BRAINFRIENDENEMY

Political Participation

2008-07-15T22:17:00.004-05:00

I had an interesting discussion today with someone who felt like politics and representative government in this country is nothing but a joke. Now, politics is something I know a thing or two about. I majored in political science in college, and even worked in the field for a while.

Here are a few unvarnished observations/opinions based on the conversation I had today:

Politics are politics. Governance in another matter entirely.
The political environment is indeed too polarized (Republicans say Democrats are evil, and vice versa).
The American people are getting the government they deserve (they do not know how government works and listen/read/watch media that agrees with them; they do not seek to understand other views).
That said, people are too cynical. Ultimately the power does reside with us.
Schools and even the university system do not teach civics.

Too many people hate a system they do not understand, and they hate it so much that they refuse to participate. They believe that voting is participation, which of course it is, but there are a number of more effective ways to affect policy in our county. Stay in touch with your congressman. They do listen, believe it or not. Give money to causes you support. What we have has evolved into less of a representative form of government and more into a pluralist system. Interest groups wield enormous power and that's not going to change because the Constitution protects the rights of interest groups to exist, and contributing money is protected free speech. Instead of bitching about interest groups, join the ones you like. Carefully, of course. And you can work on a campaign. Your individual vote means nothing, especially in a presidential election in which the states are winner-take-all. However, votes add up and you can affect your favorite candidates' base of support by volunteering your time and money.

The government we have would work a lot better if people were better educated and had a better understanding of both history and current events. It's up to you damn people. Stand up. Put a little time into it or quit bitching. You have a voice and you're not using it. Cynicism and dropping out of the process solves nothing.

To those of you who listen to FOX news or Air America and think you know everything, please sit down, shut up, and re-evaluate what's going on with this thing. Neither party has all the answers. No President (past, present, or future) is flawless or completely flawed. Notice that I even included "present" in there. Both sides have some good ideas, and if we are to get the best from each then we have to have civilized discourse.

Are things messed up? Hell yes they are. We're in need of reform. In all honesty, though, you can't point to any time in US history in which we weren't in need of serious reform. Reform should be the status quo, so to speak.

Well, I hope this all made sense. I'm watching the MLB All Star Game as I write, so who knows...

What brought up the discussion I had earlier today were some recent Congressional approval polls. Interesting results. Only 9 percent of people surveyed approve of the job Congress is doing. However, if you ask them how their particular representative or Senator is doing, it's a different story entirely. What does that tell you? People do want reform: They're not dissatisfied with their individual Congressmen...they're dissatisfied with the institution of Congress. I would guess they hear about things like "earmarks" and see how slowly our legislative bodies move (it's supposed to be a slow process, though). Too bad they don't know what needs to be reformed or how to go about getting it done.

I'm of the opinion that this is the height of our empire, and the sun has started to set. That means we're going to be facing some pretty serious problems during the next few decades, and you could say it's important that we get some decisions right for a change. And for that to happened we're going to have to start getting the institutional problems with government straightened out right now.

Someday in the future I'll make a post about some specific changes that I think should be made.

Anyway, get off your asses and get involved. Write your Congressman. Give money. Write letters to the editor. Read the news and use your head. But also keep in mind that most of the business in Washington is not conducted on the floor of the Senate and House of Representatives. It's conducted over telephone lines and meetings away from the public eye. So even if you look at the Congressional Quarterly, you're only seeing a very small part of the picture. Who actually drafts legislation? How and why do amendments get added? Why is it that many great bills never leave committee? Well, that's what needs to be reformed. There should be more transparency, but even if there was, would anyone pay attention? Probably not. And that's a shame because for a democracy to function it requires an informed citizenry who's willing to be active in the process. When you don't have that, you get what we have now: a mess.

And, again, it's NOT the individual Representatives and Senators who are the problem. In most instances (certainly not all) they're smart guys who go to the Hill with a desire to do the people's business. However, the institution of Congress has evolved over time and it forces them to play a game. To get anything done, one must amass a degree of power. It's not enough to have a good idea.

Attacked by Pigeons

2008-07-09T18:11:00.004-05:00

This afternoon I was eating a sandwich in a plaza just down the street from my office building. It's hot this time of year, but if you can find a spot in the shade it's tolerable downtown. The skyscrapers must have some kind of wind tunnel effect and you can get some nice wind.

Well, anyway, when I finished my sandwich, I was suddenly attacked by an unknown number of pigeons. Another type of bird may have been mixed in, too...it seems like I remember seeing something smaller. There were probably twenty other people hanging around in the plaza, and none of them were attacked. Why me??? The filthy birds came down at me like WWII dive bombers. Only one or two actually pecked me and that was on the top of my head, but the swarm of birds was embarrassing to say the least. See, I don't like to fit in but I sure don't like to stand out either. I was suddenly a spectacle; everyone was watching on in amazement.

So I ran into the nearest building and traversed the pedestrian tunnels to get back to work. Actually, I didn't go back to work right away. Traumatized and confused, I wandered underground for a while before returning to my cubicle.

Pretty random. It reminded me of this.

Best Television Shows Ever

2008-07-08T14:51:00.001-05:00

Today I am sitting around in my cubicle doing nothing, and I heard some dumb office person say "I love that show". I don't know what show they were talking about, but since I don't have anything else to think about, I'm going to make a list of my favorite all time TV shows.

Don't get me wrong...TV is for suckers. I don't watch much of it unless it's baseball season. A lot of these I've picked up on DVD, but unless it's summertime I have no real television schedule. Most of these aren't on the air anymore, anyway.

Seinfeld -- I should have to offer no explanation here. The writing was great, the characters were funny, and it was just really good for a long time.
The Sopranos -- This was the first television show I thought of to watch on DVD. No explanation should be needed here, either. The writing, acting, subject matter, etcetera were all interesting and of the highest standard.
The Wire -- Another HBO series. In some ways I think this show were actually better than The Sopranos, and it at least deserves to be a tie but Blogger's numbering scheme will not give you two "2's". If you don't know, The Wire is set in Baltimore's ghettos, and the show is about the drug trade, politics, and everything else. There are no big name actors in this thing, but it's acted very well even by the kids from Baltimore who they picked up and asked to play drug dealers. Whoever did the casting for this thing is very talented. And, again, it's written very well and the stories are exceptionally believable. The only thing it misses on is the Baltimore accent. And some of the characters get that right.
Curb Your Enthusiasm -- I guess I'm a sucker for Larry David's humor. If you don't know, this show is outlined but not scripted. The actors improvise the details. Some people can't stand "Curb", but others love it.
The Andy Griffith Show -- I don't know why, but I love that damn show. Barney Fife rules.
Nova -- The PBS science show. Explores science in an accessible way but with reasonable depth.
Frontline -- The PBS news magazine show. This is the finest television journalism I've ever witnessed. 60 Minutes is good, but Frontline is better.
Jeopardy -- Long running game show. Fun to watch and challenging. You have to love to hate Alex Trebeck.
The Daily Show with Jon Stewart -- Stewart took over and helped make something that will never get old.
MASH -- Other than Seinfeld, this is probably the most sophisticated sitcom ever written, and it had something to say, too.
All in the Family -- Groundbreaking television. Took on race, politics, and social problems with a vengeance.
The Simpsons -- Funny, often satirical. It's a very good show but a lot of people overrate it, in my opinion.
News Radio -- Phil Hartman was a genius, but the rest of the cast was great, too. One of the better sitcoms of my generation.
House -- I know it's formulaic, but it's somehow remains interesting and I get a kick out of that smartass.
The Family Guy -- A lot of people say it's a Simpson's knock off and in many ways it certainly is. A lot of people will say the "flashbacks" are a cheap device, and they are. But it's still very, very funny.
The Kids in the Hall -- This one should be ranked higher but I'm not going to go to the trouble to edit.

You'll notice that there's not much from the 1980's on there. Well, I was a kid then. I remember LA Law being pretty good, but it was soap-ish and from what I can remember it's not all that great. Miami Vice...I recently watched an episode of that and it was pretty weak. I've always heard Hill Street Blues was a phenomenal television show, but honestly I don't think I've ever seen it. Other than that, all I can remember that was decent was Family Ties (maybe -- haven't seen it in forever) and Dallas (basically a soap opera but a lot of people loved it). There may have been good television on in the 1980's, but having been a kid back then most of what I can remember is ALF, Magnum PI, The A-Team, and Knight Rider. Blah. Oh, well there was Moonlighting. That was good. Caught a few episodes of that on Bravo, I think, several years ago and it stood up.

So that killed half an hour. Great!

WTF

2008-07-07T18:31:00.004-05:00

I guess I should write something. Nothing much has happened, though, with the exception of The Great Sinus Infection of 2008.

I stayed up really late last night and was going to take a half day off today, but that didn't materialize. I dove back in head first.

Today I had a meeting in East Dallas and another one way, way out east of Dallas and so my car was necessary. Well, I had car trouble. For the second time the ignition coil went out on the motor. That's something the motor needs to run, see, so I had to get it fixed. I took the car to a ghetto mechanic and he did me right. There was some trouble getting the part, but after 4 hours and a couple hundred bucks later I was on the road.

I had my camera with me all day because I knew I was going to go past a fake space ship out in the country, but that exit was closed and I had to take another route. Obviously I didn't get my shot.

When I got out to the little town and had my meeting, my stomach began to act up. "Digestive issues", you know. Well, I'm the kind of person who absolutely cannot use a public restroom for that. I was 45 minutes away from Dallas if the traffic was good, so after the meeting I bolted for home. It was a perilous journey to say the least. I was cramping. Cold sweating. Gripping the steering wheel like a mad man. At any moment I could literally explode.

Traffic was dense, man. Overturned cars littered the roadway twice on my way back, and there's no good alternate route for Interstate 30 until you get closer to The City. I was on the road forever, writhing in pain.

Hours later I arrived at my residence. After parking the car, I knew I didn't have long. It was like my body sensed that I was close to my toilet and hell if it couldn't wait just a little longer. It was all I could do to hold things together as I walked out of the parking lot, across the street, and to the freight elevator. I pushed the button but could hear inside the shaft...the elevator was nowhere near me and it sounded like it was still going up. Desperate, I remembered there was a men's room not twenty yards to my left. I staggered my way over there and went inside. The stalls were covered in excrement! Now, I don't live in some low class dump. I live in a pretty damn nice building so it was disturbing to see such a thing. And it was particularly disturbing to see it at that moment. So I angrily left the bathroom...sweat was pouring off me. The freight elevator came into view, and as soon as it did I saw the doors close! It had come for me, but I was not there to get in. I had to press the button and wait. And wait. And wait.

Finally the doors opened and I almost knocked some yuppie dumbass over while jumping into the car. I pressed the button for my floor and bit my lip to distract myself from the pain as I made my way upwards. I swear I could feel every vibration.

My apartment is at least four million yards away from the elevator, so the walk down the hallway was no small feat. But you'll be comforted to know I made it.

And that was my day.

Texas Weather Sucks II (June)

2008-06-30T20:28:00.003-05:00

Well, the June numbers are in.

The average temperature this month was just short of 87 degrees Fahrenheit. The daytime high averaged 5.6 degrees above the normal (30-year average as defined by the NWS), and the nighttime low averaged 5.7 degrees above normal. 27 of 30 days exceeded normal highs while one day hit normal on the dot, and 26 of 30 exceeded normal lows.

The average high temperature was 98 degrees. Average low was 76.

Today I met this guy from Vietnam, and I asked him if it was hotter there. I'd always assumed it was but he said it's a lot hotter here. Kind of surprised me. His English wasn't all that great...maybe there was a miscommunication or something.

Today was an interesting day but I'll save that for later.

Chili's Makes Me Nervous.

2008-06-28T20:37:00.007-05:00

Today I ventured across the vast megalopolis that is Dallas/Fort Worth to visit my beloved but short-tempered mother. When I got into bed last night the sun was already coming up, but somehow I managed to leave here around 11 in the morning. In other words, I'm tired so this post may not make any sense.

My mother had recorded a bunch of stuff about George Carlin (may he rest in peace) on her DVR, and we watched that. Then she was interested in how to save gasoline, so I showed her my tips on "hypermiling". While we were out doing that we stopped for lunch at a Chili's.

I'm sorry, but I fail to see the appeal of Chili's and restaurants like it. There's no class whatsoever. The food is okay, but not great. The prices aren't low enough for that to be a draw. They play horrible music and loudly, at that. I have this anxiety condition, see, so all the sensory overload is even worse for me. That fucking place is crazy and people go to eat there??? Why? These "restaurants" (Bennigan's, TGI Fridays, Chili's, Applebee's, etc.) hang up road signs and a bunch of dumb photographs and stuff like that to provide atmosphere, I guess. Seriously, who falls for this shit? The fact that they're massive chains somehow makes it worse in my mind. In your neighborhood isn't there a local restaurant with a bunch of dumb but REAL LOCAL stuff hanging up on the walls? Go there instead.

Chili's Applebee's McDonald's Best Buy Academy Barnes and Noble Old Navy Linens and Things Home Despot WalMart...

Every suburban town around here has all of that stuff, almost always sprawled out together in a vast, uninterpreted sea of pavement. Town after town, exactly the same thing. We live in a cookie cutter world, I swear to God. Only in the real small towns or the bigger cities do you find local businesses that ARE unique and they don't go out of business in three months. If something home grown pops up in the suburbs it's almost always ignored for the conglomerates. Why is this?

There are roughly six million people in the Dallas/Fort Worth metro area. Less than two million of them live in Dallas and Fort Worth proper. Over four million in countless suburbs that are all almost exactly alike. It's depressing.

For what it's worth, when I grew up my suburb hadn't got all "chained up" yet. I hate going back there now. Every open space I and my friends used to hang out in has been cleared for housing developments. Just about every business has been razed and replaced by the same bullshit that's in every other town. Used to, we'd go to Bransom's for groceries. It was the only Bransom's supermarket in the United States of America. There may have been others called "Bransoms", but this one was actually owned by some guy by that name who lived in town. For hardware you'd go to Haskew & Gamble. Now you go to Lowe's or Home Despot. For clothing it was Mitchell's. The drug store was Hilley's and the variety store was called Gibson's. There was a place called Burger Hut and no McDonald's except for the one on the freeway which nobody went to. There was a Taco Bell, but there was also a Taco Plaza.

I know I sound like an old man, but I'm not. That's the thing. I just turned 32 years old. What will suburbia be like in another ten years? Scary, man.

Well, that was a waste of post but that's what I'm thinking about. Fuck it.

Don't Shoot the Cable Guy

2008-06-26T19:57:00.001-05:00

This morning I slept in, and I am a very heavy sleeper. That's how they got all the way into my apartment before waking me up. And, of course, I got a little freaked out. Under my pillow I keep a model 1911 .45 caliber pistola, and so I yanked it out. The only thought in my head was "what the fuck?". I mean, I just got woken up, didn't have my glasses on or contacts in, and two guys were in my apartment carrying something. I couldn't tell what it was.

Anyway, as soon as I pulled a gun on them they obviously freaked out. "Don't shoot", etc. They said they were here to fix the cable, but I hadn't called the cable company recently and was suspicious. I held the gun on them and told them to drop everything and slowly approach me with their hands up. And when they got closer I could see that , yeah, they were just cable guys. According to them they were working on my floor to improve HD service or something. Who knows.

I do know this: one of them literally pissed his pants. Wouldn't you, though? Most people probably would. I really felt bad about the whole thing, but hey, that kind of shit happens when you come into somebody's apartment at 8am. I live in a loft, and the door is a really long way from my bed. People really have to knock loudly if I'm to hear them even while awake.

I told the guys I was sorry but that whoever peed was going to have to clean up his own urine. It was my fault, I guess, but hell if I'm going to clean up somebody else's bodily fluid. The one who peed didn't argue (I can't imagine why) and cleaned up before leaving either out of fear or just to get a shower and change of clothes.

Anyway, so all that woke me up pretty instantly. Usually it takes me about thirty minutes before I can think straight and move around without feeling disoriented. Because of that and the fact that I didn't want to be here with the remaining cable guy, I decided to go into work before my appointment with my therapist, which I most certainly was not planning on doing.

Work sucked.

Therapy sucked.

Work sucked again.

After work I went shopping for some new blue jeans, which also sucks.

And now I'm home, craving a soda. I've been trying to limit my soda intake but sometimes it helps to have a little caffeine, you know? I'm not a coffee drinker and that's caffeine overkill to begin with. Anyway, so since I'm cutting back on soda I don't keep any on hand. Instead I've been getting them from vending machines when I get the craving. That way I'll more often than not just drink water unless the craving is really strong, and it is right now.

There are three vending machines in this building. Two in the basement and one kind of hidden away on the fifth floor. Guess what? Every single machine is out of caffeinated beverages. No Coke. No RC. No Dr. Pepper. They're out of everything except Sprite, 7-up, and A&W Root Beer, which has no caffeine.

There's a bar downstairs, but I can't get a soda to go there and it has a dress code anyway. No way am I going dress myself to their standards just for a coke. I could walk two blocks, ride the train downtown, and walk another three blocks to the market, but it's 99 degrees outside so that's not worth it, either. The only other option is to get in my car and drive to a convenience store, and I'm currently deciding whether or not I should do that. It seems so stupid to live right in the middle of a city this big and have to drive a car just to get a soda, you know? None of the convenient stores are far away, but they're far enough not to walk in this weather, and once you get a block or two away from my building the neighborhood goes to hell really fast.

I guess this post says a lot about my personality. The first thing I did today was pull a loaded gun on two guys, yet I write three paragraphs about not being able to get a soda. I guess there's nothing more really to say about the gun thing. Well, my therapist was horrified, but you know how they are.

I want a fucking soda. You know, since all three of those machines are out of every caffeinated beverage, I'm left to assume it's been a real long time since they were filled. Who's responsible for this? Damn!!!

Nuns and Teenagers

2008-06-24T17:40:00.001-05:00

So this afternoon I was driving around and suddenly became very thirsty. I pulled off the freeway to get a bottle of water from a convenience store, and I decided to stand outside for a while because I didn't want to go back to the office.

Within moments, a whole van load full of nuns pulled up. Here in Texas we don't have many nuns, I don't think. I mean I've seen them but not very often. But the thing about these particular nuns? They were hot. AND one of them gave me "the look", I swear. I would not make that up.

Anyway, this begs the question, is it wrong to think nuns are sexy? It's not like I have a thing for nuns in general or anything. There were six in total. Two were old and the others were all very young and attractive. I'm not Catholic so I figure it's okay to think someone is good looking whether they're a nun or not. Right? I don't want to go to hell.

Then, when I came home this afternoon, the elevator door opened and there were three teenage girls in bikinis in there, I shit you not. They got on at the basement and I got on at the first floor. One of them looked down at my crotch and giggled. No, I wouldn't make that up either. Then another girl looked back, then down at me, and started giggling too. The other rolled her eyes. Thing is, I did have something in my pants and I suppose if one were to look at it closely they could've mistaken it for part of my anatomy. Anyway this girl turned red as hell and I probably did too. The two that giggled were both cute. I don't think it's wrong to people cute whether they're teenagers or not. Just don't molest them and it's cool. Right? Or am I going to hell for that, too?

So...today I was noticed by girls who are completely and totally off limits. What fucking fun it was.

A Pittiful Weekend

2008-06-23T18:10:00.000-05:00

Friday Night: I couldn't think of anything better to do, so I went uptown to a conglomeration of streets with a bit of nightlife. In Dallas, we have something called the "Cocaine and Boob Job Crowd", and this is where they tend to congregate. I put an earpiece in my ear and wore sunglasses, moving from corner to corner making it look like I was observing. The point was to make people think I was a cop or FBI man or something. Again, nothing better to do.

Saturday: Finalized a break up with an old flame turned recent flame turned disaster. We met in a suburban mall parking lot to exchange belongings. Both of us had beef, and both came heavy -- luckily it didn't erupt into a firefight. Even still, it was an emotional experience.

I was consumed with fatigue the rest of the day. It was very hot outside and I just lay around to watch movies and baseball games. That night I went tree climbing with a couple of friends.

Sunday: I have no memories of Sunday whatsoever, probably due to shock. Early in the morning I was stumbling around on my way to the bathroom when apparently my toes met with some kind of solid object laying on the floor. That's where I woke up, all bloody and still needing to pee really bad. This morning the toes felt better and the swelling had gone down, so I'm pretty certain nothing is broken.

Another Week, Another Dollar

2008-06-20T17:30:00.001-05:00

So, it's Friday and I'm home from work after yet another not-so-grueling week at the office. The most I did today was ask one of the administrative assistants to file some stuff. Other than that I played solitaire, conducted an experiment to see how many pieces of paper I could staple together at one time (results inconclusive -- more research will be required), and surfed the internet looking for a new boring job. Fridays are good because one can take a three hour lunch and no one will even notice you're gone, so of course I did that.

I spent this elongated lunch in a plaza about two blocks from my office. Not to say Downtown Dallas is any different from any other city, but the myriad of people you'll find milling around is amazing. The hierarchy in my mind seems to go like this:

Insane homeless people who talk to themselves and are only wearing underwear
Sane homeless people who are just down on their luck or are just sane enough to pass for sane
Very poor looking people who are not dressed for any job but I imagine are there to find one
Criminals
Students at the community college
City and transit authority workers who do manual work
"General" office types like file clerks or whatever -- cogs in the machine, so to speak
Public employees who work office jobs for courts, city departments
Cubicle warriors like me...almost certain to be college graduates, unchallenged and underworked
Middle management types who walk around in a tie but no jacket, carrying a briefcase and have a cell phone in their ear
Upper management types who walk around in jackets and ties, with someone else to carry their briefcase and talk on the phone for them
And, finally, the very wealthy businessmen who are probably at least locally famous if one were to read the Dallas Business Journal. They walk out of buildings and straight into limousines, sometimes with an entourage or even body guards.

There are other people who are not downtown regulars whom I didn't classify above. Rich ladies who come to do their shopping at Nieman Marcus and other boutique stores scattered around the area. Tourists. Mysterious locals who seem to be there for no obvious purpose. Amateur and professional photographers and filmmakers. And then there are the young self-proclaimed hipsters who live in lofts downtown, doing God knows what for a living. You see them coming out of alleys deep into the afternoon but clearly fresh out of bed, headed to delis and such. Those people deserve a category all their own. I think I envy them but am not really sure.

So now I'm home, and am thinking about that three hour lunch and all those people. If I had the choice, who would I want to be? The answer is "none of the above". At my age you'd think I'd at least know what my goals were but I do not. I have no idea where I want to go or what I want to do. If I were to say so very honestly, I think I may know. I actually want to do absolutely nothing. I like living in the city, but I simply do not like to work. "Mysterious locals who seem to be there for no obvious purpose". I feel like I belong in that category in spirit, although such a category most likely does not exist. Those people are there for some reason. I would like to be there for no reason.

It's hard being a single guy at my age. I'm not old. No longer "young". It seems impossible to find someone like me at my age. Four years ago it was easy...everyone was drifting. Now everyone's married or coupled up and on some kind of career track, which I guess I am. I just don't take it as seriously as they do because I don't have all the debt they have.

I don't think I'm depressed. Just bored. Disengaged, perhaps. A daydreamer. There is ambition in me, but I have no idea how to apply it. I want a girl but I don't want the hassle of finding one. Life is too routine, yet I am not particularly adventurous. What the future holds for someone like me is anyone's guess.

Stasis. That's what it is. I live my life in much the same way I lived after college. I don't have a lot of possessions. I shop at thrift stores for vintage clothes. I still listen to indie rock. The only difference is I have money and don't party. I'm alone most of the time, and fairly content to be that way. Life has lost its novelty. It hasn't lost its beauty, however. Does that make sense?

I look at the world around me and love how diverse it is. I love not having obligations at night and on the weekends. If I want to read a book, I read a book. If I want to ride the train from one end of town to the other, I can do that. So I'm not complaining about my life, really. I mean there's stuff missing for sure but it's not so bad at all. I suppose I'm content, but I don't feel like I should be. I should want something.

DISCLAIMER: The above is fiction in case you didn't read this. I'm leading up to something, you see. There is a lot of my life in what's written above but I don't have a job like that and there's lots of other differences, too.

A Life of Crime

2008-06-17T18:19:00.005-05:00

After hour upon hour of sitting in my office doing mundane paperwork, finally my mind began to drift. What would a life of crime be like?

I considered the usual things: drug trafficking, book making, bank robbery, and the always lucrative truck hijacking. Each have their downsides. Drug trafficking is inherently violent, and the risks of getting caught are high. Book making isn't something you can just start doing, I don't think. You pretty much have to get involved with your local organized crime syndicate. Bank robbery, though. Most smart bank robbers don't get caught, but most smart bank robbers don't get away with a lot of money and they don't continually rob banks because then they would be caught. Truck hijacking sounds good, but there's always the chance you'll have to beat up the truck driver or worse, and then there's all that GPS tracking shit they put on big rigs these days.

And then I thought about something entirely different. When I was younger I worked at a Dan's Club. One summer I came into work the morning shift, and it seems that the night before some guys drove a van through the front door, ordered the night crew into the freezers, and got out with tens of thousands of dollars in cigarettes. They were never caught and didn't have to hurt anyone. This or something like it would obviously the way to go.

My mind kept thinking about that particular target. I didn't want to deal with cigarettes. Yes, they're valuable, but you have to sell them. The people who made that heist were probably organized crime and had a way of unloading them. I'd rather have cash.

But Dan's Club is owned by Fall-Mart, which is almost universally hated. I wouldn't mind knocking them off, you know? Plus they deal with a lot of convenience store owners who pay in cash. This is no secret.

Thing is, you can't get to the cash unless it's during business hours or just after. Therefore you'd need a large crew of guys to pull off a robbery of this scale. However, given that Fall-Mart is universally hated, there should me no shortage of "talent" to choose from when assembling a team. Hardened criminals would like the money. Radical groups like the ELF would do it for spite as well as money. Plus there's a LOT of disgruntled employees out there.

How would the operation go? Well, you'd need a paramilitary outfit. That means assault rifles, side arms, flash bang grenades, body armor, and communication equipment. You'd need several guys on surrounding thoroughfares keeping an eye out for the fuzz. Ideally, you'd have someone to disarm security systems and cut phone lines. As large as Dan's Clubs are, you'd definitely need crowd control and that's where the assault rifles come in. Think about it...five or six guys dressed in black with ski masks and body armor. They storm through the door in an organized fashion, firing fully automatic toward the ceiling to get everyone on the ground. They'd ultimately get on top of the register counters to cover while a few other guys storm the "cash office". That employee would be politely asked to open up cash registers, starting with the cigarette counter. In and out in five or six minutes. Having worked there, if the place were properly cased the take would be tens of thousands of dollars, untraceable.

There should be one get away car for every two men. All nondescript family sedans. The getaway should be highly coordinated with each team member knowing every street, boulevard, and freeway within a five mile radius. Each lookout man should have their own car.

Before the heist, preparations must be made. One or two 911 calls from the parking lot to measure police response time would be a very good idea. The team should know when pick ups are made during the day at the registers. Security cameras should be documented so they can be taken out with paintball guns at the beginning of the robbery. Vehicles will have to be procured, and plans will have to be made concerning their disposal. It may or may not make sense to lay some tire spikes down on the busy street that is in front of the store. That could serve the dual purpose of tying up police as well as keeping the traffic light upon getaway. However, it would assure that police would be in the area or en route when the robbery went down. Another good idea would be to pick up a few cell phone jammers, which I've seen on the internet from Russia and Eastern Europe.

It could be a surgical, special forces-like operation, or it could go totally wrong if things don't go according to plan. Some "cowboy" or "hero" type with a concealed carry permit could unwisely decide to take matters into his own hands. In order to keep it from becoming a complete bloodbath the team could load their weapons with blank rounds, absolutely ensuring that no citizens were to get hurt. Or police officers. There's a good chance they'd be encountered. But if things went well, they'd go really well.

It could be repeated in random cities around the country. This would get probably get a lot of attention from the media, and added satisfaction would be garnered from watching Fall-Mart stock plummet like one of Wyle E. Coyote's anvils.

But, no, I could never participate an anything like that. I have too much respect for law and order, and an aversion to assault rifles. Plus the thought of prison time scares me shitless. I'll keep slaving away in my cubicle from 8 to 5, escaping only to go out to lunch at Quiznos and, on special occasions, TGI Fridays. What excitement!

DISCLAIMER: The author does not condone committing any illegal acts, including but not limited to those described above. Doing so would most likely get one or more people killed, and that's not a good thing at all. And, uh, obviously this has nothing to do with the slave wage profiteers of Wal-Mart Corporation, who has so many attorneys in their litigation department you have to wonder if they own their own private law school (if not, why not? they own everything else).

This is Fiction

2008-06-15T19:56:00.003-05:00

From now on I'm going to write the blog as if I were someone else. A parody of a life, if you will. Often it will border on the absurd I would imagine.

So to those of you who know me personally and come back to this site, never fear. I have not gone insane.

What to Write?

2008-06-13T18:02:00.000-05:00

Well, I have this blog that has a pretty high Google Rank (for a blog) because of what it used to be in the past. Now it's no longer that, and I have another place to put my photos. So what should I use this space for? I do like to write but my interests are varied and time is limited.

I can write about really specific domestic or international policy. Basically anything politics or economics. However, there are so many blogs that do a good job of that already that there's no real point in adding to it, and it would require quite a bit of time. I could talk about art, but I'm sort of an outsider artist. Not much to say there. Music? It seems like everything is two years old before I get around to hearing it. My life, day-to-day? I guess that would interest me but it would be boring as hell for everyone else. Most of the posts would consist of, "today was a very busy day at work. I went here, here, here, and here. Gas is too expensive. I came home, worked some more, and watched some baseball. The Rangers won/lost by x." Baseball's a possibility. I know a lot about it, but again, there are tons of sites and blogs about even the Rangers, a team that hardly anyone's interested in. Medical/Mental Health stuff? Absolutely not.

So I'm not really sure where to focus, but I do want to write about SOMETHING. Because I like to write, you know. Maybe I should write a story? Each post would be sort of like a chapter? Creative writing is something I think is in me but I've never really broken through on. Perhaps I should try it off-line first.

Satire? Maybe I can become a different character entirely. That would be interesting. Sort of like the above, but all from the first person. That idea interests me.

I could continue with the "things that suck" stuff, but I really don't want that much negativity in my life. The UPS post sure does draw people in, though.

Guess I'll give it some more thought over the weekend and hope to have a direction to go in by Monday.

Texas Weather Sucks

2008-06-08T09:07:00.002-05:00

It gets really, really hot here in the Summer. The winters are nice, but the Summers are so lengthy and, well, brutal that the Winters don't make up for them. And, hell, it can get hot even during the winter! I remember a few Januarys ago it was 12 degrees one night and then the temperature was in the nineties a few days later. Insane is all you can say about it.

The Summer, though...where do I begin? I know it gets hot other places, but other places don't seem to get hot and stay hot like it does here. It's unrelenting like the desert regions only with high humidity. And I don't even live in the worst part of the state for this. Houston's temperatures are a little lower but the humidity is so stifling and the air quality so bad that it's worse. But Dallas is bad enough.

And Global Warming IS making it worse. I have downloading three years worth of datasets from the NWS (yeah I'm a dork), and both high and low temperatures for ALL seasons are running about two degrees higher than the thirty-year average. We also have a lot more days where it's five to ten degrees higher than normal, especially in the Spring and Fall.

2008, so far:

January: It seemed like a much colder than average month, but the numbers do not lie. Low temps were actually lower than normal most days, but high temps were higher than the 30 year average 17 out of 31 days. That's not out of line with expectations. BUT, the average high for January exceeded the average by 3.29 degrees F. Low temperatures exceeded averages by 2.55 degrees. This occurred because of a freak heatwave that lasted from 01/4 through 01/15. There was a four-day stretch in there where highs exceeded the norms by 25, 24, 27, and 20 degrees F. Last I checked, the Tropic of Cancer was well to the South of here.
February: 19 of 28 days experienced high temps higher than normal. Seven days were below. Average high temperature was 6.89 degrees F higher than normal. I'd say that's very significant for an entire month to end up with numbers like that.
March: 22 of 31 days exceeded their normal high temperatures. Average day was 4.48 degrees above normal for the high.
April: 19 of 30 days exceeded normal high temperatures, but it was a little more mild this time. Highs were typically 1.97 degrees F above the 30 year average and lows were 1.03 degrees F above.
May: 21 of 31 days were hotter than normal. Highs were 3.81 degrees higher and lows were 4.03 degrees higher. Remember, these are averages and take even below normal days into account. Summer arrived on 05/18, and we have been mired in a mild heat wave ever since. Haven't experienced a daytime high below 91 degrees since it started, and have had many days on the cusp of 100. It's a little early for that shit.
June, so far: Still in the heat wave, our lowest high temperature has been 94 degrees. We've hit 99 once and 97 four times in seven days. We should be topping out in the upper eighties this time of year.

You can say "small sample" if you want, but I have several years of similar data. What I can conclude from it is that Winter is getting much warmer, and Spring/Fall are doing their best to disappear. In the Summers we simply can't get much hotter than the 30 year averages. You may ave the odd heatwave where it's 108 everyday for a week or so, but generally we're still 2 or 3 degrees above normal. We don't have days like in the winter and spring that the high temps routinely climb to 20+ degrees above normal. If that happened we'd all be dead. But what's disturbing about the data is the lack of below normal days. They have simply vanished. When you see two months in a row where EVERY day the high was above normal, even by a nominal amount, that means something is happening. If it were one year you could call it a fluke, but it hasn't been just one year. We are warming up. And low temperatures are where we're seeing more substantial changes. Where in most places the average high for a summer day might be 82 degrees F or something, we're lucky to get below that at all and it takes until 4 in the morning to get there.

Fucking miserable. Why not move, then? Well, this is home. This is where my family and business is. For some reason more people keep moving here. Dallas/Fort Worth has passed Philadelphia and is now the fourth most populous metro area in the US behind NYC, Los Angeles, and Chicago. Our population is expected to increase dramatically over the next two decades. Why in the HELL would anyone want to come here?

Anxiety/Panic Disorder

2008-06-06T17:58:00.000-05:00

In October of 2006, after struggling with relentless stomach problems for almost two years, I was finally diagnosed with "atypical" or "modified" panic disorder. I initially had a lot of trouble accepting the doctors' conclusion as my physical problems were noticeable even to the naked eye (abdominal distention) and the nausea was so intense there was no way I thought it could be psychogenic in origin.

Prior to this diagnosis I'd had surgery to remove my gall bladder. As it turned out I had developed a small tumor right at the opening of the bile duct that was mucking up the works and making me very ill. When improvement was only modest (at best) after surgery, I was all but certain the procedure was botched. Months went by and I still had times where I was incapacitated by illness. I continued seeing this first team of doctors who seemed to be on the defensive. Eventually, after getting nowhere with them I switched strategies and sought treatment at Scott & White Memorial Hospital, a teaching hospital located in Central Texas.

They came to the same conclusion as the first team of doctors...my gall bladder surgery was not botched. However, they looked into a lot of other possibilities that my previous doctors were unwilling or not smart enough to explore. I commenced to have every test in the book, but strangely enough, I passed them all.

After exhausting all other options, it was determined that I may have A/P disorder. My gastroenterologist suggested that there are thousands of nerves in the stomach and it's colloquially described by doctors as the body's "second brain". And I was exhibiting some of the minor symptoms of A/P, as well, though they went unnoticed by me in the shadow of constant nausea. The doctor picked up on it, though, and consulted with all the other doctors on my team and came up with the final diagnosis. It was explained to me that my digestive system was basically shutting down as a result of panic. I didn't feel the normal symptoms such as increased heart rate, chest pains, etc. Or at least that often I didn't. Mostly it was the fact that my body was diverting blood from non-essential processes (digestion) to my muscles and brain, getting me ready to "fight" or "flee". It was speculated that I'd developed this disorder during the many, many months that was very ill with the gall bladder problem and the doctors couldn't figure out was was wrong (most people with gall bladder problems exhibit entirely different symptoms than I did, and I was not considered at risk so it was never checked until very late in the game).

As I said, I did not accept it right away. It took a couple of weeks for it to sink in and for me to even entertain the thought that they could be correct. After much internal deliberation, I felt that it was a possibility, and set out to do things to change the way I think.

I hadn't read up on the topic very much, but my self treatment basically consisted of exposure therapy combined with simply being mindful of what was going on. As time went by, I became convinced that it was indeed my brain causing the stomach problems. I had no doubts. When a person comes to a realization such as this, they're better equipped to monitor how the feel and it's even under their control to a certain degree. Over the next few months I made substantial improvement.

Then, in early February of 2007, I hit some kind of wall. I could no longer control anything and was out of work for a week incapacitated by nausea. At this point I wasted no time in going to see my primary care physician, who had my charts and quickly prescribed clonazepam (Klonopin). I was finally going to attack this from a medical perspective.

But it wasn't easy. I have an extreme aversion to pills. I don't like taking them at all, even things such as Advil. Advil doesn't make me ill, but most other pills do, and already feeling ill I had a lot of trouble taking the Klonopin for the first time. It sat on my desk for nearly three full weeks as I remained sick and out of work. The possibility of Klonopin making me more sick was more than I could handle given what I'd already been through. Eventually, however, I did take it. I started with splitting one pill in half one night, making my first dose a very mild .25 mg. It was difficult to see if there was any improvement, but most importantly it didn't make me sick in the slightest.

The next morning I went straight to my prescribed dose, .5 mg twice a day. And I did see immediate improvement. I felt so good that I didn't even go straight back to work. I took the last week of February off for the sole purpose of enjoying feeling truly good for the first time in a very long time.

I've taken the Klonopin ever since. Have never increased my dose or felt like I was developing a tolerance to it. I do, however, have a pretty stressful job and from time to time I have mild setbacks. They're nothing compared to what things used to be like so it's much easier to keep them in perspective.

I still don't feel I'm totally recovered, though. I haven't broken all the lifestyle habits that being sick for such a long time imposed on me. For example, these days I can pretty much eat what I want, but if it gives me even simple heartburn I tend to get nervous. And I don't like hanging out with my friends or going out to eat as much as I wish I did. Quite simply, I'm not quite back to my old self, but it's changing. Slowly, but it's changing. I'll still get nervous at random times, especially if I'm not busy. But I've seen a lot of improvement in that over the last six months. I'm not sure what I'm doing different, but that really has gotten better. And, in summary I guess, there's nothing I feel like I can't do, but there are still some things I'm a little uncomfortable doing. I imagine the next step will be to get over that, and then I can call myself "back to normal", but that's subjective and can really only apply to me as compared to the way I used to be.

The way I look at it, everyone has their problems. At this point I can't really say I have any more problems than most other people. My problems may be different, but they are not greater than what the average person faces, I don't think. In this sense I am completely recovered. I make a good living doing a high stress, "do or die" job, I can date, I can go out with friends (even though I don't always like to "go out"), I can attend a baseball game, drive for hundreds of miles, talk to strangers all day long. These are all things someone with a pronounced anxiety disorder would have a lot of problems with, yet I handle them daily.

It wasn't all that long ago that this blog was an A/P centric blog. I wrote about my experience everyday. I think it was in December that I deleted all those posts and made it a photo blog, and I did so because I felt writing about anxiety disorder all the time was holding me back a little. I swore it off for good. Until now.

I write now because this site still gets referrals from A/P sites that I am apparently still linked to. To those people I have something to say: do not give up hope! You can get better. I have gone from being a person who could not leave his tiny Austin apartment last February to a person who went back to work, kicked ass at it, changed careers and moved, and am succeeding at a job in which I have to be on the road all the time. I've gone from being up all night sick almost every night to being able to sleep until I wake up. I've gone from being sick to my stomach every morning to being on the damn freeway every morning. Briefly I even had what I'd consider to be a passionate love affair. Unfortunately that's not going on anymore, but it did not end because of A/P disorder.

I've come a long way in a pretty short amount of time, and I'm nothing special. I've done nothing that you can't do. You just have to do the best you can every day and try to put yourself in a positive frame of mind.

The keys to my recovery are:

Klonopin. As much as I hate to admit it, it has helped.
Creativity. My theory is that by keeping the creative self busy, that part of the mind doesn't have time to wreak havoc.
Laughter. A sense of humor really does work wonders.
Exposure. Even though it's uncomfortable, you have to break through walls and retake your life. It probably isn't going to come back to you by itself. You have to work for it.

Your mileage may vary, but you have to try something.

With that I will end my discussion about anxiety and panic disorders. Comments will be closed. If you are in particularly bad shape you can always e-mail me, but for the most part I'm doing not writing about it in an effort to move on. I have an analytical mind, and analyzing this disorder in particular is simply maddening. I'm convinced I just have to ignore it when applicable and live life in the face of it without stopping and getting mired down by thinking too much about it. This mindset is where the title of the blog comes from, ironically. I wish it didn't take me until December to figure it out.

Good luck to you all.

Obama Wraps Up Democratic Nomination

2008-06-05T13:48:00.003-05:00

Congratulations to Senator Obama and Democratic Party for making history. Whether you identify yourself with as a Democrat, Republican, Libertarian, or Green, you have to recognize that this is indeed a very special time.

And it would have been historic if Clinton had won, as well.

Initially I was a Clinton supporter on the basis that I thought she had the connections in Washington necessary to bring in the best possible staff to deal with what the Bush Adminstration will have left behind. I still think that's probably true, but I ended up voting Obama in the Texas Democratic Primary because I came to see his ability to inspire people as very important, too. It was essentially a tie in my head that I never could resolve, so I voted for Obama yet did not Caucus for him (Texas is odd...yeah, we have both a primary and a caucus). That was as close as I could come to hedging.

I think it's a shame that Clinton supporters are so down and out. Well, angry might be a better way to describe it. I just don't see how you could seat the Florida and Michigan delegates considering that there was no campaign in either state and Obama removed himself from the ballot in Michigan. It does seem a little like disenfranchisement, but I cannot blame the party. They do make the rules, and those states broke them. When the decision was made not to seat those delegates it was way too early to tell what kind of race would develop. I think if the Party could have foreseen this, they may have decided on a different course of action, but but by the time we knew it was simply too late to rectify the situation in a fair manner.

Clinton was a very strong candidate. She'll get her chance later if she wants it, or she may even end up on the 2008 ticket.

And that's something I wouldn't mind seeing. There's been some talk about it, and the reason most people seem to give concerning why it would never happen is that these two (plus Bill) would have a hard time working together in the White House. Well, they are very close on policy. Hillary Clinton shares more in common with Obama on policy than she does with her own husband.

The office of the Vice President really strengthened under the Clinton White House and even more during the Bush Administration. I think Hillary Clinton could be a razor sharp, effective Vice President who would get some things done. And as charismatic as Obama is, I seriously doubt she's capable of "hogging the spotlight".

In terms of the General Election, it's a no-brainer. These two together would unify the party and absolutely clobber McCain and his running mate. Obama's war chest could retire Clinton's campaign debt and this is a ticket that could raise vast sums of money between now and the end of October. And on policy they win against McCain hands down, in my opinion. Unstoppable.

If Clinton isn't chosen as VP, I really hope she campaigns hard for Obama. If she really cares about the direction of this country, and I believe she does, she will plead with her base to organize on behalf of the Nominee.

But I really hope they combine forces. I really, really do.

Since I hadn't decided who I wanted to run in the General, I haven't even given financial support to either candidate. I'll be doing so next week, and I urge you to do the same.

Even though I'm a lifelong Democrat, I'm not particularly thrilled about the prospect of one party controlling both houses of Congress as well as the White House. Generally, I think, split government is good. But there are mitigating circumstances. This country needs a big change when it comes to foreign policy, beginning with the Iraq War but not ending there. And only the Executive Branch can make those changes.

The problems we face are so wide-ranging and difficult that it will be very difficult for the next President. I'm not sure that Obama or McCain would be in good shape for re-election in 2012. The result of a withdrawal from Iraq will not be pretty, but neither would a continuation of the war. Whoever wins is set up to fail from the get go. And we're going to be facing some pretty serious economic issues, as well.

But there will be opportunities, too, so I still think it's an exciting time to be an American.

Cheap Gas

2008-05-31T18:11:00.002-05:00

Gasoline is high, right? If you live in the United States, you're paying around $4.00 a gallon right now. If you live in Europe, thanks to taxes among other things, you're paying up to twice that.

Well, why is this?

Yes, the oil companies are making large profits and nobody likes to see that when it costs $40 or more to fill the tank. But that's what happens when a company sells a scarce product. Supply and demand. Global oil production has peaked, and discoveries are way down so forget about pumping more out of the ground. Yeah, the GOP and the oil companies want to drill in ANWR, but c'mon, that's not going to make an impact. We're years away from getting any oil out of there, and the amount we get will not be enough to affect the price of crude, which is set by a world market. That oil will sell for what a barrel from Saudi Arabia would. So don't be fooled by that kind of nonsense.

Technology is allowing oil companies to drill in challenging environments, etc. Whatever. It's not enough.

And, yeah, Saudi Arabia and other OPEC nations probably could increase production, but why would they? They're smart businessmen and want to have reserves left when it's trading at $250 a barrel.

So forget about the supply side. The only way to attack this problem is from the demand side. And since the USA is still by far the largest consumer of crude oil in the world, and most of that oil is refined for transportation purposes, there ARE things we can do consume less oil, and doing so may actually affect the market price at least a little bit.

Most of our urban areas are built around the automobile. Five days a week, people drive through the sprawl from home to work and back again. You could consider moving closer to your job. Reverse white flight, if you will. It's happening in a lot of places. But for many it's not an option. Urban real estate is expensive, people love their silly yards, and they're afraid for their children to go to inner city schools. So while we may see some migration, I don't think we'll see a lot of it.

We could buy more fuel-efficient automobiles. SUV's always seemed like a stupid idea to me, and now it's evident to just about everyone.

Combine trips and walk if possible. For those of you in the suburbs it can be difficult to walk somewhere to get a half-gallon of milk, I know. Instead of jumping into the Hummer every time you run out of the littlest thing, how about waiting until you have several errands lined up and do them all at once? It adds up.

Keep your damned car maintained. That means timely oil changes, tune ups, and keeping your tires inflated to the proper level.

All of the above will save you a little money, but what can we do as a society to reduce demand for oil? Collective action is what will reap real benefits. What I'm about to suggest is going to be very unpopular to a lot of people, but I don't care.

1. New energy bill with even more stringent CAFE standards. That's Corporate Average Fuel Economy. Raising the standard will discourage production of light trucks, SUVs, and over-powered sedans. Do you really need 250 horsepower to propel that Chrysler 300??? Hell, no, you don't. And to you guys who drive Ford F-350s to and from your accounting jobs everyday, is that really necessary? And, finally, to those of you families with 2.5 kids, do you really need a van or SUV to ride around in? What's wrong with a station wagon? And, hell, a mid-size car will seat five adults...I bet it would do fine for your family. So I think we can raise these CAFE standards without impacting our way of life.

2. Another component of a new energy bill should be a tax deduction for any vehicle purchased that gets an average of 38 mpg or more. Not $600, either. I'm talking about a significant deduction. If you create marketplace demand for cars like that, the automakers will find a way to make them. You wait and see. Whether it's hybrid, plug-in hybrid, fully electric, or just a tiny engine in a lightweight but safe carbon-fiber vehicle, if people want them someone will make them.

3. But what would make the biggest difference? Hint: we've done it before during the energy crises of the 1970s. Yes, you guessed it! A 55 mph national speed limit! I'm not a "serious" blogger so I'm not going to dig up the figures, but believe me, it takes a lot less fuel to cruise at 55 mph opposed to 70. Just watch your tachometer. In the United States we're at a disadvantage. It's a big country, and if we want to go on a trip or we have to move food to market or whatever, we have to go a long way. Reducing speed limits on highways would reduce demand effectively and immediately.

Do all of the above and we as a nation wouldn't buy as much gasoline. The market price for gasoline might even hold steady or even decline as a result. And the air would be cleaner.

Why not? It's common sense.

Finally

2008-05-26T18:43:00.003-05:00

I will finally be ditching Blogger. This morning I purchased a new domain name, hosting space, and have launched a new site, 613photo. It's going to be kind of a slow roll out.

I have only one photo up there right now and it's an old one, but more will be added as I slowly delete this one.

Edit:

Things are coming along. If you have me linked in any of your blogs or sites, please change it to the new URL (above), if you don't mind. This blog will soon be re-purposed and it'll have nothing to do with photography.

UPS Sucks

2007-10-13T02:05:00.004-05:00

Ah, the United Parcel Service. Brown. No matter what their ads say, they suck a big fat ass.

I was out of town most of today, and while gone it occurred to me that I was supposed to get a package today. I log on to their website to track the package, and indeed it was "out for delivery", and had been since 7:17am on Friday (the day it was supposed to be delivered).

In light of this, I elected to come home prematurely because this package is something I need, right? So I come home late at night and stop by the concierge desk. No package. What?

I went upstairs to my loft, once again logged on to the UPS website and found that the delivery has been rescheduled for Monday!

Keep in mind this is a residential delivery. UPS makes residential deliveries until 7 in the evening. So this package was on the fucking truck for 12 hours and somehow they couldn't get it to my place. That's really odd to me because my desk is right by the window, and said window overlooks the front of the building. When I'm working at home on weekdays, UPS trucks are coming and going all damn day long. Incompetent pricks.

What's more is I live merely blocks from downtown Dallas. I bet they have thousands and thousands of deliveries downtown on any given day. Yet they cannot deliver my package.

This is not the first time I have had trouble with these bastards. They suck in a very big way.

DO NOT USE UPS. THEY CANNOT BE COUNTED ON. I have literally had much better service from the post office than UPS has ever given me. They don't even have a telephone number on their website! They know there's so many complaints they couldn't handle the call volume, that's why.

Addendum (02/28/08):

A reader named Amy was kind of enough to e-mail me this, which some of you may find helpful:

I feel your pain. After multiple problems with UPS, I did some searching and found the corporate office phone number.

United Parcel Svc Inc
55 Glenlake Pkwy NE, Atlanta, GA
404-828-6000

Call D. Scott Davis, the CEO, I’m sure he’d love to hear from you. I plan on posting this info on as many sites as I can since UPS makes it so damn difficult to speak with someone who doesn’t just repeat, “I’m sorry, but that’s our policy”. I don’t know why they add in “so f**k you!”

Good luck and I hope you get to talk to the high & mighty Mr. Davis, I did. I have a feeling he doesn’t like me very much.
Regards,
Amy

Links and Information

2007-10-01T14:49:00.002-05:00

Great Photoblogs: