01/02/09 03:57 - 33ºF - ID#47254
Angry at bus fare increases
NFTA Chairman Gregory Stamm said, "Effective January, were only putting in a 25 cent increase." I like how he says "only" 25 cents. How incredibly insensitive is to say that? It does make a big difference, especially when they intend on increasing it another 25 cents in July. I know sacrifices have to be made but why does it have to be poor people that have to suffer the most? I wonder how much money Gregory Stamm makes to say it is only 25 cents?
I think this is what they call being nickeled and dimed except this time we are being quartered.
Permalink: Angry_at_bus_fare_increases.html
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12/31/08 01:56 - 15ºF - ID#47230
One more post
Permalink: One_more_post.html
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12/31/08 01:52 - 15ºF - ID#47228
sigh
I hope that she can.
Good Luck (e:jim). Let me know if you need any help.
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12/27/08 07:12 - 57ºF - ID#47199
Is it that hard to buy a freaking boot?
My mom ordered the boot for me for a early Xmas gift and I wore them for two weeks and the heal is nearly half gone. Not only that but they seriously have left my left calf all chafed. When I called Cabellas the woman was like "Oh, do you walk really hard on your heal?" So I say "No, I am pretty sure that I walk normally." Then she says "Well, I didn't know that I was walking so hard on my heal until other people pointed out." At this point I am seriously biting my lip as to not tell her off for suggesting that I am walking in such a way as to wear don't a rubber heal in two weeks. Anyways she did end up saying that it wasn't normal and said that I can return them but can only get store credit. Before I decided to raise hell for not giving me the money back I decided to look to see if I can't find anything else they sell and I found these.
I think that I am going to order them tomorrow but they say they are for below 40 degrees Celsius and I don't know if I need something quite so extreme. I don't want my feet to be too warm because I am usually walking pretty quickly when I have them on.
The last boots I had lasted me over ten years but I finally threw them out when I was moving so that it would force me to get new ones. Just about everything I want to buy turns into this big ordeal.
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12/25/08 09:09 - 30ºF - ID#47178
Merry Xmas Y'all
Last night I watched Jim Carey play the Grinch and I really did enjoy it when I intended on hating it. My little cousin Gary was over and he said that he is scary. I really love when movies or books are made that further develop the characters.
My Mom got me my sister and brother a row of three stuffed chipmunks that dance and sing Up On the House Top by the original Chipmunks. I love it and wish that I could take it home but it is staying here in Florida since it is for all three of us.
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12/21/08 02:04 - 25ºF - ID#47128
Shady and scary
So I tell my roommate what had happened and he said that he was down in the basement when we left doing laundry and he saw them in the alley way from the windows and he was immediately concerned that they were going to bother us but then thought oh no that is crazy. They looked well dress and respectable too but there was this feeling that something wasn't right. I immediately place suspicion on any stranger that is approaching me. When he said "OH that is OK, we will go that way with you." I knew that something really bad would have happened if we had said Yeah get in. Most scary thing is that Mike probably would have let them in the car if I were not there.
You can take a bus for $1.50 to get to Kenmore or a cab for maybe $20 so why wouldn't they just do that? Why did they walk West when they should have gone north? We so were going to be robbed/car jacked/ snatched away and killed or all of the above.
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12/18/08 12:08 - 28ºF - ID#47100
Violence in Buffalo
(e:janelle), I get your concern, and I would assume your statistics correct, but to just assume that these attacks are somehow based on a criminal background of the victim and that you should just assume that bad things only happen to bad people based on statistics is sort of dangerous. I have seen numerous cases of gangs of threatening youth who have little respect for themselves or others do quite horrible things to innocent victims. These crimes can happen anywhere. You are also probably aware that most of these crimes are not reported for a huge number of reasons but mainly out of fear, both fear of reprisal and fear of a failed judicious system. If you know the judicial system is unable to protect you and that by going to the police you can be identified and later can be found it is an extremely hard thing to do. The violence we read about in the police blotter is only a fraction of what is really occurring out there on the streets.
There should be some amount of fear in us that we could one day be victimized for being in the wrong place at the wrong time. I do not think it should consume us but it is reasonable to take some precautions. For me, the most appropriate precaution I take is to trust my instincts as they are most often correct.
One other thing is that Buffalo, in my opinion, does have racial tensions. They are a source of violence within themselves. Race riots occurred here not so long ago. There is anger and distrust still and it takes a very long time for it to heal. Because Buffalo is so divided still racially, you can draw attention to yourself by your race alone and become a target because of it. I suppose that can be true anywhere but again because Buffalo is very segregated, I think it makes it even more likely for this type of violence to occur here. People do not know where to place their anger and anger is often responded to in violence. This type of anger results in hate crimes including crimes against a person's sexuality.
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12/15/08 10:06 - 28ºF - ID#47072
Bush deserves to be humiliated
George Bush is going to have to deal with his actions. He is going to have to deal with the hate he has created. I hope he lives long enough to come to the realization of what he has done, not only in Iraq but all over the world. He needs to be put into jail for the rest of his existence so that he can sit and think about all the pain and suffering he has caused and will cause. People are angry and they have every right to be angry.
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12/03/08 08:25 - 43ºF - ID#46941
Tina brightens my day
(E:hodown)'s post made me happy . That is no easy thing in recent days. Tina's experiential film "Whats love got to do with it?" was what sparked my interest in Buddhism. When I first saw the movie, it was years before I actually encountered Buddhism. Her practice is very much like mine as demonstrated on this Larry King interview.
Tina and I have the same mentor and we chant the same thing everyday. That is the awesome thing about our prayers is that I can never have met her before and be immediately connected with her and we could do the prayers and chant together in unison without even a prayer book to guide us because we already know it. It would be so awesome if some day we could do that together.
Now I can't stop watching Tina videos!
We Don't Need Another Hero!
Better Be Good to Me
Private Dancer
I love this one.
Proud Mary
Yeah, Ike was a part of her life here. In Buddhism you change poison into medicine and that is exactly what she did with Ike. My favorite part of her movie is when she starts chanting and finally beats the shit out of him in the limo on their way to the hotel.
This bootleg version was the only one I could find on youtube!
I always think she's saying "You must understand, on the touch of your hand, makes my balls react!"
I also feel connected to Tina because we both have experienced domestic violence as well as come from a Christian background. I love the scene in her movie when she is a little girl in the church and sings "This Little Light of Mine". I still sing that song sometimes! I also love Angela Basset because she played Tina so well.
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11/18/08 12:00 - 28ºF - ID#46730
My kitchen sink
Permalink: My_kitchen_sink.html
Words: 10
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I was looking at the Exec. Director's message: :::link:::
He says, "... By adding cutting-edge hybrid bus technology to our current fleet, we are not only being socially responsible by reducing air pollution, we are lowering our operating costs based on improved fuel consumption and a decrease in maintenance costs...."
and "... Metro’s ridership has increased eight percent this past year..."
So: increased ridership + lower operating costs = higher fares? Doesn't compute!
Fuck you NFTA
Things I would like to see the NFTA to do and then they can raise the fair in the summer:
1. 24 hour bus service
2. If you have plane tickets you show them to driver and you go to the airport for free
3. Metro rail (the train) extended (not sure how far is practical) at the least down to that harbor with the silos and where they have the boat stuff
4. not sure what else other then maybe some other routes and better service to some places
I did want to mention something else that NFTA used to do, and I think they still might. You can have where you work subtract from your check each week money that at the end of the month gets you a monthly pass and the money comes out before taxes and there is some kind of savings, the only thing is that the company has to sign up for it so if there isn't enough interest it might not work. On a side note I'm glad there are metro cops how would guys in cars police an underground train. If you think they can (never been there) then how to trains in NYC get Tagged.
A few clients from where I work were denied recertification although they were previously eligible. Kind of funny considering their disability is permanent. Mental retardation doesn't just go away. Lol.
I'm all for accountability in social services to ensure people aren't ripping off the system, but this recent change seems like a purposeful attempt to discourage people from claiming benefits for which they are eligible. There needs to be a balance between maintaining fiscal accountability and access to service for those individuals legitimately eligible.
This ain't a big city in terms of population, but really our civic living space is almost the northern half of Erie County in total. It is too bad that we don't have the population that would make expanded mass transit more feasible from a financial perspective. I'd love a light rail train that would take me from here to my office, but it's a non-starter. Our state is bankrupt, our federal government is bankrupt, we're bankrupt - they aren't going to spend $40-50 million per mile for one train line in Buffalo, New York, a place where people are leaving at the rate of 10,000 every decade and the long-term means to keep the system running are in severe short supply. Take heart though - they are also raising fares in NYC and pretty much everywhere else, even if it isn't utterly necessary for survival.
PS - I heard that they were also considering an additional 25 cent increase mid-year.