Where have all the new cars gone?

So, no one's buying new cars right now. No one wants to pony up the money with the economy in the gutter. Automobile makers, manufacturers and their employees are growing more desperate as their hopes of a prosperous 2009 swirl slowly down the drain. Recently, a conglomerate advertisement for all automobile makers in the state appeared on television. It's rather depressing that these huge, wealthy companies are pooling their resources to beg the public to buy up their product.

And where do unsold cars end up?

Gathering dust: (click pic for more)

Made In The USA - Nudity Edition

So, let's say you just made a solemn oath to only patronize American manufacturers (for the sake of argument, fill in the name of your own country, unless it's China). You decide to begin the revolution right now with what you're wearing. How naked would you be? My guess: Jaybird naked.

I did a rundown of my own clothing today and got the following list:

glasses: Italy

sweater: Dominican Republic

blouse: Bangladesh

bra: (yes, I went there) Thailand

pants: China

underwear: Hong Kong

socks: ??? (could be American made!)

shoes: Vietnam

So, best case scenario, I'd be standing in my socks. How about you? Where are your clothes from? And if you're going to check all your labels, you might want to find a private place... I'm just saying. : )

(and , no, this isn't the first time I've been curious about this...)

Bankety-Bank Bank Idiots!

I'm not a good yeller, I don't like confrontation and I think poorly on my feet. So it should surprise no one that I was loathe to return a phone call from my bank yesterday after it was discovered that my account was overdraft on Monday. This was after I had put in a sufficient sum to bring my total out of the red. Before banking hours this morning I decided to ease my mind as to the pending doom of the call by checking my account. Exactly as I feared a whole host of fees had been assessed after I deposited the amount neccessary to bring my balance into the black again. The rage began to boil. I knew I had to call, I knew I had to be angry, I knew I could not accept no for an answer. I called and was told by a manager that my frustration was unfounded and that if I would only listen she would explain again why I was wrong and the bank was right. I took the name of her manager (out for the day) and hung up. Ridiculous. Now I was seething and hopeless.

I called the customer service line. I stood my ground. I insisted that my bank be forthright in telling me exactly how much I owe, not less, because this looks like they were baiting me to stay overdrafted and continue accruing fees. She politely informed me that they could remove one fee. I politely informed her that this would not suffice. She politely told me that they would remove two of the fees, but that my bank was under no obligation to do so. I told her that my bank should have warned me that they might give me false information before I tried to cover a hidden amount in my account. I then asked her to guarantee there would be no additional fee assessed today (while-you-wait-screwing) and then to tell me what my account total would be after our phone call. She did both and according to her assurances, I should have no fear that I will be hammered once more into the ground because of their negligence. I'll believe it when I see it.

So, I'm thinking of taking on a new bank. Any suggestions?

Overdraft

You've done it again! You've narrowly avoided being in the black at the end of a fiscal period and dipped a toe in the red stuff. Your bank, with its eagle-eye for floundering patrons, swoops in and pinches off a bit of skin that you don't have. That red mark will be there until you come up with other money to cover the dent you have now made in your already weakened resources. And then you're off, rebounding into the black, newly censured and eager to stay clear of trouble.

Ga$ FYI

If you are like me, you may have been tempted to sock in a few extra dollars for higher octane gasoline ready for the added benefits higher mpg it promises. Read the facts from the Federal Trade Commission.

*sigh* Now I have to wean my Volvo off the stuff. *grumble*

You're Loaded

Admit it!

(Snagged from JaG)

A Nice Retirement Fund

My blog is worth $20,887.98.
How much is your blog worth?

Come Fly With Me To Section Eight

Damn! And I just bought non-refundable tickets!

Who's Helping The Upperdog?

Just a few of the 95 nations sending aid to the US for disaster relief efforts:

South Korea $30,000,000
India $5,000,000
Japan $200,000 and quadruple that in supplies
Afganhistan $100,000
Sri Lanka $25,000
Germany MRE's, high-speed pumps, forensic experts

It's almost embarrassing how much aid is coming our way. And also kind of touching. Sri Lanka is still wrapped in the fog of recent tsunami damage. There were reports of aid offerings waiting US approval and even some that were outright rejected. Iran in particular was turned away, but ostensiably because they offered crude oil in exchange for a lift on the trade embargo and apparently the US wasn't feeling it.

Maybach Feels Great

One of the most expensive cars available. On their website you can choose the option of hearing the 'symphony' over your tour of the car. I highly recommend you turn on the 'symphony'. I almost wept.

Also, for stunning amounts of information watch the Maybach Movie. It includes a very serious look at the Maybach history as well as a browser's guide to Maybach features.

One thing that stood out to me: Maybachs are made in one place in the world. That factory produces only 1,000 cars per year (or 'annum' as they say in the hoity film).

Becoming A Corporate Blogger

I came across an article in the Wall Street Journal's online career journal yesterday which astounded me. It basically told me that the way in which I waste time right now at my somewhat easy and unchallenging desk job is actually earning some lucky sons-of-bloggers up to $75k a year.

My jaw dropped. Paid top dollar to blog? Impossible! But this apparently phenomenon is catching on. Top companies want a friendly face and a conversational tone to their otherwise cold, money-grubbing exterior. And that's where colloquial geniuses like myself come in quite handy. The art of writing in a conversational tone is, apparently, highly sought after by the pin-head, stuffed shirts in the corporate world. Yippee!

Now I just have to find a company dumb enough to hire me after saying all those disparaging things about corporate environment... Let's just get out the Yellow Pages, shall we...?

All About Eritrea

Since the country name 'Eritrea' showed up in my web visitor stats this week, I have become curious as to exactly what Eritrea is all about. Who are Eritreans? What's on their minds? What goes on in a typical Eritrean home? What does Eritrean fast-food taste like, etc.

Well, in order to answer these questions, I first had to figure out where the hell Eritrea was. Eritrea is apparently located in Eastern Africa, bordering the Red Sea, between Djibouti and Sudan. (That's pronounced Gib-booty, like "Getcha booty on the dance floor, babay!") It is slightly larger than Pennsylvania in land area. 4.95% of this land is arable (which means it's livable) and the other 95 and change% is not. Listed as it's natural resources, among others, are gold, potash, fish, and zinc. Natural hazards you may expect as an Eritrean are frequent droughts and swarms of locusts. Geographically speaking, however, if you can get over the desertification and deforestation and whatnot, Eritrea is in the money. When they gained their independence from Ethiopia in 1993 they took the entire Ethiopian coastline with them. And since it lies along the world's busiest shipping lanes, I think they got a pretty good deal. Two and half years of Ethiopian battle-feuds not withstanding.

The median age of Eritreans is 18 years old. Eritreans over 65 represent only 3% of the population. In fact life expectancy for Eritreans has maxed out at 52. Compare that to the US expectancy of a nice generous 77.7. On average, women in Eritrea can expect to give birth to 5 and a half kids. Almost 59% of the population are literate.

Major exports include: livestock, sorghum, textiles, and food. More than half of the nations exports will go to Malaysia (who I'm thinking then repackage it and sell it to us (the US) since we are their highest export partner).

The telephone system has been rated, to no one's surprise, "very inadequate." The entire country has one TV station and less than 10,000 internet users (one of whom visited my film review page! Thanks, dude.). It's internet abbreviation code is .er which unlike Tuvalo (.tv) no one has wanted to buy off of them for ridiculous sums of money.

Half the population is below poverty level.

And one last fact to help your heart sink all the way into your stomach: Of the 4 and half million people living in Eritrea, 59,000 are refugees and displaced persons thanks to the ongoing war with Ethiopia and internal fighting factions.

Wow.

I feel like 2½ million bucks!

A website tells me I am worth $2,491,678.00.

P-shaw! Rubbish! I'm worth a lot more than that!

But input your data and lemme know what they think you are worth.

All About the Jeffersons

Lookie what I found! A genuine Jefferson Two dollar bill! I'm so excited. I can't wait to frame it... or spend it.

Bookstore Economics

20 mints @ 60¢ a box = 3¢ per mint.
Seems a bit steep to me...
And they look sickly in this photo.
Just lets you know, whoever
took this photo, did it herself.