Bus Stories - Flying Rim

Lots of bus stories lately. Perhaps I should create a separate blog just for my bus stories?

Have you seen videos (especially on the local TV news) where a tire/rim literally flies off a car and hits another car? Well, that type of accident occurred the other morning.

The bus I was riding was going west on the freeway when the entire rim & tire flew off a car that was a few hundred feet ahead of us. The rim & tire:

• went over the center divider,
• hit a car that was going east on the freeway,
• then came back over the center divider,
• hit another car on the driver's door,
• bounced off that car,
  
• hit a truck,
• finally stopped.

It was scary. Very lucky that the flying rim didn't go through a windshield or window. The rim came off of a brand new car. It was clearly an aftermarket rim. I'm assuming that either the rim was defective or that it wasn't tightened properly when installed. How else would the rim and tire just fly off the car like that?

Very lucky that no one was seriously injured. In fact, there didn't appear to be any injuries at all...just damage to the cars involved.

The Unspoken Rules of Maledom

Don't Fuck with my Woman.
Don't Fuck with my Dog.
Don't Fuck with my Car.
Don't Fuck with my Food.

Enough said!

PS - If you think there should be other "Don't Fuck with my..." rules, add them in comments.

Bus Stories...Continued

Another good one from the bus on Friday...

The bus was about 20 minutes late. When it finally arrived, the passenger ahead of me had this exchange with the bus driver.

Passenger: "The bus was very late today. Do I have to pay?"
Driver: "Yes, you have to pay. You always have to pay to ride the bus."

I didn't dare to laugh out loud, but I did have a smirk on my face as I paid my fare. The driver must have seen me smirk, because he started to laugh and just shake his head.

Only in Los Angeles...only in Los Angeles.

You think you're tough, huh?

Strange story, but the question above is what someone asked me as I was riding the bus. Let me tell you about it:

The bus was packed - standing room only - and I wound up giving my seat up to a senior. So I'm standing during the trip home and have my earbuds on listening to my MP3 player. Out of the corner of my eye, I see a guy staring at me. I don't bother looking back and just look elsewhere.

The guy was sitting down about 2 persons away, but I pay him no attention. He occasionally stares at me a few times during the 45-minute trip, but again I just listen to my music. Well, the bus lightens up as people get off. He stands up and proceeds to give me the stare down. He's at eye level with me, so I'm not about to look away but just look straight at him.

He then asks me, "Do you box?" I take my earbuds off and ask, 'excuse me?' He replies, "You think you're tough, huh?" I don't reply; I just smile and put my earbuds back on. He then says, "Yeah, you think you're tough" and proceeds to shadowbox in front of me.

At this point, I'm thinking WTF and put my MP3 player in my pocket to free up my right hand. (Bear in mind I'm standing and using my left hand to hold onto the railing.) I take off my earbuds and ask him back, "Do you box?" He replies, "Nah, man. I'd get knocked out."

After that exchange, he walks away, but begins to pace back and forth always coming back to the position where our 'conversation' took place. I wasn't sure if he was going to do anything, but I shifted my feet into a squared stance in case he tried to rush/attack me. I was mentally preparing myself to be ready for a fight when he got off at the next bus stop.

I don't know about you, but that was fucking weird...even for Los Angeles. He didn't appear to be on drugs, but I guess he was surprised that I stared back at him. Maybe he was expecting me to look away and be timid; but if you get in front of my face and try to stare me down, I'm going to stare right back at you.

Just WEIRD!

Put the Monkeys in the Zoo

The Monkeys, err Legislators, in Sacramento, California have gone crazy. It's time to put the Monkeys away in the zoo by recalling them and voting them out of office.

If you can believe it, they're going to balance the budget by raising taxes and fees. Are you fucking kidding me? We're in a fucking recession - people have lost their jobs, salaries have been frozen or cut, raises have been canceled - and the fucking Monkeys want to add to our burden because "we are all expected to sacrifice." Here are the main points of their plan as we know it today:

Temporary Tax Hikes

• Nearly doubling vehicle license fee
• Raising sales taxes 1 cent
• Raising gasoline taxes 12 cents a gallon
• Surcharge of 2.5% to 5% on personal income taxes

Program Cuts

• $8 billion from public schools, community colleges (although some of these cuts may be offset by Federal aid from the Stimulus package)
• $890 million from state colleges, universities
• $459 million from public transit
  

To this I say, “FUCK OFF!” The state doesn't deserve an extra penny from us and here's why:

• During the good times, the state decided to spend the surplus RATHER than save it for a rainy day. They kept spending because 1) the Legislators wanted to pay back the special interests whose support got them elected and 2) they weren't smart enough to realize the surplus would stop one day (the good times were bound to end).

• The state's budget has doubled in the last 10 years. And what do we have to show for the extra spending? ABSOLUTELY NOTHING of any consequence. The Educational system is still in the toilet, public transportation still sucks, roads are falling apart, prisons are overcrowded, and we still don't get decent service from any government office (State or Local).

• It's not only the state that has been impacted; we have been impacted by the economy as well. We've had to cut our expenses and live on less, so should the state. We can't just raise extra money by increasing taxes (like the state). If you own a business, you certainly can’t raise your prices as your customers will go elsewhere for their goods & services. If you’re an individual, you can’t get another job because businesses are cutting back and aren't fucking hiring; and you certainly can’t borrow from the banks because they aren't lending (and in some cases, banks are imploding).

• Do we honestly believe the tax hikes will be temporary? How much would you like to wager that program cuts will be funded back to their previous levels way before you hear any talk of the tax hikes & fee increases going away. If anything, you’ll hear that the tax hike and fee increases will be made permanent.

• The Legislators are taking the easy way out. Do your fucking job!!! Prioritize the items that need to be funded; then start cutting (i.e., stop funding) the items that either don't make the list or are on the bottom of the list until the budget is balanced.
  

Join me in calling and emailing the California State Legislators to stop this madness. It’s time to take back our state and put people in charge who are responsible to the people….not the FUCKING special interests!

PS - One more point to make: Raising taxes and fees to the point of equaling a rent/mortgage/car payment only makes us spend less and want to save more. In essence, you reduce consumer spending even more which then causes less tax revenue. So what happens when the state sees a further reduction in revenue???? Another fucking tax and fee increase. This vicious cycle won't end until the state reduces their spending or the state goes bankrupt!

IM STIG

Top Gear is one of my favorite shows on TV. If you have the BBC channel on your cable or satellite system, you have to give it a shot.

It's a show about fast cars (think Bugatti, Ferrari, Lamborghini, etc.) and the damn funny things the 3 hosts - Clarkson, Hamster and Captain Slow - do to keep themselves and the audience entertained. One of my all-time favorite episodes is when they did a race across Japan to see who would be faster to Nokogiri Yama Mountain - Clarkson driving a Nissan GT-R or Hammond & May taking a bullet train (GT-R vs Bullet Train).

The 4th major (and my favorite) character on the show is The Stig. He is a race driver fully decked out in race gear and always wearing a racing helmet. You never see his face, nor does he ever talk on the show. The Stig's primary duty is to race all the fancy high end cars on the Top Gear test track for the best track time of which the show keeps a running tally. He lets his driving do the talking!



Well, this past weekend, my wife and I were on the 110 Freeway South when an old Nissan 240SX passed us. Normally, this would not have been a big deal, except for the fact that the car had the license plate of "IM STIG". I immediately tell my wife and we head off to track down the person brazen enough to have that license plate.

We were able to catch up to the 240SX on the rain-soaked freeway, but the camera on our mobile phone wasn't up to the task of getting a pic of the driver. In fact, I was only able to get a partial pic of the IM STIG license plate.



All I can tell you is that IM STIG is a skinny Asian male working his finely honed driving skills on the roads of Los Angeles.

Republik of Kalifornia's Handgun Safety Certificate

To those of you interested in purchasing a handgun in the Republik of Kalifornia, you are required by the Republik to obtain a Handgun Safety Certificate. You get the certificate by taking and passing a test at any licensed firearms dealer.

I took this test this weekend in preparation of owning my first handgun. With the Legislative and Executive branches of the US Gov't in firm Liberal hands, I thought it would be a good idea to secure my firearm before the Feds take that right away. :-) Alright, alright...I don't really think the Dems would be dumb enough to try that (and galvanize the Conservatives on the right), but an opportune time nonetheless as my wife finally agreed to let me buy a handgun! Woohoo! :-)

The test consists of 30 questions - True/False and Multiple Choice - and costs $25. I missed 2 questions on the test, but still passed. In fact, the Republik lets you miss up to 7 questions - 23 correct answers gets you a Certificate! Honestly, you would have to try really hard (or have NO common sense whatsoever) to fail the test. The only questions that would trip anyone up are those asking about the state's gun laws, such as how long a convicted felon is barred from owning a handgun.

I hope the Republik puts my $25 to good use. This test is more of an inconvenience and 'tax' than anything else. If you want to buy a handgun, make sure you're ready to pay $25 on top of the cost of the handgun you want to purchase. Oh...and if the test happens to stop a law-abiding resident from buying a handgun, I'm sure the Republik isn't crying over that.

PS - To get more information on the test (including a study guide), visit the California Office of the Attorney General's page on the Handgun Safety Certificate Program.

Buyer Beware: Amazon.com

A buyer beware warning to all you electronic gadget shoppers out there. If you purchase from Amazon.com and Amazon's price drops below what you paid, don't expect them to do a price adjustment for you any longer.

In the past I have purchased iPods, memory sticks/cards, etc. from Amazon.com and if their prices dropped within 2 weeks of the purchase, I would write them an email and they would do a price adjustment with no questions asked.

Well, this policy was changed in Sept 2008 and Amazon.com will no longer do price adjustments once the purchase has been made. Depending on the amount of the price drop, you could always return your purchase and repurchase it, but that is up to you. Or if your item has not yet shipped, cancel it and buy it again.

I still love the fact that Amazon offers free shipping and no sales tax (for the Republik of Kalifornia), but doing away with price adjustments for products purchased within 2 weeks seems like a bad decision to me. Amazon.com just lost a competitive advantage (or feature parity with the brick-and-mortar's depending on your point of view).

I found out about this policy change the hard way, so here's hoping this post helps you out.

Top 3: Begging in LA Stories

As some of you may have already guessed, I live in Los Angeles, part of the Republik of Kalifornia. I don't believe that beggars in other parts of the country behave the same way as those here in Los Angeles. Let me share my Top 3 stories with you:

#3 - There was a brief period in my life where I was able to walk to work. On one of these walks one morning, I was approached by a disheveled woman asking for money because her car had broken down. I was running late, so I didn't bother to stop and just said "can't help you" as I walked by. She proceeds to let out a big "jeez", as if I should be ashamed for not helping her.

Less than 5 days later I see this same woman and she was using the same broken down car story on someone else. (Note: she was pretty loud to make sure others nearby could hear her sob story.) So as I walked by, I said "your car is still broken down from last week, huh?" Just complete silence from her. It was priceless!

#2 - While walking to a Starbucks, I pass a guy asking for change. Being in a good mood I told him I'd give him some change once I get my Starbucks. Big mistake as he then proceeded to tell me to get him a latte instead. WTF! Needless to say, my mood changed instantly and he got a 'fuck off' instead. He was in no position to tell me what I should give him.

And drum roll please for my #1 Begging in LA Story:

I'm at a crosswalk waiting for the light to turn green. A guy comes up to me and asks for $0.25. Well, it happens I'm not carrying any change so I told him that "I can't help you as I have no change."

Big mistake as he then says, "I know you have change. You don't want to give me a quarter." It's now 'on' like Donkey Kong as I fire back, "Fuck you. I don't have any change. Even if I did, I wouldn't give you any now."

He continues on, asking me for a quarter and why I won't help him. I was ready to plant my fist into his face when the light changed. I decided to walk away rather than escalate it further. I certainly didn't want to get arrested for assault and battery on a bum over $0.25.

Feel free to share your memorable begging stories in 'comments'. I want to know if the beggars in LA are different from other areas.

Rant: Best Buy

This rant is 2 months in the making, so bear with me.

In late Nov 2008, I go to the Best Buy in Glendale, CA to look at a HP netbook. I can't find the HP netbook on display, so I ask an associate for help. I'm quickly told, "the HP netbook is not on display, but it's just like the Asus" and the associate walks away.

Are you fucking kidding me? I'm looking to drop almost $500 and you can't even show me a display model/demo? How the hell can anyone make an informed buying decision with such a statement and customer service?

I wrote a complaint email to Best Buy customer support/service and they quickly apologize and tell me that they will send me a $50 credit/coupon for the inconvenience. I'm thinking great, I can use it to purchase the netbook. Two weeks later, I still don't have the credit/coupon so I write back to Best Buy.

Again, an apology that it is taking so long. Due to the volume of holiday inquiries, things are backed up and that I should get it b/w 2 to 4 weeks. That sounds perfectly legit, I'm reasonable (all my email complaints were professional, non-threatening and contain no foul language), so I wait patiently.

Four weeks pass and still no credit/coupon. I write again and get another apology. But this time, I'm also told that Best Buy needs to research the matter before anything can be done.

Well, it is now Feb 2009 and guess what? No fucking credit/coupon. I guess Best Buy decided it can screw me and renege on their promise. Were they emboldened because Circuit City is now out of business and they feel like they are the only game in town?

FUCK OFF, Best Buy! I tell you about my experience and you were the one who offered up the credit. I never asked for it. If you were/are going to renege on the offer, be responsible about it and say so.

Best Buy: You have lost yourself a loyal customer. I will never make your store my first choice when buying electronics and/or appliances. I still have Fry's, Walmart, Sears, Amazon.com, etc. to shop at before your store. If you treat others the same way you are treating me, you will go the way of Circuit City as well!

PS - I'm now shopping for a digital camera and Best Buy can kiss my ass. If I end up at a Best Buy store, it'll be to play with the digital cameras so I can buy it online.

End rant.

Pittsburgh Wins, but I Lost Wager

Congrats to the Pittsburgh Steelers! Super Bowl Champs! It was an exciting finish to the game.

BUT, it didn't have to be that exciting. The spread was 7 points and it never occurred to me that the Steelers' #1 ranked defense would let that 13 point lead get away. There went my Vegas bet!

I was hoping to:
Go to Vegas,
Get Money,
Get Paid!

The game reminded me of the Texas Longhorns vs Ohio State Buckeyes in the 2009 Fiesta Bowl. The Longhorns couldn't hold the lead to cover the spread and cost me $3k. I had expected the Longhorns to dominate on offense with all their speed, but it didn't happen. Like the Steelers (or were the Steelers like the Longhorns?), the Longhorns had a last minute scoring drive at the end to win.