Tag: stupidity

Living by Joe WilcoxMar 24, 20075:21 pm

Hybrid Cars are a Bad Idea

I philosophically oppose the concept of hybrid cars. The hybrid is a feel-good response to concerns about the environment that doesn’t go near as far as needed. For other folks, hybrid auto is a no-conscience purchase; it’s about saving money on gasoline. Mother Nature deserves better than these gas guzzlers and air polluters.

How about those natural gas vehicles, like the Metro buses moving around Washington, or ethanol-powered alternatives? They’re no better choices than hybrids. All these vehicles are bad for the environment and in their wickedness preserve an oil-based infrastructure and economy that long ago surpassed any meaningful usefulness.

Web by Joe WilcoxMar 12, 20075:28 pm

Painful Changes

My blog relocation has turned out to be quite an exhilarating experience. On Saturday, I managed to delete all the content and my Movable Type export file. Everything was lost! Oh, it’s a harrowing tale.

Some background: I made the move on Wednesday to pmachinehosting, which a few days later changed its name to EngineHosting. I also moved from Movable Type to ExpressionEngine. I lacked two things: A new design and fix to a troublesome problem, that ExpressionEngine inserted index.php/comments in the path of posts (e.g., http://www.joewicox.com/index.php/comments/painful_changes.

Living by Joe WilcoxSep 16, 20064:17 pm

Pump Up Your Common Sense

I really worry about some people, and that is sincerely meant.

This morning, over at the local gas station, the mechanics changed a headlight on our car. Say, how many mechanics does it take to change a lightbulb? Three took about 20 minutes figuring out how to get the old bulb out and the new one in.

While they struggled to see the light, a finely dressed woman drove a polished SUV into the station for fuel. Problem: The gas station had no gas. “Out of Order” signs covered every pump. Undaunted, this woman circled around, eyeing them, before parking before one.

Politics by Joe WilcoxJul 13, 200612:46 pm

Only Losers

The events escalating in the Middle East are increasingly troubling, as Israel and Lebanon lob armaments at each other. Does the world really need another war in the Middle East? No. A few years ago […]

Living by Joe WilcoxJul 12, 20066:10 pm

What Would Wendy Say?

This morning, as I stood in line at Wendy’s, something troubling occurred. The male manager—maybe store, maybe shift—slid his palm around one of the female cashier’s midriffs as he stepped around the counter and out into the restaurant. He slid his hand around her waist across her tummy. It was an affectionate touch, the kind a man might give a woman he loves. But she didn’t react as a lover might. Rather, she slightly stiffened, as did the casher next to her.

Of course, I observed a fleeting action, with very little context. But the touch troubled me. I left greatly concerned for both women and maybe others. For all I know, the boss is touchy with everyone, just a helluva friendly guy. But the cynic inside says there was more going on.

Living by Joe WilcoxJul 2, 20067:53 pm

Cancel Me, Cancel You

Ah, the power of the single voice, amplified by the reach of the World Wide Web. Today’s New York Times story, “AOL Said, ‘If You Leave Me I’ll Do Something Crazy’“, once again highlights the power of the Web, particularly Weblogs or content-sharing sites like YouTube. Randall Stross’ story is also a tell-tale account of how difficult can be account cancellation.

The story starts with a Bronx man’s 21-minute phone call seeking to cancel his AOL account: “Vincent Ferrari, 30, of the Bronx…recorded the five minutes of interaction with the AOL customer service representative and, a week later, posted the audio file on his blog, Insignificant Thoughts. Shortly thereafter, those five minutes became the online equivalent of a top-of-the-charts single”.

Gear by Joe WilcoxJun 16, 20065:58 pm

Oh, Joe of Little Faith

This evening, I stopped into Penn Camera to pick up that spare Nikon D200 battery ordered about a week earlier. I waited behind a guy spending big on a digital camera, although it was uncertain if he understood what he was buying.

Thomas Hawk might appreciate this: A Canon EOS 5D, Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L USM lens, Canon Speedlite 430EX flash, memory card, and some other stuff I couldn’t quite make out. The buyer seemed somewhat perplexed by the $5,500 total. I thought, “It’s what you pay for a full-frame sensor”. Turns out, Canon rebates would put more than 500 bucks back in his pocket—$300 off the 5D. The camera is practically a steal at $2,699 after rebate.

Web by Joe WilcoxJan 15, 199612:08 pm

A Cold Day In Hell

It’s not surprising that Yankee thrift is thick as the new snow up here in the Maine Outback. Worn-away furniture is turned into firewood and Grandma’s old dress made part of junior’s new quilt. Nothing is wasted—especially money. So people get quite angry when big-city companies try to help themselves to the wallets of the country folk.

I am no exception.