I understand the fact that we all make grammatical errors, as very few of us are English majors. We also usually don't want to take the time to proof-read everything we write to ensure that it is 100% grammatically correct.
However, there are some errors I see consistently that makes me wonder if people ever made it through the 4th grade!
A prime example is with the word "loose". More times than not I see people using the word "loose" when they mean to use "lose". It's as if they don't even know that the word "lose" exists! They will write something like "I hate to loose a game." Or, "I hate loosing." Come on people! It's "lose a game", and "losing"!!!
While we're at it, what's with the improper use of "there" instead of "they're", or "your" instead of "you're". Just gotta love it when you see something like "There going to the store" and "Your an idiot". Sheesh!
Do these people truly believe that "your" can be short for "you are", or "there" for "they are"? If so, we need to send some of them back to school.
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
Monday, February 23, 2009
Scientology crap
Scientology has its roots in Dianetics, which in turn is based on what is called the "engram". Scientology would have you believe that this "engram" was discovered by L. Ron Hubbard, and he used it while in the military to rid himself of his medical problems.
However, for starters, it turns out the theory of the Engram, and the basis of Dianetics, was not first conceived by him... though that is certainly what he wants everyone to believe. Check out the following about his "engram" that a search on the web will yield:
"The term engram was coined in 1904 by the German scholar Richard Semon, who defined it as a "stimulus impression" which could be reactivated by the recurrence of "the energetic conditions which ruled at the generation of the engram."
Semon's concept was re-used by L. Ron Hubbard when he published Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health in 1950. He conceived of the engram as a form of "memory trace", an idea which had long existed in medicine. According to Dr. Joseph Winter, a physician who collaborated in the development of Dianetics, Hubbard had taken the term "engram" from the 1936 edition of Dorland's Medical Dictionary, where it was defined as:
"a lasting mark or trace .... In psychology it is the lasting trace left in the psyche by anything that has been experienced psychically; a latent memory picture." He had originally used the terms "Norn", "comanome" and "impediment" before alighting on "engram" following a suggestion from Winter."
Sure enough, search through the online Dorlans Dictionary and you'll find this definition of an engram:
"a lasting mark or trace. In psychology, it is the lasting trace left in the psyche by anything that has been experienced psychically; a latent memory picture."
So fact number one... L. Ron Hubbard did not discover engrams as he would like people to believe. He basically grabbed an old existing term and then proceeded to create a religion around it.
So here we have a man who lied about his military experiences, lied about his past health issues, lied about his college education (IE: He claims to have attended and excel in his studies at George Washington University, see:
http://www.xenu-directory.net/documents/hubbard-gwu.html
and see the image Transrcipts.jpg). Then this known liar proceeds to create a religion based on the engram. This was postulated way before L. Ron Hubbard came along, yet he claims to have discovered it. Then if you delve more into Scientology, it becomes clear that the whole thing is closer to pure science fiction than any kind of science. And what do you know... he's a science fiction writer!
All Scientology has done is make L. Ron Hubbard a rich man, and swindled people out of their money.
If the people really want to show us that Scientology is based on science, then show us! Show us the proof. Show us the evidence. Show us SOMETHING! But of course they don't, and they won't. Why? Obviously they won't show proof because they can't. All of it is based on the ramblings of a liar who couldn't even pass 2 years worth of college courses, and yet we are to swallow it all without question because to do so would be to question the man who created it all, and of course he could not be wrong!
How is it that people can totally accept something from a liar and a swindler? If you knew that a car salesman was crooked, and could not be trusted, would you buy a car from him?
Yet here we have L. Ron Hubbard, an obvious, blatant liar, who stole a concept way before his time and wrapped a religion around it, and sold it via his grand bogus stories. Then people bought into it, and gave away all their money, making Hubbard a rich man.
And think about this... the people in Scientology who have reached the level of OT (Operating Thetan), will have you believe that they can leave their bodies at will and float about, looking down at everything. Fine, that's just great. So why on earth aren't any of these people collecting their 1 million dollars? What $1 million you ask? The million dollars that James Randi offers to anyone who can prove the occult, psychic or supernatural powers. See his site at: http://www.randi.org/site/
So come one OTs, go on over to Mr. Randi's place, float around out of your body and prove that you can do it, collect your million and go home and buy all the auditing that you can! What are you waiting for?
Yeah, and I can just hear them now. "Well gee Jeff, I won't do it because I don't want to feel like some circus side-show act, and don't want to be questioned about my claims to the point that I have to prove it". To that I say "OK, so in other words you cannot do as you claim, so shut the fuck up!". Tell you what, let's say that I tell you that I can lift 2,000 pounds over my head. You then say "Hey, there's 2,000 pounds sitting right there, so go ahead and show me". I then refuse, and perhaps use the same reason that you use about going to the lab and proving your claims.
Are you going to walk away from me believing that I can do what I claim? Of course not. And now imagine that not only did I not choose to do my feat, but I chose not to do it in lieu of making a million dollars. WOW, come on, OBVIOUSLY a person makes such a choice BECAUSE THEY CAN'T DO WHAT THEY CLAIM!
Now with that said, I do have to admit that there is SOME redeeming things in Scientology. There communications course can actually get one to be more in tune with conversations, and less caught up in one's own "reactive" mind. I would also tend to believe that there is some merit to the engram theory. However, to wrap this all up into a religion that takes hundreds of thousands of dollars, and with claims that NOBODY can prove is ridiculous! One could probably setup some sort of small class or work group, incorporate the basic concepts taught in their communications course, then even put the engram to use, but with SCIENCE instead of all the hocus-pocus that L. Ron Hubbard puts onto it, and you'd have a very viable "product"... and it would probably all be done within a few weeks and at the cost of only a few hundred dollars!!!
However, for starters, it turns out the theory of the Engram, and the basis of Dianetics, was not first conceived by him... though that is certainly what he wants everyone to believe. Check out the following about his "engram" that a search on the web will yield:
"The term engram was coined in 1904 by the German scholar Richard Semon, who defined it as a "stimulus impression" which could be reactivated by the recurrence of "the energetic conditions which ruled at the generation of the engram."
Semon's concept was re-used by L. Ron Hubbard when he published Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health in 1950. He conceived of the engram as a form of "memory trace", an idea which had long existed in medicine. According to Dr. Joseph Winter, a physician who collaborated in the development of Dianetics, Hubbard had taken the term "engram" from the 1936 edition of Dorland's Medical Dictionary, where it was defined as:
"a lasting mark or trace .... In psychology it is the lasting trace left in the psyche by anything that has been experienced psychically; a latent memory picture." He had originally used the terms "Norn", "comanome" and "impediment" before alighting on "engram" following a suggestion from Winter."
Sure enough, search through the online Dorlans Dictionary and you'll find this definition of an engram:
"a lasting mark or trace. In psychology, it is the lasting trace left in the psyche by anything that has been experienced psychically; a latent memory picture."
So fact number one... L. Ron Hubbard did not discover engrams as he would like people to believe. He basically grabbed an old existing term and then proceeded to create a religion around it.
So here we have a man who lied about his military experiences, lied about his past health issues, lied about his college education (IE: He claims to have attended and excel in his studies at George Washington University, see:
http://www.xenu-directory.net/documents/hubbard-gwu.html
and see the image Transrcipts.jpg). Then this known liar proceeds to create a religion based on the engram. This was postulated way before L. Ron Hubbard came along, yet he claims to have discovered it. Then if you delve more into Scientology, it becomes clear that the whole thing is closer to pure science fiction than any kind of science. And what do you know... he's a science fiction writer!
All Scientology has done is make L. Ron Hubbard a rich man, and swindled people out of their money.
If the people really want to show us that Scientology is based on science, then show us! Show us the proof. Show us the evidence. Show us SOMETHING! But of course they don't, and they won't. Why? Obviously they won't show proof because they can't. All of it is based on the ramblings of a liar who couldn't even pass 2 years worth of college courses, and yet we are to swallow it all without question because to do so would be to question the man who created it all, and of course he could not be wrong!
How is it that people can totally accept something from a liar and a swindler? If you knew that a car salesman was crooked, and could not be trusted, would you buy a car from him?
Yet here we have L. Ron Hubbard, an obvious, blatant liar, who stole a concept way before his time and wrapped a religion around it, and sold it via his grand bogus stories. Then people bought into it, and gave away all their money, making Hubbard a rich man.
And think about this... the people in Scientology who have reached the level of OT (Operating Thetan), will have you believe that they can leave their bodies at will and float about, looking down at everything. Fine, that's just great. So why on earth aren't any of these people collecting their 1 million dollars? What $1 million you ask? The million dollars that James Randi offers to anyone who can prove the occult, psychic or supernatural powers. See his site at: http://www.randi.org/site/
So come one OTs, go on over to Mr. Randi's place, float around out of your body and prove that you can do it, collect your million and go home and buy all the auditing that you can! What are you waiting for?
Yeah, and I can just hear them now. "Well gee Jeff, I won't do it because I don't want to feel like some circus side-show act, and don't want to be questioned about my claims to the point that I have to prove it". To that I say "OK, so in other words you cannot do as you claim, so shut the fuck up!". Tell you what, let's say that I tell you that I can lift 2,000 pounds over my head. You then say "Hey, there's 2,000 pounds sitting right there, so go ahead and show me". I then refuse, and perhaps use the same reason that you use about going to the lab and proving your claims.
Are you going to walk away from me believing that I can do what I claim? Of course not. And now imagine that not only did I not choose to do my feat, but I chose not to do it in lieu of making a million dollars. WOW, come on, OBVIOUSLY a person makes such a choice BECAUSE THEY CAN'T DO WHAT THEY CLAIM!
Now with that said, I do have to admit that there is SOME redeeming things in Scientology. There communications course can actually get one to be more in tune with conversations, and less caught up in one's own "reactive" mind. I would also tend to believe that there is some merit to the engram theory. However, to wrap this all up into a religion that takes hundreds of thousands of dollars, and with claims that NOBODY can prove is ridiculous! One could probably setup some sort of small class or work group, incorporate the basic concepts taught in their communications course, then even put the engram to use, but with SCIENCE instead of all the hocus-pocus that L. Ron Hubbard puts onto it, and you'd have a very viable "product"... and it would probably all be done within a few weeks and at the cost of only a few hundred dollars!!!
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Octuplet mom - what a loser!!!
Most people out there have probably heard about the unemployed, single woman who gave birth to 8 kids after getting In Vitro Fertilization.
There are numerous issues I have with this idiot.
First of all, she's barely surviving on her own minuscule income when she decides to have more children, EVEN THOUGH SHE ALREADY HAS 6 KIDS!!! On top of this, she's living with her mom!
Then she participates in the In Vitro Fertilization. As if that alone is not stupid enough, she finds a dumb-ass doctor who implants 6 embryos into her instead of the usual 2. Well, low-and-behold, 2 of the embryos split, and thus the 8 children come popping out.
Now just to show how stupid this woman is, when asked about how she feels about receiving welfare, she states:
"She doesn't regard that as welfare, but as payments available to people with needs."
Uh, hello? Isn't that basically the definition of welfare?
What a stupid moron!!!
Then there's the fact that she can't pay the exorbitant hospital bill for the prenatal care and delivery of the 8 children, which totals about $1 million!!! I have an idea! Have the dumb-ass doctor who implanted her with the 6 embryos, instead of the usual 2, to pay the hospital bill!
Here's an idea... take this stupid bitch off welfare, and if she can't get a job and properly support her 14 kids, then take them all and put them into foster care where they could perhaps go to a family who CAN support them.
It gets even better! There are rumors floating around that this ding-bat had plastic surgery sometime after having the 6 kids! Now I'm not much on putting much weight on rumors, but this rumor sure has strong evidence of being true. Just check out the WEB site:
http://www.celebitchy.com/35708/
It's VERY obvious she had both a nose and lip job. So not only does this woman take advantage of collecting welfare so she can support her kids, but she then get cosmetic surgery! So let me get this straight... she can't afford to feed her kids, but yet finds the money to put into plastic surgery? YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME!!!
Sheesh!!!
It's no wonder our state, California, is broke when we have to support stupid morons like this! Don't even get me started on the money we waste by ensuring that the Spanish language is available every time you dial a service! I have another idea people. When you come into this country to become an American, LEARN THE FRIG'N LANGUAGE!!! Don't expect us to shoulder the burden for YOUR problem!!!
There are numerous issues I have with this idiot.
First of all, she's barely surviving on her own minuscule income when she decides to have more children, EVEN THOUGH SHE ALREADY HAS 6 KIDS!!! On top of this, she's living with her mom!
Then she participates in the In Vitro Fertilization. As if that alone is not stupid enough, she finds a dumb-ass doctor who implants 6 embryos into her instead of the usual 2. Well, low-and-behold, 2 of the embryos split, and thus the 8 children come popping out.
Now just to show how stupid this woman is, when asked about how she feels about receiving welfare, she states:
"She doesn't regard that as welfare, but as payments available to people with needs."
Uh, hello? Isn't that basically the definition of welfare?
What a stupid moron!!!
Then there's the fact that she can't pay the exorbitant hospital bill for the prenatal care and delivery of the 8 children, which totals about $1 million!!! I have an idea! Have the dumb-ass doctor who implanted her with the 6 embryos, instead of the usual 2, to pay the hospital bill!
Here's an idea... take this stupid bitch off welfare, and if she can't get a job and properly support her 14 kids, then take them all and put them into foster care where they could perhaps go to a family who CAN support them.
It gets even better! There are rumors floating around that this ding-bat had plastic surgery sometime after having the 6 kids! Now I'm not much on putting much weight on rumors, but this rumor sure has strong evidence of being true. Just check out the WEB site:
http://www.celebitchy.com/35708/
It's VERY obvious she had both a nose and lip job. So not only does this woman take advantage of collecting welfare so she can support her kids, but she then get cosmetic surgery! So let me get this straight... she can't afford to feed her kids, but yet finds the money to put into plastic surgery? YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME!!!
Sheesh!!!
It's no wonder our state, California, is broke when we have to support stupid morons like this! Don't even get me started on the money we waste by ensuring that the Spanish language is available every time you dial a service! I have another idea people. When you come into this country to become an American, LEARN THE FRIG'N LANGUAGE!!! Don't expect us to shoulder the burden for YOUR problem!!!
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
The latest Bigfoot hoax... and the ultimate in stupidity!
I don't know how many people have heard of this event, but about a week ago some guys from Georgia claimed to have found the body of a bigfoot, and they were having a huge news conference in Palo Alto, California to announce their great find to the world. The one guy goes on and on to describe how he and his buddy stumbled upon it deep in the woods, and they proceeded to carry it out and place it in a freezer for later examination. He then went on to say how they were having its DNA analyzed and several scientists examine it.
Then lo' and behold, just as the thing was thawing out a couple days later with people there to examine it, it's soon discovered to be nothing more than a rubber gorilla suit frozen in a block of ice!!!
Now imagine the gall of these two jokers to go to these lengths to pull the wool over everyone's eyes, but it gets better! Not only are they guilty of being low lifes with no credibility or integrity, but they actually sold this thing to the one Bigfoot researcher for some undisclosed amount of money! So now we're talking about a criminal act. And get this... the main guy that did this is a policeman in Georgia!!! Needless to say, his captain is drawing up the papers to have the guy fired. Now if they can even find the guys! That's right, him and his cohort have gone into hiding. Wow, what a surprise, huh?
Below is a comment I posted on some other blog site about this "stunt":
As if it's not bad enough to perpetrate a hoax of this magnitude, but to actually do it in order to make money truly makes it a criminal act!
They sold the monkey suit packed in ice for some amount of money to the poor sap that paid them for it, and claimed it was the legendary bigfoot. Then on top of that they participate in a news conference where the idiots tell the huge lie of how they discovered it. They then proceed to take the money and run!
I'm was glad to hear that the idiot was being fired!
Think about it... he didn't just pull a prank that everyone can laugh at... he committed a crime by fraudulently claiming he had someone that was worth something and took money for it! So not only does the guy have NO credibility or integrity, but he's also a criminal!
Sorry dude, but you're out! And just what the heck was this guy thinking? He not only just threw his job away, but most likely his entire career as a policeman. At this point he'd be lucky to become a Walmart greeter!
I imagine he'll be spending A LOT of time in the woods now, as he certainly can't afford to be seen in public, and scrutinized for being the total moron that he is!
I only hope they find these two jokers and sue their asses off! Not so much for perpetrating a hoax, but for actually doing it in order to dupe someone and take his money! These two clowns have GOT to rank right up there with the stupidest people on the planet! I mean, Christ, imagine being a police officer and pulling off a stunt like this... a criminal one at that! Guess he can just kiss his whole career goodbye!
Then lo' and behold, just as the thing was thawing out a couple days later with people there to examine it, it's soon discovered to be nothing more than a rubber gorilla suit frozen in a block of ice!!!
Now imagine the gall of these two jokers to go to these lengths to pull the wool over everyone's eyes, but it gets better! Not only are they guilty of being low lifes with no credibility or integrity, but they actually sold this thing to the one Bigfoot researcher for some undisclosed amount of money! So now we're talking about a criminal act. And get this... the main guy that did this is a policeman in Georgia!!! Needless to say, his captain is drawing up the papers to have the guy fired. Now if they can even find the guys! That's right, him and his cohort have gone into hiding. Wow, what a surprise, huh?
Below is a comment I posted on some other blog site about this "stunt":
As if it's not bad enough to perpetrate a hoax of this magnitude, but to actually do it in order to make money truly makes it a criminal act!
They sold the monkey suit packed in ice for some amount of money to the poor sap that paid them for it, and claimed it was the legendary bigfoot. Then on top of that they participate in a news conference where the idiots tell the huge lie of how they discovered it. They then proceed to take the money and run!
I'm was glad to hear that the idiot was being fired!
Think about it... he didn't just pull a prank that everyone can laugh at... he committed a crime by fraudulently claiming he had someone that was worth something and took money for it! So not only does the guy have NO credibility or integrity, but he's also a criminal!
Sorry dude, but you're out! And just what the heck was this guy thinking? He not only just threw his job away, but most likely his entire career as a policeman. At this point he'd be lucky to become a Walmart greeter!
I imagine he'll be spending A LOT of time in the woods now, as he certainly can't afford to be seen in public, and scrutinized for being the total moron that he is!
I only hope they find these two jokers and sue their asses off! Not so much for perpetrating a hoax, but for actually doing it in order to dupe someone and take his money! These two clowns have GOT to rank right up there with the stupidest people on the planet! I mean, Christ, imagine being a police officer and pulling off a stunt like this... a criminal one at that! Guess he can just kiss his whole career goodbye!
Thursday, July 3, 2008
Idiots on the roads
As I ride a motorcycle almost daily, I have become more aware of the idiots on the roads. This is largely due to the need of being more observant due to the inherent added danger of being on a bike, and the desire to live another day and enjoy another ride.
Now onto the subject at hand, namely the idiots on the road!
Idiot number one is the moron who needs to tail gate people. Now I know that staying back the suggested 2 seconds from the person in front of you is a stretch at times, especially as in doing so results in a lot of people cutting in front of you. We'll get to THOSE idiots shortly. However, I've seen plenty of people following at about one car length from the person in front of them, WHILE DOING 70+ MPH!!! How can a person be that dumb? Do they really think that they'll have ANY time to stop should something occur with the guy they're tail gating? Perhaps that's mistake number one on my part... that is... I'm under the impression that they are thinking in the first place.
This REALLY becomes an issue on a motorcycle. What may just be a fender bender or a case of whiplash if a guy rear-ends a car, the same type of accident could kill a motorcyclist. This is why I don't tolerate being tailgated while riding the bike. However, why can't people have the brains to stay back the proper distance, ESPECIALLY when following a motorcycle? Don't these morons have at least enough neurons firing in their puny brains to give them the thought of "Gee, if that bike goes down, or needs to stop in a hurry, it appears I'm just too close to do anything. Therefore, I'd better back off a bit and give him plenty of room."
OK, let's now move along to the other ingrates that go darting around the freeways, cutting in front of people and not signaling. Once again, you'd think that if even a few synapses of the brain were firing, they'd have the thought of "You know, if other people drove like I'm doing now, certainly there would be accidents as we'd all be colliding into each other. With no signaling of my movements, along with no time for anyone to react to such movements, coupled with the fact that my fellow man is not a mind reader, then surely this behavior needs to stop."
But once again we are faced with having to be on the same road with these idiots, as they meander down the road, darting from lane to lane, and not caring about anyone but themselves.
Another real pain in the ass and threat on the roads are the ones that run red lights. Now I'm aware of the fact that we all at times will make the mistake of going through the intersection just as we see the light changing, and we go through while it's a little "pink" as I like to say. But what I'm talking about are the blatant red light runners that are staring at a red light way before they even get to it, and yet they proceed to go through, causing other people to have to wait at their green light while these Neanderthals proceed in all their selfish glory. The thing is, I bet even a Neanderthal would have the brain power to see this act as being a threat to ones survival. And yet we see this behavior all the time.
So let me get this straight... these people figure that it makes sense to risk killing someone just so they can make it to their destination about a minute earlier. Yeah, that's a real intelligent thought, huh? It would be as if I approached you and said "How about I give you a chance to win $10, but for that to occur, you have to risk losing $10,000."
Obvious any rational person would look at that proposition as being completely insane, as the potential reward does not justify the risk. So why is it any different in driving? These idiots are literally risking peoples' lives... a very high "cost", for the very trivial gain of getting to their destination a minute or so earlier... a VERY low gain.
And don't even get me started on the brainless souls who insist on driving in the left-most lane on the freeway AND NOT PASSING ANYONE!!! I've even had people do this on two lane roads where there are signs posted stating "Slower traffic keep right." Just what part of "Slower traffic keep right" don't these people not understand? Not only that, but being out in the left lane and forcing people to pass you on the right is more dangerous for everyone. Think of the 3 lane freeway where the moron is in the left-most lane, forcing such a situation to occur. Now we have people in the right-most lane changing into the middle lane to pass the people in the right lane, AND on top of that we have people changing into the middle lane as they pass the people in the left lane. This increases the chance of people running into each other as they are pulling into the same middle lane.
The concept here is so painfully simple, and it goes like this:
"ONLY BE IN THE LEFT-MOST LANE IF YOU ARE PASSING SOMEONE!"
I wish we were more involved with pulling people over for being stupid than just because they were going a bit over the speed limit or some such minor infraction. It seems to me that we get caught up in trying to enforce more and more trivial laws instead of getting to the root of the problem, and creating a safer environment for all drivers.
Let's truly educate people on not just all the traffic laws, but more on how and why to drive intelligently. Then implement some laws that make sense, like having it be illegal to be in the left lane unless you are passing, and go after the people that are darting about aimlessly. I'd much rather have someone go by me in a responsible fashion that is also speeding than the person who is doing the speed limit but is driving like an idiot. Just check out the way they run the autobahn! There they have people going at whatever speed they want, even approaching, and at times exceeding 200 MPH, yet it's one of the safest roads on the planet. Why? Because they enforce smart laws about driving and don't tolerate stupidity.
Just look at the way we test people here in the US for a license. You take some stupid written test, then drive around the block and parallel park, and they then hand you a license to drive a 2 ton vehicle down the freeway at whatever speed you feel at the time is needed. What a joke!
Please drive intelligently!
Now onto the subject at hand, namely the idiots on the road!
Idiot number one is the moron who needs to tail gate people. Now I know that staying back the suggested 2 seconds from the person in front of you is a stretch at times, especially as in doing so results in a lot of people cutting in front of you. We'll get to THOSE idiots shortly. However, I've seen plenty of people following at about one car length from the person in front of them, WHILE DOING 70+ MPH!!! How can a person be that dumb? Do they really think that they'll have ANY time to stop should something occur with the guy they're tail gating? Perhaps that's mistake number one on my part... that is... I'm under the impression that they are thinking in the first place.
This REALLY becomes an issue on a motorcycle. What may just be a fender bender or a case of whiplash if a guy rear-ends a car, the same type of accident could kill a motorcyclist. This is why I don't tolerate being tailgated while riding the bike. However, why can't people have the brains to stay back the proper distance, ESPECIALLY when following a motorcycle? Don't these morons have at least enough neurons firing in their puny brains to give them the thought of "Gee, if that bike goes down, or needs to stop in a hurry, it appears I'm just too close to do anything. Therefore, I'd better back off a bit and give him plenty of room."
OK, let's now move along to the other ingrates that go darting around the freeways, cutting in front of people and not signaling. Once again, you'd think that if even a few synapses of the brain were firing, they'd have the thought of "You know, if other people drove like I'm doing now, certainly there would be accidents as we'd all be colliding into each other. With no signaling of my movements, along with no time for anyone to react to such movements, coupled with the fact that my fellow man is not a mind reader, then surely this behavior needs to stop."
But once again we are faced with having to be on the same road with these idiots, as they meander down the road, darting from lane to lane, and not caring about anyone but themselves.
Another real pain in the ass and threat on the roads are the ones that run red lights. Now I'm aware of the fact that we all at times will make the mistake of going through the intersection just as we see the light changing, and we go through while it's a little "pink" as I like to say. But what I'm talking about are the blatant red light runners that are staring at a red light way before they even get to it, and yet they proceed to go through, causing other people to have to wait at their green light while these Neanderthals proceed in all their selfish glory. The thing is, I bet even a Neanderthal would have the brain power to see this act as being a threat to ones survival. And yet we see this behavior all the time.
So let me get this straight... these people figure that it makes sense to risk killing someone just so they can make it to their destination about a minute earlier. Yeah, that's a real intelligent thought, huh? It would be as if I approached you and said "How about I give you a chance to win $10, but for that to occur, you have to risk losing $10,000."
Obvious any rational person would look at that proposition as being completely insane, as the potential reward does not justify the risk. So why is it any different in driving? These idiots are literally risking peoples' lives... a very high "cost", for the very trivial gain of getting to their destination a minute or so earlier... a VERY low gain.
And don't even get me started on the brainless souls who insist on driving in the left-most lane on the freeway AND NOT PASSING ANYONE!!! I've even had people do this on two lane roads where there are signs posted stating "Slower traffic keep right." Just what part of "Slower traffic keep right" don't these people not understand? Not only that, but being out in the left lane and forcing people to pass you on the right is more dangerous for everyone. Think of the 3 lane freeway where the moron is in the left-most lane, forcing such a situation to occur. Now we have people in the right-most lane changing into the middle lane to pass the people in the right lane, AND on top of that we have people changing into the middle lane as they pass the people in the left lane. This increases the chance of people running into each other as they are pulling into the same middle lane.
The concept here is so painfully simple, and it goes like this:
"ONLY BE IN THE LEFT-MOST LANE IF YOU ARE PASSING SOMEONE!"
I wish we were more involved with pulling people over for being stupid than just because they were going a bit over the speed limit or some such minor infraction. It seems to me that we get caught up in trying to enforce more and more trivial laws instead of getting to the root of the problem, and creating a safer environment for all drivers.
Let's truly educate people on not just all the traffic laws, but more on how and why to drive intelligently. Then implement some laws that make sense, like having it be illegal to be in the left lane unless you are passing, and go after the people that are darting about aimlessly. I'd much rather have someone go by me in a responsible fashion that is also speeding than the person who is doing the speed limit but is driving like an idiot. Just check out the way they run the autobahn! There they have people going at whatever speed they want, even approaching, and at times exceeding 200 MPH, yet it's one of the safest roads on the planet. Why? Because they enforce smart laws about driving and don't tolerate stupidity.
Just look at the way we test people here in the US for a license. You take some stupid written test, then drive around the block and parallel park, and they then hand you a license to drive a 2 ton vehicle down the freeway at whatever speed you feel at the time is needed. What a joke!
Please drive intelligently!
Monday, June 30, 2008
If I hear the word "like" just one more time...
What is it with the younger crowd and their incessant use of the word "like"? Can't these people speak at the level that exceeds that of a first grader?
For instance, they may say this:
"He was like, really upset."
OK, I'll bite! So what they're saying is that he wasn't really upset, but he was "like" upset. Of course they mean to say that he was upset... so then why not simply say "He was really upset".
Then they proceed to go on and on with the ol' "He was like....then I was like..., then he was like..., then they were like...".
AHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!
ENOUGH WITH THE WORD "LIKE" ALREADY!!!
Do these people even know they're doing it? I know some people will be in the habit of saying "um", as a filler in their sentences, and not even realize it. However, I can't help but to think that people that use the word "like" are doing it on purpose.
But why?
Just stop it! Because, like, if you don't stop using that word, then I'm like, going to go crazy. And then I'm like, less able to listen to you, because you like, sound like a three year old, and I'm like, enough already. Then I'm going to be like, shutting down and not able to like, ever converse with you due to your like, non-stop use of the work like.
See how stupid that all sounds? Any questions?
SHEESH!!!
For instance, they may say this:
"He was like, really upset."
OK, I'll bite! So what they're saying is that he wasn't really upset, but he was "like" upset. Of course they mean to say that he was upset... so then why not simply say "He was really upset".
Then they proceed to go on and on with the ol' "He was like....then I was like..., then he was like..., then they were like...".
AHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!
ENOUGH WITH THE WORD "LIKE" ALREADY!!!
Do these people even know they're doing it? I know some people will be in the habit of saying "um", as a filler in their sentences, and not even realize it. However, I can't help but to think that people that use the word "like" are doing it on purpose.
But why?
Just stop it! Because, like, if you don't stop using that word, then I'm like, going to go crazy. And then I'm like, less able to listen to you, because you like, sound like a three year old, and I'm like, enough already. Then I'm going to be like, shutting down and not able to like, ever converse with you due to your like, non-stop use of the work like.
See how stupid that all sounds? Any questions?
SHEESH!!!
Wednesday, April 9, 2008
Financial issues mentioned in the Power Point Presentation
The rant below is in regards to the roofing project our community was going through. In a nutshell, our gated community, under the management of our board of directors, decided that to do the needed roofing of the townhomes would require all of us to shell out $13,000 as an assessment. This is obvious pure insanity, and the community as a whole formed a coalition to present our "case". During all this the board presented a slide show that tried to justify this cost. So, here's my view:
Power Point Presentation issues:
Slide 22 states:
"Calculations show that projected material cost increases due to oil volatility and escalated decaying structural framing components and the cost of labor will nearly double the cost of the project exponentially over a projected 15 year period vs. completing the project within 5 years."
OK... I'll bite... show me the calculations!
Where the heck are they getting this "projected material cost increases due to oil volatility" crap? I would think at most you'd have to assume a 10% increase per year for materials. However, the majority of the cost of doing a roof is the labor, NOT the materials. In fact, I've heard that the roof covering materials are only about 10% of the cost. So, if 10% of the total roofing cost increases by 10%, what's the impact on the cost, assuming all else stays the same? It calculates out to be 1%!!! Don't believe me? Do the math:
- Assume a re-roof of a quad is going to be $100,000
- Ten percent of this cost is materials, or $10,000
- Increase this by 10%, and you get $11,000, for an increase of $1,000
- Now figure the percentage of this $1,000 increase to the total cost of the job which was $100,000, or 1,000/100,000, and you get 1%
So needless to say, any cost increase in materials is negligible to the total cost of the project.
This leaves us with labor cost increase.
For this, check out:
http://www.buildingteamforecast.com/article/CA6486846.html?industryid=43720
and also:
According to this site, it says:
"On a year-over-year basis, construction labor charges have risen +3.6% according to the installation component of RSMeans’ Construction Cost Index (CCI) and by +4.1% according to RSMeans’ measure of average hourly labor rates for skilled workers. The year-over-year change in the materials component of the CCI was +5.3% in July."
At 5% increase per year, the $100,000 job will cost $127,628 in 5 years, and $147.745 in 8 years. So, waiting 8 years as opposed to 5 years will add about $20,000 to the cost of the job, or 16%.
On the Reed Construction Data site it states:
"Annual labor cost increases appear to be ranging between +3.5% and +4.1%, depending on the measure."
It also states:
"Material Cost Increase Negligible in Latest Quarter"
This data is based on 2008 numbers.
So much for the scare tactic of the material and labor increases doubling the cost of this project!
On another note... why are they comparing the cost of the project over a 15 year period to doing it in 5 years? Why not compare the 5 year plan's cost to the 8 year plan's cost? They got bids for both the 5 and 8 year plans (see slide 6), and yet they want to compare the 5 year to the 15 year.
For the sake of argument and to enable us to view actual numbers, let's assume the cost of roofing a quad today is $100,000. Let's also assume an increase in total cost to be at a rate of 4% per year. This is certainly within the realm of possibilities based on the above data, and is in fact being generous.
OK, this means in 5 years the cost of the roof will grow to $127,628, with 8 years putting it at $147,746. That's an added $20,118 for waiting an extra 3 years. That's an increase of just under 16%.
So they're asking us all to shell out close to $13,000 in order to crunch this 15 year plan down to 5 years, and not consider the 8 year plan as this might be 16% more costly?
I think at this point if we are to rush the project along, let's AT LEAST back it off to an 8 year plan.
Also, do you realize that we will be paying AWT, the inspectors of this project, $1 million over the next 5 years? This equates to over $9,433 per quad, or $2,358 per unit, FOR JUST INSPECTION!!!
So do you think AWT has any sort of vested interest in our roofing project? Is it no wonder that they want us to hurry along and get this thing done within 5 years? THIS ONE PROJECT WILL BRING THEM $1 MILLION, assuming that they don't raise their fees over the next 5 years, at which case it will be even more!
I say we get bids for inspectors!!! This is not rocket science. I'm sure AWT is a fine company, and have done an outstanding job in creating the reserve study and have some very useful information. However, why pay the experts to walk around and inspect the construction? You wouldn't think of paying a ton of money to have the head engineer who designed your car to work on it when it needs repair as you know there are plenty of highly qualified people out there who can work on it for a lot less money. So let's get less expensive, well qualified inspectors!
Slide 6 says that bids will be asked for both 5 and 8 year plans. What would be the cost savings going with an 8 year plan compared to the 5 year one? If we throw out the assumption of 10% increase per year of dry rot due to NO data to back it up, and figure that an extra 3 years is not really going to significantly effect the cost of the project, then let's look at the 8 yeat plan.
I also don't understand why ALL of the remaining quads, which total 106 at this point in time, can't be ventilated prior to the roofing being done. Doing so would have three benefits:
1) If there is indeed an excess of moisture in the area under the roof coverings, then adding ventilation will help curb whatever increase in dry rot may be occuring
2) Doing the work now will be cheaper than doing it later when the cost of labor may be higher
3) Doing it now will mean it won't be needed to be done by the roofer later, thus the cost of the roofing will be cheaper. Also one less thing to inspect, hence another savings.
So, let's shave $1 million off the project by getting rid of the overly expensive inspectors.
Then let's move this out to an 8 year project instead of a 5 year one. Also let’s add the needed ventilation now, and curb any potential increase in dry rot. While we're at it, let's adhere to the CC&R, which states that the roof structure is the home owner's responsibility.
And what if instead of jumping on this roofing project right now, we wait a year! Why? Well, let's say for the sake of argument that we have $10 million sitting in reserve, ready to be spent on the project. Let's also say it can earn 5% interest. That comes to $500,000 in interest earned! Dang, that'll pay for a few quads!
Of course, I don't know how taxes work on all this, but you get the point.
And if we wait a year, maybe we can use that time to get the remaining quads properly ventilated, and also inspected for possible major damage so as to better assess the condition of the units prior to re-roofing. Seeing some potential major damage will better prepare the home owner to the upcoming expense.
It seems to me we're all being scared into a need to jump on these roofs right now, and not wait one extra minute. But this advice is coming from a company that stands to earn $1 million over the next 5 years... should it proceed. Conflict of interest? Uh, ya think?
And while we're running scared by the advice of a company that stands to gain a lot of money, we're to go against the CC&R and shell out $13,000. Why are we being so quick to make a decision in this moment of panic?
It's already caused us to crunch a 15 year plan down to 5, caused us to defy the CC&R, basically creating an illegal resolution, and on top of that we are to gamble $13,000 of our money!!!
I'd say, if anything, instead of forging ahead, WE NEED TO PUT THE BRAKES ON AND STOP!!!
The sky is falling, the sky is falling... AHHHHH!!!!
But it's not falling!
OK, there have been some REALLY bad quads out there, but so what? Do they really represent the norm?
Don't forget too that we live in
Take another look at the data presented here.
So let's wait one year, and make it through one more rainy season.
Why make a long term, expensive plan in face of running scared, instead of moving on this in a more efficient, methodical way that is not hinged on the advice of the group that is going to make $1 million?
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Chopper ride
Nice wooded area heading out of Booneville towards the coast.