Why yes, it is. I spent forever looking for a boot that I thought would last a good 10 years. Shouldn't boots last more than a year? Sorel made a really awesome boot that I found online but they were not making it anymore and I couldn't find it in my size. So I had to find a new boot and then I found this one on cabellas.com
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.
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? 
It does make sense because they have to pay for the new buses now. I don't know if they take out loans or buy in cash but at the very least you still would need a portion of that money now for those buses. If you believe what the NFTA says the reason they have to raise fairs is because the money they where getting from the state they won't be getting. Logic would make one think that you should be able to run a bus company with out any help and turn a profit, but if that was done how much would fares be then? But see when you base what you do on how much money you get from the state and then you lose that money then what do you do? Well lets see only black catch the #2 out to union and transit so lets get rid of that route so what if everyone loses there jobs, or maybe the could fire all the drivers and then hire on only part time people and not give any benifits, oh that would be so nice. Or maybe they could fire the NFTA cops and let all the school kids fight and mug people underground cause the Buffalo cops won't go down there, oh wait they could come up with a special divison and then the city would have to pay for that. I'm sure there is some waste in NFTA's system like there is in any place that you could get rid of, but keeping routes and services is more important then the cost of a bus.
Wow... that makes my $1.50 fare here in SF (and $45 for a monthly pass) quite a bargain!
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!
I have been thinking about this a while. Trying to balance my outrage with an intelligent reply with new ways for NFTA to assess its costs. In the end, the only reply worth saying is
Fuck you NFTA
My flash a pass (I know not called that anymore) went from $66 - $77 dollars so that is only $11 more a month. The last time the price went up was 5 years ago, so as long as it doesn't go up again in the summer then I'm fine with the rate increase. I think it going up again is a bad idea. But I do have a question. What I would like to see is 24 hour Bus service but how much would fares have to go up for that? I haven't been to crochchester and I hate the Knighthawks (lacrosse team) so I don't know how there service is. But a lot of people take a bus out union or transit road and the malls and places like that. If there are only a few people on a line then people think oh you should cut that route, well then those people lose there job. The simple answer is the drivers should take a pay cut, well if you could make more driving yellow buses then you might lose all your drivers. Plus if you budget for so much a year it is hard to change your spending habits. I think what get NFTA into trouble is that they run other stuff other then the bus and rail and what the riders pay, helps pay for those things.
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.
NFTA has also been making it difficult for people with disabilities to be recertified for the half fare card (i.e. more paperwork than usual required). Really important for these individuals because they live on fixed income. The more difficult you make the process, the less likely people will follow through on it and it will increase the number of people paying full fare.
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.
There is nothing that can be run in Erie County in a financially responsible way - it really is that simple. They claim that ridership is up (about 10% or so? maybe a little more?) but generally speaking, they worry about coverage first and how to pay for it second. Now they are worrying about that second part - even with fuel prices dropping and increased ridership they can't manage to administrate the bus system properly. Either the system gets smaller and more cost efficient, or the system stays as it is and riders pay more. Now you see which way they've gone. They are asking you to pay an additional quarter rather than make buses less available.
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.
:( This just makes me sad. Buffalo is becoming more living unfriendly every day. Oil prices plummeted recently and transport by personal vehicles has become cheaper than ever. Public transport in this city reflects greed, corruption, mismanagement and complete disregard for people who actually take the bus! :/ Rochester, Syracuse and Albany fares are $1.00. We live a stone's throw away from these cities and yet the apathy and venality we live in is deplorable.