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Helping the Homeless
The defendant is guilty of non-manliness. I rest my case, your honor. Dude, never take your car to a dealership to get it fixed. I guarantee you that the $178 was just to put in refrigerant that you can get at Pep Boys for $11 and you can do yourself. According to the law, they're supposed to put dye in the line first to find a leak before they add the "freon." You've gotta drive around for a week and bring it back. I bet they didn't do that and now they're covering for it. The best place I ever had my car fixed (air conditioning, actually) was this place downtown called "Honest Honda." I have a theory that if a business has to claim something in its name that should otherwise be self evident, then its probably not true. Like "Authentic" Mexican Food. But I went for it anyway. I might have been their first customer in years. I'm pretty sure it was a chop shop or something like that. When I got there, there were about 4 old Japanese guys just sitting around. It kind of reminded me of a scene in a movie where some unwitting tourists wonder into a restaurant being used as a front and order a meal while the criminals amusingly scramble to serve their guests. I guess the Goonies comes to mind on that one, only nicer. Anyway, they quoted me a price, and I was able to negotiate! It was very cheap. Imagine doing that in a dealership? There wasn't even a waiting area. They took a bunch of crap off of a chair and let me sit in it right in the maintenance bay. I watched them work. They did a great job. The A/C has been fine since then. But my experience with car repair places is the cleaner the shop and the friendlier the employees, the more they are going to rip you off. For some reason, the worst are the ones who claim to be christian. They all are going out of their way to con you into thinking they're honest. If you're already honest, you shouldn't need a gimmick. You need to find a grungy place no one has ever heard of with one pissed off mechanic. I don't have a regular mechanic but according to Yelp, Griffin's auto repair in Little Italy has a good reputation. You can also sign up for Angie's List. I have to take mine in for an steering problem, so let me know if you find a good one.— August 4, 2009 1:12 p.m.
Bad Cops and a Bad Bank Teller
"Any people out there that don't trust the police (because they're idiots)" Its not because they're idiots, Josh. As you pointed out, somewhat contradictorily, these are examples of good reasons for many people to not like cops. I think cops should make more of an effort to show that this is a poor representation and they don't like it either. Instead, they usually go into protect mode. Personally, I don't like or dislike cops as a whole. I realize that each one is very different and I make my assessment on the individual. In my life, I've had about 15-20 interactions with the police for various reasons (e.g. tickets, community meetings, as a victim, etc). Almost all the officers were adept and professional. But I wouldn't let that influence how I felt about the next officer I meet. I mentioned before that I had a very bad experience with a cop. Since then, I did a ridealong with a cop to get a different viewpoint. Just talking to this guy was a great experience. He was probably the smartest, most proficient officer I've ever met. I watched him diffuse 3 very tense situations with the right words and attitude. I've sent a 2 page letter to his captain letting him know. But it doesn't make me want to pursue my complaint against the other officer any less. Actually quite the opposite. If this type of officer is what we can have, then we should encourage it and get rid of those who aren't as good. I wonder how long the officer in the video was allowed to lie and his colleagues knew about it. I doubt this is the first time. Ironically, he was lying to protect another cop which is the source of the problem.— August 4, 2009 5:08 a.m.
Helping the Homeless
Josh: A few questions-- How big is the dog? How often do you take it with you? Have you thought about putting it in the back seat? What percentage of the time does your girlfriend drive?— August 4, 2009 4:20 a.m.
Helping the Homeless
rickeysays: "could they "choose" to live that life if no one enabled it?" The answer is yes. In a technical sense, I agree that many people "choose" to live on the street. But I also think that they don't have the capacity to choose. Living on the street is already an awful, horrendous existence. It can't get that much worse where a sane person is all of a sudden going to decide against it. Nobody is really enabling them, even by giving them food or spare change. They would just adapt if they stopped getting this stuff. I'm not saying that they should be allowed to stay there, actually I think that they should be removed and treated for their illnesses. But you're misjudging the situation by assuming that creating another inconvenience for them would solve the problem. Right now the city can't issue tickets for sleeping on the sidewalk until they have enough beds to house all of the homeless according to a court decision. However, nobody in East Village, where most of the homeless are, wants a shelter there. No other neighborhood wants it either. And even if they did, I don't think this would make a dent in the problem assuming the city even decided to enforce the laws. It would get rid of those who are consciously choosing to live there but that's a very small number. I think that many forget that the "homeless" are not a monolithic group. There isn't one solution to the problem.— August 4, 2009 4:15 a.m.
Helping the Homeless
"...and the dogs on my lap," That's F--KING hilarious! Its OK, I'm a coward too when it comes to stuff like that. Better the girl does it, so you can carry on the family name. I went to school up in Berkeley and what people often do is leave leftovers sitting out on a wall or by a trash can. Also, the homeless guys hang around the popular restaurants to scavenge. There is a regular homeless population there but starting on about Thursdays, a bunch of kids sit on the street corner and ask for change. They usually travel in groups of 3 or 4 plus at least 1 dog. Sometimes, they're more aggressive and ask for more (like a dollar) than the other homeless guys. I guess they figure they can make more because most people don't have class on Friday.— August 4, 2009 1:36 a.m.
911 -- What's Your Emergency?
"...showed up gave her $6 out of his wallet." You're right. He could have and should have taken her to jail. BUT, his attitude exemplifies what a police officer should be. He reminds me of the old fashioned Andy Griffith type of cop. They don't have to teach everybody a lesson. Sometimes a stupid person is a stupid person and a trip to jail won't make them any smarter. Our prisons are full of dumb people. And maybe, she still learned her lesson.— August 2, 2009 9:59 a.m.
Another John Bobbitt?
Antigeekess: "For most women, at least half the scheduled activities on Steak & BJ day would probably fall into that category." You're right. My girlfriend hates to cook!— August 2, 2009 9:08 a.m.
Another John Bobbitt?
towelheadedcameljockey said "That's just plain sad, and a cop out. It's not just up to the woman to give effort, ignoring all emotion and becoming June Cleaver." ====== I never said anything about ignoring emotion or her being the only one to give effort. The three "f's" (yes I know there are two) is not necessarily a literal thing, its more of an attitude. Its an understanding that men usually think of love and relationships in more practical terms. For us, its being a provider, fixing things when they break, being reliable and even being a leader. We think of BEING loved in very practical terms also. What women do for us to take care of us is how we interpret love. For me picking up my socks when I forget and not complaining about it is a pure demonstration of love. Doing this kind of thing for a man makes them want to go the extra mile for their woman. A good example of the difference in thought is Valentine's day. Women usually want a night out, gifts and some sort of reaffirmation of love. There is however, another newer holiday, a month later. March 14th is called by many Steak and BJ day. That sums it up for many men. We're happy to do those things that we don't want to do. But women should not try to "train" their men. Maybe June Cleaver had something right.— August 1, 2009 5:31 a.m.
Another John Bobbitt?
refriedgringo: It sounds terrible but its true. Women need to learn the 3 f's: Feed him, F--k him, and leave him alone. That's usually the key to making a guy happy. I know it sounds sexist but men are basic creatures. If women agree to this, most men will go out of their way to show their appreciation. But, if you wanna be all feminist, you try your luck with a hungry, sex deprived guy who you nag all the time. See how that works out.— July 31, 2009 4:40 a.m.
Octomom Nadya Suleman Stopped
"no network will cover a show or TV special." I disagree. There are many channels and that means a great deal of competition. I don't know what the ratings were for "I'm a Celebrity, Get Me Out Of Here" but I bet they were through the roof when the two morons, Heidi and Spencer were on the show. I haven't heard about that show since they left. Likewise, I predict record ratings for Jon and Kate. With the exception perhaps of politicians, I think its almost always true that for a public figure, "there is no such thing as bad publicity."— July 30, 2009 1:10 a.m.