 2 years ago haven't been replanted.
-Why log in the first place? Sure, I know they own the land, but it's a county park, it's not (in my opinion) a commercial working forest. Other heavily wooded county parks which are owned by the county aren't logged. Why log this one?
It least the water company has the balls to meet with us-gotta give them credit for that.
Here's the email our club sent out to all it's members.........
Hello All,
>
> Here's the details for the upcoming meeting with Duane Close of the
> York Water Company:
>
> Wednesday April 12th, 6:30P.M. at Nixon County Park located in
> Jacobus
>
> I strongly urge ALL YAMBA members to attend this meeting. If you
> already have plans that evening, please consider changing them in
> order to attend this meeting. If you just cannot get out of your
> prior commitment, then ask a friend or riding buddy to attend the
> meeting in your place. I cannot stress to all of you how important
> it is to be at this meeting. I would like to see the Nature Center
> at Nixon Park "filled to the brim" with YAMBA members on 4/12/06.
> Please reply back or email me at Skipxcmtbr@... if you are
> definitely able to attend.
>
> Looking forward to seeing all of you at the meeting!
>
> Yours in the Preservation of the York County Parks,
>
> Skip
I know folks from all over the place read this blog, but if you live in York County and are at all concerned with what's going on here-be at the meeting.
Till later.
Thursday, March 30, 2006
Wednesday, March 29, 2006
I love my job.........
It felt so good returning to work last night after having off a sick day.
I'm lying of course, actually.......I'm beat.
I feel a helluva lot better then I did Monday night, so I suppose I can't complain.
Time for some zzzzzzz's
Till later.
I'm lying of course, actually.......I'm beat.
I feel a helluva lot better then I did Monday night, so I suppose I can't complain.
Time for some zzzzzzz's
Till later.
Tuesday, March 28, 2006
Check this bike out and some customer service stories
If you only look at one web site today, make it this one. I've been following along on Bob's blog as he has been brazing and painting this frame.
That's not a bike, it's a piece of art. Bob, you are a true craftsman.
I had my Surly in the shop last week for new crankarms, after they installed them they evidently didn't check to see if the tolerances were the same.
They weren't.
Kinda pisses me off a tiny bit because all they would have had to do is try to run the chain up and down the front rings and they would have discovered that it wouldn't shift up on to the big ring. Which tells me they installed the rings and called it done without checking their work or road testing it.
Am I being a prick? Maybe, but I've dropped over 10 grand at this shop over the past 7 or 8 years..........I expect repairs to be done right the first time. I know, it's only a little thing and I'm sure I'll calm down.......I guess I am used to good customer service.
In my job as a trainer to new associates I get to demonstrate how to practice good customer service. I remember one time a customer came into our shop to pick up their daughter's birthday cake and we lost the order.
Beats me how we lost it, but we did and the lady was pissed.
We got all the information for the cake from the customer and got their street address. About an hour later I and the manager trainee I was working with delivered the cake, a few half gallons of ice cream, chips, pretzels, soda, paper plates, plastic forks and napkins to the lady. I turned a bad experience into a good one and kept the customer.
Sure it cost a few bucks but I still see the lady shopping with us and I talk to her every Friday night when she's in the store. Good customer service doesn't cost money-it pays money..........
When I woke up to go to work on Monday night, it felt like my head was in a huge vice.
I had to call out sick because when I couldn't see straight, I pretty much had to. I hate doing that because it inconveninces my back-up and he has to change his schedule and screw his sleep all up. Sorry Jason! I feel a whole lot better today so I'll be back at it Tuesday night..................
New video from the Dept. of Homeland Security.
I have a sense of humor, but I'd probably kill this guy.
I'm not gonna win any points with the Man Up in The Sky with this one.....
It's really unlikely you would go to a web site that takes advantage of the latest IE bug (you'd have to click a link in a spam e-mail) but here's the unofficial fix. Me? I'll wait since I don't use Internet Explorer.
20 questions the President will never answer.
Are you a GRUP? I'm not, although most of my friends are younger then I am. I don't own any 200 dollar ripped jeans either-mine are ripped and worn from me wearing them.
This is depressing.
The Gospel of the Flying Spaghetti Monster is out in paperback.
Somedays you just wake up and you know it's not gonna be your day.
Till later.....
That's not a bike, it's a piece of art. Bob, you are a true craftsman.
I had my Surly in the shop last week for new crankarms, after they installed them they evidently didn't check to see if the tolerances were the same.
They weren't.
Kinda pisses me off a tiny bit because all they would have had to do is try to run the chain up and down the front rings and they would have discovered that it wouldn't shift up on to the big ring. Which tells me they installed the rings and called it done without checking their work or road testing it.
Am I being a prick? Maybe, but I've dropped over 10 grand at this shop over the past 7 or 8 years..........I expect repairs to be done right the first time. I know, it's only a little thing and I'm sure I'll calm down.......I guess I am used to good customer service.
In my job as a trainer to new associates I get to demonstrate how to practice good customer service. I remember one time a customer came into our shop to pick up their daughter's birthday cake and we lost the order.
Beats me how we lost it, but we did and the lady was pissed.
We got all the information for the cake from the customer and got their street address. About an hour later I and the manager trainee I was working with delivered the cake, a few half gallons of ice cream, chips, pretzels, soda, paper plates, plastic forks and napkins to the lady. I turned a bad experience into a good one and kept the customer.
Sure it cost a few bucks but I still see the lady shopping with us and I talk to her every Friday night when she's in the store. Good customer service doesn't cost money-it pays money..........
When I woke up to go to work on Monday night, it felt like my head was in a huge vice.
I had to call out sick because when I couldn't see straight, I pretty much had to. I hate doing that because it inconveninces my back-up and he has to change his schedule and screw his sleep all up. Sorry Jason! I feel a whole lot better today so I'll be back at it Tuesday night..................
New video from the Dept. of Homeland Security.
I have a sense of humor, but I'd probably kill this guy.
I'm not gonna win any points with the Man Up in The Sky with this one.....
It's really unlikely you would go to a web site that takes advantage of the latest IE bug (you'd have to click a link in a spam e-mail) but here's the unofficial fix. Me? I'll wait since I don't use Internet Explorer.
20 questions the President will never answer.
Are you a GRUP? I'm not, although most of my friends are younger then I am. I don't own any 200 dollar ripped jeans either-mine are ripped and worn from me wearing them.
This is depressing.
The Gospel of the Flying Spaghetti Monster is out in paperback.
Somedays you just wake up and you know it's not gonna be your day.
Till later.....
Monday, March 27, 2006
Went for a mtb ride Sunday....
Damn.......... I am out of shape.
Even with my recent weight loss, I really suck at going up any kind of hill. As an added bonus, I fell over within 50 feet of the parking lot when we started. Gotta work on the bike handling skills, I am totally rusty. I also gotta work on the bike as I tweaked the derailleur hanger when I fell over.
Whoops. Gotta stop pounding rocks back into the ground with my body.
Saw lots of trees marked for logging and checked out the results of the recent logging-it's damn ugly. I'll try to get some pics on my next ride down there. It's a shame to lose all that woodland........words can't describe how pissed I am.
Some links............
Check out these skylines.
After 3 years, yeah-I think it might be a good time to form a government. I'm sure there are lots of positive things happening in Iraq, but when random people are getting shot and blown up on a daily basis.....something has to change.
Yeah, I know I bag on George Bush and his band of misdirected merrymakers all the time......but seriously, Americans aren't going to stand for who knows how many more years of American soldiers getting killed and maimed over a mistaken invasion............
You might be a redneck if..........
Kellogg's Rice Krispies... With Beef.........yum.
The next Big One..... I'm glad I live where I live.
Obviously, the person that wrote this piece isn't married. I love my wife and there ain't no way I'd tell her she needed to lose a few pounds. She doesn't need to anyways.....
Package rage. I bought a set of earbuds that took me 5 minutes to open. Not sure what the deal is, but just about everything you buy at Sam's Club or any warehouse store is packaged like that now.
Now I know how they did the Subservient Chicken. I know they didn't have a guy in a chicken suit on a webcam 24/7 but I wasn't sure how the technology worked.....
At least I am above average half the time. The other half.........
Saw this letter to the IRS...........
Dear Internal Revenue Service.
Enclosed you will find my 2005 tax return showing that I owe $3,407.00 in taxes.
Please note the attached article from the USA Today newspaper dated March 3rd, wherein you will see that the Pentagon (Department of Defense) is paying $171.50 per hammer and NASA has paid $600.00 per toilet seat. I am enclosing four (4) toilet seats (valued @ $2,400) and six (6) hammers valued @ $1,029), which I secured at Home Depot, bringing my total remittance to $3,429.00.
Please apply the overpayment of $22.00 to the "Presidential Election Fund," as noted on my return. You can do this inexpensively by sending them one (1) 1.5" Phillips Head screw (see aforementioned article from USA Today newspaper detailing how H.U.D. pays $22.00 each for 1.5" Phillips Head Screws). One screw is enclosed for your convenience.
It has been a pleasure to pay my tax bill this year, and I look forward to paying it again next year.
We usually don't owe money but it is a great idea. Well, it'd be a great idea until they knocked on your door and asked for real money.
Jesus The Musical. SFW video on a NSFW website.
Be a shithead.
Till later.....
Even with my recent weight loss, I really suck at going up any kind of hill. As an added bonus, I fell over within 50 feet of the parking lot when we started. Gotta work on the bike handling skills, I am totally rusty. I also gotta work on the bike as I tweaked the derailleur hanger when I fell over.
Whoops. Gotta stop pounding rocks back into the ground with my body.
Saw lots of trees marked for logging and checked out the results of the recent logging-it's damn ugly. I'll try to get some pics on my next ride down there. It's a shame to lose all that woodland........words can't describe how pissed I am.
Some links............
Check out these skylines.
After 3 years, yeah-I think it might be a good time to form a government. I'm sure there are lots of positive things happening in Iraq, but when random people are getting shot and blown up on a daily basis.....something has to change.
Yeah, I know I bag on George Bush and his band of misdirected merrymakers all the time......but seriously, Americans aren't going to stand for who knows how many more years of American soldiers getting killed and maimed over a mistaken invasion............
You might be a redneck if..........
Kellogg's Rice Krispies... With Beef.........yum.
The next Big One..... I'm glad I live where I live.
Obviously, the person that wrote this piece isn't married. I love my wife and there ain't no way I'd tell her she needed to lose a few pounds. She doesn't need to anyways.....
Package rage. I bought a set of earbuds that took me 5 minutes to open. Not sure what the deal is, but just about everything you buy at Sam's Club or any warehouse store is packaged like that now.
Now I know how they did the Subservient Chicken. I know they didn't have a guy in a chicken suit on a webcam 24/7 but I wasn't sure how the technology worked.....
At least I am above average half the time. The other half.........
Saw this letter to the IRS...........
Dear Internal Revenue Service.
Enclosed you will find my 2005 tax return showing that I owe $3,407.00 in taxes.
Please note the attached article from the USA Today newspaper dated March 3rd, wherein you will see that the Pentagon (Department of Defense) is paying $171.50 per hammer and NASA has paid $600.00 per toilet seat. I am enclosing four (4) toilet seats (valued @ $2,400) and six (6) hammers valued @ $1,029), which I secured at Home Depot, bringing my total remittance to $3,429.00.
Please apply the overpayment of $22.00 to the "Presidential Election Fund," as noted on my return. You can do this inexpensively by sending them one (1) 1.5" Phillips Head screw (see aforementioned article from USA Today newspaper detailing how H.U.D. pays $22.00 each for 1.5" Phillips Head Screws). One screw is enclosed for your convenience.
It has been a pleasure to pay my tax bill this year, and I look forward to paying it again next year.
We usually don't owe money but it is a great idea. Well, it'd be a great idea until they knocked on your door and asked for real money.
Jesus The Musical. SFW video on a NSFW website.
Be a shithead.
Till later.....
Sunday, March 26, 2006
Picture of an eagle.....
Pretty neat picture huh?
I had nothing to do with it, my friend Ray took it at Lake Redman last week.
It's another reason I'd like to see the logging at Lake Redman put to a halt...... how many places are you going to see an eagle while you are out on a hike while still being relatively close to civilization?
Anyways, it's a way cool picture......
Saturday, March 25, 2006
Bike Culture..........
Here's an interesting read on NYC bike culture.
I suppose I am a total poser with my Kona BikeHotrod.....
I had Sushi for the first time ever yesterday. Not that I've been avoiding it or anything, just never had the chance to eat it before. It's pretty good. Not as good as a juicy hamburger with meat juice dripping out of it.......but good nonetheless.
Our daughter is spending the weekend camping with 1rst-3rd graders. She's a brave woman.
That's all for now.....
I suppose I am a total poser with my Kona BikeHotrod.....
I had Sushi for the first time ever yesterday. Not that I've been avoiding it or anything, just never had the chance to eat it before. It's pretty good. Not as good as a juicy hamburger with meat juice dripping out of it.......but good nonetheless.
Our daughter is spending the weekend camping with 1rst-3rd graders. She's a brave woman.
That's all for now.....
Thursday, March 23, 2006
Global warming........
Now might not be the best time to buy oceanside property. Heck, maybe if I wait long enough, our house here in Pa. might be prime real estate. It sounds like we are close to or just past the "tipping point", if so......we are in for a few changes.
Damn. I'd say that woman has a few issues.
WTF?
WTF? Part II
This site could be fun....
I want to go see this movie. Let me preface the next statement by saying I don't do drugs, smoke marihuana or smoke cigarettes........... but I think that if marihuana is illegal, they ought to make smoking illegal as well, smoking has killed WAY more people then pot over the course of history. There is nothing good about smoking except that it makes a few select people very rich.
One more reason to switch to Firefox.
No worries for me. I plan to stick with my trusty VCR to tape stuff off of TV and our cheapo Wal-Mart DVD player until those guys duke it out and one format comes out the winner.
Damn. I'd say that woman has a few issues.
WTF?
WTF? Part II
This site could be fun....
I want to go see this movie. Let me preface the next statement by saying I don't do drugs, smoke marihuana or smoke cigarettes........... but I think that if marihuana is illegal, they ought to make smoking illegal as well, smoking has killed WAY more people then pot over the course of history. There is nothing good about smoking except that it makes a few select people very rich.
One more reason to switch to Firefox.
No worries for me. I plan to stick with my trusty VCR to tape stuff off of TV and our cheapo Wal-Mart DVD player until those guys duke it out and one format comes out the winner.
Impeach George Bush?
Should the Congress impeach the President even though he's a liar and clearly incompetent?
I say no.
Why?
Who gets promoted if Bush gets shitcanned?
Wednesday, March 22, 2006
It's Spring.........isn't it?
Got out of work this morning and it felt like it was 20 degrees. I am so ready for some half-way decent weather I am about to *snap*. I'm even looking forward to yard work, so it must be time for some warmer temps.
I enjoy 3 out of the four seasons, as far as I'm concerned, if I never saw another snow flake or my breath on a cold morning........I'd be totally okay with that.
I'm gonna live to 92. Yeah, we'll see.
At what point does America declare bankruptcy? 9 trillion dollars is a shitload of money.
Wrestling for Jesus. Honest, I'm not making this up........maybe I can start up an organization. I'll call it Donut Friars for God.
Okay, maybe not.
I like this article. Time it takes me to get ready to go to work if I'm in a hurry........about 3 minutes. One minute to brush my teeth and wash my face and two minutes to get dressed and out the door.
Iraq is always going to have U.S. troops present. We beat Japan and Germany in WWII over 50 years ago and we still have 10's of thousands of troops stationed in each country. Why is Iraq going to be any different?
Tell folks how you really feel.
This is a neat cut-away drawing but it's even more interesting reading about how he did it.
Till later..........
I enjoy 3 out of the four seasons, as far as I'm concerned, if I never saw another snow flake or my breath on a cold morning........I'd be totally okay with that.
I'm gonna live to 92. Yeah, we'll see.
At what point does America declare bankruptcy? 9 trillion dollars is a shitload of money.
Wrestling for Jesus. Honest, I'm not making this up........maybe I can start up an organization. I'll call it Donut Friars for God.
Okay, maybe not.
I like this article. Time it takes me to get ready to go to work if I'm in a hurry........about 3 minutes. One minute to brush my teeth and wash my face and two minutes to get dressed and out the door.
Iraq is always going to have U.S. troops present. We beat Japan and Germany in WWII over 50 years ago and we still have 10's of thousands of troops stationed in each country. Why is Iraq going to be any different?
Tell folks how you really feel.
This is a neat cut-away drawing but it's even more interesting reading about how he did it.
Till later..........
Tuesday, March 21, 2006
Water company does more logging........
Our local water company is logging more of one of our county parks. While they are entitled to do whatever they want since they own the land the park is located on and lease it to the parks, but it sure is discouraging to see this happen. I guess it's a case of "money talks....everything else walks". I've written the gentleman that runs York Water company an e-mail voicing my concerns, I don't really think it will help but it's worth a shot.
Here's a link to our local clubs message board with the thread that contains the e-mail address of the guy at York Water. Feel free to shoot the guy an e-mail and let him know how you feel. Don't flame the guy but let him know that there are folks out there that are watching what he does.
Here's the e-mail I sent him.........
Mr. Close,
My name is George and I am one of the founding members of
YAMBA. Along with Skip Durgin and Tony Doll we started our
organization with the intent of assisting the York County Park system
with the intent of making our local park system one of the best in the
state.
Over the past 5 years we have grown to several hundred members. We
not only have mountain bikers in our membership, we have hikers and
equestrians as well because we all realize what a treasure the York
County Park system is. We are indeed very lucky to have such a great
place to recreate.
While I don't speak for the current leadership of YAMBA, I am deeply
disturbed by what I see going on at Kain Park in regards to the
ongoing logging projects. I understand that your company has a
responsibility to its shareholders to maintain profitability; do you
also understand what has been placed in your stewardship? There are
not that many places left here in York County where there is so much
natural beauty every resident is welcome to enjoy.
I urge you and your board to reconsider any future logging projects
and think about your responsibility to the future generations of York
Countians. I have a 12 year old son that loves to hike at Kain Park,
where will he take his children to hike in 25 years?
Think about it.
I hope it helps and I hope the guy gets a bazillion e-mails....................................
On the other stuff.............
The Wal-Martization of Britain.
You're gonna have to be a computer nerd to enjoy this one. In case you're wondering.....I watched the whole thing.
Iraq in a civil war? Beats me but it sure looks like it might be headed that way. 3 years on and it appears that Iraq is in worse shape then before we invaded it. Too bad George W.'s daddy didn't finish the job when he had the chance.
Had a really nice e-mail from bikeTV. Here's a link to their latest clip. This is a way cool site, they have tons of interesting bike culture clips. Check it out for sure! I'll be spending some time on the site........
Another in a series of crappy jokes........
A Mafia Godfather finds out that his bookkeeper has screwed him out
of ten million bucks. His bookkeeper is deaf. It was the reason he
got the job in the first place, since it was assumed that a deaf
bookkeeper would not be able to hear anything that he'd ever have
to testify about in court.
When the Godfather goes to shakedown the bookkeeper about his missing $10 million, he brings along his attorney, who knows sign Language.
The Godfather asks the bookkeeper: "Where is the 10 million bucks
you embezzled from me?"
The attorney, using sign language, asks the
bookkeeper where the 10 million bucks is hidden.
The bookkeeper signs back: "I don't know what you are talking about."
The attorney tells the Godfather: "He says he doesn't know what you're talking about."
That's when the Godfather pulls out a 9 mm pistol, puts it
to the bookkeeper's temple, cocks it, and says: "Ask him again!"
The attorney signs to the underling: "He'll kill you
for sure if you don't tell him!"
The bookkeeper signs back: "OK! You win! The money is in a brown briefcase, buried behind the shed in my cousin Enzo's backyard in Queens!"
The Godfather asks the attorney: "Well, what'd he say?"
The attorney replies: "He says you don't have the balls to pull the trigger."
Since I'm on a roll...............
Ever mindful of the congregation, the Baptist preacher and his wife decided to get a new dog, and knew that the dog also had to be a Baptist. They visited kennel after kennel and explained their needs. Finally, they found a kennel whose owner assured them he had just the dog they wanted.
The owner brought the dog to meet the pastor and his wife. "Fetch the Bible,"he commanded. The dog bounded to the bookshelf, scrutinized the books, located the Bible, and brought it to the owner. "Now find Psalm 23," he commanded. The dog dropped the Bible to the floor, and showing marvelous dexterity with his paws, leafed through and finding the correct passage, pointed to it with his paw.
The pastor and his wife were very impressed and purchased the dog. That evening, a group of church members came to visit. The pastor and his wife began to show off the dog, having him locate several Bible verses.
The visitors were very impressed. One man asked, "Can he do regular dog tricks, too?" "I haven't tried yet" the pastor replied. He pointed his finger at the dog."HEEL!" the pastor commanded. The dog immediately jumped on a chair, placed one paw on the pastor's forehead and began to howl.
The pastor looked at his wife in shock and said, "Good Lord! He's Pentecostal!"
Don't blame me, I didn't write'em.
Not the sharpest tool in the toolshed........not even close.
Till later.....
Here's a link to our local clubs message board with the thread that contains the e-mail address of the guy at York Water. Feel free to shoot the guy an e-mail and let him know how you feel. Don't flame the guy but let him know that there are folks out there that are watching what he does.
Here's the e-mail I sent him.........
Mr. Close,
My name is George and I am one of the founding members of
YAMBA. Along with Skip Durgin and Tony Doll we started our
organization with the intent of assisting the York County Park system
with the intent of making our local park system one of the best in the
state.
Over the past 5 years we have grown to several hundred members. We
not only have mountain bikers in our membership, we have hikers and
equestrians as well because we all realize what a treasure the York
County Park system is. We are indeed very lucky to have such a great
place to recreate.
While I don't speak for the current leadership of YAMBA, I am deeply
disturbed by what I see going on at Kain Park in regards to the
ongoing logging projects. I understand that your company has a
responsibility to its shareholders to maintain profitability; do you
also understand what has been placed in your stewardship? There are
not that many places left here in York County where there is so much
natural beauty every resident is welcome to enjoy.
I urge you and your board to reconsider any future logging projects
and think about your responsibility to the future generations of York
Countians. I have a 12 year old son that loves to hike at Kain Park,
where will he take his children to hike in 25 years?
Think about it.
I hope it helps and I hope the guy gets a bazillion e-mails....................................
On the other stuff.............
The Wal-Martization of Britain.
You're gonna have to be a computer nerd to enjoy this one. In case you're wondering.....I watched the whole thing.
Iraq in a civil war? Beats me but it sure looks like it might be headed that way. 3 years on and it appears that Iraq is in worse shape then before we invaded it. Too bad George W.'s daddy didn't finish the job when he had the chance.
Had a really nice e-mail from bikeTV. Here's a link to their latest clip. This is a way cool site, they have tons of interesting bike culture clips. Check it out for sure! I'll be spending some time on the site........
Another in a series of crappy jokes........
A Mafia Godfather finds out that his bookkeeper has screwed him out
of ten million bucks. His bookkeeper is deaf. It was the reason he
got the job in the first place, since it was assumed that a deaf
bookkeeper would not be able to hear anything that he'd ever have
to testify about in court.
When the Godfather goes to shakedown the bookkeeper about his missing $10 million, he brings along his attorney, who knows sign Language.
The Godfather asks the bookkeeper: "Where is the 10 million bucks
you embezzled from me?"
The attorney, using sign language, asks the
bookkeeper where the 10 million bucks is hidden.
The bookkeeper signs back: "I don't know what you are talking about."
The attorney tells the Godfather: "He says he doesn't know what you're talking about."
That's when the Godfather pulls out a 9 mm pistol, puts it
to the bookkeeper's temple, cocks it, and says: "Ask him again!"
The attorney signs to the underling: "He'll kill you
for sure if you don't tell him!"
The bookkeeper signs back: "OK! You win! The money is in a brown briefcase, buried behind the shed in my cousin Enzo's backyard in Queens!"
The Godfather asks the attorney: "Well, what'd he say?"
The attorney replies: "He says you don't have the balls to pull the trigger."
Since I'm on a roll...............
Ever mindful of the congregation, the Baptist preacher and his wife decided to get a new dog, and knew that the dog also had to be a Baptist. They visited kennel after kennel and explained their needs. Finally, they found a kennel whose owner assured them he had just the dog they wanted.
The owner brought the dog to meet the pastor and his wife. "Fetch the Bible,"he commanded. The dog bounded to the bookshelf, scrutinized the books, located the Bible, and brought it to the owner. "Now find Psalm 23," he commanded. The dog dropped the Bible to the floor, and showing marvelous dexterity with his paws, leafed through and finding the correct passage, pointed to it with his paw.
The pastor and his wife were very impressed and purchased the dog. That evening, a group of church members came to visit. The pastor and his wife began to show off the dog, having him locate several Bible verses.
The visitors were very impressed. One man asked, "Can he do regular dog tricks, too?" "I haven't tried yet" the pastor replied. He pointed his finger at the dog."HEEL!" the pastor commanded. The dog immediately jumped on a chair, placed one paw on the pastor's forehead and began to howl.
The pastor looked at his wife in shock and said, "Good Lord! He's Pentecostal!"
Don't blame me, I didn't write'em.
Not the sharpest tool in the toolshed........not even close.
Till later.....
Monday, March 20, 2006
Movie remake day.....
My son and I went to see "The Pink Panther" on Saturday.......
It was interesting that they played the "Please turn your cell phone off" message at least 4 or 5 times before the movie started. I think they want to make sure everyone gets the message.
Steve Martin is a pretty funny guy and the movie was fairly good, but no one could ever replace Peter Sellers.......
We rented "Yours, Mine and Ours" and watched that Saturday evening after my wife and daughter came home from Penn State. It was a good movie as well, I like Rene Russo and Dennis Quaid so it was an easy sell for me. I remember going to the drive in and watching the original with my mom and dad back when it came out in the 60's.
I don't have a problem with this law. I'm sure the folks that smoke are all pissed off and everything but the smell of cigarette smoke makes me ill. Nothing more I hate then walking into a place of business and having to walk through a haze of cigarette smoke from people standing right outside the entrance smoking. Smokers rights? Screw that.
These guys are heroes in my book. I don't see how these folks can call themselves a church but I suppose that's their right. I don't think they have the right to enter private property and protest funerals though. I'm amazed that they haven't had the crap beaten out of them yet.
Looks like I wasn't the only person that gave up using their turn signals for Lent. Actually what I have been giving up since the beginning of the year was a lot of junk food. Since January 1rst I have lost a grand total of 18 pounds.
I fairly pleased with my progress to this point as I haven't really been exercising that much. It's mostly cutting out all the junk food right before I hit the sack in the morning after work. I'd like to lose another 10 or 15 pounds by the time summer gets here, I don't think it will be too tough since I'll be riding a whole lot more by then. Maybe I can get my old man out on his bike some and we can drop a couple pounds together.....
I guess this gives the French an excuse to burn up more shitty French cars. A guarantee that they won't be fired for the first two years they are working? Sure, that would be nice but how's about just busting your ass and making sure the company you work for is a success? Life is full of risks.
Our U.S. Army can turn someone into a soldier in about 4 months. How come it is taking 3 years for us to train enough Iraqi's into soldiers and policemen? I'm not buying what the President is trying to sell.
Our son is the proud new owner of a cell phone. Does a 12 year old really need a cell phone? No not really, he's only allowed to call the numbers we have entered into the phone's address book and we had the guy at the cell store turn off instant and text messaging.
I read that Oleg Cassini passed away, I know he was a famous fashion designer, but he also helped design the interior of one of my favorite cars. Not sure why I like these cars, maybe it's because they just look weird.
Feel like gambling? Buy some GM stock.
I've been playing around with the HTML coding on the blog, I'm no expert so if something looks screwed up, leave a comment.
Saw this site posted on Girls Luv Dirt's blog. Pretty much sums up why it's not a good idea to buy a P.O.S. bike from a big box retailer and expect it to last if you do any hard riding.
Now the RIAA has gone to far. Seriously? I hope they get their asses kicked on this one.
Here's a good read concerning obesity. Since I work in a grocery store, I get to see both sides of the argument. People are a helluva lot fatter then they used to be and grocery stores are very slick at getting you to buy stuff you don't need.
I'm guessing this guy doesn't get much sleep................
Till later.
It was interesting that they played the "Please turn your cell phone off" message at least 4 or 5 times before the movie started. I think they want to make sure everyone gets the message.
Steve Martin is a pretty funny guy and the movie was fairly good, but no one could ever replace Peter Sellers.......
We rented "Yours, Mine and Ours" and watched that Saturday evening after my wife and daughter came home from Penn State. It was a good movie as well, I like Rene Russo and Dennis Quaid so it was an easy sell for me. I remember going to the drive in and watching the original with my mom and dad back when it came out in the 60's.
I don't have a problem with this law. I'm sure the folks that smoke are all pissed off and everything but the smell of cigarette smoke makes me ill. Nothing more I hate then walking into a place of business and having to walk through a haze of cigarette smoke from people standing right outside the entrance smoking. Smokers rights? Screw that.
These guys are heroes in my book. I don't see how these folks can call themselves a church but I suppose that's their right. I don't think they have the right to enter private property and protest funerals though. I'm amazed that they haven't had the crap beaten out of them yet.
Looks like I wasn't the only person that gave up using their turn signals for Lent. Actually what I have been giving up since the beginning of the year was a lot of junk food. Since January 1rst I have lost a grand total of 18 pounds.
I fairly pleased with my progress to this point as I haven't really been exercising that much. It's mostly cutting out all the junk food right before I hit the sack in the morning after work. I'd like to lose another 10 or 15 pounds by the time summer gets here, I don't think it will be too tough since I'll be riding a whole lot more by then. Maybe I can get my old man out on his bike some and we can drop a couple pounds together.....
I guess this gives the French an excuse to burn up more shitty French cars. A guarantee that they won't be fired for the first two years they are working? Sure, that would be nice but how's about just busting your ass and making sure the company you work for is a success? Life is full of risks.
Our U.S. Army can turn someone into a soldier in about 4 months. How come it is taking 3 years for us to train enough Iraqi's into soldiers and policemen? I'm not buying what the President is trying to sell.
Our son is the proud new owner of a cell phone. Does a 12 year old really need a cell phone? No not really, he's only allowed to call the numbers we have entered into the phone's address book and we had the guy at the cell store turn off instant and text messaging.
I read that Oleg Cassini passed away, I know he was a famous fashion designer, but he also helped design the interior of one of my favorite cars. Not sure why I like these cars, maybe it's because they just look weird.
Feel like gambling? Buy some GM stock.
I've been playing around with the HTML coding on the blog, I'm no expert so if something looks screwed up, leave a comment.
Saw this site posted on Girls Luv Dirt's blog. Pretty much sums up why it's not a good idea to buy a P.O.S. bike from a big box retailer and expect it to last if you do any hard riding.
Now the RIAA has gone to far. Seriously? I hope they get their asses kicked on this one.
Here's a good read concerning obesity. Since I work in a grocery store, I get to see both sides of the argument. People are a helluva lot fatter then they used to be and grocery stores are very slick at getting you to buy stuff you don't need.
I'm guessing this guy doesn't get much sleep................
Till later.
Saturday, March 18, 2006
Boys Day.
My wife and our daughter are up at Penn State for the Science Olymipiad today so it's just me and our son hanging out.
Not sure what we are gonna do all day but I'm sure we'll manage to get into some kind of trouble.
Should be fun.
Till later.
Not sure what we are gonna do all day but I'm sure we'll manage to get into some kind of trouble.
Should be fun.
Till later.
Wednesday, March 15, 2006
Tracking stats plus the usual crap.
I saw this neat little web site the other day. Register and copy a piece of code into your template and it takes care of the rest. I've pretty pleased with how it works and it's free. I found out I have 6 readers in Puerto Rico as the other stat tracker I use must not break them out of the USA stats.
I'm off this weekend, so it's guaranteed to be snowing or something. Looking forward to sneaking in a little mountain biking on Saturday but with rain in the forecast for Friday it might have to be a roadie ride. Nobody likes to ride on muddy trails.
If you are reading this entry on Friday, you'll notice that the entire site is green. Since it's St Patrick's day and I'm Irish........green rules today. I'll put it back to something normal on Saturday.
This will be the coolest story I post this week. Neighbors helping neighbors. It doesn't get any better then that.
I don't think this will work. People are too attached to their phones to be out of touch for 2 hours. Listening to cell conversations and the fact that I don't want to pay 10 bucks to stare at the back of someone's head while I'm trying to watch a movie keeps me out of most movies.
You can tell George Bush hired this guy. Canned tuna and dry milk under my bed? What a dumbass.
Rules are rules. Except for when they're not.
My daughter is gonna give me a hard time for posting this joke........
A new priest at his first mass was so nervous he could hardly speak.
After mass he asked the monsignor how he had done.
The monsignor replied, “ When I am worried about getting nervous On the pulpit, I put a glass of vodka next to the water glass. If I start to get nervous, I take a sip.”
So next Sunday he took the monsignor’s advice.
At the beginning of the sermon, he got nervous and took a drink.
He proceeded to talk up a storm.
Upon his return to his office after the mass, he found the following note on the door:
1) Sip the vodka, don’t gulp.
2) There are 10 commandments, not 12.
3) There are 12 disciples, not 10.
4) Jesus was consecrated, not constipated.
5) Jacob wagered his donkey, he did not bet his ass.
6) We do not refer to Jesus Christ as the late J.C.
7) The Father, Son, and Holy Ghost are not referred to as Daddy, Junior and the spook.
8) David slew Goliath, he did not kick the shit out of him.
9) When David was hit by a rock and was knocked off his donkey, don’t say he was stoned off his ass.
10) We do not refer to the cross as the “Big T.”
11) When Jesus broke the bread at the last supper he said, “take this and eat it for it is my body.” He did not say “ Eat me” .
12) The Virgin Mary is not called “ Mary with the Cherry,.
13) The recommended grace before a meal is not: Rub-A-Dub-Dub thanks for the grub, Yeah God.
14)Next Sunday there will be a taffy pulling contest at ST.Peter’s not a peter pulling contest at St. Taffy’s.
Aw, it wasn't that bad.......
I can do this. Okay, maybe not.
Till later, have a great weekend.....
I'm off this weekend, so it's guaranteed to be snowing or something. Looking forward to sneaking in a little mountain biking on Saturday but with rain in the forecast for Friday it might have to be a roadie ride. Nobody likes to ride on muddy trails.
If you are reading this entry on Friday, you'll notice that the entire site is green. Since it's St Patrick's day and I'm Irish........green rules today. I'll put it back to something normal on Saturday.
This will be the coolest story I post this week. Neighbors helping neighbors. It doesn't get any better then that.
I don't think this will work. People are too attached to their phones to be out of touch for 2 hours. Listening to cell conversations and the fact that I don't want to pay 10 bucks to stare at the back of someone's head while I'm trying to watch a movie keeps me out of most movies.
You can tell George Bush hired this guy. Canned tuna and dry milk under my bed? What a dumbass.
Rules are rules. Except for when they're not.
My daughter is gonna give me a hard time for posting this joke........
A new priest at his first mass was so nervous he could hardly speak.
After mass he asked the monsignor how he had done.
The monsignor replied, “ When I am worried about getting nervous On the pulpit, I put a glass of vodka next to the water glass. If I start to get nervous, I take a sip.”
So next Sunday he took the monsignor’s advice.
At the beginning of the sermon, he got nervous and took a drink.
He proceeded to talk up a storm.
Upon his return to his office after the mass, he found the following note on the door:
1) Sip the vodka, don’t gulp.
2) There are 10 commandments, not 12.
3) There are 12 disciples, not 10.
4) Jesus was consecrated, not constipated.
5) Jacob wagered his donkey, he did not bet his ass.
6) We do not refer to Jesus Christ as the late J.C.
7) The Father, Son, and Holy Ghost are not referred to as Daddy, Junior and the spook.
8) David slew Goliath, he did not kick the shit out of him.
9) When David was hit by a rock and was knocked off his donkey, don’t say he was stoned off his ass.
10) We do not refer to the cross as the “Big T.”
11) When Jesus broke the bread at the last supper he said, “take this and eat it for it is my body.” He did not say “ Eat me” .
12) The Virgin Mary is not called “ Mary with the Cherry,.
13) The recommended grace before a meal is not: Rub-A-Dub-Dub thanks for the grub, Yeah God.
14)Next Sunday there will be a taffy pulling contest at ST.Peter’s not a peter pulling contest at St. Taffy’s.
Aw, it wasn't that bad.......
I can do this. Okay, maybe not.
Till later, have a great weekend.....
BSO's
The Boy Scouts I am helping get their cycling merit badge brought their bikes in for a safety inspection Tuesday night.
The kids bikes fell into 3 distinct groups.....
The first group of guys were slightly older and had well maintained bikes. Unfortunately, this group only had 3 or 4 guys in it.
The second group of young men had poorly maintained "Wal-Mart" BSO's. Don't know what a "BSO" is? It's a Bicycle Shaped Object. These bikes are okay if you only ride occasionally and don't mind constantly adjusting and replacing the cheap parts as they wear out.
And they will wear out.
Most of the guys that had this style of bike all had something or other that needed adjustment. Almost all of the bikes had loose headsets and out of adjustment brakes.
This kids were pretty happy to have someone show them how to adjust stuff on their bikes and the parents were happy to have someone there to check them out as well.
The third group of guys had bikes their parents bought for them at yard sales. If there is anything worse then a BSO, it's a rusty, wore out BSO. A couple of these bikes were in need of some serious attention. I saw cracked tires, rusty chains, bent rims and plenty of wore out brake pads.
Almost all of the bikes there needed some sort of adjustment with a few I would send straight to the dumpster as they were borderline safe. I gave a few parents directions to bike shops close to them, I told them that almost all shops around here will install any part you buy from them for free.
My take is that lots of parents won't bat an eye spending money for the latest X-Box or PlayStation porn but balk at spending a couple hundred on an entry level "bicycle shop quality" bike for their kid. I get this opinion from seeing kids bikes at some of the volunteer kids rides I have helped out on. Most of the bikes present at these events are of the "BSO" variety.
Sure most kids beat the living snot out of their bikes, but they'd have some much more fun if they were on a good bike. Riding a bike that doesn't shift, brake or steer well is not fun, it's frustrating.
Mom and Dad, for the price of 4 or 5 video games, you can get your kid a nice bike that will last for years if it's taken care of.
All in all, I am enjoying the heck out of helping these guys out, if just one of the kids gets more into cycling because of what we are doing-I'll be a happy camper.
Till later.
The kids bikes fell into 3 distinct groups.....
The first group of guys were slightly older and had well maintained bikes. Unfortunately, this group only had 3 or 4 guys in it.
The second group of young men had poorly maintained "Wal-Mart" BSO's. Don't know what a "BSO" is? It's a Bicycle Shaped Object. These bikes are okay if you only ride occasionally and don't mind constantly adjusting and replacing the cheap parts as they wear out.
And they will wear out.
Most of the guys that had this style of bike all had something or other that needed adjustment. Almost all of the bikes had loose headsets and out of adjustment brakes.
This kids were pretty happy to have someone show them how to adjust stuff on their bikes and the parents were happy to have someone there to check them out as well.
The third group of guys had bikes their parents bought for them at yard sales. If there is anything worse then a BSO, it's a rusty, wore out BSO. A couple of these bikes were in need of some serious attention. I saw cracked tires, rusty chains, bent rims and plenty of wore out brake pads.
Almost all of the bikes there needed some sort of adjustment with a few I would send straight to the dumpster as they were borderline safe. I gave a few parents directions to bike shops close to them, I told them that almost all shops around here will install any part you buy from them for free.
My take is that lots of parents won't bat an eye spending money for the latest X-Box or PlayStation porn but balk at spending a couple hundred on an entry level "bicycle shop quality" bike for their kid. I get this opinion from seeing kids bikes at some of the volunteer kids rides I have helped out on. Most of the bikes present at these events are of the "BSO" variety.
Sure most kids beat the living snot out of their bikes, but they'd have some much more fun if they were on a good bike. Riding a bike that doesn't shift, brake or steer well is not fun, it's frustrating.
Mom and Dad, for the price of 4 or 5 video games, you can get your kid a nice bike that will last for years if it's taken care of.
All in all, I am enjoying the heck out of helping these guys out, if just one of the kids gets more into cycling because of what we are doing-I'll be a happy camper.
Till later.
Tuesday, March 14, 2006
Huh?
Is this for real? I'm sure they'll have an interesting dinner.
From the Village Voice.
On my previous entry about podcasts, I neglected to mention a couple of podcasts my friend Ed Hidden does. Check out Edhidden.com and StudioLighting.net. He's one fine photographer in addition to being one heck of a nice guy.
I took off the 23 mm tires off my Surly and put on the 45 mm knobbies so I can ride the thing just about anywhere I want to. Lots of times I will start out on a road ride and end up at Rocky Ridge for a bathroom break, this way I can do some of the tamer trails there and not worry about pinch flatting. Plus the bike looks so much cooler with those big knobbies. Unfortunately, it's in the shop right at the moment, I screwed up one of the cranks when I was changing pedals. Oops.
Ed from Cycledog has a post up with a link on how to clean your bike. I really have to do this with the Surly, the chain probably has a pound of gook on it and makes one helluva mess when you have to get anywhere near it. I'm still cleaning it out of my fingernails from Sunday.
If this would have been me........The kayak would have sunk because it would have been filled with my poop.
Here's 3 minutes and 9 seconds you'll never get back.
Today's Science Break- Looks like a very large storm is on the way.
Here's one of the many reasons I don't buy anything with a mail-in rebate. My best Circuit City story was when the salesclerk asked me if I wanted an additional warranty on a 15 dollar set of earbuds.
Free software. Free is good.
The bikes on this site are sick.
This could be one of the dumbest laws ever if it manages to pass.
A friend of mine got hit Saturday while he was on a training ride with his team. He's gonna be okay but he sprained a knee, an ankle, broke a collarbone and got a big dose of road rash. Get well soon Joe!
Today's Science Break Part 2. Don't try this at home kids....actually, I'd like to take the glass out of the front of the microwave and see how far the fireball shoots out. But that's just me.
Here's 8 minutes and 21 seconds you'll never see again.
Currently, our daughter isn't dating anyone. But just in case..........
At least Chuck Norris has a sense of humor.
Here's a phishing alert. You can never be too safe.
This will make absolutely no sense to you if you aren't a fan of the Matrix.
World Jump Day. Hell, I'll try it.
Get a human.
I'd make one ugly-ass vase.
Former top judge says US risks edging near to dictatorship. Ya think?
I voted for Bush in 2000. Knowing what I know now, I would have voted for this guy. I'm not sure Gore would have made a good president but anything other the collapse of civilization would be better then what's going on now.
How would have Gore handled 9/11?
I'm not sure, but I don't think his handling of the event (and it's aftermath) could be any worse then how it's being handled now. Sure, it's easy to be an internet quarterback but over 3000 servicemen and woman would probably still be alive in addition to approximately 35,000 Iraqis. And it's only getting uglier.
Till later.....
From the Village Voice.
On my previous entry about podcasts, I neglected to mention a couple of podcasts my friend Ed Hidden does. Check out Edhidden.com and StudioLighting.net. He's one fine photographer in addition to being one heck of a nice guy.
I took off the 23 mm tires off my Surly and put on the 45 mm knobbies so I can ride the thing just about anywhere I want to. Lots of times I will start out on a road ride and end up at Rocky Ridge for a bathroom break, this way I can do some of the tamer trails there and not worry about pinch flatting. Plus the bike looks so much cooler with those big knobbies. Unfortunately, it's in the shop right at the moment, I screwed up one of the cranks when I was changing pedals. Oops.
Ed from Cycledog has a post up with a link on how to clean your bike. I really have to do this with the Surly, the chain probably has a pound of gook on it and makes one helluva mess when you have to get anywhere near it. I'm still cleaning it out of my fingernails from Sunday.
If this would have been me........The kayak would have sunk because it would have been filled with my poop.
Here's 3 minutes and 9 seconds you'll never get back.
Today's Science Break- Looks like a very large storm is on the way.
Here's one of the many reasons I don't buy anything with a mail-in rebate. My best Circuit City story was when the salesclerk asked me if I wanted an additional warranty on a 15 dollar set of earbuds.
Free software. Free is good.
The bikes on this site are sick.
This could be one of the dumbest laws ever if it manages to pass.
A friend of mine got hit Saturday while he was on a training ride with his team. He's gonna be okay but he sprained a knee, an ankle, broke a collarbone and got a big dose of road rash. Get well soon Joe!
Today's Science Break Part 2. Don't try this at home kids....actually, I'd like to take the glass out of the front of the microwave and see how far the fireball shoots out. But that's just me.
Here's 8 minutes and 21 seconds you'll never see again.
Currently, our daughter isn't dating anyone. But just in case..........
At least Chuck Norris has a sense of humor.
Here's a phishing alert. You can never be too safe.
This will make absolutely no sense to you if you aren't a fan of the Matrix.
World Jump Day. Hell, I'll try it.
Get a human.
I'd make one ugly-ass vase.
Former top judge says US risks edging near to dictatorship. Ya think?
I voted for Bush in 2000. Knowing what I know now, I would have voted for this guy. I'm not sure Gore would have made a good president but anything other the collapse of civilization would be better then what's going on now.
How would have Gore handled 9/11?
I'm not sure, but I don't think his handling of the event (and it's aftermath) could be any worse then how it's being handled now. Sure, it's easy to be an internet quarterback but over 3000 servicemen and woman would probably still be alive in addition to approximately 35,000 Iraqis. And it's only getting uglier.
Till later.....
Sunday, March 12, 2006
At least it isn't snow.....
So, after busting my ass all week and sleeping through Saturday which by the way, was probably the nicest day of the year so far-I get off work Sunday morning to be greeted with rain.
At least it isn't snow.
I was really looking forward to getting a decent ride in this afternoon, but it doesn't seem likely. Oh, well.....other folks out there have much worse problems then not being able to take a bike ride.............
George Bush picked another winner. I'm not an expert in retail security but I do know some stuff and I don't think they would have stopped the guy in the parking lot unless they had video proof of what he was doing. As sophisticated as the cameras are that our store uses.....it's very easy to track someone as they move about in a large store. If I'm wrong about the guy stealing-I'll say so when they prove he wasn't.
Websites that suck.
I'm proud that this guy is one of my state senators........I'm gonna go to hell for lying.
Impeach Bush. I'd vote for that.
Photo retouching. An interesting read. Has to make you wonder what is real and what's not.
Just something to think about.
Till later.
At least it isn't snow.
I was really looking forward to getting a decent ride in this afternoon, but it doesn't seem likely. Oh, well.....other folks out there have much worse problems then not being able to take a bike ride.............
George Bush picked another winner. I'm not an expert in retail security but I do know some stuff and I don't think they would have stopped the guy in the parking lot unless they had video proof of what he was doing. As sophisticated as the cameras are that our store uses.....it's very easy to track someone as they move about in a large store. If I'm wrong about the guy stealing-I'll say so when they prove he wasn't.
Websites that suck.
I'm proud that this guy is one of my state senators........I'm gonna go to hell for lying.
Impeach Bush. I'd vote for that.
Photo retouching. An interesting read. Has to make you wonder what is real and what's not.
Just something to think about.
Till later.
Friday, March 10, 2006
Search weirdness, world politics and good salad.
I was looking at my website search stats and while I don't suggest you do this........if you type in "hand in the ass" on Google, my site comes up about 15 entries down. I was a little worried for second until I realized it was a post a wrote awhile ago entitled "Hand Me My Ass".
This one is even better. For some reason, someone out there typed in "bikers ride dude rectum stories" and guess what? My site comes in #1. Yeah baby. I'd sure like to meet the person who typed that in.
Not.
There are 17 people from Australia that visit my site from time to time, 7 folks from Canada, 1 each from Finland, Germany and France. And 12 from the UK. Far out man.
My friend Doug sent me two articles to read and wanted to know what I thought of them. Set aside a few minutes or print them out to read, they're pretty good reading. Article 1 Article 2. Both articles go into quite a bit of detail and are very well written so take your time checking them out.
My thoughts? First thing I would have to say is I'm just a workin' stiff without a formal college education so my thoughts or opinions might differ from someone that has more "book" knowledge then me and I'm probably not going to due these pieces any justice by commenting on them. Here goes the Donut Guy's short and simple take.......
I'd have to say that most strife caused in the world for the past 2000 years has been caused by religion and it ain't never gonna change. Sure, not every war is fought over religion but most of the worlds problems can be traced back to some sort of difference of opinion between two opposing factions of religions.
There are all kinds of religions all over the world most folks seem to get along just fine having different opinions but unfortunately that isn't always the case. I am Protestant and my wife and kids are Catholic and while I don't agree with everything Catholics believe in, I respect what is important to them
I'm not sure but I bet that most folks that thought Islam might be a religion of violence probably now think people that believe in Islam are terrorists after watching them burn stuff down and kill innocent people over a few cartoons. Of course it's only a small group of Islamic believers that blow shit up, but they are the ones that make the news.
Here in the West, the rest of the world thinks our shit doesn't stink and that we are arrogant bastards. To a certain degree, that's true. We think we are the best and most advanced nation in the world and I'm sure that pisses off lots of folks. In fact, I'm fairly sure it pisses off most of the world. We are an easy target for all the worlds' hatred.
How are we supposed to deal with that?
Beats the hell out of me, I make donuts for a living.
All I know is our President isn't the sharpest knife in the drawer and he's gotten some incredibly bad advice from most everyone in his administration in the past 5 years. Colin Powell was smart to leave after 1 term.
I think we oughta to choose our next President using the same system that American Idol uses.
Could you imagine Bush during tryout week? He'd be a total failure. Simon would boot his ass off the show after he stammered and stuttered over a few tough foreign policy questions.
His ass would be right there on the "rejects" show right next to William Hung. At least Hung has a personality and also got a recording contract out of it.
Seriously? When one group of people are intent on killing another group of people all in the name of "religion" .........well, there ain't a whole lot of good that going to come from that. I don't think George Bush can do anything make it any better.
Unfortunately for us, he's doing a pretty good job of making it worse.
I'd love to hear what ya'll think, but if you're just going to rip my face off without adding something to the discussion or compare my neighbor to the Nazi's like a previous commenter, I'll just delete your comment. Sorry if that doesn't sound fair, but it's my blog so I get to make the rules.
If you want to call me an simple minded idiot and then explain why I'm an idiot......I'm okay with that, I have a fairly thick skin.
On to other things...........
Our son has inherited the creative cooking gene from his grandfather. My pop just has a knack for throwing stuff together and making it taste really good and our son does the same thing. I kinda do the same thing when I work, but I have to stick pretty close to our formula book; I just can't go nuts and make stuff other stores in our chain have no idea how to make.
A picture of our son's latest creation.
This salad has ramen noodles, chunk chicken, mandarin oranges, ranch dressing and a whole bunch of spices that you'd never would think to combine. How about garlic and cinnamon together? Sounds kinda weird right? I ate 3 bowls of it. It's damn good.
He has expressed an interest in learning how to be a chef, maybe he could go to the CIA, how cool would that be to have a famous chef in the family? Maybe someday I can watch him on the Food Network.........
Anyone see this? I signed up for it, looks like it could be a useful tool.
This is bullshit. We oughta be bending over backwards to do anything and everything to make US servicemen and woman's lives easier.
Use one of those debit cards at an ATM machine? Read this. Me? My wife cut mine up a couple years ago because I always forgot to tell her when I withdrew money and she couldn't never get the checkbook to balance.
I know lots of people work in one of these, I'm glad I don't.
This is good news.
I'm gonna have to get this TV documentary on Bit Torrent.
A little bit of everything today, huh?
Till later.
This one is even better. For some reason, someone out there typed in "bikers ride dude rectum stories" and guess what? My site comes in #1. Yeah baby. I'd sure like to meet the person who typed that in.
Not.
There are 17 people from Australia that visit my site from time to time, 7 folks from Canada, 1 each from Finland, Germany and France. And 12 from the UK. Far out man.
My friend Doug sent me two articles to read and wanted to know what I thought of them. Set aside a few minutes or print them out to read, they're pretty good reading. Article 1 Article 2. Both articles go into quite a bit of detail and are very well written so take your time checking them out.
My thoughts? First thing I would have to say is I'm just a workin' stiff without a formal college education so my thoughts or opinions might differ from someone that has more "book" knowledge then me and I'm probably not going to due these pieces any justice by commenting on them. Here goes the Donut Guy's short and simple take.......
I'd have to say that most strife caused in the world for the past 2000 years has been caused by religion and it ain't never gonna change. Sure, not every war is fought over religion but most of the worlds problems can be traced back to some sort of difference of opinion between two opposing factions of religions.
There are all kinds of religions all over the world most folks seem to get along just fine having different opinions but unfortunately that isn't always the case. I am Protestant and my wife and kids are Catholic and while I don't agree with everything Catholics believe in, I respect what is important to them
I'm not sure but I bet that most folks that thought Islam might be a religion of violence probably now think people that believe in Islam are terrorists after watching them burn stuff down and kill innocent people over a few cartoons. Of course it's only a small group of Islamic believers that blow shit up, but they are the ones that make the news.
Here in the West, the rest of the world thinks our shit doesn't stink and that we are arrogant bastards. To a certain degree, that's true. We think we are the best and most advanced nation in the world and I'm sure that pisses off lots of folks. In fact, I'm fairly sure it pisses off most of the world. We are an easy target for all the worlds' hatred.
How are we supposed to deal with that?
Beats the hell out of me, I make donuts for a living.
All I know is our President isn't the sharpest knife in the drawer and he's gotten some incredibly bad advice from most everyone in his administration in the past 5 years. Colin Powell was smart to leave after 1 term.
I think we oughta to choose our next President using the same system that American Idol uses.
Could you imagine Bush during tryout week? He'd be a total failure. Simon would boot his ass off the show after he stammered and stuttered over a few tough foreign policy questions.
His ass would be right there on the "rejects" show right next to William Hung. At least Hung has a personality and also got a recording contract out of it.
Seriously? When one group of people are intent on killing another group of people all in the name of "religion" .........well, there ain't a whole lot of good that going to come from that. I don't think George Bush can do anything make it any better.
Unfortunately for us, he's doing a pretty good job of making it worse.
I'd love to hear what ya'll think, but if you're just going to rip my face off without adding something to the discussion or compare my neighbor to the Nazi's like a previous commenter, I'll just delete your comment. Sorry if that doesn't sound fair, but it's my blog so I get to make the rules.
If you want to call me an simple minded idiot and then explain why I'm an idiot......I'm okay with that, I have a fairly thick skin.
On to other things...........
Our son has inherited the creative cooking gene from his grandfather. My pop just has a knack for throwing stuff together and making it taste really good and our son does the same thing. I kinda do the same thing when I work, but I have to stick pretty close to our formula book; I just can't go nuts and make stuff other stores in our chain have no idea how to make.
A picture of our son's latest creation.
This salad has ramen noodles, chunk chicken, mandarin oranges, ranch dressing and a whole bunch of spices that you'd never would think to combine. How about garlic and cinnamon together? Sounds kinda weird right? I ate 3 bowls of it. It's damn good.
He has expressed an interest in learning how to be a chef, maybe he could go to the CIA, how cool would that be to have a famous chef in the family? Maybe someday I can watch him on the Food Network.........
Anyone see this? I signed up for it, looks like it could be a useful tool.
This is bullshit. We oughta be bending over backwards to do anything and everything to make US servicemen and woman's lives easier.
Use one of those debit cards at an ATM machine? Read this. Me? My wife cut mine up a couple years ago because I always forgot to tell her when I withdrew money and she couldn't never get the checkbook to balance.
I know lots of people work in one of these, I'm glad I don't.
This is good news.
I'm gonna have to get this TV documentary on Bit Torrent.
A little bit of everything today, huh?
Till later.
Wednesday, March 08, 2006
More podcasts and assorted stuff.
Here's a few of the podcasts I listen to when I'm working...........
The Discovery Channel-all kinds of stuff here, just like the TV channel. This podcast alone is worth getting an MP3 player for.
Anarchy-X -Don't listen to this one if you are a George Bush fanboy. It's two Southern Cali guys discussing life and politics.
Keith and the Girl. I can't believe this couple hasn't made it big time yet. They are funny as hell and no topic is off-limits.
2600 The Hacker Quarterly. The will get you two podcasts which are actual radio shows with Emanuel Goldstein. Question authority!
Bicyclemark's Communique. The exaggerations and observations of a Portuguese-American, radical, activist-blogger, podjournalist, and citizen reporter; living in Amsterdam. (His words, not mine)
KCRW. They have a whole boatload of podcasts. My fav is Left, Right and Center.
Penn Gillette has a podcast. It's funny. Here's the feed.
The PK and J show. For adults only.
TWIT. For tech geeks and Leo Leporte fans.
Not sure what podcasting is? Check this site out for an explanation.
Anyone have any others?...............
Anyone need a cordless mouse?
Improv Everywhere. Those guys are a hoot.
Disneyland from 1956. Dig those colors.
I need a set of these for my minivan.
Here's what the Australian media thinks of what the Bush Administration has been up to lately. I'd have to agree with them. The BBC doesn't have anything nice to say either. Neither does this Republican Congressman. Let's face it, the guy ain't doing such a bang-up job....... the numbers don't lie.
Almost half of all kids will be overweight by 2010? That's downright scary, but I see it all the time where I work.
America is wasting it's money on the "War on Drugs". Legalize marihuana, it's no more harmful then alcohol or tobacco.
Do I smoke it?
Nope.
Do I want my kids smoking it?
Nope.
I also don't want them drinking or smoking tobacco either. I think it's great that the government is making it hard for meth makers to produce meth, but as far as stopping folks from smoking a little weed once and awhile.........gimme a break, it's no worse then drinking a few beers or cocktails. And smoking takes 30 or 40 years to kill you. As for heroin and coke, why not legalize it and more importantly-tax it.
Personally, I think you're an idiot if you do hard drugs or smoke but as long as you don't drive under the influence or steal to support your habit..........go ahead and ruin your life. It's none of my business.
Why bother drinking coffee when you can drink this. 200 mg of caffeine? A couple bottles of that stuff and I wouldn't sleep for days, or it might even kill me.
This sounds like a fun volunteer job. How much more excellent could a job get then handing out tickets to assholes that so richly deserve them. The story reminded me of one time when I saw a cop zoom in behind 4 or 5 yuppiemobiles illegally parked in front of the local Starbucks to raise a little revenue.
This is good. Fox News is about as fair and balanced as the Bush Administration. Which is to say........not very.
I was looking online for when DST starts. It must suck to live in Indiana.
I'll be doing some volunteering for the next month or so helping a local troop of Boy Scouts get their "cycling" badge, I was at their troup meeting last night and it's a nice sized group of young men. Should be quite a lot of fun, next week all the guys are bringing in their bikes for a safety check. The parents were impressed that I rode my bike there in the dark. I have 3 rear blinkies and 3 separate headlights and wear a reflective vest so if someone hits me, it's probably on purpose.
Reading this story about Barry Bonds makes me sad for baseball.
Reading this story just makes me wish I coulda voted.
I can hardly wait until our store is finished being remodeled. Every evening, the HVAC guys have been using "high-lifts" to get at all the stuff in the ceiling and whenever one of them moves one around, it goes beep....beep.....beep.....beep. I'll be hearing beeps in my sleep soon.
Till later.
The Discovery Channel-all kinds of stuff here, just like the TV channel. This podcast alone is worth getting an MP3 player for.
Anarchy-X -Don't listen to this one if you are a George Bush fanboy. It's two Southern Cali guys discussing life and politics.
Keith and the Girl. I can't believe this couple hasn't made it big time yet. They are funny as hell and no topic is off-limits.
2600 The Hacker Quarterly. The will get you two podcasts which are actual radio shows with Emanuel Goldstein. Question authority!
Bicyclemark's Communique. The exaggerations and observations of a Portuguese-American, radical, activist-blogger, podjournalist, and citizen reporter; living in Amsterdam. (His words, not mine)
KCRW. They have a whole boatload of podcasts. My fav is Left, Right and Center.
Penn Gillette has a podcast. It's funny. Here's the feed.
The PK and J show. For adults only.
TWIT. For tech geeks and Leo Leporte fans.
Not sure what podcasting is? Check this site out for an explanation.
Anyone have any others?...............
Anyone need a cordless mouse?
Improv Everywhere. Those guys are a hoot.
Disneyland from 1956. Dig those colors.
I need a set of these for my minivan.
Here's what the Australian media thinks of what the Bush Administration has been up to lately. I'd have to agree with them. The BBC doesn't have anything nice to say either. Neither does this Republican Congressman. Let's face it, the guy ain't doing such a bang-up job....... the numbers don't lie.
Almost half of all kids will be overweight by 2010? That's downright scary, but I see it all the time where I work.
America is wasting it's money on the "War on Drugs". Legalize marihuana, it's no more harmful then alcohol or tobacco.
Do I smoke it?
Nope.
Do I want my kids smoking it?
Nope.
I also don't want them drinking or smoking tobacco either. I think it's great that the government is making it hard for meth makers to produce meth, but as far as stopping folks from smoking a little weed once and awhile.........gimme a break, it's no worse then drinking a few beers or cocktails. And smoking takes 30 or 40 years to kill you. As for heroin and coke, why not legalize it and more importantly-tax it.
Personally, I think you're an idiot if you do hard drugs or smoke but as long as you don't drive under the influence or steal to support your habit..........go ahead and ruin your life. It's none of my business.
Why bother drinking coffee when you can drink this. 200 mg of caffeine? A couple bottles of that stuff and I wouldn't sleep for days, or it might even kill me.
This sounds like a fun volunteer job. How much more excellent could a job get then handing out tickets to assholes that so richly deserve them. The story reminded me of one time when I saw a cop zoom in behind 4 or 5 yuppiemobiles illegally parked in front of the local Starbucks to raise a little revenue.
This is good. Fox News is about as fair and balanced as the Bush Administration. Which is to say........not very.
I was looking online for when DST starts. It must suck to live in Indiana.
I'll be doing some volunteering for the next month or so helping a local troop of Boy Scouts get their "cycling" badge, I was at their troup meeting last night and it's a nice sized group of young men. Should be quite a lot of fun, next week all the guys are bringing in their bikes for a safety check. The parents were impressed that I rode my bike there in the dark. I have 3 rear blinkies and 3 separate headlights and wear a reflective vest so if someone hits me, it's probably on purpose.
Reading this story about Barry Bonds makes me sad for baseball.
Reading this story just makes me wish I coulda voted.
I can hardly wait until our store is finished being remodeled. Every evening, the HVAC guys have been using "high-lifts" to get at all the stuff in the ceiling and whenever one of them moves one around, it goes beep....beep.....beep.....beep. I'll be hearing beeps in my sleep soon.
Till later.
Sunday, March 05, 2006
Been off for a few days........
Have to thank Tim for the link that generated the above picture.
I think I'd like to be out riding my bike as well.
This game is addictive.
Been off for a couple days, sure is nice not to have to go to work. I could get used to this for sure. Still a touch too cold and windy for much bike riding, I'm such a wuss.
Stopped in at Gung Ho to inquire about how much a Surly Pugsley is gonna cost me, looks like I'm going to have a "used bike" sale here pretty soon as I really want a Pug. I guess I like stuff that is different then what most folks ride, I also like the simplicity of a rigid bike.
I work retail and while it isn't the most glamorous job, it pays the bills. I work with a couple of folks that have had their jobs shipped off to India, I'm going to send them this link. They don't make nearly as much as they used to but at least having a job is better then no job at all, I suppose.
I'd like to have a rest stop named after my blog.
This hardly comes as a surprise. I think HFCS has quite a bit to do with the current trend towards obesity.
"We don't like having a lot of stuff, so we give some away,". Hell, give it to me.
I can hardly wait to see some soccer mom driving one of these.
Some guy learns how not to rob a convenience store. SFW video on a NSFW website.
Why didn't they have this when I was a kid.........oh wait, I still am.
Here's the Danes apology to the Muslims.
Till later.
Thursday, March 02, 2006
Civil War in Iraq
I'm no expert in foreign policy, but now might be a good time to get the hell out of Iraq, If George times it right, nobody in Iraq is gonna notice, because they'll be too busy killing each other.
Yeah, I know that sounds cold, but the Sunnis and Shiites have been at each others throats for the last 1300 years and I don't see anything changing that.
Here's an e-mail a friend sent me..............
Hi George,
My new thinking is that we attacked Iraq not just for
oil, but to position ourselves for the real attack,
Iran. I am not going to ever say I was against
invading Iraq, but I am sadden...and now I'm getting
scared that we will attach Iran. That will be a huge
mistake.
I heard mentioned by a caller to a talk show this
morning that being friendly with United Arab Emirates
was all about it's strategic location to Iran. So, I
typed "Middle East Map" into Google and w-o-w, it's
right on the south side of Iran across the Straight Of
Hormuz!
Here's the thing, George, I believe them when they
scared me into agreeing with them on attacking Iraq,
but, I'm not buying into any more of the fear talk of
this administration about what we should do. My fear
is they have some global domination agenda and will
kill us all to see it through.
Anyone else think Bush and his band of merrymakers are planning a field trip to Iran? I sure hope not. If he thinks Iraq is a tough place to institute some form of democracy, Iran certainly won't be any easier.
I know some folks think I enjoy bashing the Bush Administration. I really don't.
Honest.
But when our great country is being flushed down the toilet by one of the most inept Presidents since Warren G. Harding and American service men and woman are being killed and maimed for no good reason in a country where we have no business being..............I have a hard time keeping my opinions to myself.
My hope is that the Democrats win a majority in the Senate and House in the upcoming election and start impeachment proceedings. Not that the Dems are better then anyone else......
On to some other stuff.....................
I say give her half of everything. It was probably the happiest year of the guys life.
I see Saddam's trial is going well. Obviously, the guy's guilty as hell of committing the crime he's charged for, can you imagine the hell that will be unleashed if they hang him?
US port sale "was truly flawed" Really? I think a lot of the fuss is Democrats blowing smoke and Republicans getting another chance to distance themselves from Mr. Bush. Can you blame them? Congress has enough problems on their own.
Here's a very interesting story concerning AOL...........
You've Got a Bogus Account With AOL!
Michael Hiltzik
Golden State
February 27, 2006
America Online never stops telling us about how vigorously it strives to protect its members from spam, viruses, spyware, identity theft and all sorts of other fraudulent behavior on the Internet.
What it doesn't talk about is this: What chance do we have when AOL itself is a participant in, or at least a beneficiary of, the fraud?
That's the question implicit in the story I'm about to relate.
About a month ago, a couple of suspicious charges appeared on my American Express card statement. AmEx informed me that the vendor was AOL. This was odd: I hadn't signed up with AOL. In any event, I use the card in question — a corporate card issued by The Times — for business expenses and travel only. American Express obligingly suspended the charges and opened an investigation.
Meanwhile, I started my own inquiry by calling AOL. After much wasted time and effort (I believe that trying to speak to AOL by telephone was originally devised as a torment for mortals in purgatory), I was able to inform a phone rep that my credit card number had been used fraudulently and that I wanted the online account closed. She asked for my account number and screen name. When I replied that the whole problem was that I didn't have an account number or screen name, she refused to take any action. Instead, she gave me a number for AOL's fraud department.
Considering that the fraud guys, if they're doing their jobs properly, will cost AOL money by weeding out improper accounts, it's hardly surprising that they're very hard to reach. The first time I called, I spent 53 minutes on hold, at which point the battery of my cordless phone expired. Moving on with my life, I didn't try again for another three weeks. This time I was on hold for 57 minutes, but the cordless held out. The live representative I finally reached took down my credit card number, scrutinized the account and terminated it on the spot. The following conversation ensued:
Me: "Can you tell me how this happened?"
AOL: "Somebody had your card number."
"Who?"
"We couldn't tell you."
"Why not?"
"You'd have to subpoena the records."
"I'm going to need a subpoena to know who stole my card number? How do I go about getting a subpoena?"
"Well, you could contact your district attorney's office."
When I instructed him to reverse the charges to my credit card, he offered to mail me an affidavit to fill out. AOL would credit back the false charges I listed on the form, he said, but only if they were incurred within the previous 90 days. "We feel that 90 days is enough time for someone to inform us that they did not start an account with us," he said.
"Really? Do you have any idea how difficult it is to get through to you?"
The rep acknowledged that many customers might not receive a credit card statement showing a fraudulent charge until a month after it was made. That's 30 days down the drain. Some people don't have the better part of a few hours to waste on hold until AOL gets around to picking up the phone on its own schedule. This phone number, by the way, is the only path to the fraud department — AOL doesn't accept such complaints online, or by fax or e-mail. So another couple of months might elapse before some people get through. Ninety days can pass in the blink of an eye.
Presently, my affidavit arrived. To say the least, it's a massive intrusion on my privacy. It requires me to mail AOL copies of my credit card bill, along with a personal utility or insurance bill as proof of residence. (Question: If I don't live at the address I gave them, how did I receive the form they mailed me?) It asks for the names of all authorized users of the credit card. And so on.
Plainly, none of this would be necessary if AOL followed reasonable security measures and identity verification procedures at its end. Its sign-up program evidently can spot whether a card submitted for billing has been fabricated or reported lost or stolen (it then refuses to open the new account), but it doesn't appear to verify the submitted billing address or otherwise determine whether an unauthorized user might be exploiting a stolen number. Otherwise, the system presumably would have refused my AmEx card, because it's doubtful that whoever used my number also had my billing address handy. Anyway, forcing complainants to jump through hoops for redress is simply unconscionable.
AOL's behavior explains why I've never trusted its subscriber numbers, which currently stand at 25.5 million (supposedly). The company's shenanigans to inflate its subscriber count were partially behind a $500-million civil and federal settlement its parent, Time Warner Inc., agreed to pay last year. Canceling an AOL account is so famously difficult that whole hectares of cyberspace are devoted to forums in which the unsuccessful trade sad songs of failure. Oddly for a company with "online" in its name, AOL doesn't let you cancel online. You have to call it up. An AOL spokesman told me last week that that's because AOL wants to be sure you are who you say you are and to offer to rectify your service complaint before you flee, but that's malarkey. The real reason is that by erecting a barrier to cancellation, AOL hopes you'll forget about it or just give up.
Nevertheless, AOL lost 3 million subscribers last year. The company must be getting desperate. What does this mean for the rest of us? I don't know, but in future, I plan to check my credit card statements very carefully.
Nice, huh? If you use AOL, do yourself a favor and switch to another ISP.
Last night I had a customer ask me for the "special price" for a dozen donuts.
To be honest, she kinda lost me for a moment until I realized she was asking me to discount them for her because she thought she could get them cheaper. I love folks that try to get something for less then everyone else.
I've been using the beta version of this for a couple weeks, it's good stuff.
Read this interview ABC did with Bush. Now seriously ask yourself.........is he living in a different reality then the rest of us? 3 more years of this asshole? God help us all.
My neighbor is a pilot for American. Here's why he makes the big bucks. If I have a bad day at work, I burn a few donuts.........If he has a bad day at work, we all get to read about it in the newspaper. Those were some major cross winds.
Sometimes I feel like this.
Till later.
Yeah, I know that sounds cold, but the Sunnis and Shiites have been at each others throats for the last 1300 years and I don't see anything changing that.
Here's an e-mail a friend sent me..............
Hi George,
My new thinking is that we attacked Iraq not just for
oil, but to position ourselves for the real attack,
Iran. I am not going to ever say I was against
invading Iraq, but I am sadden...and now I'm getting
scared that we will attach Iran. That will be a huge
mistake.
I heard mentioned by a caller to a talk show this
morning that being friendly with United Arab Emirates
was all about it's strategic location to Iran. So, I
typed "Middle East Map" into Google and w-o-w, it's
right on the south side of Iran across the Straight Of
Hormuz!
Here's the thing, George, I believe them when they
scared me into agreeing with them on attacking Iraq,
but, I'm not buying into any more of the fear talk of
this administration about what we should do. My fear
is they have some global domination agenda and will
kill us all to see it through.
Anyone else think Bush and his band of merrymakers are planning a field trip to Iran? I sure hope not. If he thinks Iraq is a tough place to institute some form of democracy, Iran certainly won't be any easier.
I know some folks think I enjoy bashing the Bush Administration. I really don't.
Honest.
But when our great country is being flushed down the toilet by one of the most inept Presidents since Warren G. Harding and American service men and woman are being killed and maimed for no good reason in a country where we have no business being..............I have a hard time keeping my opinions to myself.
My hope is that the Democrats win a majority in the Senate and House in the upcoming election and start impeachment proceedings. Not that the Dems are better then anyone else......
On to some other stuff.....................
I say give her half of everything. It was probably the happiest year of the guys life.
I see Saddam's trial is going well. Obviously, the guy's guilty as hell of committing the crime he's charged for, can you imagine the hell that will be unleashed if they hang him?
US port sale "was truly flawed" Really? I think a lot of the fuss is Democrats blowing smoke and Republicans getting another chance to distance themselves from Mr. Bush. Can you blame them? Congress has enough problems on their own.
Here's a very interesting story concerning AOL...........
You've Got a Bogus Account With AOL!
Michael Hiltzik
Golden State
February 27, 2006
America Online never stops telling us about how vigorously it strives to protect its members from spam, viruses, spyware, identity theft and all sorts of other fraudulent behavior on the Internet.
What it doesn't talk about is this: What chance do we have when AOL itself is a participant in, or at least a beneficiary of, the fraud?
That's the question implicit in the story I'm about to relate.
About a month ago, a couple of suspicious charges appeared on my American Express card statement. AmEx informed me that the vendor was AOL. This was odd: I hadn't signed up with AOL. In any event, I use the card in question — a corporate card issued by The Times — for business expenses and travel only. American Express obligingly suspended the charges and opened an investigation.
Meanwhile, I started my own inquiry by calling AOL. After much wasted time and effort (I believe that trying to speak to AOL by telephone was originally devised as a torment for mortals in purgatory), I was able to inform a phone rep that my credit card number had been used fraudulently and that I wanted the online account closed. She asked for my account number and screen name. When I replied that the whole problem was that I didn't have an account number or screen name, she refused to take any action. Instead, she gave me a number for AOL's fraud department.
Considering that the fraud guys, if they're doing their jobs properly, will cost AOL money by weeding out improper accounts, it's hardly surprising that they're very hard to reach. The first time I called, I spent 53 minutes on hold, at which point the battery of my cordless phone expired. Moving on with my life, I didn't try again for another three weeks. This time I was on hold for 57 minutes, but the cordless held out. The live representative I finally reached took down my credit card number, scrutinized the account and terminated it on the spot. The following conversation ensued:
Me: "Can you tell me how this happened?"
AOL: "Somebody had your card number."
"Who?"
"We couldn't tell you."
"Why not?"
"You'd have to subpoena the records."
"I'm going to need a subpoena to know who stole my card number? How do I go about getting a subpoena?"
"Well, you could contact your district attorney's office."
When I instructed him to reverse the charges to my credit card, he offered to mail me an affidavit to fill out. AOL would credit back the false charges I listed on the form, he said, but only if they were incurred within the previous 90 days. "We feel that 90 days is enough time for someone to inform us that they did not start an account with us," he said.
"Really? Do you have any idea how difficult it is to get through to you?"
The rep acknowledged that many customers might not receive a credit card statement showing a fraudulent charge until a month after it was made. That's 30 days down the drain. Some people don't have the better part of a few hours to waste on hold until AOL gets around to picking up the phone on its own schedule. This phone number, by the way, is the only path to the fraud department — AOL doesn't accept such complaints online, or by fax or e-mail. So another couple of months might elapse before some people get through. Ninety days can pass in the blink of an eye.
Presently, my affidavit arrived. To say the least, it's a massive intrusion on my privacy. It requires me to mail AOL copies of my credit card bill, along with a personal utility or insurance bill as proof of residence. (Question: If I don't live at the address I gave them, how did I receive the form they mailed me?) It asks for the names of all authorized users of the credit card. And so on.
Plainly, none of this would be necessary if AOL followed reasonable security measures and identity verification procedures at its end. Its sign-up program evidently can spot whether a card submitted for billing has been fabricated or reported lost or stolen (it then refuses to open the new account), but it doesn't appear to verify the submitted billing address or otherwise determine whether an unauthorized user might be exploiting a stolen number. Otherwise, the system presumably would have refused my AmEx card, because it's doubtful that whoever used my number also had my billing address handy. Anyway, forcing complainants to jump through hoops for redress is simply unconscionable.
AOL's behavior explains why I've never trusted its subscriber numbers, which currently stand at 25.5 million (supposedly). The company's shenanigans to inflate its subscriber count were partially behind a $500-million civil and federal settlement its parent, Time Warner Inc., agreed to pay last year. Canceling an AOL account is so famously difficult that whole hectares of cyberspace are devoted to forums in which the unsuccessful trade sad songs of failure. Oddly for a company with "online" in its name, AOL doesn't let you cancel online. You have to call it up. An AOL spokesman told me last week that that's because AOL wants to be sure you are who you say you are and to offer to rectify your service complaint before you flee, but that's malarkey. The real reason is that by erecting a barrier to cancellation, AOL hopes you'll forget about it or just give up.
Nevertheless, AOL lost 3 million subscribers last year. The company must be getting desperate. What does this mean for the rest of us? I don't know, but in future, I plan to check my credit card statements very carefully.
Nice, huh? If you use AOL, do yourself a favor and switch to another ISP.
Last night I had a customer ask me for the "special price" for a dozen donuts.
To be honest, she kinda lost me for a moment until I realized she was asking me to discount them for her because she thought she could get them cheaper. I love folks that try to get something for less then everyone else.
I've been using the beta version of this for a couple weeks, it's good stuff.
Read this interview ABC did with Bush. Now seriously ask yourself.........is he living in a different reality then the rest of us? 3 more years of this asshole? God help us all.
My neighbor is a pilot for American. Here's why he makes the big bucks. If I have a bad day at work, I burn a few donuts.........If he has a bad day at work, we all get to read about it in the newspaper. Those were some major cross winds.
Sometimes I feel like this.
Till later.
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