Office Grumblings

I am participating in the Dude Write Starting Lineup this week where you can find posts by a bunch of other bloggers who happen to be dudes.

I spend most of my time working.  Monday through Friday I leave the house before 7am and usually get home around 7pm.  I work Friday and Saturday night at my part time job.  Consequently, outside of my family, most of my friends are in the office.

One of my coworkers is a guy who is about 20 years younger than I am.  We get along great.  Mainly because we are so much alike.  We like the same things, and the same things tend to easily irritate us.  I have had over 50 years to turn into a cranky old man.  Sometimes I wonder how bad my friend will get when he gets to be my age.

We work on the same floor as a couple other departments in our company.  We do not have a lot of interaction with the other departments, so we do not know very many of those folks by name.  Still, there are some of those folks who have somehow irritated us in some way, shape, or form.  Those people have earned nicknames from the two of us.

There is one guy on our floor that we refer to as "Mr. Personality."  He is an older looking guy with totally white hair.  He walks around with a cup of coffee and a perpetual scowl on his face.  There have been times when a group of us were in an elevator and all getting off on the same floor.  This guy will blast out of the elevator cutting everyone off while my friend and I let the ladies exit first.

There is another guy on our floor that we simply refer to as "Shredder."  He is a tall guy who actually looks a little bit like a young Glenn Beck.  The reason we call him "Shredder" is a particular habit that he has.  Like a lot of us, Shredder uses a paper towel to open the rest room door upon exit.  Unlike the rest of us, rather than throw the used towel in the trash, he places in the secure documents bin that get sent to the shredder.  It is like he is trying to hide something.

The last guy I will introduce you to is a guy we refer to as "Bathroom Boy."  Bathroom Boy would remind me of a minor Simpsons character if his skin were more yellow.  My company does a lot to try to conserve electricity.  They have switched over to LED lighting and the restroom lights are equipped with motion detectors so that if they do not detect movement over a period of time, about 10-15 minutes, the lighting will dim.

One morning, I entered the restroom and the lights came on.  However, Bathroom Boy was in the center stall of t
oilets.  I took an adjacent stall and took care of my business.  While I was in the stall, I could detect no movement in the adjacent stall.  No naturally occurring bodily functions, no movement, no sound of toilet paper rolling off the roll.  The only thing I noticed was the phone case attached to the belt in the stall next to me.

My desk just happens to be right outside of the restrooms on our floor.  Talk about your prime real estate. Location, location, location as they say.  It was several minutes later that Bathroom Boy eventually left the men's room.  I figure he must have been in there a good 45 minutes.  Over the next several days, I notice the pattern repeat itself every morning.

Now I enjoy a good crap as much as the next guy, but I don't think I have ever spent 45 minutes at a time on the throne.  On those occasions when I have had to take a rather long constitutional, I know that I haven't been completely still or silent.  Believe you me, there are definitely naturally occurring bodily function noises coming out of me during those times.  Makes me wonder if Bathroom Boy is just starting off his day with a quick power nap.

Now, don't get me wrong.  Most of the people that work on my floor are perfectly normal, and haven't slighted us (real or imagined) in the least.  I think it is just our way of throwing a little entertainment into our day.  There is one other nickname we have for somebody on our floor, Miss Spectacular.  I will leave it up to your imagination as to why.

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And Now, Back to Our Regularly Scheduled Programming

Image via WikipediaAlthough we still officially have one more week to the "holiday season," I am returning to my regular style of posting personal thoughts, news of the day, and the occasional rant.  I hope that everybody enjoyed the "12 Days of Christmas" theme of the past two weeks.  It was a lot of fun for me to put it together.

The day after Christmas is a day most noted for everybody heading back out to the malls to exchange all those gifts that either were the wrong size or were just plain not liked.  It is also a day for people to go out and use those gift cards that they received as well.  Thankfully, I was not one of those folks venturing out to the malls today.  The only presents that I received were cash, a gift card to a restaurant, and a few bottles of wine, one of which I am enjoying as I type this.

Originally, the weather forecast was calling for us to get about 3-6 inches of snow in my area. With the anticipated snowfall, I decided to head out to pick up a couple of items at the BJ's in my area before the snow began to fall.  I wasn't too worried about getting out tomorrow to go to work, but if we did get a good bit of snow, I didn't want my wife to have to go out if she didn't have to.  Which brings me to my rant for today.

There is nothing that frustrates me more when I am driving than to be stuck behind a slow moving driver when there is nothing but open space ahead of them.  Now by slow moving driver, I mean driving below the speed limit.  To be perfectly honest, sometimes if the driver is driving at the posted limit, and I am stuck behind them, I can get a bit frustrated.

On this particular Sunday morning, I was heading home in the left lane of a two lane road with nobody in front of me.  I was moving at a pretty good clip of 60 mph.  I think the posted speed limit on that stretch of road is 55mph though it may be 50.  So yes, I was technically speeding.  I glanced in my rear view mirror and saw a car moving rapidly onto my rear end. 

I was going to try to move over to the right lane to allow the tailgater to pass, but there was another vehicle moving just as rapidly in the right lane.  After that car passed, the car behind me moved over to the right lane and passed me.  I guess I wasn't speeding fast enough for them, which to me is just as frustrating as getting stuck behind somebody driving under the limit.

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Neighbor or Nuisance

We live in a townhouse here in Bowie. The problem with townhouses is the close proximity to your neighbors. As a general rule, I want to be a decent neighbor.  At the very least, I want to let my neighbors be and respect their rights and space.  At the same time, I would expect them to be considerate of mine.

Being in a townhouse, I do not reasonably expect that I would never hear anything that goes on next door.  For instance, there have been times when I have heard people running up the steps next door.  Other times, you can hear the stereo blasting next door.  It is reasonable to hear a little bit of it, it is not reasonable to feel the walls vibrating, or to hear it late at night.

There is one neighbor that I am having a rather difficult time with of late.  It is a fairly young guy, or group of guys that are renting the house next to us.  There are a couple of issues with these guys in regards to noise.  First, is the music.  The other day, I came home from work a little before 7pm.  For nearly two hours, the stereo was blasting to the point where I had a hard time hearing the TV in the room I was sitting in.  I went next door to ask the guy to turn the music down and I could still hear it for another half hour.

They also have a dog.  They put the dog out on the deck for hours on end.  The dog will sit outside and bark for an hour or more.  I have had to go next door at 11pm to ask them to bring in the dog that had been whining for over an hour underneath my bedroom window.  According to the City of Bowie code,

Public nuisance animal shall mean any animal which unreasonably annoys or threatens humans, endangers the life or health of other animals or persons, which reasonably causes offense to human senses, or which substantially interferes with the rights of residents, other than its owners, to enjoyment of life or property.

The term “public nuisance animal” shall include, but is not limited to, any animal which:

(6) Excessively makes disturbing noises, including but not limited to, continued and repeated howling, barking, whining or other utterances, causing unreasonable annoyance, disturbance or discomfort to neighbors or others in close proximity to the premises where the animal is kept or harbored;

As I have said, we have gone next door to complain about the noise multiple times on both the music and the dog.  Yet, they continue to be oblivious and repeat the same actions time and time again.  I have yet to get to the point of calling the authorities to complain.  Although, I did email animal control to inquire about the regulation on barking dogs, and they sent somebody out to speak to our neighbor.

So I am seeking the advice of my wise readers.  A recent City of Bowie newsletter stated that they do not recommend confronting the offending party.  So far, this is what I have done.  My question would be am I just a grumpy old man or am I justified in my complaints?  If justified, at what point do I cease going over to ask them to quiet down the music or dog and call the Compliance Office and have them deal with the neighbors?  

A Few Random Rants

It is a cold, rainy night here in Maryland with temperatures in the 40's.  I just finished an eight hour shift of delivering fresh hot pizza.  I am sitting here enjoying a nice bottle of 1998 vintage wine from the Cotes de Castillon region of Bordeaux.  Life is good, but I have a few little rants to get off my chest.

The cleaning crew in my office does a really nice job.  Seriously.  They do a particularly nice job keeping the rest rooms clean.  They probably come through at least three times a day.  The problem though is that sometimes they do too good a job.  There are three stalls in the rest room.  To change the roll of toilet paper in one of them, the cleaning crew opens a panel in the middle stall to change the roll.  Unfortunately, they will change the roll even if somebody is sitting in the stall.  It is rather disconcerting to be taking care of business and have a panel open up next to you while somebody changes the toilet paper.  You'd think they would wait until the coast is clear, so to speak.

Tonight was actually a pretty good day delivering pizza, so I really shouldn't complain, but I am going to.  As I said, it was a cold and rainy night.  It still amazes me that somebody will order $51.51 worth of pizza and hand me $52.00.  Then there are those that place a $30 order and put $1.50 tip on their credit card when placing the order.  Sometimes I just want to tell those people that if I have two deliveries to make, and I see $1.50 tip on one slip, and $3.00 or more on the other, who do you think is going to get their pizza first?

Lastly, why is it that liberals take offense to calling illegal aliens "criminals?"  Let me see if I can explain this simply.  Let's think back to basic algebra and the following mathematical theorem.

a=b

and b=c

therefore a=c

Pretty straightforward. So using this same logic:

Illegal immigrants have broken our immigration laws.

People who have broken laws are criminals.

Therefore, Illegal immigrants are criminals.

Again, seems pretty simple to me.

A Bad Pizza Night

Last night was one of those nights that make me wonder why I continue to deliver pizzas on the weekend.  First off, you never know from one week to the next how much money you will make each week.  Some nights are busier than others.  Then there are those nights when you get a bunch of good tippers and others, not so much.

Anyway, back to yesterday.  It was a cool, rainy night, and the rain was steady for most of the night.  Now I am not crazy about driving in the rain at night but I was looking forward to the evening.  Usually on a night like last night the people are a little more generous with the tips, and I would expect to get $4-$5 per delivery.  Yesterday, most of my deliveries averaged half that, and at one point I had three straight deliveries where the combined total of the three runs was under $3.  Very frustrating.

For now, though, I will continue delivering fresh hot pizza on the weekends, at least as long as I need the extra cash coming in.  Then there is always the thought in the back of your mind that you might knock on the door of a house like the one in the video below.  :-) 

Sexy Deliver Pizza
Uploaded by Dakorama. - See more comedy videos.

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Obama's Planned Speech to Students

Image by cena carioca via Flickr

I think it is safe to say that I am not a fan of President Barack Obama. From a policy standpoint, there has been very little, if anything, that I have agreed with. However, I am not one to find fault with everything he does. For instance, I thought it refreshing that Obama wore jeans for his first pitch at the baseball all star game, though some criticized his "mom jeans." I also gave him props for his quick reflexes in disposing of a fly during an interview.

I am all for criticizing the president on substantive issues like health care, cap and trade, and the ever increasing budget deficit. The recent broohaha over the president's decision to address students next week to encourage them to study hard and do well in school is a bit too much for me. This type of hyper partisanship is one reason I can not identify myself as a Republican. (As a matter of full disclosure, I consider myself a Libertarian, though I am still officially registered as a Republican.)

Other presidents have addressed America's students in the past. In reality, this should be a rather benign opportunity for the president to encourage our youth. The fact that it has become a subject of intense national debate is ludicrous to me. Don't get me wrong, I do understand why conservatives have this distrust of Obama. He is far from the moderate he portrayed himself to be during the election.

In my opinion, this really does distract from the truly important issues at hand. The constant harping over everything the president does really lessens the impact of the arguments against things like health care or cap & trade. This hyper partisanship on both sides of the aisle is one of the reason the majority of Americans would like to throw all of the son of a bitches out on their asses and start over again. And to the parents out there that fear that the president is trying to "indoctrinate" their kids, if you think your kids are that susceptible to indoctrination you must not be doing a very good job with them.

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A Question For Parents

Throughout our lifetimes, we take on a variety of roles. There is no role that I take more seriously or is more important to me as my role as a father. Since my son has special needs, it may cause me to look at things differently than most parents. I hope not. I saw something while driving home the other night that kind of bothered me. Maybe the other parents out there can let me know if I am off base.

As I said, I was driving home from work the other night. Up ahead, I saw a car pulled off on the side of the road. A young boy, probably about 8-10 years old, was walking away from the car towards the woods. At first, I thought he just had to take a leak. Soon, I saw him start to vomit. Poor guy. I felt sorry for him. Especially since he was out there all by himself.

As I got closer and passed the car, I could see the mother casually waiting in the car and pouring the remains of a can of soda out the window. My initial reaction was one of dismay. For the life of me, I could not understand why she was not out there with her kid to lend support or comfort. Am I wrong to feel that way?

Time Is Money

Image by TW Collins via Flickr

We have all heard that old saying before. In the business world, time is money. In my personal life, time is a precious commodity. During the week, like most Americans, I have a full time job. I am one of those "salaried" employees, so most days, I am in the office at least 9-10 hours a day. Add the hour or more commute each way, and that leaves very little free time during the week. I also have a part time job on the weekend. So I really hate when people waste my time.

For years, I was a big collector of sports memorabilia. Most of my collection has consisted of autographed photos and baseballs. There were a few other things in there as well, like some autographed NFL footballs & mini helmets and handful of game used baseball bats. I had hoped that when I had a son that he would share my love of collecting. Alas, while he loves watching sports, he does not comprehend the collecting aspect and he definitely would not understand how to care for the items.

So, I decided to start parting with my collection. I started a few months ago by putting an item or two on ebay or placing ads on Craigslist. For the most part, I have been a bit disappointed in the results thus far. The first item that I sold on ebay was a collection of 8 Brooks Robinson baseball cards, each one autographed. It sold for a whopping $0.99. I have done a little better on subsequent items, but still not at the level I expected certain items to go for.

A lot of the items that I collected were local in nature. Those items I decided to try to sell through Craigslist instead of ebay. Here is where the wasting of my time begins. The first group of items that I wanted to sell were specific to one local team. I listed each item I had accurately and included pictures. I wanted to sell it as a collection, but would have sold it in individual items if necessary. I had several email inquiries and finally had an individual who wanted to look at the items. We arranged to meet at their office at a set time. The guy kept me waiting nearly half an hour, then decided my asking price was too high and would not even make an offer. Disappointing, but I understand somebody not wanting to make the purchase. However, the next day I received an email from the guy with an offer that I accepted. I was a little irked to have to make another trip to handle the transaction when it could have been done the first time.

The next collection that I was attempting to sell was a collection of game used equipment. Again, I exchanged several emails with different individuals. I finally had one guy email me and offered to pick the bats up that night. I was unable to meet that evening, but we arranged a meeting one evening after work. I had to drive about a half hour out of my way, but got to the agreed location about 15 minutes early. I called the guy's cell phone and I left a message with my number. 15 minutes after our agreed upon time, I tried emailing him. No response. Finally, a little more than half an hour after our agreed upon time, I called again. Still no answer and with the drive home, two hours of my life I will never get back.

Now I understand if something could have come up at his office. I have had my share of those end of the day emergency meetings. I can even understand if he decided he didn't want the items after all. However, it is extremely rude to not show up for an agreed upon meeting without so much as a call or an email. It would have been nice, not to mention proper, for him to respond to either my call or email. I had received a couple emails from another dealer/collector interested in seeing the items, but thus far they have failed to respond to emails trying to set up a time to meet. What is it with these people that will initiate contact, but not show the common decency to respond one way or the other to your reply? I guess it is just a sign of the times we are living in.

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I Hate Stupid People

As I have mentioned before, I have a part time job on the weekends delivering pizza. Most people who order for a delivery are pretty cool. They understand that we are using our own vehicles and that we are providing a convenience service for them. Those people usually give a reasonable tip, some give even more than I would normally expect. For instance last night, I gave one gentleman $15 change. All I had was one $5 bill and ten $1 bills. He did not want the $1's so he gave me all ten for a tip. Not bad for a $25 delivery.

The people who "get it" are usually expecting you to show up at their door. When you knock on the door, they answer quickly and come to the door with cash in hand. Occasionally you have to knock a couple of times. Then you get those people who don't seem to have a clue, like the family who ordered a delivery, sat in the basement where they could not hear the doorbell or knocking, and would not pick up the phone when you called to tell them you were at their front door. Idiots!

Last night, my final delivery was to one of those people. It was nearly 10pm and had a delivery to an apartment complex. I climbed the two flights of stairs to the top floor of the building. I knocked on the door and waited. I knocked a second time and waited. So I took out my cell phone, dialed the number on the delivery slip. I told the person who answered (you would be surprised how many people don't answer) who I was and I was at the front door of their apartment.

Their response? "Oh you are there? We aren't back yet." WTF?! If you are not home, why the hell would you call to have a pizza delivered to your house? If you are already out, why wouldn't you call and place a carry out order instead? God, I hate stupid people. My guess is these folks voted for Barack Obama.

What a Bitch!!!

Brigadier General Michael Walsh was testifying before Senator Barbara Boxer's Environment and Public Works Committee when he had the audacity to refer to her as "Ma'am." Oh my goodness. How dare he? Not to worry. Senator Boxer made sure to chastise the general and tell him in no uncertain terms that he should refer to her as "Senator."

If I could say one thing to her at this time it would be, "Get over yourself, bitch!" Sure, it is proper to address her as "Senator," but there is nothing wrong with the way that General Walsh addressed her. The general was following the military protocol of addressing "supposed" superiors as "Sir" or "Ma'am." It in no way diminishes her role as a Senator. I would also remind her that it is people like General Walsh who have fought and died for this country so she could be free to earn that title she worked so hard for.

To General Walsh, all I can say is you are a better man than me (actually, all our military are, but that is another story.) Thank you for your service. The incident also serves to remind me why I do not think that I could have ever made it in the military. Had it been me instead of General Walsh, I might have replied with "Fuck You, Senator!" How is that for addressing you by your proper title?

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Men, Women, and Toilet Seats

I think every guy (at least every married guy) has heard at least one complaint about leaving the toilet seat up. I do my best to try to put the seat back down for Mrs. Dickster, and I think in our 17 plus years of marriage you could count on one hand the number of times I have left the seat up. However, an incident at work today got me thinking, so I want to pose an informal poll question, especially for the ladies out there.

Which is worse; a guy leaving the toilet seat up or a guy who leaves the seat down and urinates all over the seat? We will save the non-flushing aspect of the question for another time.

DC and Traffic

The DC area consistently ranks as one of the most highly congested areas for road traffic. There are certain parts of the highway system around here that no matter what time you hit those spots, you are bound to experience delays.

I was fortunate enough to avoid having to deal with Beltway traffic on a regular basis. I had a job for 21 years at a location that was only 10 minutes away from my home, and I never had to hit a highway. Unfortunately, that position was eliminated a few years ago.

My new position requires that I hit the Beltway every day. There are a couple spots on my commute where I can expect to hit delays. Most of the time, it isn't a problem because you account for those daily delays.

Most of the time, my commute takes me about an hour, whether I am heading to work in the morning or home in the evening. Sure, if it rains or snows, people around here forget how to drive and it takes a little longer.

Lately though, it seems inevitable, that when I have someplace I need to be, the traffic gods conspire against me. One Friday night when I needed to get to my part time job, my usual one hour commute took two hours. Earlier this week, I needed to meet my family to take my son to a doctor's appointment. I left the office at 3pm when traffic should be light, and sure enough there were multiple accidents on a clear spring day. I think the reason is that most of the people in this area are Democrats and clearly they are conspiring against me and my conservative values.

A Tough Week

It has been a tough week for me computer wise.  I have been able to do very little since last Saturday night, especially when it came to doing anything on the internet.

It all started late Saturday night.  One of the blogging communities that I belong to is Entrecard.  While visiting a number of blogs and dropping my card on the various Entrecard widgets, my McAfee popped up and said it had found and deleted the Vundo Trojan.  It popped up a couple of times.  I wish I could remember the site, but I think it was a technology blog.

Anyway, McAfee was not able to clear out the Vundo.  These days, I primarily am using Google Chrome for my internet browsing.  Well I would be happily cruising the web when all of a sudden Internet Explorer would open up and bog my system down.  I spent the bulk of Sunday downloading various spyware scanners trying to remove it.  I thought that I had it licked when I started using STOPzilla, which had a good review on Cnet.com.  It identified the virus several times and said that it had been removed.  

Monday and Tuesday, I was able to get onto the web without any issues.  However, Wednesday night I fired up the laptop and all of a sudden STOPzilla said Vundo was back.  Curses!  I kept struggling with my system for the rest of the week.  Since the virus kept opening up Internet Explorer, I removed it from my system.  However, pesty bug that Vundo is, it kept opening up IE. Finally, on Saturday, after my system had become very unstable, I considered taking the drastic step of recovering my system back to the original settings.  Before I did, though, I called STOPzilla's tech support for advice.  They suggested running the scan in safe mode.

So Saturday night, I get home from delivering pizza and fire up the laptop in safe mode.  Lo and behold, STOPzilla would not start on my computer in safe mode.  I decided at that point to run a couple of scans while under safe mode.  I did a complete system scan with McAfee and with Spybot.  The scans finally finished about 2 a.m. this morning.  Both identified several files with the virus and I was able to delete them.  That seems to have done the trick (knock on wood.)   Hopefully this is the end of my Vundo experience.  

Tip The Pizza Guy- Update

As I mentioned once before, I deliver pizzas as a part time job for one of the national pizza parlors (their name shall remain unmentioned to protect the guilty.)  For the most part, it has been a decent part time job.  However, I found out Friday night about another change to our compensation that has caused me to explore whether or not I can afford to quit.

When I first started delivering fresh, hot pizza from the Pizza Palace, I was paid minimum wage and received $1 per delivery (the company itself charged $1.50 per delivery.)  This was in November of 2007.  It was a pretty good gig at the time.  Well, that was then and this is now.  There have been a number of changes over the last 6-8 months that have taken away from the glamour of delivering fresh, hot pizza.

When minimum wage was increased, while the inside help all received their raises, the drivers were kept at the old rate, because we made "tips."  Also during this time, gasoline prices were soaring to over $4 per gallon, cutting deeply into the amount of money we actually make. (We use our own cars and pay for our own gasoline.)  They did throw us a bone and raised the delivery charge to $1.70 and raising our mileage reimbursement rate to $1.10 per delivery.

On Friday night, we found out that they changed the amount we receive per delivery.  Now that gasoline prices are back to where they were when I started, they quietly lowered our rate to $0.75 per delivery, while keeping the delivery charge at $1.70.  I guess some people assume that the driver gets the delivery charge, but that is not the case.

To sum up, no longer making the minimum wage, plus getting a 25% cut in our mileage reimbursement, combined with a lot of people not tipping as well as before (Two people totally stiffed me Friday night) makes for an unhappy delivery guy.  

   

HOA From Hell #5

Have I mentioned that I hate homeowners associations?  Mine has become a royal pain in the ass, or at least the "Trash Nazi" roaming our streets is one.

On February 10th, our new trash regulations went into effect.  Today we received a notice from the HOA saying that we were not in compliance with the new regulations because we were not using a "secured trash container."  The new rules stipulate that we must use a 20-50 gallon Rubbermaid style of trash with a lid.  We are also not allowed to have those containers on the "exterior" of the house, except on trash pickup days. 

We are using a 20 gallon Rubbermaid trash can.  We have a lid.  The problem is, that we usually have  three tall kitchen bags of trash to put out on pickup days in that trash can.  With two bags in the larger can, the bags end up being higher than the top of the can.  It is impossible to put the lid on the can at that point.  Even if we had a larger container, three bags would not allow us to put the lid on the can.

We live in a fairly small townhouse.  They want us to recycle, so we have a large recycling bin.  We have a 20 gallon trash can to store our trash in for pick up days.  There isn't room in our home for a larger trash can or multiple trash cans.  In today's economy, I definitely do not have an extra $70 or the space to buy a 50 gallon container.

Our old rules did not require the use of a trash cans.  Most of the residents (us included) would simply put the bags out by the curb.  Most of the time, there was no problem with animals getting into the trash, though it probably wasn't the best situation.  I have no problem using a can.  We still have a lot of people that are not using any kind of container.  I am using the type of container they say I need to use.  The only problem is that the lid won't fit on the can.  

Top 5 Things That Irked Me Today

Maybe I am just getting old, but I seem to be getting more cranky and little things seem to irk me more and more.  Today was just one of those days that seemed to really irk me, so here are the top 5 things that more or less pissed me off today.  Some of these (OK most of them) are pretty petty, but so be it.

1. I got in the elevator this morning from our parking garage.  There was nobody else in the elevator with me.  However, a previous passenger had so much perfume on that she left her scent in the elevator for the next person.  Perfume/after shave is supposed to be subtle, not overpowering.
2. If you work in a cubicle farm like I do, for God's sake try to keep the volume level down in consideration of others around you.  I should not hear every word you say in every phone conversation you have during the day.
3. People who cut me off in stop and go traffic.  I mean really.  None of the lanes are moving very quickly.  Why do you have to cut me off to move forward an extra two car lengths.  Are you really going to get there any more quickly?
4. I have always viewed walking down the hallway the same as I view driving on the road.  This is America and we drive on the right hand side of the road.  Consequently, I think we should walk on the right hand side of the hallway.  Why are there so many people in my office that walk on the wrong side of the hall causing me to have to move to the side to avoid running into them?
5. I needed to stop at the grocery store on the way home tonight.  As is typical, there were not enough cashiers manning the registers.  No big deal.  I do not mind using the self checkout that is available.  However, one of the items I wanted to purchase could not be purchased at self checkout.  So, Mr. Retailer, either have enough cashiers to handle the customers, or allow me to make all of my purchases at the self checkout without having to make another stop at customer service.  

Glad Force Flex vs Hefty Ultra Flex

Several months ago, my wife came home with our first box of Glad Force Flex Kitchen trash bags.  We have been using them ever since.  I was very impressed with the way you could put a lot more garbage into the bag without the bag breaking.  We have been through about 10 or 12 boxes of them.  In that time, we have had maybe two bags get a tear in them, and at most it was a small puncture.

About 2-3 weeks ago I was doing my grocery shopping and knew we needed trash bags.  I was going to get my usual Glad Force Flex, but noticed that the store had Hefty Ultraflex bags on sale.  I figured with Hefty being a well established national brand, and the picture on the box looking like the Glad bags, I would be safe in buying the Hefty and saving a couple bucks.  Big mistake.

We are still going through that box of Hefty Ultraflex bags.  I have had as many bags rip in that one box as I had in 10 boxes of Glad Force Flex bags.  One of the tears was a hole about 4 inches across and led to old coffee grounds spilling on the kitchen floor.  I had to put that bag in a second bag to keep the garbage from spilling all over the place.

Needless to say, when doing my shopping today, when I saw that the Hefty bags were reduced 33%, I picked up the Glad.

Cell Phones & Driving

Being a Libertarian, I am not usually a proponent of laws that restrict our freedom.  I have never been a proponent of the mandatory hands free device laws that single out cell phone users as opposed to other forms of driver distraction.  I mean is talking on the phone any more hazardous than the lady in the next lane putting on her eye makeup or the guy chowing down on a Big Mac?  

Part of the reason I am against those laws is that I just haven't been able to find a hands free device that works for me.  What is the point of having it if I have to hold the damn thing to my ear to hear what the other person is saying?  That's no different than if I had the cell to my ear.  At least then I would be able to hear the other person.  But I digress.

Today is one of those days when I can somewhat understand why these laws are getting enacted (so far the Democrats in Maryland have been unable to pass a law here, but it isn't from lack of trying).  On two occasions today I got caught behind drivers that were driving in the left hand lane traveling at least 10 miles per hour beneath the speed limit (there are states that will ticket a driver for driving too slow.)  When I finally was able to pass those drivers, sure enough, they were sitting there with the cell phone held up to their ear.

I still do not like the thought of an outright ban of handheld cell phone use while driving.  If you want to make it a secondary violation (along with other forms of driver distraction) that can draw an additional fine when pulled over for speeding or other violations, then I have no problem with that.  For those drivers that live in states where it is not a violation, if you can not talk on the phone and maintain a safe driving speed then get out of the way.  

Tip the Pizza Guy

OK. Now that I have wished everyone a Happy New Year, it is time for a little rant.

I know times are tough and the economy is in a shambles. It is tough for me too. If it wasn't, I wouldn't be delivering pizzas on the weekends.  

I have only been delivering pizzas for about a year, but I have always gone by the guideline that you should tip the same for a pizza delivery as you would if you were eating at a restaurant, that would be 15-20%.  I also tend to tip a little more if the weather is bad. After all, the pizza delivery driver is performing the same function as a server in a restaurant, they are just bringing the food in their own car, using their own gas.

  

Having said that, there are a lot of people out there in serious need of learning some tipping ettiquette.  There is a great resource at Tip the Pizza Guy where you can learn what is considered appropriate.  They say the minimum tip for a delivery should be around $3.  They also go into some of the hazards and difficulties of getting your pizza to you.  

Last night was a particularly frustrating night for me in delivering pizza.  First it was a particularly cold and windy night last night with wind chills in the teens.  Second it was a holiday.  For some reason, there were an awful lot of cheap ass people last night, more so than usual.  I can't remember the last time I received so many $2 or less tips in an evening.  It is particularly frustrating to deliver $45 worth of pizzas, be complimented on how quick the service was, and then walk away with a $2 tip on the credit card slip.  (Don't think that we won't remember that the next time your address shows up for delivery.)

There are some people out there who still restore my faith in humanity when I am out delivering pizzas.   My last delivery of the night was a $50 delivery and the young lady gave me a generous $10 tip (thank you very much).  For the rest of you out there, if you are unwilling or unable to afford to pay for your pizza and give a proper tip, do yourself and the pizza guy a favor:  Get DiGiorno, not delivery.  

A Mini Rant

It is pretty disgusting when you enter a stall in the office men's room to answer nature's call, and you discover that the person (and I use that term loosely) failed to flush. It is even more disgusting when you see that there is no toilet tissue among the waste in the bowl. Not only is this cretin an inconsiderate slob, but he is also walking around without having wiped his sorry ass. Sorry for the graphic post, but I had to get that off my chest.