I want to talk about something that has been bugging my ass for some time. Literally. I'd like to know whose idea it was to replace the soft, fabric tags on underwear with plastic ones. This guy (or gal) should be forced to wear his product until the day (s)he dies. By that time, death would be welcomed, I'm sure. You never even knew you had a tag on your arse before, but these new tags make it impossible to sit, stand or move around without the damn tag scratching you raw.
If you're lucky enough to not know w-t-h I'm talking about, these little plastic tags are on the inside of underwear, both underpants and undershirts and contain things like size, washing instructions, etc. The problem is that each time these things go through a wash and dry cycle, they shrink and dry out and become brittle and jagged almost like pieces of glass--not the best material to have chafing the back of your neck or the back of your ass. Whether your ass has a back is a subject for another day.
As if paying to be viscously maimed isn't bad enough, it's almost impossible to remove these blasted tags--at least after they've been through the dryer. They must use glue more powerful than Superglue. God forbid a tag may actually come loose after a few years of wear. Clearly, the manufacturer wanted to make sure at all costs that they'd never be named in a suit for the serious charge of "unlawful displacement of an underwear tag".
One day when I had a few hours to kill, I managed to remove the three or four tags off of one pair of underwear. The problem, though, is that it is my custom to buy four to six pairs of underwear whenever I decide it's time to top up my supply, so I'm stuck with having to store my "valuables" close to these dangerous devices for the foreseeable future.
Are you listening Hanes? I'll be happy to forget the whole sordid affair for a few multi-packs (size S, according to the impression currently on my butt) of the wonderful underwear I've been buying with your name on them ever since I can remember...provided they are of the "classic" design. When it comes to tags, I'd prefer sweet nothings.
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Wednesday 16 December 2009
Monday 7 December 2009
Life in the fast lane
Many times I have bored people with accounts of why I dislike as a group, several professions. They are mostly the usual ones we all have good reason to hate--lawyers, politicians, and despite the dedication and good work of most of them, doctors. This last group because we put our lives in their hands from birth and often right up to death, but some of them cause us more grief than anyone else could given the chance.
Well, today, I'm adding one that I often forget to include. I'm sure you'll agree it is a fine addition to this list of infamy. Mechanics. Not necessarily mechanics per se, but the establishment they work at as a whole. Leaving alone for the time being the shoddy work that sometimes leads to life endangering events, I'm talking about their propensity for unscrupulous recommendations for unnecessary work and gouging both for parts and labour.
Case in point: I was recently stranded and needed a boost to get going. The following day, I took my car to the same place I have been going for about 15 years and to which I have given, as you can imgine, huge sums of money during that time. I figured it was either the battery not holding a charge or else the alternator not charging the battery. I figured if it's the alternator, I'll be looking at a total cost of about $700.
I should mention here that a life truth concerning garages has become evident. "Where there are multiple possibilities of a what the problem is, most of them and others will be found to be the cause."
I got the call--it's going to run me about $600. I won't leave you wondering what I'm complaining about for too long. That price does not include a new alternator. It's for a new battery, to clean up the terminals, replace the alternator belt and doing an oil change which was due, anyway. The bastids charged me $110 plus tax just to diagnose the problem--as if that took more than two minutes and two brain cells to do. With tax, they charged me almost $200 just to replace the damn belt, an item I'm sure costs them about $20.
They also recommended I replace my air filter and all four tires; the latter I said "no" to. I find it interesting that just over a year ago, when I brought my car in to be diagnosed for the smoke that had billowed out from under the hood, they found absolutely nothing wrong (and charged me about $100 for the "good" news), yet when you bring it in for some specific work, they seem to find a whole host of things that need attention, and of course, a sack of money to "fix".
You'd think with so many evil, selfish and uncaring "mechanics" out there, that people would find a good and reputable one and stick with them. The sad truth is that there are so few honest people in the profession, that it's like finding a needle in a haystack. If you're lucky enough to find/have found one, cherish him/her--they are more precious than your soul-mate. In comparison, soul-mates are a dime a dozen.
Click here to go to most recent posts.
Well, today, I'm adding one that I often forget to include. I'm sure you'll agree it is a fine addition to this list of infamy. Mechanics. Not necessarily mechanics per se, but the establishment they work at as a whole. Leaving alone for the time being the shoddy work that sometimes leads to life endangering events, I'm talking about their propensity for unscrupulous recommendations for unnecessary work and gouging both for parts and labour.
Case in point: I was recently stranded and needed a boost to get going. The following day, I took my car to the same place I have been going for about 15 years and to which I have given, as you can imgine, huge sums of money during that time. I figured it was either the battery not holding a charge or else the alternator not charging the battery. I figured if it's the alternator, I'll be looking at a total cost of about $700.
I should mention here that a life truth concerning garages has become evident. "Where there are multiple possibilities of a what the problem is, most of them and others will be found to be the cause."
I got the call--it's going to run me about $600. I won't leave you wondering what I'm complaining about for too long. That price does not include a new alternator. It's for a new battery, to clean up the terminals, replace the alternator belt and doing an oil change which was due, anyway. The bastids charged me $110 plus tax just to diagnose the problem--as if that took more than two minutes and two brain cells to do. With tax, they charged me almost $200 just to replace the damn belt, an item I'm sure costs them about $20.
They also recommended I replace my air filter and all four tires; the latter I said "no" to. I find it interesting that just over a year ago, when I brought my car in to be diagnosed for the smoke that had billowed out from under the hood, they found absolutely nothing wrong (and charged me about $100 for the "good" news), yet when you bring it in for some specific work, they seem to find a whole host of things that need attention, and of course, a sack of money to "fix".
You'd think with so many evil, selfish and uncaring "mechanics" out there, that people would find a good and reputable one and stick with them. The sad truth is that there are so few honest people in the profession, that it's like finding a needle in a haystack. If you're lucky enough to find/have found one, cherish him/her--they are more precious than your soul-mate. In comparison, soul-mates are a dime a dozen.
Click here to go to most recent posts.
Friday 4 December 2009
Sunday 29 November 2009
A stark contrast
The following two stories appeared today on my Google News page separated only by a story on Iran's nuclear ambitions.
The first story came out of the U.S. and bore this headline:
4 police officers shot dead at Wash. coffeehouse
The other described how a very controversial issue is threatening to tear Switzerland apart:
Swiss Vote to Ban New Minarets
Now, if you're unaware or unsure of what a minaret is, let me let you in on this explosive controversy. A minaret is a slender tower attached to a mosque that traditionally is used as a "call to prayer" for Muslims, but in modern times and modern countries, including Switzerland, minarets are not used for anything other than traditional "window dressing".
While I am sympathetic to Muslims, and appreciate the affront on the sensibilities of some of them (the 10% of Swiss Muslims that actually adhere to traditional Muslim codes), quite frankly, the contrast between these two stories was very vivid to me. Four people dedicated to serving the public and upholding the laws of the land were brutally attacked and savagely murdered in broad daylight is something I think all would agree is far more egregious than offending anyone's sensibilities.
Let's face it, the social issues that face America are and have always been far more grave than those of most countries, especially when you exclude third word countries whose extreme poverty is usually the cause of their problems. Such attacks as described in this story are not isolated but can be considered a way of life for Americans. My take is that when you treat people with less than the dignity human beings deserve, you should expect them to act in ways only subhumans would. Providing basic health care to all is a good step in the right direction.
From the aforementioned story...
Last month, Seattle police officer Timothy Brenton was shot and killed Halloween night as he was sitting in a cruiser with trainee Britt Sweeney. Sweeney was grazed in the neck.
The U.S. is the serial killer and mass murder capital of the world. This is no accident. You reap what you sow. My heart goes out to the families of the victims, but until Americans realize that it is their politics that drive people to such depths, they should expect the carnage to continue. No amount of cops and super prisons will fix this problem. Wake up, America.
And to Switzerland...Don't go spoiling the fine reputation you have spent more than half a century cultivating. It doesn't look good on you.
Click here to go to most recent posts.
The first story came out of the U.S. and bore this headline:
4 police officers shot dead at Wash. coffeehouse
The other described how a very controversial issue is threatening to tear Switzerland apart:
Swiss Vote to Ban New Minarets
Now, if you're unaware or unsure of what a minaret is, let me let you in on this explosive controversy. A minaret is a slender tower attached to a mosque that traditionally is used as a "call to prayer" for Muslims, but in modern times and modern countries, including Switzerland, minarets are not used for anything other than traditional "window dressing".
While I am sympathetic to Muslims, and appreciate the affront on the sensibilities of some of them (the 10% of Swiss Muslims that actually adhere to traditional Muslim codes), quite frankly, the contrast between these two stories was very vivid to me. Four people dedicated to serving the public and upholding the laws of the land were brutally attacked and savagely murdered in broad daylight is something I think all would agree is far more egregious than offending anyone's sensibilities.
Let's face it, the social issues that face America are and have always been far more grave than those of most countries, especially when you exclude third word countries whose extreme poverty is usually the cause of their problems. Such attacks as described in this story are not isolated but can be considered a way of life for Americans. My take is that when you treat people with less than the dignity human beings deserve, you should expect them to act in ways only subhumans would. Providing basic health care to all is a good step in the right direction.
From the aforementioned story...
Last month, Seattle police officer Timothy Brenton was shot and killed Halloween night as he was sitting in a cruiser with trainee Britt Sweeney. Sweeney was grazed in the neck.
The U.S. is the serial killer and mass murder capital of the world. This is no accident. You reap what you sow. My heart goes out to the families of the victims, but until Americans realize that it is their politics that drive people to such depths, they should expect the carnage to continue. No amount of cops and super prisons will fix this problem. Wake up, America.
And to Switzerland...Don't go spoiling the fine reputation you have spent more than half a century cultivating. It doesn't look good on you.
Click here to go to most recent posts.
Thursday 26 November 2009
Poker room chat
Three guys (Sweet Elias is a male) vying for the affections of a young woman (Alma) in a play money poker room...
Sean Stevens: hi sweetheart love u so much
Vinny Marino: I must have come to the dating site by mistake.
Sweet elias A: hi
C Alma Zaldivar: hi sweety
Sweet elias A: h r u ?
C Alma Zaldivar: im f9 and u
Sweet elias A: me to thax
C Alma Zaldivar: ty fot the comments u send me
Sweet elias A: always welcome
Sweet elias A: ty
Sean Stevens: flower for my lovely woman
Sweet elias A: nice
Jimmy Clarck: hi babe
Sean Stevens: back off clarck
Jimmy Clarck: our dog is here
Jimmy Clarck: hi Sean
Jimmy Clarck: plz Sean
Jimmy Clarck: can you bark little
Sean Stevens: now ur the dog who follow us
C Alma Zaldivar: shut up both of u
Jimmy Clarck: follow us?
Jimmy Clarck: ****
Sean Stevens: as u say sweetheart
Jimmy Clarck: she will not answer you
Jimmy Clarck: she ignore you
Jimmy Clarck: hunnie
Sean Stevens: she ask me not to talk to u bastered
Jimmy Clarck: is it right babe???
Jimmy Clarck: answer this shi t dog
C Alma Zaldivar: i said stop fighting like animals infront of others
Jimmy Clarck: is it right?
Jimmy Clarck: did you say this?
C Alma Zaldivar: i said to shut up both of u
Click here to go to most recent posts.
Sean Stevens: hi sweetheart love u so much
Vinny Marino: I must have come to the dating site by mistake.
Sweet elias A: hi
C Alma Zaldivar: hi sweety
Sweet elias A: h r u ?
C Alma Zaldivar: im f9 and u
Sweet elias A: me to thax
C Alma Zaldivar: ty fot the comments u send me
Sweet elias A: always welcome
Sweet elias A: ty
Sean Stevens: flower for my lovely woman
Sweet elias A: nice
Jimmy Clarck: hi babe
Sean Stevens: back off clarck
Jimmy Clarck: our dog is here
Jimmy Clarck: hi Sean
Jimmy Clarck: plz Sean
Jimmy Clarck: can you bark little
Sean Stevens: now ur the dog who follow us
C Alma Zaldivar: shut up both of u
Jimmy Clarck: follow us?
Jimmy Clarck: ****
Sean Stevens: as u say sweetheart
Jimmy Clarck: she will not answer you
Jimmy Clarck: she ignore you
Jimmy Clarck: hunnie
Sean Stevens: she ask me not to talk to u bastered
Jimmy Clarck: is it right babe???
Jimmy Clarck: answer this shi t dog
C Alma Zaldivar: i said stop fighting like animals infront of others
Jimmy Clarck: is it right?
Jimmy Clarck: did you say this?
C Alma Zaldivar: i said to shut up both of u
Click here to go to most recent posts.
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