Miklb's Mindless Ramblings

So I’ve got an old truck. And it was bloody hot out today. Running errands, I see the temperature gauge creeping up. Ok, needs water. Not a big deal. Yeah, right. Sometime along the way, gas stations simply stopped offering water. I can shampoo the hell out of my rug, but I can’t put the third most important thing in the thing to keep it running. Not just one I tell you, ALL of them.
I take that back, Shell had some water. $.75 to use, and it came out by the thimble full. At $2.80+ a gallon for gas, and record profits for these companies, you’d think that when they sell you water, you’d get enough to keep the vehicle running long enough to fill the tank back up.
Self preservation, or something. Then again, I doubt they really care about those who aren’t driving around a brand new Escalade…

TBO.com
I’m not quite sure what to make of this, but I have to agree, the substitute driver should have had better training in how to handle riders that seem not to be students. However, I can also understand the level of concern, and truthfully feel the authorities are handling this in the proper manner. I don’t care if they are Saudi or not, two adults boarding a high school bus, and not showing complete remorse when told of what they’ve done requires further investigation. I’m not a fan of racial profiling to say the least , however, in today’s climate, all precaution should be taken. And as I said, any adult not showing remorse sends a signal to me. You have to think the driver and students were on the edge of their seat the whole ride, and were happy to see swarm of police when they arrived at school. What I hope not to see is a rash of law suits from well to do parents claiming negligence on the drivers part. That will accomplish nothing, but strap an already over burden school system with legal fees and potentially worse.

Clearly something needs to be clarified about how to handle similar situations, and at least in this area, better training and incentives for drivers need to be in place, as anytime something “scary” or worse happens, its a substitute driver at the wheel.

The Blotter

“It’s time for you to get some new cell phones, quick,” the source told us in an in-person conversation…Other sources have told us that phone calls and contacts by reporters for ABC News, along with the New York Times and the Washington Post, are being examined as part of a widespread CIA leak investigation.

When will it stop? What has to happen for the voices of the sanity and democracy to rise above this administration and reign it back in?
I’ve not posted about this really, as it seems everyone else has said it more eloquently than I, but at this point, I think people simply need to continue to put it out there, don’t let it go away with another news cycle about another cute blonde disappearing in the tropics (as sad as the story is, it shouldn’t be prime time news, every night).
And instead of coming clean tonight, he’s going to talk about sending soldiers to the southern border.
Hat tip to Bob Harris for the link

I’ve not blogged about this topic before, but I came across 2 newspaper articles this morning outlining major deficiencies in the system. While in college, I wrote an argumentative paper against capital punishment, and I still stand by that stance. I don’t believe those convicted of murder should live in the lap of luxury, however I don’t believe we’ve perfected a system to take another’s life in response to murder. This article from the Columbus Dispatch details failure in the actual lethal injection process, in which failure to establish an IV led to a prolonged process, that had to be done behind closed doors.
In this NY Times article, short comings in the state of Texas’s method of reviewing deaths by arson. Currently in Texas, the reviews are made by people who’ve never attended any formal training in the area. The article outlines the execution of an innocent man due to the process.
So mistakes a plenty, no empirical evidence that the death penalty prevents murders, and mountains of tax dollars spent to litigate death penalty cases, can we end this archaic practice now?

So, I mentioned I’m getting a sweet deal on digital phone from Bright House. In the time since, I’ve had about 6 telephone conversations getting to the bottom of the price. The day after I signed up, I received a letter offering me the service for $6.55 less than the night before. Seems a simple 2 minute explanation that the price offered the night before included tax and fees, the lower price was before. That they were one in the same. Meanwhile, I reported to them that once again, I was experiencing poor picture quality on my living room television. It only happens during the day, and only on the analog channels. The two previous times I reported this, I was either blown off because at the moment the tech arrived, it wasn’t happening, and the second time I was told I had a ground problem in the house and that it wasn’t their issue. This time I argued that it indeed had to be. So they said they’d send out a supervisor. I had an appointment scheduled for this past Monday. Well, on my way out the door the Saturday before, the tech shows up. I inform him my appointment was for Monday, between 11-2pm, that I’m on my way out and don’t have time to wait. No explanation on how the scheduling error occurred, and it took a phone call to get the appointment right.
Monday arrives, the same guy shows up, takes a look at things, and says the problem is the modem and TV are on a splitter, that it should never be installed that way. I then tell him that is exactly the way it’s been for 5 years, and never has anyone said anything, including the 2 techs that had been here earlier in the year. He says he’ll have to schedule someone else to come out and install a dedicated line for the modem. Fine. I tell him I have an appointment for the following Monday to have the digital phone installed. If they can do it at the same time, that would be great. He leaves, and never confirms any appointment scheduled. I then have to call again, to confirm the appointment. They tell me the dedicated line is scheduled for that Monday, but 8am-2pm. A different person than the phone. I ask then if it can be done sooner. They inform me that Wednesday from 11-2pm. Fine. Wednesday rolls around. 11am..12pm..1:15pm…Call comes from the subcontractor’s dispatch asking me to tell the tech that he left his cell phone behind at a previous install. I inform them he’s not here, and ask where he is. They don’t know, and don’t know when he’ll get there. 2pm…I call about a quarter past, get put on hold for 30 minutes to find out where he is. I’m told a supervisor has to handle that. After the half hour hold, they have no idea why I’m calling, and put me on hold another 15 minutes to find out what’s going on. I’m told it will be another hour at least. At this point I’m boiling. Just as I’m told an hour, the tech shows up. He runs into the house, and quickly installs the line. Fortunately for him, the spot it’s being installed is close to the side of the home, so there’s very little crawling under the home. Nothing changes. The problem is still there. Now I’m fuming. I wait all day, all year for that matter, and still, no resolve. I then call back and say I want to talk to a supervisor’s supervisor. I get the head honcho finally. Explain everything to him, he apologizes, but offers no real solution. There is some exchange between him and the subcontractor over what is supposed to be done, and what the problem is. The tech informs me that it’s the “T”, where my line ties into the main cable. He leaves, I call the head tech support specialist, and leave a message asking when will things be addressed. He calls back, and says it will take a day to get some info, that he will call me on Thursday to let me know what is going on. He never calls. So today a guy shows up, unannounced, to take a look at the line. He doesn’t have to come in, so it’s not too big an inconvenience, just par for the course at this point. He comes back and says the problem is in the main line, further to the East. That all the houses West of me are effected. Something about a bunch of splices. At one point he said depending on where the problem is, that it might not be fixed until Monday. He mentions something about a credit, which is the first time anyone’s said a word about that. He doesn’t say how much, or when. I’m still left wondering why the one TV is effected, and not the other, unless its the DVR box that is being effected by the low signal, and the other digital box not. I have noticed some speed increases in my internet connection. I used their download test, and the 50MB file settled in at 835Kb/s download. I’ll be curious what that is after the upgrade Monday to 10Mb/s. I’ll also be curious what the tech supervisor has to say about everything once it’s done. I never want to see someone get in trouble or worse, lose their job, but the tech that told me it was my problem seriously needs to go back to school in troubleshooting. He didn’t suggest a dedicated line, nor did he check the signal coming in at the “T”, to see the problem was outside my line. Not to mention, when someone calls to say an appointment’s been missed, putting the person on hold for 30 minutes might not be the best way to handle things. Verizon is busy putting fiber optic cable in this county, and will have cable and digital phone service soon enough. My understanding is they are working on a contract with the city. You can count on me being the first to sign up when that day comes. Bright House, and Time Warner before them, have routinely been the worst experience I’ve had in dealing with monopoly companies. It will come back to bite them in the behind, at leas I hope.