Archive for November, 2003

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Living paycheck to paycheck


2003
11.28

Posted in World View | 3 Comments »

The title of this entry has been the story of my life for longer than I care to admit, but as it turns out, this particular form of misery loves company. I was watching the news last night and they did a piece on Wal-Mart’s own sales tracking.

The chain has long tracked when people buy products during the month, and predictably, more people buy products during the first and the 15th of the month — as a lot of people get paid on the first and the 15th. From the 11th to the 15th, sales drop, then they pick up again.

And the drop from the 11th to the 15th indicates that people are waiting for their next paycheck before they buy anything else. Now here’s the interesting thing: Apparently the trend *this* year is that sales before the 15th don’t so much drop as plummet precipitously.

(more…)

7 comments

Spam gone wild?


2003
11.28

Posted in Tech | 7 Comments »

Has anyone else been pummelled by spam today? I get a really high volume of spam most days anyway, but today my .Mac account and an account at work have both gotten nailed with a much higher volume than usual.

Normally my .Mac account might get five to 10 spams per day. Today it was more like 30. And at work, I usually field a couple of hundred per day, but it’s more like 5 or 600 just this morning.

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Friday Five


2003
11.28

Posted in Navel Gazing | Comments Off

Time again for the Friday Five.

1. Do you like to shop? Why or why not?

Generally speaking, no, unless it’s for something I want.

2. What was the last thing you purchased?

A new skillet and a cover for it are the last things I can remember buying, outside of groceries and other necessities.

3. Do you prefer shopping online or at an actual store? Why?

It depends on what I’m buying. If I know what it is and I can get a better price online, I usually buy it online. But I’ll go to a store if it’s something I’m unfamiliar with, or something I want to compare prices and features on.

4. Did you get an allowance as a child? How much was it?

I got an allowance as a teen. I don’t remember exactly what it was, but I remember that it increased gradually the older I got.

5. What was the last thing you regret purchasing?

We got this toaster oven at a yard sale for like $3. It doesn’t toast very well. I realize $3 is nothing, but it still pissed me off that it doesn’t work right.

1 Comment

Buy Nothing Day


2003
11.28

Posted in World View | 1 Comment »

So the news reporters have been all aquiver with the expectation that today’s going to be a banner shopping day that will kick off the holiday season into high gear. For me, it’s Buy Nothing Day.

There are a few practical reasons for this:

a) I hate holiday shopping, especially today.
b) I’ll be lucky if I make it to the next paycheck without having a utility shut off or a check bounce.
c) Bonnie has already done a large percentage of our holiday shopping. She likes to have it done *by* now, just so we can avoid the malls this time of year.

8 comments

Holiday blah


2003
11.26

Posted in Mac Beat | 8 Comments »

This time of year always depresses me a bit, from a professional perspective.

As a news guy, I depend on the constant inflow of press releases, product announcements, updates and so on to keep my job interesting. Almost throughout the year, I can count on a steady stream of such material to arrive in my e-mail inbox; when that doesn’t happen, I can usually cull nuggets of information from the wire services or from other sites that carry similar coverage to ours.

There are only two points where it really goes dead — Thanksgiving week and the week between Christmas and New Year’s Day. A lot of companies shut down during those times, and those that stay open realize that a lot of people travel during this time of year so figure it’s not worthwhile to announce anything.

I’m left holding the bag, of course.

I take solace in knowing that I can take an early day today and that I have a few days off to enjoy with the family; I’m looking forward to it. But sitting in front of my keyboard I can’t help but feel a bit frustrated as I watch the clock count down, too!

64 comments

George Bush is a goddamn idiot


2003
11.25

Posted in World View | 64 Comments »

Between Iraq, his position on gay marriage and this medicare debacle, I am resolute on this point.

5 comments

The Frickin’ Van goes to the dump


2003
11.24

Posted in The Frickin' Van | 5 Comments »

So, as I said, the frickin’ van has two jobs: To fetch groceries and to go to the dump. At this rate, it could just be a home for wayward squirrels very quickly.

(more…)

3 comments

The frickin’ van


2003
11.23

Posted in The Frickin' Van | 3 Comments »

Yep, I still have it, and it still runs. It’s now three months overdue for a state inspection and the hole in the muffler is louder than ever. Fact is, I haven’t had the time, money or inclination to fix it, especially not with the other vehicle (which my kids have taken to calling the TV van) running well, and money still owed on it.

So I take it out basically twice a week — once to the grocery store, since it has a lot more cargo carrying capacity than the TV van — and once to the dump, since it’s the vehicle that has the dump sticker.

I’ve noticed that the smell of burning oil is more pronounced than ever. Leaky engines seem to be a “thing” with Ford vehicles regardless of vintage, if they get enough miles on them, and I’ve known that it was burning oil for sometime since the oil level went down but didn’t actually drip out anywhere. I think since the engine sits for days a time before it’s turned over, there’s more oil pooled up to burn now. The good news is that it isn’t discoloring the exhaust, so it’s not a huge problem — at least not yet.

Amazingly, the van starts without complaint and runs fine, despite going from our daily driver to our twice-a-week driver. I think it’s enjoying its retirement.

2 comments

Look for the union label


2003
11.21

Posted in Tech | 2 Comments »

Fuckin’ Verizon.

Dear peter cohen,

Thank you for your patience. Your DSL Order is still being processed.
However, we are experiencing a delay in activating your service on
telephone number (xxx) xxx-xxxx. Please know that we are working
diligently to provide you with service.

Your revised Estimated Service Ready date is 12/05/2003*.

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Friday Five


2003
11.21

Posted in Navel Gazing | Comments Off

Is it just my imagination, or is the Friday Five suddenly not sucking as much as it used to?

1. List five things you’d like to accomplish by the end of the year.

a) Sleep through the night without waking up to pee, having to separate Bob and James from a sleepwalking fistfight, or rescuing the trash from the racoons.

b) Have money in the bank that isn’t spent already.

c) Be reasonably caught up with work.

d) Have all my (and Bonnie’s) old clothes that I’m (and she’s) not going to wear anymore but are still useable donated to local charities.

e) Be ready to take on the new year without feeling beaten up.

2. List five people you’ve lost contact with that you’d like to hear from again.

a) My old high school english teacher.

b) A friend of mine from elementary school.

c) This guy I used to hang out with when I lived in California.

d) One of my old bosses.

e) Some of the weird folks I’ve met at trade shows.

3. List five things you’d like to learn how to do.

a) Fly a plane.

b) Scuba dive.

c) Speak a foreign language fluently.

d) Rebuild a car engine.

e) I’m drawing a blank for the last one.

4. List five things you’d do if you won the lottery (no limit).

a) Pay all my debts, and maybe a few other people’s too.

b) Set up college and trust funds for the kids. Both of these entries sort of fall under a more general concept of “set my family up with up a blanket of reasonable financial security.”

c) Start a scholarship or two, or do some sort of charitable work. I like the idea of a scholarship, though, because it implies that the money is going towards someone who’s proven some merit, and that rings true for me.

d) Buy a nice villa for my mom somewhere warm. She’s mentioned Mexico once.

e) Take a long, long vacation. Australia would be on the trip, definitely. The Mediterranean, too.

5. List five things you do that help you relax.

a) Watch TV (unless something about Michael Jackson is on).

b) Read a book. Sci fi or fantasy, preferably.

c) Go for a walk. I don’t do this as often as I should.

d) Take a nap. I don’t do this as often as I want.

e) Play a video/computer game. Ditto.

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