Advanced Towing - Unethical Practices

Here's a news report from the Arlington Virginia area that exposes the unethical, predatory practices of the towing companies. I personally experienced $400 in damages as a result of being towed (dragged) out of a parking spot on one occasion, and towed from an apartment complex after an unethical concierge alerted the towing company (by fax, so I know it was him) to come tow our truck while we were upstairs packing to move our daughter out. I can't believe this is still allowed to go on by the police and local government.

There's no sign of the law that enables these practices of being re-pealed - in fact, they just upped the allowed fees:

http://www.arlingtonva.us/departments/Communications/PressReleases/page70180.aspx

Another Black Friday avoided..

I've come to the conclusion over the years that I'm a bit of cynic, well... maybe more than a bit. Every year that passes I sit and watch as droves of people line up to do things that I see little to no value in doing. Black Friday is one of those days. I don't see the real excitement, especially this year. I looked at all of the ads and found no item so compelling that I needed to get in my car at the crack of dawn and fight some soccer mom for it. So - in short, I guess you all can have my 5.99 blue ray copy of march of the penguins and the free micro SD cards (which you can get for 2.99 normally anyway).

It's harder than it looks isn't it?

it's been a while since I posted last.  Since then, the US has spoken and placed their faith in someone who promised change.  "it's time for a change" - That was the rallying cry at every pre-election speech.  Nearly a month since the inauguration and any significant change has yet to surface.   Authorizing stem cell research? That's not putting people back to work. Closing Guantanamo bay prison?  That's not putting people back to work. 

What we have seen is the endorsement of a nearly 900 BILLION dollar "stimulus package" that appears to focus less on stimulating the economy and more on forwarding the agenda of the Democratic party that they haven't been able to push through while Bush was in the office.   How does contraceptives, after school lunches and 650 million for digital conversion boxes stimulate the economy?  Maybe if the TV went off, people would have to go out and look for work, they could get a job and afford their own contraceptives and after school lunches.

Obama is finding out that anyone can TALK about change, but making a real difference is much more difficult. 

The only positive about the whole situation is that it's forcing the media to focus on performance and it's quickly overshadowing the African American hoopla that many insist is part of Obama being president - Even though he himself did not make this a part of his campaign (ever).   I sincerely hope that people wake up and see that spending our way out of a recession is probably not going to work.  Find a way to let the people keep their money and they will spend it, invest it and make the economy better.  We do NOT need 580 million worth of anti global warming spending and more..

On a positive note, I applaud Obama's attempt to limit salaries of CEO's that accept bail out money. It's about time that there were strings attached.

The Meaning of Life #3 - Lipstick on a Pig

It's an interesting time that we live in.. For so many years, we've had the status quo when it comes to the race for the white house. Every year, no consideration for anything other than who's views were the most in-line with ours. A choice between 2 different white guys who had made a career out of politics. Sometimes the choice came down to chosing between the lesser of two evils. This year, like it or not change WILL come to the white house, but it won't be the political agenda. What is going to change this term will be the precendents that have been set over 200 years ago. We're already seeing that change. Suddenly, certain phrases are no longer appropriate. Suddenly, entire groups of people are hanging on every word and actually care because they now feel somehow that they are represented by someone to which they can finally relate.

Personally, I don't think that the mear presence of an African American or a Female vice president can in and of itself change the world, but it will be interesting to see how the world responds to our choice.

Meaning of Life # 2 - Shrinking Food

You've probably noticed it as well.. Cans, bottles, boxes and carton's of your favorite foods are slightly smaller than they used to be. I guess no one thinks consumers will notice if the price stays the same, but the quantity is less.

Perhaps you've noticed the chips ahoy cookie is not the same diameter as before. Inspection of the package shows 15.2 ounces when it used to be 16. Ice cream is not a half gallon anymore. Orange juice isn't 96 ounces, but 89 ounces. The other day, I was having a pint of grolsch and noticed it was a slightly slimmer bottle. Sure enough it was 15.2 ounces not 16.

It's not just me. I started researching a little and found several articles where others have noticed. http://www.seriouseats.com/required_eating/2008/07/our-groceries-are-quietly-shrinking.html

Meaning of life #1 - Crazy Gas Prices

Here's something that shapes life and gives it meaning. What could do that more than your bank account. Like everyone else, i'm infuriated by the rising price of gasoline and more so, the factors behind the rise.

Everyone wants to speculate what is driving it and that's easy.. Greed. Everything else that you might speculate as being the cause is truely just the mechanism being used to get more money. I'm certainly no economist and even though I have stayed at a holiday in express recently, I don't pretend to know more than the next guy about the cause.

That being said, I want to present to you the following excersize in thought. If you aren't mad about the rising prices yet, you will be after this.

5 Years ago, Gas prices were $1.48 a gallon. Pre- Katrina - Aug 2005 (Ref-Hurricane) fuel prices were pretty steady, hovering around $2.00 a gallon, reaching the summer high of $2.25 a gallon (which is ridiculous enough). By September, the storm was used as an excuse to raise the prices to $3.15 a gallon. This is a 40% increase. There was a slight lull in 2006 where prices returned to the $2.15 range (probably due to public outcry when the record profits were posted by oil companies) but 3 years later, prices are now at an all time high of $4.00 a gallon which is a 166% increase from Aug 2003, just 5 years ago. reference -DOE

ok, lets apply this increase to other items that we all use daily.

Would you still use them?

Would you protest by not purchasing them?

How would you view the companies that produce these products?

Some prices have been taken from the Bureau of labor statistics (ref) other prices based on local costs where I live in Georgia.

What if the following prices increased 166% like fuel has over 5 years?

1 pound of Banannas Today - $0.63 Would be - $1.68
1 head of lettuce Today - $0.86 Would be - $2.29
1 pound of Oranges Today - $1.13 Would be - $3.01
1 chicken, Whole (per pound) Today - $1.18 Would be - $3.14
1 pound of Apples Today - $1.36 Would be - $3.62
Loaf of bread Today - $1.37 Would be - $3.64
1 pound of Tomatoes Today - $1.81 Would be - $4.81
1 dozen eggs, grade A large Today - $1.92 Would be - $5.11
Light Bulb (4 pack) Today - $1.95 Would be - $5.19
12 oz can of Orange juice concentrate Today - $2.52 Would be - $6.70
1 pound of ground chuck Today - $2.83 Would be - $7.53
Milk Today - $2.95 Would be - $7.85
Mcdonalds 1/4 pounder with cheese Today - $2.95 Would be - $7.85
Movie Ticket Today - $7.00 Would be - $18.62
1 pound of coffee bean Today - $7.50 Would be - $19.95
1 Compact Disc Today - $15.00 Would be - $39.90
Pizza (pizza hut - 1 toping) Today - $19.99 Would be - $53.17
500 Kilowatts of electricity Today - $65.00 Would be - $172.90
Apple Ipod Today - $299.95 Would be - $797.87
Flat Screen TV (Viso 42 inch) Today - $650.00 Would be - $1,729.00
Laptop Computer (toshiba) Today - $795.00 Would be - $2,114.70
New Hyundai Accent (loaded MSRP) Today - $14,970.00 Would be - $39,820.20
New Ford F-150 (loaded MSRP) Today - $36,300.00 Would be - $96,558.00
New 1700 sqft basic house in Ga Today - $225,000.00 Would be - $598,500.00

The problem is, that we can do without most if not all of these items and if the price increased by 166% in 5 years we wouldn't buy them and so prices remain within the control of supply and demand. To high, we won't buy.

Check out the prices across the US.
http://www.gasbuddy.com/gb_gastemperaturemap.aspx?z=0&lat=37.000000&long=-96.000000&ft=A&tl=48

What is the Meaning of Life?

An interesting question that has always seemed somewhat rhetorical to me. I think that many people go through life searching for that answer when I believe it's really right in front of them... or around them rather. Life. Everything that happens to you throughout your day gives life meaning.

This blog is all about daily observations of life, things that are changing around us and a lot of opinion.