When I had my cable modem, not only was I not forced to buy their cable TV, they didn't even offer a discount on the bundled package if you got both video and internet service from them.
For instance, in order to get just the most basic of the basic services, you pay $5 for the service plus about $7 in "telco recouping costs" that you mention, plus another 7 in actual VA taxes.
So instead of naked DSL, you have to buy phone service. The cheapest plan you can get in VA if you are not on fscking food stamps costs $19/mo by the time you get done with all the junk fees and taxes.
The best part is that you don't need to have phone service to have a cable modem, and the $20/mo requirement to have phone service makes cable modems look like a mighty fine deal.
... for republicans to realize that Republicans are not conservative anymore.
I mean, look at President Bush. He is for big government and defecit spending. He is against states rights and favors external nation-building. These are not traditional conservative values.
I'm glad Republicans are starting to wake up and say, "Hey, wait a minute!" These guys aren't even conservative!
Anyone can have a Nevada corporation and enjoy the privacy of not having officers be public information.
Anyone can use a land trust to own property in any state. Or if you'd prefer, you can have your Nevada corporation own land. Either way, your name is most decidedly not in the public records.
When you buy land, or register a name for your business, you have to provide certain details about yourself to your local government, which becomes public information.
I have several Land Trusts and a Nevada corporation (officers not public) that disagree with your statement.
I didn't read any more because the basis for your argument was totally false.
I manage a LAN/WAN environment with 7 locations, 75 customers, and 500 Cisco IP phones. Do they respect me? Yes. Do they show it? Not monetarily... no raise in 2 years.
One thing that I think a lot of people fail to realize is that under a capitalist economic system, prices are generally set by the market forces of supply and demand. Your wage is nothing more than a price and it is set through the same market forces of supply and demand. The only way to affect your price (you call it salary) is to increase the demand for you (product differentiation). Why are you better than some other VOIP tech? Why should the company give you a raise instead of replacing you with someone who doesn't bitch about raises so much?
This is what you need to make sure your superiors know. They need to know that you are a special VOIP phone-jockey. They need to know why they are lucky to have you, and not some other jackass they can grab off of monster.com.
Another point to be made. Did you at any point over the last two years ASK for a raise? If you don't ask, you don't get. I buy and sell real estate and when I buy, I always always always ask the seller for every concession I can think of. I ask for concessions on price, I ask him to fix stuff, I ask for owner financing, I ask him to throw personal property into the deal. I ask for everything! Do I get everything? Never! But I usually get something, which is way more than I would have gotten had I not asked.
In the last transaction that I did, I asked for $7000 cash from the seller. Did I get it? Yes, I did. I got $7k just for asking for it! If I wouldn't have asked, I wouldn't have gotten. Granted, usually I have to give something in return for the concessions I ask for, but not always! Sometimes I just ask and get!
My point is, you should be asking for raises and justifying your request by showing how you are saving the company money and providing lots and lots of value. And...
What was I doing on that CEO's system? He demanded I clean his keyboard, because someone spilled something sticky on it.
You just had more face time with the CEO in that one incident than your manager probably has ever received. Did you squander it just cleaning his messy keyboard? It's not like he was able to work because he was afraid to touch his keyboard.
Did you ask him how he felt about the phones? Did you point out how great they were and how the company was saving a ton in telecom costs? Did you plant more ideas in his head on value you could provide the company?
I'm betting dollars to donuts you just cleaned his keyboard and left.
By the way, I bet when you were 3 years old you fucked up plenty of your grandma's bingo games. She let it go 'cuz you were a cute kid. Give the cute little old lady a break sometimes.
Hardware wears out, power isn't always totally smooth, computers assembled with cheapest parts imaginable. Stuff just fails.
For instance, last month I had a disk crash in my PC at home. It was probably my fault. It was a PC that I built, and I had 4 HDs stacked right on top of one another, and I guess in hindsight, the ventilation was insufficient. When I got an email stating that the disk had crashed, I took it out and it was hot as all hell. I guess this is a bad thing. I spaced them out a bit and put the disk back into service. About 1 day after the RAID finished rebuilding, the disk started making really loud blender-like noises and I get another email that the same disk has crashed. This time I give up on the thing and go buy a new one.
Back to the topic at hand: My reaction to being informed that my disk had crashed was, "Aw, man. Why does it have to happen 1 hour after the stores close? I'm gonna have to run degraded for an entire day now."
What I guess I don't understand is with computers as falliable as they are, and protection as easy as it is to obtain, why do so few people use software RAID and rsnapshot? All I do to stay protected is run on a RAID in case of disk failure and burn my rsnapshot directory to CD every so often and leave the CD at the office. Whopee. Offsite backups. If any other hardware fails, I can just replace.
You call yourself a CPA and you don't even know what an ITIN is?
Oh, nevermind. I see you said you merely work for a CPA. What is the nature of the services that you perform for this CPA? I'm assuming it is nothing related to taxes...;)
They advertised "No late fees", but did not sufficiently disclose their "restocking fees".
They advertised on national TV this "no late fees" scheme, yet not all Blockbuster franchise stores participated, leading to customer confusion.
Some Blockbuster franchises, who were not participating in the "no late fees" scheme, still used the "no late fees" marketing materials (banners, etc) despite not participating in the "no late fees" program!
Now, I know that you are really smart and all, but wouldn't you, upon entering a blockbuster store displaying the "no late fees" banner, have reasonable cause to believe that that store was participating in the "no late fees" program? Well, some stores that weren't participating still proudly displayed the "no late fees" banner. Don't you think that's just a bit deceptive and confusing?
The problem isn't just that the American poublic was having trouble grasping the new program. The problem was the Blockbuster really was being deceptive.
You and I are in full agreement that the HP contractors can probably get the IRS to reclassify them as HP employees. I know the tax code, and the group of contractors meet many of the 20 IRS guidelines on who is an employee. But here is where you are going to have to concentrate now. Ready for it? Are you sure you're ready?
The IRS reclassifying the contractors as employees does not entitle the employees/contractors/whatevers to HP benefits. I repeat. The IRS reclassing the contractors as HP employees does not mean they get HP bennies.
Was that clear enough? I mean, it's funny. In that article you linked do, look at this choice quote:
Boise State University professor of human resources Gundars Kaupins said the key to the class action suit will be whether a court decides that HP had violated a list of 20 criteria the IRS uses to determine whether a worker is a permanent employee or a temporary contractor. The danger for HP will come if the court decides that "co-existing at HP for a long time" made a contractor an employee.
If so, he said, HP could be held liable for back Social Security taxes, unemployment and worker's compensation taxes involving those employees.
Miller, a single mother who over the years had been sent to work as an HP contractor by the Manpower Professional and VeriTest employment agencies, said she worked there from 1995 until a few weeks ago when her job was outsourced to India. She said she was asked to write the documentation that would help an overseas worker do her job.
She admits contractors are offered medical and retirement benefits by the employment agencies.
"But you have to pay all the premiums, which for me and my son was almost $700 a month," she said. "And their 401(k) plan had no company contribution."
And while technically employed by the agency, contractors were required to meet the same expectations as a permanent employee, she said.
You see? The silly newspaper is making the same mistake that you are! This Professor Kaupins guy has it right. If the IRS reclasses those contractors, HP is gonna owe a boatload of back taxes. But then the idiot reporter transitions straight into HP benefits as though the IRS gets to decide who gets HP bennies. This is not the case! The IRS has no say in the matter. To get bennies, the contractors must prove under benefits law, not tax law, that they are HP employees.
I wish them/you/whatever the best of luck in doing so. You are very probably not HP employees under benefits law, even though you very probably are HP employees under tax law.
But you are going to lose this one. See my other comments in this story for more details. Basically, even if the IRS reclassifies you as employees, as long as HP doesn't conceed that you are employees, there is a mountain of case law that says you are not employees under benefits law. Tax law has nothing to do with benefits law, as long as HP worded their benefits plan documentation correctly. I would be shocked if they did not use the correct legal language after Microsoft lost their high-profile case.
All HP has to conceed is that they owe taxes because of a disagreement with the IRS. Or even if they do wind up conceeding that you are employees, if their plan docs exclude you correctly, you'll still lose.
And furthermore, even if you do manage to win, I hope you haven't spent the money yet. Vizcaino v. Microsoft Corp. was filed in 1992. It is now 2005. Guess how many people have gotten paid so far? One. The lawer representing the class. Maybe the class will be paid something.... someday.... really soon now.... maybe...
Photographing your license plate is for security. You're just upset that it isn't for your security. It's for the security of the parking garage's revenue stream.
Those PostgreSQL must be quaking in their boots not that MySQL has reached feature parity with PostgreSQL 6.0.
Is this the same PostgreSQL v6 that you had to vacuum your fucking tables every fucking day? Oh, and did I mention that in PostgreSQL v6 the vacuum command required an exclusive lock on your fucking tables?
Yeah, pgsql v6 was really ready for primetime. Uh-huh. Great.
Bringing up pgsql v6 is a really bad idea. Conjures up way too many vile images.
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and counting...
When I had my cable modem, not only was I not forced to buy their cable TV, they didn't even offer a discount on the bundled package if you got both video and internet service from them.
So instead of naked DSL, you have to buy phone service. The cheapest plan you can get in VA if you are not on fscking food stamps costs $19/mo by the time you get done with all the junk fees and taxes.
The best part is that you don't need to have phone service to have a cable modem, and the $20/mo requirement to have phone service makes cable modems look like a mighty fine deal.
I mean, look at President Bush. He is for big government and defecit spending. He is against states rights and favors external nation-building. These are not traditional conservative values.
I'm glad Republicans are starting to wake up and say, "Hey, wait a minute!" These guys aren't even conservative!
Anyone can have a Nevada corporation and enjoy the privacy of not having officers be public information.
Anyone can use a land trust to own property in any state. Or if you'd prefer, you can have your Nevada corporation own land. Either way, your name is most decidedly not in the public records.
Really.
See ya tomorrow!
I didn't read any more because the basis for your argument was totally false.
Have a pleasant day.
Come find me.
Every time I see a plumber stick his hand into a toilet filled with one of my tenant's shit, I realize just how underpaid plumbers are.
about ASP sucking.
This is what you need to make sure your superiors know. They need to know that you are a special VOIP phone-jockey. They need to know why they are lucky to have you, and not some other jackass they can grab off of monster.com.
Another point to be made. Did you at any point over the last two years ASK for a raise? If you don't ask, you don't get. I buy and sell real estate and when I buy, I always always always ask the seller for every concession I can think of. I ask for concessions on price, I ask him to fix stuff, I ask for owner financing, I ask him to throw personal property into the deal. I ask for everything! Do I get everything? Never! But I usually get something, which is way more than I would have gotten had I not asked.
In the last transaction that I did, I asked for $7000 cash from the seller. Did I get it? Yes, I did. I got $7k just for asking for it! If I wouldn't have asked, I wouldn't have gotten. Granted, usually I have to give something in return for the concessions I ask for, but not always! Sometimes I just ask and get!
My point is, you should be asking for raises and justifying your request by showing how you are saving the company money and providing lots and lots of value. And...
You just had more face time with the CEO in that one incident than your manager probably has ever received. Did you squander it just cleaning his messy keyboard? It's not like he was able to work because he was afraid to touch his keyboard.Did you ask him how he felt about the phones? Did you point out how great they were and how the company was saving a ton in telecom costs? Did you plant more ideas in his head on value you could provide the company?
I'm betting dollars to donuts you just cleaned his keyboard and left.
By the way, I bet when you were 3 years old you fucked up plenty of your grandma's bingo games. She let it go 'cuz you were a cute kid. Give the cute little old lady a break sometimes.
- RAID
- Automated offsite backups
Use it or lose it.For instance, last month I had a disk crash in my PC at home. It was probably my fault. It was a PC that I built, and I had 4 HDs stacked right on top of one another, and I guess in hindsight, the ventilation was insufficient. When I got an email stating that the disk had crashed, I took it out and it was hot as all hell. I guess this is a bad thing. I spaced them out a bit and put the disk back into service. About 1 day after the RAID finished rebuilding, the disk started making really loud blender-like noises and I get another email that the same disk has crashed. This time I give up on the thing and go buy a new one.
Back to the topic at hand: My reaction to being informed that my disk had crashed was, "Aw, man. Why does it have to happen 1 hour after the stores close? I'm gonna have to run degraded for an entire day now."
What I guess I don't understand is with computers as falliable as they are, and protection as easy as it is to obtain, why do so few people use software RAID and rsnapshot? All I do to stay protected is run on a RAID in case of disk failure and burn my rsnapshot directory to CD every so often and leave the CD at the office. Whopee. Offsite backups. If any other hardware fails, I can just replace.
I fear no computer crash.
Oh, nevermind. I see you said you merely work for a CPA. What is the nature of the services that you perform for this CPA? I'm assuming it is nothing related to taxes... ;)
- They advertised "No late fees", but did not sufficiently disclose their "restocking fees".
- They advertised on national TV this "no late fees" scheme, yet not all Blockbuster franchise stores participated, leading to customer confusion.
- Some Blockbuster franchises, who were not participating in the "no late fees" scheme, still used the "no late fees" marketing materials (banners, etc) despite not participating in the "no late fees" program!
Now, I know that you are really smart and all, but wouldn't you, upon entering a blockbuster store displaying the "no late fees" banner, have reasonable cause to believe that that store was participating in the "no late fees" program? Well, some stores that weren't participating still proudly displayed the "no late fees" banner. Don't you think that's just a bit deceptive and confusing?The problem isn't just that the American poublic was having trouble grasping the new program. The problem was the Blockbuster really was being deceptive.
You and I are in full agreement that the HP contractors can probably get the IRS to reclassify them as HP employees. I know the tax code, and the group of contractors meet many of the 20 IRS guidelines on who is an employee. But here is where you are going to have to concentrate now. Ready for it? Are you sure you're ready?
The IRS reclassifying the contractors as employees does not entitle the employees/contractors/whatevers to HP benefits. I repeat. The IRS reclassing the contractors as HP employees does not mean they get HP bennies.
Was that clear enough? I mean, it's funny. In that article you linked do, look at this choice quote:
You see? The silly newspaper is making the same mistake that you are! This Professor Kaupins guy has it right. If the IRS reclasses those contractors, HP is gonna owe a boatload of back taxes. But then the idiot reporter transitions straight into HP benefits as though the IRS gets to decide who gets HP bennies. This is not the case! The IRS has no say in the matter. To get bennies, the contractors must prove under benefits law, not tax law, that they are HP employees.I wish them/you/whatever the best of luck in doing so. You are very probably not HP employees under benefits law, even though you very probably are HP employees under tax law.
Have I made that point clear enough?
And, no, I don't consider shit like this to be documentation.
But you are going to lose this one. See my other comments in this story for more details. Basically, even if the IRS reclassifies you as employees, as long as HP doesn't conceed that you are employees, there is a mountain of case law that says you are not employees under benefits law. Tax law has nothing to do with benefits law, as long as HP worded their benefits plan documentation correctly. I would be shocked if they did not use the correct legal language after Microsoft lost their high-profile case.
All HP has to conceed is that they owe taxes because of a disagreement with the IRS. Or even if they do wind up conceeding that you are employees, if their plan docs exclude you correctly, you'll still lose.
And furthermore, even if you do manage to win, I hope you haven't spent the money yet. Vizcaino v. Microsoft Corp. was filed in 1992. It is now 2005. Guess how many people have gotten paid so far? One. The lawer representing the class. Maybe the class will be paid something.... someday.... really soon now.... maybe...
Any more questions?
You should hold out for a better offer. $5 isn't enough.
Photographing your license plate is for security. You're just upset that it isn't for your security. It's for the security of the parking garage's revenue stream.
Yeah, pgsql v6 was really ready for primetime. Uh-huh. Great.
Bringing up pgsql v6 is a really bad idea. Conjures up way too many vile images.
Haven't you heard?
Is that GCJ will be improved to the point that it can compete with Sun's JDK/JRE. That would truly be the best possible solution.