Automatic Payment or Automatic Headache?

I hate Bank of America. Why, you ask? Well, there are a few reasons, including having a big announcement on the sidebar about Firefox being "fully supported" but whenever I click on any of the tabs such as "Bill Pay" when in Firefox, it tells me that my session has ended and makes me log in again. I finally had to revert to IE. This, to me, is not "full support".

But the main reason I hate Bank of America is because their automatic payment system is less logical than the ownership group of the Seattle Mariners (the only team that spends over $100 million for over 100 losses). Allow me to present the options they give you for determining how much you want the system to automatically pay:

• Always pay the minimum amount due as indicated on the e-Bill
• Only make payment if this amount is less than or equal to $___________
• Always pay the statement balance as indicated on the e-Bill
• Only make payment if this amount is less than or equal to $___________
• Always pay $_________ regardless of amount due

The only one that makes even a smidgen of sense is the first one. Unfortunately, I chose the second. Even more unfortunate, I checked the sub box and wrote "500" in the text box. I did this because when I read the option, my mind automatically converted what it actually said to what it logically should say. So instead of "Only make payment if this amount is less than or equal to $500", I read it as "Only pay up to $500". What's the point of setting an automatic payment if you have to worry about it not paying the amount? I thought automatic payments were designed so that you didn't have to worry about getting hosed by a $39 late fee (not to mention the additional $11.69 "finance charge" for the inconvenience of making them charge you money). Apparently not. At the very least, they should have this option:

• Always pay the statement balance as indicated on the e-Bill
• If this amount is greater than or equal to $___________, then just pay the minimum amount due

But, no. Then they wouldn't get their automatic $50 (what "automatic payment" really means) from the poor saps like me who for some reason still go around assuming that people have brains in their heads. Oh, and that last option? How in the world does that make sense?? What amount could you possibly put in there that doesn't ever result in you either not meeting the minimum or giving them more money than necessary? The only way that that option would make sense is if you only use that card for certain static, reoccurring payments (such as a car payment) and nothing else. But if that was the case, wouldn't the 2nd option work just as well?

Note to Amazon: You're Trying too Hard

Late last year, I bought an HD DVD player from amazon.com as a Christmas gift. Two, actually. They both came with HD DVDs. This year, I bought a "Playstation 3 Cordless MediaBoard Keyboard" for my living room media center because it was confirmed that it works for more than just the PS3 (it in fact works with my computer, the Xbox and even the Wii). Apparently that is enough to start receiving weekly emails like this:

Movies & TV Let them choose from millions of items › Amazon.com Gift Cards Your Amazon.com Today's Deals See All Departments

Dear Amazon.com Customer, As someone who has shopped for high-def players or high-definition movies and games, you might be interested in our current Blu-ray Sale, where you can save up to 40% on popular Blu-ray movies and TV. Also, be sure to check out this week's Blu-ray new releases and what's hot for PlayStation 3. › Shop the sale

This Week's New Releases on Blu-ray Stargate - Continuum [Blu-ray] $26.95 Dark City (Director's Cut) [Blu-ray] $18.95 The Hunt for Red October [Blu-ray] $18.95 Top Gun [Blu-ray] $19.95 Shine a Light [Blu-ray] $25.95 What's Hot for PlayStation 3 Metal Gear Solid 4 $59.99 Soul Calibur IV $59.99 Sid Meier's Civilization Revolution $59.99 NCAA Football 09 $59.99 More to Explore Sign Up for Blu-ray Delivers James Bond in High Definition Visit the Blu-ray Store

We hope you found this message to be useful. However, if you'd rather not receive future e-mails of this sort from Amazon.com, please opt-out here. Please note that product prices and availability are limited time offers and are subject to change. Prices and availability were accurate at the time this newsletter was sent; however, they may differ from those you see when you visit Amazon.com. (c) 2008 Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates. All rights reserved. Amazon, Amazon.com and the Amazon.com logo and 1-Click are registered trademarks of Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates. Amazon.com, 1200 12th Ave. S., Suite 1200, Seattle, WA 98144-2734. Reference 10036370

Yup, one of those puppies gets delivered to my inbox every week as new blu-ray movies and PS3 games are released. I have bought games and accessories for the Xbox and the Wii, but do I get similar emails for those products? Hardly ever. I just went into recommendations and told it to not use the keyboard for recommendations, so we'll see if that makes a difference. The HD DVDs and players were already marked as gifts (so I assume they don't count toward recommendations, but who knows). The email states that I was sent this because I am someone "who has shopped for high-def players or high-definition movies and games", so apparently buying someone an HD DVD player as a gift last Christmas means that I myself own a Blu-ray player, and since I am a gamer, the Blu-ray player is in fact a PS3. Don't let your computers think too hard, Amazon. We don't want you becoming a merchandising version of Skynet.

Zondervan sued by mentally unstable person

Man sues Zondervan to change anti-gay reference in Bible

Bradley LaShawn Fowler is suing Zondervan for $60 million, claiming that "their versions of the Bible that refer to homosexuality as a sin violate his constitutional rights and have caused him emotional pain and mental instability".

"The intent of the publisher was to design a religious, sacred document to reflect an individual opinion or a group's conclusion to cause 'me or anyone who is a homosexual to endure verbal abuse, discrimination, episodes of hate, and physical violence ... including murder,' Fowler wrote."

First of all, Zondervan did not "design the document". The Bible's been around longer than Zondervan, and they weren't the ones to start saying homosexuality was a sin, Fowler. You're shooting the messenger, and hoping the messenger has $60 million to cough up. If you're going to sue someone, you should be suing God. Good luck with that.

Secondly, who the heck forced him or his family or anyone to read the Bible? Zondervan certainly didn't. There are plenty of books and other media out there that go against what I believe, and some I'm sure could give me enough reason to claim "mental instability", but you know what I do? I don't read them!

This case is so dumb, I don't know what's worse - the fact that this mentally unstable idiot is suing or the fact the Court is even considering this case (with "very genuine concerns" to boot). Unbelievable.

Christianity without Christ

http://www.nationalpost.com/story-printer.html?id=490325

Am I the only one that thinks that if you claim to be a follower of something or someone, but you don't actually believe in it, you shouldn't be claiming to be following them? This just defies logic:

Even Rev. Giuliano agrees that the name Christian -- which carries the baggage of colonialism and other ills -- should probably be phased out. Instead, he would replace "Christian" with "Follower of the Way" or "Follower of Jesus."

Uh, newsflash: Christian = Follower of Jesus. That's like saying you're going to replace "African-American" with "black". Whatever they call themselves doesn't really matter though because the book doesn't match it's cover!

"The church is extremely important because it can be a transformative element in individuals' lives and communities," she said. "And that was the root of what the Christian Church was about: transforming the way people see themselves in relation to the communities around them and in relation to each other and about living that in community. Christianity took over that story and manipulated it into a very different story."

Wrong! The root of what the Christian Church was about was Christ!! Hence the name! My word this hurts my brain. This is what happens when people refuse to read their Bible or history books or think logically about anything. Even more sickening is that she is able to stay in her brainwashing position - that no one in her congregation has spoken out, and that the "head" of the United Church of Canada is too spineless to do a darn thing about it. It's not like no one was warned:

"But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing upon themselves swift destruction." -2 Peter 2:1

Emergency

emer·gen·cy
\i-ˈmər-jənt-sē\

1 : an unforeseen combination of circumstances or the resulting state that calls for immediate action (Source: Merriam-Webster)

2 : an unforeseen combination of circumstances or the resulting state that calls for waiting in a crowded room with no cell phone reception for over 3 hours listening to soothing¹ renditions of old movie music before going to wait in a smaller room for 2 additional hours with the music replaced by screams of other people experiencing similar circumstances (Source: Valley Medical Center Emergency Room)


¹ crappy

Why Teenage Gang Members Should Not Have Children

It's the classic example:

Westside Ballers hispanic knocks up black member of the Crips. 4 years later, they still can't decide which gang their kid should join. I'm sure there's a lot to consider, like which one has the best health care plan. It's not a choice any young parent should have to make.

Parents Fight Over Which Gang Toddler Should Join

Teen Survives Fall from 12th Floor

Oh my word, that's amazing, how is that even possible, I want to know more!!

I imagine that that would be the reaction of people when they read a headline like that, right? It certainly caught my eye when I saw it on CNN. So I clicked on the story (linked below) and what did I learn? Oh, he landed on the 10th floor. Ooooh. I'm sure it was very scary and exciting for him and all, but for CNN to over-dramatize a two-story fall on the front page with a headline like that is ludicrous. I guess it's a slow news day.

(The local news story that CNN links to actually has a tamer headline, but they still don't bother to mention that he landed on the 10th floor until the second paragraph.)

Charlotte Teen Falls From 12th Floor - Charlotte News Story - WSOC Charlotte