Business

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 »

The odd couple

For years I’ve been fascinated by James Carville (D) and Mary Matalin (R). It’s a love/hate thing really, depending on the issue at hand. They are both so politically active, so high profile, and so outspoken — on opposite sides of the political fence. I surmise theirs is probably not a dull marriage. They have … Continue reading »

Words fail

Coming to you live from the Gulf of Mexico

Why wait till it reaches a beach near you to see BP’s greatest oil extravaganza? Now you can watch it live, as it happens, on the ocean floor, thanks to live streaming video disarmingly labeled “plume monitoring.” Isn’t technology wonderful? It seems it can do almost anything these days — except cap a blown-out well. … Continue reading »

Rand Paul on BP’s mess: ‘Accidents happen’

Rand Paul, Kentucky’s new Republican Senate candidate, has a decidedly minority view of the current Gulf oil mess. On “Good Morning America” this morning he said: What I don’t like from the president’s administration is this sort of ‘I’ll put my boot heel on the throat of BP.’ I think that sounds really un-American in … Continue reading »

What a reasonable person would do

I just heard BP will start spraying oil dispersant under water, “something that hasn’t been done before,” according to the report. Is it just me, or is everything BP tries to do to stop their oil flow “unprecedented,” “never tried before,” “experimental,” “untested at this depth,” “new,” etc. It’s almost as though no one, anywhere … Continue reading »

BP leak not bad enough to stop Shell in Alaska

Shell Oil today received permission from U.S. federal court to go ahead with their plans to drill five exploratory wells off the Alaska coasts. According to The Huffington Post: Shell’s Chukchi exploration plan concluded that a large oil spill, such as a release from a blowout, would be rare. MMS agreed and said the probability … Continue reading »

Much ado about Arizona

Arizona is getting a lot of negative publicity these days, mostly because of their recently passed anti–illegal immigration law (SB 1070 and amendment). I’ve no problem with that law and see it as little different from typical seat-belt laws — you don’t get busted for not wearing your seat belt unless you are stopped first … Continue reading »

Just a flesh wound …

… a 210,000-gallon-a-day flesh wound: Today BP finally released video of their spewing 21″ wellhead in the Gulf of Mexico. The brown effluent is oil, still flowing at the rate mentioned above. The white effluent is presumed to be gas, which dissipates as it rises. Never fear. Today BP is lowering its “top hat” to … Continue reading »

Deepwater Horizon gone, photos still emerging

I just came across these photos, reportedly of the Deepwater Horizon burning and sinking in the Gulf of Mexico (click on photos to enlarge). They were credited to a DOE employee. Even with pictures like these, it’s difficult to imagine how big the platform was, or that it could have been there at all, or … Continue reading »

Pointing fingers don’t cap wells

Surprise, surprise. Oil is still gushing into the Gulf of Mexico at the rate of 210,000 gallons a day, but the responsible parties seem more concerned with blaming each other than shutting off the oil. BP, Transocean, Halliburton — knock it off!! The only thing you should be thinking about right now is capping your … Continue reading »

Closing the barn door after the oil’s out

Most of what I know about offshore drilling, I’ve learned in the last 10 days or so, thanks to BP (British Petroleum) and the news media. And I’ve already posted several times about BP and their current oil “spill” (more like a wide-open, gushing tap) in the Gulf of Mexico. I have several questions for … Continue reading »

Facebook ‘deactivation’ does not equal ‘cancellation’

If you value your privacy, you may have decided to cancel your Facebook account. You may even think you’ve already done that by deactivating your account. If so, you’d be mistaken. It’s fairly easy to go to Facebook and “deactivate” your account. Probably because doing so doesn’t actually delete your information. It only removes your … Continue reading »

Can online banking be too secure?

In general, banks are pretty much alike. What distinguishes one from another is customer service — or the lack of it. Continue reading »

Nike ad a nasty misstep

If you live on the moon, you might not have seen or heard about the creepy new Nike ad with Tiger Woods’ dead father talking to him. That’s all it is — just a black and white shot of a solemn Tiger Woods listening to his father’s voice. Alas, Nike, has succumbed to the widespread … Continue reading »