Batmania Sweeps the Nation but I’m Not Buying It…

Batman this, Batman that…

Where’d all of this hype come from? Who’s responsible? And how many times can they make the same movie over again and still generate this much hype?

I don’t understand it.

I can’t claim to have seen the latest movie or even the previous 3 Batman movies.

That one with Danny DeVito as the Penguin sealed it for me — Batman movies from there on out would a complete waste of time.

(Perhaps I should have more accurately said that Tim Burton movies are a waste of time… Waste of money too…)

The original Batman television series from the 1960’s was easily the best. Even the 1966 full length movie ranks right up there, even though it just felt like a really long episode.

Adam West was the best Batman ever. No doubt in my mind. He made the character fun.

“Some days you just can’t get rid of a bomb.“

To this day, while watching Family Guy, I can’t help but think of Batman every time Mayor West speaks. Adam West didn’t just play Batman four decades ago. Adam West *is* Batman.

I remember when the first (but actually the second) Batman movie came out in 1989. You know, the one with Kim Basinger?

I was pretty excited (there was HUGE hype then too!), but then disappointed to see the, well, new and supposedly improved Batman. First off, his Batmobile sucked.

And since when did Batman wear all black?

Where did those washboard abs come from?

Why wasn’t anything labeled in the Batcave?

And really, who decided that Batman should now where more eyeliner than a crack whore? Tim Burton?

And, lastly, was it just me or was it hard not to just keep seeing Mr. Mom or Beetlejuice in that movie?

In the end, I thought Michael Keaton was an alright Batman. A terrible Bruce Wayne though. Jack Nicholson was also a decent Joker. Not as great as Cesar Romero, but still, pretty good.

I watched the 1989 movie this past weekend on ABC Family. At the same time, TNT was showing “Batman and Robin”. See what I mean about the hype? You couldn’t escape it this past weekend.

Remember when movie hype actually lasted for almost and entire summer? I’m thinking about movies like Independence Day, Terminator 2, and even Ghostbusters…

Every fast food restaurant had some sort of collectible glass available, I mean, the movie was a big deal. There were arcade games that were actually good — not just commercials for the movie. They even made action figures that people actually wanted. I don’t know — it was like they actually put some effort into marketing the movie.

Now though, as much as they’ve been making of this Dark Knight movie lately, in another week, it’ll be old news. No one will care.

Some Martin Lawrence in drag movie will come along and knock it off the top and the poor Dark Knight will be forgotten, the action figures will be in dollar stores across the country, the related video game will be in the bargain bin at BestBuy, and Heath Ledger will go back to just being that guy from the gay cowboy movie that OD’ed or something.

Anyone remember that Indiana Jones movie that came out earlier this summer with much fanfare?

Yeah, I didn’t think so…

Of course, this is all just my opinion.

I could be wrong.

Posted on July 22nd, 2008 at 8:08 am by Brainy Smurf
Rants, Current Events, Retro, Television, Movies | 2 Comments »

Reaching the Automatic PMI Cancellation Mark

According to the Federal Trade Commission, Private Mortgage Insurance (PMI) must be terminated automatically by the mortgage company when the borrower reaches 22 percent equity in the home based on the original property value — most often, the purchase price.

In my instance, the purchase price of my home was $141k. A bargain, really. Even back in 2002.

As of this morning, the remaining balance is $112,535.99. That works out to 20.187% equity based on the original property value.

To reach the 22% mark, I need to pay down an additional $2,555.99 in principle — preferably before October of this year when the mortgage company re-evaluates my escrow account (where the PMI payment is drawn from) and re-calculates my monthly mortgage payment for the following year.

If this is the first post you’ve read of mine on the subject of PMI cancellation, you may want to take a look at this earlier post where I was, in my opinion, wrongfully denied cancellation by Countrywide.

I plan to do this as soon as possible and am currently evaluating various promotional credit card offers I’ve received in the mail to be able to make the additional payment as soon at this week.

The most attractive offer so far is from Chase Bank. It’s 0% until April of 2009 with a 3% transaction fee capped at $199. In this scenario, I’d write a check to myself for $2555 and be charged with a $76.65 transaction fee (3 percent).

My new balance with Chase would be $2631.65 at 0% for 8 months. That works out to around a minimum of $330 per month to pay it off before any finance charges come along. That wouldn’t be a problem.

If this plan were successful, it would prevent paying $85.15 in PMI charges for at least 4 months (possibly more), a $130 appraisal fee, and loads of difficult to calculate interest.

So, for a cost of $76.65, I could save an absolute minimum of $470.60.

Sounds like a good plan.

Before any of this happens though, I first need to get in contact with Countrywide and ensure that reaching the 22% mark will indeed automatically cancel PMI without any additional effort (or $130 appraisals) from me.

My interpretation of the law (and I read it like 50 times over) indicates that automatic cancellation at 22% has nothing to do with an increase or decrease in the value of the home, only with how much the mortgage is paid down. I have my doubts, but we’ll see…

(In all actuality, my wife will probably make the confrontational phone call. She’s *way* better at that sort of thing than I am. That’s why I married her!)

Worst case, I knock off a lot more principle, save a bunch of money, file a complaint with the FTC, and then see where that takes me…

Posted on July 15th, 2008 at 1:13 pm by Brainy Smurf
Rants, Finance, Mortgage, Credit Card, 2008 Goals, PMI - Mortgage Insurance | 5 Comments »

FTC Bait? My Own Mortgage Crisis…

I knew it.

I knew it!

I knew that canceling PMI wasn’t going to be easy. I just knew it.

And I’m pissed.

Here’s the letter I received from Countrywide’s Mortgage Insurance Department yesterday:

IMPORTANT MESSAGE ABOUT YOUR LOAN

Thank you for your recent inquiry about deleting the mortgage insurance on your Countrywide home loan. Your loan must meet current mortgage insurance cancellation requirements for this to occur. Please allow us to explain what this involves.

———————————-

WHAT THIS MEANS

The current value of your property must be equal to or greater than the original value of your property at the time the loan closed for the PMI to be deleted. The original value of your property means the lesser of the sales price or the appraised value at the closing of a purchase loan, and the appraised value at the closing of a refinance loan. A Certificate of Value (COV) is required to determine if the current value of your property is sufficient to meet this requirement. Your noteholder requires Countrywide Home Loans to select your COV provider. You will be responsible for the cost of the COV. Before you send a check or call to provide credit card information for you COV, we would suggest that you try to verify that the value of your property meet the above mentioned criteria.

———————————-

WHAT YOU NEED TO DO

If you choose to continue with the COV ordering process, simply complete the form at the bottom of this letter and return it with a check made payable to Landsafe Appraisal Services for $130.00. You must reference your loan number and write “COV Fee” on the check. Please do not include the COV fee along with your regular monthly payment. It must be sent separately.

Landsafe w ill [sic] contract a local Broker or Realtor to perform the COV, which will include an interior inspection and photographs. The Broker or Realtor should identify himself or herself and indicate that he or she was contracted by Landsafe. If he or she fails to do so, please ask. Our department will then review the COV and if it is determined that it adequately supports at least the original value of the property, your request will be approved. The insurance will be cancelled and your payment adjusted accordingly.

———————————-

IMPORTANT INFORMATION

Because of your timely payment record, we are able to consider your request; however, please keep in mind that any late payment may prevent cancellation.

If you do not take action within 60 days, please contact us at (800) 669-6607 to confirm your continued eligibility.

We look forward to receiving you COV soon so that we can take care of this matter for you.

Requirements are subject to change.

This letter supersedes any previous information that may have been provided to you.

So, basically, they want me to pay them $130 even though I’ve met the criteria required to cancel PMI. I get it.

“This letter supersedes any previous information that may have been provided to you.”

Yep, it must.

I understand that the housing market is down and that mortgage companies like Countrywide are struggling but it was pretty clear (even on Countrywide’s website) that PMI cancellation could be requested at the 20% mark based entirely on the original value of the home. I’m past that mark.

While $130 really isn’t that much — my wife says it’s a great deal — the idea of paying them more to tell me that my house is worth more than it was 6 years ago doesn’t sit well with me.

Neither does taking time off of work to have a realtor come over and tour my house with a camera. The Fair Plan insurance inspections I’ve been subjected to are more than enough… Yeah, maybe I have privacy issues, but it’s really not cool to be forced to let strangers (essentially un-invited) poke their heads into your closets. And then demand money.

Heading over to the Federal Trade Commission’s website, on the subject of Private Mortgage Insurance they state:

For home mortgages signed on or after July 29, 1999, your PMI must - with certain exceptions - be terminated automatically when you reach 22 percent equity in your home based on the original property value, if your mortgage payments are current. Your PMI also can be canceled, when you request - with certain exceptions - when you reach 20 percent equity in your home based on the original property value, if your mortgage payments are current.

One exception is if your loan is “high-risk.” Another is if you have not been current on your payments within the year prior to the time for termination or cancellation. A third is if you have other liens on your property. For these loans, your PMI may continue. Ask your lender or mortgage servicer (a company that collects your payments) for more information about these requirements.

None of those exceptions apply to my loan. Not one.

My mortgage was signed after July 29, 1999. It’s not high risk, it’s current, and there are no liens on my property. No re-fi’s, no HELOC’s… Nothing…

Perhaps I should file a complaint with the FTC? That would probably be an even bigger hassle. You’d think that what the FTC says would “supersede” anything Countrywide says about the matter… You’d think…

But now I’m wondering if Countrywide will drop PMI without question at the 22% mark — where it’s supposed to drop automatically. While I’d prefer not to send the additional funds towards the mortgage right now, that mark is just around $2500 away. Do-able.

But if, at the 22% mark, they still come back with this exact same form letter, well, I guess I’m not sure what I’ll do then, but filing a complaint with the FTC will definitely look more attractive.

Posted on July 15th, 2008 at 8:11 am by Brainy Smurf
Rants, Finance, Insurance, Mortgage, 2008 Goals, PMI - Mortgage Insurance | 1 Comment »

Fleeced by Credit Card Foreign Transaction Fees

Last month, I used my AT&T Universal credit card from Citi to buy some CFL football tickets online — the only available option from 500 miles away. It was a game that we were going to attend while on vacation.

Back when I bought them, I bemoaned all of TicketMaster’s surcharges that I was forced to pay. Something about “convenience”…

Little did I know that my credit card company would take a slice as well… just a few weeks after the fact.

Upon returning home from our vacation, I noticed that my credit card was carrying a balance. A nice and even $5.00 balance. Not something that I expected, so I logged in to see the details:

A foreign transaction fee. Okay, whatever. It’s just five bucks, right? Not that big of a deal. But buried in the fine print (yes, the fine print even exists on a computer screen), I came across this:

Your Card provides the convenience of transacting in foreign currencies worldwide wherever MasterCard is accepted without having to exchange and carry more foreign currency than you need for your transaction. Each purchase you make in a foreign currency is subject to a one-time transaction fee. The Annual Percentage Rate for Standard Purchases shown on this statement applies only to purchases made in a foreign currency.

There’s that magic word again: convenience.

I’m sorry, but if a vendor lists that Visa or MasterCard are accepted at their establishment, the consumer shouldn’t be paying any additional fee on their purchases.

Now, again, why am I making such a fuss about one $5 transaction fee? Well, because I used the card SIX more times while in Canada after this last statement came out.

My understanding of the line “each purchase you make in a foreign currency is subject to a one-time transaction fee” means that I’m going to get hit with another $30 in unexpected fees at the end of this month.

That’s a lot of money for “convenience”, don’t you think?

Now I realize that I used a MasterCard in this instance, but I looked up the terms and conditions on my Visa card through Bank of America, and they appear to be the same. Wouldn’t have mattered which card I chose.

Of course, neither discloses what the exact “convenience” fee will actually be in the fine print. Depends on the weather, I guess.

But in Visa’s case, I have a bit more of a problem with the whole idea of foreign transaction fees — especially in countries that they currently operate in and have operated in for years!?

(I target Visa here because I can’t recall a widespread MasterCard advertising campaign that involves non-domestic transactions.)

See, of late, you can’t watch more than 20 minutes of NBC programming without viewing a Visa commercial where they tout themselves as an official sponsor of next month’s Olympic Games in Beijing.

Going to their website, they boast:

Visa-branded ATMs have been installed in and around Beijing for your convenience.

As a Worldwide Partner, Visa is the only card accepted at any Olympic venue throughout China and for Olympic merchandise purchased online, in Olympic retail stores and by catalog.

Wow. There’s that word again. Convenience.

Odd how they “conveniently” fail to mention that if you use one of those Visa-branded ATMs in Beijing, you’re going to get dinged with an extra fee — from them and probably your bank back home too if you have a linked debit/credit account.

Convenient.

Posted on July 11th, 2008 at 12:41 pm by Brainy Smurf
Rants, Finance, Credit Card | 2 Comments »

Wouldn’t you know it…

Just days after requesting that the private mortgage insurance from my mortgage be removed, I see that they’ve taken another $85.15 from my escrow account to pay, well, for the private mortgage insurance I shouldn’t have be paying for anymore.

Not that I didn’t expect that to happen — Countrywide did give themselves 3 weeks to “research” the request.

In fact, I’d bet that I even end up paying it yet again in August.

Sure, August 10th is more than 3 weeks in the future, but just you wait…

Posted on July 11th, 2008 at 8:09 am by Brainy Smurf
Rants, Finance, Mortgage, PMI - Mortgage Insurance | 1 Comment »

Turning Corners is Really Tough…

Just another sports rant…

Our local sports guy on the radio — a raving idiot that I can hardly stand, actually — was going on and on and on about this story this morning on my way to work, so I decided to look into it a little more.

A few excerpts from the article I found first:

Yankees ace Chien-Ming Wang is expected to be sidelined until at least September after injuring his foot running the bases, prompting club co-chairman Hank Steinbrenner to chastise the National League for playing without a designated hitter.

An examination in New York on Monday showed Wang partially tore a tendon and sprained his right foot Sunday during the Yankees’ 13-0 interleague win at Houston. He will be on crutches and wear a protective boot for a minimum of six weeks.

“My only message is simple. The National League needs to join the 21st century,” Steinbrenner said in Tampa, Fla. “They need to grow up and join the 21st century.

“Am I (mad) about it? Yes,” Steinbrenner added. “I’ve got my pitchers running the bases, and one of them gets hurt. He’s going to be out. I don’t like that, and it’s about time they address it. That was a rule from the 1800s.”

Wow.

I mean, it is unfortunate when a star player gets hurt but this was of his own doing. It’s not like he was cheapshotted or anything. As far as I can tell from the story, no one even touched him — it is baseball after all.

In all seriousness, I don’t think it’s the National League that needs to grow up, I think it’s Hank Steinbrenner that needs to.

Give me a break. I mean, if Major League Baseball wants to join the 21st century, shouldn’t they be using aluminum bats by now?

Making a rare appearance on the bases at an NL park, Wang pulled up rounding third and hobbled home on Derek Jeter’s single. Wang doubled over after scoring, pointed toward his right foot and was helped off the field.

“This is always a concern of American League teams when their pitchers have to run the bases and they’re not used to doing it,” Steinbrenner said. “It’s not just us. It’s everybody. It probably should be a concern for National League owners, general managers and managers when their pitchers run the bases. Pitchers have enough to do without having to do that.”

Pitchers have enough to do, huh Hank?

They throw a freaking ball and are paid millions to do it. I dunno, my job entails a lot more than throwing a ball as hard as I can for a couple of hours once a week. You don’t see me complaining, do you?

Can these guys possibly be babied any more?

And what about the pitchers in the National League? Last time I checked, they had to bat and run the bases all season long. Oh yeah, they pitch too… I guess they’re just more skilled athletes…

I wonder if they get paid more in the league that’s stuck in the 1800s?

After the game, Yankees pitcher Mike Mussina summed up the problem that AL pitchers sometimes face at NL parks.

“We don’t hit, we don’t run the bases,” Mussina said. “You get four or five at-bats a year at most, and if you happen to get on base once or twice, you never know. We run in straight lines most of the time. Turning corners, you just don’t do that.”

This is the quote I love best, “We run in straight lines most of the time. Turning corners, you just don’t do that.”

I dunno, I think I picked up turning corners as a toddler. You?

Must be a rough life as a pitcher in the American League…

Posted on June 17th, 2008 at 11:12 am by Brainy Smurf
Rants, Current Events, Sports | No Comments »

Nose Whistling Adventures in the Autoshop Waiting Room…

With our rapidly approaching vacation involving probably over 2k miles of driving, I thought it best to make an appointment to get an oil change and check-up on the car we’ll be taking on the voyage.

That appointment was scheduled for 7:30 am on Saturday this past weekend at the dealership. I arrived early, as I often do, by around 20 minutes. They weren’t open yet, so I parked in the first slot they have designated for service appointments and started to wait.

Not long after, a friendly looking 50 something woman in a Toyota SUV pulled up behind me in slot two, got out and tried to open the door — still locked. She smiled at me as she passed and then went back and sat in her car.

By now, I was getting a little antsy — it was 7:25 or so — I could see activity in the shop, but the doors were still locked. Sales associates were starting to roam the lots.

Then an old Toyota minivan pulled in, nearly sideswiped my car and the SUV behind me. He proceeded past my car and then stared backing up as if he were parallel parking in front of me — you know, where the HUGE no parking sign was.

Whatever. I was pretty sure he was cutting in line, but I’d give him the benefit of the doubt for now. Then a younger woman appeared out of no where — didn’t see her pull in, didn’t even see her car.

The door to the service office opened and what do you know? The two of us that were there first weren’t the first two in line. Figures…

Makes me wonder if people even understand the concept of a line any more.

Related tangent, at the Cow Parade a few weeks ago, we set-out and took our place on the curb a good 45 minutes before the parade to ensure a nice front row seat.

Things were looking great, until 5 minutes before the start and multiple rows of people start setting up in front of us on the road… I guess next time I should show up late and then show up the people that got there before me… Grrrrr…

Anyway, we’re herded into a little office to sit down with a service advisor — you know, the guy you give the keys to and explain your problem. It isn’t a very private setting, so you can basically listen in on everyone else’s car troubles as you wait…

The young woman apparently was bringing in her Camry because the radio didn’t work. Not only rude enough to cut the entire line of people (obviously) waiting, she took it a step further by making a call on her cell phone as she was talking to the service advisor. No joke — she talked as she dialed. The call must’ve been important too — something about someone’s baby’s mama…

The other fellow, the guy from the minivan that nearly sideswiped us early birds had the other service advisor occupied. He spoke very broken English — if I had to guess I’d say he was from Southeast Asia — but I think it was partly an act just to get his way. Apparently his van had been there yesterday for service and he was told to bring it back on Monday.

Well, this was Saturday. Apparently he didn’t understand that.

His problem was that the van, in his words, wasn’t running properly because the “seat belt” light was on. Um, yeah. The advisor asked him if he meant to say “Check Engine” light.

Nope, it was the seat belt light.

The advisor told him that he had an appointment to come back on Monday for them to take a look at it. The man then pretended not to understand and got rather aggressive.

I exchanged a raised eyebrow glance of dismay with the woman in line behind me. She shook her head in silent agreement.

The advisor caved — went out with the man to his minivan to see the light he spoke of. Outside, they exchanged more words — we couldn’t hear them, but the little man with the van was *very* agitated.

I felt bad — what a horrible way for this poor customer service guy to start his workday. He came back in with the man’s keys and started to fill out paperwork.

Crap — now I was, at best, going to be the third car to be worked on. The benefit of getting here early was most certainly lost now.

The advisor then called me up and I let him know not to worry — mine was easy. He told me the minivan was easy too — the seat belt light was on because the guy in the minivan had cut the seatbelt out. Nice.

I handed him my keys and made my way to the waiting room. It was empty. And quiet. A little too quiet. I squeaked my sneakers on the floor.

A few moments later, my fellow early bird set herself up in a chair diagonal from me and started to read a book she had brought.

Did I mention that it was quiet? The only noise in the room was that of my stomach. I hadn’t eaten the night before — the Tim Russert thing the night before stole my appetite so I hadn’t really eaten much of anything for two days. I felt fine, but my stomach was definitely voicing its displeasure.

It was pretty embarrassing. It’s not like I could blame it on some old guy in the room. I’m pretty sure she wanted to laugh. She had to have heard it.

I squeaked my sneakers on the floor some more, adjusting in my seat. The sound was piercing.

I looked at the magazine selection on the table next to me for something to flip through — you know, make a little noise. All golf and women’s interest magazines. That wouldn’t do.

There was a TV in the corner. I considered getting up and turning it on to break the silence (and cover up my stomach issues) but saw that the remote control was larger than a computer keyboard and thought better of it.

I’d tried to turn on this television in this waiting room before in the past, but getting the DirectTV (or whichever service they use) was too complicated to get going for me. I’d tried and failed. I wasn’t about to try again with an audience.

I just tapped my foot and cleared my throat every few minutes whenever I realized that I was nose whistling the Fugazi song appropriately titled “Waiting Room” as I often find myself doing in these situations.

Yes, this was the quietest waiting room ever.

By 8:00 am, thankfully, a father with two young children came in. I’d say the boy accompanying Dad was 6 or so and the girl was a couple of years younger. They were LOUD, but in this setting, that was a good thing.

The dad was obviously embarrassed and asked me, ignoring the woman — I guess I looked really bored or easily agitated in comparison, if cartoons were okay?

I said, “Yeah, sure!”

He corralled the two kids in the seats facing the television in front of me and picked up the oversized remote control. He couldn’t figure it out. Thankfully, the 6 year old boy had no problem — evidently familiar with the satellite service and how to turn it on.

Dad took over and settled on the first cartoon show he found, on channel 700 something, and get this, it was the Smurfs. Yes!

This kept the boy happy and quiet, but the girl was having a hard time sitting still. At the first commercial break, she whined, “Dad, I don’t like this show…”

Blasphemy!

Much to my dismay, Dad then went up a channel to “Pooh and Friends” which kept both children entertained — I mean, their eyes were glued to the set.

Apparently Rabbit lost his the wheel from his wheel barrow and had enlisted Pooh, Tigger, and Piglet to search for it. Fine, I admit it, my eyes were glued to the set too…

The show was 100% computer animated — nothing like the Winnie the Pooh I remembered. Tigger was wearing goggles for some reason that I wasn’t quite sure of either.

The one thing I did notice was his voice — Tigger’s, that is. I swear he sounds just like the singer for the 90’s band Cracker, David Lowery.

By this point, the waiting room was filling up. A few people, including the woman who arrived shortly after me, had even left already. The man with the kids left as well, but the television remained on.

I was the closest to the set, and I could tell that some in the room were annoyed by the Disney music videos that were playing at this point (one by my favorite band, They Might Be Giants).

Just then, the service room door opened and Glen, my assigned advisor, said, “Brainy?”

I gave him the head nod of acknowledgement and he came over like he was about to deliver some very dire news…

“Brainy, your front brakes are really worn down — no damage to the rotor yet, but…”

I cut him off, “Okay, do it. Go for it.” I mean, what choice did I have? Vacation is right around the corner…

He kept talking all soft like it was embarrassing personal information he was disclosing — I dunno, like he was going to inform me that they’d found a dead prostitute in the trunk or something — but instead, he was actually just saying that the bill would be around $250 or so and would take another hour and a half and blah, blah, blah…

“Yeah, sure, that’s not a problem…” and away he scurried before I could amusedly ask about my own seat belt light…

I adjusted in my seat again and then got up making it obvious that I wasn’t genuinely attached to what was on the television, you know, to give someone else a chance to make a move to turn it to another channel or off entirely.

I headed towards the coffee machine. Cool — it was the same one I have at work. I’m not really a big coffee fan, but I had another hour and a half to kill so why not spend it sipping outrageously hot liquid, right?

I grabbed a cup, inserted the k-cup of my favorite flavor, pulled the lever, and pushed the button. Like work, the machine made a wonky noise — likely the water pump — and then started to spew hot coffee into my waiting cup.

Now at work, you can hear it slowing down as it nears the rim of the cup. This one wasn’t slowing down. I hit the button again — which at work is kinda like an abort button.

On this machine, however, it fired up the pump again. Oh crap!

I filled two cups and eventually unplugged the machine from the wall with my foot. That stopped it. Finally.

Turning around, I surveyed the room. Apparently no one had noticed my heroic actions.

I cleaned up the mess I’d made — it wasn’t much — and went back to my seat. The TV was still on. And it was still tuned to the Disney channel. Sigh…

I sat back and sipped my hot coffee doing my best not to get caught looking at anyone in the room. It was an uncomfortable vibe in there — a bunch of grouchy people who weren’t real keen on being up this early on a Saturday.

People came and went. I finished my coffee. I twiddled my thumbs and finally Glen poked his head in again and said, “Brainy, you’re all set — just check out at the cashier…”

Now, according to the receipt, the brakes only cost $80. I’m sure that after around a 60% mark-up too. Still, not too bad. That much I can handle.

I’m sure you know where I’m going with this now…

How on earth can they justify charging nearly $200 for labor? How?

My oil change was free — I opted in to pay for service like that up front when I bought the car — so you can take that our of the equation.

The brake issue — the one that would have required the labor — came up maybe 1 hour ago meaning they just charged me $200 for one hour!?

I’m sorry, but you’d think that if the service guys are actually earning that kind of money, they could at least show up to work in a clean shirt, right? They’d probably all drive a Prius instead of junkers too…. C’mon…

One guy is technically pulling in over $1600 per 8-hour day there. I know the actual workers aren’t bringing home even a quarter of that per day, but the dealerships are certainly making a killing in the service department…

In the end, the total bill came to $293.43 which I immediately put on a credit card and chalked up as another vacation expense…

What’s that bring the total to now? Oh, I’ll worry about it later…

Posted on June 16th, 2008 at 1:55 pm by Brainy Smurf
Rants, Life, Television, Vacation | 2 Comments »

Burress won’t take the Field… I won’t pay the Mortgage.

From a story I lifted off of TSN this morning, apparently New York Giants wide receiver Plaxico Burress is refusing to practise because the Super Bowl champions haven’t renegotiated his contract.

Burress reported to Giants Stadium for a mandatory minicamp Wednesday, but said he told the coaching staff he won’t work out without a new deal.

The wide receiver says he has three years left on his current deal.

Burress, who battled through an injury-hampered season last year, caught the game-winning touchdown in the Giants’ stunning 17-14 victory over the previously unbeaten New England Patriots in the Super Bowl.

Um… why’d he sign a multi-year deal? I think the teams should start giving the players a dictionary every time this comes up (pretty much every season).

From the worst dictionary/encyclopedia ever, Wikipedia, a contract is defined as a legally binding exchange of promises or agreement between parties that the law will enforce.

Sure, he made a great catch to clinch the Super Bowl back in February — but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t have to honor his current contract for the 3 more years he’s obligated to.

I suppose he thinks there’s a mistake in the numbers — the Giants didn’t pay him to win the Super Bowl for them, so he wants compensation now… Sorry bro, you’re gonna have to wait (and perform) for another 3 seasons before a raise comes along…

I hope he sits on the sideline all season. Unpaid.

Addendum:

The more I thought about it and tried to compare it to my own non-NFL lifestyle, I realized that my mortgage contract with Countrywide has around 24 years left to go on it.

And I’m not 100% satisfied with the terms of the loan.  It costs me too much.

If I were Plaxico, I’d stop paying the mortgage and hold out for Countrywide to renegotiate the terms in my favor…

Oh wait, people are actually doing that already…

Ridiculous.

Posted on June 12th, 2008 at 6:11 am by Brainy Smurf
Rants, Mortgage, Sports | No Comments »