Pied Type
Business
You can’t fool all the people all the time
Of course it isn’t all gone, like BP and our government have said. You didn’t believe, and neither did I, that several months’ worth of gooey BP oil spewing into the Gulf of Mexico just disappeared — miraculously vanished — a day or two after the well was capped. Sure enough, scientists are saying that … Continue reading
The logic escapes me
Dear S—-, You recently changed your email address for online banking. We are sending this message to the original email address to notify you that we will no longer contact you at this address. If you have any questions, please contact us at 1-555-555-5555. Please do not respond directly to this e-mail message. If you … Continue reading
And then they came for me
Heads up, bloggers. They could be coming for you (or me) next. The city of Philadelphia is requiring some bloggers to buy a $300 business privilege license and pay taxes on any income. Currently they’re going after anyone who reports any income from a blog. Even if, as in a story in Philadelphia Citypaper, it’s … Continue reading
You, me, and net neutrality
What is net neutrality and why should it matter to you? It’s complicated, and I’ve written about it before. Quite simply, if you’re reading this, it matters. You’re reading this because the Internet brought it to you. I was able to post this because the Internet gave me access. If either of us had to … Continue reading
Email, browsing, and bugs
I’ve learned something new this week about Internet security and privacy. Web bugs. Also known as web beacons. If you already know about them, you’re wondering what rock I’ve been living under. If you don’t know about them, listen up. Web bugs are tiny, transparent 1 × 1 pixel objects that advertisers or other snoopy … Continue reading
Who do you trust?
This week BP finally got its oil-spewing hole in the Gulf of Mexico shut down. The final cementing via a relief well is still to come, but the flow has been stopped. And, miraculously, most of the three or four months’ worth of oil is suddenly gone! BP, who couldn’t seem to get anything right … Continue reading
Another consumer rant
We’re into midsummer now and I’m still trying to judge the full impact of a rate increase from my power company, Xcel Energy. All their assurances that their new “tiered” rate system (the more you use, the higher your rate per kwh) for summer was “budget neutral” didn’t matter. It might be budget neutral for … Continue reading
Ding dong, the witch is dead
BP CEO Tony Hayward is out. Fired, resigned, reassigned. Small comfort to those injured, perhaps irreparably, by BP’s gulf oil spill. Small comfort to Americans outraged by his pompous, arrogant, defiant attitude about the whole mess. Nor is there any comfort in knowing his replacement, Robert Dudley, is a rather easy-going, low-key American. I’ve no … Continue reading
BP installing a new cap today … big whoop
Flash! BP is installing a wondrous new containment cap on their leaking well today. This cap is expected to contain most, if not all, of the spewing oil. Really? They want a medal or something? They should have been prepared to do this the day after the well blew out.
Wave power is here
Wave power. An endless supply of energy surging across our oceans. If only we could harness it … A company called Aquamarine Power has done just that with a device they call Oyster. Oyster 1 is already in place, generating power on the coast of Scotland, and Oyster 2 is being built this year. This … Continue reading
Eight presidents and umpteen promises later
Jon Stewart is probably my favorite news commentator these days. I know, he really hosts The Daily Show on the Comedy Network. But his faux news program hits the mark so often and so well that you really aren’t news if he doesn’t mention you. When President Obama used his oil-spill–inspired Oval Office address the … Continue reading
Let’s un-retire Gen. Honore
Retired Army Lt. Gen. Russel Honoré did a CNN interview on June 14, a day before Pres. Obama gave his pathetic Oval Office address. He said the kinds of things I wanted to hear from Obama, and didn’t. As I’ve written before, Honoré is the man I would put in charge of the oil spill … Continue reading
Another marketing boo boo
Sprite Zero is my soft drink of choice these days, but they’ve really annoyed me with their latest packaging change. For as long as I can remember, their 2-liter bottles have been the same shape as everyone else’s. But this week when I picked up a few bottles at the store, I noticed they’d changed … Continue reading
Racket or regional preference?
I’ve lived in this neighborhood for three years now, and the same thing happens about this time each year. After a campaign of flyers left on front doors, crews come through to power wash and seal “mildewed” fences. (I wouldn’t subscribe to any service advertised with those damn flyers, but that’s just me.) The fences … Continue reading
And all for the low, low price of just $12
Black and Decker just yanked my chain. My packaging chain. The one that sets me off when I run across some truly frustrating or ridiculous product packaging. And goodness knows we’ve more than enough of that, thanks to whatever government agencies and corporate lawyers are in charge of the rules and regulations for product packaging … Continue reading
If I ran the zoo
If I ran the zoo that is the Gulf oil disaster response, I’d have put Lt. Gen. Russel Honoré in charge. I’d have done it back on April 29, when I first said this spill was going to be far worse than the Exxon Valdez. No doubt you’ll remember Honoré as the U.S. Army general … Continue reading
Hayward, take your ads and go home
Oh, yes, Tony Hayward, you and BP “will get this done” and you “will make it right.” Meantime, stop spending your millions to spread your unctuous, ill-timed, ill-conceived advertising all over my TV and newspapers. Get off American television and out of America’s face and go back to England where, maybe, they still like you. … Continue reading
BP CEO Hayward wants his life back
BP CEO Tony Hayward has suggested the oil spill clean-up workers who were hospitalized this week might have been suffering from food poisoning. (This while BP continues to insist workers don’t need to wear respirators.) He went on camera to say “I’m sorry” and directly contradicted numerous marine scientists on the scene by claiming there … Continue reading
You’ve heard the one about Key Bank
A week ago — yet again — Key Bank locked my online access. If you read my previous rant about Key, you’ve probably already guessed that I was too angry to call them for several days. Instead, I logged into a still-open account at my previous bank to pay the bills. Key’s story/excuse this time … Continue reading
Appropriate punishment for BP
What do you do with people who have committed one of history’s most egregious crimes against the environment? Realistically, when this BP mess is all over, the best punishment I’ve been able to dream up is some hard time in prison for those responsible. Not a Martha Stewart country club gig, but a year or … Continue reading
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