Ghost of Sam Post - All Comments

re: The Continuing Saga of Rot

mike — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 21:38:38 GMT

I think if our leaders had to shop at the same stores we did, we might see a lot more progress. Never underestimate the power of a little inconvenience in America.

I wholeheartedly agree about not buying anything where you can't sit yourself down and physically refuse to leave until someone has fixed your problem. I learned my lesson with an old laptop that I bought online. After they couldn't easily get the defective part on my laptop replaced, they just smashed it and blamed it on the shipping company. When we explained that something cant get destroyed while the box it's in is still perfectly intact and unharmed, they said we could either sue them or drop the issue. Either way there were more of them to lie about it and it would cost more than a new laptop to take them to court.

So I'll do my part in advertising for them. NEVER buy a computer from "Cyber Power". The prices are great, the hardware is impressive, but the service leaves something to be desired.

re: The Continuing Saga of Rot

mike — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 21:32:48 GMT

I guess I never really think enough about tipping people. Most servers are nice enough to me to get a pretty good tip, and I still remember how great it always was to get those tips. When you're working for minimum wages, those often are all you can put into savings at the end of the month. The last time I didn't give a tip was at a nice outside restaurant downtown. The waiter was so bad and had such an awful attitude. Not to mention it took about an hour to get our food. Rather than a tip, I left him a clear plastic straw filled with flies I had shot down out of boredom.

re: The Continuing Saga of Rot

mike — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 21:12:28 GMT

I fully agree with your philosophy on service. You can spam the airwaves with catchy jingles and annoying gimmicks all you want, but if everyone says your service is horrible, you just won't get the same amount of customers as you would from just doing good work. When I worked in a bagel shop I always went out of my way to satisfy the customers, despite the feelings of some of my coworkers. But while I sometimes threw in an extra few cents worth of food to top off an order, they almost always came back, usually with friends. Even based on pure economics, it's better to satisfy a customer. Not to mention it's just plain the right thing to do. And I have DEFINITELY severely hurt the business of those who have cheated me, and made them lose dozens of potential customers who wouldn't even try a place that could be so sleezy.

re: The Continuing Saga of Rot

parker — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 13:11:51 GMT

You make an interesting point on tipping. We have noticed a steady decline in "bad" service at restaurants we visit, yet they still get a tip, just out of habit.

The classical record purchase, what a scam! I wonder if that is the same company that now advertises "greatest love songs" late at night (lol).

Hopefully, your home will sell soon. Sounds like you might need a better realtor too.

re: Is Anybody Listening?

writer lady — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 20:40:00 GMT

Here's another comment for you, Sam, though not a cheerful one.

Recently read on the internet, but from reliable sources:

from HUD--subprime ARMs account for about 7% of all mortgages, but 42% of foreclosures.

from NY Times--"Housing Lenders Fear Bigger Wave of Loan Defaults" This time it's the Alt-A and prime borrowers who are delinquent at record rates, and because they constitute a much larger segment of the mortgage market, the impact is expected to be far greater than the subprime defaults.

The prime and Alt-A ARMs allowed borrowers to enjoy a longer initial "teaser" rate, but those are resetting just as the subprime crisis seems to be plateauing.

On a personal note, my husband and I are among the numbskulls who took out 80/20 ("piggyback") mortgages, so we could hold onto our cash for improvements on our 1950s fixer-upper. No equity, falling values, and scary headlines. And, oh look, another of our neighbors has put their house on the market. Thank God we have reasonable fixed rates, but the whole mortgage crisis is hitting a little close to home.

On the subject of Social Security benefits: I'm slated to retire with full benefits at age 67 in 2027. I figure by that time my monthly check will just about pay for my Metamucil and Polident denture paste!

The future is frightening, but for as long as I can I'll try to keep on smiling with my own pearly whites!

re: Is Anybody Listening?

kurt — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 19:27:06 GMT

Well let's start with the politicians telling the truth. How would it go?; We are in a global economy now and although globalization will be great for the very wealthy most of you will have a lower standard of living over time. Because our dollar is weak we have high gas prices. Due to the poor decisions that were made giving away income stated loans at zero down and variable interest rates to people with sub-prime credit we have crippled our banking industry to the point that we can't increase interest rates to bring up the dollars value.

Basically they would have to tell us we are really in bad shape and there is little hope. Let's face it Sam we get what we want. Most of us want to hear that it's not our fault and everything is going to be fine. But most of all people look for someone to blame. Even if we didn't participate in globalization through agreements like NAFTA we would still have to deal with the competition for resources China, Russian, Iran and India are using up. We are in for change and it seems to be coming at a pace that's hard to adapt to. I personally don't like change much, especially when it's negative. I don't think the US's strategy of dealing with problems with military solutions seems very promising either. I support our country 100% but that route doesn't seem to have the support of our people or the world. So what should we do? I personally want my kids to think globally. I need to think that way too. But in the mean time I need to find a way to survive myself and take care of the people that rely on me.

re: Is Anybody Listening?

parker — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 17:34:14 GMT

So sorry, Sam Post. For some odd reason, this was the first title that caught my attention. I know Grease. I know Olivia Newton-John (did she really just get married? I heard her fiance went missing a while back, did they ever find him? or am I thinking of someone else?) and I think Harrison Frod was spelled right. Anyway, here's one to count toward your comment gallery...

re: The Post Man Cometh

Altair — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 22:05:19 GMT

My girlfriend and I went on tour like that on Rock Band for Xbox360. It was a lot of fun and we got hundreds of thousands of fans. But she kept blowing all our hard earned band money on clothes. And our only transportation was a private jet, and with jet fuel prices the way they are today....well you know how it goes. It's no wonder real bands always break up. It's tough to figure out how to spend all that cash.

re: The Post Man Cometh

mike — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 22:03:45 GMT

You're right, we couldn't respond because we were laughing too hard. It's hard to type when you're falling out of your chair.

So what instrument did you play? It must have been quite an experience traveling around and playing gigs all over the place like that. Do you have any recordings we could listen to online?

It's amazing how in this world sometimes you can get in just as much trouble if not more for being extremely good at what you do.

And you're very right about keeping a positive outlook. Often times the only difference between a good situation and a bad one is your perspective on life. Thanks for sharing those memories with us.

And about the contest, without my precious Google, I'm at a total loss. I think I need to spend less time on the computer and more time watching movies.

re: Prizes Galore – Wood For Everyone

emcee christmas — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 15:13:37 GMT

i don't know what movie that quote comes from. i do know it's not from the big lebowski (one of the only movies i find worth quoting). if i had to make a guess, i'd go with some sort of robin hood movie. you know, he has merry men. also, i'd guess there's more to the quote, like the word "way". how many times have we all heard about how we can just do something and be on our merry ways?

however, if you hadn't clearly implied there's a movie involved, i would've insisted you were quoting the allman brothers (i blame my parents for imparting this knowledge on me). i hear their drummer was a leon county native.

also, i'm theoretically thrilled i won some wood; however, my home is heated with some modern day hvac thing and i'm not sure what i would do with real wood. is it bad manners to fail to claim my prize?

re: Prizes Galore – Wood For Everyone

mike — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 22:00:25 GMT

I have to agree with you on the whole legal system. Even though the only two lawyers I know personally are very honorable and morally irreproachable men, the legal system is built such that the lawyers who truly thrive almost always do so through their keen abilities to twist the laws, find loopholes, and most of all to manipulate people.

I guess if they stole enough money they would be able to hire good enough lawyers to get away with nothing but a huge lawyer fee.

I guess it says a lot about our society to have more and more movies portraying criminals who get away with their acts of questionable morals. Of all the movies like this I've seen, only a couple ended with the criminals being punished squarely for their crimes. Most others are "happy endings". I guess we can rack them up as just more of the generally bad things media teaches kids these days.

re: Prizes Galore – Wood For Everyone

mike — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 21:41:19 GMT

As far as the tree question goes, I'll resist the urge to Google it and guess that it won't spring back up at all. Based on your calculations, by the time it gets low enough to cut off comfortably without using a ladder or coffee, the supporting trees may will have probably lost most of their elasticity and just accepted the fact that they're not going to bounce back anytime soon. But, if we factor in the ladder or the coffee bit, all bets are off.

re: Prizes Galore – Wood For Everyone

mike — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 21:33:17 GMT

Ahh yes, Google is such a wonderful and terrible force in this world. Billions of dollars in our economy are made and lost based on its algorithms, while millions of people can seem far more knowledgeable than they actually are.

Oh, if only I could burn things in my apartment complex. My porch is just big enough to fit that piece of firewood you cut out for me. A log that size could keep me warm all summer.

re: I Talk To The Trees, But They Don’t Listen To Me

Blogette — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 13:38:21 GMT

You have inspired me to rent "Paint Your Wagon". I am intrigued with the thought of Clint Eastwood in a musical.

re: I Talk To The Trees, But They Don’t Listen To Me

mike — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 17:56:14 GMT

P.S. Did you try talking to the tree? Maybe you could reason with it.