Lately there's been a slate of ads touting reduced cell phone rates. I rarely watch TV, and I still have been subjected to countless ads that imply a victorious rate reduction from $99 a month to $69 a month.
I can't tell you how amazingly hokey they are. Ads are the reason I can't stand to watch TV to begin with, and so I suffer greatly in order to see the occasional episode of Criminal Minds.
The biggest problem I have with TV ads is that they're geared toward the average idiot, and they are a blatant attempt to manipulate. If *I* want a product, I'll research it through Consumer Reports first. I don't care if someone with a "witty" personality or capped teeth is trying to sell it to me.
Of course I'm in the minority.
However, being subjected to those ads is why this article is of such an interest to me. The author claims that (gasp!) these reduced fees are a precursor to future hidden fees.
Ah, the old "bait-and-switch." It's nice to know that the ethics of the snake oil salesman remain with us to this day. "The more things change, the more they remain the same," as Alphonse Karr said.
In the meantime, may I recommend Metro PCS?
Their customer service is absolutely horrendous, and you can almost never speak to a real person if you try calling them. So, when you DO need customer service, you usually have to go to a local company owned store and wait for an hour or so (I am NOT exaggerating). But... how often do you need customer service, anyway?
I probably lose 2 hours a year waiting to talk to someone at the store, and probably my blood pressure peaks close to a stroke when I try to call them a couple times a year, but you get what you pay for.
Metro PCS offers unlimited talk and texting for something around $60 a month. Yeah, you have to buy the phone, but I used to have Verizon and they positively rooked me for everything they could get out of me. My savings with Metro PCS are at least $100 a month, overall.
So in this economy:
Metro PCS = Cheap Rates + Poor Service
Other Companies = Higher Rates + Locked-in Contracts + Good Service
You do the math.
Monday, January 25, 2010
Friday, January 22, 2010
Roxxxy
Originally the designer of Roxxxy intended for her to become a "home companion" for shut-ins. But because the porn industry is such a lucrative one, he decided to hone her into a highly sophisticated sex toy, instead.
Meet Roxxxy: Although she looks a little neanderthal, she is a large, talking doll with ... er... ports of access.
Yeah, she's not really a looker, but then again, I doubt that matters much. Anyway, this is being hailed as "progress" among a few who are supposedly tech savvy. The sad truth is, though, that although she's billed as a robot, she has no movement and is merely a large, pornographic version of the Chatty Cathy doll:
Technologically speaking, we are still a long way from Cherry 2000, that wonderfully campy SciFi flick from the 1980s. But in Cherry 2000, the protagonist finally learns the value of a true woman, flaws and all. I guess some men are still learning that lesson.
Meet Roxxxy: Although she looks a little neanderthal, she is a large, talking doll with ... er... ports of access.
Yeah, she's not really a looker, but then again, I doubt that matters much. Anyway, this is being hailed as "progress" among a few who are supposedly tech savvy. The sad truth is, though, that although she's billed as a robot, she has no movement and is merely a large, pornographic version of the Chatty Cathy doll:
Technologically speaking, we are still a long way from Cherry 2000, that wonderfully campy SciFi flick from the 1980s. But in Cherry 2000, the protagonist finally learns the value of a true woman, flaws and all. I guess some men are still learning that lesson.
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Scott Brown Takes the Kennedy Seat
I am truly surprised. I never thought that a conservative could take such a liberal stronghold as Massachusetts, long dominated by the corrupt Kennedy clan.
Amazingly, this is what it will take to kill the President's health care agenda. I hear the mournful bells tolling now. And in some ways, it's a pity. I think we need national health care, but we don't need the Frankenstein's monster that Congress cooked up.
Apparently Brown's daughter is a former contestant from American Idol. I'm not familiar with his campaign race, nor am I familiar with his daughter. But I am led to wonder: Is this just another faddish election, like the election for Obama was? Or did people truly vote for Brown due to his principles?
Only time will tell.
Amazingly, this is what it will take to kill the President's health care agenda. I hear the mournful bells tolling now. And in some ways, it's a pity. I think we need national health care, but we don't need the Frankenstein's monster that Congress cooked up.
Apparently Brown's daughter is a former contestant from American Idol. I'm not familiar with his campaign race, nor am I familiar with his daughter. But I am led to wonder: Is this just another faddish election, like the election for Obama was? Or did people truly vote for Brown due to his principles?
Only time will tell.
Monday, January 18, 2010
Happy MLK Day
To all friends and loved ones: Happy Martin Luther King Day!
Only roughly 50% of businesses were closed today. I see that as progress: I didn't even realize there were that many!
I have mixed feelings about Martin Luther King. For more on that, read my article last year. I would prefer this to be a holiday celebrating the ending of segregation, instead of naming it after one man only, when there were so many who were part of the movement.
However, we celebrate what MLK stands for, with the hopes that some day complete equality will be enjoyed by all of us.
Only roughly 50% of businesses were closed today. I see that as progress: I didn't even realize there were that many!
I have mixed feelings about Martin Luther King. For more on that, read my article last year. I would prefer this to be a holiday celebrating the ending of segregation, instead of naming it after one man only, when there were so many who were part of the movement.
However, we celebrate what MLK stands for, with the hopes that some day complete equality will be enjoyed by all of us.
Friday, January 15, 2010
Aid to Haiti
There's nothing like hearing slobbering idiots like Pat Robertson make a bad situation worse.
According to Pat, Haitians made a pact with the Devil and this is payback time. Wow, Pat, all the Haitians? Really? Then they weren't getting much in return, were they? It's more likely a bet that the Pope got that deal: Look at his swanky bachelor pad.
And of course Rush Limbaugh waded into the fray, claiming that the Haitians already get enough aid from us.
Crazy, huh?
Well... Despite my distaste for Rush at times, he is correct.
When will the United States learn where our boundaries lie? Our territory extends no further south than Key West.*
Well, good thing we're all so rich and have such a robust economy here, right?
Oh, wait a minute...
Obama has pledged over $100 million in aid to Haiti. How nice of him to choose to send our tax dollars elswhere, when we need it so badly here.
Is Haiti's situation pitiful? Of course it is! But is it our business to fix it? Have everybody's problems become our own, when we can not even take care of ourselves?
The USA had 3.9 million foreclosures in 2009, and they predict even more this year. Unemployment is the highest in thirty years (and some believe it is higher). The US is already a nation in extreme debt. Couldn't that $100 million help us in any of these areas?
Charity begins at home.
Jennifer Love Hewitt: Vagazzle?
OK, this is so tacky it may not be worth discussing, but Hewitt declared yesterday that she has pierced her vagina multiple times and embedded it with decorative Swarovski crystals (i.e. decorative cut glass). She says it looks like a disco ball down there.
First: Hewitt refers to her vagina as her "precious lady". How childish is that! Aren't we all grownups around here, or do men still have weewees?
Second: How can she clean herself effectively now? And how often does she remove the crystals to get out all the er...stuff that might accumulate in those crystals? Sounds pretty foul to me.
And don't they snag on everything? Sitting down must take a lot of adjustment.
Lastly, can the men really appreciate it? I'll bet they use a lot of Neosporin after a wild night.
There is a reason that even porn stars aren't... er... vagazzling. Or, are they? Perhaps this is a trend I've missed among skanks.
* That is, unless you include Puerto Rico: Another parasitic country masquerading as a US state only when it's convenient. And yet, Puerto Ricans don't pay federal income taxes to the USA. And, of course, neither does any other country on the face of the earth.
According to Pat, Haitians made a pact with the Devil and this is payback time. Wow, Pat, all the Haitians? Really? Then they weren't getting much in return, were they? It's more likely a bet that the Pope got that deal: Look at his swanky bachelor pad.
And of course Rush Limbaugh waded into the fray, claiming that the Haitians already get enough aid from us.
Crazy, huh?
Well... Despite my distaste for Rush at times, he is correct.
When will the United States learn where our boundaries lie? Our territory extends no further south than Key West.*
Well, good thing we're all so rich and have such a robust economy here, right?
Oh, wait a minute...
Obama has pledged over $100 million in aid to Haiti. How nice of him to choose to send our tax dollars elswhere, when we need it so badly here.
Is Haiti's situation pitiful? Of course it is! But is it our business to fix it? Have everybody's problems become our own, when we can not even take care of ourselves?
The USA had 3.9 million foreclosures in 2009, and they predict even more this year. Unemployment is the highest in thirty years (and some believe it is higher). The US is already a nation in extreme debt. Couldn't that $100 million help us in any of these areas?
Charity begins at home.
Jennifer Love Hewitt: Vagazzle?
OK, this is so tacky it may not be worth discussing, but Hewitt declared yesterday that she has pierced her vagina multiple times and embedded it with decorative Swarovski crystals (i.e. decorative cut glass). She says it looks like a disco ball down there.
First: Hewitt refers to her vagina as her "precious lady". How childish is that! Aren't we all grownups around here, or do men still have weewees?
Second: How can she clean herself effectively now? And how often does she remove the crystals to get out all the er...stuff that might accumulate in those crystals? Sounds pretty foul to me.
And don't they snag on everything? Sitting down must take a lot of adjustment.
Lastly, can the men really appreciate it? I'll bet they use a lot of Neosporin after a wild night.
There is a reason that even porn stars aren't... er... vagazzling. Or, are they? Perhaps this is a trend I've missed among skanks.
* That is, unless you include Puerto Rico: Another parasitic country masquerading as a US state only when it's convenient. And yet, Puerto Ricans don't pay federal income taxes to the USA. And, of course, neither does any other country on the face of the earth.
Thursday, January 14, 2010
Blogger Spammers: How They Do It
Lately we've all been getting these idiots who post to our blogs advertising products that they hope the gullible will click on.
Their attempts are very obvious. First they praise you for something you've written ("What an amazing insight into hemorrhoids!"). Then they try to segue their product into their observations ("And speaking of hemorrhoids, have you seen this article on Harry Reid?") The link is, of course, added there so that you can click on it and with every click, they make a little money.
One of you mentioned that spambots may have become more sophisticated.
They have. And they're called "gullible humans".
There's apparently a new "industry" which is taking advantage of the depression/recession (pick your term). People are paid miniscule amounts of cash for every spam bomb they can drop on helpless bloggers that result in click throughs.
Of course this will pay as well as the citizen journalism sites (pennies per article) and ultimately the fad will fade. But until then, be prepared for idiots.
Their attempts are very obvious. First they praise you for something you've written ("What an amazing insight into hemorrhoids!"). Then they try to segue their product into their observations ("And speaking of hemorrhoids, have you seen this article on Harry Reid?") The link is, of course, added there so that you can click on it and with every click, they make a little money.
One of you mentioned that spambots may have become more sophisticated.
They have. And they're called "gullible humans".
There's apparently a new "industry" which is taking advantage of the depression/recession (pick your term). People are paid miniscule amounts of cash for every spam bomb they can drop on helpless bloggers that result in click throughs.
Of course this will pay as well as the citizen journalism sites (pennies per article) and ultimately the fad will fade. But until then, be prepared for idiots.
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
The Breaking of Nations
This is truly one of the most frightening articles I've ever read.
It's about how the European Union (EU) is now forcing all nations under them to drop or alter their laws, British citizens are being legally kidnapped by foreign governments to stand trial for alleged crimes, and the EU has forcibly installed "...a European justice system, replacing centuries of Anglo-Saxon common law with the Code Napoleon -- i.e., guilty until proven innocent."
This may not be an easy read, but if you read anything at all today, you really need to see this article.
And Americans aren't far behind. You will also read about how NAFTA and WTO are superseding our American government.
For those of you who aren't familiar with American Thinker, it is a very trusted and reliable source - and hardly The National Enquirer.
It's about how the European Union (EU) is now forcing all nations under them to drop or alter their laws, British citizens are being legally kidnapped by foreign governments to stand trial for alleged crimes, and the EU has forcibly installed "...a European justice system, replacing centuries of Anglo-Saxon common law with the Code Napoleon -- i.e., guilty until proven innocent."
This may not be an easy read, but if you read anything at all today, you really need to see this article.
And Americans aren't far behind. You will also read about how NAFTA and WTO are superseding our American government.
For those of you who aren't familiar with American Thinker, it is a very trusted and reliable source - and hardly The National Enquirer.
Monday, January 11, 2010
The Great Depression Redux
I grew up with stories of The Great Depression because I was lucky enough to be very close to my grandparents on both sides. Although my mother's parents refused to discuss it, my father's parents had many 'entertaining' tales, such as:
1. The fact that my grandmother owned only one bra and one set of panties, which were religiously washed out the night before and hung up to dry for work the next day.
2. My grandmother had 7 siblings and two parents. Her father was the town drunk, who drank away any wages he got for the little work he did. That left it up to the rest of them to find money somehow. My great grandmother, Nana, raised chickens and sold the eggs for a little extra money, and my grandmother was the only one of the children who was able to find work.
3. Grandma was a telephone operator in New York and that was considered to be a plush job by Great Depression standards. Her bosses insisted on perfect diction, so the women would hold pebbles in their mouths and learn to speak clearly around the pebbles. If those standards were applied today, most telephone operators would be on the streets.
But what really stuck in my head was the great deprivation they all suffered. And it scares me, because I truly do not believe the American people are equipped for The Great Depression Redux. And although experts weren't sure before, they are now: We are in it. The job statistics and home foreclosures prove it.
Did I say it scares me? I should have said I'm terrified, because we have much farther to fall. No matter how much deprivation they faced in The Great Depression, they were never used to all the luxuries that we are. Think of how many things we have made "standard" since The Great Depression that were unheard of or luxuries at that time:
1. Electricity
2. Vaccinations and health care
3. Cable TV
4. Computers and internet
5. Electric Appliances such as microwaves, blenders, electric stoves, electric 'iceboxes'
6. Reliable and cheap food supply
7. Reliable and cheap clothing and shoe supply
I'm sure there are more: This is just off the top of my head.
Can we forgo all these 'necessary' items? Some of us may have to. And although I'm typing this on my computer in the comfort of my warm(ish) home while it's 34 degrees outside, I realize that I cannot fully appreciate the horrific impact should I lose it all. And I know that others are thinking the same thing. For a very bleak view of what the UK is seeing, read this article in The London Telegraph.
Is there any hope? Experts can't agree, so I cannot really say. But as long as we keep glossing this over and vegging out by watching mind-numbing TV, we will not be able to do anything at all about it.
My statistics professor once told us that our chances for winning the lottery are not nearly as good as our chances of being hit by lightening. But what he didn't tell us is that you can't win if you don't play: You have to get involved.
It's time for the American people to get involved. The current administration is busy ignoring this and we must wake them up. Although Nero fiddled while Rome burned, Obama is fiddling around, too.
1. The fact that my grandmother owned only one bra and one set of panties, which were religiously washed out the night before and hung up to dry for work the next day.
2. My grandmother had 7 siblings and two parents. Her father was the town drunk, who drank away any wages he got for the little work he did. That left it up to the rest of them to find money somehow. My great grandmother, Nana, raised chickens and sold the eggs for a little extra money, and my grandmother was the only one of the children who was able to find work.
3. Grandma was a telephone operator in New York and that was considered to be a plush job by Great Depression standards. Her bosses insisted on perfect diction, so the women would hold pebbles in their mouths and learn to speak clearly around the pebbles. If those standards were applied today, most telephone operators would be on the streets.
But what really stuck in my head was the great deprivation they all suffered. And it scares me, because I truly do not believe the American people are equipped for The Great Depression Redux. And although experts weren't sure before, they are now: We are in it. The job statistics and home foreclosures prove it.
Did I say it scares me? I should have said I'm terrified, because we have much farther to fall. No matter how much deprivation they faced in The Great Depression, they were never used to all the luxuries that we are. Think of how many things we have made "standard" since The Great Depression that were unheard of or luxuries at that time:
1. Electricity
2. Vaccinations and health care
3. Cable TV
4. Computers and internet
5. Electric Appliances such as microwaves, blenders, electric stoves, electric 'iceboxes'
6. Reliable and cheap food supply
7. Reliable and cheap clothing and shoe supply
I'm sure there are more: This is just off the top of my head.
Can we forgo all these 'necessary' items? Some of us may have to. And although I'm typing this on my computer in the comfort of my warm(ish) home while it's 34 degrees outside, I realize that I cannot fully appreciate the horrific impact should I lose it all. And I know that others are thinking the same thing. For a very bleak view of what the UK is seeing, read this article in The London Telegraph.
Is there any hope? Experts can't agree, so I cannot really say. But as long as we keep glossing this over and vegging out by watching mind-numbing TV, we will not be able to do anything at all about it.
My statistics professor once told us that our chances for winning the lottery are not nearly as good as our chances of being hit by lightening. But what he didn't tell us is that you can't win if you don't play: You have to get involved.
It's time for the American people to get involved. The current administration is busy ignoring this and we must wake them up. Although Nero fiddled while Rome burned, Obama is fiddling around, too.
Wednesday, January 06, 2010
Etc.
Spammer Magnet
Boy, the spammers are coming out of the woodwork lately. I'm getting all kinds of retards who are leaving messages for insurance, products, and other crap. Hello, losers: Do you think this is effective marketing? Here's a tip for you: It's not.
Unrealistic State of Florida Driver's License Standards
Now the State of Florida is demanding all sorts of additional information in order to even renew licenses. This info includes a notarized birth certificate in addition to other documents.
Is it just me, or is this pretty unrealistic? How many of us can pull out something like that? I have no earthly idea where my birth certificate is. I'll grant you that this could be a lame attempt to curb illegal immigrants, but that's easy enough to solve: Put any employer of illegal immigrants in jail or fine him in such a way to really impact his business, and the problem is taken care of.
My Daughter
For those of you who are confused about my reference to my daughter in the last post, let me explain.
I have a 15 year old girl who's not my biological daughter but she's been in my life for ten years. Her father is my best friend, Pov. Her nickname is Bugs.
I'm proud to say that I got her into gifted programs at an early age, and she is a fine student as well as a great human being.
Boy, the spammers are coming out of the woodwork lately. I'm getting all kinds of retards who are leaving messages for insurance, products, and other crap. Hello, losers: Do you think this is effective marketing? Here's a tip for you: It's not.
Unrealistic State of Florida Driver's License Standards
Now the State of Florida is demanding all sorts of additional information in order to even renew licenses. This info includes a notarized birth certificate in addition to other documents.
Is it just me, or is this pretty unrealistic? How many of us can pull out something like that? I have no earthly idea where my birth certificate is. I'll grant you that this could be a lame attempt to curb illegal immigrants, but that's easy enough to solve: Put any employer of illegal immigrants in jail or fine him in such a way to really impact his business, and the problem is taken care of.
My Daughter
For those of you who are confused about my reference to my daughter in the last post, let me explain.
I have a 15 year old girl who's not my biological daughter but she's been in my life for ten years. Her father is my best friend, Pov. Her nickname is Bugs.
I'm proud to say that I got her into gifted programs at an early age, and she is a fine student as well as a great human being.
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