Comcast Sucks

First let me apologize to any reader for being crude, but I do feel that Comcast, is a company that is disliked and at time hated by its customer base.  Having just spent 10 days trying to get my cable fixed I hope that there is a special place in hell for its upper management. 

It really must be profitable for Comcast to excel in lousy service, insulting attitudes by their customer service staff and the height of indifference with their chat center staff.  I know when I chat with them and each time I get the canned response that is the same as they other three before used I can visualize them pressing a button, when first speaking to customer insert greeting number 5 then follow with a sales pitch for the music and Xfinity.

Well, I when chat with Comcast, I do not want a sales pitch and a phony greeting that is just like all the previous ones, I want interaction and once you have my record in front of you, you should have all the notes and you do not need me to repeat the same thing over and over again.  I was contact and spoke to a customer service rep and he asked me to repeat my issues.  I was not happy.  I told him to read the record of my issues and I was not going to repeat my self for the sixth time and I hung up.

I filed a complaint with the State of Florida Consumer Division, I mailed a copy of my complaint to Florida's two US Senators, the Honorable Bill Nelson and the Honorable Marco Rubio, I emailed a copy of my complaint to the City Manager when Comcast Franchise comes up for renewal and I will file a complaint with the F.C.C.  I also wrote an email to the Honorable Senator John McCain in support of his cable bill.

I urge every disgruntled and unhappy person with Comcast mediocre service to contact their US Senator and ask him/her to support this bill.  We are being abused by cable companies.  It is time to stand up.

Chasing Employment

Yesterday I dropped off my employment application at two stores.  One being Home Goods and the other T.J. Max.  What an interesting experience.

 

The store manager at Home Goods was professional and explained the hours, what was expected of me, reviewed the application, thanked me for coming in and informed me that the hiring manager would be in contact with me for an interview. 

The second place, T.J. Max, the manager was not pleased.  She reviewed my application and stated that I had a great deal of people experience, but no retail.  Her attitude was markedly different and frankly, I don't expect to receive a phone call from her hiring manager.  The manager's final words were, retail is a busy environment.  I informed her that I had no problem with this concept.

 

What was troubling, she had no clue about my work history, although I listed what I had done.  Her assumption about me were wrong.  As a property manager you are on call 24/7 and invariable things go wrong weekends and late night in addition, it is never just one thing but several maintenance problems or people issue at once.

 

Which brings me back to a book called "Up the Organization," written by Robert C. Townsend and  Warren Bennis. The book is still relevant minus a few needed updates. 

 

One thing I learned being a manager, we hire people that reflect our work ethics.  A sentiment that was brought home again being interviewed by the local T.J. Max store manager.

A messy life

How does one reconcile the craziness of the Boston Bomber with the pleasure of sitting in my balcony and enjoying a leisurely Sunday afternoon?
As parent where does the disconnect enter that I can say my son is a good boy, after he has killed innocent people? 
Where does religion come into the picture that glorifies the wanton slaughter of people and validates a jihad?
Where does morality goes to after you kill people.

What gives the people that seek to destroy a country then the right to seek protection from the law of the very country that was on they hit list.

I am puzzled.

American Justice

The American justice system may not be the best, however after hearing about the Italian Supreme Court allowing Amanda Know to be charged again and the South American system allowing a police man charged with murder to keep his job and to investigate another murder, I am happy that I live in America.

 

We don't permit double jeopardy, we don't permit bond on capital charges and we don't permit a police man out on bond for murder to remain on his job and investigate another murder.

Unions and other Professional Associations

In todays' evening news we learned how a policeman interrogated a suspect by making the man stand in a bathtub with the water running and holding a taser gun during the questioning of the suspect.  A complaint was filed against the policeman and to no ones surprise, the State Attorney found nothing wrong and as usual the entire episode was whitewashed.

 

Let me digress.  I grew up in Germany and everything is unionized.  When I came to this country I was pro Union, etc. etc.  However in the last fifty some odd years I have heard on the news, read in the paper and watched attorneys, doctors, policemen, teachers and other numerous professional people being absolved of their crimes.

 

The Unions and Professional associations wonder why the public at large does not like them and hold them in low esteem.  The reason is basically fundamental, their failure CLEAN UP THEIR HOUSE.

 

Don't tell John Q. Public how difficult the job is, how dangerous the job is, how much the doctors, teacher, attorneys went in debt because we all know this.  But we also know, policemen don't follow the law that they are chartered to up hold, ie three hour lunches, speeding and stealing evidence, teachers don't teach because it is too much work, doctors want to make all of their money right away instead of waiting just a bit longer.

 

Once, we the people see that you, the associations police your members justly and with integrity, you will regain our trust and our support again.  Until this happens, this blogger whose grandfather on the maternal and paternal side help start union will vote against them like so many other people.  

Balanced Budget

I heard Governor Jindal spouting that States just like households must balance their budgets.  On the surface this makes a lot of sense, however upon closer examination, the Governor's statement is riddled with fallacies.

 

Let's see.  How many people have mortgages, car loans, credit card debts and maybe even student loans?  Cities, counties and States finance capital improvement via bond issues.  Using Jindal's logic, unless we can pay cash, we should only have what we can pay cash for. 

 

Ideally, this would be great, realistically, it isn't going to ever happen.

 

The solution, carefully managed debt, reduction of expenses and additional income.  However, it will take statesmen and not politicians to achieve this balance, because politicians are beholding to their special interest groups.  Our current congress is prime example of being occupied by politicians and not statesmen.

As an after thought, why doesn't Congress and the Senate cut their salaries and perks?  Why are they exempt, what makes them so special?

The Politics of Sequester

Politics!!!!!
I could just scream. I have been watching the news channels and listen to the columnists and pundits.

The conclusion, I can write the responses to the Sequester based on whom they represent, irrespectively if they are from the far left, the extreme right, or the tea party. It is a joke and frankly, we the American people deserve this mess 100%.

We the people get the government we deserve. Remember, we voted the self-serving politicians into office, we bought lock, stock and barrel the drivel they fed John Q. Public.  We did not bother to examine their motives and their money supporters.

Do I sound angry, YES.

My political views are based on the individual subject. Briefly, I favor the death penalty and a woman's right for an abortion, Religion does not belong in the classroom and illegal immigrants should be returned home.  If this sounds harsh, think of the Crusades and the jihads and I was a legal immigrant to this country. 

 What's the answer, get involved, write to your representative, express your view, and let them know what you think. Use Facebook, twitter and all the social media available to you. If you don't have access, drop a letter. Your representative dearly wants to keep his/her job and the related perks, therefore if they receive feedback from their constituent, trust me, they will listen.

I listen, examine the issue and then respond, but then thinking, I guess is not fashionable anymore.

 

The Assessment Test!

What a misnomer.  

The professionals who designed these tests, structured the personality questions to eliminate people not matching or fitting the company profile which does bring up a question, what exactly is the profile with respect to an employee.  I then wonder what is the turnover rate and when you combine this with the cost of training and drug testing low competition employees, what is the actual retention cost? 

I feel comfortable in saying that the majority of shoppers have been to the different stores I applied to (Office Depot, Target, Kohl's, Sears, Walmart and Michaels').  Remember, the employees encountered are supposed to be the cream of the crop because they passed the company’s assessment test, making them the most qualified personnel the company hired.

Think about your last employee interaction in the stores!

Please understand, I am not upset at not being hired, just puzzled because their assessment test eliminates employees like me.  I am retired and have not worked for about two years.  My answers based on my past work experiences will be problematic because the answers will not fit the expected parameters.

 

And therein lays the problem.

The Odyssey Continues

I applied to Michaels' for a job and true to form, I needed to take an assessment test. I first encountered this strange phenomenon when I applied at Office Depot for an entry level job. I filled out the online application and after wards was informed I needed to take the assessment test.  Should I pass the test, the next step will be the interview.

 

In my professional life I was never required to take this type of test.  Curious about this procedure, I searched the Internet and learned that the test was devised to assist HR personnel in the hiring process.  The test would stream line the process and assure the hiring of the most qualified person for the position.  In English, most HR people do not do well in in this particular endeavor, after all HR is not there to protect the employee but to assure that company policy is adhered too.

Being properly prepared now, I went and took the Office Depot assessment test which consisted of one-hundred-twenty-five questions. Approximately twenty-five percent were about my selling experience and as my friends tell me, ‘I couldn’t sell water to a parched person.’

The balance of the enquiries consisted of questions being asked in different ways. The pattern emerging was rather obvious and here is one example: a) Are you an energetic person? b) Do you need a nap in the afternoon? If you answer yes to a, and you answer yes to b, you are contradicting yourself.  Target, Kohl’s, Walmart, JC Penny, Sears, Michaels’ have this type of repetitious question on their assessment test that is anywhere from sixty to a hundred-twenty-five questions long.

In my next blog I’m going to examine the results of the ‘Assessment Test.’

Job Hunt

Although I stated previously that I probably would not change the title of the blog, well, I added two words to make the title clearer.

My continuing quest to find employment is a real education, especially since the recurring issue I encountered has not been mentioned in newspapers writing about how to get a job. To begin with, I am not faulting the various companies nor is it sour grapes on my part, just trying to understand the whole concept.

My background, I am a college educated woman who is reasonable literate, have great computer skills, familiar with Management and the supervision of employees, stringent work ethics, arriving late maybe twice a year and lastly, do not take what is not mine including the pilfering of office supplies.

As I mentioned before I needed a small part-time job. So this January I earnestly started to look for work. Thinking my wanting to work weekends and evenings would make it simple for me to find part-time work. Not so!

As of now, I have applied to the following companies: Office Depot, Target, Kohls, Sears, Walmart and lastly, JC Penny. All of these companies were looking for employees.

Remember, I do not want a career, nor do I want to be in charge all I want is a part-time job I can earn some money and I exchange I will be a dutiful employee, be punctual, courteous listen to my supervisor and in general earn my keep.

Again, I do not fault the companies, however I cannot deny the knowledge I gained working for many, many years and discovered a major flaw in their hiring attitude.

Tomorrow, I will address what I discovered.

 

A New Blog Title

The biggest problem in having a blog is what to name it.  At the latest count, I changed the title fifteen times because it never felt right.  Why?  Well, life changes you, no matter how young or old you are and I belong to the category of old.  This time, I hope, it will stay the same for awhile. 

 

I have been retired for almost two years and due to economic circumstances and just like everyone else, I discovered to my dismay I needed to return to work, not full-time, just part-time.  Aah, what a revelation!  Under no circumstance did I want to return to my previous career, although well paying, I could not fathom this life style any more.  The title "Daily Issues" arrived from my adventures in trying to find a part-time job along with all the other issues life has a habit to trowing at you.  

 

Suffice to say, I am still un-employed and tomorrow, being Sunday, I shall delve into the exploits of trying to find a part-time job.

 

Have a nice Saturday.

Winning Football Teams

I just watched the NCAA handing out its penalty to Penn State regarding their actions by sweeping child abuse under the rug.  The NCAA premise, that having a winning football team trumps education and the protection of children is wrong.

Thank you for reaffirming that winning a game at all cost is not justified.    

Hearing about the child abuse at the first instance by Penn State and reacting correctly would have only resulted in a mild ripple and people would have stood behind the university because it did the right thing.  But by sweeping everything under the rug and believing that winning a foot ball game is everything and to borrow an army term, collateral damage happens.  Well, I can understand if you are under the gun, but for a foot ball team, absolutely not.

The Time for Gun Control is Now!

When will America have gun control laws to protect its citizens?

The recent killings and wounding of innocent people in Aurora, Colorado begs the questions, why would a sane person need a assault rifle, a glock and a rifle?

Please do not inundate me with the constitutional to bear arms which is the same constitution that gives me the alienable right to pursue life and liberty.  Well, the NRA made the wishes of a few tantamount to the wishes of the majority.  I also blame our spineless congress and senate to stand up to the NRA.

Somewhere along the line, the pursuit of power  became the goal of our congress and senate.  Shame on them for their lack of moral fiber and back bone.

The blame for the killings is on the hapless individual whose synopses misfired, on the NRA for stymieing proper gun control laws and our representatives, congress and senate for being such overt cowards.

Don't tell me, criminals kill guns, not guns.  Someone has to pull the trigger and firing a gun is so very impersonal.

Once and for all, let us address the issue and not mourn for a few days, then shove the whole matter of gun control under the carpet  until the next time the senseless killings occur.  For as sure as the sun rises each day and night descends upon the land, this kind of insanity will happen again and again.

Obama Care

What a touchy subject. The Supreme Court just ruled that Obama Care was constitutional. And the outcry began.

Let's look at the issue without sentiments. First off, it is now that law, so learn to live by it. Second, the current law needs to be tweaked to improve health care. Instead of arguing, yelling that it will be repealed, why not make the law better.

As a homeowner, I am taxed every year by the local hospital district to pay for the indigents that overflow our emergency rooms because they lack insurance. As a county hospital, they are required to treat patients irrespectively if they have insurance or not.

I wish someone with a back ground in econometrics would study what is cheaper, for everyone in this country to have health insurance or continue with the current system that burdens and bankrupts our community hospitals and raises property taxes every year?

The question also that needs to be examined is the income distribution by doctors. The battle cry that the doctors spend so much on their education, therefore they can charge as much as they want is disingenuous. I do not begrudge them their income I am only asking them to wait a couple of years longer.  Instead of five years, wait for ten years and learn to police your ranks.  If a doctor is bad, throw him/her out.

Being old enough, I can remember when Medicare came into to being. The outcries from AMA were terrible and so were all the statements from doctors, and yet I venture to guess Medicare is the biggest money maker for the medical profession.

Case in point, the Congress woman who was shot. I am truly grateful that she received the medical care that she got, but I on Medicare would have not received that level of care, and that is what is wrong.

So, let us examine the law, keep what is good and throw out what is bad. America has the best medical service in the world, the sad part is not all of its citizen have access to it. Lastly, let's make Congress,  the Senate and all the government agencies become part of the same health plan. And why not, after all it is being funded with our tax dollars.  If the individual wants a better plan, go for it and pay for it out of your own pocket.

Reality Shows and why not to watch them

Summer is upon us and with it the customary bottom of the barrel reality shows.  So let's be honest.  Would a TV producer really let a contestant get hurt?  I don't think so.  Even though the participant most likely will have to sign a release and all kinds of stipulation, however we have become a litigious society and as every American knows, we have the inalienable right to sue, whether is makes sense or not.

The drivel dished up is bad and will rot your brain.  What ever happened to a well written show, may it be comedy, drama or whatever rings your bell.  There are many gifted and talented writers, actors, musician and countless behind the scene artist that make a show happen.  Yet we continue to indulge people who have no discernible talent in any artistic field other than self promotion.

Let's grow up and don't live vicariously through other people by watching them debase or make fools of themselves.  Let's stop being voyeuristic.  Once the interest in these type of shows wanes, we will get scripted shows once more. 

I am not a censor or will I tell you what you should like, just think about what happens to you, your children or your life watching such gems as "My Redneck Vacation or Life with the Kardashians."

In the interest of fairness I must confess that my guilty pleasure is: Dancing with the Stars.

Creative Living - - Time

So  much is written about what to do when you are retired, but no one ever addresses time, our currency.

Right now I am sitting outside with the laptop and the CD, Hope for Haiti Now, playing the song "Hallelujah, Hallelujah,"  and I am at peace.  It is 92 degrees with a soft breeze musing up my hair, which soon I will get cut.  My view encompasses the canal to my right and bordering on other side of it, a park, the pool and there is no one around so the music is not low but quite stimulating.

Point for all of this, I've written several pages and I am pleased with how the novel is progressing, because once you are in the flow of the story, it tells itself, you are just the person putting it down.  So tonight when I reflect on my day, I will feel great. 

The reason is simple, time was exchanged pleasantly.  My senses relished the scent of the afternoon and my eyes drank in the blessed peacefulness of the time and my mind created new pages in my novel, A Heavenly Revolution.

Overall I would say I received maximum value for my currency.  Isn't life great? 

Memorial Day

In spite of who I am, a naturalized German, I celebrate Memorial Day.  Why?  Let me give you some history that will explain my feelings about this holiday.

My father was an officer in the German Army and because of who he was, was rewarded with a post in Stalingrad, Russia.  One evening he took his men out on a patrol and my father stepped on a fragmentation mine.  The majority of his patrol died instantly and the survivors were injured and maimed in the process.  Due to his injuries, my father was put on a plane for transfer to hospital behind the fighting lines.  He was fortunate, because his plane was the last one to leave Stalingrad before the city was overrun. 

America resoundly defeated Germany and I am eternally grateful to the many Americans that died in the process of liberating my country.   This does not negate the service of my father because I can separate the two issues.  One, the service of a soldier and the other, the leader that caused the war.  A comparison would be the very unpopular Vietnam conflict.  Americans could not separate the act of a soldier from the leaders that created the conflict.  By the time Desert Storm, Iraq and Afghanistan came, the American people understood that you may disagree with the policy of the government, but you still must honor the service of the men and women fighting the wars.

In the eighties, my father came to visit America.  Driving around the country, he said very quietly, "How could Germany defeat a country like this."  He admired the friendliness and acceptance he was given by people where ever we stopped.

This is why I celebrate my adopted country's Memorial Day.

The Art of Writing, Characters II

Your Protagonist

This is a brief continuation of my protagonist comments.  In the previous writing I stated that the protagonist must be the center of the action and not a sideline participant.  In the fourth book 'Liars all,'  of the Brodie Farrel Mystery, written by Jo Bannister, she again made Brodie a supporting character.  Like in the other three books I read, she made Daniel and Jack the focal points of the story while Brodie wrestled with religion and faith.

Additionally Ms. Bannister has several author's intrusions, something her editor should have caught.  Simply put, it's knowledge of a scene, action etc. only the writer would possess, not the character. 

The Art of Writing, Characters I

Your Protagonist

Many years ago, the first principle of writing drummed into my head was: the reader must like your protagonist.  If the reader does not feel empathy for the hero, the reader will not purchase your second book and will not speak kindly about you.  My basic assumption, you do want people to read and like your writings, if not, skip the entire segments on characters.

Your protagonist can have flaws, shortcomings and in general be a rude person, but the reader must be able to identify and have empathy for him/her and must be the central character of the story.  I just finished reading three books by Jo Bannister who authored the Brodie Farrell Mystery.  The first one, 'Reflections,' was a disappointment, however since I had three additional books from the same writer I figured maybe the other novels will get better.  As a rule, when I get a book that is part of a series, I generally get all of them and read the books in the order of the published year.

In the Brodie Farrell Mystery, the protagonist, Brodie is not a very like able person.  Although the author tries to explain what made the character this way, it does not come across as reasonable or acceptable.  In 'Flawed,' the main character driving the story line was not the protagonist, but her best friend Daniel and part-time lover Jack, a policeman.  Brodie entered the story in a deus ex machina mode and solved the problem.  In 'Closer Still,' Brodie participates and solves the conflict.  However the story line is propelled by Daniel and Jack, yet improbable as it is, Brodie solves everything.  This kind of ending is difficult and leaves the reader unsatisfied.  In fantasy, soft core and hard core sci-fi, the reader will generally accept this king of ending, providing the foundation had been properly laid and is logical.  Examples: Lord of the Rings trilogy, when Gandalf the Grey, later known as Gandalf the White,  returns as dawn rises and changes the losing battle turn to a winning one.

Two points always to remember, your reader must like your protagonist and and the protagonist must be the center of the story, not a side line participant who at the end resolves the conflict.

To read a detailed explanation of the deus ex machina in literature, movies, television, etc. and Lord of the Rings trilogy, please go to:

www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deus_ex_machina;  www.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Lord_of_the_Rings

The Art of Writing, Protagonist Line II

This chart is an even bigger mess than for protagonist I, but so is the story line for protagonist II.

Again, let's look at this analytically. Briefly, the straight line is our daily life (black), the line going up at an angle (blue) begins at the star (green).  Conflict enters our protagonist's life at the peak, pale yellow star.  The line drops down to join the straight line (yellow and black), when our protagonist has resolved the conflict and is ready to resume daily life.

The squiggly lines (red), are the valley and peaks representing the protagonist's struggling to find the antagonist.  This is why you have all of the ups and down, because if you don't have the conflict and just have a straight blue line, what is the point of writing the story!   After all, the protagonist does not arrive at the scene and knows who caused the demise of the person.

The yellow star, as English teachers like to say, is the Denouement when your protagonist has found a solution, except in mystery writing, were the attempt at resolving the problem starts right at the beginning and at the end the hero can prove the who is the antagonist.

This type of story line is generally used in mystery, murder and spy stories.  Example, a murder occurs and the protagonist must solve the who done it.  Along the way our protagonist encounters all kinds of problems before he/she can unravel the puzzle. 

One final note, the person who invented this basic story telling structure for mysteries is non other than Edgar Allan Poe.