Deserving of Mention
My Dell Vostro notebook recently had some issues. The battery stopped taking a charge.
I sent them information defining the basic problem. I was soon contacted by Justin Cowan, a Dell Technical Support Specialist, who opened a service ticket and within a few days I had a new battery waiting for me after work. Glad to be able to finally work on my computer without being attached to the wall, I sent them a thank you letter for their prompt service.
I wanted to withdraw that about two weeks later when it quit charging again. I was a little concerned that I was going to have issues getting the same issue addressed in such a short period. Glad to say I was wrong.
After contacting them, and sending a few bits of information obtained from the BIOS menu, I received an email letting me know how they would take care of it. True to their word, a few days later I was sitting in my living room watching the tech they had dispatched replace the motherboard. He left a new AC Adapter as well.
Two thumbs up to Dell from this customer.
Congress Ranks Last in Confidence in Institutions
OUCH! Nothing else to say.
Underscoring Congress’ image problem, half of Americans now say they have "very little" or "no" confidence in Congress, up from 38% in 2009 — and the highest for any institution since Gallup first asked this question in 1973.
Congress Ranks Last in Confidence in Institutions
Coincidence?
While perusing some comments on the Times Record News site, I read a comment where someone had posted a thought about the change drug cartel violence and Muslim Extremists. So I spent about three minutes looking around. It may bear further research when I have absolutely nothing to do.
I didn’t bother looking up links but given the poppy crop in Afghanistan, it seems drugs and violence might be a familiar combination in places other than Mexico.
“Members of Hezbollah have already entered the United States across the Southwest border.”
“A Line in the Sand”, a report from the House Committee on Homeland Security.
"These guys are copying the methods of al Qaida (terrorists)," said Jorge Chabat, a criminal justice expert at the Center for Research and Teaching of Economics in Mexico City.
Why are beheadings so popular with Mexico’s drug gangs? | McClatchy
Mexican authorities say the assailants lured police and paramedics to the scene through an elaborate ruse seemingly taken out of an Al-Qaida playbook.
US official: Mexican car bomb likely used Tovex - World news - Americas - msnbc.com
Seriously?
This story from the Washington Post.
Mention the new "tan tax" in a major news outlet and cries of discrimination and reverse racism often follow.
‘Tan tax’ discussions include allegations of reverse racism
And this one from the AP.
To me it [the gulf oil spill] was more about eight years of bad policy before (Obama) got there that let this happen.
Buffett hopes to boost Gulf spirits with concert
I can’t believe the news I read, the emails I get and some of the comments I read on various social media. I mean come on, there are numerous legitimate reasons to oppose the federal government sticking its fingers into healthcare. Are we really to the point where we have to appeal to the negative? Every. Single. Time?
Then there is the comment from Jimmy Buffet about the oil spill. Since he feels responsibility lies at the feet of the Executive office of the federal government, I’d say it’s about time for this administration to start owning problems. Is the American public buying this “It is still Bushes fault?” The reality of the matter is that it’s not either President’s fault. The information that is available makes it seem as though BP had some bad policies and procedures. (Entirely too much information available about the spill here and here.)
Americans need to think for themselves and stop being party hacks to the point of being ludicrous.
So I’ll end with a repeat of the subject of this post. Seriously?
Photographer detained near refinery
Rosenfield was released after officials looked through the pictures he had taken and took down his date of birth, Social Security number and other personal information, the photographer said. The information was turned over to the BP security guard [emphasis added] who said this was standard procedure, ProPublica quoted Rosenfield as saying.
Field Notes - Photographer detained by police, BP employee near refinery
I’m not really going to spend a lot of time on this. This is not an indictment of our President though I wish he would slow our federal government down. No this is not about him. Rather it is about a federal government that is increasingly going absolutely nuts. IF this story is presented accurately, we should all have issues with this. Especially the part where the federal government is turning over personal information to private businesses.
Wicked
We went to see Wicked at Fair Park last night. What a wonderful show. Glenda sang wonderfully, and was perfectly portrayed as a bubbly, self-important character who, when it is necessary, always comes through and does the right thing.
Elphaba on the other hand, known later in life as the “Wicked Witch”, was never bubbly but certainly always did what is right. I’ve never heard a voice, in person, that was so clear and smooth when singing.
The show takes a story that most everyone is familiar with, the Wizard of Oz, and informs us that many things are entirely different from a different point of view. It’s a story of propaganda working exactly as intended and an uninformed, uncurious public believing just the opposite of reality.
The wizards remark that, “Truth is not based on facts… the truth is what everyone believes” is profound when one considers 1) the innumerable sources of information available today, 2) recent attempts by the government to “help” the media out of financial difficulty. Perhaps we need a Fiyero and an Elphaba of this world.
BP Oil Leak
Check this excerpt from CNN.
The Obama administration announced Thursday that it has ordered BP to release all data related to the massive spill, including environmental sampling analyses, internal investigation reports and details of the cleanup effort. In a letter to BP Group CEO Tony Hayward, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano and Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lisa Jackson told BP to post that information on a website and update it daily
BP: Oil leak could be stopped by next week - CNN.com
I think there are a few points to make about this. It sickens me that all of the news is about how much damage this is doing to the environment. While the photographs I’ve seen of that are terrible, this rig explosion cost the lives of eleven men. Just something to think about.
Now to my knowledge, based on what I’ve read about this demand, there has been no subpoena produced, nor is there an EPA tactical team waiting to kick down door in corporate offices to serve any type of warrant. Both may exist and if they do, then this post is an environmentally unfriendly waste of electrons.
However, it appears that Secretary Napolitano feels that by nature of her position in the cabinet, she has some authority to demand a private entity produce internal documents without without any review. It may be that regulatory rules are in place that require these documents to be produced. If so, they should be reviewed.
What type of government is it that can make this demand of a private entity with no due process?
Misrepresenting Our Religious History
While not bragging, I have to say that I think I am a pretty patient person. I’m not one to get riled up quickly or over things I feel are trivial and quite honestly, most things in life are trivial. Some are not and I’ve had a slow burn going over time related to the increasingly frequent statements that proclaim our Founding Father’s beliefs to be atheism, deism, or some other belief system other than Judeo-Christian beliefs.
This quote is from a “.gov” site:
Thomas Jefferson:
"I shall need, too, the favor of that Being in whose hands we are, who led our fathers, as Israel of old, from their native land and planted them in a country flowing with all the necessaries and comforts of life; who has covered our infancy with His providence and our riper years with His wisdom and power, and to whose goodness I ask you to join in supplications with me that He will so enlighten the minds of your servants, guide their councils, and prosper their measures that whatsoever they do shall result in your good, and shall secure to you the peace, friendship, and approbation of all nations."
The Congressional Prayer Caucus - Prayer in Congress
I really just have one question based on this quote alone. What “Being” would one always capitalize, offer “supplication” to, led “Israel of old” , and would offer wisdom to His “servants”?
What being, other than the God of the Judeo-Christian beliefs systems, could this be referring to? (note: if you post a comment, “flying spaghetti monster” and “Cthulhu” are not acceptable answers).
So what is comes down to is this, if you choose to reject God, that’s your prerogative. Christ said “I stand at the door and knock…”, not “I do dynamic entries…” I don’t think churches should go kicking in doors shouting “JESUS TEAM! GET ON YOUR KNEES AND PRAY!!!” That decision is squarely the responsibility and free choice of every individual.
On the flipside I don’t think I can take any more lame attempts to represent our past as something it isn’t. If I read someone’s opinion that “The founders were Christians, but I feel we’ve grown out of that”, then at least they’re being honest. Is that too much to ask for from anyone? Christian, atheist, etc?
The United States Constitution
Strange that I have heard nothing of this on the media – left or right. From Article 1, Section 9 of the Constitution:
No Title of Nobility shall be granted by the United States: And no Person holding any Office of Profit or Trust under them, shall, without the Consent of the Congress, accept of any present, Emolument, Office, or Title, of any kind whatever, from any King, Prince or foreign State.
The United States Constitution - The U.S. Constitution Online - USConstitution.net
Bear that in mind and read this story:
- Obama gets bling from the King
- He isn’t the only one either
The second article makes it sound like it is not uncommon among either party. Well, most of the stuff is immediately turned over to the State Department. The only problem is, it sounds like maybe the Constitution, you know, requires prior approval. I mean, I don’t have the brilliant mind of someone stuck in Washington D.C.
Where is the respect for the Constitution? Do they even read it in DC?
Wacom - Bamboo Pen and Touch Tablet
I recently purchased this little gem from BestBuy. I continue to be amazed by the Wacom tablets for a number of reasons.
Bestbuy - Wacom - Bamboo Pen and Touch Tablet - Black - CTH460
This is my third Wacom tablet. I actually bought my first one after looking for some way to combat what I think was carpal tunnel syndrome. My arm would have searing pain by the time Fridays would roll around. After much reading, I bought a Graphire. It worked wonders and my pains were history.
After having that one a while and abusing it perhaps too much, it gave up the ghost and I bought another one after my arm started hurting a couple weeks later.
Now that the Pen and Touch is a few weeks old, it’s turned out to be worth the $99.00 it sells for at BestBuy. The touch function is pretty sweet for navigation and making work go a little bit faster. The programmable buttons are conveniently positioned for thumb access and the Adobe Photoshop Elements that comes with it is an excellent program. After many attempts, I’ve finally found the software that manages photos the way I like.
The only bad thing I have to say is this bizarre behavior. When I turn on the media center on the Xbox 360, the touch commands stop going to my mouse and go to the Xbox. That is one I can’t figure out or explain. Either way, it’s a nice pad.