RANT!!

EscapeArtist

I will narrow my brush the next time. I agree that cutting spending alone will not work. However, if we start with a good dose of cutting, and the elected officials are in agreement that we have a debt problem, then taxing should come aboard to help get us back to financial responsibility. For me, cuts first, not necessary all the required cuts, than taxes to start the pay down of the debt, and then more cuts and more taxes until the debt is under control. I am not advocating a "cold turkey" debt diet, but more of a Nutrisystem of a dieting.

Quite reasonable, and agreed. Now if we could get the politicians on board with this we might actually get somewhere. Unfortunately it seems the issue has been sidetracked into cutting only.

lapx

@unknownuser said:

Ken wrote:
I will narrow my brush the next time. I agree that cutting spending alone will not work. However, if we start with a good dose of cutting, and the elected officials are in agreement that we have a debt problem, then taxing should come aboard to help get us back to financial responsibility. For me, cuts first, not necessary all the required cuts, than taxes to start the pay down of the debt, and then more cuts and more taxes until the debt is under control. I am not advocating a "cold turkey" debt diet, but more of a Nutrisystem of a dieting.

Ditto,

Now if we can get our "leaders" to think like this. Maybe they need to learn sketchup
In the mean time porfolios are being wiped out. They have given the short sellers more ammunition.

Stinkie

This makes me angry. I will eternally blame the Bush administration for creating a moral void that made atrocities like these possible. And no, I am not an 'anti-American'. I simply object to that particular and volatile combination of imperialism, cynicism, and aggression brought to the world stage by Cheney, Wolfowitz, Rumsfeld et al.

I sincerely hope the next US president won't be a Tea Party-backed neocon hawk. Although the momentum Bush and his cronies profited from has, I think, passed.

http://www.miamiherald.com/2011/08/31/2384542/wikileaks-iraqi-children-in-us.html

solo

An Anti-Rant...

I contacted my local representative who is the Republican Sam Johnson regarding an issue I'm irate about. I tried to make sure my letter was respectful as I wanted him to actually read and not just discard it.

To my delight he actually read it, and gave me an answer, here I was thinking these guys don't listen.

Sure his answer is very partisan and in line with the popular Tea party ideology, but nevertheless he took the time to explain his stance to a democrat that in no way can help or hurt his cause.

Kudo's to you sir.

EscapeArtist

/off rant for a sec -

Potentially useful information about contacting your Senator or Congress person / voicing your opinion through official channels:

Do not contact any representative other than your own
Do not send a "chain" or "form" email
Always include a visible return address

If you write a rep of whom you are not a constituent, the message is discarded. He/She does not represent you. Chain and form emails are not read. They are discarded. Failure to include a return address means that the message will be discarded. Usually these are nasty letters or from a non-constituent.

The office interns read the mail, notes are taken and the information is forwarded to the representative - so be assured, the material is read and does reach them if the above guidelines are met.

The nuttiest and funniest letters are posted on the intern's break room fridge for the enjoyment of all.

*Source: My wife was a Senate intern.

/back to rant

boofredlay

So I have started playing my trumpet again. I have 4 nice horns but have always wanted to get another pro Bb and possibly a C trumpet. I pretty much know if I do it will be a Yamaha Xeno. 3 of my 4 horns are Yamaha's and they just feel right. However, there is another brand I have always admired from a distance, mainly due to the beauty of the finish. The ZeuS horns look great and I am told play beautifully (as they should, they are made by Kanstul). This is the one I was considering.

I digress...

Zachary Music is were the Zeus horns are exclusively sold and they are located in Canada just across the river from Detroit. I sent them an email asking:
Is there is a retail site in the US where I can try one of your horns or should I make a road trip to Canada?
That was all I put in my email. No more, no less.

Now, I have heard that the owner of the company that sells them is eccentric and can be a bit of a jerk but I tend to give people the benefit of the doubt. The email reply I got went pretty much like this:

@unknownuser said:

You want to try a ZeuS? I hate that. If you just want to try one you are obviously skeptical and should not buy one of my horns. Therefore I won't sell you one and don't want your money.
Yes I can be a dick because I am able to detect idiots pretty quick and it took only 5 min. to figure you out. ZeuS trumpets are not for Idiots and you are an idiot.
Go spend your money on another brand and they might actually pretend to be nice to you.

Needless to say I am not considering a ZeuS trumpet anymore.

Rich O Brien

He must be fun at parties. Think I'll email him about trying out his big flutes

solo

Wanna share his email so we can all send a request for zeus trombone

boofredlay

http://www.zacharymusic.com/Zachary_Music/Contact.htm

solo

Gaieus

RANT:

It's Friday night and I am sitting here at the computer, testing all sorts of software and writing up bug reports and feature requests (even worse; making lists and articles for Rich) instead of going out with the buddies for a couple of drinks into my corner bar (you know the place, Rich, already).

Rich O Brien

That felt good

Gaieus

david_h

that brings up a question I have always had. . .when one gets a bug splat or the "your windows program is not responding" thingy on the screen and you have to shut down the whatever program. . .it always asks. .

"Send Bug Report"--where the heck does that go? to Whom and does anybody give a *** when he/she/it gets it?

In my opinion it's like that button you push while waiting to cross the street. It doesn't DO anything, but it makes you feel like you've done something. . . That you have some kind of control. Its a cyber-placebo.

I know this because__I've never once gotten a note back from anybody saying. . ."thank you for taking the time to submit your bug report. We are sure sorry for your (data) loss. We promise. . ..W**E PROMISE!**to get right on this case and get it cleared up so it never ever happens again. . ."

Yeah. . .i'd like to see that. I know cuz I have sent probably 567,914 of these things and not once have I gotten any kind of a thank you note.

Gaieus

It does get sent here and indeed they collect the bugsplats (I have often communicated about my BS's when talking about my bug reports). They just cannot contact everyone as there would be more developers needed than there are users...

david_h

I'm not saying you have to contact everyone. . .

just me.

Gaieus

Well, I can contact you but you won't be any happier regarding BugSplats. Or do you want to talk about them?

solo

Eric,I got a reply....

@unknownuser said:

Zachary Music zacharymusic01@gmail.com Fri, Sep 30, 2011 at 4:08 PM

Don’t bother, they are crap. Not good enough for you.

boofredlay

Stinkie

Real estate agents ...

"Dear mr. Real Estate Agent,

I just saw the ad for the 3-storey house you're selling. Looks very nice. Could you please tell how much it costs, how big it is and what its adress is?

Thank you,

Me"

"Dear prospective customer,

Thank you for your email. Please allow me to simply ignore your questions. If you have any more, don't hesitate to contact us. In the meantime, we'll add you to our mailing list. We'll send you countless emails you didn't ask for. Don't bother looking for an 'unsubscribe' link. There isn't one.

Have a nice day,

Mr. Real Estate Agent"