A Good Point Of View From An Old Friend

FIrst of All this post is very long but please it is well worth reading.......

I had gotten into a bit of a discussion about Obama with an old friend of mine (Ken Jones) on Face Book One of my biggest fears with Obama is "Will he really up hold this county's Christian Values and moral standards?" My fear contrary to what some of you who read my blogs think is not "race" based I question Obama's believe system that is really my only fear of the man. (Well that and there is no way in hell we are going to be able to pay for his health care plan.) But thats another can of worms. Any way my question to Ken was this: "Do you really think that Obama will up hold this country's Christian values?"

For the record Ken is a Seventh-day Adventist so his view is of course from that of an Adventist.

And so a direct quote from Ken's replies on the topic of "Will Obama up hold this country's Christian Values."

Hey, re-read my post, I never said "you" or certainly wasn't attacking you, I was talking about the various fear based "talking points" that have been rolled out by the Republican machine. I certainly respect your opinion and your willingness to keep an open mind, so let me address your core question. How can a Christian, or furthermore an SDA, vote Democratic? I've given this a lot of thought personally, and I have a couple of opinions. 1) Neither party provides a completely compatible platform for SDA's, to me, our beliefs would most accurately line up with that of a conservative democrat or a liberal republican. I personally could be classed as either one.
My problem with the Republicans is that as an SDA we tend to value highly the separation of church and state, (or as some say, church and hate, lol). The GOP right loves to blur this line, by trying to legislate things I don't believe support the example Jesus left at all. The whole mix of the flag, our founding fathers, and Jesus is very uncomfortable if you really look at how our country was founded. Was it really some mandate from God? Built on the backs of slaves and stolen from the Native Americans?? But I digress....lets just say that the way Jesus chose to become a CHANGE agent did not involve legislation or working with the politicians of the day. He showed general disdain for these political structures, actually.
2) SDA's support LIFE. This makes the abortion stance of the Dems incompatible, no doubt. By the same token, the abortion issue is not the only flagrant disregard for the sanctity of life. The way the Repubs tend to be war hawkish, to be ready to send troops into harms way with little regard for diplomacy or their being a just cause is definately troubling for me! The Repubs tend to have this nationalistic flair that smacks of the Ugly American other countries loathe. The unilateral attitude sucks and won't work in this complicated world. We need allies!

....and this means more than just trying to buy or strong arm cooperation. This for us or against us crap! THAT is not diplomacy, but those overtones continue to reverberate through the GOP. Again, I digress...my point is the death tolls from a pointless and unjust war in Iraq I find hard to stomach. And I'm not just talking about American lives. I'm talking about Iraqi children whose daddies are not coming home, needless casualties. If we go to war, it needs to be for cause, for a just cause. Repubs carry that "the poor are usually that way b/c they're lazy" mentality. The Bible is clear about how a just society should treat the poor. I'm a social worker. I know what welfare pays. I talk to people all the time who have to choose between accepting welfare for their children, or fighting through barriers to land a min. wage job which won't even pay for daycare and food, so they make a "business decision," and stay on welfare so that they can spend time with their kids and scrape by. Is the system abused at times? Sure. But while we're talking about abused systems, shall we compare to the system which led to this billion dollar bailout?? At least when people abuse welfare, it doesn't lead to economic collapse!! But the Repubs don't want to make that comparison....Basically, I find the religious right extremely hypocritical, and most of the time I'm embarrassed by the way the misrepresent the Jesus I love. So here's my shocking statement.

I believe Jesus would be a Democrat!!! He was a liberal to the leaders of his day! He was definately not a conservative! He wrecked their traditions, hung out with pimps and hoes, partied with sinners and those who's sexual identity didnt sit well with the religious elite, He plucked grain on the Sabbath, and healed in the temple. These acts were heresy to the religious right of the day! He was a radical. Plain and simple.

And we haven't even talked about his treatment of the poor. It definitely wasn't an attitude of economic Darwinism. So my point is, from a Christian standpoint, I have NEVER understood the so many SDA's completely back a party which one day will be behind the total erosion of separation of church and state. There is a natural tension for SDA's in either party. We are faced with a decision between the lesser of two evils. I can be a pro-life Democrat, which is the position I've chosen because to me pro-life also means how we treat the less fortunate.
As for your Obama's comment about spreading the wealth, which was way taken out of context, I would only ask Christians to consider the early church in the book of Acts, where the people sold all and gave it to the apostles, who redistributed to all so that noone was wanting. Noone wants to talk about that, b/c it sounds like the S word, and we all know that Jesus founded this country on Capitalism, didn't He? Or is capitalism even Biblical??

Ken thank you very much for your point of view and your insight on Obama. You made a very clear point here I don't know that you will sway my vote by this but it was a good point none the less.

Disclaimer: I have not been a practicing Christian of any kind for MANY years to many to count really (although I have been to church more in the last year then I have in the last 15 years.... Thanks to Amy Kreismanis) well and maybe a Godly power :)

with that said though I do believe that it is important for Christians to have a voice in the country and I am just scared that "Christians" are losing the fight. And I really believe that we DO need the Christian point of view.

Well Winter Might Be Here

Well here comes the cold weather or is it that it is already here. As I sit here and listen to the wind blow and the bay doors here in the shop make noise as the wind hits them. The one thing that I notice with the cold weather more then I used to years ago. My lips are already chapped I have taken notice over the last few years that my lips become chapped much more easily then they ever used to and it only happens with the cold weather. Or is it the heat? that is used in the house? I have no idea.... But I think it must have something to do with age I'm not old by any means but why did chapped lips not ever happen to me years ago? Can any one answer that?

I hate using things like chap stick I don't like the way it feels. Just one of the things that reminds me sometimes that I might like to live in a warmer place.

I Wanna Be A Cool Avatar.........

If you don't play Second Life you will not really understand how funny his song is. But if you have done some reading on Second Life or seen some things in the news about it this song might make sense. Enjoy........ I thought it was time for something funny

Friday Rant - Oil Changes do not cut it

Well today has been one of those Fridays I would care not to relive. My blood pressure I am sure is a good bit higher then it should be and I am about at wits end and ready for 5:00pm.

Let me start by saying this I work in a "Automotive Service & Repair Shop" we are NOT a "Quick Lube Center" If all you are going to let me do to your vehicle is oil changes please go to a quick lube center don't do me any favors.

Oil changes alone DO NOT pay our bills nor do they pay mine as an employee of our shop. As a matter of fact with the ever rising cost of oil and other supplies our shop takes a loss on oil changes.

We do oil changes as a vehicle maintenance and a service to our regular customers that spend thier money here on other things like Brake Repairs, Exhaust Repairs, Suspension, repairs, & other vehicle break down repairs. the list goes on and on. The only thing I do not really push here as a service manger is tires. We are not a tire dealer there for our tire prices are not in line with the big tire stores so I do recommend to people that they shop else where for tires in some cases.

The stories that caused this:

#1. Customer called wanted to drop his car off for an oil change fine I said bring it in.....

So the customer brings in the vehicle >I pull up the information and I see the last time it was in was 10,000 miles ago & we had 5 yes 5 recommendations of needed repairs that at the time they told me they could not do. ok fine. >So we pull the vehicle in they are 7,000 miles over due on the oil change. >And it still needs the 5 recommendations plus two more!! DO you think they elected to do any of the needed maintenance? NO! Sorry if I sound harsh I don't want your business if all I am getting is a $30 or $40 oil changes everytime you come in. Again go to the Quick Lube place across the street!

#2
This customer flat out lied to me.......

This customers car broke down and would not start so they had it towed in. When this vehicle got here I pulled up the information and saw the last time it was in that it had a coolant leak. What is called the intake manifold was leaking coolant. My note at that time was the customer said they were going to bring it back to have it fixed. YES I have notes on my recemmendations as to what the reason the repairs were declined.

The tech was looking at things and low and behold the coolant is/was low and the intake is still leaking. I called the customer about the other issues they were having and I also told them that the intake was still leaking. Reply "I had that fixed" I said "Well if you did you need to bring me the recipt so I can see what they did cause you are still having issues." I said "Who did it?" They said "Ah..... I don't remember" Hello and intake repair is at least $1,000.00 You don't remember where you spent the $1,000.00???????? It flat out has not been done its like telling a dentist you brush when you don't. He can tell you haven't

The only other answer here is that another shop charged for work they didn't do but that's why I asked to see the invoice from the other repair shop so I could confirm the work they were charged for is done.

Bottom line is here profit is not a dirty word we are here to make money and pay our bills and in turn we provide you the customer with a safe dependable vehicle. Now I will agree there are shops out there that like to take you for a ride. I assure you if I tell you you need something you need it. It does me no good to lie about what your vehicle needs. It will come back and bite me in the ass if I do that.

It just blows my mind that people would sooner go out and drop $3,000.00 on a new LCD TV or $100.00 for dinner out then put $300 or $400 into their car at anyone time.

Edit: fixing a car that is paid for is cheaper then buying a new one ever 4 -5 years even if the repairs are starting to cost you some money. $1,000.00 every 6 months is cheaper then a car loan at $300.00 - $500.00 a month

I Agree

Story:

And older guy came in this morning and here is how our conversation went....

Dan >"How are you?"

Customer >"I'm ok but I wish people would stop talking about the election."

Dan >"Why is that?"

Customer >"It don't make a damn who's in there its going to be fucked up either way."

I agree with this man 100% Either way this thing goes comes Nov. we are in a heap of crap!

Why?

Well here is an interesting story for the day. The background we have a "sever" at work that stores all our POS and shop management software. And even though I'm not really an IT guy I know how the system works I know how to fix things when they are not working on our computer system. We have three computers and they all feed off of the "server" Including my workstation at the write up area. So this morning I am working away we had a few cars here so I had some estimates to work up. Well to do this I need to get into "The Labor Guide"> on the "Server" it is simple really point > click > it opens up. Well rather then it opening this morning I get an error saying "The Shop Key Parts and Labor Guide is not installed on this machine. Please call ###-###-####." (Thinking to myself ah......... I just used it 5 min. ago WTF?) SO I start doing some checking........ After many checks I found that the "data path" had changed ie. where the computer looks for the information. The server drive is "Z" on our system it was looking for the info on my local machine's Drive "C" Now I didn't change anything how did it change itself and within a few min. time? Is it a virus? I don't think so Norton has not picked anything up.

Just some stupid things that make you go hmm.. LOL

I must be stupid......

Today Foxnews:

WASHINGTON — The Federal Reserve announced Tuesday a radical plan to buy massive amounts of short-term debts in a dramatic effort to break through a credit clog that is imperiling the U.S. economy.

The Federal Reserve will buy "commercial paper," a short-term financing mechanism that many companies rely on to finance their day-to-day operations, such as purchasing supplies or making payrolls.

Call me stupid and while its true I am not one to talk about managing money. The way I understand this is. Companies sometimes barrow money short term ie. as little as 24 hours up to weeks at a time to fund their day to day operations. And part of the issue with this credit mess is these options are not out there right now for the companies that run their operations this way. Thus the Fed. is taking steps to try and open those short term credit lines up to these companies again.

I liken this type of loan to what us private sector folk call a "Payday Loan" My boss is not only my boss he is a good friend of mine we were talking about this. We have been in business 5 years he is the sole owner of our company and NEVER once taken out a loan to pay payroll or buy day to day supplies. His response to companies taking out short term loans is "Well they are not managing their cash flow right in the first place!"

Now we did agree that there are just times when some companies depending on the industry they are in need a loan to fund their day to day operations. But as a rule we both think it is crazy that any company of any sizee would have to take out a loan for a term as short as 24 hours.

Most companies already have agreements with their venders that let them buy goods on what is call a "net 30" or "net 15" account ie. Companies have up to 30 or 15 days to pay for items they have bought from venders with out interest. So over that I am not sure what the need for these short term loans is. Who knows maybe its not that simple. But I think the goverment is putting their hands where they don't belong.

Wells Fargo To Buy Wachovia With Out FDIC Help

I saw this story this morning I have my bank accounts with Wachovia so needless to say I have been keeping an eye on what happens with them. This story in and of itself makes me think that just MAYBE we don't need the government to put their hands into everything we don't need them to come in and save the economy . The first deal of Citi to over take Wachovia included the FDIC's help in that Citi wanted the FDIC to take on some of Wachovia's massive outstanding debt. The new deal between Wells Fargo WILL NOT COST THE FDIC OR THE GOVERNMENT A DIME! And thats how it should be I say kudos to Wells Fargo for stepping in and saving the day with out the FDIC's help.

Of course Wells maybe thinking that this bail out bill will pass and they will be able to pass off some of the massive debt they have picked up I don't know. We will see how things pan out

Credit Foxnews:

Wells Fargo one-upped Citigroup on Friday by unveiling a $15.1 billion deal to acquire all of Wachovia.

The Wells Fargo offer (WFC: 35.16, -1.54, -4.19%) supersedes Citigroup’s (C: 22.50, -0.50, -2.17%) offer to acquire Wachovia’s (WB: 3.91, +0.36, +10.14%) banking operations with help from the government.

If approved by regulators and Wachovia shareholders, the all-stock deal will give Wachovia shareholders 0.1991 shares of Wells Fargo common stock in exchange for each share of Wachovia.

Wells Fargo said it will acquire all of Wachovia’s businesses and obligations, including its preferred equity, indebtedness and banking deposits. Boards of both Wells Fargo and Wachovia signed off on the deal.

Wells Fargo, which has managed the credit crisis better than many of its rivals, said it expects to incur $10 billion in merger and integration charges from the deal.

To help pay for the deal, Wells Fargo said it plans to raise $20 billion in a common stock offering.

“We at Wachovia have great admiration and respect for the people and businesses at Wells Fargo and we are extremely pleased to join forces with this outstanding company,” Robert K. Steel, president and CEO of Wachovia, said in a statement.

The Wells Fargo offer is a big setback for Citi, which had agreed to swallow Wachovia’s banking operations in a government-assisted deal worth $2.1 billion of Citi stock.

At the time, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. said Wachovia “did not fail.” The FDIC said its assistance was needed to avoid serious adverse effects no the economy and came after consultation with President Bush and Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson.

Citi’s shares had soared since it announced its bid as the combined banking operations would have created a U.S. retail bank with $1.3 trillion in deposits or 9.8% of the U.S. market.

It was a sweetheart deal for Citi as the government agreed to share in losses on Wachovia’s loans. At the same time, Citi announced a $10 billion common share capital raise and plans to slash its dividend to 16 cents.

Prior to Citi’s rescue of Wachovia on Monday, reports swirled that Wells Fargo was very much in the hunt to acquire Wachovia.

“This agreement represents a compelling value for Wachovia shareholders,” said Wells Fargo Chairman Dick Kovacevich. “It provides superior value compared to the previous offer to acquire only the banking operations of the company and because Wachovia shareholders will have a meaningful opportunity to participate in the growth and success of a combined Wachovia-Wells Fargo that will be one of the world’s great financial services companies.”

Kovacevich added, “And, of course, this agreement won’t require even a penny from the FDIC.”

Wells Fargo said Wachovia Securities will keep its headquarters in St. Louis, Missouri. Also, three members of Wachovia’s board will join Wells Fargo’s board.

The Wachovia-Wells Fargo merger comes after a month of extreme turbulence on Wall Street that saw the demise of countless banks and shot-gun marriages of almost as many.

Amid a worsened credit crisis, the government allowed Lehman Brothers (LEH) to file for bankruptcy, gave an emergency $85 billion loan to insurer American International Group (AIG: 4.00, +0.05, +1.26%) and nationalized mortgage giants Fannie Mae (FNM: 1.56, -0.10, -6.02%) and Freddie Mac (FRE: 1.80, -0.09, -4.76%).

At the same time, Merrill Lynch (MER: 27.40, +0.70, +2.62%) sold itself to Bank of America (BAC: 36.37, -1.76, -4.61%) and JPMorgan Chase (JPM: 49.85, +0.60, +1.21%) acquired the deposits of Washington Mutual (WM: 0.16, +0.00, +0.00%) after the savings-and-loan became the nation’s largest banking failure ever.

What is wrong with people?

Florida Rep. Alcee Hastings on Wednesday warned two minority groups to beware of Sarah Palin because “anybody toting guns and stripping moose don’t care too much about what they do with Jews and blacks.”

What is wrong with people? This is why we still have a issue with racism in this country... And that asshole is holding a public office with those kind of views

Edit: and it figures this guy is black......... And you better believe if a white guy said something off about Obama there would be a holy up roar.

After 2 months of worry & $65.00

Most all of my family that reads my blog knows this story but I will tell it for those that have not heard it.
So above as you can see I have a spot on my right foot this "Spot" as I call it as near as I can remember has been there for at least ten months to a year. I never thought anything of it just keeping a little bit of a watchful eye on it and making sure it didn't change or get bigger. Then the day came..... What day is that you might ask? Well it was the day of the family get together (the day was July 11th) when my cousin Sandy was in town. Of course we spent all day outside and I had gotten in the pool so I had been walking around with out my shoes on and we were sitting there talking and someone saw this "spot" on my foot. And said "What is that?" I said "I don't know it never hurts itches or anything like that so I am not worried about it." Well everyone started saying "Well you need to go get that checked out!! it could be bad...."

Well to try and make a long story short almost from that point forward I started worrying about this stupid spot I looked at it 2 and 3 times a day and I started telling myself "there is something wrong its getting bigger." Well one thing leads to another I made an appointment with my regular Doctor that I needed to have anyway. And he tells me well its nothing to worry about I am sure but I need to send you to a dermatologist. So I got in to see the dermatologist yesterday and I am happy to report that after all this worrying about this spot and another $65.00 for an office visit (I have insurance but it has a high deductible) That it is a freaking bruise!! Well he had some long name for it but basically it is a deep bruise that in most cases he said will not go away.

I guess it is better to be safe then sorry but its just one of those things until I talked to about 15 other people about it I was sure it was nothing to worry about. :)

Everyone have a great rest of the week!

Dan

Never forget 9/11/01

Lets all take a second today to remember the families that lost loved ones on this day seven years ago.

Edit: just wanted to post a link here to a friend of mines post here

September 11th -Let us never forget

I know we still have another day until September 11th but I had some time to go ahead and write about this so I thought I would. I can not even put into words the pain I feel for all the families of people who died on that day. I will never forgive or forget what those terrorist did on that day. They killed way to many people to be met with peace. I hope that everyone that had a hand in putting those attacks together on that day die a VERY slow and painful death. Although some have already died and died to fast. Its to bad they did not suffer for years like some of the families here have had to doI took this picture when I was in New York City in 2005 I wanted to go see "Ground Zero" On a wall in the WTC subway station they have things like this picture all along the one wall. Nothing has really ever moved me as much as seeing that.

Anyone in this country after what happened on that day can say "Peace no War" is out of their mind. We DID NOTHING TO those terrorist that attacked us on that day. It was an unprovoked attack! While I will agree to a point with some people that the USA has over stepped their reach in some ways around the globe. Still all and all that attack was uncalled for on so many levels. And to say we should sit back and not worry about it is out of control!

I just hope we all remember September 11th 2001 on this September 11th 2008 and just think about the "what if" Would you feel the same way about things if you had lost a family member in the attacks on that day. I doubt that anyone who lost loved ones on that day thinks we should have sat back and done nothing after the attacks.

Edit: 09/10/08 fix spelling errors

Coney Island to Close

NEW YORK — When reports circulated over the weekend of a last-minute deal to keep Coney Island's historic Astroland amusement park open for another year, owner Carol Hill Albert was not amused.

Indeed, her tone was bitter as she described plans to close the park Sunday night in lieu of an agreement with the city or with private developer Thor Equities, which have competing plans for the 3-acre Brooklyn site.

"Despite rumors to the contrary, there are absolutely no negotiations going on, and there never were," said Albert, whose family has owned Astroland for more than four decades.

The park would close permanently, she said. Late Sunday night, visitors were herded out of the park and the lights were shut off for the last time.

The Cyclone, the famous Coney Island roller coaster, and the 150-foot-tall Wonder Wheel, a Ferris wheel, are separately owned and landmarked by the city so they are unaffected by the closing.

News that Sunday would be the last gasp for Dante's Inferno fun house, 22 other rides and three arcades drew hundreds of nostalgia-minded visitors, including elderly residents of the beach area and families with children who had never ridden on the Tilt-A-Whirl or the Water Flume.

Bobby Salony said bringing his wife and their daughters from Greenwich, Conn., was a kind of "unfinished business."

"We had to come in and have one more time (at Astroland)," Salony said. "Twenty years from now, they can say they were here on the last day."

On a nearby sidewalk, Amos Wengler strummed a guitar and sang a tune he wrote for the occasion: "Save Coney Island, don't let them take it away, and the whole world wants it to stay."

Wengler was one of a few who said they felt there was "still hope" that Astroland would not disappear. Even if a developer takes over, "you can always make it the same again," he said.

Last fall, Astroland and Thor Equities, which owns 11 acres of seaside property that includes the amusement park, agreed to a one-year lease extension that expires Jan. 31, 2009.

Albert said Sunday that she had sought since June to negotiate an extension with Thor through 2010 but was repeatedly told the company had "no answer." Her spokesman, Joe Carella, said Albert decided to close Astroland when it was clear that Thor had no intention of negotiating with her.

Thor spokesman Stefan Friedman said the firm was "extremely disappointed" that Albert had "decided to give up on the future of Coney Island" with several months remaining on her lease.

The Daily News reported that Astroland's rides were already being offered for sale on the Internet, with prices ranging from $95,000 for the merry-go-round to $199,000 for the bumper cars.

I picked this story up from the fox news web site. I have never been to Coney Island but have seen pictures and heard about it. I just think its a shame that a decades old amusement park is closing.

You Would Think I Would Know better

So most of you that read this blog know Amy we spend a good bit of time chatting online or playing around in Secondlife. But when we can't get into Secondlife we play a Yahoo Game called Literati (Scrabble) Now who am I kidding LOL have any of you seen my blog you know I can't spell worth a crap. What would make me think I could play a game that has to do with spelling words correctly and win. Well tonight started out very different.
I don't know if you can see in this screen shot or not but dandoylesl is me and I am ahead! At the start of the game tonight I was ahead! It was worth taking a picture of cause I bet it never happens again. And have no fear Amy was still able to pull ahead and beat me as always. Good game Amy! :)

Everyone have a great week!

Dan

Edit: You can click on the Picture and it will blow it up bigger

Time Flies but are we having fun?

I did not think I would ever think about this. But I have talked to a few friends about this of late & I just got a reminder about it again this morning. Man I am getting old! I guess its like a doctor I am starting to see the "Kids cars" Who's parents had cars that we worked on years ago! The kids that were in middle school a few years ago are now driving off to college and have car issues of their own. It is just a reminder and or a slap in the face that time stands still for no one. We age if we want to or not.

Things I Take Notice Of

My dad helps with a butchering at a community club in Burkittsville Maryland. The club is called the Ruritan. Once a year I guess as kind of a "thank you" to the people that help with this butchering. They hold a picnic of sorts lots of great hot food and people also bring in desserts. Its great food and great fellowship in a small community. I had the chance to go with dad last night to the picnic. I remember going to events for kids at this club years ago when I was a kid. The funny thing is last night I saw allot of people there that I remembered they just looked much older LOL as I am sure I did to them as well. Of course the flip side of that is I am also blown away by the amount of people that remember who I am and I sometimes have no clue who they are. LOL I seem to be very bad at remembering people whom I knew years ago and haven't seen in a long time.

One other thing that I noticed while I was there before everyone got their food they had a PRAYER! I thought that we as Christians had lost our right to do this in public. I can't believe they still do it or have not gotten sued by someone who says they can't do that. I mean after all they took prayer out of schools........ But then maybe the catch is this was a "club" dare I say private club I'm not sure it is classed as private but it may be.

I'm not saying that praying before a meal is bad don't misunderstand me. As a matter of fact it is a good thing I think its great that they still do this. I was just taken back a step or two when they did. In this time of having calls to remove "Under God" out of the pledge and "In God We Trust" off our money. Maybe there is hope for us yet although I doubt it. Christians seem to be becoming a minority in the USA. Or maybe its that they don't make as much noise for their rights as the many other religions.

Look to your left Lots of new goodies

Hi all I hope this post finds everyone having a good start to a new week. I have been playing around with some things on my blog. if you look to the left you will see I have added a map that show where people have been viewing from also you can set up an RSS feed & lastly I have added snapshots of other blogs that I read from time to time... So check them out.

Have a good Monday

Dan

Something funny for today

I saw this in a forum I goto from time to time I thought it was funny......

"Don't you know how many brain cells alcohol destroys? " she said. I didn't reply, I was too busy trying to remove the spoon I had somehow managed to get stuck up my nose....

Gone to the movies but they are cash only

So I had been talking to Amy about this movie "Step Brothers" She had gone to see it so this weekend I thought I would have to go check it out she had told me it is so stupid its funny. Well she was not wrong I laughed during the whole movie. I mean it was so stupid and so far out there you could not help but laugh. Anyway thats my movie review go see it if you want a good laugh.

Now that brings me to the title of this blog. I was looking for show times Saturday afternoon I found a time that was early in the day 1:00pm at an older theater in Hagerstown. Its called Hagerstown Cinema 10. For those of you that know the area this was one of Hagerstown's first what I would call mega-plex theaters. Also on the same lot is where a drive-in theater once was And to this day I believe they bring in a portable screen and show drive-in movies there or they did that may have been one of the many prior owners.

Anyway I thought well how nice I will go check this place out it has been in the paper many times in the last few years because for a time it closed down and some new owners came in and opened it back up. So I set out on my way out Leitersburg Pike (a few miles outside of Hagerstown to the location of the movie theater I pulled up to the building you could tell that it was older the parking lot is huge I assume that is because it used to be part of the old drive-in that was there. When I pulled up at about 12:40 (yes 20 min. early Im always early) There was only maybe 6 cars in this huge parking lot. I walked up to an outside box office..... And said "I'd like one ticket for Step Brothers please." She said "ok $5.00" I got out my Visa check card and put it down on the counter and she said "Sir we only take cash" I was almost thrown into shock LOL after all this is 2008 you mean people still use cash? I mean I didn't get nasty but I said "Well that won't work I don't have cash." She replies "Well you still have time to drive back into town and get cash." As she smiles..........

So I said "thank you" And as I was walking back to the car I thought well why not its saturday afternoon and I don't have anything to do let me go back towards town and find an atm and come back out here. So I did I got cash making sure to have enough not only for my ticket but also I needed enough to buy the buttery popcorn and a drink. So I got back to the theater and walked up to the box office and got my ticket. The girl says to me "Your going to be the only one in that movie so far." I then walked inside and there was a huge open area with some pool tables and video games you could tell it had been redone.

I got my popcorn and drink that I also paid cash for LOL and set off to look for screen 10. I found it went inside, it was as I remember theaters being when I was a kid. That is to say much smaller in size then most of todays theaters also not as plush as the newer ones. You could just tell the decor was much older. I sat down there was no music playing and there were no ads playing on the screen. I was sitting towards the back and show time was growing near I heard a noise from behind me up in the air I looked back and it was a person in the "projector room" getting the film ready to go I assume.

(Thought to self have I gone back in time about 30 years I mean old late 1970's early 80's decor, cash only and now! There is a real life projector up there with film for showing the movie! This has got to be the twlight zone)

So the previews started I still hear noise coming from what I now know is the projector room you could HEAR the projector running!!! Also once it had started the guy up there opened the glass window in front of the projector to listen for a second I assume to hear if the sound was ok or what not. LOL

All and all the movie I saw was a trip, the popcorn was the best I have had in a long time. Note: when I ordered the popcorn the girl that filled the bag filled it half way added butter then filled it the rest of the way and added more butter. And she did ALL that with out asking! I hate movie theater popcorn sometimes cause they always just put the butter on top and dont mix it in so when you get to the bottom there is no butter.

I can not stress this enough people I know from reading things about this place in the paper this theater is another victom of the bigger is better mind set. This is not a big corperation like Hoyts
or Regal Cinema its a few guys or a small corperation trying to make a living in the movie theater business. I do believe there is a place for the big Wal-marts of the world but lets not forget the little guy who may not always have the big and best place for you to go but has a family just like you that he is trying to take care of. My hat is off to the guys that are trying to make a go of this theater they for sure are not in it for the money. I for sure will be back there again! with out a doubt!


Have a great day everyone!

Names For Microsoft - Couldn't help it

So being new to Ubuntu (another operating system for your computer) I spend a good bit of time looking around in "help forums" They are allot of help sometimes and help me get things rolling when it comes to using Linux and Ubuntu.

There are also some funny things I have found. ie. Hard core Linux users do NOT like Microsoft, Bill Gates, or anything to do with Windows.

I thought it would be funny to post some of the other names I have seen for Microsoft and or Windows.

• Windblows
• M$soft (My guess is the $ is for the fact that Windows costs so much and Linux is free)
• Microshaft (Again I think this has to do with the amount of money you have to spend on Windows)
• Windoze
• The other OS
• Micro-sith
• Bill The Snake Gates
  

These were just a few but I am sure there are more I like Windblows myself LOL
of course there are the people in the Linux community That don't think it is a good idea to make fun of Microsoft or Windows but I say hey they are big boys they can handle it.

Everyone have a great day
D

Not always a good idea to say what comes to mind

While I thought this was very funny it may not always be a good idea to say the first thing that comes to mind. And the story

Morning phone call from Amy

Amy:"Good morning"
Dan:"Good morning"
(Shortened for time)
Amy:" We didn't have power this morning so I could not put my make-up on or anything.
Dan: (split second thinking to self)
Dan: "Well boy I bet you will scare the kids at school today!" (laughing uncontrollably)
Dan (Thinking boy that was funny but I think it might have been a bad idea to say it out loud)

Amy:"Well then I bet you scare everyone everyday!"

Everyone have a great day

Dan

Oh and one more thing Happy hump day!

Just some rambling

Well it has been awhile since I blogged so I thought I would just ramble a bit. There is nothing really of any importance in todays post.

As many of you know I play around a good bit with the MMPOG - Secondlife there are so many things you can do in Secondlife and really its not just game play there is really lots of interesting things you can do. Like listen to live music (I know you can do that in RL) (Real life) too. However allot of the singers that sing within Secondlife are not your typical mega stars that you would hear on the radio. I would highly recommend if you have the time to check it out you can get a free account on their web site. One of the things that I have been messing with in the game is taking pictures yes you can take pictures if you are good they can be very stunning . Along with taking those pictures I have been using some photo editing software called Gimp. I have been messing with adding layers and boarders to the pictures I take. In turn I am hoping that this will also help me make the pictures I take in RL better. Some of the pictures I havve taken within Secondlife are:



The photo on the top was taken in Secondlife the only thing I added using Gimp was the Lens Flare (sun reflection) & the pink boarder
The photo second one down (is me as a dragon in Secondlife) I added a lens flare and boarder to that one as well
The photo third one down is Moriah Cosmos (Amy) In Secondlife
The photo at the bottom is me again (yes I have hair in Secondlife) LOL
Thats why its called Secondlife you can look however you want.

I am also staying a little more busy at work then I had been and on the home front I am still trying to get everything working with Ubuntu. I have gone through great pains switching my operating system on my home computer from Windows to Ubuntu but it is worth it each week I get something else working and break two more things LOL. Oh and one more link before I am done for those that want to know why I would go through the pain of trying to use Ubuntu see the site "Why Linux is Better"

Edit: I will say this before someone tries Secondlife and says to me "Hey my Secondlife does not look like that when I log in!"

If you want to get even close to the type of clarity, video, and water refections in the pictures above you need a high end graphics card and a high end PC to be able o have the kind of experience in Secondlife thats in these pictures.

God's Will ???????????

I was talking to someone today about one of our customer's that died of cancer the other week. And it made me want to bring up this question. That I have often asked but don't think I have ever heard answered to my satisfaction.

This person made the statement about the one who died (I have heard many Christians use it)

"Well it was God's Will"

Now wait just a second here this is where all kinds of red lights go off for me time and time again.

"The wages of sin is death" So how is the death of a person, the loss of another persons loved one the pain that someone is put through from losing another..... How is any of that God's will?

It is my contention that it is never God's will that someone die.

Anyone is free to offer their opinion on this subject. But I already have heard the standard christian tag line........ "They are only dead in body if they are saved they have been given life." or something close to that.

Can you tell we are having a slow afternoon?

Everyone have a good weekend
Dan

The Pessimist

I pulled this from the Wikipedia site:

"Pessimism, from the Latin pessimus (worst), is the decision to evaluate, perceive and view life in a generally negative light. Value judgments may vary dramatically between individuals, even when judgments of fact are undisputed. The most common example of this phenomenon is the "Is the glass half empty or half full?" situation. The degree in which situations like these are evaluated as something good or something bad can be described in terms of one's optimism or pessimism respectively. Throughout history, the pessimistic disposition has had effects on all major areas of thinking.^[1]"

I have been talking to a friend of mine (I'm sure most of you will see right through this and know who it is.) LOL but anyway.......

I have been asked time and time again by this person why I am so negative or why I am such a Pessimist. Well to tell you the truth Im not sure what has made me that way but I can tell you since I have been talking about it I have really been trying to understand what makes me think the way I do and then this is two fold I'm trying to think if the way I feel is a bad thing or a good thing. When it comes down to it I don't think it makes a difference one way or the other If I see a glass as half empty. I mean after all both answers are right the glass is half empty AND it is half full is it not?

When I try to look at myself from the outside in I don't really see myself as a pessimist what I do see is a REALIST. I mean lets face it if you have s shot gun pointed at your head in a hold up you have a damn good chance of getting shot do you not? Thats not being a pessimist thats being a realist. Now if you walk away with out getting shot good for you more power to you and thank God for it. (Side note if you were to have gotten shot should you thank God for that too? thats a question that I have always thought about.)

Its how things are its not that I think things will always turn out badly its that I think life is like a card game at a casino. The odds are NOT in your favor but you CAN WIN from time to time. You just have to make the best out of the hand you have been dealt. And don't assume that you are always going to have a hand that will win cause in life things are not that easy.

Does being a pessimist (realist) make me an unhappy person? NO! I don't think it does I just don't ever have very high expectations of things I assume the worst in most cases and if things turn out better great! If they don't thats ok to cause I was not at all sure they were going to be ok anyway. So you see from my point of view its a win win there is no big let down if things go south.

Now if I could always have all the facts about something at my finger tips and make a clear judgment based on facts that would be different.

I am a fact person I like facts I like information I like knowing whats around the bend I am also a planner I can't just go along in my day to day life with out a plan (although sometimes I become a two year old again and don't fallow my own plans when I know damn full well I should.) it is when I don't have all those facts, information, & plans in place that I revert to my "oh this isn't good" mode.

So in closing here -- my conclusion a Pessimist = a Realist

Birthday wishes for Amy Jo

Just wanted to take some time today and wish AMY a Happy Birthday! Just think you will always be older then me :) LMAO Have a great day I hope ALL your wishes come true today.

One more time Happy Birthday

Love ya
Dan

Todays update removed

Todays very nice update was removed at the request of a reader :)

A question for the ages

Alright so I know I am going to get shot by someone for this. But this is a question that I have never had answered.

Being the man I am I happen to take notice when a woman or young lady wears clothing that is skimpy or shell we say sexy, or provocative. Even if the woman wearing the said clothing for lack of a better word should not be wearing such things. Its in mans nature to take notice of to much skin hanging out. LOL

So now the story then my question:

We get allot of foot traffic coming by the shop in the summer ie. people walking over to the shopping center across the street and so on. So this morning a young lady was walking down the side walk I assume to walk over to the shopping center. She had on a very tight fitting shirt that exposed her belly, her pants were what I would call hip hugers. When she walked by her back was then facing us and of course the area right above her pants line was showing she had a tattoo in the center of her lower back. You could also see sticking out from under her pants that she had a g-string on. Now here comes the question. It makes no difference if you think she should or should not be dressed like this. She made the choice to walk out of the house like this! So why is it that when she went walking by a shop full of men that she kept pulling her shirt down and her pants up to cover up every bit of skin that was showing. As if she didn't want us to see her skin....

I mean i got news for her if she was embarrassed why was she dressed like that in the first place. I have seen ladies all the time wearing cloths that show off "what they have" so to speak and yet they are always trying to cover them selfs up as if they don't want us to look. Whats up with that why dress like that in the first place then ?

Food for thought
Dan

Look at the price of gas this way

You know I was thinking this morning about the price of gas and where it might go and where it has been. And in relationship to the cost of some other things.

When I first started driving about 21 years ago I lived in Florida....... Gas was around .99 a gal. back then. As of this morning the national avg. is still under 4.25/gal. But I will used $4.25 for the resting point for now. Using .99/gal then and 4.25/gal now....... That ONLY works out to an increase of about .15/gal per year for the last 21 years. The percentage of increase over that time frame is high. But is it really that much higher then what everything else around us has gone up? I think not. I mean in some housing markets even now with the housing down turn you have people that have seen those kinds of increases in their housing values. The only reason that it seems so bad at this point is because the gas price increase has for the most part taken place with in the last two years. I mean it was only about 2 years ago I remember being able to by gas for around $1.35 /gal. Those days are for sure long gone LOL.

Not a good idea

I friend of mine went to the dentist this week for a follow up to some work they had done last week.

The Story:

This was a new dentist for my friend they went last week for the first time. The guy is a young and fairly new dentist.

So here is how things went when they went back this week.

My friend is in the chair:

My friend says "That is some little hotie you have for a receptionist out front."

The Dentist "You like her do you?"

My friend "Yes I do she is hot!"

(The dentist leaves the room)

(assistant comes in)

(My friend is talking to the assistant)

The assistant "Oh yes bla bla the receptionist is the Doctor's wife."

LMAO Hows that for feeling like a idiot LOL at least my friend didn't say anything rude or crude about the Doctor's . wife. LOL

Thats why no matter what you should be careful what you say

But I thought it was funny

Have a great weekend all :)


Dan

When The Mood Hits Me

You know most of the time when it comes to helping people that come into shop I am always very nice and try to go out of my way to help. However there are times when the mood hits me that I don't feel like putting up with peoples crazy requests. And today is one of the days I feel like that.

The story:

A woman walks into the shop you see she has broken down at the gas station that is right next door. She said her car won't start could someone please come take a look. I said as soon as I get off the phone I will be right over. So I get off the phone and take the "jump pack" over (she had told me it won't turn over) So I thought maybe dead battery. After checking a few things (for free mind you) I came to the conclusion that the starter was "locked up" ie would not turn the motor over. I told her that and told her if she wanted to she could leave it here we would get it moved and look at it later today. In the meantime she is on the phone with the boy friend or husband. And she says to me "He wants you to beat on it with a hammer" Now yes it is true if you have a starter that is going bad and you can get to it to hit it with a hammer while another person cranks the motor it may break loose and start the car. However this is NOT a repair to the issue she is having and also they both were assuming that I would be more then happy to get on my back and get under the car and try to bang in the starter....... AND DO ALL THAT FOR FREE!.

So to her request I replied "No I won't do that you need to get it fixed the right way." I turned and walked away.

My point to all this is a few things damn it! You don't go into a Doctors office and say "just get me going again for now" Also try to get a sit down office visit with your doctor for even 5 min. for FREE! it won't happen! I pay $80 just to go in and have my bp taken every 3 months and to have the doctor come in the room for 30 seconds and say "your ok"

I am sick and tired of people thinking our time in the auto repair industry is free! Its not it cost allot of money and training to even be able to open the doors every day!

In closing I'd like to say spend the money to fix your car right or stop driving! And also its not ok when that check engine light comes on...... Its not just a reminder anymore! You need to get it fixed!

ok I am off my soap box now

Dan

Have a Happy Memorial Day Weekend

I just wanted to take some time to tell everyone reading to have a good Memorial Day Weekend. I have not written much of late we haven't really been that busy at work but it would seem that I have had some busy mornings and there for I don't get time to write much. If i write most of mine takes place in the mornings.

Anyway everyone enjoy your long weekend I know I will

~Dan

A dog's purpose

I got this in an email I thought it was worth posting something to think about don't you think :)

Have a great day
~Dan

A Dog's Purpose (from a 6-year-old)

Being a veterinarian, I had been called to examine a ten-year-old

Irish Wolfhound named Belker. The dog's owners, Ron, his wife

Lisa, and their little boy Shane, were all very attached to

Belker, and they were hoping for a miracle.

I examined Belker and found he was dying of cancer. I told the

family we couldn't do anything for Belker, and offered to perform

the euthanasia procedure for the old dog in their home.

As we made arrangements, Ron and Lisa told me they thought it

would be good for six-year-old Shane to observe the procedure.

They felt as though Shane might learn something from the

experience.

The next day, I felt the familiar catch in my throat as Belker's

family surrounded him. Shane seemed so calm, petting the old dog

for the last time, that I wondered if he understood what was going

on. Within a few minutes, Belker slipped peacefully away.

The little boy seemed to accept Belker's transition without any

difficulty or confusion. We sat together for a while after

Belker's Death, wondering aloud about the sad fact that animal

lives are shorter than human lives. Shane, who had been listening

quietly, piped up, "I know why."

Startled, we all turned to him. What came out of his mouth next

stunned me. I'd never heard a more comforting explanation.

He said, "People are born so that they can learn how to live a

good life - - like loving everybody all the time and being nice,

right?" The Six-year-old continued, "Well, dogs already know how

to do that, so they don't have to stay as long."

Live simply.

Love generously.

Care deeply.

Speak kindly.

Remember, if a dog was the teacher you would learn things like:

When loved ones come home, always run to greet them.

Never pass up the opportunity to go for a joyride.

Allow the experience of fresh air and the wind in your face to be

pure ecstasy.

Take naps.

Stretch before rising.

Run, romp, and play daily. (I especially like this one!)

Thrive on attention and let people touch you.

Avoid biting when a simple growl will do.

On warm days, stop to lie on your back on the grass.

On hot days, drink lots of water and lie under a shady tree.

When you're happy, dance around and wag your entire body.

Delight in the simple joy of a long walk.

Be loyal.

Never pretend to be something you're not.

If what you want lies buried, dig until you find it.

When someone is having a bad day, be silent, sit close by, and

nuzzle them gently.

ENJOY EVERY MOMENT OF EVERY DAY!

Ubuntu part 2 not easy to set up but worth it

Well as I said in a prior post here I have switched operating systems on my computer from Windows to Ubuntu . I wish I could say things have worked right out of the box with Ubuntu but thats not the case. However after much reading in some Ubuntu forums things are moving right along I am very pleased with how things are working . Of course being the guy I am :) I love toys and gadgets. One thing that I really like about the Ubuntu desktop (picture above) is that cube LOL each side of the cube is another desktop. When you flip or change to another desktop you get the cube as it flips to the other desk top. How cool is that! LOL

Just the little things that make me happy

Where has the respect gone?

In light of my friends blog post here about her son taking off his hat out of respect for the flag. I have to ask this question. Where has the respect for our flag gone. Why would parents NOT instill in their kids the need to respect the flag of this STILL great nation? It sickens me to the point of wanting to hit someone when I see them not taking off their hat at events when the National Anthem is played sang what have you. It is that flag that stands for the freedom we have do these people not respect that?

Of course I also get a bit ticked when I'm eating out some place and I see a guy sit down at the table and eat and not take his hat off. But ah thats another blog and another can of worms.

Everyone have a great day.

~Dan

What is up with the security letters

You know I'm all for the blogger people trying to cut down on spam posts and stuff like that. But please tell me I'm not the only one that has issues with this. If I am I'm going to feel really bad :(

When I post comments on some friends pages..... Sometimes not ALL the time. You know those security letters you have to type in that are all curvy & survey. Well I just tried to post a comment on someones pages and had to retry it like 6 times?????????????????????? I guess I could not read the letters correctly Whats up with that. This is not the first time or the first site this has happened to me on . I always seem to have issues with making out those security letters when posting. Am I just out of it or what?

What was I thinking

So every once in awhile I do something stupid (hush Amy) & (Mom) I made up my mind about two weeks ago to switch to a new computer Operating System called Ubuntu. Ubuntu is a free Open Source Operating System based on the Unix Platform. This software platform has come a long way from its early days. And has become more like Microsoft Windows in the way it looks and feels. And the big selling point is it's FREE to download and install.

However with all that being said I have found the change to be a very daunting task I would not recommend this kind of change for the novice computer user who knows very little about how things work. I am not a computer programmer or an IT person but I have done a good bit of work with network systems and Windows Operating Systems over the years. It is the initial setup that will get you. Ubuntu more then likely will not install and run on your computer right out of the box as they say. And downloading and installing drivers or even finding drivers is not easy as well.

I think though if I can get passed the setup part of it that I will enjoy using an operating system that so far seems to be much more stable then windows and I know that Microsoft's pockets are not getting deeper by buying more of their software.


Hope everyone is having a good day
~dan

HAPPY HUMP DAY!!!

I found this on a web site and I thought it was cute. I'm always saying YAY! its hump day! Wednesday, or the hump of the week The absolute BEST day of the week, the day of maximum hope that maybe, you might make it out of this week alive. A particularly good hump day can last you the rest of the week, and by Doomday morning (Monday) you survive by anticipating hump day. Nothing goes wrong on hump day Most other days can be defined by hump day. Tuesday is the day before hump day. Thursday is one day after hump day. Except Friday is WOOOH!!! FREEDOM!!! Day, Saturday is Mostly Hungover day, and Sunday is PreDoom day. Hump day has nothing to do with sex. Unless one wants it to. I like to declare the existence of hump day just to see people's faces. Usually being conservative and all "Do you know what the best thing about Tuesdays are? Its the day before Hump Day!" "What's hump day?" "It's the hump of the week!!" Everyone have a happy Hump day!!! ~Dan

THINNGS HAVE COME TO A STAND STILL

This picture is about 5 years old it was taken here at theshop around the time we took over here. The only person in this picture that is left here is the tall skinny guy in the center. & myself and Doug are not in the picture.

Someone told me the other day they had not seen me blog much lately & that is true I have not done to much in the last few weeks but you see that really is a good thing if you don't see me blog. Why you might ask? Well it is very simple I blog most of the time from work if I am not blogging that means we (the shop) have enough work to keep me busy and I don't have time to do such playful things. So yes the last three to four weeks had been good we had enough work to keep us busy for the most part all day. However things seem to have come to almost a complete stand still yet again it has been this way since last Thursday.

I would like to say that I have a positive out look about our coming year and this summer but with fuel prices ever on the raise and other things on the up turn I don't see things getting any better for anyone anytime soon. So as your thinking about me today hope for me not to have time to do these blogs that really would be a good and welcome thing to have happen.

Everyone have a great day!

~Dan

DIRTY MOUSE

Well come to find out not only is a "Live" mouse dirty your computer mouse can be a dirty little rodent also. For about the last week now I had been having trouble here at work with my computer mouse. I would move the mouse from left to right or right to left and it would only move up and down on the screen. LOL This can be very amusing to a customer standing there while you are trying to input their information into the system for a ticket. However this morning I had enough of it. I took it apart this picture is NOT of my mouse. My mouse was MUCH worse then this one. I didn't know that so much junk could get packed up into that little whole and the ball was even covered with maybe sticky dried up spilled coffee mess...... Who knows LOL. Anyway I'm happy to report that after this operation the little mouse is doing just fine and is in much better shape. I ordered the computers when we opened our shop here. I guess thats what I get for not ordering an optical mouse when we got our computers.


Everyone have a great day
~Dan

YES GAS PRCES ARE HIGH BUT HEAR ME OUT

I thought the picture to the left was funny. But all kidding aside, gas prices are high and the oil companies are getting rich and so on.

But it still no matter how you cut it comes down to consumption. What am I talking about well its plain and simple cut down on our consumption of gas and the price may not fall but it will at least stabilize. We are a nation of glutens. No body wants to face that fact but we are. How many of you combine your trips? ie. do you stop at the store on the way home from work or do you drive home then go back out? And on the weekends do you make 10 or 15 trips to here and there or do you consolidate your travels? Also what are you using for your commuting vehicle. I drive 60 miles round trip to get to and from work everyday. I see it all the time ONE (1) person going up and down the highway in a Ford Expedition or something like that. Also my Favorite thing I some time stop at this store on the way to work in the morning to get coffee. What do I see there? 5 or 6 cars in the parking lot sitting there running while their owners are inside getting there morning coffee or what not. You think I'm kidding? check it yourself goto ANY convenience store early in the morning and you will find the same thing. I myself did my part over a year ago I traded the comfort of a big Cadillac that got 15 -20 MPG to a much smaller Honda that gets almost 40 MPG. By doing this with out even cutting back on my driving I cut my gas consumption in over half.

The oil companies won't keep jacking the price for something that isn't selling the situation we are in in this country is our fault we all had to have the big SUV's and the big gas drinking cars. And now we are crying cause we have to pay the price.

Just some food for thought for the day.

~Dan

Happy Birthday To My Father

The picture here is a few years old for those that don't know its my dad (Jay) It was taken when my mother and father lived over seas can you believe the size of that fish!

Anyway just wanted to take some time today to say HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAD! I only hope that you have many more happy and healthy birthdays. I'll bet when you were a kid you never thought you would see the age of 70+ LOL

Have a great day
Love
your son,
Dan

Southern Hospitality

I took another trip south to Georgia this last weekend. I have to say this weekend was no different then the other times I have been to Georgia. That is I have always been impressed with the "Southern Hospitality" of the people in Georgia. I have no idea if this is a wide spread thing across the south or not. I just know that in Georgia the people there seem to be very friendly and thoughtful of others. Of course this weekend we did stay in a very nice hotel so it would be the job of the staff to be attentive to the needs of a paying customer I'm not just talking about that. You can be walking down the street in a major city and get a "Howdy" Or better yet walk into any little shop or store and get a "How are Ya'll" It really has impressed me to no end, you won't get that kind of thing where I live and better yet I'm starting to think you won't get it at other places in the south. After all I lived in Florida for many years and was also there back in February and I don't remember those kind of welcomes there either. So I am here to tell you keep up the good work you folks in Georgia maybe just maybe your Southern Hospitality will rub off on the rest of the country. We should all try to be as nice as the folks in Georgia. It is very refreshing to see that there are still nice people out there.

How to count 101

So I have been told by a friend of mine (SHE WILL REMAIN NAMELESS) LOL that I can't count or that I don't know how to count correctly. That is counting down the days until a specific date. i.e. Today is Thursday its about 8:00am right now. I have something planned for Friday night thats over 24 hours from now. So when counting down days that event is one (1) day away correct? Or if this was Monday it would be five (5) days away.


Help me out what do you think :) Have I been counting wrong all this time LOL

Everyone have a great day!

~Dan

Two Years Ago This Month

So this month is an anniversary of something that hope not to ever need to relive and as long as I keep thinking that way I think it won't happen again. You see it was two years ago this month that I got a DWI. (This is an interesting site I found on Alcohol Issues)

The ironic thing about getting a DWI in the month of April is this. Its National Alcohol Awareness Month & I didn't know that until I looked at the web site so looking back I find that some what funny.

When I first had this happen to me I was more worried about the social embarrassment that I had caused myself. I am a very proud person and I thought how in the world will I be looked at now. I started out not wanting to tell family or friends I was just so horrified that I had been stopped for driving drunk.

I will give you some facts as to what happened in my case and the things I had to go through as a result of one very stupid act. In the hopes that if nothing else you will think twice before you get behind the wheel and drive even after one drink.

Facts my case: ( not all are the same)

1. Fines and court costs $400.00
2. Lawyer fees $750.00
   
3. monitored probation $45.00 a month for 12 months (total $540.00)
   
4. Late to work one Friday a month for 12 months - to attend probation visit (not docked any pay but was still late one Friday a month (someone had to pick up my slack)
5. 2 days missed from work one for court and one for the MVA hearing for my DL
   
6. Provisional DL for 90 days for to and from work only and test drives of customers vehicles (remember I'm a shop service manager I do sometimes need to drive customers cars.)
7. Alcohol Counseling classes - court ordered once a week for 26 weeks @ $40.00 a week (total $1040.00)

So as you can see from the list not only was it a BIG inconvenience but the cost nearly broke the bank! Although in talking to many others it could have been much worse then it was so I am thankful for that.

I do have to say this through this whole thing the only person I was ever really mad at was MYSELF! That is one thing that floored me in the Counseling classes I went to. I could not believe what I was hearing from some of the people that were there. (The cop did this to me the cop did that to me. They were sitting there waiting for me. It wasn't my fault) HELLO who's fault was it then? You drove drunk! you broke the law Do the time. Never once did I blame my DWI on anyone else IT WAS ALL MY FAULT! I knew when I got in the car that night to drive home I had had way to much to drink. I broke the law and paid the price. (I blew a .165 btw) over two times the legal limit. That was no ones fault but my own.

I have to say in the end though I write this whole thing up as learning experience I am not going to sit here and say I won't drink anymore cause I do I still have a drink every now and again but what this whole thing has done is made me VERY AWARE of my drinking and I have learned the hard way two things 1. If we are going to drink DON'T DRIVE 2.If we are going to drink we MUST DO IT IN MODERATION. And by moderation I mean no more then 1 - 2 drinks in a sitting.

I hope this little story here has proven to shed some light on a very bad thing and that is drinking and driving DON'T DO IT!

~Dan

Wrong diagnoses by one repair shop makes us all look bad

We have a customer that comes to us from about 1 1/2 hours away this should speak volumes about our work. I mean after all there are shops much closer to this customer that I'm sure could do the work on their vehicles. But the story here is what happened when this customer made a choice to goto a shop closer to their home and is a perfect example of why this industry CAN'T be trusted. Thats right I said automotive shops CAN'T be trusted. (Of course I'm not including our shop in the not trusted part.) As a service manger I see this type of thing almost daily! and it makes me sick at what some repair shops are doing!

You may want to read this article here about an issue with GM intake manifolds before you read the story.

The Story: The customer has one of the GM vehicles that the article talks about. About one year ago the customer brought in the vehicle and it was leaking coolant, just as the article states can happen. And indeed after our testing we found that the intake manifold gasket was leaking. So long story short the customer was given an estimate for the needed repairs and that estimate was also inline with the cost that the article talks about. Before I go on one thing that can also leak from a bad intake manifold gasket is "engine vacuum" that is created by a running engine and the air being pulled through the motor. When there is a large enough vacuum leak the engine will also run bad it can mis,backfire and have a lack of power. So Monday morning I get a phone call from this customer (Got to love Monday mornings thats another blog LOL) This customer tells me that the car started running really bad last Thursday it was running so badly that they didn't want to take it on the 1 1/2 hour drive it was going to take to get it here. So they took it to a repair shop near their home. After this repair shop said they diagnosed the issue they asked my customer if the intake manifold had ever been off. They of course pulled their paperwork from the work we did a year ago and took it to the shop so the "shop manager" or "service writer" could look it over. They were then told: "Why didn't the other shop replace the fuel injector o-rings when this work was done? Those o-rings are bad and need to be replaced so we will have to take the intake manifold back off and basically do the whole job over!" to this they added the estimate was going to be around $1,000.00! Of course even though I think this customer trusts our work thats when the phone call came to me. "Dan! bla bla bla Why didn't you guys do this when you did the intake work?!?!?!" So I got them to bring the vehicle up to us today. Oh by the way in order for them to be able to pick their vehicle up and bring it to us they had to pay the other shop a $100.00 diagnosis fee! FOR WHAT IS MY QUESTION??
Here is why I say that we pulled the car in to the shop and I kid you not found the issue within 15 min. of opening the hood!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! What was it you might ask?? It was a .50 broken vacuum hose!! NOT THE $1,000.00 repair the other shop wanted to charge for!

I have this message to send out to any Automotive Repair shop owners or managers that may read this. I for one am sick of seeing customers get taken for a ride! Stop ripping people off!! All you are doing is is giving those of us trying to make an honest living a bad name! KNOCK IT OFF!!

Oh and for those reading even though by rights I could have charged this customer something for this repair I let him go with out charging him. Thats how you treat customers!

Everyone have a great day!
~Dan