AT&T Ripoff

We recently decided to give up on Knology as our ISP after the 900th prolonged service outage. After reviewing all the price gouging offers, we decided to select the slowest, cheapest, thing from AT&T.While we were having our negotiations, the sales people said we could get their DSL Elite for only $5 more per month. See this ad. We had already switched our phone over with just basic service at this point. We decided on accepting the $24.95/mo offer knowing the promotion would only last a year. Imagine our surprise when we got our first bill and saw we were being charged $44.95/mo for DSL and had been signed up for AT&T long distance. When we finally got a live body on the phone they said "of course" we had to pay full price on the DSL for three months before getting the promotional rate and that "of course" you have to be an AT&T long distance subscriber to have their DSL elite service. No one seemed to care when we said this had not been disclosed to us. After THREE days on the phone with six different customer service representatives we finally got rid of their long distance and their "elite" DSL. I now have the slowest crappiest Internet connection ever.

The irony of television

I was watching the finale of "The Biggest Loser" and a commercial came on for this new ABC show:

http://abcfamily.go.com/shows/huge

Funny.

Movie Review (Gamer)

I thought the commercial looked cool, so Mrs. Dude rented it. I had to turn it off after 10 minutes because of all the gratuitous language and nudity, what a waste.

Anonymous Gift

This past week I got two separate job offers and an anonymous source paid our utility bill. God's grace is so amazing. These offers are great news since I have been unable to get a job even at Lowe's. Now we have to decide if we want to move and/or how much travel will be involved.

Pity Party

Yesterday during my pity party I prayed for guidance and then decided to mow my neighbor's yard. That was a nice experience that God presented and allowed me to serve someone else and not focus on my own selfishness. Praise God for that opportunity.

Unemployed

I am really not enjoying this anymore. I know God will take care of us but my pride is being continually assaulted. Today my son asked why we couldn't open the pool and I had to tell him we don't have the money to do it this year. Being a great guy, he offered me his piggy bank. God is teaching me humility right now, I have to learn to love it.

Pray For Your Enemies

As I have been seeking employment, I have had some really great interviews that have wound up being complete dead ends. I know a lot of people have been telling partial truths about me and it's been quite a struggle. Last night I decide to pray that God would bless these people and their lives. I would ask those of you that read this to join me in asking that God bless them and draw these people close to Him.

But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;
Matthew 5:44

Trying to buy a car

As I 'm trying to buy a car, I keep running into people who don't understand that they cannot charge more than the vehicle's worth. They also don't seem to understand that putting tires on a vehicle does not increase its worth but is simply regular maintenance. Consider the following emails, this is for a 2000 Honda Accord EX w 135k miles.

From the seller:
Condition Value


Excellent
$7,315


Honda Accord Ex

Power everything, leather, front dual airbags, front side air bags, premium sounds, sunroof, its everything! and 135k miles on it.

I just looked it up and thats what it says. I have a bunch of people wanting to look at it. So let me know.

Its worth more than Im asking for it. I owe 325.00 left on it. I just paid 6000.00 off of it. And only have that much left.

I should really be asking 6500.00 for it. since i still owe on it. Cause Im wanting to get somethig else after this car..

From the Captain:
I'm not working with dealers, because I'm only willing to pay the "private party value". With these features and mileage, Kelly Blue Book shows the following. If you end up lowering the price please let me know, best of luck selling it.



More Photos
Condition Value

Excellent $5,065
Good $4,590
Fair $4,040

From the seller:
No def not. You are not adding all the stuff that it has. Im not taking that for it. Def not.

Its worth more than that. And its in very good shape with low miles. there are honda accord 98 models all online for 5999.99 still. i would be stupid to sale it for less. plus i just paid 6325.00 on it to pay it off. and i have to replace it with something else. so no.

sorry!

From the Captain:
That was every available option with the miles you listed for this zip code. Best of luck selling it, I hope you get what you need for it.

So far I haven't heard back but wee will see. Here is another example of someone asking $5800 for a 2001 Chrysler 300m with 120k miles :

From the Captain:
I went home and ran a pricing report on your vehicle with my own observation of the condition. My estimation is that the vehicle is in good to fair condition based on the possibility of needing engine work, one or more front brake rotors needing replaced, and the cosmetic issues like the cracked dashboard, blown front speaker, stereo knobs, and the burlwood trim being pulled away from the dash. If you decide to lower the price, let me know.

I got the following values:
Condition Value

Excellent $3,965
Good $3,565
Fair $3,115

From the seller:
Here are the NADA and Consumer Reports I also ran when pricing the car. The work done three months ago was $741 for the new tires/belts plus I had the tires rotated/balanced/full alignment yesterday for 90. I had the rotors checked at firestone when I initially had the work done, and they do not need replacing. He said they could re-cover them for 70 if I recall correctly, so that's not too expensive of a fix (it was not necessary at the time which the guy I was working with agreed). I do not believe the engine work will cost more than 200-300 dollars, and am willing to take that off of the price. I was quoted 100 dollars at firestone in order for them to find the leak, and then whatever it costs to patch/fix it.

Let me know what you think when you take a look at these reports. I averaged the two of them when pricing the car, also taking the recent improvements into consideration.

From the Captain:
I hope you were able to sell the car, the prices you sent appeared to be retail but I am sure someone will pay that for it. Additionally, I do not count maintenance as improvements.

Movie Review (Cop Out)

The trailers were so funny, the movie is awful. I really hate it when funny things in the trailer aren't in the film too. I regret going to see this one, horrible.

Used Car Shopping

I have been used car shopping for several days now and thought I would share some of the fun I have been having. Yesterday I found a pretty decent, I thought, deal on a 2001 LeSabre but then the whole "good cop bad cop" thing started. As I was looking at the vehicle the guy was all smiles and offered the car for $4900. When we decided we wanted it the thing was $6000. Why can't they just tell you an honest price without some pushy sales crap with $2000 worth of processing fees, taxes and other garbage? It also seems that every car sales man I talk to has a belief that no one on the planet can look up what a vehicle is worth without the tiny book they hold in their pocket. I mean do these guys even need to exist now? It would seem that used vehicles could almost be sold from a vending machine at this point. Yesterday's fiasco actually prompted me to send the guy the following link when he told me I couldn't find a better deal anywhere:

http://autos.yahoo.com/used-cars/overview;_ylt=A2KIRufp.JBL9HQAUQNXc78F;_ylv=3?listingtype=used&make=buick&model=lesabre&modelyearlb=2001&modelyearub=any&askpricelb=any&askpriceub=any&deliverymileagelb=any&deliverymileageub=any&location=37931

I was trying not to be rude but this guy's car was one of at least ten and the most expensive. When confronted with that data, he acted as if no one had ever done this before. I would also caution people to stay away from the "buy here pay here" lots since the only things those men seem to be able to say are "what kind of payment are you looking for" and "it drives out real straight". I don't have any idea what driving straight "means" and I will need the car to also go both left and right to get it back home.

Deception

Jezebel. Over the past several years, I have met her a few times. The Jezebel you meet may not even know she is a a tool of the enemy. To be fair, I have also been a tool of the enemy and am quite grateful to have had my eyes opened. Beware of the spirit of Jezebel that is so alive in our churches today and seeks to attack marriages and your relationship with Christ.

Web Logs are Cool

It's fun to see who is watching my blog based on recent events.

How Awesome is our God?

While I don't think anyone can accurately describe this I need to relate what I have experienced. I have lived a terrible life and deserve NOTHING but contempt from God. Over the years I have done everything within my flesh to try and get Him to turn His face from me. Instead he repeatedly shows me his favor and demonstrates his love for me.

During the past several months I allowed Satan to interfere in my life and he clearly made me think that what I was doing was justified. During that time I lost many of the things I held most dear. Through the refining fire I am being presented with a new and wonderful opportunity to let God have his way in my life. I have chosen to give up any of my own will and not retaliate against the untruths that are being used against me and rest in the fact that God will deal with all of that in His own time.

God is awesome!

It's on

Awesome

I am not happy

Sprint Customer Service

Sprint is totally awesome! Let me describe my previous statement which is dripping with sarcasm. Sprint allowed access to my account 24 hours after I had changed all of my security questions and answers. This action was not so much completely malicious by the person who did it, but rather a great example of how your information may not be protected.

Having been on the phone with 800 different Sprint customer service reps, and even someone from "Dan's" office, all I get are very weak excuses that they did everything right. The only "bright spot" was a very nice lady in their fraud management department that confirmed that my timeline of events was completely accurate.

If you use Sprint, enjoy!

Movie Review (Sherlock Holmes)

I read Sherlock Holmes books as a child and really enjoyed them. The movie has taken great cinematic license and turned the character into something few people ever envisioned, an action hero. Robert Downey Jr. solidified himself as the current top tier star in dramatic fashion. He portrays the man as a torn and troubled man with all the great attributes of observation and deduction from the books. He also really did some physical work on his body to pull off the role.

The movie itself is fast-paced and very complex. When I left the theater I felt like I had finished taking an exam. Although the film is somewhat mind numbing, this film is excellent and I can't wait for the sequel.

Movie Review (Avatar)

I saw 700 trailers for this movie and spent a month making fun of it. I decided to check it out while I am on travel in California.

By far this is the most visually stunning movie I have ever seen. I saw it in digital 3d and remain amazed. I have heard it's a blatant ripoff of Dances with Wolves and see some parallels, but the storyline seemed to have it's own life for me. If you haven't seen this movie, run don't walk.

Everyone is full of it

Is there a reason that the entire world tries to fluff their way through everything right now? I see this in ever facet of life right now, it's amazing.

New Bass

I got a killer new bass last night. It thunders. It's a Schecter Stiletto Studio 5 Diamond Series.