Dumbfounded.

If you read this blog, or know me, you know that I work in IT. If you know anything about working in IT, you know that we in the field are privy to some of the most asinine questions and comments in the workplace. Desktop computers have been prominent for what, 15 or so years now? If you work in an office, you should know how to use one by now.

I don't mind intelligent questions about problems that the average computer user would not know about, that's what I'm here for. I do mind when a person goes out of their way attempting to convince me that their parents were direct relatives.

Yesterday, after spending 45 minutes (no exaggeration) trying to explain the difference between "Reply" and "Reply to All," a frustrated user under my blanket of support dropped a bombshell that left me speechless. This person's co-workers and supervisor had been growing tired of being spammed with unnecessary email from the user and asked me to step in. I tried every explanation I could think of to no avail. The final, frustrated reply to my efforts?

"I just don't see how they can expect me to know about computers. I'm just a secretary, it's YOUR job to know how to use these things!"

If I were a mechanic, would it be my job to know how to drive her car? This mentality would put a crimp on many professions. A carpenter's job would never be done. He'd build a house, then have to stop back several times a day to open the front door for it's occupants. Doctors would write a prescription, then have to help their patients find the proper orifice in which to insert the pill. I shudder to think about what a plumber's life would be like.

"How was work today, honey?"

"Terrible. Mrs. Johnson called today. She had chili for dinner last night."

Icy Windshields

I stopped this morning to fill up evil carbon producing commuter machine and witnessed the violation of a personal pet peeve on a grand scale. Out of eight vehicles at the gas station, four had windows covered in enough frost to completely inhibit any kind of visibility. Most of the drivers appeared to have hosed enough washer fluid on the windshield to limp down the street to the gas station and one had scraped a tiny peephole to be used for navigating down the 45mph section of Ohio Route 82 that runs past this particular fuel station. There were two drivers whose cars had either been running long enough to melt the evidence from their vehicles or spend their nights parked in a garage and two that had clearly taken the time to remove the frozen matter enough to properly avoid their fellow roadgoing companions.

This morning, it was a brisk 7 degrees Fahrenheit in Cleveland. I understand that cleaning the ice from ones car is an unpleasant affair, but how hard is it to start the engine and allow the defrosting ducts to do their work? In weather around 20 degrees and down, oil gets thick enough that starting a car and immediately driving away significantly increases wear on the engine, so it's not like you are burning fossil fuels purely for personal comfort. It takes my wife's car about five minutes of idling at frigid temperatures to reach about 75% of normal operating temperature and another two or three for the defroster to clear the windows.

Are a few pints of gasoline really worth the risks involved in careening through the morning traffic unable to see?

The "Foreclosure Crisis"

As a fairly new homeowner, my ears perk up when I hear the word "foreclosure." Lately, they've been perking so much that it's giving me a headache. Here is today's contribution to my cranial discomfort.

Let me set the record strait and say that I certainly do have sympathy for the people losing their homes in this "crisis," especially those with children. The problem here is that many folks financed a home with an ADJUSTABLE rate mortgage at what looked like a great interest rate at the time. Now, interest rates have gone up, and the lenders are ADJUSTING the ADJUSTABLE rates on these mortgages.

My wife and I purchased a home in April last year. As every homeowner knows, part of the process is shopping around for a mortgage. I remember speaking to the first bank I inquired with over the phone. Getting approved for the loan wasn't difficult, as my wife and I both have decent credit. The loan officer told me that we could get a fixed rate mortgage at 6.25% or an adjustable rate mortgage somewhere in the 4.5% ballpark. Being my first experience with this sort of loan, I responded something along the lines of "Adjustable as in the rate could increase in the future?" The reply, of course, was "Yes, but it could also go down." Some quick mental subtraction tells one that there is not much room for a 4.5% interest rate to decrease. On the other hand, there is quite a large expanse between 4.5% and 100% and beyond. Common sense reared it's ugly head and we went with a fixed rate. At the time, I didn't think that the decision was all that hard. Apparently, there are a large number of people who would disagree.

I've heard the "we didn't know any better" argument, but that doesn't to much for me. If you can't be bothered to do some research about the most important purchase of your lifetime, then you deserve what you get, says I. Spending a small fortune (to me) was scary. I wanted to find out everything I possibly could. A fast google search showed me that I could even get legal representation to help me decipher all of the small print, if I was willing to pay for it.

To summarize: If you're going to borrow a wheel barrow full of money, do some homework. In the end, nobody is responsible for what happens after you sign on the dotted line except for yourself.

Change?

Anybody still reading this thing? It's only been half a year since I've updated it, my how time flies. I found myself becoming so sick of paying attention to the world that I started focusing most of my attention on ignoring it. Well, hang on to your hats, my three and a half loyal readers, because I'm back and I'm pissed.

Today's topic of discussion is "Change." I can't open a newspaper or turn on the TV without having to listen to some half wit politician spewing rhetoric about how we need "change" in this country. I'm still trying to find out what specifically these candidates want to make different. I hear the word the most from our two leading Democratic candidates for the 2008 election.

They say they're going to "change the economy and then say that they're going to "change" health care by providing socialized medicine. The tax increases necessary to enact the latter is doubtless to create a situation supportive of the former, but certainly not in a good way. I read in the news that these two promise to "change" the situation in Iraq, "change" social security (which the Democrats broke to begin with) and "change" the illegal immigrant problem.

I have yet to hear from either Hillary or Obama how they plan to accomplish any of this. Neither candidate possesses the experience to make me comfortable with even maintaining the current state of the nation (which I do not believe is as bad as they'd like you to think), let alone making any changes to it. They've served a few terms in congressional office, Hillary a bit more than Obama. That's it. Hillary has said that her time in the White House with Bill and his cigars counts, but she has also said that she didn't have all that much to do with the affairs of the nation during those years. Which is it? Obama has even fewer claims to fame, but at least he has been around long enough to get involved in a real estate scandal.

I currently plan to vote Republican in the upcoming election. I will vote for the candidate of choice of the first person that allows me access to their residence, bank accounts and credit cards and all other personal information in order to make a "change" in their life. Any takers?