Last Week

I said in my last blog that I'd keep you posted on my quest to change banks.  After I blew off steam here I went by to talk to my "regular" banker.  After determining that it was not he who told me it didn't matter which account, he reversed the service charge, so I'm still with Chase.  For now.  Insurance is still pending.

I also implied that in my opinion Scientology is a cult.  While I find it difficult to take a religion founded by a second rate science fiction writer very seriously, I have always tried to live by the 12th point of the Scout Law, which teaches respect for the beliefs of others in matters of custom and religion. I knew I felt this way as I was writing it but it amused me, and as I've said before if I don't amuse myself I won't amuse anyone.  I don't understand Scientology, but I don't have to.  (Perhaps Ms. Remini could explain it to me.)  I also implied that I consider the Queen of Kings hot.  That I won't retract.  Actually I just wanted to put a picture in my blog, and hers is as good as any, and better than most.

And finally, to get a picture into this blog, and give the other cats a little more spotlight, here's Boober.  My wife got up yesterday and turned around to look at the bed, and took this picture.

Looks comfy, don't he?

Sometimes when I post my blog I make corrections as I see 'em, but I never come back and add stuff.  I'm doin' it now.  I just took a look at my blog stats, and last week's is at 42 page views.  It's at #5 all time.  What's up with that?  What made that a high traffic blog?  (Picture of a cute chick, it just came to me.)  I was gonna ask how I was gettin' links from "The Tao of Bad Ass," but I guess that's why.  Nevermind.

Well, I can retire in 576 days if I don't get outsourced.  So until then, get off my lawn.

Rants

The Universe has decided that this is the week to piss me off.

AT&T is the largest telecommunications company in the universe.  They used to be the only phone company in town and they claimed they tried not to act like it.  I liked it that way.  Back in MY DAY we had one phone company.  That was it.  You wanted to make a long distance call, you got an operator and paid through the nose.  But they built the Public Switched Telephone Network.  

Then WE decided to break 'em up.  What we did was chop the long distance division down to a size that Sprint and MCI could compete with.  And we chopped the rest up into a bunch of "Baby Bells."

Then over the next few decades, like a dismembered monster in a science fiction movie, the pieces found each other, and reassembled, and the Beast Walks Again!  

But before that happened, back when my phone had a wire going to the wall, I had Bellsouth.  And Bellsouth Internet access.  And a Bellsouth email account.  Then, even though the company became AT&T once more, my email was still @bellsouth.net.  (Good for them.)

Then one day something ... peculiar happened.  I checked my email, and it was on a Yahoo! server.  You know, if I WANTED a Yahoo! email account I would have KEPT MINE BACK IN 1995!!!  But I learned to live with it.  After a while they kept trying to "upgrade" my email, but being a geek, I kept finding my way back to the old one.  Then this year I moved.  We had AT&T Uverse Internet in town, but can't get it out in the country.  But I still had my bellsouth account, and for the first time I was glad that AT&T had Yahoo! hosting their email.

Then Monday, I check my email and I get a big message saying "Today is the Day!"  My two choices are "Accept this crap" ... (okay, it was worded a little differently, but that's how I remember it) and "Manage the crap we're gonna send you."  (I think they may have put it more like "advertising selections.")  Yes, to get to my email I have to click a button that says I agree to their targeted marketing plans.  

Chase is the largest banking institution in the country.  I remember when they were Chase Manhattan.  Now they're J. P. Morgan Chase.  I've banked with 'em since they bought Bank One.  I was with Bank One since they bought Premier.  I was with Premier since I started getting a regular paycheck.  If my family hadn't moved to Texas when I was 6 I could probably say since they bought LNB.

I put some money into savings earlier this year.  They upgraded my accounts.  I put a new roof on the house.  My upgraded accounts had minimum balances so, after several discussions I managed to convince them to downgrade my accounts back to what I had.  

There are no "free" checking accounts any more, but I'm sure you've noticed that.  They're so generous with that 0.002% interest they pay us, they need to collect fees to break even I suppose.  My downgraded accounts "waive" the "service" fees if I have direct deposit.  When I downgraded, I asked if it mattered WHICH accounts the deposits went into, and was told it didn't.

Tuesday, I'm checking my balance and see a $12 "service" charge.  Because I didn't have a certain balance and a certain direct deposit into that account.  I have my entire paycheck direct deposited into Chase.  My quick estimate is that amounts to 6 times what they wanted deposited in this account.  So rather than deposit a portion of my check into savings, apparently I should deposit it to checking, then use my phone to transfer it to savings.  Makes perfect sense.

When I went to the bank to complain, the response was "I'm sorry you can't read your bank statements, you moron."  (That may not have been her exact words, but that's what she meant.)  Changing banks is a pain in the neck.  I'll let you know when it's done.

Insurance is a pain in the neck.  Changing insurance is a pain in the neck.  I moved this year.  I have too much crap.  I may have mentioned that.  I want to insure the crap I have in storage.  I contacted one agent, two months ago.  She couldn't find anyone to write a policy for that.  I got tired of waiting and called the agent I have my homeowners with.  I was told that NOBODY will write that.  I called State Farm.  An hour later I had a quote.  I also read my homeowners, and it reads that I'm ALREADY covered by that policy.  As I said changing insurance is a pain in the neck.  I'll let you know when it's done.

I have more to rant about but I'll spare you.  I'm sure you stopped reading 12 paragraphs back anyway.  Oh, but I have found one bright spot in my week:

Hot Chick Leaves Cult

I can retire in 583 days.  Now get off my lawn.

Happy Fifth of July

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed...."

Those words were approved by the Second Continental Congress 86,563 days ago.  Notice (as was recently pointed out to me) the source of rights.  Notice also the function of Government the source of its power.  I think we could all stand to read a little more about where our country came from.  I recommend here http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/charters/declaration.html for starters.  In the immortal words of Forrest Gump "that's all I have to say about that."

According to the website I use to calculate my dates, July 4, 1776 was also a Thursday.  I thought that was interesting.

I decided not to blog last week.  I also decided not to blog about not blogging.  I think I might be better off only blogging when I have something to say.  (Some might say that's the same as not blogging at all.  And they'd probably agree with the sentiment.)  I obviously didn't blog a whole lot this week either.

But I can retire in 590 days, so get off my lawn.