Don't Back Down

The president of the United States of America makes $400,000 per year. According to the National Taxpayers Union, the presidential pension is worth $2.62 to $7.29 million. The massive amount of travel undertaken by a serving president is surely worth thousands, if not millions. The free room and board is the same. Even if you add it all up, you're talking maybe $10 million for a single term of service.

Sure, the hours stink, so there probably ought to be a bonus of some sort - time-and-a-half, maybe. Even at double time, you're only talking $20 million for being president. So why is it that people will spend hundreds of millions of dollars to become president?

The answer is remarkably simple. It isn't their money. If Dubya had to write a check for the whole $175 million of his 2004 campaign, he wouldn't do it because it's just not worth it. Health insurance is expensive, but that sort of cabbage can buy a hospital.

Now don't get me wrong - I don't care if you want to spend your money on electing someone to the office of president. Really, I don't. But what I really don't get is why you would want to do it. Why would you want to spend a collective $175 million to elect the next president?

Is he going to make your fears subside with the elimination of worldwide terrorism? No. Is he going to give you any of that money back so you feel it was a good investment? No. Is he going to try and enact legislation to keep everyone dependent on government? Perhaps, but I don't see the value in that. What is it that makes it worthwhile?

The only goal of those interested in true liberty should be the systematic dismantling of the massive government leviathan. For decades, the federal government didn't have a regular bank account, which they now possess through the withholding of taxes. A governement that worked for the people wouldn't consistently eat up the income of those people in the quest to get even larger.

Rather than throwing all this money at an increasingly bloated and inept government, wouldn't it be better to have it in your pocket? To make a choice to be something other than a pawn in this sort of game? I don't know about you, but I sure could stand to keep my chunk of that $175 million, and that's exactly what I hope to do.

I'm driving to work today. As usual, there's a pretty big backup prior to reaching a particular business park. Starting a few months ago, a member of the Charlotte police department (or some similar organization) started directing traffic outside this business park. He stands near his truck in the mornings, listening to the radio with his headphones on, pretty much oblivious to the goings on of the world around him.

Read "Traffic Mismanagement" »

"Show up, wipe your feet at the door and do your job. That's what a hero does."

I was in the reading room the other day when I noticed an issue of Men's Health. I don't typically read Men's Health, unless I'm in the reading room. What's more is this issue was over a year old - from October of 2002. Why is it that the bathroom stall and the doctor's office always have the oldest magazines?

As I was browsing, I noticed the familiar features of actor William H. Macy on the page in front of me. What was even more interesting was that he was talking about how to do you job. Probably not something I'd typically notice from an actor, and I must say that I was intrigued. That it was just a short article made it all the more interesting. So I read.

In essence, Mr. Macy believes in making the job all that it can be. That just because you have a supporting role doesn't mean that you aren't important. As with most things, your job is what you make of it, that a functional whole needs all the pieces, and that you really can't worry about what the other guy is doing. The line that stands out most is the one above. Not as concise as Nike's Just Do It, perhaps, but still pretty darn inspiring if you ask me.

While there are undboutedly a number of advantages to living in our world over, say, Afghanistan, I find it terribly disturbing that those advantages can so easily eat up and spit out an institution. I'm talking, of course, about the venerable toy retailer FAO Schwarz.

Read "Death of an Institution" »

Not too long ago, there was a fuss (and even a nice little movie) about the dirty little secret carried by the Apple iPod. Rumor had it that there was a $255 charge (plus shipping) to get your battery replaced. Might as well by a new one. I don't know if this ever was the case, not actually owning an iPod, but it does seem that it's not the case now. Battery service just $99 plus change.

Slightly more recently, there was a pretty big announcement that Dell was moving support out of India. As with too many things these days, the details are in the fine print. In the original announcement, it was mentioned that only the larger business support was moving. Consumers were still likely to get the India center. Now, it seems that even that much might be in doubt, since the Indian call center in question says no such thing happened.

In some interesting developements in research, it seems that the Stradivarius violins may be a product of the forest. Yet questions still remain - did Antonio Stradivari wander the forest, tapping on trees, listening for a particular sound? Dunno. I just think it's interesting that there's a web site on Killer Plants, devoted to the mystery and excitement of botanical connections that make our lives, our civilizations, possible.

You may have also seen all the hubbub about Google changing their search techniques, and generally annoying those who work in the search-engine optimization world. Frankly, I think the whole idea of having a job strictly to optimize your site for search engines is a little bizarre. But hey - who am I to complain? The Angler Fish jumped from a pretty regular spot at third or fourth in the list of results to second.

Speaking of fish, apparently a three-and-a-half pound catch pulled an angler (the fisherman, not the fish) into the Thames river in England. The guy died. Frankly, I'm still glad that I don't fish.

Well over a year ago, Tara Servatius mentioned in Creative Loafing that there doesn't seem to be much corporate support for luxury suites in the new Charlotte arena (proposed arena at the time). A few months ago, we find that the city effectively buried a report that fan interest for a new basketball team was lukewarm at best.

Read "Just Look the Other Way" »

According to Denise, I was grinning like a maniac in my sleep last night, and at one point woke up to tell her October Roast. Upon further inquiry about said roast, I said It's Goood. I don't know what it means, but figured I'd pass it along just in case it made sense to someone out there...

I've just released an updated version of MT-Notifier. Most of the changes are behind-the-scenes, and you won't see much different about the operation. However, there are a couple of new features, notably an enhanced ability to specify the "from" address on your outgoing notifications.

Read "MT-Notifier 1.2.0" »

The other day, Denise and I went to pick up a package that had some postage due. No worries, I figured we'd jump into the car, breeze through the line at the post office and be done in no time. No such luck.

First, we had to find the place. Apparently the package isn't saved at the regular post office (the one with the pretty interior and heat), but at the carrier annex. We found this by looking at the address as we neared the post office and realizing we were in the wrong place. After finally finding the annex, which is not advertised, and is hidden at the back of a truck rental building, we had to figure out how to get inside.

While there was a sign outside proclaiming "carrier annex", there was no clue how to get in. Simply a large overhead warehouse door that opened onto a cavernous garage for a number of delivery trucks. No "this way" or "over here" signs to be found. Little light. No heat. All in all, not a friendly place.

After poking around for a few minutes, we found the service desk in the middle of this facility, and also two other hapless souls like ourselves who were trying to figure out how to get their packages. You see, the little button for the ringer, noticeable because of two very large "ring button for service" signs hadn't done a thing - and they had been there for ten minutes or more.

So we start banging on the door, on the roll-up window barrier, everywhere. A few minutes later, someone comes to open the window and acts surprised - "Why didn't you let someone know you were here?" he asks. Geez.

We wait patiently for the people in front of us to finish their transactions, hand the clerk our piece of paper and wait. And wait. And wait. About five minutes after he first received the slip, he comes back with the package and tells us we owe postage. Yup. So I hand him a credit card, and he looks at it like it's from another world. Apparently they don't take credit cards. Would have been nice if someone mentioned that.

Once we get back from the ATM, we find the window sealed again, and quickly rap loudly on the roll-up door to get service. The same gentleman comes quickly this time, recognizes us, and proceeds to take another five minutes to get the package again. I hand him money, including some coins so that I don't end up with even more pocket change, and it takes him another five minutes to make change.

Then he gets back, tries to hand me a mess of $1 bills and some quarters, all the while I'm trying to take the two bills I need out of his hands and be done with it. For another three minutes he tries to get me to take this conglomeration of small change (which is incorrect, I might add) and I try valiantly to get the correct change. Finally I get the two bills I need, put up with more berating because I didn't take it the way he wanted, and get the heck out of there.

What the heck happened to customer service? I'm not talking kiss-your-feet, the-customer-is-always-right kind of service. I'm just talking about some common courtesy. Why is it so difficult to be a customer these days? It's like you're inconveniencing these people, and they're the ones who choose to work where they do.

I'm not talking about the ice cream. I'm talking about my site. I've been having difficulties with my current hosting provider, who shall remain nameless for the moment. It seems that they don't want to respond to me in any way, shape or form. In fact, on at least one occasion, they felt so strongly that they didn't want to talk to me, they hung up on me.

So I'm in the process of transferring my domain elsewhere, to see if I can correct some name server problems. Once I get that worked out, and have at least a modicum of control over my domain, I'll likely move the site to another host as well. During this time, there might be some outages where the site is unavailable. I'm going to do my best to minimize any downtime, but it's a bit out of my control, so you might see the site one minute and it may disappear the next.

Please have faith and keep trying - if the site goes down, I'll get it back up again - but it might take me a while until I straighten out this hosting mess that I'm in right now. I'll be sure and let you know the details so you can try to avoid just such a problem yourself. I just don't want to endanger whatever service I do have by drawing negative attention to the host.

"Some local providers have run out of flu vaccine or have limited supplies. To receive a flu shot, call your doctor or local health department to see if they have vaccine remaining."

Where would you find this piece of wisdom? On the Internet, of course, in an article entitled Where to Go for Shot. Let's just say that I think I could have figured this one out myself.

In Germany, a computer expert recently recruited, ate and killed someone he had found on the Internet. Once dead, Mr. Meiwes then ate some more. Apparently the "victim" in this story participated in the process by eating part of his own body. Prior to his death, naturally, and of course he didn't participate in any further self-consumption after that point.

I'm left wondering about this case, because I can't seem to see the crime. Now please don't get me wrong. I'm not particular interested in eating anyone, whether that person joins me or not. But if the "victim" in this case agreed, if they expressed their support by eating their own flesh, why is it that Mr. Meiwes would be guilty?

According to the article linked above, Mr. Meiwes will likely be tried under a "sexual satisfaction" law, as cannibalism isn't technically illegal. Were he in the United States, I'd suspect Mr. Meiwes would be guilty of some form of assisted euthanasia, and I don't understand why the government won't allow that either.

What is a "sexual satisfaction" law, anyway? Are you not allowed to get satisfaction from sex while in Germany? Or is it only illegal if the satisfaction comes from consuming another person's genitalia, so that if the two had dined on pinky fingers, it would have been okay? Perhaps it's only a problem if this happens in the process of the sex act, in which case I wonder again why the government of any country thinks that they should be able to dictate normalcy within a relationship between two consenting adults.

Even if one of them isn't around anymore because of the actions.