One of the less-pleasant aspects of my sales & service position is dealing with irate clients. You’re bound to get these in my line of work...you just don’t know when until you pick up the phone. Most of the time a simple explanation of our policies puts their concerns to rest.
However, out of this group comes the ones which aren’t satisified, no matter what you, or the supervisors, can do for them. I had three of these yesterday; they can be exhausting to deal with...but it was somewhat offset by a referral I grabbed for a client manager. The end of the shift found one of the supervisors coming over to discuss this subgroup with the floor team, and I found out that everyone got hit with these yesterday.
I’m just glad I have the day off. Back to bed....

Well, Time Magazine has selected its 2008 Person of the Year, and since you’re already seeing this graphic, there’s no need to hide the fact of who it is. Amazing that there isn’t any orgasmic matter on the cover design, since they’ve been extolling his virtues from Day One.
Бара́к Хусе́йн Оба́ма campaigned on “Hope and Change™.” With his stuffing of key Cabinet positions by Clinton Administration retreads, we are getting neither. Perhaps the el cubos are too busy copulating for the sake of copulation for them to notice this. Oh, and did you hear who’s answering the phones for Оба́ма?
I rest my case. This is most certainly Change You Can Believe In™.

If you love paying high taxes, there are a few states on The Left Coast...and a few states on The Other Left Coast...who will be more than happy to oblige you, and it doesn’t include Michigan or the Народная Республика Ильиной. Here’s the latest list:

Spending cuts: No Problem. Layoffs: No Problem. Tax hikes: PROBLEM. If these polls aren’t restricted by IP address, it’s time to tell these politicians Not Just No but HELL NO!

I’m not sorry to utter these words, Mr. President. You may have protected this nation from further attacks from the Islamofascists, but to say you’re sorry about nationalizing the risk involved in the free market and privatizing the reward?
This is total bulls**t! That is what you’ve done with all the damn bailouts of the housing, financial, and now the auto industries. When the hell is this going to STOP! Is your aim to frak up the American economy some more and then hand it to БХО?
You’ve definitely earned yourself a place in the RINO Hall of Fame, right beside Senator McCain, who’s back to his old tricks.

Dang, it’s already out! And I wasn’t expecting it for another twelve hours! OK here we go.
Turns out that Cylon alarm was a false one. Everyone’s jumped back except the Raptor, which has apparently gone over the Red Line. Now, no one play Lost In Space right now, OK?
Back aboard Galactica, Hoshi (yes, Hoshi) is worried and tells Tigh, who sees what Hoshi is trying to say without having to come right out and say it. He replies that he’ll talk to the Old Man about loaning a Raptor (and its pilot) to him to go look for Gaeta.
And the folks aboard the lost Raptor have just over 20 hours’ air left....

Gee, I wonder how many of the el cubos out there who swooned, screamed, campaigned, and ultimately voted for Hope and Change™ are now having Buyer’s Remorse?

WASHINGTON—Senator John F. Kerry was named chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee today, pledging to use his stewardship of the influential panel to strengthen American interests in Afghanistan and Pakistan, help end the war in Iraq, and craft solutions to the climate change crisis.
The Massachusetts Democrat is already on an extended tour of trouble spots that will likely consume the foreign policy attention of President-elect Barack Obama. Kerry met today with leaders in Pakistan and India, trying to ease tensions between the two nuclear powers over the recent terrorist attacks in Mumbai.

Ready to administer the Global Test.

O Ye Who Use and Enjoy Macs! Go Ye and select Software Update from the Apple Menu and download 10.5.6. Or go here for the manual update. The Macker Commands It!

According to the Wall Street Journal, the Chicago Tribune was cooperating with the Federal investigation of Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich, when they decided to move with their story on December 5, thus spoiling the opportunity for the Feds to get the whole thing on tape: seller (Blagojevich), buyer (Lord only knows), and transaction amount.
Great. That’s just great, the Tribune playing CYA in running with the story early. Now another question pops up. Who else knew this s**t was going down, and when did they know it? Feds, I’d start investigating the Tribune if you already haven’t done so.

HAT TIP: Stop The ACLU

Dang close to one if you ask me....
I just discovered a wonderful online repository of historical photos from the Civil War era all the way into the 1960s! It’s called Shorpy, and the content is absolutely breathtaking!
Here’s a reproduction of a US Census Bureau tabulating machine from 1917. You can either click on the thumbnail for a larger rendition, go to the actual entry, or both!

They may have been handily beaten by the Indianapolis Colts 31-21, but at least this week they didn’t Lie Down; apparently Dainty Culpepper didn’t start, and their offense scored two touchdowns. So that is some progress.
The 1976 Tampa Bay Buccaneers, with their Day-Glo orange uniforms, finished their inaugural season at 0-14. However, back then, the NFL season was only 14 games. So the Loins still have two games to lose, for true single-season futility.

While on his farewell trip to Iraq as President, George W. Bush got a couple of shoes thrown at him during a press conference, and was called a dog by the guy throwing the shoes. A double...or would that be triple?...insult, since showing one’s shoes to another’s face is considered an ultimate insult in Arabic societies, as is calling someone a dog. Neither President Bush nor Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Maliki were injured.
Good thing Saddam wasn’t still around. This guy would have been thrown into the wood chipper. Also, let’s wait till the first time БХО visits that country as our President. Then we’ll see if he gets the same treatment too.

Or, what the UAW foists on the Detroit automakers? I vote “Yes” because in both cases, it’s so much regulatory bulls**t that it simply isn’t funny anymore.
In this case, it’s actually the latter. Just wait till you read the content! Be sure to get yourself some caffeine-loaded substance to keep yourself up.
And I bet you’re wondering how big these files are in electronic form? Here, let me tell you:

• GM: 78.3 MB
• Ford: 4.2 MB
• Chrysler: 21.0 MB

I actually peeked at the docs themselves; GM’s and Chrysler’s contracts seem to be quick scans of the pages from a “handbook” (?) which likely still uses a frakkin’ printing press! Ford’s looks as though they actually use Microsoft Word, and then printed into PDF format.
But holy s**t! No bloody wonder why these companies remain competitively hobbled.

Y’know, until tonight I hadn’t taken part in a true multiparty video chat:

I really got to find some more Mac users who can do this!

I swear, lots of the so-called “Top 40” which permeates the airwaves these days is so terrible, I’d rather have Disco:

Sorry I’m following up that toon with such dire news. Now another disaster has hit Rhodesia. This time it’s Cholera, with over 16,000 deaths so far and a 4.7% fatality rate, and true to form, that DFC Robert Mugabe turns to its favorite whipping boy, to blame:
The British.
Followed by the Americans and “unnamed Western allies.”
I’m surprised it didn’t come right out and blame the JOOOOOOs; that one seems to work quite well for the Islamofascists. And it’s still a nominal Roman Catholic. When will this son of a bitch be excommunicated?