• Annoyed

    Hello, can I speak to J… please?

    “Excuse me?”

    Hello, CAN I SPEAK TO JEFF PLEASE?

    “I’m sorry, I’m afraid you’ve got the wrong number.”

    Oh no, I’ve got the RIGHT number, I’ve just got the wrong name. Is this, um… John?

    “I’m sorry, that’s my cue to hang up.”

    —

    Boy, I hope that wasn’t someone trying to give me money. Chances are, it was those damn state troopers again.

    Three things have changed our reaction to a ringing phone. Before, the ring meant someone was trying to sell us something. It caused a chorus of groans. Now it usually means family or friends are reaching out. We still groan every now and again, but it’s not quite as loud – or heartfelt.

    • An unlisted number
    • The do not call list
    • Going all in on our cell phones

    Now when an unfamiliar voice opens a call with, “can I speak with Mr Kauffman?” I can get rude with a high degree of confidence. It can be a little embarrassing when a new nurse from the kids doctor’s office is calling, but I can live with a little shame every now and again.

    I’m painting a picture of an ass here, but I’ve actually been pretty patient. I’m the kind of guy that can put five minutes into trying to let a tele-marketer down gently. As if they care how sorry I am. My transformation into a phone ogre has been recent, and it’s the trooper’s fault.

    Ditching the land line has eliminated the loophole for most sales calls. Even Chase has stopped trying to sell us credit protection over the phone. I just tell them they’re calling me on my cell phone, I’m paying for the call, and I’d really like them to stop calling. You know what? They actually stop calling! Not those troopers though. They have no shame. In fact, I’m pretty sure they’ve put me on their “bug the living shit out of ’em” list.

    So now I’m doing something I thought I’d never do. I’m hanging up on people. In my defense, I might not have hung up on the trooper if he hadn’t been so damn smug.

  • Offshore oil drilling

    Some polls indicate more americans favor lifting Federal restrictions on offshore oil drilling.* A site I visit frequently explains why you shouldn’t drink the Kool-aid: you’re being fed a load of crap.

    Climate Progress:

    The oil companies already have access to some 34 billion barrels of offshore oil they haven’t even developed yet, but ending the federal moratorium on offshore drilling would probably add only another 8 billion barrels (assuming California still blocks drilling off its coast). Who thinks adding under 100,000 barrels a day in supply sometime after 2020 — some one-thousandth of total supply — would be more than the proverbial drop in the ocean? Remember the Saudis couldn’t stop prices from rising now by announcing that they will add 500,000 barrels of oil a day by the end of this year!

    Note: this comes from an analysis of a government report on available, and anticipated domestic reserves of offshore oil. By government, I mean the current government… the one that muzzles the EPA, and runs Federal government agencies as if they’re a branch of the RNC.

    If a candidate tells you the answer to high gas prices is more offshore oil drilling, he’s talking out of his ass.

    *There are some folks who question the validity of their results, due to the way questions were asked.

    —

    I had this post written a week ago, but never got around to posting it. To be fair, I should note that oil prices have come down some in the last week or so. Some folks believe the prices have come down due to lower demand, primarily in the US, due to the slumping economy.

  • Light it up

    waterfire.jpg

    From Treehugger:

    When Lighting Your Water on Fire Isn’t a Magic Trick

    Jessica Ernst lives in the village of Rosebud, Alberta, East of Calgary. EnCana, a big oil & gas company, is operating close to her house. The photo above speaks for itself.

    So the big question: is the water from her well just naturally flammable (I suspect it’s not), or has the process of drilling/extracting gas nearby fouled the water?

    Read the article. A few of the comments after the article are interesting.