EvilBob's Space

I stumbled across this the other day.  It looks like I’m not the only one who thinks the guy I sourced my chopper though is a complete crook and con man.

Remember kids, Phantom Choppers Sucks!

PHANTOM CHOPPER PHUN PHACTS

I think serious consideration should be given to privatizing the mail service.  I use about 4-6 stamps PER YEAR.  I don't get ANY important mail any more (all bills, etc., are electronic) so hardly anybody else is buying postage to communicate with me.  And when I do send something of any importance, I use a private service (FedEx, UPS, DHL, courier, etc.)

Furthermore, I simply don't trust the USPS.  They are too slow and too unreliable.  I get strangers' mail in my box all the time, and I constantly am missing important letters that I am sure are getting delivered to other addresses.  It is very reassuring in an age of rampant identity theft to think that my financial statements, drivers licenses, replacement credit cards, etc., are being hand delivered to a stranger.

Do YOU (any of you) actually trust the USPS when it really matters AND you have a choice?  When was the last time you ordered something off Amazon and had it delivered by somebody other than FedEx, UPS, DHL, or whatever?  Would you trust to USPS to deliver that new flat screen?  How about your grandmother's wedding ring? 

And what about tax returns?  Do you even do it on paper any more, or do you submit your forms electronically (and why)?  If you do snail mail them, do you trust them to your mailbox or do you drop them directly at the post office just to eliminate some of the chain?  Do you trust the USPS to deliver your refund check, or do you bypass them by using direct deposit?

Even the government doesn’t see the USPS as an optimal solution.  Just as the IRS gives you the option to direct deposit your refunds, I remember years ago when Social Security had a big direct deposit campaign.  The ads depicted some little old lady returning home from the post office, gripping her check, while stereotypical black ski-capped and turtle necked hoodlums stalked her, like sharks circling in for the kill.   Hardly a vote of confidence for a fellow government agency.

The USPS is almost obsolete, but will probably never be totally unneeded.  And that means it will stick around, unprofitably, for decades to come, propped up by your tax dollars.

Could your post office be closing? - MSN Money

Laugh if you want, but I saw Jackson on his “Bad” tour in Gothenburg, Sweden.  The crowd was about 250k, no kidding, and was held in a shipyard because it was so big.  Even though I wasn’t a big fan any more at that time, my Swedish friends bought me the ticket and thought it was a huge deal.  Keep in mind that as big as Jackson was in the US, he was bigger (and stayed that way to this day) in Europe.  It was the thought that counted and I still appreciate being given the experience.

Whether or not I was a fan at the time, I could not deny a couple things:

1. He really was talented.  It’s easy to cover up a lack of talent in the studio or on TV, but not live.  And it was live, except for some blatantly (almost intentionally) obvious parts that involved some onstage illusions and choreography.  He was the real deal.
2. He worked his ass off.  That concert had to be a good 2.5+ hours long, and it was hot that day.  He sang and danced almost non-stop the whole time.  (Yes, it does get hot in Sweden.)
3. The chick (a model I guess) I was kind-of set up with for the show was hot.  She didn’t speak English, I and  didn’t speak whatever she did (not Swedish), but I was 16 and she had big boobies so I didn’t care.  She liked me because I was tall and she could ride on my shoulders to get a better view of the concert.  As my dad once said, “I don’t think my kid washed the back of his neck for a year after that.”

Bon voyage, Mike.

Singer Michael Jackson dead at 5Laugh0 - Music- msnbc.com

The President and Congress are going to have a luau.  As if there isn’t enough pork in DC paid for with your money.  Choke on that.

Obama to Host a Hawaiian-Style Luau for Congress - US News and World Report