Light and Darkness

Squaw Valley

A friend from high school responded to a recent change made by a Lake Tahoe resort. In response, it protected itself from supposedly damaging PR by removing the feedback. Not a very nice or adult like response. Well, sharing it here.

I recently posted a complaint concerning the change in military lift tickets for active duty personnel on the Squaw Valley website. I would like to get the opinion of those who serve in the military, or are connect with family and friends in the military, concerning my post and the reply by the CEO of Squaw Valley. I posted this observation to the Squaw Valley website last night; the post was promptly removed by the host of their Facebook page by the time I awoke this morning. Am I asking too much for Squaw Valley to change their policy? Please read the exchange and comment on what you think is appropriate. Thank you!

My post to the Squaw Valley Facebook page:

I thank Squaw Valley for their continued support of military personnel and their families, particularly during the recent wars in Iraq and Afghanistan; however, a recent change to their policy concerning blackout dates for active duty military lift tickets signals a deterioration of that valued support, a policy change I must bring to the attention of everyone who visits Squaw Valley. In 2010, Squaw Valley provided active duty military service members the opportunity to acquire free lift tickets the week prior to Christmas. Because military members are limited in the time allowed to visit with family and friends over the holidays, this act of support by Squaw Valley was highly praised and deeply appreciated. However, in 2011, the decision was made to blackout these military tickets from December 17 - January 1, a time period many military families choose to travel to Lake Tahoe. Since 2001, hundred of thousands of U.S. troops have remained in a constant state of deployment, risking their lives and routinely being separated from loved ones. Many corporations have shown a deep understanding of this continued sacrifice by providing special benefits to these brave men and women. I propose this level of support not be tarnished by removing the opportunity for military members to benefit from free lift tickets during time periods corresponding to their holiday breaks. Doing so erodes the implicit fidelity Squaw Valley shares with military members. I propose that all active duty military lift ticket blackout dates be removed from both the Squaw Valley and Alpine Meadows ski resorts; doing so would demonstrate that Squaw Valley truly understands the enormous sacrifice made by these valiant men and women in support of all citizens of the United States, an action that would surely garner the continued support, admiration, and patronage of U.S. active duty service members.

Major Trey M. McBride
United States Marine Corps

The response sent directly to me from the Squaw Valley CEO:

Major Trey,

While we appreciate your perspective, we are shocked and
disappointed at your comment. As far as we are aware, we stand alone as
the only major resort in the United States that for a great period of
time has and continues to provide this privilege to the personnel of the
armed services; we stand alone in that we don't do this for PR reasons -
seeking exposure or cameras - but just quietly doing the right thing for
those who serve; we stand alone in being the resort which has provided
tens of thousands of free days of skiing over decades and the program
continues. As to our very modest restrictions, we feel this is a
reasonable and prudent decision in that while other resorts talk about
these types of programs and wrap the flag around their shoulders every
now and then, we have and always will be steadfast in our support of
this privilege for our country's armed service personnel.

Andy Wirth - CEO and proud son of Col Pete Wirth, USAF.

Office Depot: Where Customers Don't Count!

If you have a product that you want to return to a store without a receipt and you don't mind STORE CREDIT, you shouldn't have a problem with the store? Right?!

If the product was a gift with no receipt and you don't mind STORE CREDIT, you shouldn't have a problem with the store? Right?!

If you're willing to provide all your information including your driver's license information because you have no receipt and is willing to get STORE CREDIT, you shouldn't have a problem with the store? Right?!

EVEN IF YOU FIND A FUCKING UNOPENED, UNUSED, NEW PRODUCT OF THE SAID ESTABLISHMENT ON THE SIDE OF THE FUCKING ROAD AND THOUGHT, "HEY. I WONDER IF I CAN GET FUCKING STORE CREDIT".....YOU SHOULDN'T HAVE A PROBLEM WITH THE STORE? RIGHT?!

Here's my thought. Product was purchased. Office Depot got its money. That's in the bank. A return of the product puts it back on its shelf because it is still NEW and can be sold again. Store credit is given to returner of product to use in the store buying Office Depot product. What the hell is the problem?! Seriously. Where is the money lost? I don't understand.

Office Depot: You reek. Your asinine approach to customer satisfaction promotes selfish monetary obsession. May you die a slow Darwinian Business death.

CHARTER Communications sucks at the devils teet.

I can not go into long detail because I'm not at a computer and I am flaming pissed to the point of vomiting. Please take my word for the moment that Charter Communications are serviced and staff by a bunch of untrained moronic buffoons. I was disconnected in August after paying a late bill. They've continued to charge me. Used my deposit to pay the bill. Charged me more and now is sending notice that they're disconnecting me.

Spoke to the following people today: Cesar who transferred me to Michael who hung up on me. Called back and spoke to Clara who transferred me to Jonathan who sucks at his job in the retention department. After my angry reply to his repeating that I'Ve had service since August, he reluctantly transferred me to Brian, a supervisor. He pissed me off even more before finally telling me that I have to provide proof that there was an order for disconnection.

Charter's service is intermittent at best. Its customer service is full of poorly trained representatives who have obviously never heard of customer service. And evidently the customers are responsible for not only their bills but for providing proof for Charter's errors which include the human factor and its new billing platform, which manages to make it difficult for employees to find the accounts but no problem billing charges.

Use Time Warner. Use Verizon. Use Direct TV. Use an antenna and magic beans for all I care. Hell, I'll act out your favorite shows if you want. BUT DO NOT USE CHARTER!

A duh! moment

National Geographic has posted an article about a Princeton University psychologist that discovered that men view scantily clad women as sexual objects rather than using their higher thinking skills when looking at them.

Really? The university, its financial supporters, and grant monies invested in this research? Really?

Huh.

Were any of them truly surprised with any of the findings? Are any of us sitting there, scratching our heads and saying to ourselves, "I did not know this. Wow. My eyes have been opened."

Princeton, I propose a project that would compare the effects of multiple variables on subjects, of varying mental capacities, ages, physical abilities, gender, social demographics, in a sterile environment,  against a control group. I hypothesize that the process of turning on a light switch will affect each research volunteer and would like the funding to find this out.

I didn't mean to.

If you get through this without laughing, you are so much better than I.

Room XX's $25 Million Renovation

The Human Rights and Alliance of Civilizations Chamber, formerly known as Room XX of the U.N. building in Geneva, was revealed. I've included a link to the pictures. 

I'm not a big Jackson Pollock or abstract expressionism fan and Miquel Barcelo's dome is probably worse than any work of those that I've seen. Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel has already been referenced with Barcelo's stalactite explosion of color. And whether or not his hundreds of different pigments from all over the globe symbolizes the idealistic unity of the world's countries, I really hate the dome.

Twenty-five million dollars. $25,000,000.

I am a supporter of expression. Art is subjective. Hell, I've had my fun and channeled Pollock and his method. I still wouldn't sell it as art. Or Perhaps I should. I could always use twenty-five million.

Shame on the U.N. for participating in this. Shame on the funding for this shit.

The Insider Pages

For my birthday this year, Emmaline and I are thinking about going to an Ethiopian restaurant. Sooooo, I did an internet search and received a few names and locations. Via The Insider Pages, I got my favorite person of the day....Stephen H.

Stephen has eight pages of recommendations for places around Dallas and its surrounding cities. Some just stand out, so much so that I peed my pants laughing too much from reading either the review or the title of the review. Below are our favorites. Now, I know that Emma and I may be the only people in the universe who find reading the dictionary funny or laugh hysterically from grammatical errors. If we are, then so be it! It makes our days.

Ghion Ethiopian Restaurant 10/25/05: 'Very good food, that is if you are Ethiopian?' Well, I had never tried that type of food before in my life. I gotta tell you that it is very different from anything that you have ever tried in you life. You gotta try it at least once in your life, but I must tell you that it is different?

Note Stephen's use of interrogative sentences in the tagline as well as in closing the review. If you read many of his reviews, he likes the question mark. Go back and read the paragraph again as it is written.

Computer Rescue 10/25/05: 'Excellent techs all the way! Great w/ their hands and minds!' This is the place that you want to go when you exhausted all your brain cells trying to fix you electronic device. They will fix it for sure. They are fairly priced and very cordially honest.

Great with their hands and minds? Vulcan handjobs for the computer illiterate?

Arapaho Animal Clinic Hospitals 10/25/05: 'They will suffice if you don't really care about your animal.' I have been going to this animal hospital for many years, until one of their best veteranarians left. I have since been going to another location where she started her own business at. This clinic has fair prices and all, but the doctors are not that very gentle w/ the animals. At least not to my standards.

I hate you, damn dog! I'll pay for your vet bills but don't expect quality care!

Campbell Road Mobile 10/23/05: 'A+ all the way if you are bright!' This is the best place to bring your car. You will not be disappointed. You can trust these people and get the best price overall for your repairs. I love them.

For those of us that are stupid, Campbell Road Mobile just might not be for us.

Mc Donald's 10/23/05: 'Excellent when you are drunk !' I gotta tell you that this place is great when you are trashed! Very clean business and always consistent quality. I have eaten there many times and it is good! You will not be disappointed!

Oh wait! Stephen hasn't finished reviewing restaurants for 10.23.05. Evidently, he was really trashed and really hungry on that date:

Jack In The Box 10/23/05: 'A+ all the way if you are wasted!' This restaraunt is great if you are hungrrrrrrrrrrry and wasted! This is a place to go and is always open! This is a great place to go! You will not regret it if you are hungry and it is late!

And our Hooters for Rex award per Stephen's five-star review:

Hank's Animal Hospital 10/22/05: 'Best Animal Hospital in North Dallas and the vet is a babe!' I have followed Yvonne Hanks to her new Animal Hospital in Plano, TX. She to be a veteranarian in Richardson,TX at another Animal Hospital. She is always very sweet and excellent w/ animals. She had taken care of my old cat for years and truly loves animals. She has the magic touch and very fair prices. Hanks Animal Hospital is a very clean and professional business.

PROS: She is a babe!
CONS:

Well....DUH!

Folks, big news story. Clay Aiken is gay.

The Use of "I"

I am not the greatest grammarian. I make mistakes frequently. I also like to make-up words and use things as adjectives that really aren't adjectives. It's fun. Makes for good television when you read my stuff. I don't proofread my posts nor do I spell-check them, so you get my thoughts in all their grammar-mistakes (see, what I'm saying about the adjectives thing?) glory. HOWEVER, I am tired of seeing the incorrect use of I when identifying pictures.

When you are labeling your pictures on MySpace or Flickr or anyfreakingwhere, please make note of the following.

It is "my sister and me" or "my best friend and me" or "Jessica and me" or "Billy Bob and me, standing in front of the Vegas chapel" for fuck's sake!

This is the rule I used to help Emmaline use me and I correctly. When you are identifying yourself as the subject of a sentence, use I. For example, Billy Bob and I were standing in front of the Vegas Chapel before our ceremony. If you remove Billy Bob from the subject (change the verb, of course), it would still make sense. I was standing in front of the Vegas Chapel before our ceremony. Try it the other way and it's illiterate speak for "Me stupid!" Billy Bob and me were standing in front of the Vegas Chapel. Me was standing in front of the Vegas.....

Now, let's apply the same rule to identifying pictures.
Billy Bob and me, Vegas Chapel.....Me, Vegas Chapel. Works, right?
Billy Bob and I, Vegas Chapel......I, Vegas Chapel. Who fucking talks like that?

If you can't do it right, just label yourself with your name. Takes all the guess work out of it. Holy Hell!

This is I in front of school. Yes, me can do it. Me can read.

How Python has crept into our lives.

I'm stealing from my friend, The Reverend again because this is the absolutely funniest thing.

The straight man delivery of every single line makes you shake your head and just pee with laughter.

Good God...I can watch this so many times.

My favorite lines have to do with cardboard and paper derivatives and cellotape.

Jeff Probst, Mrs. Parks is Pissed!

What the fuck?! Have you heard about the new Survivor?

I don't watch the show as it is. I watched the first episode of the first season. That's all. I make fun of the show. But, my friends....this is the second worst idea for a reality show (the first would be allowing this idiot decide what happens to a racial diverse group of people living together isolated from the real world).

I hope Probst has something more in mind than just having black on white on Asian on Latino crime. And did you read some of the things Probst said about the show? This one kills me. "Probst says contestants had mixed reactions to the racial divisions." No shit! Really? Could it be that the people who find this disturbing were against it and those willing to pay the $35 membership fee to join the KKK were all for it? Maybe? Could be?

Wow! Mark Burnett must really be hard up for the money (yeah, that was a joke) that he's willing to stress relationships between an already divided world. Stupid fucker!

If you watch this show, don't talk to me. Seriously, I'm not kidding.

The "Thumbs Up" but Where?

My friend Tom has been having issues on his street for weeks now. Crews have been destroying the roads to install drainage pipes, and Tom's poor yard has been used as a thoroughfare by every driver in the neighborhood because the trucks and work have been dominating the actual street.

Welllllll, as Tom recently told me, "The Saga Continues." Unfortunately this is one of those stories that went from a mild disruption of daily life to actual death.

Evidently there was the smell of gas indicating a gas leak....A smell of gas would mean that, right?! Construction was halted. Gas company called. The gas utility gave the 'Thumbs Up,' which is what, folks?! Oh, I don't know. It is the universal translation for 'go ahead. You're crew can continue,' right? Yep.  And they did. They did continue. And then there was an explosion and a worker was consumed in a ball of fire. The gas company? No comment.

Hmmmm! Again, I ask....Thumbs Up where?

Tragic accidents happen but Wow! Gas leak. Explosion. You don't have to be Sherlock Holmes or his less intelligent side-kick Watson to put those two clues together. Could be a freakishly odd thing that one does not lead to the other.

Annnnnnnnnnd. I can't find it on the local paper's site. I've looked. Maybe I'm dumb. But it's odd that I can find a story about three people being injured in a local car collision or a bit on taser guns as well as another auto collision...but I haven't been able to find anything on an explosion except the transcript on the local television news' station . Wouldn't you think that would make the news?

Thank You for Caring About Us!

I'm sure all of you have read of the proposed to give the American taxpayers, each a $100 gas rebate to offset the pain we suffer at the pumps each and every day. If you read the entire Congressional proposal, you will see the true subject of it. Attaching the little rebate perk at the end of a paper that opens the doors for decimating the Alaskan wildlife and Gulf Coast waters, only insures a big fat "NO" on a Benjamin gracing any of our mailboxes. Now....if they had attached that little baby to a proposal that had the following heavy as its other noteworthy voting moment, we would each be a hundred dollars richer: "My fellow gorgeous and intelligent representatives of the people of these here United States of America, I propose we continue to call Sunday by its name, Sunday."

Something like that and that rebate is good as ours. But saying 'let's pass this so we can kill the baby seals and pretty dolphins whilst we explore nature for Black Gold?' Uh-uh. Not going to happen.

Yes, there's more to the measure than those two issues but still? What person (especially a person whose job depends on being re-elected) is going to vote yes to a hot topic like that and risk the outrage and retaliation of conservationists, naturalists, and other Green voters?

And in regards to the gas rebate relief, can I mention that yesterday I filled my little Nissan Sentra GXE. My ten year old manual transmission sedan. My very reliant Pig that gets awesome gas mileage. It cost $30. Hey, a hundred dollars is a hundred dollars. And free is even better, but what the hell kind of relief is that? May I also mention that if I am encourage to buy a hybrid, by all means could you make it affordable?!

sigh...I leave you with this. My hunger for intelligent wit has been satiated. THANK YOU, CARRIE! Below is my hero of the day. Please note the bolded text for emphasis...and do really think what this means.

House Speaker Dennis Hastert of Ill., center, gets out of a Hydrogen Alternative Fueled automobile, left, as he prepares to board his SUV, which uses gasoline, after holding a new conference at a local gas station in Washington, Thursday, April 27, 2006 to discuss the recent rise in gas prices. Hastert and other members of Congress drove off in the Hydrogen-Fueled cars only to switch to their official cars to drive back the few block back to the U.S. Capitol. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)