WTF

Bessie needs to be put down.

Kristie Wells

WTF Bessie?

It seems my old girl is tired. On the way to a client meeting the other morning – the check engine, oil and battery lights all came on at once and then a minute later, she stopped. Dead. In the middle of the road. Thank goodness I was on a side street and not in the fast lane on Highway 280 like I was just 5 minutes before. I was able to get her to the side for the road and me out of harm’s way.

A tow truck took me to a local service station, 24 hours and a couple of dollars later, I learn she needs a major overhaul ($1k+) if I expect her to continue to run. She does have 220k miles on her, but I take care of her and not sure why the hell she is so unhappy.

Checking Kelly Blue Book I realize plunking that much cash is not worth it. Especially as the motor to the sunroof needed replacing ($800) and tires were in order soon ($500).

So the big question is no longer whether or not I fix her, instead it is what am I going to replace her with? (Kristie heads off to buy more lotto tickets)

P.S. Try to ignore the 8 inches of dust on the dash. Probably why Bessie is so angry. She needs a cleaning. Bad.

Back up? What back up?

Kristie Wells

Got a little surprise a while back when I realized the daily auto backup feature on our Time Machine had stopped backing my laptop up. Don’t know when it happened, or why, only that it did. Of course, I discover this little fact when I needed the back up most. You know, that time when your laptop waves a white flag, shuts down as you were in the middle of something and leaves you sitting there thinking of all the data you are losing…gah.

Thankfully, the bastard MacBook has rebooted and come back to life each time – but it is obvious something is wrong and I need to go see a Mac genius about it. Today, smarty pants me figured it would be wise to force a backup so I could begin this problem solving business and so here I sit – pounding away on the PC – as we wait for the backup to finish.

Time Machine Backup

Funny/sad thing is I took the screen shot above this morning about an hour into the back up. It is now seven (7) hours later and it backed up 15.01GB of 70.8GB worth of data. It is going to be a long night…

Time Machine Backup: 7 hours later

Citibank needs to green themselves.

Kristie Wells

We recently went through a little credit card theft scam fighting over 40 fraudulent transactions charged in Mexico, and worked with Citibank to reverse the charges and settle the account. Credit card number stolen...

Thankfully, Citibank has made the account whole, but in the process – I think they killed their share of a few trees. First they sent out one letter for every transaction that was being declined by us to confirm they have opened a file on it. Then they sent one letter for every transaction letting us know it was being reviewed. Then, we received one letter for every transaction to confirm the charge has been credited back to our account and the file was closed.

120+ envelopes. 120+ letters. Who knows how many ink cartridges. And stamps? This is a sure fire way to keep the USPS in business.

Since all these transactions were reported at the same time, me thinks a smart(er) way to handle this going forward is to send ONE letter confirming all the charges we are declining. Then send ONE letter to confirm our account is in review. Then ONE final letter on all the charges that were being credited back to our account, and if need be, ONE more letter in case some of the charges were not credited (confirming why). Seems a much more efficient use of time. Of money. Of Mother Nature’s resources.

How about it Citibank…care to work on greening yourself?

Help overturn Proposition 8

Kristie Wells

I just received an email from the San Francisco For Obama group about two major upcoming events which I believe deserve some attention, Eve of Justice and the 100,000 People To San Francisco march.

——————

Copied straight from the email:

Both events are results of legal arguments to overturn Proposition 8, which reaches the California Supreme Court this week. The Eve of Justice is a candlelight vigil, while the march is our ONLY CHANCE to have our voices heard.

Why?

We just found out that Thursday, March 5th is the ONLY day they will be arguing the case.

There will only be one day of arguments and then the judges get 90 days to decide. Basically, no second chances here to make our case outside the courthouse… so PLEASE COME and show up. There will be press conferences by the lawyers afterwards – all on March 5th – and the opposition is going to be there in full force so we need to be there in greater numbers.

Eve of Justice – San Francisco
March 4, 2009 at 5:00 PM at Harvey Milk Plaza
This is the day before the California Supreme Court hears oral arguments on the validity of Prop 8. Stand together and send a unified message to our fellow Californians, including the Supreme Court Justices, that individual liberties like the right to marry are guaranteed by the Constitution to everyone and cannot be stripped away at the ballot box by a bare majority.

Prop 8 – 100,000 People To San Francisco
March 5th at 8:00am at the Supreme Court of California
Be present outside the court to show the judges how much we support overturning 8. Don’t wait and react to a decision, go out and show you will fight for equality. No matter what the courts decide, this will be a landmark case in determining if the rights of any minority are safe in our society, so now’s the time to take a stand. If you’re able please come stand outside the courts and wear white in solidarity.

——————

I hope you will show your support by attending one or both of these events and help overturn Proposition 8. I believe we are, as a whole, a forward thinking nation and ask that we all work to guarantee the same freedoms and rights to everyone.

Insane or Fantastic?

Kristie Wells

10 pounds of meat molded into a 20-inch patty on a specially baked, 17-inch bun. Add in 25 slices of cheese, a head of lettuce, three tomatoes, two onions, plus copious quantities of mayo, ketchup, relish, mustard, and peppers.

Ladies and gentlemen, let me introduce you to the 15 pound burger.

Seems there is a joint called Denny’s Beer Barrel Pub in Clearfield, PA (about 120 northeast of Pittsburgh) that is making this monstrosity and it is a claim to fame to throw this thing down in one seating. Any two people who can eat it within a three-hour sitting get it for free. For everyone else, it costs $50. They also have a 100 pound option that can be made for charity events for a mere $380.

No wonder so many Americans are overweight. Gah.

What the hell California?

Kristie Wells

We Californians are a strange breed for sure. We care about the rights of chickens (Prop 2). We helped put a black man in the White House (go Obama!). We even got a petition signed to rename the Oceanside Treatment Plant to the George W. Bush sewage plant (made me laugh).

And we Californians allowed the passage of Prop 8, thereby banning same sex marriages. W.T.F. ???

I find it simply amazing we Californians will fight for animal rights, but we cannot come together to fight for civil rights of all who live in this state. While Prop 8 passed by a small margin (about 400k votes which is not a lot), the fact is it passed in the state of California, and that is a shame.

Last night I marched down Market Street with 5k+ folks, showing my support around the request that California overturn Prop 8. It is no longer about hetero vs. homo. It is about civil rights of all.

No on Prop 8 Rally

Many compare this to the African American community standing up in the 60’s to fight to receive the same rights as white folks, or women fighting for the right to vote. I think this is a pretty darn good comparison. This is a civil 9 not a religious or otherwise – issue.

I can’t imagine someone telling me I could not marry Heuer, the person I love. I should not have the right to tell someone else who they can and cannot marry.

We are a nation in change. Not just in politics, but in how we see and treat one another. Let’s treat one another fairly. With respect. With love.

Re.dunk.dic.u.lous

Kristie Wells

I am far from a fashion maven. In fact, I am probably the next candidate to be getting a visit from Stacy and Clinton, but come on, some things are a given. Leg warmers on anyone but a dancer is dumb. Tube tops on girls over 20 are a bad idea. Pants that cup your boobs are simply re.dunk.dic.u.lous.

Re.dunk.dic.u.lous

I might have to pack the Rebel in my bag and go back for better photos of these Coogi ‘creations’. There is detail work that should not be missed. Oy.

Sometimes…the girl in me pops her head out

Kristie Wells

The week after Heuer and I got married, I went into Michaels craft store and dropped over $300 on scrap booking supplies. Now, mind you…I am not a scrap booker…but, I thought with my newly married status this DIYer should try something ‘domestically based’ that did not involve a Makita drill (my favorite toy of all time).

Fast forward to one year and almost two months later…the three bags of supplies are still tucked nicely away in the closet (untouched).

Needless to say, this project fell by the wayside.

So the other night I found myself flipping channels late at night trying to find something of interest on TV. Lo and behold, I came across craft TV and they were demoing the Cricut, a handy dandy do everything you ever need to do scrap booking wonder tool. The girl in me was glued to the screen. The next thing I knew, I was on the phone ready to hand over $50 so I could finally connect with my inner paper layer outer.

Cricut portable cutting machine

As I was reading the last four digits of my credit card to the operator, I was struck with the realization that the odds were high this Cricut wonder tool would join the untouched bags of paper in the closet, only to be sold in a garage sale in three years after I finally admit I am just not ‘one of those girlie scrap booking girls’.

So after an apology for ‘wasting their time’ I hung up the phone, and turned off the TV.

I did keep their number though. I figure if I still want the darn thing in three months, then I should spend the money and hopefully I will use it. If not, then the next thing to do is getting rid of all the paper supplies collecting dust in the closet.