Tag: complaint

Drugs, cheating, and incompetent management

What the heck is going on with cycling? They can’t go a month without someone getting caught doping. I can’t believe the positive feeling about cycling in the US generated by Lance Armstrong is going to last much longer, especially with the controversy surrounding him.

I’m in favor of not only a one strike rule, meaning you get caught doping once and you get a lifetime ban, but also a one year team ban. If your teammate gets caught, your team sits out a year. Edited to add:  Looks like they did kick out the first guy’s teammates, as well.  That should do wonders for team unity.  Maybe next time they’ll do a better job of policing themselves.  Or maybe they’re all on drugs.  I’m guessing the latter.

Maybe they should implement that in all pro sports. Mandatory regular tests and lifetime bans should go a long way towards getting rid of the performance enhancing drugs.

It gets pretty tiring. And it’s not just the drugs. We have Michael Vick leading a pack of guys who just can’t be satisfied by adoring fans and millions of dollars and feel the need to break all sorts of laws. We have the gambling, point-shaving basketball ref, and if you’ve ever watched a basketball game and think this guy is the only one, you’re crazy. The NBA has been a little too quick and to insistent in stressing that he was just one “criminal”. And we have Bonds on the doorstep of asterisking himself past Hank Aaron and into first place on the all-time home run list, at least until A-Rod passes him. If we lived in a truly just world, he’d get indicted this week and end up going to jail before he can break the record.

Anyway, none of this means I’m not eagerly awaiting the beginning of football season, and constantly dreaming that someone in the Orioles organization will finally wake up and trade the entire team except for Brian Roberts and Erik Bedard, rebuild with prospects, and be the 2006 Tigers of 2012.

71% is good?

The folks over at DCist write that, according to an article in the Examiner, 71% of the DC area drives alone to work.  They say this is good because we were at 74% three years ago, and the nation is at 77% and rising.

That’s kind of depressing.  I’ve been taking Metro to work since March, and I love it.  I don’t worry about traffic.  I’ve done more reading since then than in the previous three years combined.  My biggest worries are four car trains at Pentagon City and loud tourists.

I know many people don’t have the opportunity to take public transportation, and carpooling can be hard.  But only doing 6% better than the national average in a city like DC is kind of sad.  I wonder what the percentage is in London, for example, where they have huge congestion taxes.  Now that I’m an excessively smug city resident and Metro rider, I say $20 to drive your car into the city!  $30 if you’ve come from more than ten miles away!  We’ll give two monthly exemptions for people who just have to come to the city every once in a while, like they way I have to drive out to Manassas once or twice a month for work.

We can use some of that money to pay for whatever it is we’re paying for with all the parking tickets DC gives out.  I think more and more that DC gives out those tickets maliciously.  I think I’m going to start contesting them regardless of guilt, just to spite the city.

City wildlife

I saw a deer!  In DC!  I was out running (Well, running and walking.  It’s hot out, and I haven’t really run in three weeks) down along the Rock Creek Parkway path, and across the creek, behind a big tree, there was a deer.  Well, its rear end, anyway.  I couldn’t really see the rest.

Other than that, the run pretty much sucked.  A hole is wearing in the heel of my left running shoe, and the shoes are only two months old or so.  Maybe I’ll take them back and see if Fleet Feet can send them back to the manufacturer or something.  I know I have skinny, bony feet, and I tend to be hard on shoes, but this is a little ridiculous.

Honestly, I would pay $300-500 for a nice, custom pair of shoes that would last me five years.  Maybe not running shoes.  I don’t know if they could make them last that long.  But a nice pair of work shoes, lightweight, comfortable, and sturdy, that really fit my feet, would be great.

Can I get that somewhere?  Or am I looking at more like $3000?

Im back, the cat is back, the wife is gone

Well, she’s gone temporarily.  We got in on Friday (A day late because we missed our flight.  If you’re flying from Dublin to Philadelphia on US Airways, do yourself a favor and get there early.), and she flew out yesterday for work.  She’ll be back Thursday.

Unfortunately, as usual when she’s not here, I didn’t sleep well last night.  I haven’t figured out why I sleep better when she’s here, but I do.  And the stupid cat didn’t help.  She was loud and irritating pretty much all night.  I don’t think I got more than an hour straight of sleep all night.

Anyway, hopefully tonight I’ll sleep better.

The trip, by the way, was fantastic.  I’ll write more at some point, but we had a great time.  Dublin is very expensive, however.  But I sure do love Guinness.

The Kennedy Center responds

Finally a response from the Kennedy Center to my complaints.

[Dear Cherished Patron,]

We have manually removed you from our e-mail list. You shouldn’t be receiving any e-mail from us regarding anything aside from shows for which you have purchased tickets. If you do receive anymore unwanted e-mail, please feel free to get in touch with me and I’ll do my best to fix the problem. I apologize for your inconvenience.

Sincerely,

[Some dude]

Electronic Media Intern

So, all I had to do was complain to the FTC.  I would have appreciated an explanation of why they thought it was okay to violate the CAN-SPAM act, but maybe that’s too much to ask.  Maybe they could have told me why I had to complain three times before I got a response. 

Well, at least they responded.

$10 minimum?

I need a new dry cleaner.  I just picked up five shirts.  The total was $7.13.   They wouldn’t let me use a credit card, and I only had $5 in my wallet.  She said there’s a $10 minimum on credit cards.  Is it just me, or is that pretty high?  I’ve heard of $5 minimums, but $10 seems steep.

Anyone know a good dry cleaner in Columbia Heights?  I’ve heard nothing but bad stories about Georgetown Valet and Oxxo or whatever they’re called.

The Kennedy Center is spamming me

My wife and I are going to see Phantom of the Opera at the Kennedy Center with my father-in-law next month, and I bought the tickets at their website.  Now they’re spamming me, and refuse to stop.  I tried their email preferences page, but every time I click anything, it selects all of the “send me junk mail and spam” options, and refuses to do anything else.  I emailed their web support on June 20th:

I am unable to unsubscribe from your email list.  I would like you to email me with updates related to shows for which I have tickets.  I do not want any other emails from you.  I do not want any regular mail from you.

Thank you.

Then again today after receiving more junk from them:

Customer # 3747291 requesting action on issue # 58603.  I contacted you on June 20th, 2007, because you are sending me email spam, and your opt-out page on your website does not work.  I received an automated response, and then nothing.  Today, I received another spam message from you.  I would appreciate your immediate action on this matter.  I would like you to send me emails only in response to this issue, and for changes or updates to shows for which I have purchased tickets.  Never contact me by postal mail, or by email for any other reason than stated above.

We’ll see what they do.  Unfortunately, I don’t think the toothless CAN-SPAM act is applicable here because I have a business relationship with them.  And, also unfortunately, they have something of a monopoly on large-scale theater in the area.  Since both my father-in-law and one of my sisters-in-law are theater fans, it seems likely that I will return to the Kennedy Center.

In any event, I am annoyed by their junk mail, and I want it to stop.

The street is NOT zoned

According to the DC Department of Transportation website, our block is NOT zoned residential.  Neither side.  My guess is that the sign says “residential” because they don’t make custom signs for our weird un-zoned street.  I printed out the DDOT search page showing that our block isn’t zoned residential, and we’ll be contesting this ticket.