Know anyone looking for a great house in the heart of Garner? Send ’em over to GreatGarnerHome.Com, where they can tour a fine, fine home.

Spread the word!

Got this spam message in today. At least they’re getting more creative..
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From: “Darla Link”
Reply-To: “Darla Link”
Subject: Osama Bin Laden Captured
Date: Fri, 23 Apr 2004 17:32:15 +0200

Just got this from CNN
Osama Bin Laden has just been captured!
A video and some pictures have been released.
Goto the link below for pictures, I will update the page with the video as soon as I can:
http://some IP address/pics/
God Bless America!

This song won’t be on the worst songs list.
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There is freedom within, there is freedom without
Try to catch the deluge in a paper cup
There’s a battle ahead, many battles are lost
But you’ll never see the end of the road
While you’re traveling with me
Continue reading →

Thanks to MT.Net reader #7 Mike B., I can now present you with the fifty worst songs ever. Topping the list is that 80’s standard “We Built This City” By Jefferson Starship.

Now, I have a confession to make. I actually had that stupid song in my head when I was on the way to work earlier this week. I had to hear it again. Once I heard it, my strange craving for it disappeared again.

I try not to listen too hard when I do hear it, because the lyrics are truly, truly bad. But the line “Marconi plays the mamba” sticks in my head, in spite of everything.

Sometimes bad songs say so much, to paraphrase Elton John (who has written his share of clunkers, too).

Lots of stuff going on. I’ve got my fingers in too many pies lately. Selling the house, buying a new house, cleaning the house we have, being a daddy, planning for our future. On and on and on and on. It gives me less time for everything, blogging included.

I did get some time today to go golfing with the sales department. We played 18 at the Neuse golf course. It was the first time I’d touched clubs in over a decade, and it showed. Still, we all had fun. A bad day at golf beats a good day at work, any day.
Continue reading →

Had a craving to hear some Pixies, so I fired up Death To The Pixies. At lunch today, I finally found out where Un Chien Andalusia comes from.

Man, the Pixies f’ing ruled! I hope they kick as much ass now that they’ve regrouped. If they tour within 100 miles from here, I am so there.

Your doctor will spend one minute with you for every fifteen minutes you’ve waited.

An accounting of how President Bush has been spending his presidency, compiled by CBS News and mentioned in this Washington Post article:

This [Easter Weekend visit] is Bush’s 33rd visit to his ranch since becoming president. He has spent all or part of 233 days on his Texas ranch since taking office, according to a tally by CBS News. Adding his 78 visits to Camp David and his five visits to Kennebunkport, Maine, Bush has spent all or part of 500 days in office at one of his three retreats, or more than 40 percent of his presidency.

While April has provided Bush plenty of quality vacation time, it has become the deadliest month for Americans in Iraq, with 99 fatalities. Only the invasion itself in March 2003 has been deadlier.

Glad you can take time to get these folks off your mind, George.

Wonder why you’re paying so much money for mysterious fees on your phone bill? Here’s a nice breakdown of those charges (for the state of Colorado, in this example).

Also, check out this group who wants all these charges clearly identified. I think they should be labeled as charges that compensate the phone companies for being bloated, bureacratic, greedy monopolies.

The fee list:

Federal Excise Tax 3%

Tax mandated by the federal government imposed on all telecommunication services.

Federal Universal Service Fund 8.7%.

FUSF is assessed on your interstate and international charges not including taxes. This includes a portion of the monthly product fee that is allocated to interstate services for regulatory purposes. [This] is consistent with the FUSF rate of other large long
distance carriers. This surcharge is assessed on any monthly long distance plan fees/ minimums, Interstate and International Usage and the Network Access Charge.

Network Access Surcharge Primary Line – (EUCL) $6.50

Monthly charge assessed on each line within the household. This charge compensates for the Local Telephone Company’s cost of installation and maintenance of the components that link your home to the telephone network.

Network Access Surcharge Secondary Line – (EUCL) $7.00 (when applicable)

Monthly charge assessed on each line within the household. This charge compensates for the Local Telephone Company’s cost of installation and maintenance of the components that link your home to the telephone network.

Carrier Cost Recovery Charge (CCRC)* 1.4%

A monthly surcharge in order to recover costs the Company incurs with regard to Telecommunications Relay Service, national number portability, and federal regulatory fees. The surcharge is assessed on long distance (Dial-1, Card, P800 and SB T800) state-to-state and international charges.

Local 911 $0.00 – $0.70 per line

This fee provides the local governing body with a source of revenue for payment of the total costs of establishing or upgrading, operating and maintaining an emergency telephone system.

State and Local Taxes 2.900%

This is a state sales tax on the consumption of telecommunications services.

State and Local Taxes 0% – 5%

This is a local sales tax on the consumption of telecommunications services.

State and Local Taxes 0% – 0.8%

This is a special sales tax to pay for regional transportation projects, scientific and cultural projects, and sports stadium projects.

Federal, State and Local Surcharges $1.12

This is a surcharge of the City of Denver telecommunications business tax on telephone and telegraph companies.

High Cost Fund (Colorado) 2.300%

The Colorado High Cost Fund is used to ensure the availability of affordable basic telephone service in areas where costs to provide service are high.

Telecommunications Relay Service $0.10

A surcharge to fund the relay center that assists the hearing and speech impaired with communicating to other telephone providers.

Local Number Portability (LNP) $0.43

Covers the cost of providing residential customers with the ability to retain, at the same location, their existing local telephone numbers when switching from one local provider to another.