Just wasted about an hour over a few days, trying to put in my new credit card number into their website. Love it. It wouldn’t update the number, looked like it worked, but when you put the auth code in you could see that it was using the old number. Argh! Called up, waited, and found out that it can only be done thru the phone and an automated unit. Argh! Argh! So why have that option on the website?
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Leave a Comment » | 
Ranting | 
Permalink
Posted by reinkefj
Zimbabwe’s horrors By Jeff Jacoby, Globe Columnist | August 12, 2007
***Begin Quote***
NO ONE is surprised when a Roman Catholic bishop condemns the violence of war. But when was the last time you heard of one pleading for a military invasion?
***End Quote***
No, sorry, it’s not up to the taxpayers to fund a “nation building” exercise. As we learned in Iraq, you can’t build a nation without using force. And, you become the bad guy
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Leave a Comment » | LIBERTY | Permalink
Posted by reinkefj
This came up on my radar and I took a look at it. And this big fat old turkey is unimpressed. Anytime you have to hunt for how much something costs that to me is a big red flag. In looking at it, I had three observations:
(1) It suffers from what I call LinkedIn syndrome — you can only have one resume — so how can you customize for the oppty under consideration;
(2) It’s three blind mice — who is looking at your resume, who is submitting it duplicatively (I lost a job that way), and who are you selling into.
(3) It costs the seeker money.
So it has a lot of negatives in my mind. Any one of these would turn me off.
YMMV
*** begin quote ***
Plan A – $39.95
Resume Distribution
One time fee – 3 distributions. We will email your profile to recruiters, employers and corporate hiring managers that have registered at ResumeSpider to receive your information. These targeted leads are matched by your desired job function, industry and location.
Plan B – $69.95
Resume Distribution Plus
(Valued at $79.90)
Same as Plan A. We also provide you their contact information, track who has opened and evaluated your resume, and give you access to the SpiderTalk private messaging system.
Plan C – $99.95
Combo Package
(Valued at $119.85)
Same as Plan B. In addition, you now have access to our Industry List containing 100s or 1000s of company contacts. We do not send your resume to this list; however this list provides you a minimum of one key contact name at companies targeted by their office locations and their respective industries. If you are applying to job ads, you usually don’t know who received your resume, so this information can very helpful because now you have a name to contact.
*** end quote ***
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26 Comments | JOBSEARCH | Permalink
Posted by reinkefj
http://www.mises.org/story/2668
The Wrong Lessons of the Bridge Collapse
By Brad Edmonds
Posted on 8/6/2007
“Imagine how safe we’d feel if the people who inspect and approve bridges could actually lose their jobs and their fortunes if they make a fatal mistake!”
*** begin quote ***
The collapse of a bridge in rush-hour Minneapolis must be well known by nearly everyone in the United States by now. Whenever anyone dies, it’s a tragedy; when many die, and expensive property (dozens of automobiles) is lost, that’s obviously a tragedy. When all this loss of life and wealth happens because government bureaucrats did their jobs poorly or correctly, that’s a preventable and costly tragedy — bought at the expense of many taxpayers who likely would have done other things with their money than pay those bureaucrats. Remember, those who might have done other things with their money include the dead victims.
*** end quote ***
I know everyone thinks I am a loon, but take, for example, this bridge collapse, and ask the question who in the gooferment got fired for a poor job?
Yup, no one!
As a matter of fact, gooferment at all levels is going to steal MORE of your money so that they can NOT do what they are supposed to be doing.
I just don’t know how we can be so stupid NOT to see the flaw in the gooferement — both the nanny state and father homeland are a joke. Unless it’s your money they are used to stealing.
Where’s my pitch fork?
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Leave a Comment » | Ranting | Permalink
Posted by reinkefj
http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=21827
Stealth Tax Increase
by Robert Novak
Posted: 08/06/2007
***Begin Quote***
WASHINGTON — The 42 senators and 196 House members who have signed a no-tax-increase pledge received a stern warning last Wednesday from Grover Norquist’s Americans for Tax Reform (ATR): If you vote for Amendment 2548 to the Democratic-sponsored expansion of SCHIP (State Children’s Health Insurance Program), you will violate your solemn promise. However, Amendment 2548 is not the product of tax-and-spend liberals but of conservative lawmakers and policy experts.
***End Quote***
There doesn’t seem to be anyway to stop the free spending in Congress.
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Leave a Comment » | MONEY | Permalink
Posted by reinkefj
http://www.nraila.org/Legislation/Read.aspx?ID=3188
New Jersey State Police Seeking to Enact Further Firearms Restrictions by Regulation
Monday, August 06, 2007
***Begin Quote***
Please Mail Your Comments in Today!
The New Jersey State Police recently issued new rule proposals for the regulation of firearms, magazines, and retailers in the Garden State. If approved, these regulations will have the rule of law without ever being debated by our legislators in Trenton, turning thousands of unsuspecting citizens into felons!
The proposal would do the following: It would require law-abiding gun owners to surrender or pay to render their “large capacity” magazines permanently blocked. Possession of a temporarily blocked “large capacity” magazine would be a crime. Certain semi-automatic shotguns and handguns would be classified as “assault firearms” because of cosmetic features, which have not been named in any statute enacted by the New Jersey Legislature. Another proposal seeks to harass lawful owners and retailers of “assault firearms” by requiring that licensed dealers who accept an “assault firearm” and/or machine gun from a citizen for transfer, resale, or repair must notify the Superintendent of the State Police within 48 hours. Also, all firearms sold by retailers would be mandated to be secured by steel cable. Finally, the proposal forces those placing handguns on consignment to produce a new permit to retake possession of the handgun.
Law-abiding firearm owners have until Friday, August 17 to voice their opposition to the new rules and the Superintendent needs to hear from you today! Public comments will only be accepted by mail.
STAND UP AND MAKE YOUR VOICE HEARD!
PLEASE MAIL YOUR COMMENTS IN TODAY!
Please cut and paste the below letter onto a new page, date, sign, and mail to the listed address:
Date:
Colonel Joseph R. Fuentes, Superintendent
New Jersey State Police
PO Box 7068
West Trenton, New Jersey 08638
Attn: Firearms Investigation Unit
Re: Comments to PRN 2007-199
Dear Colonel Fuentes:
As a law-abiding New Jersey firearm owner, I respectfully object to, and urge you to not to implement certain proposed changes to the New Jersey Administrative Code set forth in your Rule Proposal dated June 18, 2007. These proposed changes would unilaterally turn thousands of honest citizens into criminals. Furthermore, it would impose this legal jeopardy in the complete absence of legislative intent, debate, and open discussion.
For many years, numerous state authorities have issued formal written advice to law abiding citizens, licensed firearm dealers, and police officers around the state permitting temporary blocking of magazines. Thousands of people have relied upon that advice by purchasing, possessing, transferring, transporting, and selling temporarily blocked magazines. These people would be forced to either surrender their private property with no compensation or pay to render their magazines permanently blocked. Rule proposal 13:54-1.2 will make thousands of unsuspecting, law-abiding firearm owners who are unaware of this dramatic reversal into felons by classifying a temporarily blocked magazine as a “large capacity magazine.
Also, under 13:54-1.2, certain semi-automatic shotguns, the most “commonly used firearm” by New Jersey sportsmen and semi-automatic pistols with common features, would be classified as “assault firearms” even though some of the supposedly undesirable shotgun features are particularly helpful to disabled shooters. Many of the supposedly undesirable features listed have not been identified in any statute passed by the New Jersey Legislature and are tantamount to new legislation even though legislating is beyond the scope of the executive branch.
Rule proposal 13:54-5.1 Section (c) assumes illegal activity without probable cause upon the firearm owner and forces the retailer to delay sometimes needed repair by mandating that licensed dealers who accept an “assault firearm” and/or machine gun from a citizen for transfer, resale, or repair notify the Superintendent within 48 hours. Delaying repairs pending approval by the Superintendent of Police will only add to greater expense and unjustified inconvenience for the firearm owner and lost business for the retailer.
New Jersey already mandates some of the toughest security measures for firearm retailers in the country. Additions to rule 13:54-6.5 would impose significant financial impacts upon retail firearm dealers by requiring dealers whose firearms are on display to secure firearms by a steel cable. Cabled firearms are more likely to “dry-fire” as the cable rests on the triggers of the firearms. Dry-firing can be particularly harmful to shotguns and antique firearms causing damage to the firing pins and actions of the firearms. Securing firearms by steel cables could also result in deep scrapes and permanent damage of those firearms and force retailers to sell the items for significantly less than the suggested retail value.
Rule proposal 13:54-3.20 forces those who place firearms on consignment to produce a new permit to purchase a handgun even though they may have dropped off the firearm as early as one day previously. This will place a new unnecessary burden on licensing authorities to reissue permits. This proposed regulation could redirect what is currently a safe and legal commerce to the black market.
I object to these proposals and urge you not to implement them.
Sincerely,
P.S.: How do you rationalize these rules with the Second Amendment to the US Constitution?
***End Quote***
Argh!
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Leave a Comment » | LIBERTY | Permalink
Posted by reinkefj
http://www.survivalblog.com/2007/08/jims_quote_of_the_day_533.html
Jim’s Quote of the Day:
***Begin Quote***
“The totalitarian states can do great things, but there is one thing they cannot do: they cannot give the factory-worker a rifle and tell him to take it home and keep it in his bedroom. That rifle hanging on the wall of the working-class flat or labourer’s cottage, is the symbol of democracy. It is our job to see that it stays there.” – George Orwell
***End Quote***
There ought a be a law. Oh yeah, there was … … the Second Amendment!
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Leave a Comment » | LIBERTY | Permalink
Posted by reinkefj
http://www.usagold.com/germannightmare.html
The Nightmare German Inflation
from a NEWS & VIEWS SPECIAL REPORT
“The ones who fared best were the small minority who had the foresight to exchange marks into foreign money or gold very early, before new laws made this difficult and before the mark lost too much value.”
*** begin quote ***
If history teaches anything, it is that government cannot be trusted to manage money. When currency is not redeemable in gold, its value depends entirely on the judgment and the conscience of the politicians. (That is the situation in this country today.)
Especially in an economic crisis or a war, the pressure to inflate becomes overwhelming. Any alternative may seem politically disastrous. Whether it be the Roman emperors repeatedly debasing their coinage, the French revolutionary government printing a flood of assignats, John Law flooding France with debased money, or the Continental Congress issuing money until it was literally “not worth a Continental,” the story is similar. A government in financial straits finds its easiest recourse is to issue more and more money until the money loses its value. The entire process is accompanied by a barrage of explanations, propaganda and new regulations which hide the true situation from the eyes of most people until they have lost all their savings. In World War I, Germany — like other governments — borrowed heavily to pay its war costs. worthless money. This led to inflation, but not much more than in the U.S. during the same period. After the war there was a period of stability, but then the inflation resumed. By 1923, the wildest inflation in history was raging. Often prices doubled in a few hours. A wild stampede developed to buy goods and get rid of money. By late 1923 it took 200 billion marks to buy a loaf of bread.
Millions of the hard-working, thrifty German people found that their life’s savings would not buy a postage stamp. They were penniless. How could this happen in a highly civilized nation run at the time by intelligent, democratically chosen leaders? What happened to business, to wages and employment? How did some people manage to save their capital while a few speculators made fortunes?
*** end quote ***
A wake up call?
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Leave a Comment » | GOLDBUG | Permalink
Posted by reinkefj
http://www.mises.org/story/2660
The Gold Problem
By Ludwig von Mises
Posted on 8/10/2007
*** begin quote ***
Why have a monetary system based on gold? Because, as conditions are today and for the time that can be foreseen today, the gold standard alone makes the determination of money’s purchasing power independent of the ambitions and machinations of governments, of dictators, of political parties, and of pressure groups. The gold standard alone is what the nineteenth-century freedom-loving leaders (who championed representative government, civil liberties, and prosperity for all) called “sound money.”
*** end quote ***
Big gooferment thrives on the inflation tax for a number of reasons. Probably the biggest easiest one is that they don’t have to go on the record and vote to raise taxes. With inflation, they just spend and print. The Fed is thrown into the mix to placate the bankers who understand the scam and could lead the intellectual debate against it. Linking money to some thing, anything, limits the gooferment’s ability to inflate the money supply. It doesn’t even have gold. Anything that prevents the printing press to create counterfeits. Gold has withstood the test of time.
The redeemabliity of a paper note into gold limits the number of notes that can be printed. Hence no inflation and stable prices.
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Leave a Comment » | GOLDBUG | Permalink
Posted by reinkefj
http://www.thenationalnetworker.com/sitemap/careertransition.shtml
The Job Search Is Serious – Start Now, Don’t Ever Stop
By Jason Alba, Career Transition Editor
***Begin Quote***
Sound a little dramatic? Let me share part of my story. I’m sure that it’s not as bad as your story, but I’ll share it anyway.
I was a general manager of a small software/services company. We had a couple dozen employees, good clients, and software products that were maturing (and selling). I made decent money, although we were still living paycheck-to-paycheck (who doesn’t?).
***End Quote***
Jason’s story, that is in part told here. should serve as a wake up call to all those who are “in” but will SOON be “out”.
(Note “soon” is a relative term. I can’t tell you how long “soon” will be for you, but, I can assure you, it’s sooner than you think.)
My mantra is that you are only sure of the last paycheck that you have cashed. Have learned some of my lessons at the UOHK (University of Hard Knocks), I know that you better prepare for the day because it is coming. To do that, I have a monthly meeting with my imaginary Board of Directors. Questions for the CFO are:
* What is our “bear bones burn rate”(i.e., how much do we have to spend cutting out all the fat and frills)?
* How many months of “burning” do we have in our “war chest” (i.e., a dedicated account that’s our own personal unemployment insurance)?
* How many months will it take to go from “burning” back to “earning”? (n.b.: I’ve blogged and written on this estimate before. I can be a stunning number.)
* What are we doing to increase the reserve and decrease the “turnaround time”?
This article should be in every “in’s” inbox. It’s a wake up call. It will happen to you.
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Leave a Comment » | JOBSEARCH | Permalink
Posted by reinkefj
You are currently browsing the Reinke Faces Life blog archives for August, 2007.
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FJohn Reinke
Consultant at Technology Legacies LLC
Advisor, Computer Governance Committee at Manhattan College
Editor / Publisher at Jasper Jottings
Greater New York City Area
JJ Positraction JJ Endnotes Downsize DC
Philosophy of Liberty
I have NOT received any gagged governmental information requests
Reinke Faces Life 
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