Minor rant thread. Post your rants o' the day here!

Ok, modern car. Stop locking my berkeleying doors when I haven't requested it. You locked me in on the way home from the grocery store, and then relocked everything in the time it took me to walk around to the passengers door for the bags.

And quit changing the radio station every time the palm of my hand rubs over those stupid buttons on the steering wheel.

speaking of ... is there anyway to stop the automatic locking of all the doors as you drive ? ( '05 Neon )

Dear Craigslist guy, quit trying to do me a favor by trying to trade me your junk instead of the cash I asked for. You say your "mint" truck is worth more than my asking price but if I can see the rust holes in your cell phone pics I dont want it. I want cash. Stop asking.

wbjones wrote: speaking of ... is there anyway to stop the automatic locking of all the doors as you drive ? ( '05 Neon )

Key cycled from on to off 4 times in 5 seconds, ending in off. push power lock button down. Chime should go, indicating change.

Or something like that.

thanks.... it is annoying as hell

dang I love this bar

berkeley you shiny happy people, state worker's comp, that have made it MANDATORY for my computer challenged MIL to use QuickBooks to write the payroll she does weekly. I hate having to learn yet another program I don't have a use for, so thank you and I hope you choke on your pencil pushing job.

Seriously, capslock? You use capslock for all of your emails and intranet IM's?

In reply to mtn:

Interesting that I've removed to caps lock from my keyboard. Like in the trash gone. Is there even a reason for it?

What kind of jackwad complains about the oil in his Civic being low and black...11,000 kilometers after we installed a used engine because you took the crank out of the last one? Maybe check the oil, halfwit.

Dear employer,

First, thank you for the 2.5 years (so far) of gainful employment. However, there are some "issues" with your company.

Thank you for stopping paying for our dental coverage, and passing the bill to us, without telling us. I'll be honest, it took me two paychecks to figure out I was $40 short, but at least a heads-up email/memo?

Why do you pay the PC-illiterate person to formulate a list of reports ("Repots") due each week when they are always 100% wrong? How is that word doc going to save me any time when she thinks it's due on the 30th when in reality it's due the 23rd?

Thanks also for pulling out of the 401K completely. At least you told us of this one (45 days after they did it). I will have fun either paying the fees that you no longer cover or eating my hat in taxes to transfer my piddly savings to some other retirement.

Also, I really like the technology junkyard that is my office. The old shredder, printer/fax/copier, and dead multi-line phone aren't very interesting, but I'm pretty sure I could charge admission for people to see the Win95, Windows XP SP1, and Win98 machines still running and the drawer full of ergo keyboards dating to the 80's.

Sincerely,

Your hardest worker since he got here

PS - Our website is still down. It's been 2.5 years. It's on the business cards. And the reports. And every single piece of documentation we send anywhere. That looks really bad.

Sounds like you folks need to spend your next $4000 of surplus to buy 15 new computers and pay some broke computer programming major to fix your website.

Javelin wrote: Thanks also for pulling out of the 401K completely. At least you told us of this one (45 days after they did it). I will have fun either paying the fees that you no longer cover or eating my hat in taxes to transfer my piddly savings to some other retirement.

not 100% sure but I think that if you roll your 401K into an IRA there aren't any taxes ... ( a regular IRA that is ... not a Roth ) ... there may be some fees with the start up ... so you should probably shop around ... but one tax deferred to another should be ok ( as long as you don't receive an actual check ... it has to transfer without you getting your hands on it, but once again you need professional help to make sure this is the way to go )

I love my fiance and think she deserves the world...

This is why I am miffed.

She is starting her 3rd day of work for this company, they haven't even DISCUSSED pay or benefits yet. She has been job hunting since she graduated in May of LAST YEAR, so she is desperate enough to overlook it. They are a startup and are massively disorganized, so its just a red flag to me right now, but COMON!

wbjones wrote:

Javelin wrote: Thanks also for pulling out of the 401K completely. At least you told us of this one (45 days after they did it). I will have fun either paying the fees that you no longer cover or eating my hat in taxes to transfer my piddly savings to some other retirement.

not 100% sure but I think that if you roll your 401K into an IRA there aren't any taxes ... ( a regular IRA that is ... not a Roth ) ... there may be some fees with the start up ... so you should probably shop around ... but one tax deferred to another should be ok ( as long as you don't receive an actual check ... it has to transfer without you getting your hands on it, but once again you need professional help to make sure this is the way to go )

You can roll a 401 into an IRA with no tax penalty as long as the money never winds up directly in your hands, i.e. 'take a distribution'. I did this with two different ones. I went with Vanguard, so far they've been pretty good. If you do take a distribution the revenooers are gonna hit you hard; whatever tax is owed plus a 10% penalty.

EDIT: Vanguard does not charge any rollover fees, that's why I went with them.

stupid motherberkeleyers that decide that because their mommies didn't love them that they need to go and shoot up a berkeleying mall in the middle of Christmas, right after school is out for the day!

followed by all of the tiny-dicked motherberkeleying gun-nuts running around waving their penis extensions in the air and screaming that they would have taken the guy out with their EDC's.

A couple of points about that BS theory:

1. Out of the 10,000 people there in an admittedly "redneck" area of the Portland Metro area, someone had to have been carrying.

2. No one engaged the guy, even after his rifle jammed.

3. Firearms are not allowed inside the mall.

4. The guy had an AR-15 with a full clip (and likely backup clips) and body armor. Do you really think your EDC would have hit an exposed point on his body while under the effects of adrenaline and the confusion of 10,000+ people screaming and running for their lives?

How about you shut the berkeley up and actually try to solve the problem at hand, which is lack of proper mental health services in the area that allow people like this to fall through the cracks and reach the end of their ropes and decide that going out in a blaze of gunfire is the proper way to get attention?

berkeleying fake-bravado, cheep beer drinking, wannabe "men" really piss me off.

was anyone aware of this man's mental illness ? had he ever been turned down for help ? do you know for a fact that that this man was ever ON the radar of the authorities and then ignored ?

Apexcarver wrote: I love my fiance and think she deserves the world... This is why I am miffed. She is starting her 3rd day of work for this company, they haven't even DISCUSSED pay or benefits yet. She has been job hunting since she graduated in May of LAST YEAR, so she is desperate enough to overlook it. They are a startup and are massively disorganized, so its just a red flag to me right now, but COMON!

That is really bad. They should work out a compensation package, like, really. It's not that hard. If I was in the startup's shoes, I would feel even more exposed than her - if she's not paid in money, she could expect an equity interest.

wbjones wrote: was anyone aware of this man's mental illness ? had he ever been turned down for help ? do you know for a fact that that this man was ever ON the radar of the authorities and then ignored ?

Many are, so I made an assumption in my rant. Can I berkeleying do that to blow off some berkeleying steam in my own berkeleying rant? Jesus, I thought that was what this thread was about. You want to argue about facts go jump in another thread.

Also if you think about the 3000+ or so homeless people (many Vietnam vets) that were bussed in from all over during the Rajneeshies attempt to take over Antelope, Oregon. Most of whom were then unceremoniously dumped into the Portland area afterward when they didn't win, you can begin to understand just how bad the mental health and public health issues were around here during the late eighties and they haven't gotten any better in the intervening decades as money has been siphoned off to pay for bike improvements, condos that do not pay property taxes, useless street cars, etc.

In other words look at the condition of our Downtown core and the areas around the light rail lines, it is the Ho-Chi Man trail of Portland. No one checks fares, street kids bring their huge bags and dogs onboard, etc. Gang bangers shoot at each other and pick fights, etc.

With that said, anyone willing to commit this kind of violence is suffering from some sort of mental health issue. Whether the cause is genetic, environmental or self-caused, it is still an issue with the mental faculties of the person pulling the trigger.

This 22 year old kid was apparently renting a room from someone close to the Mall and stole the rifle from someone he knew. However more details are coming out, but I'm willing to bet the kid had some pretty serious issues in his past that will come to light fairly soon as they dig into his past.

http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/12/12/15864523-oregon-mall-gunman-identified-sheriff-says-he-acted-alone-but-motive-unknown?lite

turboswede wrote:

wbjones wrote: was anyone aware of this man's mental illness ? had he ever been turned down for help ? do you know for a fact that that this man was ever ON the radar of the authorities and then ignored ?

Many are, so I made an assumption in my rant. Can I berkeleying do that to blow off some berkeleying steam in my own berkeleying rant? Jesus, I thought that was what this thread was about. You want to argue about facts go jump in another thread. Also if you think about the 3000+ or so homeless people (many Vietnam vets) that were bussed in from all over during the Rajneeshies attempt to take over Antelope, Oregon. Most of whom were then unceremoniously dumped into the Portland area afterward when they didn't win, you can begin to understand just how bad the mental health and public health issues were around here during the late eighties and they haven't gotten any better in the intervening decades as money has been siphoned off to pay for bike improvements, condos that do not pay property taxes, useless street cars, etc. In other words look at the condition of our Downtown core and the areas around the light rail lines, it is the Ho-Chi Man trail of Portland. No one checks fares, street kids bring their huge bags and dogs onboard, etc. Gang bangers shoot at each other and pick fights, etc. With that said, anyone willing to commit this kind of violence is suffering from some sort of mental health issue. Whether the cause is genetic, environmental or self-caused, it is still an issue with the mental faculties of the person pulling the trigger. This 22 year old kid was apparently renting a room from someone close to the Mall and stole the rifle from someone he knew. However more details are coming out, but I'm willing to bet the kid had some pretty serious issues in his past that will come to light fairly soon as they dig into his past. http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/12/12/15864523-oregon-mall-gunman-identified-sheriff-says-he-acted-alone-but-motive-unknown?lite

I was just asking ... actually in a semi serious manner.. not in a poking a stick at you manner ...

there are lots of seriously mentally ill folk out there that never even get looked at .... if for no other reason than they don't have anyone in their family/group that takes an interest ....

you are right ( and I wasn't trying to belittle that ... it obviously didn't come across) that there has been a huge loss of funds in the mental health area ... not just there ...

here in NC that has been a big verbal battle in the last 2 - 3 elections ... still not much has changed

sorry it came across in the way it did

Eliminate kickoffs....really? Just go ahead and wrap them in bubble wrap and make it two hand tap. That would please Bob Costas. Enjoy the NFL while you still have it.

Fletch1 wrote: Eliminate kickoffs....really? Just go ahead and wrap them in bubble wrap and make it two hand tap. That would please Bob Costas. Enjoy the NFL while you still have it.

I doubt anything would make him happy.

But back to the NFL, I too thought WTF. They have fought for years to strike a balance between playing offense/defense. This is why you see the line where you kickoff varying over the last few years. The kickers are better then years past. I believe if they want the action, eliminate the touchback/tackle in the endzone for a safety unless kicked out of the endzone and you have to make a play towards the ball and advance it towards the kicking team. Or to put it another way, you can't just stand around and let the ball hit and roll out of bounds for the touchback. Make special teams mean something again.

The proposal I read said that were going to replace a kickoff with a 4th and 35 from the 20 so the kicking team could try and go for it (like an onside kick) or punt. The idea is that punts aren't as injury-prone as kickoffs.

I do wonder why they keep trying to berk with the rules though. I mean c'mon, 16 teams in the playoffs?!?!?

My rant o the day is I couldn't sleep a damn wink last night and so far I have worked double my normal hours this week and I am going in for more now. I fully expect to be face down on my desk asleep before noon.

My rant for today.... Being asked to make a red velvet cheesecake I can not eat. Oh well, the things you do to stay out of the doghouse and keep that plush pad in the henhouse.