I'm so proud to be from Pittsburgh.... I always am, but it's so much more fun in times like this!
Sunday, February 01, 2009
PITTSBURGH STEELERS!!!!!!
SIX SUPERBOWL CHAMPIONSHIPS
I'm so proud to be from Pittsburgh.... I always am, but it's so much more fun in times like this!
I'm so proud to be from Pittsburgh.... I always am, but it's so much more fun in times like this!
Stimulus
Important info on the Stimulus Payment
"This year, taxpayers will receive an Economic Stimulus Payment. This is a very exciting new program that I will explain using the Q and A format:
"Q. What is an Economic Stimulus Payment?
"A. It is money that the federal government will send to taxpayers.
"Q. Where will the government get this money?
"A. From taxpayers.
"Q. So the government is giving me back my own money?
"A. Only a smidgen.
"Q. What is the purpose of this payment?
"A. The plan is that you will use the money to purchase a high-definition TV set, thus stimulating the economy.
"Q. But isn't that stimulating the economy of China ?
"A. Shut up."
"This year, taxpayers will receive an Economic Stimulus Payment. This is a very exciting new program that I will explain using the Q and A format:
"Q. What is an Economic Stimulus Payment?
"A. It is money that the federal government will send to taxpayers.
"Q. Where will the government get this money?
"A. From taxpayers.
"Q. So the government is giving me back my own money?
"A. Only a smidgen.
"Q. What is the purpose of this payment?
"A. The plan is that you will use the money to purchase a high-definition TV set, thus stimulating the economy.
"Q. But isn't that stimulating the economy of China ?
"A. Shut up."
Sunday, January 25, 2009
Gotta Be Somebody
This time,
I wonder what it feels like,
To find the one in this life,
The one we all dream of
But dreams just aren't enough
So I´ll be waiting for the real thing,
I know it by the feeling,
The moment when we´re meeting,
Will play out like a scene
Straight off the silver screen
So I`ll be holdin' my breath,
Right up to the end
Until that moment when
I find the one that I spend forever with...
'Cause nobody wants to be the last one there,
'Cause everyone wants to feel like someone cares,
Someone to love with my life in their hands,
There's gotta be somebody for me like that.
'Cause nobody wants to go it on their own,
And everyone wants to know they're not alone,
Somebody else that feels the same somewhere,
There's gotta be somebody for me out there.
Tonight,
Out on the street, out in the moonlight,
And damn it, this feels too right,
It's just like Déjà Vu
Me standin’ here with you
So I'll be holdin' my breath,
Could this be the end?
Is it that moment when
I find the one that I spend forever with?
'Cause nobody wants to be the last one there,
'Cause everyone wants to feel like someone cares,
Someone to love with my life in their hands,
There's gotta be somebody for me like that.
'Cause nobody wants to go it on their own,
And everyone wants to know they're not alone,
Is somebody else that feels the same somewhere?
There's gotta be somebody for me out there.
(Ohoohohohhh...)
(Ohoohohohhh...)
(Ohoohohohhh...)
(Ohoohohohhh...)
Ooh
You can´t give up,
Lookin' for that diamond in the rough,
(Because you never know)
When it shows up,
(Make sure you're holdin' on)
'Cause it could be the one,
the one you´re waiting on
'Cause nobody wants to be the last one there,
And everyone wants to feel like someone cares,
Someone to love with my life in their hands,
There's gotta be somebody for me...
Ohhhhhh
Nobody wants to go it on their own,
And everyone wants to know they're not alone,
Is somebody else that feels the same somewhere?
There's gotta be somebody for me out there.
Nobody wants to be the last one there,
And everyone wants to feel like someone cares,
Is somebody else that feels the same somewhere?
There's gotta be somebody for me out there...
"Gotta Be Somebody" by Nickelback
I wonder what it feels like,
To find the one in this life,
The one we all dream of
But dreams just aren't enough
So I´ll be waiting for the real thing,
I know it by the feeling,
The moment when we´re meeting,
Will play out like a scene
Straight off the silver screen
So I`ll be holdin' my breath,
Right up to the end
Until that moment when
I find the one that I spend forever with...
'Cause nobody wants to be the last one there,
'Cause everyone wants to feel like someone cares,
Someone to love with my life in their hands,
There's gotta be somebody for me like that.
'Cause nobody wants to go it on their own,
And everyone wants to know they're not alone,
Somebody else that feels the same somewhere,
There's gotta be somebody for me out there.
Tonight,
Out on the street, out in the moonlight,
And damn it, this feels too right,
It's just like Déjà Vu
Me standin’ here with you
So I'll be holdin' my breath,
Could this be the end?
Is it that moment when
I find the one that I spend forever with?
'Cause nobody wants to be the last one there,
'Cause everyone wants to feel like someone cares,
Someone to love with my life in their hands,
There's gotta be somebody for me like that.
'Cause nobody wants to go it on their own,
And everyone wants to know they're not alone,
Is somebody else that feels the same somewhere?
There's gotta be somebody for me out there.
(Ohoohohohhh...)
(Ohoohohohhh...)
(Ohoohohohhh...)
(Ohoohohohhh...)
Ooh
You can´t give up,
Lookin' for that diamond in the rough,
(Because you never know)
When it shows up,
(Make sure you're holdin' on)
'Cause it could be the one,
the one you´re waiting on
'Cause nobody wants to be the last one there,
And everyone wants to feel like someone cares,
Someone to love with my life in their hands,
There's gotta be somebody for me...
Ohhhhhh
Nobody wants to go it on their own,
And everyone wants to know they're not alone,
Is somebody else that feels the same somewhere?
There's gotta be somebody for me out there.
Nobody wants to be the last one there,
And everyone wants to feel like someone cares,
Is somebody else that feels the same somewhere?
There's gotta be somebody for me out there...
"Gotta Be Somebody" by Nickelback
Thursday, January 22, 2009
Comcast Cared
Last year a new Twitter account opened called @comcastcares and Frank, the leader of a new department inside Comcast, was working hard to improve the image of a company who has, quite possibly, one of the worst set of morals of mainstream companies. Frank really was making an impact and word quickly spread about this new department and people began to think there was hope. I posted a blog about some frustrations I had and a couple others about how Frank had helped me. Frank was able to get me on a promotion and gave me some options. One option he gave me was only 6 months long but he was excited to get me to try the high end plan so he said that after those 6 months were up he'd get me on another promotion.
Somewhere in all of this I felt like Frank was the rebel that could really save the image of Comcast but that once his impact started to be known the company would step in with the "business types" and again show how the books are more important than customer satisfaction or company image. I hoped I was wrong - but I wasn't.
My promotion ended last month and my bill skyrocketed. I contacted Frank and he told me to email his department which got me the response that someone would contact me the next day. When I was contacted I totally felt the same old Comcast feel. The person who called me didn't care about anything and the end result was I downgraded to the economy plan. I contacted Frank on Twitter and really received empty responses.... and it highly reminded me of a guy who did care but who had hands tied. Despite my emails to Frank, Frank's department, and another Comcast employee about how I was told that I could get another promotion after the 6 month one finished ended up with empty responses or absolutely no response at all.
Here's where things get worse. Apparently with the economy package Comcast says streaming video may not work and, well, I've had some issues. The best part is that if you want to go one step above economy the price more than doubles. Oh but wait, it's cheaper if I subscribe to cable TV as well is what I'm told not only by Comcast but Frank as well. Oh, really? So I can get something I need cheaper by buying something I don't need or want. Where am I saving money here? This is certainly the work of "business types". To another level, you can also tell this is another attempt at Comcast killing innovation. Think about it - if you can now watch TV on the internet and don't need cable TV then Comcast loses revenue so the solution they have is to force you to pay them for TV anyway or to charge you more than double to have a plan that should support streaming video. I mean, really, why would you innovate and allow the customers to have what they want.
Its certainly sad to watch Comcast grab their monopoly and do all that they can do to rape their customers and absolutely destroy any innovation. They are a very important part of why the United States, the founder of the internet, is one of the worst countries to be in for accessing the internet. Right now all we can hope for is the FCC to step in and make sure we have real competition and start holding Comcast responsible for their horrible practices.
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
2008 Recap
So there is less than 2 hours remaining in 2008 and I'm sitting in the data center of all places. By this point there isn't anywhere that I'm going to make it before midnight to celebrate so I decided to just write a recap of 2008 in the life of Bob K Mertz.
The 2 biggest highlights were of course that I officially and legally founded my company, Ransom Tech Services, this year and the second is that I joined the Linden Volunteer Fire Department. Both of these things have been really great moves but both of also come with their downfalls and frustrations.
If you've ever thought that it would be really awesome to be self-employed, you really might want to rethink that. Sure its nice to be able to set your schedule but many times the downfalls outweigh the benefits. Want an example? Well, I just said that I'm sitting in the data center, right? I decided that Christmas Even until New Years Day was going to be my vacation time and this is the second time I've had to come to the data center. Sure, I can come in at the time of day I want but there is no escaping the job. Overall, I do like what I do and I hope to see Ransom Tech Services grow in 2009.
Unlike being self-employed I would encourage just about everyone to join their local fire department. Being able to help people and serve your community is an absolutely awesome feeling. I haven't seen a whole lot of action yet but it is certainly an exciting job. I've been to a couple accidents and to a couple medic calls and this year I saw my first dead body as well. There are times that you have to sit back and think about what you're doing and why you put yourself through some of the things you go through, you see, and you experience. My emotional moment was a few weeks ago when we were called out to a gunshot wound call. Details became clearer as we went up the mountain and when we were told to stage for law enforcement we knew things weren't good. When we arrive on the scene our medic walked over to the body and shook his head and shortly after the sheriff's office brought out the yellow tape. The guy had committed suicide in his driveway by shooting himself in the chest with a 12 gauge -- seeing the dead body didn't make me an emotional wreck like I thought I was going to be (tho the image of him laying there will be in my mind forever I think) but what really had me processing my emotions was the wife and 15 year old son were home at the time. It was tough to process but eventually I realized that there are a lot of hurting people out there and I do what I do because I want to help them. I'm finishing up fire school in the next few weeks and will be a fully certified firefighter and I'm hoping to be able to watching LVFD grow in 2009. We are a very small department and have almost no members or technology but I'm hoping to be a big part of growing that this year.
Early in this year brought some major changes of who I was. I've learned a lot and I've also realized a lot about who I was. I've realized that some of the ways I felt about things didn't always reflect what I said. I've come around and I'm trying to make sure that my beliefs and my actions are synonymous with each other. A lot of these had to do with politics and religion but mostly, it all boiled down to the core of who I was.
On a sad note, 2008 brought a lot of pain towards the end. A very special 2 year old in my life grew extremely close to me and I close to her. Unfortunately, some things take time to heal and circumstances went way beyond my control and I realized that even though I was directly helping that little girl I was ultimately making another situation very stressful and I had to back away. Not a day goes by that I don't think of her and feel like I've let her down but I ultimately do realize that I needed to do what I did. I pray that things turn around in 2009 and the changes that need to happen do happen but all I can do is know that I absolutely love 2 people that were in my life and continue to pray for both of them.
In the pissed off department, 2 new houses were built next to me and we lost a few acres of trees which happen to be a huge reason why I moved to where I did. Additionally those houses STILL remain empty and most likely will stay that way for a year or two... or more? It's really irritating that people are always out just to make the buck and get ahead and have no respect for what or who they destroy in the process. Our whole society is really self-centered anymore. Warren County is growing and I'm not happy about it. Sure, maybe my property value will go up but I really don't give a crap because there are some things that are much more important to me than money.
May brought a few headaches my way which involved a good amount of stress from Comcast (which recently has become a frustration again which I may touch on in a week or so) and another was some stress related to my church. Unfortunately as we close out 2008 I still really don't know what my place is as far as churches are concerned. I absolutely love the church that New Life was but it just isn't the same anymore. Lots of people left the staff and the church seems to have reverted back to a traditional church which was the exact opposite of what I fell in love with. I'm still involved with doing some of their tech stuff and I really do care about the church but May brought a lot of stresses and that changed a lot.
August brought the next round of stresses but most of these were of a decent nature. I began fire school around that time and, at the same time, my workload increased a TON. A lot of stress was put on me but as we end 2008 it looks like I made it through and that is a really great feeling. I learned a lot about taking life as it comes and became a lot stronger in dealing with insane amounts of stress. I'd say it was great in the end.... but man did it hurt for a while :)
While it's true that I'm kind of down about not being able to celebrate the new year with anyone and I'm feeling the pain of still being single and somewhat ending this year feeling down and out the year really has been a good one. I pray that God leads me in new and exciting directions in 2009 and that as I close out that year I'll be able to say the same.
God Bless all of you and your families and I hope you have an awesome 2009!
The 2 biggest highlights were of course that I officially and legally founded my company, Ransom Tech Services, this year and the second is that I joined the Linden Volunteer Fire Department. Both of these things have been really great moves but both of also come with their downfalls and frustrations.
If you've ever thought that it would be really awesome to be self-employed, you really might want to rethink that. Sure its nice to be able to set your schedule but many times the downfalls outweigh the benefits. Want an example? Well, I just said that I'm sitting in the data center, right? I decided that Christmas Even until New Years Day was going to be my vacation time and this is the second time I've had to come to the data center. Sure, I can come in at the time of day I want but there is no escaping the job. Overall, I do like what I do and I hope to see Ransom Tech Services grow in 2009.
Unlike being self-employed I would encourage just about everyone to join their local fire department. Being able to help people and serve your community is an absolutely awesome feeling. I haven't seen a whole lot of action yet but it is certainly an exciting job. I've been to a couple accidents and to a couple medic calls and this year I saw my first dead body as well. There are times that you have to sit back and think about what you're doing and why you put yourself through some of the things you go through, you see, and you experience. My emotional moment was a few weeks ago when we were called out to a gunshot wound call. Details became clearer as we went up the mountain and when we were told to stage for law enforcement we knew things weren't good. When we arrive on the scene our medic walked over to the body and shook his head and shortly after the sheriff's office brought out the yellow tape. The guy had committed suicide in his driveway by shooting himself in the chest with a 12 gauge -- seeing the dead body didn't make me an emotional wreck like I thought I was going to be (tho the image of him laying there will be in my mind forever I think) but what really had me processing my emotions was the wife and 15 year old son were home at the time. It was tough to process but eventually I realized that there are a lot of hurting people out there and I do what I do because I want to help them. I'm finishing up fire school in the next few weeks and will be a fully certified firefighter and I'm hoping to be able to watching LVFD grow in 2009. We are a very small department and have almost no members or technology but I'm hoping to be a big part of growing that this year.
Early in this year brought some major changes of who I was. I've learned a lot and I've also realized a lot about who I was. I've realized that some of the ways I felt about things didn't always reflect what I said. I've come around and I'm trying to make sure that my beliefs and my actions are synonymous with each other. A lot of these had to do with politics and religion but mostly, it all boiled down to the core of who I was.
On a sad note, 2008 brought a lot of pain towards the end. A very special 2 year old in my life grew extremely close to me and I close to her. Unfortunately, some things take time to heal and circumstances went way beyond my control and I realized that even though I was directly helping that little girl I was ultimately making another situation very stressful and I had to back away. Not a day goes by that I don't think of her and feel like I've let her down but I ultimately do realize that I needed to do what I did. I pray that things turn around in 2009 and the changes that need to happen do happen but all I can do is know that I absolutely love 2 people that were in my life and continue to pray for both of them.
In the pissed off department, 2 new houses were built next to me and we lost a few acres of trees which happen to be a huge reason why I moved to where I did. Additionally those houses STILL remain empty and most likely will stay that way for a year or two... or more? It's really irritating that people are always out just to make the buck and get ahead and have no respect for what or who they destroy in the process. Our whole society is really self-centered anymore. Warren County is growing and I'm not happy about it. Sure, maybe my property value will go up but I really don't give a crap because there are some things that are much more important to me than money.
May brought a few headaches my way which involved a good amount of stress from Comcast (which recently has become a frustration again which I may touch on in a week or so) and another was some stress related to my church. Unfortunately as we close out 2008 I still really don't know what my place is as far as churches are concerned. I absolutely love the church that New Life was but it just isn't the same anymore. Lots of people left the staff and the church seems to have reverted back to a traditional church which was the exact opposite of what I fell in love with. I'm still involved with doing some of their tech stuff and I really do care about the church but May brought a lot of stresses and that changed a lot.
August brought the next round of stresses but most of these were of a decent nature. I began fire school around that time and, at the same time, my workload increased a TON. A lot of stress was put on me but as we end 2008 it looks like I made it through and that is a really great feeling. I learned a lot about taking life as it comes and became a lot stronger in dealing with insane amounts of stress. I'd say it was great in the end.... but man did it hurt for a while :)
While it's true that I'm kind of down about not being able to celebrate the new year with anyone and I'm feeling the pain of still being single and somewhat ending this year feeling down and out the year really has been a good one. I pray that God leads me in new and exciting directions in 2009 and that as I close out that year I'll be able to say the same.
God Bless all of you and your families and I hope you have an awesome 2009!
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
In honor of 2 Virginia firefighters
This past weekend Virginia lost two of their firefighters to two seperate incidents. Please keep that families of
Cecilia Turnbough and Roy Smith, Jr. in your prayers. Roy, a member at McGaheysville Volunteer Fire Department, was 17 years old and was killed while responding to a structure fire in his personal vehicle. Cecilia had been an EMS technician for 8 years at the Dale City Volunteer Fire Department and had recently begun training to become a firefighter and became the victim of a heart attack during a routine training exercise.
Please remember all of the firefighters that gave their lives in serving their communities. There have been 99 firefighter deaths in the United States this year (2008).
Cecilia Turnbough and Roy Smith, Jr. in your prayers. Roy, a member at McGaheysville Volunteer Fire Department, was 17 years old and was killed while responding to a structure fire in his personal vehicle. Cecilia had been an EMS technician for 8 years at the Dale City Volunteer Fire Department and had recently begun training to become a firefighter and became the victim of a heart attack during a routine training exercise.
Please remember all of the firefighters that gave their lives in serving their communities. There have been 99 firefighter deaths in the United States this year (2008).
Monday, November 10, 2008
Quaker Parakeet Saves Toddler's Life
One of Cracker's distant relatives helped save a 2 year old's life by alerting her babysitter that she was choking. I literally had tears in my eyes watching this clip.
Sunday, November 02, 2008
Obama and Coal
I am appauled but not surprised at the latest "media leak" against Obama. In a YouTube video Obama said that he will bankrupt the coal industry.... And the sensationalist republicans go wild without, of course, actually thinking about the entire context of the conversation and the plan.
I am from Pennsylvania and I know that coal is a huge part of that state and that the state is already in a lot of trouble because of lack of jobs... I also know that the destruction of jobs in that state was more linked to a failure of government than anything else and I know that complacency is a real problem in Pennsylvania as well as other states. I am PROUD to be from Pennsylvania but that doesn't mean that I hold Pennsylvania blameless for issues that are occuring. We have an issue with greenhouse gasses.... this isn't really a debate. Additionally, coal adds to these.... there also isn't any debate about that.
What Obama said in the interview is that anyone is welcome to build a coal plant but that it would probably end up bankrupting them because of the fact that his plan would charge the polluter for the polution. This plan is one of my favorites because it doesn't make it illegal to keep doing what your doing but it does give you incentive to grow your industry and improve our well being instead of just creating more problems while you collect your money. There are amazing new improvements in clean coal technology and a lot of people in PA have been working hard on this for good reason.... and those people are the people that will be rewarded because if they are not emitting as much pollution then they will not be hit with these fees/taxes. I think this makes a lot of sense.
The problem with the general public anymore is that we don't want to have to work to improve anything but we also don't want to have to accept consequences for not working towards improvement. Corporations are the paramount of this attitude and when things get bad enough they just go crying to everyone because "they've work too hard" .... *cough* banks *cough* ..... How long do we carry people? How long should we? Remember this quote? “Give a man a fish; you have fed him for today. Teach a man to fish; and you have fed him for a lifetime” .... Thats essentially what it boils down to. If people come to you for help then you should help them.... but what if they keep coming to you for help? Do you keep helping them? Do you keep giving them money when they aren't doing anything to solve their problem?
I applaud any effort that encourages people to improve themselves and the life around them. If Obama's plan bankrupts the coal industry then it's not because Obama had it out for them but because they failed to keep up with changing times. If you disagree with this effort then you better not say that you are for a greener enviornment or that you are for progress.
I am from Pennsylvania and I know that coal is a huge part of that state and that the state is already in a lot of trouble because of lack of jobs... I also know that the destruction of jobs in that state was more linked to a failure of government than anything else and I know that complacency is a real problem in Pennsylvania as well as other states. I am PROUD to be from Pennsylvania but that doesn't mean that I hold Pennsylvania blameless for issues that are occuring. We have an issue with greenhouse gasses.... this isn't really a debate. Additionally, coal adds to these.... there also isn't any debate about that.
What Obama said in the interview is that anyone is welcome to build a coal plant but that it would probably end up bankrupting them because of the fact that his plan would charge the polluter for the polution. This plan is one of my favorites because it doesn't make it illegal to keep doing what your doing but it does give you incentive to grow your industry and improve our well being instead of just creating more problems while you collect your money. There are amazing new improvements in clean coal technology and a lot of people in PA have been working hard on this for good reason.... and those people are the people that will be rewarded because if they are not emitting as much pollution then they will not be hit with these fees/taxes. I think this makes a lot of sense.
The problem with the general public anymore is that we don't want to have to work to improve anything but we also don't want to have to accept consequences for not working towards improvement. Corporations are the paramount of this attitude and when things get bad enough they just go crying to everyone because "they've work too hard" .... *cough* banks *cough* ..... How long do we carry people? How long should we? Remember this quote? “Give a man a fish; you have fed him for today. Teach a man to fish; and you have fed him for a lifetime” .... Thats essentially what it boils down to. If people come to you for help then you should help them.... but what if they keep coming to you for help? Do you keep helping them? Do you keep giving them money when they aren't doing anything to solve their problem?
I applaud any effort that encourages people to improve themselves and the life around them. If Obama's plan bankrupts the coal industry then it's not because Obama had it out for them but because they failed to keep up with changing times. If you disagree with this effort then you better not say that you are for a greener enviornment or that you are for progress.
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