If I had any eBay stock, I would be selling it right now. I am a devoted eBay fan and have bought many items there, and sold a few. A few weeks ago, I tried to sell some things I wanted to get rid of. Unfortunately, nobody wanted them so I didn’t make a sale. I did however, get billed for placing the items, something I had never had to do before. Oops, forgot to read the fine print in the latest “terms and conditions.”

Now eBay has announced that it wants to do away with the auction format, and go more for the fixed price model, hoping to compete with Amazon. I think that is a huge mistake. I shop eBay looking for good deals and bargains. If I wanted to pay fixed price, I would simply go to Amazon, which in fact, is exactly what I already do.

I’ve been a fan of eBay since their earliest days and told a lot of people about it long before they went public. But if they turn to a fixed price format, then they have just lost a good customer. I’d much rather go with Amazon, who has always had good prices, great shipping practices, and dependability. But I am sure going to miss those bargains.

According to the Associated Press, court-appointed receiver Clark Keslo is asking a judge to seize $8 billion from California’s treasury, at a time when California is already $15.2 billion in debt and facing additional cuts to services and potential higher taxes.

What does Mr. Keslo want the money for? So that he can “with a sense of firm conviction,” obtain funding mandated by the Federal government to improve the healthcare facilities of prisons! Yes, that bad place where they send bad people. We can’t even provide health care for the good people of California, yet this jerk wants to provide better health care for prisoners who already receive better healthcare than many of the state’s population. If a prisoner needs health care that cannot be provided at the prison’s facilities, the prisoner is transferred to a local hospital for treatment. While there, deputies are paid overtime to stand guard over the prisoner, even if they are too ill to go anywhere.

If the prison system is over-crowded and under-funded, fine. Take drastic measures like paroling (not just setting free) non-violent offenders. Make violators of the law pay higher fines and penalties. But don’t break the piggy bank just to hand it to the bad guys!

I’m disgusted.

The title of this post seems plastered all over the news today. I don’t really know what to think about all of it. On the one hand, the U.S. made Georgia into an ally, and allies are supposed to protect each other. On the other hand, I would hate to see us involved in yet another war, with a much stronger opponent.

Refugees and exhausted troops from Georgia have been reportedly shot while trying to escape the fighting. So far, the only thing that President Bush has done is issue a “firm warning.”  The best answer I can come up with is for U.N. peace keeping forces to form a “line in the sand” and force diplomatic discussions before leaving. But I’m not even sure the U.N. has the power to do that anymore.

It’s a frightening scenario and I have to wonder where this is going to lead.

photo credit: pirate_renee

For the umpteenth time, the California State Legislature has failed to pass the state budget on July 1st as directed in the State Constitution. This time, Governor Schwarzenegger plans to lay off as many as 22,000 temporary, part-time and contract state workers, and reduce pay to the federal minimum wage of $6.55 an hour, in a state with one of the highest costs of living in the nation. I happen to know several state workers, and this plan could prove devastating to them. Mortgage companies and credit card companies aren’t happy about late or missed payments, and this move could result in the damage of thousands of credit ratings.

I haven’t been able to determine whether these drastic cuts will apply to the Legislature or their employees, but somehow I doubt it.

Here’s what I don’t understand. In the real world, if you don’t do your job, you are usually fired. The job of the State Legislature is to pass the state budget by July 1st. We can’t fire them, because they would just be replaced with other politicians who would continue doing the same poor job. In my eyes, rather than hurting the working class, we should at the very least stop paying the Legislature until the budget is passed, WITHOUT reimbursing them later. I can guarantee that such an action would definitely motivate them to do their jobs.

photo credit: Silveira Neto

I must be such a nerd. Like most people, I know what a high-five is and why you do it. But thanks to an article in the Jul 2008 issue of Wired magazine, I now know that there are at least 4 different versions! Heck, I still haven’t gotten the clenched fingers handshake down, now I have to learn the 4 different ways to high-five? See just how cool/hip you really are:

In the classic high-five, the person to initiate is “The Man,” or Woman if that is the case. You can’t look at the hand you are high-fiving, you’re supposed to be looking at his/her elbow. Finally, you are supposed to cup your hand, not keep it straight. Slap your hands together and make an exclamation about whatever has gotten you so excited.

There’s one called “The Todd.” You would think I would know about this one, but I didn’t. I’d sue for copyright infringement, but since I can’t do it, I would probably lose my case. In this version, you implore your victim to “show The (don’t forget the “The”) [insert your name here] some love!” Now you high five with the hand held flat, not cupped, and you do it as hard as you can. Ouch! Then you take your numb hand and try to snap your fingers out in front of you. No thanks.

The next one is called “The Top Gun” where you do the classic high-five straight overhead, except you only make contact with the outside edge of your hand, kind of like a karate chop. Then you drop your arm down to the 6 o’clock position and do it again. Then oddly enough, you are supposed to howl at the moon like a dog or a wolf.

Finally, there is the “21 Jump Street.” This one must be reserved for conference rooms or some other hidden space, because I can’t imagine anyone doing this in public. This involves a team, probably of at least 3 or more people. Everyone extends their hands toward the middle, just like you did in Little League baseball or high school football. Then you wiggle your fingers while moving your hands upward in unison. Makes me think of the Three Stooges for some reason. At the peak, everyone pretends their hands are guns with the thumb as the hammer, and fires off into the air. I think they should throw in a little hop at the same time, just to show how serious they are.

I totally flunked this cool/hip test and would be completely lost if someone expected me to perform one of these maneuvers. Good thing there is no such thing as a high-five on the Internet.