Ice + Tailgating

It really makes me wonder what enters people's minds when they combine two dangerous things. Let's take ice and tailgating. Ice can be very dangerous on its own. People slip and fall, cars slide everywhere, it just creates a hazardous environment.

Then you have tailgating. People love to do this all the time which blows my mind because the reaction time I have witnessed in most individuals does not warrant tailgating. Idiots assume that they will not have to brake for some reason.

Now, take these two and combine them and you have a recipe for disaster! I don't how many times vehicles rush up behind me and drive very close behind me... all while there is a nice sheet of ice on the road. NW Indiana has been getting some lovely ice storms where it rains and then freezes when it hits the ground. Either these people are complete idiots or they have never driven in winter conditions before.

The other day, this little white Focus was tailgating. If you have studied insurance policies at all, anytime you are rear-ended, it is always the person's fault who runs into the back of you. So I waited and braked hard since there were two vehicles in front of me and I just crack up while this Focus fishtails all over the road. He came within inches of hitting and I was kind of hoping he would. I'll take some damage to my vehicle to teach some ignorant moron a lesson.

Anyways, I still don't get it. I always get stuck behind people who go far below what they could be driving. You'll get the 80 year old lady who shouldn't be driving in the first place but for unknown reasons, the DMV is still letting her carry a license. The road will have two clear tire tracks, like it did last night, but these people will still drive 20 miles an hour. Last night, I was stuck behind about 20 to 30 cars all following this tiny little car, smaller than my civic, that was going about 20, maybe 25 at some points. And I was getting tailgated the whole time. The person behind even weaved out in the middle of the road, looking as if he was going to pass. Good luck trying to pass 30 cars in between spurts of traffic, while there is snow, slush, and occasional patches of ice all over the road. I mean, we could have been going faster, maybe 35 to 40 safely with proper distance between vehicles but... I guess if the road conditions don't allow for the safe passing of other vehicles, it's probably not a good idea to drive just a couple feet behind their bumper.

Cuz people like me like to brake hard... on purpose... ;)

The Big 3

When I graduated from college, I didn't have the best luck finding a job. I was unemployed for several months after getting fired and I used credit cards to pay for everything, the false notion of making lots of money once I found a job flitting through my head. When reality hit and I had to take a job at a gas station, I found myself way over my head in debt. Years later, I worked two jobs for almost half a year, working up to 66 hours per work, maybe more, getting the debt taken care of. I had to settle which isn't the worst for your credit but far from good.

So now we have these automakers who pump out gas-guzzling SUVs and huge trucks for all these retarded rednecks who refuse to buy foreign, reliable, high mpg cars. And by the way, most "foreign" cars are made in America now. Not to mention the American companies have produced sub-par vehicles for years. When I was car shopping last year, I studied Consumer Report's Most Reliable and Least Reliable Lists. The Most reliable list was covered with Toyotas, Hondas, Subarus, and Infinitis. There were maybe 3 or 4 American vehicles on it out of 30 some vehicles. Then you look at the Least Reliable list and it's chock full of American vehicles.

I know they have gotten better in recent years but it's too little, too late. They sunk themselves into the ground... and they want a bailout??? Out of my pocket, from my tax money! Screw you, I say! They can whine all the want about the lost jobs from their collapse but there better not be a bailout or there will be issues between the IRS and myself next year as I do not file my tax return. Why should I pay money, my hard-earned tax money to pay for these retarded companies with their CEOs with their private jets and $100 million salaries and yachts and mansions and Ferraris! It's already to a point where my tax money will go to fund murdering babies. Not only will we support murder but we'll support poor management and bad leadership as well. I never asked for a free handout when I got in over my head. No, I worked my way out of it!

Actually, maybe a better idea would be to write somebody high up in the political system and ask for my car and student loans to be paid off. If a company can dig itself into a hole and get free cash, why can't I? Maybe I should go out and buy a ton of stuff like a house and a nicer car and some nice clothes and a new computer and a huge TV and then say... "Well, can't pay all this off. I'll have to file bankruptcy! Oh... wait... I'll just call up the government and get some free cash."

I really do feel for the people who will lose their jobs. Maybe they should have gone and worked for Honda or Toyota instead of choosing a crappy American company. Or maybe they should have considered NOT making $30 an hour to sit around and watch TV for the union. That's why all the jobs go to China. When you pay a worker $100 an hour on a holiday while he gets OT while he sits around and watches a machine work or sleeps or watches his favorite show, you wonder why you are going under? Do away with these outrageous unions, pay people a reasonable rate to actually work, and then our jobs will come back from India and China and we won't have huge, billion dollar corporations going under.

Welcome to the free economy, Big 3! Suck it up.

EHarmony

Ya know, since I've been on eharmony, there is something to be said about girls with no backbone whatsoever. On this site, you communicate with people by asking questions and other simple stuff before you "graduate" to sending full messages. Anyways, if I find someone attractive, I then look at their profile and read through it or whatever and then I start communicating. These girls won't reply but they won't close the match either. It's extremely irritating. If you aren't interested, close the match and tell me why. I don't even care if they find me extremely ugly and repulsive, just don't waste my time. And I think I come across completely different on the internet than I do in real life, haha. If I'm not interested in someone, I close the match and give a reason why. Usually, I cop out with I Want To Purpose Other Relationship On Eharmony (which is true, it's not like I'm lying) but it's nicer than answering Other, which basically means they aren't attractive. I'm not about to tell some girls they aren't attractive cuz the next guy who comes along could think they are the most beautiful girl in the world whereas I was not attracted to them.

So, seriously, one of the most important lessons any girl can learn is saying no nicely and politely. You can do it without shattering a guy's self-esteem. It's actually much nicer than someone who leaves you hanging. Or something really aggravating is handing out wrong phone numbers. Thank God I don't ask for them, lol.

I'm only eharmony cuz a buddy kept bothering me to get on there. I figured I would give it a year and in a year, I'll just cancel my plan if nothing turns out. Meh, it's worth a try.

Black Friday

Wal-mart Worker's Family Sueing

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081203/ap_on_re_us/wal_mart_death

I really shouldn't have to comment on this article but... wow. The money and consumer driven culture that we live in is getting way out of hand. This kind of stuff just makes me sick. All 2,000 of those people should feel disgusted!

Family of NY man trampled by shoppers sue Wal-Mart
By FRANK ELTMAN, Associated Press Writer Frank Eltman, Associated Press Writer – Wed Dec 3, 5:44 pm ET


GARDEN CITY, N.Y. – The family of a worker trampled to death in a "Black Friday" crush of bargain hunters at a Long Island Wal-Mart store filed a wrongful-death lawsuit on Wednesday, claiming store ads offering deep discounts "created an atmosphere of competition and anxiety" that led to "crowd craze."

The lawsuit claims that besides failing to provide adequate security for a pre-dawn crowd estimated at 2,000, Wal-Mart "engaged in specific marketing and advertising techniques to specifically attract a large crowd and create an environment of frenzy and mayhem and was otherwise careless, reckless and negligent."

Wal-Mart issued a statement saying it would cooperate with local law enforcement officials to develop stronger safety measures for the future.

"We consider Mr. Damour part of the Wal-Mart family, and are saddened by his death," the statement said. "We have been in communication with members of his family to do what we can to help them through this difficult time. Our associates know that when incidents like this occur, we take care of our own."

In addition to the retailer, the adjacent Green Acres Mall, a realty company that manages the property and a security company hired to patrol the property were all named as defendants. A spokeswoman for the realty company declined to comment on pending litigation; none of the other defendants immediately responded to phone and e-mail inquiries seeking comment on the lawsuit.

Jdimytai Damour, 34, had been hired by an employment agency as a temporary worker at the Wal-Mart store in Valley Stream and had been on the job about a week when he died, said his family's lawyer, Jordan Hecht.

The 6-foot-5, 270-pound man died of asphyxiation after being crushed early Friday morning by the crowd, which broke down the electronic doors in frantic pursuit of bargains. At least four other people were treated at hospitals, including a woman who was eight months pregnant.

Authorities suspect that because he was as big as an NFL lineman, Damour was placed at the entrance of the store to assist with crowd control.

"Those hundreds of people who did make their way into the store, literally had to step over or around him or unfortunately on him to get into the Wal-Mart store," Nassau County Police Commissioner Lawrence Mulvey said this week.

Police are reviewing store video to identify possible suspects in Damour's death, but Mulvey conceded that criminal charges are unlikely.

Mulvey said it was apparent to him that the Wal-Mart store about 20 miles east of Manhattan lacked adequate security to handle the crowds. He said police representatives met with retailers throughout the county two weeks before Thanksgiving and made it clear that security and crowd control for the sales were the merchants' responsibilities.

Hecht said Damour's family also plans to file lawsuits against Nassau County and its police department.

County Attorney Lorna Goodman said, "The county has no liability in situations of this kind."
The lawsuit against Wal-Mart and the other companies was filed Wednesday in state Supreme Court in the Bronx, the home of one of the victim's sisters, Elsie Damour Phillipe, the court-appointed administrator of his estate. It does not seek specific damages.

Shoppers around the country line up early outside stores on the day after Thanksgiving in the annual bargain-hunting ritual known as Black Friday. It got that name because it historically has been the day stores broke into profitability for the full year.

The National Retail Federation believes Damour is the first store worker to die on the job in the post-Thanksgiving rush.