Amos in Utsunomia
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Posts posted by Amos in Utsunomia
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I thought it was a good quote.
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Brilliant.
Makes me want to be there now.
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How far away is she actually?
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Don't they make them from old bagpipe bags?
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I have just had the misfortune to need to speak with a "Support Center" for a UK company. First of all it was email and the person who replied sent a copy/paste reply that literally had nothing to do with the question I asked. OK so I then tried to telephone and I think I got shunted off to India or something and I had a real hard time understanding what the guy was saying to me (and I am used to living overseas and dealing with bad English) and eventually I had little choice than to give up as I was getting nowhere (apart from Annoyedzville).
Got to wonder if all this kind of thing is not damaging companies. I know they must save money, but it's just an awful service and I sure won't be using this company again when it comes time to renew.
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Maybe not, but it is over a year away. Things can change. As we have seen in the last 2 or 3 months.
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You might you know....
But sticking to the fairly large and well known places and it will be difficult not to be happy.
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JOE THE STRUMMER
Republican icon Joe the Plumber may release a country music album.
The Ohio labourer, who was plucked from obscurity by the Republican ticket after he challenged Senator Barack Obama over his tax plans, has signed up with a Nashville public relations and management firm.
Also helping guide his new prospects are country musician and producer Aaron Tippin, who has campaigned with Mr McCain and released the recent song "Drill Here, Drill Now", and a booking agent, Bobby Roberts.
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Any big plans for when they are all away at college/working for Mama and Papabear. Must have been a while since you could do that properly!
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Basketball for me, both doing and watching.
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Quote:he sure looks a little unbalanced
Interesting. Apart from the obvious tattoo on his forehead, why does he look unbalanced? I agree he does, but --- why? -
(Oope meant to put this here not in the other thread)
Someone else mentioned it but won't this mean that there are places opening up for other eager beavers who wanted to go at peak times but couldn't because places were full? Some of them will have the cash to splash......
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Someone else mentioned it but won't this mean that there are places opening up for other eager beavers who wanted to go at peak times but couldn't because places were full? Some of them will have the cash to splash......
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As the world goes mad, it's good to hear not everyone is.
Quote:A Washington, D.C. law judge broke down in tears and had to take a break from his testimony because he became too emotional while questioning himself about his experience with a missing pair of pants.Administrative law judge Roy Pearson is representing himself in civil court and claimed that he is owed $54 million from a local dry cleaner who he says lost his pants, despite a sign in their store which ensures "Satisfaction Guaranteed."
The case gained national attention soon after the lawsuit was filed. The pants are expected to be introduced into evidence, although the judge says the pants are not his, and the correct pants are still missing.
The sartorial loss caused Pearson to suffer what he calls severe "mental suffering, inconvenience and discomfort."
The defendants, who own Custom Cleaners in the Fort Lincoln section of the district, told ABC News last month that they, too, are feeling inconvenience and discomfort.
They are expected to present their case Wednesday.
In his opening statement, Pearson came out swinging, telling the court "never before in recorded history have a group of defendants engaged in such misleading and unfair business practices."
Repeatedly referring to himself as "we,'' Pearson sought to represent himself as the leader of a class of tens of thousands, if not a half million local residents he believes are at risk of falling for such insidious business practices as posting Satisfaction Guaranteed' signs and "Same Day Service."
"Mr. Pearson, you are not "we.'' You are an "I," Judge Judith Bartnoff told Pearson.
But as he explained the details of the missing pants, Pearson struggled to get through his hour and a half of testimony, most of which concerned his credentials and his background.
He became visibly emotional when he reached the point in the story where he confronted Soo Chung from the dry cleaning store.
"These are not my pants,'' he testified yesterday, telling her "I have in my adult life, with one exception, never worn pants with cuffs."
But Chung insisted, Pearson testified.
"These are your pants."
Pearson rushed from the courtroom, tears streaming down his face.
Pearson has a long history with the Chungs. In 2002, after a disagreement over another pair of Pearson's pant which Custom Cleaners allegedly lost - and compensated him for with $150 - Pearson was banned from the store, defense attorney Christopher Manning claimed in court.
Manning said that Pearson pleaded with the Chungs to let him back into the store, because he didn't have a car, he said, and they were the only dry cleaners in the neighborhood.
"This case is very simple,'' Manning explained. "It's about one sign and the plaintiff's outlandish interpretation."
Even fellow trial lawyers are offended.
"It's outrageous and it's shameful,'' Bill Schulz, spokesman for the American Association for Justice, the largest trial lawyer group in the nation, told ABC News. The A.A.J. filed a complaint about Pearson recently with the District of Columbia bar association.
Schulz said the case is an embarrassing anomoly that "should not be used as an indictment against the civil justice system in this country because, it works quite well, thank you, for people -- ordinary people -- who are seeking real justice for real cases of negligence and wrongdoing."
"It's laughable,'' said Philip K. Howard, founder of the non-partisan law policy coalition Common Good. "It's like a parody of the American system of justice.
"Frivolous lawsuits like this one are an embarrassment to the profession,'' said attorney Eric Turkewitz, who writes a personal injury law blog.
"I see he has a claim for $500,000 in emotional damages. I don't doubt that he has some emotional suffering, but I don't think it's related to the pants. I suspect he'll be sanctioned."
From $10 to $67 Million for Pants
The trouble began over a $10.50 dry cleaning bill for a pair of prized pants in 2005. That figure ballooned to $67 million dollars, but in recently amended court filings, Pearson now said he is only seeking $54 million. Last week, his term on the bench reportedly expired. It's unclear whether it will be renewed.
The lawsuit is based in large part on Pearson's contention that he was taken in by the "Satisfaction Guaranteed'' sign hanging on the store's wall. Pearson said at one point in court filings, that he planned to call 63 witnesses.
Defending themselves against the suit -- for two years running -- are Korean immigrants Soo and Jin Chung and their son, who own Custom Cleaners and several other local dry cleaning shops.
The bad blood between customer and store dates back to 2002, when the first pair of pants was allegedly lost by the dry cleaners.
The Chungs gave Pearson a $150 check for a new pair of pants. Three years later, Pearson said he returned to Custom Cleaners and, like some real-life "Groundhog Day" nightmare, another pair of trousers went missing.
It was May 2005 and Pearson was about to begin his new job as an administrative judge. He said in court filings he wanted to wear a nice outfit to his first day of work. He said that he tried on five Hickey Freeman suits from his closet, but found them all to be "too tight," according to the Washington Post, which first reported the story. Pearson said he brought one pair in for alterations and they went missing -- gray trousers with what Pearson described in court papers as blue and red stripes on them.
First, Pearson demanded $1,150 for a new suit. Lawyers were hired, legal wrangling ensued and eventually the Chungs offered Pearson $3,000 in compensation. Then they offered him $4,600.
Finally, they offered $12,000 for the missing gray trousers with the red and blue stripes.
Pearson said no. With neither satisfaction nor his prized gray pants, Pearson upped the ante considerably.
The judge went to the law books. Citing the District of Columbia's consumer protection laws, he claims he is entitled to $1,500 per violation. Per day.
What follows is the beginning of thousands of pages of legal documents and correspondence that, two years later, have led to a massive civil lawsuit. According to court papers, Pearson believes he is entitled to $1,500 for each consumer protection law violation, each day during which the "Satisfaction Guaranteed" sign and another sign promising "Same Day Service" was up in the store -- more than 1,200 days.
And he's multiplying each violation by three because he's suing Jin and Soo Chung and their son. He also wants $500,000 in emotional damages and $542, 500 in legal fees, even though he is representing himself in court. He wants $15,000 for 10 years' worth of weekend car rentals. He said in court papers he needed the car to get his dry cleaning to a store outside his neighborhood. He is also seeking other fees.
After enlisting neighbors and fellow customers, he sought to expand the case into a class action suit, but was denied, angrily, by District of Columbia Civil Judge Neal Kravitz.
"The court has significant concerns that the plaintiff is acting in bad faith and with an intent to delay the proceedings," the judge wrote in court papers. "Indeed, it is difficult to draw any other conclusion, given the plaintiff's lengthy delay in seeking to expand the scope of the case, the breathtaking magnitude of the expansion he seeks, his failure to present any evidence in support of the thousands of claims he says he wishes to add, and his misrepresentation concerning the scope of his first amended complaint."
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With a controller?
Mwahahahahaha. Like a platformer, but so much more.
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I found this interesting and thought I'd share.
Quote:TOKYO (AP) ― Most Japanese inns and hotels that didn't have foreign guests last year don't want any in the future, according to a government survey released Thursday.While the majority of such establishments do accept foreigners, the survey showed the country's more traditional inns are not as hospitable, even as the government mounts a major campaign to draw more tourists from abroad.
Japan's countryside is dotted with thousands of small, old-fashioned lodgings called "ryokans." Many are family run and offer only traditional Japanese food and board, such as raw seafood delicacies, simple straw-mat floors and communal hot spring baths.
Some such establishments have barred foreign guests in the past, leading to lawsuits and government fines for discrimination.
The survey carried out by the Ministry of Internal Affairs shows that 72 percent of establishments that didn't have foreign customers in the past year don't want any, and the majority are ryokans and hotels with fewer than 30 rooms. Such businesses said they are unable to support foreign languages and that their facilities are not suited to foreigners.
While more than 60 percent of the country's inns and hotels hosted foreign guests last year, the results indicate it may be hard to expand this number.
Tokyo spends about $35 million per year on its "Visit Japan Campaign," which aims to draw 10 million foreigners to the country for trips and business in the year 2010, up from 8.35 million last year.
Campaign spokesman Ryo Ito said in general Japanese inns have been accepting of foreigners, noting that some now take foreign currencies and have staff that can speak multiple languages. He said the dire state of the global economy was more of a concern.
"The business environment has become very harsh," he said.
The government survey was done by mail earlier this year, and 7,068 establishments responded.
I often feel when I hear local places talk like that that they are trying to convince themselves that there would be problems when in fact with a bit of a non-negative attitude there rarely is. But it does exist. Always good to find places that welcome you (but at the same time don't go over the top with it, which personally puts me off - just treat me like anyone else!)
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But wasn't ME the real "non-release"?
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So Windows XP mustn't have counted as a release then!
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I'm going to do some exploring, got a new car and organising my holidays from work to hit lots of Sundays/Mondays. Here's to a great season. Oops, a bit longer to wait.
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Quote:my package would have to be repriced
kathfern, how much has it changed? -
Where abouts is that Tubby Beaver?
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Fine weather today. Going to get out I think and check out those mountains.
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You sometimes sound like you are copying and pasting from a Furano marketing guide, -30deg.
300,000
in General off-topic discussions
Posted
Friday I reckon.