Bank of America changes it’s name to Bank of Tommy “The Shark” Martorano.

Ohhhhh if I had some good PhotoShop skills I would have really done a number with the picture below and the Bank of America picture.  Bank of America, consider yourself lucky. 

My wife who banks with Bank of America had her interest rate nearly double for no apparent reason a few months ago.  She has good credit, pays on time, and pays more than the minimum.  She  immediately called them and their answer was something to the affect of, we see that your debt-to-income ratio is out of whack.  Hmm, so you see that someone’s ability to repay their debt could be hampered by their existing additional debts and you decide to double their interest rate?  I fail to see how that would help the situation.  The other issue is her debt-to-income ratio is skewed since they’re not taking into account that she’s married and it’s not just her income it’s both of our incomes that support our household. 

After having my interest rates jacked recently (more on that later), I recently revisited the issue and asked myself.  How would Bank of America know what her debt-to-income ratio is without pulling her credit report?  Something they wouldn’t have been authorized to do without some sort of credit application.  Well folks I now know what they’re doing.  Apparently we requested a personal loan to consolidate debt into one payment at which time they run a credit report.  That loan was approved with a ridiculous interest rate and we subsequently declined that offer fearing we might bump into this loan shark in a dark alley and have our knee caps broken.  What they’re doing is taking the information they have on file (in this case, the loan application done months before the credit card interest rate was nearly doubled) and using it against you.  Wow.  That’s some sneaky shit and quite frankly unfair, because again as I stated in my aforementioned paragraph they’re not taking into account that she lives in a married household with dual incomes.  Not to mention the um, you know, the fact that she pays on time, more than the minimum payment.

I had long vowed to never do business with Bank of America regardless of the fact that you could find a Bank of America ATM in your crack dealer’s basement if you wanted.  I had heard horror stories about them for a long time and I never liked their affinity for sodomizing hard working Americans while having the audacity to call themselves Bank of America.  Somehow implying they’re somehow the bank for the people.  But then again, Black folks have always been weary of a bank who’s logo shares the same colors as the confederate flag correlating them with rape, inequality, and oppression.  Ok that was a bit much right?  But it’s true.  Bank of America is doing  just that.  Raping customer’s ass holes, paying executives tons of money while hurting the middle class (inequality), and oppressing the middle class by continuing to hike interest rates for no valid reason other than they can.

In fairness (because you know how important it is to me to report the news fairly, right).  Bank of America allows you to decline the credit card hike, thus allowing you to pay existing credit card debt under the same interest rate as long as you don’t make any more charges on the card going forward.  Essentially your card/account will be closed once it’s paid.  But they’re so caring they actually leave the card activated and working for you just in case you decide you must have something.  This way if you do make a charge to the card they can immediately assume you’re interested in keeping the card, you’ve essentially reaccepted the interest terms, and jack your interest rate back up while you pay off the card.

More recently I’ve had my credit card interest rates jacked up by Chase and some other bank who’s name I can’t even recall.  Same situation, they’re just looking to fuck the average Joe by any means necessary to recover from those defaulting mortgages for which they should have known would default in the first place.  I mean come on, you gave the guy sweeping the floor at Dunkin Donuts a $700,000 mortgage and called it “exotic financing” by pulling tricks like ARM and interest only loans.  My idea of exotic isn’t living in a shelter in two years which is exactly what’s happened to millions of now ex-homeowners. 

For those who don’t know a big reason we’re in a recession is because of the housing market.  Remember not long ago the housing market was booming!  Why?  Because people were buying homes left and right.  Why?  Because the Wells Fargo and Countrywide mortgages of the world would get you financed for $700,000 homes when they knew you wouldn’t be able to afford it when that adjustable rate changed, or that interest only loan caught up to you.  It’s called predatory lending and my wife and I know first hand.  Luckily for us we were educated consumers and knew the difference between a 30-year fixed rate vs. an ARM or interest only.  But that didn’t stop the lenders from trying to shove it down our throat.  One lender (the biggest loser in the whole housing bubble burst), Countrywide actually refused to give us a GFE (Good Faith Estimate) for a 30-year fixed interest rate.  He insisted we go with an ARM even though our credit was good, and we knew we could get a low fixed interest rate.  It mattered to him because they got bonuses for predatory lending.  We ended up telling him to go fuck himself and left his office.  Same situation with Wells Fargo.  We couldn’t believe it.  They were trying to talk us into $500,000 loans by going with an ARM or interest only loan when we KNEW that’s not what we wanted.  We wanted $300,000 and a fixed rate.  Now look at the millions of American’s who got FUCKED because they either didn’t know better and got taken by big corporations, or tried to live above their means.

Now these same corporations want to double dick the consumer by now saying we’re jacking up all those credit card interest rates to make up for defaulting home loans.  Oh, and we’ll take that bail-out money too Mr. Obama and continue to pay top dollar to our executives. 

So again, in fairness to Bank of America, they aren’t doing anything other banks aren’t doing, they were simply on the cutting-edge of consumer sodomy.  They were hiking interest rates before the other banks had even thought about it.  Now other banks are following suit jacking up rates ahead of congress passing new credit card legislation that would essentially put a number of regulations on when and how credit card issuers can increase interest rates.  It’s a very positive measure but banks simply decided to jack those rates up before the new measure goes into effect.  The feds however are trying to backdate the measure to May.  This means any bank who jacked up interest rates after May (around the time this legislation was introduced) would be forced to retroactively comply even though the effective date might not be until Dec. 1st.

That helps for some who have multiple credit cards.  But as I previously stated, Bank of America clearly saw this coming before May and had already started hiking interest rates.  Those cunts strike again! 

Don’t forget to stay tuned next week.  Be sure to subscribe to my blog!  The more people I see the more I tend to want to write more.

Concerned University students have taken issue with roommates having sex in dorm. New “anti-sexiling” policy in effect.

What a bunch of whiney cunts.  Of course we all know who these “concerned students” are don’t we?  Yep.  Those are the cock-blocking whistle blowers who’s pants are a little too high, glasses a little too thick, and breath a little too rank to really want to converse with.  Unfortunately you got stuck sharing a dorm room with them, and apparently the panting going on in your half of the dorm room is affecting your roommates Harry Potter marathon.

Ok, here’s the issue.  Tufts University’s 2009-2010 student handbook has implemented a new policy that prohibits students from engaging in sexual activities while a roommate is present.  In addition, roommates are also prohibited from “sexiling” (much like exiling) a roommate for the purposes of engaging in a little skin slapping action.  More specifically "You may not engage in sexual activity while your roommate is present in the room.  And sexual activity within your assigned room should not ever deprive your roommate(s) of privacy, study, or sleep time.” 

No wonder I only went to college 6 months. My idea of a college dorm would mean not only will I be fucking in my dorm room on  a regular basis regardless of who’s present, hell I might even turn that mutha into a train.  My roommate and I could run an Amtrak  for all I care.  In fact I’d be telling my roommate to invite his fuck of the week and we' could play a game of musical chairs, freak edition.  Isn’t that the only reasons people go to college?  Oh yeah that and the parties. 

Callie Morton, a freshman at Tufts, told CNN affiliate WHDH-TV, "If someone is going to go and have sex while their roommate is in the room, I mean I think that's kind of gross. I think it's kind of funny that they would have to make a rule about it."  Aw come on!  Are you kidding me.  Did she say “gross”?  How old are we?  I’ll guarantee you that bitch is the one who anonymously suggested the rule.  I can see right through her bullshit act.

Oh my how times have changed.  Damn those Republican Conservatives.  They’ve even managed to infiltrate the dorm rooms of America!  You can’t even bust a stressed-filled final exams nut to help you concentrate without first checking in with your cock-blockin’, eagle scout, roommate.  Whatever happened to the sock or rag on the door handle trick?  Whatever happened to saying “hey, tonight this BAD chic from the party last night is coming over, chances are I’m going to be bangin’ her back out…so call me before you head home if I don’t answer, you know what’s up.”  Now we have to get school officials involved.  It’s a say day America.  I think a demonstration is called for.  Horny college students, I urge you to have a sit-in fuck-in at your RA’s room. 

Planes keep falling out of the sky, coincidence?

No, airlines aren’t just charging you every fuckin’ fee they can think up short of the pay-per-breath fee.  They’re also aggressively engaging in fuel hedging which could be contributing to rising oil prices.  But even more scary, they’re also cutting costs along the lines of fuel.  Sure that sounds ideal.  Use fuel more efficiently right?  Right.  But what happens when you decide to take risks by  not providing extra fuel to a plane?  What happens when you give a plane just the right amount of fuel to fly from point “A” to point “B”. 

For years, fuel represented 10% to 15% of most airlines' operating costs, but in the summer of 2008, as crude prices soared, its cost-share shot up to between 35% and 50%, according to the Air Transport Association, a trade group that represents most U.S. carriers.  Part of the problem is the more fuel being carried by a plane, the heavier it is thus the more fuel it’s burning hauling the load.  Planes typically (maybe not so typical anymore) fly with more than enough fuel for those instances where an emergency arises and they can’t immediately land.  Spare fuel beyond the minimum required by FAA is often added to airliners to allow for weather or airport delays. That adds weight, which burns more fuel and increases a plane's operating cost.

FAA regulations require airliners to take off with enough fuel to reach their destination or an alternate airport, plus another 45 minutes of flight. The regulations also say it's up to dispatchers and pilots to decide the size of fuel loads, with pilots making the final call.  Many Pilots are calling bullshit on that last sentence.  They’re complaining airline bosses, looking to cut as much cost as possible, are forcing them to fly dangerously low on fuel.

So I decided to put on my thinking cap.  Now is it me or do planes seem to be falling out of the sky frequently?  I mean come on, we have planes being landed in the Hudson, planes mysteriously disappearing, it seems every time I turn on the television there’s another plane accident.  But I don’t suspect that cutting fuel costs is the only corner being cut.  Any greedy corporation is going to find ways to keep their profits up while passing on any potential price increases to the consumer be that in the form of rate increases, or inadequate funding of safety and maintenance.  I suspect maintenance duties aren’t being performed on a regular basis either.  And if they are, how many of those defective parts are being swapped out when they should be?  Who’s to say they’re not putting Band-Aids on these maintenance issues to buy time or save money?  Lots of companies do risk assessments to determine if certain risks (in this case cutting fuel and possibly maintenance costs) are worth the savings. 

Thank about that next time you board a plane.

You make minimum wage what do you care?

Today I went to Dunkin Donuts to grab me an iced latte.  I’ve been a long-time recovering Starbucks frappucino addict.  I’ve been getting some coupons from my wife for Dunkin Donuts so I thought I’d give them a try this morning. 

I ordered a 16oz mocha iced latte.  The coupon states 16oz mocha iced latte for $1.99.  The kid asks me what I want, and I tell him I want a 16oz mocha iced latte.  Silly of me to think someone working at Dunkin Donuts would know what a 16oz cup looked like.  It’s not like they have actual cups taped on the wall or the size printed on the cup right?  So he gives me my drink.

Another underpaid employee looked at my coupon and says to me “your coupon says 16oz, this isn’t 16oz, this is 24oz”.  Referring to the fact that her co-worker gave me a 24oz instead of a 16oz.

So I said:  “O.K.  But I asked for a 16oz”. 

She takes my 24oz and dumps it down the sink!  Then she proceeds to make me another (keep in mind there are at least 6 people behind me).  She gives the kid who made my drink an evil look and says in the most condescending tone:

“That’s not a 16oz that’s a 24oz, a 16oz is SMALL and a 24oz is medium”.

Right, I’m sure he had the same Harvard education she had right?  The whole time I’m thinking, wow this bitch is worried about 16 cents worth of extra latte mix when she just threw a $2.00+ drink down the sink and threw the cup in the trash as well?  Wow.  No wonder she’s working at Dunkin Donuts, clearly she doesn’t posses the aptitude to comprehend economics or even simple math for that matter. 

I never got upset one time.  I just allowed her to hold up her entire line to dump out my drink and make me another (smaller) drink. 

It was so ridiculous that when I was walking to my car, the guy directly behind me said: “I can’t believe she would rather waste the drink than just give it to you”.  I agreed and the gentleman and I made a few derogatory statements about the twit, laughed and went our separate ways.

But it got me thinking.  One big pet peeve I have is fast food workers and their penny pinching attitude.  I’ve often been asked would I like any sauce with my meal.  Being the picky but simple eater I am.  I tend to say “just plenty of ketchup”.  Only to be presented with two packets of ketchup.  So I say I’m going to need more and they present me with another two packets.  This goes on until I’m satisfied with the number of ketchup packets I have to finish my fucking meal to my liking.  Is that so wrong?

My point is, you make minimum wage at McDonalds, Dunkin Donuts, etc.  OK maaaaybe you make 30 cents over minimum wage (congrats on that promotion).  But why do you give a shit about giving a customer extra ketchup?  I’m not trying to have a surplus of McDonalds ketchup to supply my home or anything.  I just want to enjoy my food the way I want!  Why do you give a shit about just saying “oops our mistake, just go ahead and keep that large iced latte”.  Is McDonalds going to give you a super-sized-Ronald-McDonald-MVP-awesome-fucking-employee-of-the-year-McBonus-check?  Huh you fuckin’ cunt?  You’d rather hold up your drive-thru while we negotiate 6 packets of ketchup like we’re at some sort of flea market in Dubai?  It’s bad enough I wasted 5 hours taking an online class in the drive-thru just to understand what fucking language you were speaking whilst trying to communicate with you through a blown speaker in the drive-thru that acted as more of a CB radio then a fucking legitimate order-taking machine.  And yet somehow you still managed to fuck my order up, then accuse me of being the one who ordered the wrong thing while pointing to your 4 packet maximum ketchup policy. 

When I have people refuse me what I want, I tell them to go-ahead and refund me my money.  I’ll be damned if I’m going to pay 25 cents extra for some additional ketchup because you implemented some fly-by-night policy that I’m sure McCorporate wouldn’t approve of.  So hey, you don’t want to give me ketchup, give me a refund and cancel my order.

You know how fucked up that ends up being.  Now it’s 3 people none of which can speak English trying to explain the issue to each other, the drive-thru line is growing, they ask you to pull forward, you refuse, now they have to grab the manager because he’s the only one with a key to open the register, he’s pissed because the 3 minute average drive-thru time is now fucked.  And eventually they just give into your more ketchup demands.  All that for a few extra packets of ketchup. 

But why must it be like this?  Why can’t you just make the customer happy and make logical decisions.  While we went back-and-forth on ketchup, 2 people drove around and abandoned the McDonald’s drive-thru for the Wendy’s across the street because you increased their wait time by trying to save 2 packets of ketchup at a cost of 10 cents.  And that’s assuming one packet costs McDonalds 5 cents (which I doubt). 

Dunkin Donuts threw a medium drink down the sink and a good cup in the trash because my coupon was for a 16oz small not a 24oz medium iced latte which they erroneously gave me.  It never occurred to her that she wasted more money and product than she saved the company.  I guess she taught me a lesson huh?  How dare I come in there with my little cut-out coupon thinking I was going to get an extra 8oz on the house.  Not with trusty Detective Dunkin Dipshit on duty work the morning shift.  I’m sure Dunkin will be proud, she can hang that employee of the month plaque in the studio apartment she shares with 42 other immigrants.  One day she might even make enough to bring her family to America and share her plaque with them as well.

At the end of the day I can only assume this is why these jackasses are working at McDonalds instead of owning a franchise.  This is why they make minimum wage.  They’re probably just happy to get that check and sneak home a 10 piece from time to time. 

Palin steps down 18 months early. Alaskans everywhere rejoice.

Well if they’re not rejoicing they should be.  After a failed run at a bid for VP (like that was going to happen) and one embarrassing speech after another, Alaskans everywhere should be happy that they can now refocus their attention on the crackdown of meth labs and “Salmon slaying”.

Though no one is sure why Palin has decided to end her term early, there has been much buzz and speculation.  Everything from she can’t handle the pressure, ridicule, and ethics complaints, to the possibility that she may run for President in 2012.  Palin explains her decision as: "A good point guard, here's what she does. She drives through a full-court press, protecting the ball, keeping her head up because she needs to keep her eye on the basket, and she knows exactly when to pass the ball so the team can win. That's what I'm doing. I'm passing the ball. I know when it's time to pass the ball for victory."  Yes I guess that means people in Alaska actually watch more than just Nascar and bass fishing.

The state of Alaska has spent nearly $300,000 investigating ethics complaints and according to Palin her and her husband have spent $500,000.  She’s been the subject of 15 ethic probes, 13 of which have been resolved by the state Personnel Board with no findings of wrongdoing.  The other two are pending.  One of the agreements required Palin to reimburse the state for $8,100 for costs associated with trips she had taken with her children.  Her approval rating is low to mid-50% range, much lower than her 88%+ approval rating in Alaska before her failed attempt at a VP spot.

If Palin has dreams of running for President in 2012, I think she’s going to be in for a rude awakening.  I suspect she’s pissed off plenty of republicans and democrats alike.  But the issue is she could be hurting republicans more than helping with her loose lips double-wide backwoods trailer mentality.  Not an image I think the GOP is trying to portray though when you have people like Rusty DePass and Sarah Palin it’s hard to shake that image.  Besides, I think Obama was a strong candidate but I also believe Palin probably caused the republicans to lose a lot of votes (thank you Palin).  So let’s hope she doesn’t embarrass herself, her family, or Alaska any further.  Besides, a governor who couldn’t even handle finishing out the rest of her term now decides to run for President?  What kind of commitment does that show?

A local radio station suggested that republicans in her inner-circle were possibly  intentionally giving her bad information, planting bad seeds in an attempt to further make her look like the idiot that she is.  I personally think that she can’t handle the ridicule and embarrassment.  Part of the problem with dishing shit is you have to be able to take it.  I think Palin had and still has a lot to say and it’s come back to bite her in the ass.  She’s the butt of a lot of jokes, and her every action is under heavy scrutiny.  Newsflash Palin, in case you didn’t know, being in the public eye means you will always be under heavy scrutiny.  Especially when you don’t know when to shut your mouth.  Lucky for her I also think if she crawled into a hole and we never heard from her again she wouldn’t really be missed and people just might stop filing ethics claims and talking about her and her family.  In fact she could be forgotten in less than a week.

GOP Activist Rusty DePass compares Michelle Obama to a “Gorilla”

It should come as no surprise that the “good old boy network” is in full swing as they ever so passive-aggressively sneak in racial slurs at every opportunity.

This week  FitsNews.com and political writer Will Folks (also picked up by CNN) is reporting that Rusty DePass made derogatory comments regarding Michelle Obama while he commented on a  Facebook update.  In the Facebook update someone was notifying friends that a gorilla got loose at the Columbia, SC Riverbanks Zoo.

“I’m sure it’s just one of Michele’s ancestors—probably harmless” DePass responded.

DePass later apologized telling WIS-TV in Columbia, "I am as sorry as I can be if I offended anyone. The comment was clearly in jest.”  He then added, "The comment was hers, not mine," claiming Michelle Obama made a recent remark about humans descending from apes.  As of yet, no media outlet has been able to find references to Michelle Obama making a correlation between apes and evolution.  Good try though DePass. 

Of course African-Americans everywhere are outraged as we should be.  But we’re also very used to this sort of ignorance.  We expect no less from a geriatric balding redneck from South Carolina named Rusty.  We expect no less from a state where the confederate flag still rests upon a monument in front of South Carolina’s State House.  In fact I’m surprised they even know what Facebook is in South Carolina.  Good job Rusty.  I mean come on Rusty your state’s official dance is the Shag.  You know, like the shag they use to carpet double-wide trailers in South Cacalacky. 

Yes his comments are offensive and so are the comments of so many others.  You have to look at these comments as jealousy and fear.  After all, racism and prejudice are really nothing more than fear.  Racists tend to fear for their jobs, “the niggers and spics are taking all our jobs” or fear of what’s different.  Someone dresses differently, they don’t want to eat bagels and cream cheese and they’re automatically on the racists shit-list.  I think Michelle and Obama should laugh at and ignore stupidity from people who are irrelevant. 

Whenever some racist makes me angry I think to myself should I really be bothered by some redneck, high-school dropout with 3 teeth riding around in a Ford-F150 with a confederate flag and deer antlers, talking about “niggers” and “Ebonics” when he can barely speak proper English himself?  Naaaa.  We African-Americans are typically doing better than the racists spewing the hate. 

I mean seriously, Obama and Michelle are Harvard graduates, wealthy, and of course Obama is the President of the United States.  What have you accomplished again DePass?  Oh yeah, you figured out how to get on the Internet.  I’m proud. 

Fuck off Friday’s: Netiquette

You know I’m thinking of starting a fuck off Friday blog.  This is where I will highlight things that really annoy me and make me want to say fuck off! 

As inconsistent as I am, I’ll probably write this fuck off Friday blog and never write another. [UPDATE:  In fact I wrote this Friday and didn’t publish it until Tuesday].   Then again, many of my blogs are like fuck off Friday blogs.  General bitching.

Today’s topic:  Netiquette.  Ok, I recently changed my email address because I’m tired of using GMAIL’s domain when I could have my own for $12/year.  I gave this new email address out to a select group of individuals.  Not even all of my family or in-laws are allowed to have my email address.

Why?  Well I’m glad you asked.  Because I’m so sick of these fucking retarded, downright ridiculous ass emails filling my inbox.  To make matters worse  living in 2009 means all my emails also come to my phone. 

I don’t know about you, but I don’t give a shit about foot prints in the sand.  Every old lady has the picture framed in her bathroom and I look at it every time I take a piss.  Thank you but no thank.  I could probably recite the poem verbatim from memory I’ve seen it so many times.

I don’t give a shit about the email you sent warning me about crack heads putting HIV infected needles in payphone change return slots.  First off, the only people who use payphones are crack heads since it would be hard to keep a cell phone without selling that and a blowjob just to get your next fix so why would I give a shit?  Secondly, a crack head is far more concerned with tracking down rocks than trying to figure out how to insert a needle into a payphone return slot while they’re incessantly scratching themselves with jittery hands.  That would take one hell of a talented crack head. 

I don’t care about the the kid whose sister burned up in Wal-Mart and now you have to forward the email to everyone you know so Wal-Mart can track it and send money to the victims.  Really?  You fell for that?  Are you fuckin’ kiddin’ me?  As an Information Technology professional and realist.  Let me let you in on something.  Wal-Mart doesn’t give a fuck about some non-existent kid that burned up in some non-existent Wal-Mart fire.  We also know they don’t give a shit about women, health-insurance, the retarded senior working the front door with the stickers, or paying people for over-time without lawsuits.  If some kid did burn up in a Wal-Mart fire, best believe they wouldn’t need to forward an email to get their bills paid.  Walt would have been sued for millions of dollars.  Secondly, when have you heard on CNN something so ridiculous as, “be sure to forward that email to help the victims of the fire”.  Although there is technology that can track an email, no business in their right mind would risk the many possible methods for circumventing and forging emails to make it look like it was forwarded to 2 billion people by promising to pay $2 per forward.  Hmmm, did it ever occur to you that people set up foundations and ask for donations? 

If people would treat the Internet with the same common sense they treat the real off-line world with we wouldn’t have scam artists in Nigeria ripping them off.

Somehow you thought some prince in Nigeria or better yet, some foreign lottery you never played was going to transfer you $1.2 million US dollars and all you had to do was deposit his check only after sending him $1,000 to release it from some bullshit escrow account.  You’re an idiot. 

Don’t get me wrong.  Maybe those inspirational, quote of the day, joke of the day, lottery winning, friends are forever, 101 ways to be annoying, god is eternal, good luck totem, you are blessed, be grateful, Jesus in your ear, Tommy Hilifiger petition, Taco Bell roach egg, rat urine forward me 100 times emails really get your day going.  But for me, I have much more important things to do than being disturbed at 2 in the morning by a new email message being copied to my phone by some asinine email. 

To make matters worse, these fucking Internet cockbags don’t even have the common fucking sense to put all the email addresses in the BCC field.  So now every other fucking idiot they forwarded the email to now has a list of additional email addresses for which they can their bullshit spam to.  So please, next time you think about hitting that send button and forwarding that fuckin’ retarded ass, I can’t even find the words to describe how annoying…email just don’t.

Palm Pre Bugs Roundup + FIXES

It’s not uncommon for a newly released device show signs of bugs.  The Palm Pre is no exception.  Several bugs have recently  been discovered within 2 days of the Palm Pre launch.  We’ll keep a running updated list of bugs as they’re reported.

• Screen discoloration:  Some Palm Pre owners are reporting a discolored portion of their screen and possibly dead pixels. 
• Symbols problem:  This issue is affecting all Palm Pres.  You cannot insert symbols into a web-based form through the Palm Pre web browser.  Quite annoying for users who have symbols in a password they’re trying to enter online.
• Extremely slow photo album: When viewing photos, it takes forever to load a single picture.  Seems to be intermittent could be a potentially corrupt group of photos that needs to be deleted then re-added to the Pre.
• Restart/Shutdown Issues:  Some are reporting that the Pre shutdown while the keyboard is out. 

                    -FIX-

• CAUSE:  Battery doesn’t make full contact with battery contacts when keyboard slides out.
• WORKAROUND:  Place a piece of paper between the top portion of battery to sort of push the battery downwards forcing it to make keep touching the battery contacts (via PreCentral).  This should buy you some time until the Sprint has a better quantity of replacement Palm Pres.

For the other issues, don’t panic Pre lovers all of the aforementioned issues can be resolved with a software update (except for the screen discoloration issue which seems more like a hardware issue).  You can also rest assured that Palm isn’t going to ignore these issues and risk bad publicity so soon on their “iPhone-Killer”.

Are you experiencing any bugs not listed here?  Please submit your bug in the comments section and stay tuned as we’ll be updating this list regularly.

Republicans critical of Obama’s speech in Cairo fearing it may hurt U.S./Israel relationship

A speech given by President Obama speaking in Cairo has been viewed as potentially hurting the U.S./Israel relationship by several Republicans.  No surprise there right? 

House Minority Leader John Boehner :  "He seemed to ... place equal blame on the Israelis and the Palestinians. I have concerns about this," the Ohio Republican said. "The Israelis have the right to defend themselves."

Yes Boehner, he clearly placed equal blame on both parties in an attempt to remain neutral.  That is important in bringing about resolution.  Had Obama went to Cairo taking Israel’s side he would be further hurting Palestinian/Israeli relations.  The Obama administration is attempting to bring about peace through means of a change in policy.  By means of reversing the current perception of the United States as being arrogant and two-faced, by telling the Arab world our stance on the Israeli/Palestinian issue. 

Romney: Obama needs to stop using foreign soil to apologize for U.S. relations in what he calls a "tour of apology."

Thiessen: "He made no mention of democracy in discussing Afghanistan.  He made no mention of democracy in discussing Iraq.  He made no mention of the advance of freedom in the Middle East that has taken place in recent years, or any commitment to continue it," he wrote.

"Indeed, he said Iraq was a 'war of choice' but then said a moment later that Iraq is better off without Saddam Hussein. Well, was it a good choice then?"

The United States voted for change so why are we so critical of change.  Clearly change is hard for many.  Especially when the “good ol’ boy network” have been doing things their way for years.  Herein lies the problem for the “good ol’ boy” mentality of thinking.  Obama is an African-American.  He has experienced racism, intolerance, ignorance, and injustice.  Therefore he can relate to the Palestinian disenfranchisement, injustice and anger.  There is nothing wrong with what Romney calls a “tour of apology”.  America has a lot to apologize for.

While republicans are running around criticizing his speech worrying that he may be damaging U.S/Israeli relations others around the world are praising his speech.  I believe his speech was very even-handed.  I don’t believe he favored Palestinian or Israeli specific views during his speech.  I believe that if either side wants to stop the violence they must come to a two-state solution.  Period.  That means Israel should cease continuing to build settlements on the Palestinian-controlled West Bank, and I think President Obama made this very clear.

President Obama said what other Presidents should have said before him.  The United States, he said, "does not accept the legitimacy of continued Israeli settlements.”  He also goes on to say that the controversial Hamas movement -- which controls Gaza, near Egypt, and has significant support among Palestinians -- must end violence and recognize past agreements.

The sooner we [America] acknowledge our mistakes, maintain neutrality in the Middle East, and change our old ways, we can move forward gaining the respect and trust of other nations.  Obama is making a point of changing the perception of America by implementing change.  Continuing to make enemies and not acknowledging issues until it reaches war is not the way to do business.  Heading off issues, making peace, and showing the Middle East that we are fair, just, and empathetic to the needs and cultures of other nations is Obama’s way of bringing about change.  Running around like cowboys, guns blazing, making demands, forcing democracy down the throats of countries and cultures which have existed without such forever is not the way to get your point across.  Regardless of how effective a democracy is.

America is extremely powerful.  We don’t need to remind everyone all the time.  There’s nothing wrong with going to another country and saying a few words in the hosting countries native tongue as Obama did.  Hell people come to America from other countries and they speak full English.  Just because we’re the big kid on the block doesn’t mean we have to go around bullying everyone.  There’s nothing wrong with being a “gentle-giant”, disciplining and taking sides only when such is required.  Obama is only trying to change the perception of America, we voted for change now we just need to get Republicans to open their minds to a new world and a new way of thinking and doing business. 

Sarah Palin lay off the meth.

In a speech introducing Michael Reagan, the son of former President Ronald Regan.  Sarah Palin did what I would call a

paranoid potentially meth induced rant implying that our current administration is trying to turn the United States into some sort of communist state. 

Palin warned that the government is planning to "bail out debt ridden states" so it can "get in there and control the people."

"Since when can you get out of huge national debt by creating trillions of dollars of new debt?" Palin asked. "It all really is so backwards and skewed as to sound like absolute nonsense when some of this economic policy is explained."

"We need to be aware of the creation of a fearful population, and fearful lawmakers, being led to believe that big government is the answer, to bail out the private sector, because then government gets to get in there and control it," she said. "And mark my words, this is going to be next, I fear, bail out next debt-ridden states. Then government gets to get in there and control the people."

"Some in Washington would approach our economic woes in ways that absolutely defy Economics 101, and they fly in the face of principles, providing opportunity for industrious Americans to succeed or to fail on their own accord," she said. "Those principles it makes you wonder what the heck some in Washington are trying to accomplish here."

What the fuck is she talking about?  Economics?  Really?  This from the Governor of Alaska, a state with all of about 6 people.  I’m sure she’s an expert on Economics 101. 

"It is war over there, so it will not be war over here," she said. "And it had better still be our mission that we win, they lose."

Since when did a conceding incumbent start making demands?  This from a women who is against sex education in school but her daughter Bristol Palin was pregnant at 17?  Why is she even speaking?  She’s irrelevant and makes an ass out of herself every time she speaks.  Palin, those people are laughing at you, not with you.  If those words don’t sound like the words of a person smokin’ “that shit”, I don’t know what does. 

So because our current administration is bailing out businesses so that Americans MIGHT be able to keep their jobs, thus forcing unemployment down, thus keeping food in people’s mouths and mortgages paid, she’d rather we let every business fail?  Why? Because she feels like the government wants to get in there and “control the people”.

I do agree that some businesses should be left to fail.  GM is a good example.  Clearly the company was mismanaged.  Ford isn’t failing, in fact they’ve recently ramped up production.  But we cannot allow every business to fail without some government intervention.  Isn’t that what the government is here to do?  To help?  It’s your political party Palin that got us into the debt we’re in today.  So crawl back into your meth lab trailer in Alaska, help raise your grandchild and leave the politics to the administration the United States voted into office and ZIP IT!

Alabama cops fired after beating unconscious suspect.

Alabama police officers involved in a high speed pursuit on Jan. 23, 2008 were fired Wednesday for beating an unconscious suspect who was ejected from his vehicle during a high speed pursuit. I must say, after first seeing the video. I too thought, that guy deserved a good ass stomping. He barely missed running over a cop. I don’t mean that bullshit you see on your regular episode of Saturday night Cops when the officer always says “you almost hit me". Or “you could have killed me”. You know the episode. The same one the cop says “why were you running?” and the crack head replies: “I was scared”. This officer was about 1/2 inch from having a permanent Dodge logo embedded on his face. But after you take a minute to think about the fact that the guy just got ejected out of his vehicle and was motionless, unconscious on the ground. You start to feel anger towards the cops.

I don’t know about you, but if I just got ejected out of a Dodge Caravan doing 60mph around an off ramp that my first thought would be to resist or run for that matter. But what happens? The cops jump out of their cruisers and proceed to river dance on the guy. Here’s the thing, he’s probably a bad guy, he probably swerved to avoid the stop sticks not to hit the cop, he probably deserved being beat up by the police. If he killed your family on the road you’d want to whoop his ass too I’m sure.

The issue is this. We cannot allow officers or anyone for that matter to just dish out punishment as they see fit. Clearly this wasn’t a black/white issue. The first cop to A-Town stomp on the guy was African-American and the suspect was also African-American. This was just plain ol’ police brutality. If we allow police to go unpunished for the brutality seen in the video then we’re sending a message that next time you pull over someone, feel free to drag them out of their Honda and beat the shit out of them because you’re upset your wife is divorcing you and your kids hate you. Remember the 15-year old girl who kicked her shoe at a cop and got the shit beat out of her by a police officer.

These officers were fired and I think they deserved it. These are the assholes you want to pull you over? These are the guys you want to respond to an emergency and they can’t even control their temper on an unconscious criminal? I think these videos are nothing more than showing what happens on a regular basis. The difference is when the camera is rolling you can’t lie about it. In the past it was just your word against the cops. Now, criminals and civilians alike have a new ally, it’s called the dash cam bitch.

Let this be a lesson to cops who think it’s OK to beat on helpless citizens you never know when the dash cam, or camera phone is rolling. The unfortunate part about this is cops like these give all cops a bad name.

The video is embedded below, here’s a link for those who can’t see the embedded content.  [CLICK HERE FOR VIDEO]

Palm Pre wireless charger, Touchstone. Not so wireless after all.

For the readers keeping abreast of the upcoming Palm Pre Smartphone to be released by Palm, you've probably heard of the Touchstone wireless charging device for the Palm Pre. At first I was pretty excited about it. I mean when you hear the word wireless, you assume that to mean no wires right?

Well apparently Palm doesn't see it the same way. First off the charger (which looks like a hockey puck) sits on your desk/table and requires the charger you would normally plug directly into your Palm Pre, to be plugged into the Touchstone charger. At that point you can just slap your phone on the Touchstone charger which will hold your phone in place using magnets. Oh, but not before you purchase the inductive back cover to replace your shiny black cover to allow for the inductive charging without scratching up your nice shiny back cover.

The idea is neat, I guess. I mean but how is this really any different from having a phone cradle? You know like the cordless phone cradle/dock/charging station? The only difference I see is magnets hold your phone to the actual base.

Also cordless phones tend to have the metal prongs on the base of the cradle and the phone. I still fail to see where all this “innovative”, “first wireless charger” stuff is coming from. Inductive charging is nothing new. It’s the same technology used to charge your electric toothbrush. The basic idea, is nothing new. So what’s all the hype about?

I will say that according to Palm the phone can be used while charging, and if the phone rings while on the base, it can answer in speakerphone mode automatically. And if you pick it up off the base while in speakerphone mode it will switch to handset mode. WOW! Now that’s innovation. Not!

So I told myself I would buy one when it came out. That’s when I was stupid enough to believe that this charger wouldn’t cost more than a typical charger. Boy was I wrong. They want $69.99 just so you can say “look what I can do, look what I can do”. There’s no real value other than the wow factor. It should also be noted that several sources across the web have stated inductive charging is 10-15% less efficient. Hey, but it still looks cool.

Just kill YOURSELF!

I don't know about you, but I'm tired of turning on the news and hearing about some jackass who decided that just because his life wasn't worth living that hell, he might as well take a few people with him. It seems like it's a growing trend. The latest, a UGA professor who murdered his wife and two males outside of their place of employment was found shot in the head, his body already lying in a shallow grave covered with leaves and debris according to police.

Apparently the professor dug his own shallow grave and shot himself in the head in an apparent murder suicide. Wow. Now that takes some fuckin' skill. I'm still trying to figure out what kind of contraption he used to drop some debris and leaves on him. Maybe he was a physics teacher. I have this mental picture of those movies where someone trying to trap and animal digs a hole, and covers it with leaves. Maybe he just stood in front, back facing the leaves and pulled the trigger. Once he fell in, the leaves just kinda floated over top of him. Who says I didn't learn anything in school?

I mean, I appreciate all the effort he put into digging his own grave and all even going as far as to cover himself up. But is a hole in the ground covered with leaves and debris some sort of safety hazard? And did he really have to take out the wife and two innocent guys? Even if they weren't all that innocent and they were on their way to begin their afternoon orgy, killing them? Come on.

To all those contemplating a murder suicide, first remember to kill yourself and please for the sake of us tax payers who actually have something to live for do it in a way that doesn't make me upchoke my fucking breakfast while raking leaves. The last thing I want to stumble on is your dead body in the backyard somewhere.

Lastly, part of the reason you're killing yourself is because you're a selfish cunt. You're not worried about anyone else in the world but yourself. You didn't stop to think how your family, children, friends, and co-workers would feel. I mean really, who's going to super size me next time I'm in the drive thru? And you know Bill is gonna be pissed when he finds out he has to work your shift too. But the most selfish part of all, some of you murder-suiciders (is that a word) feel the need to mount up an arsenal of weapons and go postal on innocent people. I mean people are just at the mall trying to get their iPhone on, why must others suffer because you were abused as a child?

On a more serious note, for those truly contemplating suicide just remember, things could always be worse. That's what helps me make it through the day. Just think, some of you are complaining about losing your house (not that this isn't a big deal) but there are those who don't have houses at all. Worse, they live in places where they've never heard of a shelter or the type of options we have here in the U.S. Some of you are down because you're overweight. At one time (many moons ago) I was fat too. Put the fuckin' toaster strudel down, get up off your fat ass and do something about it.

Whatever your issue, you have to think, things could be worse. At that point you need to start to rationalize what your next step is. How you're going to cope with the issue, and move forward. It's a shame to think someone would kill themselves today never knowing what changes could come tomorrow. Life is about ups and downs (here we go with the corny shit), for every 3 good things that happen to you, 5 will follow. That's just the fucked up nature of things. No reason to kill yourself, and surely no reason to kill others. At the end of the day if you insist on killing, just kill YOURSELF.

Microsoft: "Hold off from buying an iPhone/Pre".

Microsoft on Twitter: "New product launch, that's all I'm allowed to say. Hold off from buying and iPhone/Pre. :)"

I have two words for you Microsoft. Too late. You really think people are going to wait around for a Zune phone?

For those of you who don't know what a Zune is, it's Microsoft's attempt at competing with the iPod which never really happened. In fact I can't think of one person I've seen carrying around a Zune. I really don't see what the hype is about iPods or music players is anyway. Every phone built since 1999 with a headphone jack and a data cable is capable of carrying MP3s (unless you're my wife who has $2 Samsung phone being held up by tape). If the phone is labeled smartphone and has an SD slot of some sort you can upgrade your storage and load up the MP3s. I've never wanted to carry separate music player so I've always used my phone. Then again I'm not a typical music listener. I've never used the iPod on my iPhone. I use Pandora, YouTube, and tend to burn music to CD for the car. When I bought my iPhone it had nothing to do with music but had everything to do with full web access in my pocket. Remember looking at WAP pages? Painful!

Microsoft has long denied developing a ZunePhone to compete with the iPhone. But could their tweet indicate otherwise? Only time will tell, but I for one wouldn't wait around for another Microsoft half-assed product. The problem with Microsoft is they always wait for someone else to do something they should have done from the start. They then try to steal that idea and make it better and ultimately it ends up becoming an EPIC FAIL! Or in this case it's a matter of timing. People are already established with iPods, and are quickly becoming established with iPhones. It's going to take a HUGE breakthrough to swing the popular vote from the iPhone and now Pre to some new Windows Mobile ZunePhone that's sure to fail at taking a unified mobile device to the next level. And at this point that's what it's going to take...it's going to take another game changer and I don't think Microsoft is up to the task yet.

Microsoft should continue to focus on Windows Mobile 7. Try to catch up with Apple and now Palm to make Windows Mobile an attractive platform for developers. Developers are excited about iPhone OS and Palm's WebOS and want to develop for those platforms. The Windows Mobile team got complacent and Windows Mobile has suffered becoming stale, outdated and downright slow and clunky. Microsoft has an advantage in that they've never been controlling like Apple. They've always allowed developers to improve upon any aspect of their products. Apple on the other hand has always been strict with what developers can and cannot touch when developing an application. Palm and WebOS remain to be seen. Even so I think it's still might be too little too late. Maybe next year Microsoft.

[UPDATE - 4/13/09]

Microsoft has denied any connection to the Twitter account used to post the teaser "Hold off from buying and iPhone/Pre". Microsoft also continues to deny working on a ZunePhone. So what led bloggers to believe it was coming from a legit Twitter account?

Recent ads targeting iTunes, and that fact that the account seemed to come from an account -- known by as "Office the Movie" -- that appeared to be attached to the "Office 2010 the Movie" Microsoft marketing team. There had also been previous speculation that Microsoft was working on a ZunePhone. Who needs marketing when you have bloggers spreading the word, albeit erroneous.

So Zune lovers (all three of you) no ZunePhone for you.

[RUMOR] Palm Real Reviewers, Phones Ship This Week

If you're like me you've been checking the tweets, blogsphere, Palm forums, and most importantly your inbox and spam folder to make sure you didn't miss whether or not you were selected to be a part of the Palm Real Reviewer program.

The Real Reviewer program is a program designed to spread buzz about upcoming Palm phones (more importantly, the Palm Pre). Palm is selecting regular ol' folks to receive a free Palm phone (they never specifically said Palm Pre, but I'm guessing that's the one you'll get) and 6 months of free Sprint service. What's the catch you ask? They simply want you to tweet, Facebook, blog, and quite simply spread the word be it good or bad. We all know they'd prefer the latter. No word on whether you'll be asked to return the phone or keep it and sign a two year contract. So don't go prepping your E-bay store to rape a pressed fanboy for $1,000 for the Palm Pre just yet.

There's a rumor going on across the blogsphere that the individuals selected by Palm to be Real Reviewers have phones being mailed out this week and could receive them as early as Wednesday.

The big question is why has it been so quiet [the tumble weed rolls]. There have been no tweets, Facebook posting, blogs, or forum postings regarding people who were selected to be a Palm Real Reviewer. This has lead to speculation that Palm will either:

1. Contact those selected today (Monday 5/11).
2. Just send you the phone and the info with no selection notification.

Others speculate that Palm Real Reviewers may have been put under an NDA and aren't allowed to disclose the details. I beg to differ as that would seem contradictory to the entire idea of creating a viral campaign and is sure to put a hamper on buzz and fanboys alike.

Stay tuned!

Stay Tuned For....

The derrickisONLINE blog is about more than just technology, although it's mainly going to be about technology and politics. Below are some upcoming topics to stay tuned for.

• iPhone 3.0 Update - [YAWN] Thanks for adding copy and paste Apple. Boy are you innovative!
• The killer dream phone - A list of what people really want in a phone.
• Made in the USA - The real reason why people are losing their homes, and why GM is in the position they're in now.

I'll also try to find something controversial as I love a good debate. Be sure to post comments, subscribe to my RSS feed, and keep checking out http://www.derrickisonline.com/ for more blogs and maybe one day I'll make a real website.

Why the Palm Pre may knock the iPhone off it's throne.

Unless you've been under a rock (or you're my wife). Then you know all about the upcoming Palm Pre smart phone poised to knock the iPhone off it's throne and revive one of the companies that put the smart in smart phone.



The iPhone is no doubt one of the best phones out. I recall early on I was totally against the iPhone and even told my friends not to buy it. I told them it was a bunch of hype and that Windows Mobile was where it's at! Boy was I wrong. One day I decided to go to the AT&T store and try one out. I was sold as soon as I launched Safari and got a real web experience complete with gestures to make browsing the web on a phone actually useful. We can thank Apple for finally bringing a real web experience to cell phone users and for getting everyone else to follow suit. I've had the original iPhone and now the 3G iPhone. We (my iPhone and I) have a love/hate relationship. I love many things, and hate others (i.e. no copy and paste, though it's finally a feature being added in the iPhone 3.0 update slated for June). Then I got tired of Apple and their dictatorship with the App store. Limiting what apps were available and what those apps are allowed to do.



I decided to switch back to Windows Mobile going for an HTC Touch HD. But you know what? I ended up going right back to the iPhone. Why? Well the experience on the iPhone is smooth, the Apps are useful and gorgeous, and Windows Mobile is outdated compared to the iPhone OS. Plain and simple. So why can't a single smart phone maker combine all the things we want into one phone, and one OS. To make a killer phone (something to compete with the iPhone) you need to talk to people, get a list of needs and wants and combine them into a nice package and call it the Palm Pre?



Maybe. The Palm Pre takes the best of Windows Mobile and the iPhone and puts them together in a nicely integrated and polished package. The Palm Pre has a touch screen and a QWERTY keyboard for those business users or chronic texters that must have a keyboard. It also has all the touch screen goodness of an iPhone, and like the iPhone has a capacitive touch screen instead of a resistive touch screen. That is what makes the iPhone touch screen so responsive and smooth. It has a slick WebOS interface. It multitasks (settle down kids), a 3.5mm headphone jack, and a replaceable battery. Hey Apple, why couldn't you make a 3.5mm headphone jack and replaceable battery? Oh yeah I forgot, you like to stick it to the consumer every chance you get.




Another feature that stands out (and is often talked about) are the unobtrusive notifications built into WebOS. Basically when you're working in/on something with the phone, any alert, call, email, or instant message will not interrupt you, but rather pop up in a small window beneath what you're working on . This keeps you focused on what you're doing instead of taking over the screen with a call or alert. Good job Palm. There's nothing more irritating than surfing the web on your phone and being kicked off the web because some jerk decided to call you on your cell phone. How dare they call you on a cell phone who does that?



From every video and news report I've seen, I'm impressed. I think this is the first real iPhone contender. I think many have tried to develop a phone that could really compete with the iPhone but failed. Some did miserably, and some did ok. But when you're running something like rusty, clunky, Windows Mobile behind the scenes, it really doesn't matter what interface you slap over top of it it's still just Windows Mobile...I'm talking to you HTC!



Windows Mobile is behind the curve and is losing ground daily. Android in my opinion has been a disappointment, I think the hardware isn't compelling enough. There's a lot to be worked out. Symbian? I don't review Symbian. Apple iPhone OS is the one to beat at this time and I think the Palm Pre might just do it. If they don't beat out Apple they'll surely give them a run for the money. Only time will tell. A key part of making the Palm Pre a success is the application development. Palm has released their Palm Pre SDK called Mojo. Let's see if developers take to the Pre like they did to the iPhone.

BE SURE TO SUBSCRIBE TO THE derrickisONLINE RSS FEED (below).
And stay tuned for more blogging from Derrick.


Some Palm Pre highlights and specifications.

Operating system
Palm® webOS™

Network specs
3G EVDO Rev A

Display
3.1-inch touch screen
24-bit color
320x480 resolution
HVGA display

Keyboard
Physical QWERTY keyboard

Email
Microsoft Outlook® email with Microsoft® Direct Push Technology
POP3/IMAP (Yahoo, Gmail, AOL, etc)

Messaging
Integrated IM, SMS, and MMS

GPS
Built-in GPS

Digital camera
3 megapixel camera
LED flash
extended depth of field

Sensors
Ambient light
accelerometer
proximity

Media formats supported
Audio Formats: MP3, AAC, AAC+, AMR, QCELP, WAV

Video Formats: MPEG-4, H.263, H.264
Image Formats: GIF, Animated GIF, JPEG, PNG, BMP

Wireless connectivity
Wi-Fi 802.11b/g with WPA, WPA2, 801.1x authentication
Bluetooth® 2.1 + EDR with A2DP stereo Bluetooth support

Memory
8GB of user storage (~7.4GB user available)
USB mass storage support

Phone as laptop modem
Bluetooth tethering

Connector
MicroUSB connector with USB 2.0 Hi-Speed

Headphone jack
3.5mm stereo

Palm® Touchstone™charging dock
Compatible

Dimensions
Width: 59.5mm (2.3 inches)
Height: 100.5mm (3.9 inches)
Thickness: 16.95mm (0.67 inches)
Weight: 135 grams (4.76 ounces)