happy memorial day

thank you, to all the brave americans who have given their lives while defending freedom around the world.

an open letter to the person who broke into my car and stole my zune

warning! foul language content.





dear fucktard,

thank you very much for smashing in my window and stealing my zune. i knew i didn't hate seattle quite as much as i should, but with your help, i've gotten closer.

even if we ignore the part where you chose "criminal" as a career path, you're obviously not the sharpest tool in the shed. i realize that my stereo is completely built into the dashboard, and that my cds were mostly burned copies (since i've always been paranoid about the originals getting stolen), you completely missed/ignored my friend's purse, which had several credit cards and over $100 in cash in it.

that $100 is an interesting number, since that's exactly what my insurance deductible was to replace the window, and the amount you'll be lucky to get for the zune. when i bought that over two years ago, it cost me about $240. looking online for a replacement, i found a brand new model of the same version, along with the car kit (which normally goes for $80 on its own) for $200.

and speaking of car kits... you know that other set of wires you stole? that was the car charger for my cell phone, you fucking moron. maybe my facebook wish will come true, and you'll shock yourself when you try to plug it in. i hope it does a very thorough job of it, and i hope you've got good health insurance to cover your hospital bill.

sincerely,
daniel bareither

why don't they get it?

or maybe they do, and just don't care. via say anything, which i hadn't visited in awhile, i learned that congress is looking at capping ATM fees. which sounds nice... but as far as i'm concerned, that's none of congress' business. i worked in the banking industry for about four and a half years, and while ATM fees are annoying, they're not generally big money makers. the bank i worked for charged $2.00 for non-customers (it was free if you were using one of our debit cards), which in my experience is right about mid-range as far as fees go, and we actually ended up pulling one of our ATMs out of a local community because the cost of keeping it stocked and maintained wasn't worth it. as far as i'm concerned, a bank can charge whatever the hell they want for a fee; if people don't like it, they can go elsewhere. it's not as if there's a shortage of banks out there. even the little podunk town i live in (population ~1100) has two banks to choose from, and if you're willing to drive half an hour into a larger city (which most people have to do for groceries, medical appointments, and entertainment anyways, as well as work for quite a few) you've got more than a dozen different banks and credit unions to choose from.

note to congress: businesses exist to make money. if you take that ability away from them, why should they bother to continue their existence?