princewally's world

Feelin' old

2008-08-16T21:08:00.002-06:00

I went to Radio Shack today and asked for a VCR head cleaner.

Then had to explain what it was.

Welcome to the future

2008-08-11T07:43:00.001-06:00

Best Buy Co. Inc. plans to add a dozen vending kiosks inside major airports across the country as part of a new pilot program called "Best Buy Express," company executives said.

Ok, nothing special....

The machines will stock cell phone and computer accessories, along with digital cameras, portable data storage devices, headphones, travel adapters, electronic chargers and other gadgets.

Cell phones and cameras by vending machine? Why can't we get vending machines like that everywhere else?

Glasses, again

2008-08-11T07:07:00.002-06:00

I received the rimless glass I ordered fro Optical4Less. Once again, they are apparently perfect in every way. I couldn't be more pleased.

The semi-rimless. glasses I got from Zenni, aren't tough enough to survive being thrown on a tile floor by a two-year-old being held 7 feet in the air by her uncle. What a shock. They chipped a bit.

Thank you, legislators.

2008-08-08T07:08:00.001-06:00

ST. PAUL (AP) -- The nonpartisian Tax Foundation says in a new report that Minnesota taxpayers pay the 12th-highest state and local tax burden in the nation.

The report says Minnesotans paid 10.2 percent of their incomes in state and local taxes in fiscal 2008.

Representative Winkler and Senator Latz, I'm looking at you.

Linky

Glasses Update

2008-08-07T07:49:00.003-06:00

I got the glasses from EyeBuyDirect.

They suck.

The quality is fine, but I(very much) overestimated how small I could go on the frame width. That's not a mark against EBD, just not terribly useful glasses for me.

Target

2008-08-07T07:40:00.001-06:00

Interesting thing about Target....

When you stop by at 7:30AM to pick up something you need for work at 8....

They're not open.

Glasses update

2008-08-06T07:39:00.002-06:00

I have received the glasses I ordered from Zenni on Monday. The quality is excellent, the fit is perfect, and the lenses are clear.

They don't have a reputation for great customer service, but, honestly, I don't need customer service, if their quality is like this.

Money well spent.

Contradiction

2008-08-06T07:33:00.001-06:00

Am I the only one who sees a contradiction in a pair of bumperstickers reading, "Pro-choice" and "No testing on animals"?

Lady, your philosophy desperately needs examination.

Vote Sanders!

2008-08-01T07:43:00.000-06:00

Quote of the Day

2008-08-01T07:34:00.001-06:00

When the young leader spoke eloquently and passionately and denounced the old system, the press fell in love with him. They never questioned who his friends were or what he really believed in. When he said he would help the farmers and the poor and bring free medical care and education to all, everyone followed. When he said he would bring justice and equality to all, everyone said "Praise the Lord."

Sound familiar? Here's the rest:

And when the young leader said, "I will be for change and I'll bring you change," everyone yelled, "Viva Fidel!"

But nobody asked about the change, so by the time the executioner's guns went silent the people's guns had been taken away. By the time everyone was equal, they were equally poor, hungry, and oppressed. By the time everyone received their free education it was worth nothing. By the time the press noticed, it was too late, because they were now working for him. By the time the change was finally implemented Cuba had been knocked down a couple of notches to Third-World status. By the time the change was over more than a million people had taken to boats, rafts, and inner tubes. You can call those who made it ashore anywhere else in the world the most fortunate Cubans. - Manuel Alvarez Jr.

Via Kevin

What a waste...

2008-07-30T15:47:00.002-06:00

...of perfectly good legislator effort.

Carbon-monoxide alarms now mandatory in all homes

The goal is to reduce deaths -- there were 92 in Minnesota from 2002 to 2006 -- from the colorless, tasteless, odorless gas.

92 deaths over 5 years. That's an average of 18.4 out of 5 million!

That's an annual fatality rate of 0.000368%. What the hell is the point of legislating something like that?

Dammit! I want my government back!

I'm voting Democrat

2008-07-30T08:54:00.001-06:00

I'm voting Democrat because I believe the government will do a better job of spending the money I earn than I would.

I'm voting Democrat because I believe three or four pointy headed elitist liberals need to rewrite the Constitution every few weeks to suit some fringe kooks who would NEVER get their agendas past the voters.

I'm voting Democrat because I believe oil company profits of 4% on a gallon of gas are obscene, but the government taxing the same gallon of gas at 15% isn't.

I'm voting Democrat because I believe that paying $4.00 a gallon or more is no reason to drill for the mountain of oil we are sitting on in THIS country. We wouldn't want to have to move a couple of polar bears or elk, now would we?

I'm voting Democrat because when we pull out of Iraq, I trust that the bad guys will stop what they're doing because they now think we're good people.

I'm voting Democrat because freedom of speech is fine as long as nobody is offended by it.

I'm voting Democrat because I love the fact that I can now marry whomever or whatever I want. I'm going to marry my TV.

I'm voting Democrat because I'm not concerned about the slaughter of millions of babies so long as we keep all death-row inmates alive.

I'm voting Democrat because I don't want to be a able to use my natural rights to protect myself or my family when I'm out running errands or in my own home.

I'm voting Democrat because I believe that churches should only be allowed for political speeches.

I'm voting Democrat because I believe that businesses should not be allowed to make profits for themselves. They need to break even and give the rest away to the employees and the government.

I'm voting Democrat because I believe that I don't want medical doctors who were at the top of their classes to operate on me. I want a government employee who makes $50K a year and couldn't hack it as a contractor or an engineer .

I'm voting Democrat because I believe that people who can't tell us if it will rain on Friday CAN tell us that the polar ice caps will melt away in ten years if I don't start driving a Prius.

I'm voting Democrat because I REALLY believe there is no bias in the media.

Found here.

Rain Barrel

2008-07-30T07:14:00.004-06:00

I'm building rain barrels, using these directions.

I found a company in Hopkins-10 minutes from my house-that manufactures juice. They get 55 gallon drums, mix the contents and dispose of the barrels. Their chosen disposal method is selling the drums for $5 a pop. That's a phenomenal price.

Yesterday, my wife picked up 4 barrels for me. I got home and pulled the barrels out of the truck, reading the labels.

The first three were as expected from a plant that makes juice drinks. There were two barrels of prune juice concentrate, and a barrel of strawberry flavor.

The fourth barrel, was...interesting. I'm still laughing about it.

Yes, that is a barrel of flammable, caustic orange flavor, to go in your favorite "orange drink".

Glasses

2008-07-25T06:40:00.002-06:00

I have decided I want some backup glasses, in case the current pair breaks.

When you are shopping for glasses and the pricetags are hovering between $20 and $40, it becomes easy to buy more pairs of glasses than are actually necessary.

I ordered semi-rimless glasses from Zenni for $17.90, shipped.

I ordered rimless glasses from Optical4Less for $42.30, shipped.

I ordered small, metal framed glasses from EyeBuyDirect for $17.21, shipped.

I'll be updating when they arrive, the quality, and a comparison to the Goggles4U glasses I bought a few months ago.

Medeco, in 30 seconds or less

2008-07-21T21:19:00.002-06:00

Other lock manufacturers haven't admitted their flaws so readily. Marc Tobias, a lawyer and security expert, recently shook up the lock-picking community by publishing a detailed analysis of how to crack the uncrackable: Medeco locks.

"We've figured out how to break them in as little as 30 seconds," he said. "[Medeco] won't admit it, though. They still believe in security through obscurity.

Supposedly, the holy grail for locks in your home. Too bad.

Long May It Wave

2008-07-18T12:28:00.001-06:00

Long May It Wave...

A foreign diplomat who often criticized American policy once observed a United States Marine perform the evening colors ceremony. The diplomat wrote about this simple but solemn ceremony in a letter to his country:

"During one of the past few days, I had occasion to visit the U.S. Embassy in our capital after official working hours. I arrived at a quarter to six and was met by the Marine on guard at the entrance of the Chancery. He asked if I would mind waiting while he lowered the two American flags at the Embassy. What I witnessed over the next 10 minutes so impressed me that I am now led to make this occurrence a part of my ongoing record of this distressing era.

The Marine was dressed in a uniform which was spotless and neat; he walked with a measured tread from the entrance of the Chancery to the stainless steel flagpole before the Embassy and, almost reverently, lowered the flag to the level of his reach where he began to fold it in military fashion.

He then released the flag from the clasps attaching it to the rope, stepped back from the pole, made an about face, and carried the flag between his hands - one above, one below - and placed it securely on a stand before the Chancery. He then marched over to the second flagpole and repeated the same lonesome ceremony. On the way between poles, he mentioned to me very briefly that he would soon be finished.

After completing his task, he apologized for the delay- out of pure courtesy, as nothing less than incapacity would have prevented him from fulfilling his goal - and said to me, 'Thank you for waiting, Sir. I had to pay honor to my country.'

I have had to tell this story because there was something impressive about a lone Marine carrying out a ceremonial task which obviously meant very much to him and which, in its simplicity, made the might, the power and the glory of the United States of America stand forth in a way that a mighty wave of military aircraft, or the passage of a super-carrier, or a parade of 10,000 men could never have made manifest.

In spite of all the many things that I can say negatively about the United States, I do not think there is a soldier, yea, even a private citizen, who could feel as proud about our country today as that Marine does for his country.

One day it is my hope to visit one of our embassies in a far-away place and to see a soldier fold our flag and turn to a stranger and say, 'I am sorry for the delay, Sir. I had to honor my country.'"

Author Unknown

Ethical Dilemna

2008-07-18T07:58:00.002-06:00

I'm not at all sure how I would react if I was one of the firemen here.

"We've got to put out the fire!"

"Hold on, son, they're almost done."

About 20 fire departments responded to the blaze.

A good barbecue will do that.

Economic Woes

2008-07-18T07:49:00.004-06:00

Starbucks is closing 600 stores due to the economy, but Caribou is building a new store less than 1 block from an existing location, just to get drive-through traffic.

Maybe Starbucks has problems that aren't related to the economy?

Corruption

2008-07-15T08:22:00.003-06:00

What a horrible violation of the public trust.

A federal grand jury on Monday indicted a longtime Minneapolis police officer on corruption charges after the officer allegedly received $100 on two separate occasions for giving confidential information to an undercover informant who claimed to be a gang member.

So a cop gets approached about an informant, a snitch, or an enemy. He gets asked for confidential information about said informant. He puts "through an inquiry to the National Crime Information Center and obtained nonpublic information from the State Driver Vehicle System regarding a Minnesota license plate number."

He knows this information will be used for revenge. He has to know. But, he doesn't care, because he was offered $100.

Rot in hell, Mike Roberts.

Bush Lied!

2008-07-15T08:20:00.001-06:00

Oh, wait.

The last major remnant of Saddam Hussein's nuclear program — a huge stockpile of concentrated natural uranium — reached a Canadian port Saturday to complete a secret U.S. operation that included a two-week airlift from Baghdad and a ship voyage crossing two oceans.

Reason to carry a gun #65890

2008-07-15T08:11:00.002-06:00

Father allegedly stomped by group after one tried to grope pre-teen.

Some worthless ghetto thugs were molesting a 12 year old, in public. Her father yelled at them to stop, and they called in reinforcements to stomp him, for the unforgivable crime of disrespecting them by protecting his daughter from their predatory advances.

Sales Drone Complaint

2008-07-09T07:38:00.003-06:00

As of last night, I will never do business with Budget Exteriors.

The background:
We took hail damage. We have insurance. We're dealing with the insurance company and collecting written estimates for the work. Most contractors understand what we mean when we say "Give us a written estimate and we'll get back to you."

Budget Exteriors sent out a sales drone named Kevin last night. We were very clear and up-front about wanting a written estimate. His "10 minute" sales pitch took over an hour. When, at the end of it, we were still insistent upon getting a written estimate, he raised his voice, he insulted us, and he stormed out of the house. We called the office to complain.

Kevin,

In my house, we do not make large financial decisions on a whim.
We do NOT hand over control of our projects to other companies.
We do NOT accept boorish behavior from a sales drone.
We do NOT appreciate being lied to.
We do NOT make uninformed decisions based on the sales pitch of a sales drone.
We dealt with you honestly and expected the same in return.

FOAD.
-princewally

On a side note, did you know that:
a) It's impossible to replace a roof vent without getting a leaky roof? Just ask Kevin.
b) A battered roof vent is enough to get an insurance company to replace an entire roof that's just 6 weeks old? Just ask Kevin.
c) There's is nothing to decide when hiring a company to do a lot of work on your home, because Budget Exteriors is the best, so we need to take his word on that? Just ask Kevin.

Sales drones: The scuzzy, slimy, scum of the earth, created to part fools from their money.

Second Deadly Sin Barbecue of Doom

2008-07-07T09:51:00.004-06:00

This weekend, I'm having a barbecue with an extensive menu of dead animal flesh.

Burgers
Brats
Hot dogs
Leg of Lamb
Turducken
Ribs

Accompanied by:
Corn on the cob, seasoned and grilled
Homemade potato salad

I can't wait.

Do I need to beat my brother?

2008-07-03T14:00:00.003-06:00

My nephew, born Tuesday:

My daughter, now two weeks old, at the same age:

Could you pass the latest citizenship test?

2008-07-02T07:57:00.000-06:00

I qualify to be a citizen.

You answered 100% of questions correctly. Here's your rating:

0-20%: Maybe you're still thinking too much about the Old Country.

25-40%: Mmmm. Do you really want to be a citizen? This kind of performance isn't going to impress those nice immigration folks.

45-60%: Not too bad, but you really need to break out the civics books again -- word is, the INS is looking for an 80 percent score.

65-80%: Hey, you may make a good citizen yet! Look at your wrong answers and a little revision should do the trick.

85-100%: Welcome to the United States! (And, truth be told, you know more about this great land than most Americans.)