Ishmael's data exchange

A: Alpha
B: Bravo
C: Charlie
D: Delta
E: Echo
F: Foxtrot
G: Golf
H: Hotel
I: India
J: Juliet
K: Kilo
L: Lima
M: Mike
N: November
O: Oscar
P: Papa
Q: Quebec
R: Romeo
S: Sierra
T: Tango
U: Uniform
V: Victor
W: Whiskey
X: X-Ray
Y: Yankee
Z: Zulu

1: Wun
2: Too
3: Tree
4: Fower
5: Fife
6: Siks
7: Seven
8: Ait
9: Niner
0: Zeero

This will be turned into a page.

One year ago “Drill Baby Drill” was a small chant that help the republican party to push their efforts for more domestic drilling. What ever happened to “Drill Baby Drill”?

Oh yeah, Oil peaked at $150 a barrel last year and now is stable around $40 a barrel. Drill no more since republicans sure got told when investors came to their senses.

Maybe they should have followed this guy:  http://www.cnn.com/2008/TECH/science/07/08/pickens.plan/index.html

Here are my comments on what the GOP calls pork or could it really be a vegetable?

My definition of pork(politics): Immediate solution. May seem tasty and satisfying yet later down the road it could cause you serious problems.

My definition of vegetable (politics): Solution that takes years to implement and special care to grow. May seem nausious to swallow yet it is good for you.

My definition of processed(politics): Middle ground between pork and vegetable.

•$2 billion earmark to re-start FutureGen, a near-zero emissions coal power plant in Illinois that the Department of Energy defunded last year because it said the project was inefficient. 

Vegetable: You cannot let years of research and development at Southern Illinois University Carbondale go to waste. In my short attendance at SIUC I did have time to learn about the goals of making clean coal to help utilize an energy source that has been avoided because of its harmful emissions. With this new technology being tested many plants can be upgraded instead of being replaced. Also, this bill would create more construction jobs and engineering jobs!

• A $246 million tax break for Hollywood movie producers to buy motion picture film.

Processed: Hollywood is not hurting as much as the finance industry yet a tax break could inspire more projects to be greenlighted.

• $650 million for the digital television converter box coupon program.

Vegetable: The conversion date is unfair to consumers and many would lose basic access to public television which is a REQUIRED medium for communication(Storm warnings, weather, local news) if you don’t have internet access. 

• $88 million for the Coast Guard to design a new polar icebreaker (arctic ship).

Processed: Creates work for engineers and could help lower maintenance cost of coast guard ships although it is not a high priority.

• $448 million for constructing the Department of Homeland Security headquarters.

Vegetable: “constructing” requires Construction workers

• $248 million for furniture at the new Homeland Security headquarters.

Vegetable: Bails out the industries that depend on commercial property and residential property sales.

• $600 million to buy hybrid vehicles for federal employees.

Processed: Only if the requirement would be American car makers then this would be a vegetable. Reducing emissions would help in the future so consider this meal as gettting a Ham 6″ from Subway.

• $400 million for the Centers for Disease Control to screen and prevent STD’s.

Vegetable: Better protection means more youth to work for the future. More work for RN and other related fields.

• $1.4 billion for rural waste disposal programs.

Vegetable: Creates work for waste disposal engineers and helps us achieve green 

• $125 million for the Washington sewer system.

Processed: Only if the Washington sewer system needs an upgrade. Nevertheless, creates construction work.

• $150 million for Smithsonian museum facilities.

Vegetable: Keeps the historians employed 

• $1 billion for the 2010 Census, which has a projected cost overrun of $3 billion.

Vegetable: Creates more work

• $75 million for “smoking cessation activities.”

Processed: destroys another industry yet for the better of american way of living. Would require resources(people)

• $200 million for public computer centers at community colleges.

Vegetables: Yes. Not everyone can afford a computer which can help out low-income families and students.

• $75 million for salaries of employees at the FBI.

Vegetables: Keep the FBI employed because they will continue to weed out the corrupt.

• $25 million for tribal alcohol and substance abuse reduction.

Vegetable: Purchasing of Alcohol has gone up because stress is high. We’re going to need something in place that will help people who are succomb to alcohol abuse.

• $500 million for flood reduction projects on the Mississippi River.

Vegetable: Prevents further disasters and creates more construction jobs. A definite win!

• $10 million to inspect canals in urban areas.

Vegetable: After what happened in 2006-2008 we need to revisit our entire infastructure.

• $6 billion to turn federal buildings into “green” buildings.

Vegetable: reduce operating cost of the government

• $500 million for state and local fire stations.

Vegetable: We need to keep the public service employed

• $650 million for wildland fire management on forest service lands.

Vegetable: The terminator and he state needs funds to prevent another 2008.

• $1.2 billion for “youth activities,” including youth summer job programs.

Vegetable: keep the youth active and educated. They are the tomorrow

• $88 million for renovating the headquarters of the Public Health Service.

Vegetable: more work for construction workers

• $412 million for CDC buildings and property.

Vegetable: more work for construction workers

• $500 million for building and repairing National Institutes of Health facilities in Bethesda, Maryland.

Vegetable: that’s a requirement, more work for construction workers

• $160 million for “paid volunteers” at the Corporation for National and Community Service.

Vegetable: Teens spend lots of money

• $5.5 million for “energy efficiency initiatives” at the Department of Veterans Affairs National Cemetery Administration.

• $850 million for Amtrak.

Vegetable: yes Amtrak is just another branch of the government that many people depend on. 

• $100 million for reducing the hazard of lead-based paint.

Processed: Not a high priority yet gives chemical engineers some work

• $75 million to construct a “security training” facility for State Department Security officers when they can be trained at existing facilities of other agencies.

Vegetable:  Creates construction work and keeps department of security trained 

• $110 million to the Farm Service Agency to upgrade computer systems.

Vegetable: In preparation for better transparancy of the government

• $200 million in funding for the lease of alternative energy vehicles for use on military installations.

Vegetable: Brings us to the goal of our ending our dependence on oil

So where’s the Pork?

Now republican party supporters think the media was in the tank for the election and that Barack Obama bought the election.

Where are they getting this information or is it all speculation?

You have been directing music videos for sixteen years yet you don’t have the competence to direct a BoA music video. Not just any video. Her United States of North America debut.

I hope BoA’s record company asks for their money back. Either you lacked the passion to direct, didn’t understand BoA’s style(and plight) or have some motive to ruin a foreign artist’s career. 

I have made better music videos within one day

I swear this is the worst feature any phone company could have offered to residential customers.

Never dial any number someone tells you to dial that starts with *72.

*72 is the code to call foward your incoming calls to another destination. Therefore, you would not be able to pick up any incoming calls after the first ring and will be charged a hefty fee for each call and each minute on that call.

Why would someone ask you to do this?

1. They’re in prison trying to use the system to reach someone on the outside
2. They’re a scammer (see #1)
3. It’s a very old scam that is almost as effective as the ILOVEYOU virus

My trip to Southern California gave me an epiphany: we are paying too much for everything in Chicago.

• The price of a wide screen 45″ (and higher) TV in California is equivalent to the cost of a 21-25″ in Chicago.
• The cost of a damn good burger in California is $5.25 at In-N-Out where in Chicago the only good burgers come from restaurants that cost $6.50 to $10.50
• There are several fast food franchises in Southern California where in Chicago there are only 4 major ones that are NOT Mcdonald’s.
• Pizza tastes great at 8,000 feet and it is cheap!
• WalMart’s aplenty. Near Chicago they are rare.
• Fry’s aplenty and the prices are even cheaper than Walmart

I was going to do a long post about Southern California yet my only complaint was the ridiculous prices.

There’s this laundry mat on 47th and Lake Park (in Chicago) that is open 24 hours which I go to quite often.

Unfortunately, I do not visit this laundry mat to wash my laundry. I visit it because it is the only place that is open after business hours that has quarters. However, if this place had cheaper washer and dryers, like free drying on the North Side, I would bother to bring in my laundry in the low security area.

I recently discovered that “Management” has posted a sign stating “You’re not supposed to come in and get change unless you are planning on using the machines within the facility.”

Whoa whoa whoa.

There must be a huge expense in changing those dollars to quarters to even post that as a suggestion!

They’re trying to put a band-aid on internal bleeding; Management is missing the broader picture.

Problem 1:  The currency exchange is only open during normal business hours and is closed on Sunday. Yet, the laundry mat is open 24 hours and has many customers on Sunday.

Problem 2: Most of the surrounding tenant buildings have washing machines and dryers where it is cheaper to do your laundry rather than at the laundry mat that has quarters

Problem 3: None of the tenant based laundry rooms have a change machine.

Problem 4: Walgreen’s does not have enough quarters to give out $5 worth of quarters. (It is open longer than the Currency Exchange)

Problem 5: There’s only one staff member to enforce the rule.

Good luck enforcing that policy!

Things I did last night…

Today I overheard a woman talk about her trip to a local laundromat that turned out to be one of the most biggest mistakes she has ever made.

She attempted to wash her clothes: a simple concept. To wash her bright colored clothes she had to pay $5.50 for one load compared to $5.25 for the smaller washer. She set the washer on hot water and left the washer to attend to another task. When she checked on her load she discovered that the machine had switched from hot water to warm water. Thinking it was just a mistake she pressed the hot water button again to have the machine dispense hot water yet to only find out the machine reverted to using warm water.

Frustrated with the machine she asked the attendant about why the machine refused her request of hot water. The attendant impolitely informed her that she had to add an additional twenty-five cents to use hot water. He also informed her of the hard-to-find sign that is posted on the side of the machine that informs the user of the need to deposit an additional twenty-five cents to operate the washer.

A laundromat on the south side of Chicago that requires $5.50 is ridiculous. A business cannot expect to thrive when it doesn’t attempt to cater to a customer.