The Egg Said Nothing by Caris O'Malley - Rave

It is not often I give two Raves in one day but this one is special. Coming on the heels of The Dharma Bums, of which Caris loaned me his copy, is The Egg Said Nothing. What do these two titles have in common you might ask? Well if I were to give the answer away completely, you would not read the book. But I will give a sneak preview, a glimpse of what is in store for you.

Had the Egg ever spoken there would not have been a story. It is the mystery of how and why the Egg appears that drives our narrator Manny through the mazes he created for himself.

Now was that compelling enough to get you to order this book?

Of course not. Let me expound some more on what's inside these 84 pages. Caris has managed to create a story that questions our existence as humans as we know it. This my friends is the link to Jack Kerouac's ideas written 50 plus years ago in The Dharma Bums. Everything is everything. The continuum is what we call life. We plod along looking for the answers. Some of us look for the answers in science, others in religions and still others in philosophies etc. There is no answer and there are many answers. Which is right and which are wrong?

Caris is much too young to have watched anything but syndicated re-runs of episodes of Rod Sterling's Twilight Zone. But inside these 84 pages is an un-aired episode of this classic show. And given Caris's penchant for horror films it is no wonder this title, The Egg Said Nothing, fills the bill.

The Dharma Bums Gets a Rave

So what exactly can I say about a classic that was first printed over 50 years ago and was credited in part to starting a revolution of sorts? Well I can say it was everything and it was nothing. Ha ha! Yes I have stolen a line from the book The Dharma Bums but I can assure you I have not attained such enlightenment as our young Bhikku. I definitely came away from reading the book with a greater sense of my place in the world. It really is a meaningless place when it comes right down to it. I will return to the Earth as I was born unto it one day. I believe that was the meaning behind the phrase it is everything and nothing. No matter what element we are in, the essential atoms and framework of our surroundings are the same but only shaped differently.

The Dharma Bums was definitely a terrific read at this time in my life. Had I read it at age 24 after reading On the Road, I might have actually turned to the road again and my life would definitely be different. I read On the Road when I started a journey across the States and it had an impact on me then. But I was caught up in my new life and didn't read the next in line.

I love how Jack Kerouac writes in the easy reading style like you are sitting together and talking or listening to his story. Enlightenment can be a different meaning to many but for me it is just the beginning. Thanks to a good friend Caris O'Malley, author of The Egg Said Nothing, I took the opportunity to read this rather than putting it on my list of to read.

My path to enlightenment has now begun thanks to Jack Kerouac writing of his life over 50 years ago. And no I have no plans on buying a rucksack and hitching. Hiking yes. Meditation yes. Read this book no matter what your religion and you will come away with a greater sense of our small world and how we all fit into the puzzle.

Blatant Advertising

Yes that is all this post is about. I know many of my friends shop through Amazon. I am an Affiliate and my family can sure use a boost. Do you love to cook? This is a time of year where the kitchen table draws the family. Here are a great selection of cookbooks at terrific fall pricing. Wow your friends and family this season.

Thank you for reading and participating on the Rave or Slam blog. Remember if you have something you want to Rave or Slam add it to the comments. You can even Slam this posting.

The Blog of Helios: Meacher the Mouse Teacher - Meet the DevTeam

The Blog of Helios: Meacher the Mouse Teacher - Meet the DevTeam

I'll say it again, I love the community that Linux fosters. The Helios Project is a living example and when the call goes out people respond.  The project's normal mission is a task unto itself. Now Ken and the team are responding for the needs of Autistic children. Someone should be creating an award for the Helios Project and all the people involved. I love to read such positive stories. This is certainly a project worthy in purpose. I wish them the best. I give the Helios Project a big rave and please visit this page and read the story. I guarantee it will move you. If it moves you enough and you are in a position to help, see the sidebar of their blog for ways to help. This is a worthy cause.

Slammin Facebook and Open Graph

Facebook has created their new system for grabbing information and it is called Open Graph. It really should scare the hell out of you what it does. And for some they don't care and I guess that's okay for them. But for me, when I close FB I want it closed. The cookie lives on  my machine just waiting for whatever goes by and forwards that to FB. If a site developer wants the information, they can get it.

Some people claim we all know what we signed up for anyway. But I beg to differ since FB doesn't do a great job of disclosure in language we can understand. I see less posts from friends than ever before. But the ads in the right column have increased tremendously. The little FB cookie never sleeps. A case in point here; when I first moved to AZ in 2003 I rented a room from someone out in the west Phoenix area. I have not had any contact with her since leaving. She and my current landlord just popped up in the right column as people I may know as friend request suggestions. How did this happen? I do have my current landlord's email in my contact list but that is on my local machine and not my FB email address. Is the cookie garnering info off my computer I don't know about? And as far as the room rented in 2003 there isn't anything on my computer about her. I have not had contact with her since January 2004. How does FB know this as a suggestion?

I have also started getting an enormous amount of threads in my news feed from Lifehacker.com. I have not been to their site in months. And for sure not on this computer since I wiped it clean a couple of weeks ago when the new hard drive was installed. But now I have more from them than from my friends. Sure I can set them to ignore but how did this suddenly happen? Think about it. The cookie for FB never dies and somewhere a site most likely referenced Lifehacker and their cookie sent the information I was on their site, Lifehacker has a FB presence, their cookie picks up on this, their database shows me as a past visitor and voila! News in my stream from Lifehacker. Can you see how it works?

I have to say right now that I am not the paranoid type who browses the web with secret proxies or on the private settings either. The web has run on cookies for a long time. I like not having to re-enter site information. I don't mind that a site gather some information such as what browser I use, OS and stuff like that. But when a site is digging for information, information from years past, information that only I should know and have never put online, then that bothers me. I want to an informed FB user and I want them to disclose before they implement.

Of course I also know my small little rant will do nothing to stop or impede FB. Nothing I do will change either except I did remove the social icons from this site and my other site Pensive Penguin. I really didn't see any traffic from them anyway. I'm small time and I know it. But that doesn't mean I can't choose.

I still will not be browsing the web in paranoia. My habits will not change. But my awareness will. I will choose when I like something or not and not have it automatically pop up in my threads. I'm all for websites making a buck. I'm trying to make a buck or two here. I know that cookies are underlying in the web platform and I accept that. What I'm not accepting is that when I log out of that website, or when I leave the website, their cookie should stop. I should not have to worry about what is tracking and what is not. This time I think FB has gone too far in  allowing any developer all access to my information at any time.

Why if I want an app does it always want access to my information? So it can work of course. But why do I not get control of what it can access? FB says I can but have you ever tried to set an apps privacy settings? Almost everything is required. And why do the apps need 24/7 access even when I'm not online? Why do they need my friends information and friends of friends? What rights do I have of releasing their information just because I like something.

Bottom line for me is this is going too far. And I don't think Google or any other social site is going to be far behind. End of rant. I hope I have at the very least caused you to think about what the web can do to garner information about you.


Update: Minutes after posting and it might still be there, this is a partial section of an ad that showed up in my Adsense tower ad.

For those who do not know, ROI is an acronym for return on investment. There is no escaping the reach of FB and developers are going to harvest everything they can about you. Everything.

Updating the Craigslist Laptop Gets a Rave

I have just ordered a new Seagate 500Gb hard drive for less than $50. Happy Birthday to me next week. It should arrive just in time.

So after this upgrade I will have a total of $159 into the laptop. Rave for the free items on Craigslist and to those who give away perfectly good laptops because they can't fix them. :)


Update: Cloned original while the new one was encased in an external USB enclosure. Used Clonzilla and was running in no time. I left the main partitions as they were and created new ones in the empty space. It is really cool to have the extra space now.

Rave Time For Gary's Automotive

We love our cars and we hate car repairs. But the two will always be together. Cars are mechanical and no matter what type or how much it cost, maintaining it is a fact we have to own.

Last week our Elantra's radiator blew a nice eight inch split on the top. This is the second one we have replaced it and each one was about the same milage. At just over 100,000 and just barely over the warranty the first one went out. This time it was about an extra 1000 miles.
 
We had it towed into Gary's Automotive in Chandler Az. We have done business with him a few times now and each time we are treated with courtesy and respect. I have not had this good of a feeling with an automotive repair facility or person in a long time. I feel he really does care about his customers instead of the big guys who just say they do.

The radiator is fixed and we are on the road again. Life is going to be back to normal once more. Thank you Gary for the fine service we have recieved.

Rave For Literature

I was reading a post from a friend's site and it got me thinking. What are my favorite books that were written at least before the turn of the 21st century? But before I reveal my list, follow the link and read the article. Then come back and read my choices. I am going to limit the list to ten of my favorites and would certainly love to read about yours. Maybe I've read a few and maybe I will read some of them? I think this will be fun so click here if you have not yet and come back after reading the short article. I promise this will be one post you will enjoy if you have a love for books.

Since I am borrowing an image to illustrate my point and create space between my post and my list, I should give the credit where it came from.

My List in no particular order:

1. Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy 1877
2. Breakfast of Champions - Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.1973
3. On the Road - Jack Kerouac 1951
4. The Good Earth - Pearl S. Buck 1931
5. Hawaii - James Michner 1959
6. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams (trilogy) 1979
7. Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevsky 1866
8. Steppenwolf - Hermann Hesse 1927 German 1929 English
9. Willard and His Bowling Trophies: A Preverse Mystery - Richard Brautigan 1975
10. Sick Puppy - Carl Hiaasen 2000 (I know it is technically just outside the 21st century depending on how you count. But this one sparked my interest in all of Hiaasen's works.)

This is my list of ten now let's see yours. The links are all from WIKIPEDIA since they have done such a marvelous job at describing each of these titles. Enjoy.

The Blog of Helios: Konnect a Kid This August

The Blog of Helios: Konnect a Kid This August

Community is one of the biggest draws for myself to Linux. I follow a blog, The Blog of Helios, which is about a project in the Austin Texas area. Their mission is to bring technology to those in need. Mainly households with children and teens in school. I have been following this project for about two years and it never ceases to amaze me the trials Ken and his small staff go through yet they continue on.
I personally am not in a position to help The Helios Project right now. I wish I were because I believe in what they are doing. But perhaps a few of my readers, friends and friends of friends can help. The word needs to go out to as many as possible to help this project meet the goals of bringing access to the Internet to these households. It is not enough to bring in a computer to a home without giving some access to the Internet. Society does not look at computers as merely number crunchers and word processors. If it isn't connected to most people it isn't useful.

If you can help monetarily that would be fantastic. If not keep spreading the word since somewhere someone can. One last thing to remember, this really doesn't ever end. August is really just another chapter for the Helios Project.

I can't say enaough about the work done here. Raves all around for Helios Project and the work they do.

Give Warren Buffet Some Rave Points

He speaks the truth in this article to the NY Times. I have watched my income decline as it goes up for the last several years. I have less and less each year and I pay more in taxes every year. State income tax and federal income tax rates keep us paying every year. I delay it until April 15th each year. I should be in a bracket where we have some deductions, like a mortgage, but without that I can't itemize a dime. The standard deductions barely covered us last year leaving me owing about $176. It wasn't always this way and we need to stand up as Americans and stop voting for those without our interests.

Okay Warren you have spoken, now use some of that business muscle and help us get this country back on track. You know more than anyone that it is middle America that keeps this country moving.

Behind the Development Banks: Washington Politics, World Poverty, and the Wealth of Nations

The Wealth and Poverty of Nations: Why Some Are So Rich and Some So Poor

Slam on Goodyear Tires, Now a Rave for Discount Tire Company

Well at least I was being treated as a valued customer for once. I never blamed Discount Tire Company for the problems with the tires. They always treated me fairly each time. But it was this last tire, number six to blow out, when they suggested to put on the new set from a different manufacturer.

I was very pleased to hear that and even happier when I was charged $0. I appreciate it when a business stands behind their work. Things do go wrong in many different situations and businesses. It is how they handle it that sets them apart. Discount Tire did an exceptional job this time and I will be giving the a shout out for the service I received. So here's the rave for Discount Tire Company for a job well done. Thank you.

I went from this to four new Pirelli tires in less than an hour. Great job!

Goodyear Tires Get a Big Slam

Take a look at this hole in the side of the tire. How would you loke this to happen to you or your family? This is the 6th tire from Goodyear of this make and model to have blown on us in the last year. Each time they develop a grapefruit or larger size balloon in the side wall and burst shortly after.

I am just thankful none of my family has been hurt or in any accidents. The actual model is the Goodyear Assurance Comfort Tread P195/60R-15. Thankfully Goodyear has pulled this model from production.

This morning I was actually getting bursted tire #5 replaced. They put the donut spare on and said they would call when the tire came in. The tire they ordered was a different model and I had it placed on the car. I drove less than two miles when this one blew making it the 6th different tire of the original model to have blown. Here is a picture of one of the earlier ones. I was able to capture the bubble before it burst.

Notice how new the tread still looks. This tire was less than 4 months old on the car when it happened. These will be the last Goodyears I ever own and I have been a faithful customer for many years.

On the first tire it didn't cost to replace but it did cost a tow. The spare was out of air even though I had asked for it to be checked when I purchased the tires. The second tire cost me around $40 in replacement fees and only after I argued for a reduction in costs. Tire number 3 cost me an extra $70 and I was pretty burned at this point. By the time tire #4 burst it cost me a whopping $135 because of tread wear and all. Today's tire #5 cost me another $25 making the grand total of 4 bad Goodyear tires over $1080. Did I get a deal or what? Thanks for nothing Goodyear and I will never buy another tire from you again and I think I have a few hundred thousand miles of driving left in me and my family.

Look for the next post to be a bit more positive on the company that replaced them today. I will reveal them later after this has had a chance to circulate.

PIRELLI P4 Four Seasons P195/60R15

(Note to readers, these are what I replaced the Goodyears with.)

Rave For Chase Bank

These days banks get a bad rap most of the time. And I admit to doling out that bad rap myself but not this time. Chase has been my bank for over eight years. Recently they caught a fraud on my card for $6.68. It was one of those tester charges and the next day I most likely would have been cleaned out.

Well Chase's fraud department stopped it cold and saved me a bundle and a hassle. Well done Chase and thank you.

Have you had your bank step in and stop stuff like this from happening? Share your story in the comments. Banks need a good word now and then.

Rave Once Again For Kurt Vonnegut's 'A Man Without A Country'

It was George Carlin who said in one of his last tours, if I may paraphrase, 'You can do anything when you get old.' His comments were a satire on a culture, us, that basically tries to put our elderly behind them  ignoring their behavior and justify it as they are simply getting old. George was 70 when he did that routine and I think that George's satire parallels that found here in Kurt's work of 'A Man Without a Country'.

Kurt Vonnegut was age 82 when he published 'A Man Without A Country'. I think he and George Carlin were thinking just alike about aging, society and our behavior. Kurt openly speaks his mind as he always has, but in 'A Man Without A Country' he tends to let it all out in his cynical and humorous methods.

What he give us in these pages is his inner thoughts on his work, on the world and his bleak vision of our species future. I can't totally agree with him on everything in this regard but it was interesting nonetheless.

George and Kurt found a way to the same viewpoints on society by very different paths. I rave and applaud both of them. Read their stories and listen to what they say especially what they say.

If someone has never read any of Kurt's work before, they should start with this title. A peek into how he feels and thinks will open the passages like never possible without these insights first. I want to re-read them all again as if I had never read them before.

Kurt Vonnegut Gets a Rave for Mother Night

I re-visited Mother Night after a 30 plus year separation. I could not appreciate the words he so carefully laid before me at the time. I had not aged enough or seen enough of the world to really grasp the depth he was crafting in those few pages. In those days I never read the preface, never glanced at the introductions and never batted an eye towards any acknowledgements be they further than the opeing pages of 'This book is dedicated to...'. I truly wish I had read them as I do now. Perhaps working for the Library has opened my eyes to allow my mind to see the meanings in these beginnings.

Kurt opens Mother Night with his account of being a prisoner of war during World War II. I had always had a feeling of the affect the war had had upon him as he visited the topic several times. But I never, sadly I admit, had enough curiosity to explore the reasons why. This is something I now regret and I am ashamed to admit. To have read as much as I have and not know who is behind the words other than their name and a few simple facts.

It is with this admission that I begin this rave, this review if it may be called by that term, of Mother Night. Kurt was an expert on the human condition. He manages to engage the reader on every page, every sentence and every well placed word in Mother Night bringing the enormous range of the human existance in clear view. Disgusting, vile, dirty, loathesome, vanity, hatred, compassion, fear, peace and loving are words that can describe Howard W. Campbell, Jr. Traits that are found in many of us at some point in our small lives.

Writing about World War II from the point of view of Howard W. Campbell, Jr., leads the reader into believing the story is true. After all we are told the story many times in history and in other mediums. Yes it is in the cover pages that all accounts and characters are fictious, but I found it very clever to begin the intro as the editor of a manuscript and giving us an account of how it came about. This lends some credibilty to the narative which I for one enjoyed as a reader. It is not an easy task to wrtie about nor easy to read the accounts of the genocide of Nazi Germany. Kurt holds back only the gruesome details leaving the reader their own memories of what they had learned whether it was in school, from books and other media or first hand accounts of those who survived. I cannot in good faith praise the actions of history but I do praise Kurt's skill at triggering my own memories both good and bad.

Our character Howard has been seemingly incoculated to the genocide around him. He knows what is going on but lives as if nothing is going on. How can that be we ask? If one thinks about the question long enough, we will arrive at the answer. We are living it just as he did in the story. Genocide is nothing new to the world but the world had not seen anything of this magnatude in what we know as modern day. But history shows us many examples of entire races wiped away from the Earth as if a bothersome fly. By no means am I condoning or trying to make light of this time in history, but more to be a messenger that genocides have been a part of the workd long before Hitler and remain so today. The very nation I call my own very nearly wiped a race of people form the sight of the Earth simply because they were not considered people. Savages, loathesome savages were what the American Indians were called and many were slaughtered. I bring this up only because it happened on the very soil where we are supposed to believe all men are created equal. Think about that for a moment and then join with me in praising Kurt Vonnegut to have the courage and skill to write about the events of World War II.

Kurt has led Howard through the war and into freedom. A freedom without feeling. A solitary confinement of peace. And as such, this peace is rewarded, as in real life, real war, the peace is broken bits, fragments of ourselves. We are exposed for forever who we truly are. Inside these pages are everything humans have longed for, fought over and died for, as does Howard W. Campbell, Jr..

If you read to discover then this is a book for you. I am glad to have returned to Mother Night after all these years and I promise not to skip the preface and inroductions ever again. In the preface for Mother Night I finally have come to realize the profound impact World War II had upon Kurt's life.

Thank you for taking the time to read my thoughts on Mother Night. Please share yours too in the comments.

Slamming Ford Fusions!!!!

New Ford Hybrid Fusions suck big time. Nice ride, all the creature comforts but it only starts via the battery system and not like a regular car. I was stuck in El Mirage and it would not start. It was like the ignition was locked. This happened to a co-worker too in another new Fusion. She was able to get a jump and get going.

Only 64 miles on this car and I needed to get towed. Wow, what happened to their slogan Quality is #1? So I sat and waited for a ride back to administration. My last day as a tech in the field and I thought it would be cool to drive the new car. The ignition indicator showed a lock on it and the battery indicator would go from the H to the L and just beep. Then the horn would sound. Great way to have your day start. I'm just glad it wasn't 100+ degrees and stuck in front of some out in the no where land. Get it right Ford.

Rave For Kurt Vonnegut's 'Little Drops of Water'

Little Drops of Water was published in the short story works of 'Look at the Birdie' by Kurt Vonnegut. I really enjoyed reading the entire collection but I came upon this title one more time by accident recently.

A couple of weeks back I was having a conversation with a librarian about what to read next. She came up with an interesting list after I supplied some of my reading interests. Kurt Vonnegut was at the top of my list and has been for some time now. We talked about his work and others I liked and some titles she thought I might enjoy. Last week she sent me an email that the library was including his early work 'Mother Night' into the library's collection. I asked her to setup a hold for me and she did so right away.

I had completely forgotten all about that conversation's details when later, that very evening, I was browsing an old copy of Harper's looking to read an article about Bill Gates. To my surprise I find 'Little Drops of Water' by Kurt Vonnegut first and I of course read it again.

Reading this title the second time around I really feel I understood what Kurt was trying to say about friendships, relationships and men versus women. He makes it perfectly clear that Larry is egotistical and not really fit for a true relationship of any kind outside of himself. But it is this very selfish quality that becomes the target of a scorned lover. She becomes determined to have him despite his bad qualities. So the struggle to win starts with each believing they will be the victor. But are they really? Did each win? Did anyone win? Or is this the way he wants us to think. After all the story starts out describing a death of a friend whom never dies.

Little Drops of Water goes a long way in a few short pages describing the human condition of wanting to be connected to someone somehow. This is definitely a must read for anyone. Fan of Vonnegut or not there is something to learn here.

Look at the Birdie: Short Fiction
Little Drops of Water

Why I Love Linux - Totally a Big Rave

Last week I was browsing the local electronics retailer's multi-page ad. I like browsing and the wishful thinking I'll buy something new. I am totally into gadgets and computers. But on the back page was no less than seven anti-virus products all sporting a cost of $0 after rebates of course. Of course when you get the product they are betting on yearly fees for renewals, updates etc.. Just imagine how lucrative the anti-virus market is. No really just imagine it for a minute ....................................................................................................................................
Okay that was long enough. The average renewal is probably $10-25 per year and upgrades for current customers are usually $25 and up. Take millions of customers and that is a ton of dough. Where is the real incentive for these companies to really protect you? I see virus activity all the time in my work and every time some anti-virus product is installed. Sure they say they want to help. They provide tech support and online forums but they really can't stop the threats 100% of the time.

That is one of the main reasons I run Linux. I really don't worry about it any longer. And I save hundreds of dollars not buying software and renewals. Something to ponder the next time one hits or you pull the credit card out for a renewal or update. For those that won't ever switch from Windows at least visit this site and download and run Secunia's Personal Security Inspector tool. It's free and they are independent of the anti-virus vendors. It will tell you where your system is vulnerable and tell you what to do. It may very well save you some serious headaches.

OnebookAZ - Code Talker

I have a personal interest in this book since I'm married to a Navajo woman and her sister's father-in-law is a Code Talker. I believed at first that it was he whom the story was being told by. It wasn't until I was well into the book that Danny Akee was mentioned and I knew then he was not the narrator.

 Joseph Bruchac encourages the reader to turn pages not with gory details of war but rather the easy conversational tone he gives the story. You find yourself pulling for the hero of the story and his Marine buddies. I will not ruin the story for you since I consider this a must read for anyone interested in WWII history and the history of the Dine people and specifically the code talkers.

ONEBOOKAZ is a program for Arizona Libraries to encourage reading. There are programs for everyone in Libraries all around Arizona. Copies of this book and the adult featured book, 'Hopi Summer: Letters from Ethel to Maud by Carolyn O'Bagy Davis', are available for free while supplies last.

I'm happy and proud to have met Dan Akee and having shook his hand. I knew then what he had done but I have even more respect for him and all the others for their courage and bravery. I salute them all and say a prayer for those who did not return.

Update: I just learned of this terrific site with an article about Code Talkers in WWI. I never knew about this. It is a very interesting read and I will be following the links too. Enjoy.


Update: I have just learned of this memoir Code Talker: The First and Only Memoir By One of the Original Navajo Code Talkers of WWII and plan to read it. I wanted to get the news out for everyone else that are interested in these stories. I'm glad to see they are finally getting told and getting the recognition they deserve.

Dealer Courtesy Cars Observation

I was driving down the freeway the other day when I noticed something odd on the rear windshield of a Toyota Corolla. It was the decals indicating it was a courtesy car for Lexus of Chandler. Hmm, Lexus luxury car, Corolla economy car, it just wasn't adding up right. Yes I'm well aware that Toyota is the big brother of Lexus. But really any Lexus model is easily 30K more than the average Toyota Corolla. This is not to say that the Corolla is a bad car but rather a statement on Lexus of Chandler obviously not willing to put their faithful customers in a like model during service. I have seen in the past BMW, and Mercedes courtesy vehicles and they were of course BMW and Mercedes. Is this a statement of our own economy? Is it just a dealership not willing to pony up for a classier model?

I personally do not own either of these cars. Nor do I plan to anytime soon. But a luxury car is supposed to be just that, luxury. And like all cars they will need some service. If it were me and they told me my Lexus was going to have to spend extra time in the shop and I was driving out in a Corolla, I would have told them who are you kidding? Lexus of Chandler definitely gets a big slam on this one for being cheap and not looking at the big picture. People buy their cars for the look and the status of owning a Lexus not a Toyota Corolla.

No Customer Service From Danny's Car Wash

I think this is a total lack of caring for their customer. Today my wife drove in to Danny's to get the oil changed and a car wash. She thought she was going to Fletcher's but since she had cut the coupon apart did not recognize the difference. Well the folks at Danny's did but never said a word to her until it was time to pay. From the beginning they accepted the coupon knowing it was not theirs. Total bill was over $52. The manager was unwilling to match the price in the coupon so she asked for the corporate phone number. They too would not do a thing to help her but only insulted her saying she knew full well where she was and what she was doing. They knew what they were doing to and should have said something at the beginning about her not having a proper coupon. Most companies would welcome new business and meet them at least half way with a discount and an apology. But not Danny's. We will never give them business ever again and I am urging all of my friends to boycott the Danny's in Gilbert too. Their total lack of customer consideration is definitely not worthy of anyone's business. And to top it off their prices are way higher than the competition's. Danny's Car Wash and their lousy service is a total slam.

Ipods - Love Them or Hate Them

Yes I own an Ipod too. And it is definitely a love hate relationship. (Can we really have relationships with inanimate objects?) It is a first generation Ipod Nano, 2gb black. I really loved it when I first acquired it too. It did not take long to wear the earbuds out. But for me I have Tinnitus or ringing ears. I have had it for more than 8 years. So for the most part my Ipod is now that gray matter between my ears. The songs rotate through the track list a bit slower and it doesn't automatically download the lyrics. In fact it is pretty poor when it comes to lyrics. Some songs it knows them well and others only the chorus if even that. :) Yesterday I seemed to only have two songs in the gray matter playlist. One I have yet to identify and the other a Janis Joplin classic rendition of "Me and Bobby McGee". The latter I had to play one time on the computer at work just so I could hear Janis and her passion in the song. Loved it. Here's a rave for Janis! I have found my first gen Nano to only increase the ringing. This leaves me with gigabytes of music and audios that go without being listened to for a long long time. The Nano just sits around waiting for its day in the sun or its final listing on eBay.

Apple iPod nano 8 GB Graphite (6th Generation) NEWEST MODEL

Tinnitus: Turning the Volume Down (Revised & Expanded)

Rave for Five Guys

Hey we all love our burgers right? But this shop does them very well. Five Guys is a burger joint where you check your diet at the door and just enjoy. Lots of toppings and fresh well cooked beef combine for mouth watering flavor. I love the simplicity of the menu, burger, dogs, fries and drinks. I've got you hungry for one now, right? Definitely a rave here but like I said, check your diet, your thoughts on cholesterol at the door and enjoy.