Proof of Gasoline Price Gouging

Bush said in his address yesterday that "There will be no price gouging at gas pumps in America".

If there will be no price gouging, then please explain why Exxon just posted a 44% INCREASE IN PROFITS for the 1st quarter of 2005?
bush's address + exxon profits up 44 percent

My Plan for Social Security Reform

What did people do before Social Security? They relied on the extended family for many things. The parents took care of the children and when the children got older, they took care of the parents. The grandparents provided child care and the children benefited from their vast life experience and knowledge.

Here is my idea: Provide tax relief to people that take in and care for their parents in their home. Additional benefits will accrue due to sharing a home, including property taxes, utility costs, child care, food, etc. This will bring the family back together after 70 years of trying to tear it apart.

The Aquanator

Very interesting ocean current generator with costs equal to wind power. More reliable and less intrusive.

And also take a look at these flexible, inexpensive solar panels.
atlantis energy + nanosolar + konarka

I Just Won on Blingo!

Though I almost exclusively use Google to search, I sometimes use Blingo to see if I'll win something. And I did! I won a certificate for a free movie pass at any movie theater nationwide. They'll send it to me by mail. Check them out.
Blingo + Google

National Pot Smoking Day

It's 4:19, got a minute? Happy National Pot Smoking Day!
what is 420 + marijuana seeds + my favorite pot smoking movie

The Next Martha Stewart

I got a postcard from Sears a couple of days ago telling me that Ty Pennington has come out with a line of "Home Accents". Now when I saw the card, I thought, "Ah, the Ty Pennington Tool Collection from Sears. Or maybe the Pennington Metro Clothing line".

I opened the card and there were sheet sets, pillows and curtains inside. What's next? Lingerie?
ty pennington style + ty the handy guy + trading spaces + extreme makeover home edition

I'm On Santa's Naughty List

In December I took a slide on the ice with my wife's truck and wiped out a stop sign and a neighbor's fence. Now my neighbor isn't just any person, he's Kris Kringle. I stopped in to tell him that I'd get to fixing his fence as soon as the ground thaws. He's been a professional Santa for over 30 years. I'd been at his house before about 15 years earlier, when he and my dad were friends (my dad's a santa too).

He roped me in though. He likes to talk and started quizzing me on Santa trivia for about half an hour. He's about 80 and I didn't want to be rude.

He told me about 12 times that he built the "shed" in his backyard all by himself. Now I think that it's really the above ground entrance to his vast underground toy shop.

No sign of the elves though.
santa clause + christmas classics

Supervolcano

I watched "Supervolcano" on the Discovery Channel. Pretty scary stuff. Predicting 80% ash coverage in the U.S., severe worldwide temperature drops, loss of crops and livestock. Millions will die. They say that the Yellowstone caldera blows every 600,000 years, and that we are overdue for another blast.
discovery channel

Magic Cows

Does hamburger come from magic cows? It must, why else would it cost $3.29 a pound? A 4-pack of pre-made burgers is over five bucks!

I can buy a double cheeseburger from McDonald's for a buck, with the fixins!

Car Dealers Are Idiots

And the saga continues. After dropping our Ford Explorer off last Monday at the Lincoln/Mercury dealer for a recalled rear hatch lift arm, we asked them to look at the four wheel drive which didn't appear to be working. They said they'd have it done by Tuesday.

We called on Tuesday, and they hadn't received the faulty switch for the four wheel drive. So we got a message on Wednesday asking us to bring the vehicle in, that they had the part. We called them back and told them that they already had the vehicle.

We called on Thursday, and they said they were working on the transmission, and they had to fix a flat tire caused by a nail. This is the same tire that the body shop fixed, saying that it had a "broken bead".

The car dealer called on Friday afternoon and left a message that the vehicle was ready. We went to pick up the vehicle. $36.15 total charges.

We take it home and everything is fine. Last night, my wife calls from work to tell me that the tire they fixed is flat.

I call around today to three different BF Goodrich dealers. The tire is of course a "special order" tire and they can have it in two weeks. Just my luck!

Short-Changed At The Drive-Thru

So I went to McDonald's with my son to get dinner last night. After ordering, I pull up to the "First Window" to pay.

"$8.83 please", says the girl.

I hand her a fifty. And she gives me change. I put the car in drive and start to stuff the change in my pocket, but notice that I was short-changed by $1. I'm already in motion, so I can't back up. So I pull up to the "Next Window". A handful of bags gets shoved in my face.

As this oriental girl hands me my drinks, I say "Um, I think I was overcharged by $1, can you tell me the cost of my meal?"

She says, "meeoo no come wit meeook".

"No, how much was my MEAL?", I ask.

"You no get meeook", she says.

"Forget it", I say.

Pope Guido Sarducci

Thank god the pope died. Now the media has something to talk about besides Terri Schiavo. I'm sure she was a wonderful person, but there comes a time when you have to let go and let her spirit move on.

I think they should elect Guido Sarducci as the new Pope!

I just finished Angels & Demons by Dan Brown last night. Awesome book!
pope comic book + terri shiavo + the holy see + angels & demons + illuminati

Gas Prices Suck

I've noticed in the last year or so that gas pricing, at least locally, has changed.

Any company that sells a commodity product, be it gasoline or frozen peas, prices it's products in one of two ways. It either bases it's price on a certain percentage over the cost of purchasing that product, or it takes into account potential pricing changes and charges a price that averages out those fluctuations.

Gasoline prices used to be based on the first method. They fill their storage tank with gas purchased at a certain dollar amount, and then charge based on a percentage profit. But now they have figured out a completely new way to price things. They price the gas based on market price no matter what the gas cost them previously.

I pass my local gas station on the way home at 5:15 pm and when I go back out at 6:00 pm the price has increased by $.05 a gallon! Now I guarantee that the gas in their tank is the same gas that was in there at 5:15! What has changed? Greed.

The original cost of the gas in that tank in the ground did not change. Yet they immediately increase their profit margin on that same gas. Do think that's fair?

Hillary Clinton Loves Head Start

My wife and a few others from Head Start where she works, went to see Hillary Clinton talk at the Charles R. Wood Theater on Glen Street in Glens Falls. After the talk, at the meet and greet outside, my wife shook hands with Hillary and said, "Head Start loves Hillary Clinton!", to which Hillary replied back, "I love Head Start!". It's always good to butter up your funding source!

hillary clinton + head start funding + save head start