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Latest Chatter (old)

paul 16:12 sorry I just restart httpd hopefiully no one get hurt
jason 16:06 probably about a lot of booze and narcotics, from their perspective
paul 15:52 not sure what that is about
paul 15:52 someone wrote to me to say " Hey "idiot," Who died and left you the czar of culture?"
paul 15:39 i want this type of light show in my life http://www.trance-energy.nl/te2008/afterfilm/
jim 15:37 Visualizations: http://www.visual-literacy.org/periodic_table/periodic_table.html
hodown 13:59 Mine not so much. The number one tag is Vodka- sounds about right
paul 13:15 oh damn its under maitenance all of a sudden
paul 13:13 how did trebor get in there
paul 13:13 the people in my tag cloud are so fucked up

Libertad's Latest Five

01/06/09 19:49 - 27ºF - ID#47312Suze Orman

Suze you are my hero. You used to live in a van and now you are rich and famous and wear designer space outfits. I am on page 207 of your book for the Young Fabulous and Broke and I just love you for helping people in humanistic terms. As you always say Suze, people first, then money, then things.

0109/Omag200712Suze220x3120106.jpg

Thanks e:mike for the book. I love it! BTW, I like to say her name in a Spanish accent as demonstrated below.

0109/06195955.gif

permalink: http://estrip.org/articles/libertad/47312.html

Words: 91 -- , NY

01/05/09 22:31 - 24ºF - ID#47295813-111-111

Who is calling me from this number? I really had no idea what she was saying and this same number called me last night at 3am! That's right 3am! I didn't answer it because I really didn't know who the hell would be calling from such a number at such a time but they left a voicemaiil which really was just them hanging up. So now they call me at 10:12pm and I have no idea what they are saying. I googled the number and I came up with giberish numbers and this website for escort advertising called rare-escorts.com

Then I also got a call earlier from "Verizon Wireless". The number was 1-800-600-5092 and her name was Heather. I totally didn't understand why she was calling me but she wanted me to authorize something which seemed very vague and I just said please send it to me in writing. So she says she can't do that and pleads with me to do it on the phone right there or I wouldn't ever be able to get some feature which happened to be the same cost as my current plan. Again, I repeated to her that it wasn't a good time and I couldn't deal with it right now and asked if I could call back at another time and she gave me the number. I am so suspicious of people in general but this seemed shady. So I ended up googling the number and found this from callercompalints.com.

Caller Complaints
N
Filed by N at 1/5/2009 1:01:04 PM
Caller Type: Unknown
Phone Number Report: this number is unknown and caller never leaves a message..I haven't picked up the calls, as they come duing week days and on my cell phone...ridiculous, what are these calls for?

K
Filed by K at 1/2/2009 2:59:36 PM
Caller Type: Unknown
Phone Number Report: This number shows up as unknown ..They don't leave message ..ANNOYING

Heather
Filed by Heather at 1/2/2009 1:21:26 PM
Caller Type: Unknown
Phone Number Report: The number was 800-600-5092. They did not leave a message, and I do not know who this number belongs to.

phil
Filed by phil at 12/31/2008 8:34:34 AM
Caller Type: Unknown
Phone Number Report: returned call. no one answers. annoying...

Filed at 12/30/2008 9:37:59 AM
Caller Type: Unknown
Phone Number Report: call recieved but caller hung up during my recorded message went out to caller.

Filed at 12/29/2008 2:14:30 PM
Caller Type: Telemarketer
Phone Number Report: calls my number repeatedly without leaving a message.

iz
Filed by iz at 12/27/2008 3:09:48 PM
Caller Type: Unknown
Phone Number Report: called my personell cell. no permision - no information

yot
Filed by yot at 12/22/2008 6:03:45 PM
Caller Type: Unknown
Phone Number Report: called my cellphone and left no message.

AD
Filed by AD at 12/22/2008 2:23:50 PM
Caller Type: Unknown
Phone Number Report: called and left no message. when i returned the call there was no voicemail to find out the caller's name/business.

mbn
Filed by mbn at 12/22/2008 1:15:05 PM
Caller Type: Unknown
Phone Number Report: cALLING AD HANGING UP WITH NO MESSAGE!!

Why do I get the most bizarre calls? This one time this lady would call me ever single day and say "oH i sorry wong number." When I went away for four months and came back home they were still calling the number every day. My phone was out of service for four months!

permalink: http://estrip.org/articles/libertad/47295.html

Words: 579 -- , NY

01/02/09 15:57 - 33ºF - ID#47254Angry at bus fare increases

The NFTA did end up raising the fares on the bus to $1.75 like they said they would. Today I was so exhausted after working that I took the bus anyways even though I usually walk or take bike. I was just going from Summer to Auburn so it felt like such a rip off. I can't believe taking the bus is treated as a luxury in this city.

NFTA Chairman Gregory Stamm said, "Effective January, were only putting in a 25 cent increase."

I like how he says "only" 25 cents. How incredibly insensitive is to say that? It does make a big difference, especially when they intend on increasing it another 25 cents in July. I know sacrifices have to be made but why does it have to be poor people that have to suffer the most? I wonder how much money Gregory Stamm makes to say it is only 25 cents?

I think this is what they call being nickeled and dimed except this time we are being quartered.

permalink: http://estrip.org/articles/libertad/47254.html

comment CLICK HERE TO ADD A COMMENT!

metalpeter writes at 12:34:12 01/03/09 - Comment #43983

It does make sense because they have to pay for the new buses now. I don't know if they take out loans or buy in cash but at the very least you still would need a portion of that money now for those buses. If you believe what the NFTA says the reason they have to raise fairs is because the money they where getting from the state they won't be getting. Logic would make one think that you should be able to run a bus company with out any help and turn a profit, but if that was done how much would fares be then? But see when you base what you do on how much money you get from the state and then you lose that money then what do you do? Well lets see only black catch the #2 out to union and transit so lets get rid of that route so what if everyone loses there jobs, or maybe the could fire all the drivers and then hire on only part time people and not give any benifits, oh that would be so nice. Or maybe they could fire the NFTA cops and let all the school kids fight and mug people underground cause the Buffalo cops won't go down there, oh wait they could come up with a special divison and then the city would have to pay for that. I'm sure there is some waste in NFTA's system like there is in any place that you could get rid of, but keeping routes and services is more important then the cost of a bus.

ajay writes at 03:19:39 01/03/09 - Comment #43972

Wow... that makes my $1.50 fare here in SF (and $45 for a monthly pass) quite a bargain!

I was looking at the Exec. Director's message:

He says, "... By adding cutting-edge hybrid bus technology to our current fleet, we are not only being socially responsible by reducing air pollution, we are lowering our operating costs based on improved fuel consumption and a decrease in maintenance costs...."
and "... Metro’s ridership has increased eight percent this past year..."

So: increased ridership + lower operating costs = higher fares? Doesn't compute!

james writes at 12:22:57 01/03/09 - Comment #43970

I have been thinking about this a while. Trying to balance my outrage with an intelligent reply with new ways for NFTA to assess its costs. In the end, the only reply worth saying is

Fuck you NFTA

metalpeter writes at 08:09:46 01/02/09 - Comment #43967

My flash a pass (I know not called that anymore) went from $66 - $77 dollars so that is only $11 more a month. The last time the price went up was 5 years ago, so as long as it doesn't go up again in the summer then I'm fine with the rate increase. I think it going up again is a bad idea. But I do have a question. What I would like to see is 24 hour Bus service but how much would fares have to go up for that? I haven't been to crochchester and I hate the Knighthawks (lacrosse team) so I don't know how there service is. But a lot of people take a bus out union or transit road and the malls and places like that. If there are only a few people on a line then people think oh you should cut that route, well then those people lose there job. The simple answer is the drivers should take a pay cut, well if you could make more driving yellow buses then you might lose all your drivers. Plus if you budget for so much a year it is hard to change your spending habits. I think what get NFTA into trouble is that they run other stuff other then the bus and rail and what the riders pay, helps pay for those things.

Things I would like to see the NFTA to do and then they can raise the fair in the summer:
1. 24 hour bus service
2. If you have plane tickets you show them to driver and you go to the airport for free
3. Metro rail (the train) extended (not sure how far is practical) at the least down to that harbor with the silos and where they have the boat stuff
4. not sure what else other then maybe some other routes and better service to some places

I did want to mention something else that NFTA used to do, and I think they still might. You can have where you work subtract from your check each week money that at the end of the month gets you a monthly pass and the money comes out before taxes and there is some kind of savings, the only thing is that the company has to sign up for it so if there isn't enough interest it might not work. On a side note I'm glad there are metro cops how would guys in cars police an underground train. If you think they can (never been there) then how to trains in NYC get Tagged.

janelle writes at 05:01:25 01/02/09 - Comment #43959

NFTA has also been making it difficult for people with disabilities to be recertified for the half fare card (i.e. more paperwork than usual required). Really important for these individuals because they live on fixed income. The more difficult you make the process, the less likely people will follow through on it and it will increase the number of people paying full fare.

A few clients from where I work were denied recertification although they were previously eligible. Kind of funny considering their disability is permanent. Mental retardation doesn't just go away. Lol.

I'm all for accountability in social services to ensure people aren't ripping off the system, but this recent change seems like a purposeful attempt to discourage people from claiming benefits for which they are eligible. There needs to be a balance between maintaining fiscal accountability and access to service for those individuals legitimately eligible.

joshua writes at 04:24:23 01/02/09 - Comment #43958

There is nothing that can be run in Erie County in a financially responsible way - it really is that simple. They claim that ridership is up (about 10% or so? maybe a little more?) but generally speaking, they worry about coverage first and how to pay for it second. Now they are worrying about that second part - even with fuel prices dropping and increased ridership they can't manage to administrate the bus system properly. Either the system gets smaller and more cost efficient, or the system stays as it is and riders pay more. Now you see which way they've gone. They are asking you to pay an additional quarter rather than make buses less available.

This ain't a big city in terms of population, but really our civic living space is almost the northern half of Erie County in total. It is too bad that we don't have the population that would make expanded mass transit more feasible from a financial perspective. I'd love a light rail train that would take me from here to my office, but it's a non-starter. Our state is bankrupt, our federal government is bankrupt, we're bankrupt - they aren't going to spend $40-50 million per mile for one train line in Buffalo, New York, a place where people are leaving at the rate of 10,000 every decade and the long-term means to keep the system running are in severe short supply. Take heart though - they are also raising fares in NYC and pretty much everywhere else, even if it isn't utterly necessary for survival.

PS - I heard that they were also considering an additional 25 cent increase mid-year.

tinypliny writes at 04:06:08 01/02/09 - Comment #43957

:( This just makes me sad. Buffalo is becoming more living unfriendly every day. Oil prices plummeted recently and transport by personal vehicles has become cheaper than ever. Public transport in this city reflects greed, corruption, mismanagement and complete disregard for people who actually take the bus! :/ Rochester, Syracuse and Albany fares are $1.00. We live a stone's throw away from these cities and yet the apathy and venality we live in is deplorable.

Words: 184 -- , NY

12/31/08 13:56 - 15ºF - ID#47230One more post

Why do people clip their nails at the work place? EWWW There are at least two people here that do it. I was complaining to a friend of mine about it and then she just wrote me and said that someone was doing it in her office after I wrote her about it.

permalink: http://estrip.org/articles/libertad/47230.html

Words: 53 -- , NY

12/31/08 13:52 - 15ºF - ID#47228sigh

Today I got a call from a woman and I nearly started crying for her after she hung up. Her husband died very recently and she lost their health insurance coverage because she couldn't pay the $900 premiums for her and her children. She applied for medicaid/family health plus but was told that the social security check she gets from his death is too much to qualify. So she smokes three packs a day because she is so depressed but can't really afford it and she is all her kids have so she wants to quit.

I hope that she can.

Good Luck e:jim. Let me know if you need any help.

permalink: http://estrip.org/articles/libertad/47228.html

Words: 115 -- , NY

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