Get taxed to drive?

I know it’s been a while since I last posted and this post has very little to do with tech *cough-GPS-cough* but here’s an article from Autoblog that has got my blood boiling:

Oregon ran a pilot program in 2006 and 2007 that fitted 300 cars with GPS receivers, which kept track of the cars’ mileage. The receivers also kept records of when the cars were on the road, noting whether they traveled during rush hour or not. When the drivers went to several specially-equipped gas stations, they paid a mileage tax based on how far they had driven and when they drove, rush hour being more expensive than the wee hours.

Taxing mileage — as opposed to trying to raise fuel taxes — is an idea that’s not only raising eyebrows, it’s also raising interest. Seven other states are reported to be interested in finding a publicly-palatable way to tax mileage. A panel in North Carolina even recommended that drivers be charged a quarter-cent-per-mile for their year’s driving. In such a scenario, after 15,000 miles you’d owe the state $37.50.

GPS? The hell were they thinking? I understand states are losing revenues they normally would been counting on from gas tax but going the extreme route of charging by the distance traveled is a bit too much on the big brother side. When gas prices were this low 3 years ago, how were the states making money then? If people drove less, it would mean less stress on the roads which would also mean that there would be less maintenance required. Sleazy politicians always trying to find ways to tax the citizens to bring out short-term solutions for their own work performance shortcomings.

At this rate, small towns will be affected even more so. A lot of people commute to and from work from small towns or suburbs which would lead to some of them moving into the already crowded cities to avoid the “mile tax” or “toll booths”. I hate you Lou Dobbs because all you’ve been saying the past 5 or 6 years of your CNN existence has been about “heartland” and “illegal immigration” but now it’s about time you use your clout to stuff your big head into the courtrooms about those governments and do something good for once.

LCD Monitors? NewEgg > BestBuy

Went to the local BestBuy store by Rosedale Mall to grab a few items including an Acer 19″ LCD – X191 but by the time we got there at 6am, it was long gone. It was long gone after the 5th nerd joined the line at 6pm the previous day. But as luck would have it, there was an Acer 19″ LCD for $169 and one next to it for $179. The only problem was, the monitor-in-box was located between the two price tags.

Took the monitor to a BBuy clerk to run a price check and after he matched the model and SKU #, he advised that we were looking at the more expensive $179 model (Acer X193Wb) which retailed at $239. Fair enough. Along the way to the cashier, I picked up the latest Guns N’ Roses album – Chinese Democracy – on sale a few bucks less ($11.99), only found at BestBuys nationwide, and after 15 years of waiting. All was fine until the cashier lady punched in the items.

I immediately noticed the amount on the POS (Point of Sale) machine screen for the X193Wb was displaying $239. TWO HUNDRED AND FORTY BUCKS??? I had the cashier run a price check through an extremely rude sales associate. It seemed like she took forever to return and when she did, she was virtually yelling at me saying that I had the wrong LCD model and the one going for $179 was out of stock.

How could this be? I remember matching the SKU and model # with the BBuy clerk previously on the computer screen personally at the store location to make sure we had the right model and now I was being rudely told to dole out the full retail value for a product on sale? I had had it with that retarded sales associate. Told her I wasn’t going to get ripped off by BestBuy and promptly purchased my CD and left. Point to note is that the cashier lady was very kind and caring in stark contrast.

Went for a coffee break at a Brueggers and checked the prices on my phone. The X193Wb was shown at $179 on numerous Black Friday websites for Best Buy. Then saw that NewEgg had the same monitor for … $99 with the deal expiring on Sunday the 30th. I’ve bought a lot of stuff from them in the past and they’re quick to ship.

We all know what happens next. So if you’re in for a decent LCD monitor for your computer, grab one at NewEgg soon. They’re ending on November 30 but on limited stock.

Free iPod through your bank

Free iPod deal. Sometime last week, I received a letter from my bank Wells Fargo in the mail. Seemed like the regular “SIGN UP FOR A FREE CAMERA” thing they sometimes send out. Only this time, it said a free Apple iPod Shuffle. Nothing extraordinary but could be worth picking up since it’s FREE. Didn’t think much about it until a buddy at work had one just like that, only his was through Bank of America. He found the iPod in the middle row on the scratch card.

Found the iPod in the middle row on my scratch-off card also. You get 30 days to use the service (AutoVantage – similar to AAA Roadside Service) for free and you want to cancel before then, unless you’re up for shelling out $16/mo thereafter. The Shuffle will be mailed out 3-5 weeks after processing the application. Oh and remember to include the scratch-off card and the sheet holding your signature in the prepaid envelope before mailing em out. Keeping my fingers crossed.

EDIT (12/26/2008): This is so not worth the hassle. You send in a request to sign-up along with a free iPod card. Then you wait for 2 weeks and they mail you a membership confirmation packet complete with your ID card and some coupons and booklets. Then you have to mail out another free iPod card to confirm included in the packet you received from them. This is estimated to take 6-8 weeks to process and the whole time, you are expected to be a member of AutoVantage. Also be advised that the iPods are subject to availability. To top it off, it’s just a cheapo iPod Shuffle 1GB.

Republican National Conference in St Paul, Minnesota

The corrupt politicians and their fake-smiling cronies are in town across the river in St Paul, Minnesota. So are a nasty bunch of anarchists and the usual assortment of hippie peace lovers. On tv, Rudy Guiliani appeared and started making small talk getting the crowd hyped up averaging around 3-5 words per sentence. The crowd cheered. More 3-5 word simple sentences with “9-11″ thrown in randomly. The crowd cheered again.  The pattern continued and Rudy said “USA” with a swing to get the crowd going “USA USA USA” like sheep following the movement of a mindless herd. Wish there was someone out there asking Rudy about how he refused to help out the FDNY and NYPD who were volunteering out there during 9-11 and now suffering from various respiratory diseases.

We’re all getting used to Rudy’s stories of how he fought the terrorists during 9-11 but then he came out making fun of Barack Obama’s efforts to the streets of Chicago. Seriously. Rudy? You must be going senile. And as expected, he went on to praise McCain through out the years but failed to bring out 2000 when almost every Republican out there painted him as an unpatriotic American. Didn’t matter. The crowd cheered. Something about the honorable Joe Biden (Democratic vice-presidential nominee) flip-flopping. The crowd cheered around his feet.

Then the newly nominated VP to John “I was shot down in Vietnam” McCain showed up. Sarah Palin began the speech with family values and growing up in a small town in Alaska with her “Eskimo” husband who strangely enough looked white and very un-Eskimo. I bet he was discriminated quite a bit because he was an “Eskimo.” Oh puhleez. Don’t yell out saying Obama’s pulling the race card when you’re doing it yourself, only in your case, it doesn’t work at all.

Along the way, she talked about her activities in the PTA and being a mayor of a town of a few thousand. And do note that she said it was a “tough” job unlike serving on the streets of South Chicago. If that’s tough, I’d like to know what her understanding of the role of the VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA means to her. Then something about how she liked to drive in her car. WTF does this have anything to do with being qualified for the position? Then some lies about tax breaks and how Obama would raise taxes. Lies. More lies. Some history on her efforts which she lied about. If she was a murderer, the crowd could care less because this is the crowd that refuses to look at facts. The crowd cheered.

Like “9-11 Rudy”, wife of Eskimo and the Governor of the populous State of Alaska, Sarah Palin talked about all the torture” that John McCain had to endure in Vietnam. Only, I got 2 problems with that:

1. Vietnam vets do not like to talk about what they did and saw there. They’re not willing to relive those memories. So why is Palin and Rudy going on and on about John McCain being a POW there?
2. John McCain was NOT tortured. According to the US Government and our prez whom some call “Dubya” or “the original pothead”, worse acts were carried out to the fine residents of Guantanomo Bay and it was deemed normal treatment.

About John McCain, and please I do not have anything against someone who actually went there along with the likes of Democrat John Kerry (who was bashed by Repuglicans for not being a true veteran), although I respect his service, getting shot down isn’t something to be proud of. He is still an American hero but I severely doubt he is the right person for the job. And why are the Repuglicans now embracing him when they trampled down on him back in 2000?

Since she had nothing else to say about her experience and had exhausted her vocabulary of emotional keywords, she went on with some negative jabs on Obama. The crowd cheered. Sarah Palin mocking Barack Obama? Someone who’s had it easy all her life making fun of a social worker? Very classy indeed. Literally.

Republican speeches are always very interesting because of their over-use of keywords and suggestive terms and the blatant lies tossed callously in sentences filled with emotional moments. You can be Emperor Palpitine or Darth Vader and still come out after the speech looking like good ol’ Ben Kenobi. In short, all words and no substance. But be warned. If you’re not careful, you can get swept in with their lies just like how Anakin Skywalker turned to the dark side and became Darth Vader. We know Palpatine and Darth Vader are “evil” because they already look like villains and can’t afford the luxury to smile and make you comfortable unlike the Repuglicans you see on tv.

The following are some of the most popular keywords in a typical Republican speech: God, good, evil, victory, America, Americans, bless, values, faith, terrorist, protection, death tax. Nauseatingly childlike and corny but certainly very definitive and divisive words for the simple-minded. You’re either with us, or against us. Sounds familiar? You know what, the American public has had enough and can see through their lies and know that they’re going to get 4 more years of the same terrible 8 years we’ve gone through. If you want to take advantage of unsuspecting people, go do that elsewhere. My word of advice to republicans is to “Pack up your lies in your suitcases and get out of our country!”

The Greatest Olympics Ever?

As China steadies itself for the media onslaught in the summer, for the first time in history, the Olympics will be held in a Communist state under Capitalistic economic policies and a Totalitarian-styled regime. Quite reasonably, there have been a lot of concerns voiced by various nations about the clash in the true ideals of the Olympics and China’s heavy-handed approach in attending to “domestic” matters. Never before has the prestigious games been opposed so openly by citizens behind the geographical, cultural, and political boundaries that separates them.

For one, the ethnic Tibetans in the “Autonomous Region of Tibet” have been suppressed since 1949. The history books in China paint a picture of Mao’s troops liberating the Tibetan “slaves” in a class-based society. Sadly, what is failed to be mentioned are that many millions of Tibetans died working against their wills in slave camps for the Communistic beliefs held by China. Those that survived died from malnutrition after being forced to follow Mao’s failed economic and agricultural programs which led to a long famine in the harsh climates of the Tibetan plateau. The nation lost over 50% of their lands through China’s renaming and rezoning of their provinces. Even today, their senior monks are hand-picked by Chinese government officials instead of by the monasteries and their spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, is still banned in Tibet. Possessing a picture of the Dalai Lama or uttering his name in public are deemed serious offenses. The ubiquity of CCTVs (closed-circuit television aka security cameras), plainclothes cops, and cops disguised as monks on the streets of Lhasa ensure that nobody steps out of line. In fact, it’s a boot camp and not many people like boot camps when you’re forced to live in one for all your life.

So what’s going on with this summer Olympics in Beijing? Is it because of “western bias” against the communist state? Or is it “racism” as some Chinese blogs pout on the interweb? The IOC Olympics Games was revived in 1896 in Athens, Greece to promote peace and harmony through the enabling of ordinary citizens to participate in a global sporting event. Unfortunately, the Olympics is marred by a history of problems, political boycotts, and corruption. One of the nations that tried to boycott the Olympics was China who in 1976 forced Canada to withdraw Taiwan from the games who ended up missing 2 Olympics Games until 1984. What a bag of hypocrites.

Truth be told, ideally the Olympics should never be boycotted because of the values it tries to promote. In reality, something needs to be done and there is a definite need for a stronger person at the helm. Someone who can claim that his/her values firmly match that of the Olympics and is able to stick to them. A person without a conscience will continue to support the management at the IOC and the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing because of their hypocritical stance in that human rights in China shouldn’t be the concern of the citizens of the Olympic world. Whatever happened to peace?

In Nepal, an unidentified mountain climber was “deported” after security found a “FREE TIBET” flag in his backpack. The Nepalese police and soldiers are guarding Mount Everest to protect China’s interests with the authorization to use “whatever means necessary, including use of weapons” to stop the protests in the region. Media coverage in the region of Tibet and Lhasa has been neutered while government propaganda blankets the airwaves in mainland China. Oh and the whole bootcamp thing. Tibet has been turned into one after thousands of soldiers (not cops were brought into the capital) are now camping by Everest on China’s side of the mountain.

Chinese immigrants (legal and illegal) abroad have taken various stand-points. Some are of the belief that China-can-do-no-wong while others have realized the importance of human rights. To all you Chinese who actively support China’s activities, let me make it clear – the protests aren’t against the Chinese, but rather directed towards a government that has been corrupted by power and is now out of control socially.

Is this a case of too little too late or is the IOC simply not doing it’s job after failing to enforce China’s promise to clean-up their acts upon winning the bid for the 2008 Games?

It’s like fucking for babies instead of pleasure. Corporate money over ideals.

Screw human rights and peace. Let the Games begin!

Red Light Cameras a Blessing or teh Devil?

Most people are against red light cameras. Heckeven I’m against red light cameras. The long history of increased accidents upon installation of the cameras and the various scammer like activities from the local authorities in doling out tickets certainly don’t make things better for the advocates of those cameras.

So what exactly is a “red light camera?” It’s not a camera by your local red light district, nor is it a special infrared camera and it certainly does not remove the “red eye” effect. A red light camera is an actively computer monitoring system that snaps pictures of the license plates and sometimes, faces of the drivers in the event of a violation – more specifically, running a red light. They’ve already been banned out of Minneapolis-St Paul due the ruling that they were unconstitutional after a slew of tickets were mailed out to supposed violators.

Usually, RLC (Red Light Cameras) are placed at 4-way intersections with 4 cameras … one facing each side of the street. Do note that the cameras in question are mounted up high on tall structures like lamp-posts. They’re usually not situated by the traffic lights themselves so don’t go thinking every infrared sensor (used by cops and emergency vehicles to alter traffic lights) is an RLC. Also, the cameras look like the regular security cameras you see at government locations. For more info on RLCs, click here.

Below are 2 RLC locations in St Cloud, Minnesota, which in my opinion has definitely shortened the AMBER/YELLOW light times. Both locations are notorious for their rather long RED lights especially if you’re heading NORTH-SOUTH (or vice versa) on either 9th Ave S or 5th Ave S.

If you’re heading north on 9th Ave S (Great River Rd) and attempting to make a LEFT on 10th St S, you’re SOL during rush because the GREEN light arrow pointing LEFT changes to AMBER in 3 seconds which takes under 3 seconds to turn RED. Otherwise, both locations have now improved the RED light waiting period. I don’t have to dread driving near it because I know that it will turn GREEN soon. The short AMBER/YELLOW light period is annoying but nearly not as the waiting periods for the RED to turn GREEN from days of yore.

This article on Autoblog highlights six cities that were caught red-handed for shortening the yellow light wait period to snare unsuspecting drivers with fines. Rumor is that the companies that install those cameras charge the cities a boatload of fees and the only way those cities can recoup the costs was by increasing the number of violators.

So the question remains, are Red Light Cameras a “Blessing” or teh “Devil?” I guess only time will tell but for now, let’s just hop on that bandwagon to vilify our cold-hearted robotic overlords.

John McCain’s dumb “Gas Holiday” strategy = EPIC FAIL

Didn’t mean to cut your moment of zen after that silencio I promised but couldn’t help writing how steeply biased in stupidity John McCain’s idea of a gas tax removal period between the summer days of Memorial and Labor Day. Well if it’s not stupid, it’s a down right sham mean to scam the sheep that follows the herd to the slaughterhouse. Of course we all would like lower prices … FOR EVERY GODDAMN THING and not just gas.

The Republicans are all about how the market will even things out so removing taxes will eventually hit back at the consumer if not in the summer, then maybe in the fall. This would be hard for the poor and especially students who are working 40+ hours weekly in the summer months cuz once school starts, they have to cut back their work load to accommodate classes.

But to be more clear on the matter, McCain said, “The people who drive the furthest are the lowest income Americans.” His advisor then chimed in, “We know that in the summer gas prices peak and it’s when people do a lot of traveling, so if you give them a break just from Memorial Day to Labor Day… if you could do it even just for those three months, it would give people some short-term benefit on inflation.” [source]

WTF are they smoking? He claims that it would benefit the poor but aren’t mass-transportation the way to get the economically strapped/smart people to travel? How bout a TAX FREE month for mass-transport users? That would make a far more important impact on the economy, the environment, and the future. That and tax exempt status for veterans, retired citizens, and those living on food stamps.

Unfortunately for the hypocritical John McCain, his buddy Bob Dole presented the same gas holiday idea 12 years ago when he (Dole) was up against Bill Clinton only to succumb to a painful defeat. The signs aren’t good. The implementation of stupid short-sighted ideas are what got us in the current mess in the first place. McCain needs a good plan or should just shut up for the sake of the good of this nation.

Instead of focusing on turning this nation into a smarter group of people, all they’re (GOP) trying to do is keep building a wall of people to protect the rest from the inevitable tidal waves. Getting people to slowly overcome their heavy dependence on gasoline and reward them is what the big cats in Washington should be proposing. So until then, keep throwing your bullshit John McCain. Only the clueless will bite em.

US Government Banking Commission???

What is the US Government Banking Commission? No one knows with the sole exception of a persistent scam artist who’s trying his darnest to make a buck.

First of all, we need to understand the concept of “phishing” (pronounced “fishing”) before going anywhere. According to Wikipedia, it’s defined as “an attempt to criminally and fraudulently acquire sensitive information, such as usernames, passwords and credit card details, by masquerading as a trustworthy entity in an electronic communication. eBay, PayPal and online banks are common targets.” What that means is a phisher is someone who tries to fish around for your personal information through some form of communication be it emails, websites, phone calls, or even personal visits.

Reported on The Consumerist [original source], watch and listen as an “agent” working for a non-existing organization, US Government Banking Commission, tries to acquire the bank account number of a Virginian, Mr Howard Beasley. Unfortunately for the “agent”, Beasley’s all too suspicious of Indian accents and callers asking for personal information and records the call. A short excerpt taken from The Consumerist is listed below for your convenience.

Howard Beasley told the caller he was being recorded, but the man didn’t hang up.

The caller said, “I’m a representative of the United States Banking commission and by mistake we took $481 out of your checking account.”, says Howard Beasley.

Howard Beasley started recording.

Howard: The government cannot take money out of your account. So I know this is nothing but a scam.

For ten minutes, an extremely persistent man tried everything he could think of to get Howard’s account number, the man said to give back the money.

Caller: What’s your bank account number?
Howard: If you got it out, you’ve got the number.
Caller: Please verify me your account number.
Howard: No way.
Caller: Please verify me your account number.
Howard: No way.
Caller: You don’t want the money? You don’t want your money?
Howard: I don’t want to be scammed.
Caller: Sir, you are not a scam. You have no right to talk to me like that.
Howard: I can tell you to take the $480 dollars and shove it up your *** that’s what I can tell you.

The tape continues to roll as the caller spits out Howard’s address and threatens to pay him an unwelcome visit.

Caller: I’m just coming within two days with two FBI agents, OK.
Howard: Well, you come down here with two FBI agents.
Howard: I’ll have them same two FBI agents on you.
Caller: OK, you just wait and watch. I’m coming within two days.
Howard: Well, you bring ‘em here. I’ve got a 357. I’ll put your name on it.

In the case of the Banking Commission phishing case, it’s starting to be a more common phenomenon nowadays with the growing number of call centers outsourced/off-shored to far-away places like India and lax privacy laws abroad, our personal data is increasingly put at risk. Those call centers are given 1-800 numbers which are located and registered IN the United States meaning that they can call anyone anytime anywhere in the USA at local call rates and paid by the company those gooks work for.

Now not every internationally located call center agents are crooks but there’s always the case of one rotten apple in a basket. So how do you protect yourself from such people?

1. Even though you’ve heard this a million times, NEVER give out your personal information over the phone unless you initiated the call to a recognized/trusting location.
2. Keep the anti-virus software up to date on your computers.
3. Make your computer stay in shape by running the dynamic duo consisting of Spybot and CCleaner on a weekly basis. They’ll ensure your spyware/adware stuff is kept to a minimum.
4. Watch out for the “phishing” emails as listed in my posts here, here, and here.
5. When you get a call…
   1. If it sounds too good to be true or something out of the regular, start recording the conversation and tell the agent that you are doing so.
   2. Always ask for the name, employee ID, call-back phone number, name and address of business, location of call-center, and ticket # associated with every call you get.
   3. Cross verify the address of the business using the internet.
   4. If you have a caller ID on your phone, verify the # they give you to the # listed on it.
   5. Do NOT conduct business over the phone #. Once the call is over, go to the official website of the company in which you deal with and call their customer support line.
   6. Relay them the information handed to you by the agent previously and the rest is up to you.
   7. Usually the best idea is to spend as little time on the phone with them. Also tell them that you are on the DO-NOT-CALL list.
6. Stay alert. In a lot of cases, the scammer doesn’t usually display the stereotypical mid-eastern Indian accent. Just because he/she has a southern accent doesn’t mean they’re good ol’southern gentlemen/ladies.
7. It’s a dog-eat-dog world out there so stay focused during your interactions with them.

Healthcare Associates JUNK Email

You would think an email from Healthcare Associates would go straight into your Inbox folder in your email. Been getting quite a few emails from HACU (Healthcare Associates Credit Union) in the past few days all going straight to the “Junk” folder. Strange for me to receive their emails since I’m not a member but Kaci is. Enabled the content just to see what was going on with it.

Looks perfectly normal. The “FROM” looks good, the names are spelled correctly. The email address looks legit. The graphics all look good. Right? Not quite. Usually when you have a blank “TO” portion, things might not be right. Also, when I put my cursor over the “CLICK HERE” portion, on my “status bar”, I was shown another website (infohacu.org) instead of HACU.ORG which would be the real deal.

The “Status Bar” is a real life preserver in most phishing (ie. online scam) cases because you don’t really have to click on the link to find out where it’s going to take you. You can choose to right-click on the suspicious link and click below on “properties” to see where it’ll take you but having the “Status Bar” saves you that extra bit of energy and time. So enable your “status bar” and it should be under VIEW > STATUS BAR to get it running on the bottom portion of your web-browser.

I opened a new tab on my Firefox2 web-browser and went to www.hacu.org to see what’s up and found out that they’d posted this notice:

Security Alert- January 14, 2008

Members and Non-Members may have received an e-mail or phone call that “appears” to be from HealthCare Associates Credit Union. This is an e-mail/phone fraud attempt designed by hackers to obtain your personal information. The e-mail has a link that sends you to a site similar to our Internet Branch site or a phone number to call and requests you to supply your debit card information. We urge you not to follow the links or enter any account information over the internet or phone.

We are commited to safeguarding your personal information and it is important that your account stays secure. The e-mail addresses and phone numbers used in the scam were not obtained from HealthCare Associates Credit Union. We will never initiate calls or e-mails requesting your personal or account information.

If you have any questions, or if you have given out any personal information on this fraudulent site or phone system, please contact us immediately at 630.276.5555 or 800.942.0158 (outside Chicagoland).

So please be aware everybody. If an email tells you to renew your personal information or anything that requires you to re-enter your personal id stuff, DO NOT click on the LINK. Rather open a new window or tab on your browser and go to the official website like “www.tmobile.com” or “www.ebay.com” and login how you normally would to see if you have any updates there or reminders.

Thank you and have a good night.

St Paul Snow Plowing and Ticketing Rules are a SCAM

First of all, on Wednesday night around 9:30pm, Kaci’s car got ticketed due to the “Snow Emergency” that was in effect while she had her Tiburon parked out on the streets. We’d just gone out to eat at around 8:30 and got back at 9:45 to see a plastic packet under the wipers. $45 because the side of the street she was on was a “Night Plowing Route” but we didn’t know it was cuz of the lack of signs. So well she got her ticket and the Night Plow starts at 9PM and goes on till 6AM but the streets weren’t plowed at all. Below is a picture of the street after she moved her car to a WEST-EAST street (Buford Avenue) where I parked my Civic.

If we thought that was injustice, imagine my surprise when I went to move my car at 9:30am the next morning to the spot in front of the house. Kaci had left late in the evening so her car was gone which is fine but my car was missing as well. One side of the street was plowed while the side where my car was parked wasn’t. WTH is going on here? I thought only the streets with the “Night Plow Route” signs were plowed. Buford Avenue (East-to-West street) didn’t have any signs.

As you can see in the above pic, there are treads of my car and it looks like it was dragged since I had my hand-brake on which effectively locks the rear wheels on a front-wheel drive car. Now I couldn’t be sure if my car was towed by the City of St. Paul/Minneapolis or if it was stolen. So logged onto the internet and found this website relating to “snow emergency” procedures. Clicking around told me that Day Plow Routes had no signs and would be in effect from 8am to 5pm. That is stupid. If there are no signs, they should at least have the courtesy of leaving my car behind or the $45 ticket fine on the windshield.

Now like I said, I didn’t know if my car was stolen or if the city had towed it away since my side of the street hadn’t been plowed. Somehow, I found this # 651-603-6895 (for St Paul towing) to dial which was supposed to take me to the office involved with the towing. Dialed it a million times to see if they had my car in the impound lot but nobody’s picking up the phone. A whole hour of dialing and not a single person picking the line and there’s no voice-mail feature either. How annoying. There was another # on the website 651-603-8695 which would lead me to a “This number is no longer in service” message.

Finally fed-up, I logged onto the official City of St Paul main website and called their Customer Service # 6510603-8989. A lady answered the phone and diverted me to this # 651-487-4700 saying that was the direct line. I told her that the City of St Paul needed to hire someone part-time to answer the phone because it’s driving a lot of people to frustration to which she told me to apply online. Then she thanked me and told me she was transferring me to the # she advised me because she couldn’t help any further on the matter. Transferred but no pick-up. Called up the # 651-487-4700 but no answer to the line again. Called the 603-6895 number multiple times and switching between the 487-4700 line every few attempts.

Finally, a rather rude lady answered the phone. I asked to confirm if my car was in the lot and she said she didn’t have that ability. Then I asked her what was required to get back my car if in the event that it wasn’t stolen and the city had indeed impounded it. Her requirements included a valid driver’s license, valid auto insurance, and the vehicle title. She said there would be a $45 charge for the ticket, $191 for towing, and $5 for using a check or debit card if payment wasn’t made in cash. The ticket was an automatic if your car got towed I guess. I told her that my insurance card had me printed as the owner and that was why I probably wouldn’t need my car title to which she responded saying that if I had recently sold my car, the insurance card would still say I was the owner. There was no way to verify if I was the owner.

Now I was calm and polite the whole time as I was talking to her while she was yapping angrily away at me as though I was the devil himself. I argued that my title was at home an hour and a half up north and I couldn’t possibly get there without my car. She told me that I could buy a duplicate title from the DMV which would set me back around $15 or $35. I asked her if I could get it for free since it’s only something that shows I’m the owner and she said I HAD TO BUY the duplicate title. So very unhelpful. I took down the address information for the nearest DMV in St Paul and the impound lot.

Then I then told her the same thing that I told the lady at the CSR line for the city – they needed a part-time person to pick up the phone on the other line to which she told me to look for jobs on the website if I was looking for a job. I told her there were no job postings for it so she should add it herself. She told me she would add it only if she was told to do it by her supervisors and if she were me, she would purchase the title from the DMV to get back the car. Before she hung up abruptly, she didn’t even have the professionalism to say this magical accepted phrase – “Have a great day!” What a bitch! I was now seriously pissed-off.

The girlfriend came to the rescue. Drove me to the DMV first to purchase my title. On the way, I called the good folks out at the DMV (651-292-9791) located above Sears in St Paul near the Capital building and a very pleasant speaking lady in sharp contrast to the person behind the line told me that I could have it printed for free as long as it’s just a document showing I was the owner. Got there and waited for 30 minutes. Called the line again and the same lady informed that since I was only there for a print-out, I could go to the far-right corner and pick it up. And I picked it up. Had her stamp it just to make it official. Hope she gets a raise.

We drove off to find a WellsFargo ATM and found one at a gas station. My stupid Gold debit card wasn’t working. Thankfully, Kaci’s WellsFargo card worked and I withdrew $200 and already had $50 in my wallet in cash so that was good. Off to the impound lot.

Then drove over to “1129 Cathlin St, St. Paul, MN” to pick up the car. Dang. A long line already outside the small building and the temperature was in the teens and light snow flakes making their way down. Everybody was cold and miserable. Good thing Nima was there to keep me company along with fleeting broken conversations of the grumbling nature. As we were waiting, the line kept getting longer and longer. Around 500 people in the compound as more and more tow-trucks came in with more cars hauled in. A news crew came over but the security people hustled them outside. They kept filming from outside the compound. Everybody and myself including appeared disgruntled. Bad day to be outside waiting to pay $240 and pick up our car. It’s almost like the line to go purchase a Nintendo Wii. After about nearly 2 hours outside, finally got inside the building. Another long line there with people waiting to pay their $240.

Get this now. Inside, a security officer was announcing saying that if no driver’s license, you needed a title to the car. If you did have a driver’s license with insurance, you won’t need the title. There were large signs also saying the same thing. That stupid rude lady on the phone either lied to me or doesn’t know what the frak she was talking about.

Finally, my turn after nearly 3 hours. Here’s the breakdown of the towing charges contrary to what the news incorrectly reported as $122 in total fines a few weeks before this incident.

1. Tow Charge: $123.07 (Average towing charges should range from $25-75. Those liars.)
2. Storage Charge: $0.00 (Thank God I went there on the first day)
3. Admin Charge: $55.00 (To pay all the grumpy employees.)
4. Sales Tax: $12.46 (WTF man. Sales Tax for paying your stupid fines?)
5. Service Charge: $0.00 (Now what the heck could this be? Doing an Oil Change?)
6. Total Charges: $190.53

Then they slapped the $45 ticket onto it pushing it up to $235.53 for towing my car. Around me, clerks were squabbling about pennies with some of the poorer people who had their cars towed. Very sad picture.

Below is a picture of my car after I brought it back. It looked so pretty and I was so glad to be able to see it again that I had to take a picture. So now here it is for all to see while at the same time, it’s increasing my desire to one day look into the eyes of all the people responsible for my horrible day and see where they’re at someday in the future when I’m making a 6-figure income. Here’s to hoping karma acts as a catalyst in making my dreams come true.

And all this happened the day before I was to leave Minnesota for Florida which added to the high levels of stress I was already experiencing due to Northwest Airlines not having a seat ready for me on all my flights to and from Orlando.

So if ever in doubt, don’t hesitate to call 651-266-PLOW or 651-266-7569 (for QWERTY keypad phone users) to find up to date info on snow emergencies and plowing routes.

If there is one thing I learned from this event, it is that the laws of this nation are out there to protect the interests of those in power. In my case, this poorly thought-out “snow emergency” rule is a constraint only to the poor and lower income citizens who can’t afford to own a garage or secure a private parking lot. So not only are the poor targeted by this snow-emergency law, the rules ensure that if the poor people who had their cars towed are unable to come up with $236 in cash (which should be easy right?), they have to wait outside for a considerable amount of time in the nail-biting cold, and still made to pay an additional $5 penalty for using a bank debit card or a check.

Yea, let’s put them in their place. Let them know that they’re the lower-class citizens and that they deserve to be punished. We should ensure they get stuck in that position by having them lose more money, so we will never have to worry about them making as much money as us. Cuz you know, it would sure suck to have an ordinary person driving a brand new Lexus or BMW and pulling up next to us at a traffic stop. Yea. Let’s strip them of any dignity left in them by taking all their money and humiliating them by making them stand outside in the cold. That should be enough to make them disillusioned enough to never make it big.