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21 Apr |
Here we go again Life, Off Topic
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Every year it’s the same thing. American Express debits my Starwood Preferred Guest card for a $45 membership fee, I call them to get a good will credit, and every year they tell me the same thing.
I’m sorry we can’t issue you a credit.
Then I talk to a few other people, write an email, and with the exception of last year, I have always been able to obtain a credit for the membership. Last year, if you remember, was different. No matter what I did, I couldn’t get any satisfaction from anyone, and I ended up cancelling the card.
Of course about a week after doing that, someone at American Express, who does have the authority to give me the credit, called, and not only gave me the credit, but gave me an extra $50 to boot. So I agreed to use the card again. She also gave me her name and number to call, should this happen again.
Unfortunately I lost her number, but did remember her name, so I thought I would still be able to get in touch with her, and solve my problem. But after three days of trying to get in touch with her, and even leaving a message once, I was unsuccessful.
So after talking to the latest individual, who of course had no authority to do anything, I just canceled the card, and this time, (more…)
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12 Feb |
If it ain’t broke don’t fix it Life, Off Topic
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Never was a truer statement ever made!
Yesterday I upgraded my WordPress software (the software that runs this blog) to the latest version 2.7.1. The developers of WordPress have made it very simple, in the last upgrade to v2.7, to do that, so with just one click of my mouse, I was easily able to accomplish that task.
Everything looked good at first glance, but a few hours later I discovered that my previous post had been truncated, so if you read my blog between the hours of 11:03 AM and 9:59 PM yesterday, you did not get the full scope of my wisdom.
I did manage to restore the original version, but this morning I discovered some of my theme files have been modified giving a different look to my blog. The changes are mostly superficial, and the reader may not even realize it, but from an administrative stand point and aesthetics, they are significant, and I haven’t been able to figure out how to fix it just yet.
Oh well, I’ll work on it when I get to work this morning. 
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6 Dec |
Out with the old Off Topic, Politics
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For the longest time, I’d been thinking our economy was headed downward. Lately I was even thinking we were headed toward a great depression of sorts, but a comment by one of the retired, old timers in the bike club, while we were having coffee/tea after our ride, got me to thinking. He said,
I’m sure glad I’m living on a fixed income.
That’s when it dawned on me, while so many people have condemned social security as a ponzi scheme, it may be the true savior of our economy. Sure things will likely worsen some for many in the next couple of months, but there is an abundance of retired individuals, having the protection of that social net, who will ultimately help cushion the blow, until the various proposed stimulus programs are implemented.
Social security didn’t exist in the 30’s, and neither did unemployment compensation, and that contributed greatly to making the great depression ‘great’. Plus the numerous stimulus package(s) that were introduced, at the time, were of such a feeble nature, they were ineffective. It wasn’t until the onset of WWII, when a large enough stimulus was introduced, that the economy really got kick started.
That’s not going to happen this time, and I don’t believe we’re destined to repeat the mistakes of the past. And with people like Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke and Christina Romer, head of Obama’s Council of Economic Advisors, both scholars of the great depression, I am for the first time, in a long time, becoming optimistic [about the economy].
And after last months jobs report, it appears many more politicians are also seeing the necessity to save GM, Ford and Chrysler, and for a massive economic stimulus, on a scale comparable to what got us out of the great depression.
Sow it’s out with the contrarian/pessimist of the past, and in with the optimist. Ok at least a contrarian/optimist. One should never get too complacent.
