Nobel Peace Farce

I can't believe Obama was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. He hasn't accomplished anything. Really!! He hasn't done a thing. There is still a war in Iraq and Afghanistan. Note the word "war". Not "peace". There is still a recession. The banks won't help me refinance my house. My friends still have not found jobs. Unemployment rate in California is near 15%. I guess I don't understand. What has he done to receive such an award?

I know he's made promises. Many promises. But I can make promises too! Doesn't guarantee anything though. So, to me, the Nobel Peace Prize has become the Nobel Peace Farce. You don't have to actually do anything. You just have to make promises. Even empty ones.

TechForLess Response

When I received the response from TechForLess.com, I was completely shocked! It was a reply from a real person and not some automated script or majordomo. Who'd ever thought that companies still care to help their customers.

Here is the email: Names have been removed to protect the innocent.

My name is **** and I am with Tech for Less. I was looking over your case and I see that the Workstation V6 Linux CD that you have has been already registered. I have looked in our inventory and we do not have any other ones in stock. I am going to set up a full refund for you. You will see the refund with in the next seven to ten days. I do not need the CD’s back you can do with them as you see fit. If you have any other issues please feel free to contact me. Thank you for your time.

It's still hard for me to believe that I'm not getting ripped off. The constant lack of help for the average consumer jaded my senses to the point of not believing anything said or advertised by vendors. Now I have to retract statements from my previous post. I guess TechForLess.com actually cares about customer service. In this day and age, it seems that customer service is just some phrase thrown around. It's gotten so bad that it has lost all meaning.

So, even though I got burned, TechForLess.com was nice enough to reply and refund my money. This fact should be enough for the bold and frugal shopper who is willing to take some risk and reap its rewards.

Problem With TechForLess.com

UPDATE: Please see next post for refund.

It's been a long time since I've written anything I've been really busy, and blogging just wasn't at the top of my list... But just recently, I purchased a retail/boxed software called VMWare Workstation from TechForLess.com. Now, I'm not some internet newbie, and I've read about plenty of scams, but this most recent online purchase had me fuming. At myself! I cannot believe I fell for the oldest trick in the book. I hear it all the time: Buyer beware, Caveat Emptor, "If it's too good to be true, it probably is"...

Here's my story:

I had shopped online looking for the lowest price for VMWare Workstation. I compared prices from many different websites, and TechForLess.com had the lowest price. I even called their sales to ask how they are able to sell it for less. He said that it is probably overstocked. I was ready to buy, but hesitated because they were selling a retail box. I was highly suspicious of boxed software until I saw that Amazon.com is their affiliate. I figure I would have a recourse if anything went wrong.

Well... Guess what, I got ripped off. The box was already opened, and neither TechForLess.com or Amazon.com is going to help me. TechForLess.com has not responded to my email, and Amazon.com just said they're not involved. I've just become another victim. A statistic. All I can say is "Lesson learned".

TechForLess.com is a hit and miss. Some people say good things, while many others say bad things. It only makes sense that they can sell their products for cheap because it's already opened, trashed, or whatever - an inferior product no matter how you look at it. To the reader, please learn from my mistake. Seriously shop around. If you think that it's too good to be true, it probably is. I know I'm not going to TechForLess.com anymore.

UPDATE: Please see next post for refund.

Reading About The Economy

I've been seeing a lot of posts and comments about the economy from experts, journalists, Joe The Plumber, and my neighbor. Everyone has an opinion. I have one too. But I found some writing (from Yahoo) to be clinical and seem almost detached from the gravity of the economic situation. It seems funny as in Hmm... follwed by Hahaha! to me that those writers could be the next group to lose their jobs especially after watching CNN interview several prominent journalists who were laid off due to falling advertising revenues.

The Racial Republican Response

A couple days ago, President Obama delivered his address to Congress. Shortly after, the Republicans delivered their response. Here's what I have to say:

Did the GOP just use an ethnic minority governor to speak on their behalf? I don't know about other people, but it just amazes me how the Republicans think that the American people are stupid. First, Sarah Palin Hmm... Let's get the woman vote by choosing a woman VP candidate... Now, Bobby Jindal Oh! Obama is half-Black. Let's get a half-Indian to deliver our response... Give it a rest. The GOP should just accept the fact that they've lost popular support because they don't change along with the American population. It's just sad to watch them. Denial is not just a river...

Liars

Once again, banks are in the news. I only saw a bit of a Congressional hearing on CNN last night, but now I'm reading about it on the internet. Every time I see bank executives speak in front of a panel, I just know that they're lying to save their fat a$$. Here some statements as posted on Yahoo:

"We are frugal," said Wells Fargo's John Stumpf. "We're Americans first. We're bankers second."
I can imagine this guy lying all the while dreaming of the fat bonu$ he just gave to himself for being such a good liar...

"We understand taxpayers are angry" and they are right in demanding that institutions receiving their money take a "conservative, sober and frugal" approach to using it, said Kenneth D. Lewis of Bank of America.
Another liar. Let me translate: He understands that we taxpayers are angry, but he really does not give a crap! Oh I really hate Bank Of America...

You just know they're lying... "FBI Deputy Director John Pistole told that Senate panel that there are 530 active corporate fraud investigations, and 38 of them involve corporate fraud and financial institution matters directly related to the economic crisis."

Problem With Banks

I know that banks exist for the sole purpose of making more money out of some money. But I also thought that they are helpful. They can still make money by helping regular people like you and me save and invest. But banks don't really care about people. They only care about money. Think Mr. Potter from Frank Cappra's It's A Wonderful Life...

Actually, it's not the employees but the institution and its policies that don't care... There is a real need to boycott banks whenever possible! Check out your credit union. Really.

I'm really glad that Lehman Brothers failed. That's real capitalism. None of this quasi-socialist/capitalist BS.

The government is bailing out Wall Street and I keep hearing news of bank programs that help homeowners. But I'm seeing stories about the attitudes from banks and reactions from distressed homeowners. Here is one story from ireport.com:

My very good friend has a home in Weymouth, MA. The Chase Mortgage Company is the note holder. She slipped behind a month and tried to catch up on payments. She called numerous times to arrange a payment catch up plan. Chase refused to discuss it. After two months of run arounds her lawyer recommended she make weekly payments to Chase. This she did. Chase called several times to tell her to stop sending payments. Chase said the mortgage was going into foreclosure. Chase refused to acknowledge that these weekly payments were even made. It took a letter from the Bank president of the bank the checks were drawn on for Chase to admit they had cashed the checks and money orders. Chase said they were going to return the money over an undisclosed period of time and take the matter under advisement. Another month has passed and Chase still has not returned all the funds or stated what the conditions of a re written mortgage will be.

When you hear of people falling months behind in their mortgage payments think of this. It is not the homeowner but the banks themselves which are letting peoples home loans slip deeper and deeper in debt. The Congressional bailout has done absolutely nothing for this home owner and if Congress claims it is helping they are so wrong. There are most likely thousands of homeowners just like my dear friend who are in the same predicament. My hope is thousands of people will read this and push their legislators to really do something not just spin a tale of how wonderful they and their plan are. It is an outright lie! The banks DO NOT want to help homeowners and never did.

Obama is now President

Barack Obama was sworn in today as the 44th US President. By tomorrow, I expect the economy to have completely recovered.

2009

It's 2009! Happy new year! Wishing the best for everyone.

Romeonomics

Henry Paulson is an idiot. That's all I have to say.

As I drive from home to work and back, I listen to NPR on KPCC (89.3 FM). It seems Treasury Secretary Paulson does not want to help homeowners with their mortgages. Well, he is an idiot. How can he justify taking money from tax payers to bail out the big banks on Wall Street but not help the lowly homeowner on Main Street?!

If he feels that government should not interfere and just allow market forces to correct themselves, then he has no business giving money to the big banks. That's socialism! But he goes further than that. He perpetuates elitism. He thinks that only big banks are deserving of government rescue because they know how to be responsible. But isn't it the big banks that allowed and even rewarded... undocumented loan originations?!

Certainly, the homeowner deserves to lose a house that is beyond his means. Even I believe in that. But the same should apply to the big banks. They should be allowed to crumble. But because they are so big and vital to the global economy, Paulson will not allow them to fail. But this happens at the expense of the tax payer. How unfair is that?

Not only is it unfair, it does not help the economy recover. Imagine a bank lending commercial paper to a manufacturing company. The bank is happy because it will benefit from interest charges. The manufacturing company will be happy because it has capital purchase raw materials and manufacture goods. But what if nobody buys? If the homeowner is not helped, he will have not enough disposable income. He cannot buy goods from the manufacturer. Instead it will remain in inventory.

Paulson is an idiot. He will change his mind again when "the facts change". But I thought facts don't change? Unless he got his facts wrong in the first place...

Sewers DIY

In an earlier post, I talked about hydro-jet service from Adee Plumbing. These days, money is really tight and I've decided to tackle the sewer line myself. It's been 4 months since Adee ripped me off Those bastards!... The first bath started to clog again. So I started trolling the web for a jetter. After spending a few hours, I soon realized that jetters are not cheap. A typical medium-duty jetter will run you about $2,000! Ouch!...


But there are other options... such as converting a reasonably priced pressure washer into a jetter. But I was skeptical about my abilities to safely operate machinery that jets water at 3,500 PSI.

Then I came across a site for Gorlitz, a maker of pressure washers, and they were located in Santa Fe Springs, CA. I was ready to make a purchase but I still needed training on usage. I called them and asked about their products. Their jetters should do the job, but the salesman said there would be no training. I told him I was determined to get a jetter to cut roots in the sewer line. But he advised me that their jetters cannot cut roots. It's not the jetter but the nozzle that cuts roots. He told me to search for Warthog nozzles...


Stoneage Inc, the makers of Warthog nozzles, specializes in all types of hydro-jet applications. I contacted one of their resellers, Plumbers Depot in Gardena, CA and spoke to a gentleman who was very knowledgeable. He said that Warthogs can cut roots, but the jetter needs to be capable of generating at least 3,500 PSI @ 4 GPM. He said that instead of buying an expensive jetter, I'm better off getting an industrial grade sewer snake with the proper cutter.

After reconsideration, I went to a Home Depot and rented a 75' long 5/8" diameter sewer snake for $75/day. This is the industrial grade sewer snake. It's heavy. It has wheels. It feels manly!...


When I returned home, I started to work on the main line immediately. I put on my gloves: one disposable latex pair for waterproof protection on the inside, and a second disposable suede pair on the outside. I proceeded to clean the first bath's main line. There was hardly any blockage. Then I proceeded to the second bath's main line. At first, I thought I wasn't going to find anything, but to my surprise and disgust, I found a nest of roots! It took 2 hours of inserting the snake, catching roots, pulling the snake, and removing the roots. This was back breaking work and it stinks!! Eventually, all the roots were removed. I hope...



I was totally pleased with my work. When I think back to a few months about Adee, I feel like a fool. Now, I know better. Here are some key points:

• Adee will try to scare you into paying for a $12,000 liner project. Say NO!
  
• Adee will tell you that a jetter is needed and it only costs $1,500. Say NO!
• When removing roots, go slow. If the snake catches too many roots, it may be impossible to pull it out.
• Patience is a virtue. Even if you're working on the sewer...

Cute Picture

This is Men at KIX (Kansai International Airport 関西国際空港). In the far distance, you can the see ocean. KIX is one of many engineering marvels from Japan. They reclaimed land from the sea and built the airpot on it.

Found in Porter Ranch, CA

I'm voting for McCain

I'm voting for McCain.

X-Force

This is the best X-Force image. Wolverine, X-23, Wolfsbane, and Warpath jumping out of the X-Jet.


For more X-Men, check out Marvel Comics.

Sewers

A few days ago, I called Adee Plumbing to root the main line. We had an emergency! The tub, toilet, and sink had become slow to drain. It's gross and it's affecting the quality of life. After trying several chemicals and other hand-driven sewer snakes, I gave up and finally called the professionals.

Shortly thereafter, the plumber arrived. He was prompt and helpful. He started by using an industrial grade sewer snake. Unfortunately, the snake got entangled in some roots and he could not pull it out. He called for assistance and another plumber showed up. They pulled up the snake and up with it came a mesh of tree roots. Now I'm satisfied. They removed the clog and everything should be Ok. But they continued to tell me that there could be more. Please fasten seatbelts. I'm about to be taken for a ride... They said it's not unusual to have roots in several places along the main line.

Both plumbers told me that there could be serious problems with the main line and that it would be a prudent investment to have the pipe relined. Apparently, there is a new technology that allows repair of failing lines without having to trench or dig up your front yard. But the cost was a staggering $12,000!! There's no way I'm about to pay that! Instead, being the stupid sewer newbie that I am, I opted for a jetter. The jetter is a high-pressure water system that uses a specialized nozzle to cut through grease, paper, and even roots! It only costs $1,500!! And I said yes. What an idiot am I...

Now the line is clean and life is back to normal...

But the good times did not last. Within a few weeks, the second bath became slow to drain. After spending so much money for the first bath, I decided to defer repairs for the second bath. For now, it simply will not be used.

Ars Longa, Vita Brevis

Life is short...

Hulk Smash!

The Incredible Hulk smashes the big screen.

Ed Norton plays a desperate David Banner. Much better than Eric Banna.

Flashback to the 80's

Robert Smith, Siouxie Sioux, Ian McCulloch, Morissey...

I wrote this blog when I heard my wife listening to The Cure on YouTube. It just reminded me of the good times and bad back in high school, where identity is all that matters. If others don't know who or what! you are, then you are a nobody.

The movie Breakfast Club sums it all up. You fall into one or more of many of categories like: a criminal, a princess, a brain, an athlete, or a basket case. Fade to black and play Simple Minds' "Don't you (forget about me)"...

Ironman

Ironman kicks butt! This is arguably one of the best comic book movies. I especially like how Stane is the antagonist and not The Mandarin.


I saw this movie at the Arc Light. Their prices are slightly higher than that of other theatres, but I like the atmosphere, the seating, the strict rules. It completely makes the movie watching experience a whole lot better.