Rants and musings, without care for substance.
Posted in life in general, the system on Aug 6th, 2010
After it was announced that consular fees would be rising effective July 13th, I decided that it was time to renew my passport. It was due to expire later in the month anyway, so I figured I’d take care of it and save $35 in the process.
I went to Penn Camera in Laurel to have [...]
Posted in books, humor, reviews, the system on Jul 3rd, 2010
Parliament of Whores is a billed as a “lone humorist’s attempt to explain the entire U.S. Government.” I found it to be a logical, cynical, and incredibly funny critique of our system of government. Although first published in 1991, much of P.J. O’Rourke’s commentary still rings true.
Just to get a glimpse at what we’re talking [...]
Posted in life in general, the system on Aug 15th, 2009
I was summoned to serve jury duty as a petit juror for the Circuit Court in Anne Arundel County. Starting last Tuesday, I was on call. Out of 1,569 prospective jurors, I was number 1,531. When I called on Monday evening I learned that I wasn’t to come in until Thursday morning.
Per the recommendation of [...]
Posted in complaints, office, the system on Jun 29th, 2009
The result of a company policy about mandatory retirement for executives, our CEO is stepping down. As I look back over the past couple years, I’m not thrilled with the path he has led us down. In fact, I’m irked.
Did our CEO do a lot for the company? From my position as a worker bee [...]
Posted in in the news, money, politics, the system on Dec 10th, 2007
On November 19th, the Maryland General Assembly voted to increase the state sales tax 20% (from 5% to 6%). At the same time they added computer support services, data center support, custom programming, consulting, and disaster recovery services to the list of services that will be taxed at the new rate (up from 0% previously). [...]
Posted in housing, legal rights, politics, privacy, the system on Sep 1st, 2007
Due to a poor laptop security policy, here are some snippets from the diary of an American Community Survey (ACS) Field Representive.
Friday, 6 July 2007, 5:55PM
Every single time I want to take the wife down to Rehobeth for the weekend Mr. Fancypants Fitzpatrick strolls into my cubicle like the boss from Office Space at ten [...]
Posted in complaints, housing, legal rights, politics, privacy, the system on Jul 10th, 2007
Here is a rough copy of the American Community Survey questionnaire. I wasn’t able to locate a scanner, but I’m a quick typist. The only thing you’d gain from a scan is the design of the survey, which honestly isn’t too difficult to follow. I can confirm that there are no choices for you to [...]
Posted in legal rights, politics, privacy, the system on Jul 9th, 2007
The American Community Survey (ACS) makes me very uncomfortable. It is a nationwide survey that is being forced upon the unlucky that happen to live in one of homes selected at random. I was one of those unlucky people and took immediate issue with some of the questions being asked and the manner in which [...]
Posted in culture, office, the system on Jun 19th, 2007
I was reading the March 2007 issue of Men’s Health today while sweating to death on one of the cardio machines at the gym. Not a bad magazine to read at the gym. It always seems to explain a few new ways to flex this muscle or tone that muscle, always an exercise that I’ve [...]
Posted in culture, life in general, politics, the system on Jun 3rd, 2007
Just like when you see SWAT officers riding the Metro with submachine guns and dogs, this has become a sign of the times in the DC metropolitan area. Here’s what I saw the other day.
A guy is sitting on the curb of a busy street, several feet in front of a barbed wire fence. He [...]
Posted in advertising, college, culture, film, healthcare, television, the system, youth on Mar 30th, 2007
Catholicism forbids pre-marital sex — despite the fact that many practicing Catholics engage in the practice anyways — much to the chagrin of other sects of Christians. That may be cheap shot at Catholics, but it is apparent that our generation is vastly different than previous ones. We aren’t saving ourselves for marriage. We don’t [...]
Posted in complaints, food, idiots, oddities, the system on Feb 7th, 2007
I noticed one of most absurd things today while enjoying a HERSHEY’s Milk Chocolate bar with my lunch. There is text printed on the plastic wrapper instructing the user (or eater, I guess) how to open it! This is yet another sign that the system as we know it is going to hell. It’s right [...]
Posted in complaints, idiots, office, the system on Feb 1st, 2007
One of the wonders of working a nine to five sort of job is getting reimbursed for things. I don’t have a lot of luck when it comes to the reimbursement paperwork. There’s never a simple one for me; I almost always get the paperwork returned to me.
About two weeks ago I buy two packages [...]
Posted in money, politics, the system on Jun 4th, 2006
The FairTax Act is proposed legislation that would eliminate the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and do away with all income taxes and payroll taxes. Instead, a national sales tax would finance the government.
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