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Ok, sometimes you just have to comment. This seems like a safe place to
do so....
THINGS THAT GET ME RILED UP
- BOSTON DRIVERS They are the most aggressive and reckless on
the planet. I'm frequently guilty of one of those, but never both
simultaneously. Unsignaled lane changes while doing 90 MPH in the right
lane are typical up here. Boxing oneself in with slower traffic then
honking, flashing lights, and being a pan in the ass is a local specialty.
Want to know why the BoSox will never win it all? Because they have
to drive and Boston all summer long. I'd be rattled and fold up too.
It wasn't because of bad knees that Buckner botched that ball, he was
distracted by the thought of driving through Boston after winning the Series.
- SLOWER TRAFFIC KEEP RIGHT! What's so damn hard to understand
about this? 4 simple, straight forward words in a declarative sentence.
But, I swear, 95% of America seems incapable of reading and observing the
signs posted on the highway advising of this law. Damn you
slowpokes! Double damn you!!
- Over priced internet connections. $9.95 a night to connect to
Wayport in a hotel. What idiots. Why not raise the room rates $5
and include it in the hotel's differentiating features? You could get $5
more on 100% of the occupancy instead of $10 on well under 50% of the rooms.
Damn you pricing dummies!
- Seen on a bumper sticker in Delaware: "Sussex County, where we trade
quality of life for real estate profits." Haven't read R.W.
White, Carl Hiassen. J.W. Hall and heard the rants about Florida's demise.
Do so soon. Then look at your vacation destination: the Atlantic Beaches
(Cape Henlopen to Ocean City, Virginia beaches , the friggin' OBX), the
mountains (Ozarks, Smokeys, Poconos), whatever. We're becoming a nation
of extreme kitsch and ugly development. I'm pretty sure my choice of
trading real estate profits for quality of life is a wise one. Damn
you incompetent architects, greedy developers, and blind, lemming-like masses!
- Software that messes with other software unbeknownst to the user.
I think my recent email and other problems were due to using Juno for dial up
access. I'll be looking at Earthlink or AT&T Worldnet today. Maybe
it's worth paying a few bucks to actually be able to use my computer.
Damn you Juno and you're ilk!
- Motor homes towing vehicles, especially those in the left lane.
Why do motor homes have to be so damn big? Why do you need to tow a
frigging mega-SUV behind it? If you can afford these things, you can
afford to travel in comfortable fashion in some other manor. If you were
smart enough to make that kind of money, why aren't you smart enough to drive
so that you aren't a rolling roadblock. Damn you Edsels on steroids
and retired yuppies!
THINGS THAT BRING JOY TO A VAGABOND (well at
least this one)
- T-Mobile HotSpot. This wireless web connection is available
in many airports, Borders, and Starbucks. It actually works!
Sometimes the placements leave something to be desired -- in the Norfolk
Airport, the transmitter is several gates past a "Ticketed Passengers Only
Beyond This Point" control -- but the service works as advertised. If
you are a T-Mobile cell phone customer the $19.95 per month is a great deal,
if not the price could be an issue. Thank you T-Mobile (plus an extra
thank you for plastering the world with pictures of Catherine
Zeta-Jones-Douglass.)
- The US Highway system. After a few days I've decided that the
Eisenhower Interstate System is nice, but for vagabonding stay off them.
Most US Highways are divided 4 lane roads that wander through wonderfully
scenic areas and quaint towns. Need to be somewhere in a hurry, stay on
the I-XXs Want to enjoy the trip, use a US-XX. There are
exceptions (notably US-1) but this generality will be tested in the coming
weeks. Thank you early pioneers who blazed these trails.
- Online banking and Microsoft Money. Hey, I know it's
never popular to sing the praises of a Microsoft product. (And I realize
a few of you are Luddites too boot.) But MS Money works. I find it
easier to set up, use, and maintain than my previous experience with Quicken.
I can easily track "the nest egg" and see how things are going. I've
even taken to trying to track my cash spending not just credit cards.
(For those of you who have experienced my free-wheeling spending, you
understand what an endeavor this is.) I have accounts at JP Morgan
Chase, Citibank, and Smith Barney. All have solid online banking
facilities. The Citigroup services (Citibank and Smith Barney) have a
substantially easier to navigate interface. But Chase's stuff works
fine. I have not written a physical check to pay bills in 5 or 6 years.
The online bill payment systems really work well. (Disclaimer: I own
shares in Microsoft and Citigroup. But the evaluations are not swayed by
that.) Thank you minions of Bill Gates and followers of Walter
Wristin.
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