The Motor City

2010-02-20T00:32:00.002-05:00

Huh, it still works.

Life

2009-06-11T10:59:00.002-04:00

Unemployed for six months! Detroit is fucked! Life sucks... I still have a roof over my head, but am burning my cash like it's water. I feel like an idioit for not taking the home equity loan and not maxing out my credit cards.

Life

2008-06-24T10:33:00.002-04:00

Man, time flies when your having fun! Too much work and not enough play...

PF Blogs

2008-02-08T12:12:00.000-05:00

I have a friend that is filing bankruptcy to the toon of 300K. I give him an A+ for effort, but really it was his own fault. Credit Cards! He started a pizza shop and worked hard. Then he bought the building so he didn't have to pay rent.(Smart!) Then he got a second store and worked harder. His business was making money. He got a third store and worked hard. He got a fourth store and.......... is filing for bankruptcy.
We had the come to Jesus talk a couple of months ago, but I don't think he got it. Thats when I searched the web and found all of these PF blogs. I am addicted to reading about people and how they get into debt... Seriously, it is like crack to me.

My buddy was making money and he also had perfect credit. The credit card companies loved him. Pays the mimimum on time every month. Has over a million dollars in cash flow! Then the banks sucked him dry too. Oh, Mr. so and so, what you need is to take all the equity out of your house. Here is a big pile of cash. HAHAHA! Oh, that wasn't enough, lets take all the equity out of your pizza shop building. Here is a big pile of cash. Excellent, you are still making all of your minimum payments on time, but now you have bigger loans and bigger payments. Now throw in a litte recession and the bussiness stops making money. The big piles of cash to help make payrole are gone. SHIT! I know, apply for more credit cards. You have perfect credit. Ching! 100K in new unsecured credit. Throw in a little more recession and all four stores are closed. The end...

PS. At least he tried, and filed bankruptcy because he tried to keep his business alive. He had a truck with 200K miles on it. He didn't have a fancy house or designer jeans that he pluked down on the credit card. The banks ate his lunch even though it was too late. They let him max it all out. That should be against the law. Yes, I am sure there was a little discretionry spening on the credit cards, like the girls need shoes. But really!

As for the rest of you idiots, stop procreating!

U-Scan-It

2007-08-02T18:29:00.000-04:00

I have mentioned this before as well. If you over 55 and have not really used a computer in your life. Don't expect to be able to use the U-Scan-It at the grocery. This a tool for people with brains that want to get in and out quick. Please find a sharp object or a nice length of rope and put it to use...

Highway Driving

2007-08-02T18:24:00.000-04:00

THE FUCKING SPEED LIMIT IS 70!!!!!!!!
Can we at least go the speed limit!!!!!!!
GET THE FUCK OUT OF THE LEFT LANE IF YOU CAN NOT GO AT LEAST THE SPEED LIMIT!!!

Driving Up North

2007-06-11T17:05:00.000-04:00

I went up north last weekend. I took a half day off work on Friday and got ahead of the rush hour. I had the radar detector on the dash and was hammered down doing 80-85 mph all the way. The radar detector never went off and I never saw a cop. I came home Sunday morning with the moon roof and windows wide open. I wasn't in a hurry to get home as it was such a beautiful day. I had the radio blasting and was singing along... I still put the radar detector on the dash, but I set the cruise on 72 mph. I took the back way and within the first twenty miles I had past 3 popo's. I feel so lucky!

Who knows where this is?

2007-06-07T13:49:00.000-04:00

Pictures?

2007-06-06T17:05:00.000-04:00

Testing 123, Testing123.

Giving to Family

2007-06-06T13:58:00.001-04:00

My older sister called me (at 0645 on a Saturday) the other day and asked me for $500. She is not on drugs and is a married mother to two beautiful girls aged 15 and 11. She has been calling everyone in the family for money for years and years. I think the last time she asked me I told her not to ask me again. Not that I don't love her, but she is bad with money. If she had $1 or $1,000,000 she would spend it all. So, I call my younger sister and asked her what was going on and asked her what she thought... She said, don't give it to her. She said that two out of the last four weeks she had not worked and one of those weeks was for a vacation. I spoke with my older sister and told her I could not give her the money. I don't know jack about my sister financials, but I know they have never been good. They do own their home, which my dad gave them the down payment for... that is probably tripled mortgaged by now...

I don't have any children, nor did I get knocked up at age 22 without medical insurance or a job. I have worked 50+ hours a week for the past 15 years and so has my wife. I have a ton of money in the bank.

Why do I feel like a piece of shit?

None

2007-06-06T13:50:00.000-04:00

Testing 123, Testing 123. mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

Life in General

2006-02-14T10:12:00.000-05:00

Of course I haven't posted in a long time. I spend a half hour writing a post and lose it... Makes sense.

GM and Ford have finally spilled their guts. What we knew was coming has finally been announced. Cuts, cuts, and more cuts. I think GM wrote off the kitchen sink in their 8+Billion loss. Ford made money, but not in NA. They wrote off the kitchen sink over the past two years. No, I don't think either will even come close to bankruptcy. I think they are both great long term (10+yr) investments. I don't want to dwell on this subject. I do like the new Ford Fusion, but I haven't driven one yet.

Winter here in the Great Lakes has turned out to be a dud. I know that the businesses that depend on the snow are feeling the pinch too. Overall, I think the economy is stagnant.

The Superbowl was the big news here in The Motor City. I think we got an A- from the media in general. I can say that I have never seen such a push to clean anyplace up in my life. If I had a nickel for all the garbage bags lined up along the freeway, I could spend a month on an island somewhere. (Not that people litter. I still find it amazing in 2006 when I see the whole McDonald's bag and cup come flying out of the window at 75MPH.) I personally didn't go close to downtown. I think the only way to get there was to drive 20 miles in the opposite direction of downtown and then take a bus back. I heard fun was had by all and even an A+ from the locals.

In general, life is good here in The Motor City.

GM HHR

2005-12-07T08:32:00.000-05:00

Winter has arrived in The Motor City. I like winter. I love skiing, snowmobiling, and just being outdoors. My blood has not really thickend up enough yet, but I can tell it is changing. It is amazing how our bodies change. Every year we go from 55 degreess means shorts, to 55 degress means a jacket. By the end of December I will have no problem running outside for a smoke without a jacket. One thing I do need to do is get the battery replaced in the remote starter key fob! I don't want my blood getting too thick!

They are tearing down a huge building across the street. There are seven huge CAT's with huge pinchers on the end of the boom. It looks like War of the Worlds. It is neat to see how they are doing it. A lot is being recycled.

I am going to Fahonex for X-mas break. You know, the largest city in Arizona. It will be my first trip to AZ. I want to try and find somewhere to rent a snowmobile, but surfing hasn't turned up too much without having to drive half a day. I guess working on my sunburn will be in order. I have been in Dallas half of the past month and I guess I could try to keep the pasty white from coming on at least until February. Avis gave me an HHR and I was not impressed. Not a bad driver, it sipped the gas, and had plenty of room. The stereo? What stereo? You could turn it all the way up and at 55 and you couldn't hear it. One thing I have always said about GM is that they have always had the best stereo's. Even a stock stereo. I take it back. It sounded like my sisters old '74 Corolla with the one mono-tone speaker in the center of the dashboard. It ruined my whole experience. Maybe next week they will give me the upgraded version with more than two speakers...

Winter

2005-11-17T12:52:00.000-05:00

Well, the first few flakes of winter fell in The Motor City today. I love winter. I can't wait to get the snowmobile out! I am offically bad at blogging. Mabye if I learned how to post pictures I would get better...

Kwayme, or how ever you spell it, will be the mayor for four more years. After the hundreds of thousands he was caught wasting, it doesn't suprise me.

The Big 3 are still in the dumps. Northworst is in receivership and cutting wages by 20-30%. I flew to Dallas a few weeks ago and they lost my luggage on the way back. They called for five days to see if it had been delivered to my house, even though they had not found it. Scary!

That's about it from The Motor City.

Gas Prices

2005-08-22T10:22:00.000-04:00

Did you ever wonder why gas is $5/gallon in Europe and most of the rest of the world? Europe is so small. Entire countries are the size of states here in the US. What I drive to go to the cabin up north, I could have driven in 4 different countries in Europe. Sure, they have limited resources but I think they keep gas prices high to limit the use of gas purposely. Plus,they need the tax revenue.

Just rereading that, I sound like an idiot to myself. I grew up out in the country. I would say the closest interstate was 20-30 miles away. No bus service, no taxi's, no subway. Just to get to the grocery store was 10 miles round trip. If we wanted to go somewhere, it was at least 20 miles one way. I think keeping gas cheap makes it easier to get places, do things and spend money. It fuels the economy. Well, at least an economy that can afford to keep the gas cheap and keep business going.

Look at a map of the US. Look at the size of population centers 40 years ago and look at them today. Then look at the large cities that lost population to the suburbs. Then look at all the people who still are 20 miles away from nowhere. The government has subsidized Amtrak for its whole life. Airlines are dropping like flies. (no pun intended) We need to tighten up our belt and suck it up for awhile.

When I was growing up, we would jump in the car and just cruise forever. We could fly to Florida for $99 round trip and almost drive for that much. Times are catching up. No more joy riding, no more cheap travel. Competition is fierce.

Gas should be $3+/gallon. Shit, I would pay 4 or 5 and I have to drive 80 miles a day for work. The assholes that pass me doing 85 or leave rubber from the stop light would no longer be driving the SUV. They would slow down and drive like human beings because even at $2.69, gas is cheap. Look at the way most people drive! It hasn't slowed down The Motor City a bit.

My car gets 30+mpg, because I have a long commute to work. Would the house in the suburb or wherever be so expensive if it cost as much as a house payment to get to work? No. Would everyone be driving the SUV if the gas bill was as much as the payment? No. Would we all utilize subsidized public transportation if it saved us enough to have the extras. Yes. Would train and air travel become profitable if it wasn't so cheap to do? Yes. Would it be bad for the economy? Yes

I am not saying that we need a recession/depression to get people to realize how good we have it in this country, but please. We need gas at $4/gallon for a good five years to wake some people up. Let's get our priorities back in order. You can still do all you want at $4/gallon, you just will have to choose. Maybe pick someone up on the way to work, take the bus once a week, drive or take the train instead of fly, live closer to work, etc... Nothing we all can't live without! It beats living 20 people to a house and scrounging for food. We still have it a million times better than 90% of the world!!!!!!!

The Wagon

2005-08-19T14:38:00.000-04:00

Well, I fell off the wagon again. What has it been, three months! Damn, a lot has happened...

The Woodward dream cruise is this weekend. They are saying that over 1,000,000 people will come from outside of Detroit. I have been over the past few years and it really is hard to cruise. Bumper to bumper for miles. It's not too bad just walking around and looking at the stationary cars. Neat stuff if you into it. More later...

Fire

2005-05-13T08:28:00.000-04:00

I was late getting up today and turned on the morning news. I figured if I was going to be late, I might as well enjoy it. Channel 7 had their chopper hovering over two huge fires in Highland Park. They went 15 minutes without breaking away. The whole time you could see 1, then 2, then 3, then 4 houses go up in flames. The fire was so hot that even the cars on the curb went up in flames. The road was smoking too. During the 15 minutes one fire truck showed up, shot water for 5 minutes and then no more water. To make matters worse, a huge warehouse was on fire about five blocks away and it only had one fire engine, but no water.

Now for us Motorcity folks, we know that Highland Park had to get rid of their police and some fire departments, because they are broke. So the question was, well why didn't The Motor City come to the rescue. Well, they cant come help unless the fire commissioner gives permission. At 0 dark early, not really likely.

I wonder how long it will be and how many block have to burn down before someone dies? I can already see a rash of arson this summer....

I don't know...

2005-05-02T17:14:00.000-04:00

From the Free Press.

Could something this bad really happen?

http://www.freep.com/money/autonews/gmsales2e_20050502.htm

Chaulpa Thursday

2005-04-28T15:24:00.000-04:00

Drawing a blank. My friends husband is going to go to a counselor next Tuesday, she is a mess. It doesn't look good. What would make someone just not want to be married any more, yet always seemed to be the perfect couple? I found a new meat market and made blackened London broils last night. Great new dinner. Oh, I had to lock the breaks up 100% this morning doing 80 on I-75. Screeching and smoke, the works. I can't remember why I didn't get the anti-lock brakes!

Generation X

2005-04-26T12:15:00.000-04:00

I am now offically scared of something really bad happening to our economy. I am thinking that the depression of the 30's may be nothing compared to what is coming. When my parents were growing up, jobs were plentiful. With a high school education, you could get a job at a factory and support a wife and two kids with a nice little picket fence house. Now days, a masters degree doesn't get you much and mom has to work to get the same. I don't know how some people do it... The effects of 9/11 are still echoing across this country. My parents generation, for the most part, have nice pensions to retire and live happily ever after. What percentage of my generation has a pension? Looking around lately, not many. Social Security will not be three when I retire. 401K's, yeah that will help and staring at an earlier age than my parents generation will help, but a million bucks 20 years from now will be chump change. What is going to happen when the bulk of the baby boomers retire and sell out? Will the stock market drop 5,000 points? What will happen when oil hits $100? What will happen when unemployments hits 30% and everyone loses their house? I am thinking some bad thoughts right now. I am scared!

Divorce

2005-04-25T12:14:00.000-04:00

Unreal! A very good friend that seemed to have the perfect life and perfect marriage, just got told by her husband that he wanted a divorce. Right out of the blue, no warning. He's not even fooling around on her. (or so he says) Tomorrow will be there 8th anniversary. She is crushed! I guess anyone would be... It just doesn't make sense. They always seemed to be the perfect couple. He is a great guy too, I am not taking sides. This world is amazing!

I snowed 6 inches over the weekend. I can't remember it every snowing after mowing the lawn for the first time. I love The Motor City!

Work Ethic

2005-04-21T14:46:00.000-04:00

What ever happened to the hard worker getting the promotion? Over the past ten years I have just about seen it all. I am a firm believer that it's not what you know, but who you know. It doesn't matter what color your skin is or if you wear a skirt. From big company to little company, promotions are a joke. Then again, I think this applies to the little piece of paper you get from going to college. Big 10 schools are a great education, challenging and not easy. Then there are the community colleges and others... As long as you pay your tuition, you get a degree.

Corporate America is out of control and the people at the top make way too much money! Is it really worth it having your head up someone's ass for 20 years to get there? I don't think so...

Big 2

2005-04-20T14:54:00.000-04:00

Ford makes 1.2 billion and GM loses 1.2 billion. What is wrong with this pictue. If you looking for a good 10 year investment, Ford is a steal at $9. GM has a lot of work to do.

It was georgous 80 degrees here yesterday, they are saying it might snow on Saturday. I love The Motor City!

Weddings

2005-04-19T12:28:00.000-04:00

I went to a wedding on Saturday. I was at a table full of cousins. We were all talking about commercials. Fahonex, Where's the beef.... Then my one cousin who is gay says to her girlfriend, "What is that one commercial we don't understand?" Cousin John blurts out, "You mean Cealis?"

I don't think I have laughed that hard in 10 years.

Golf

2005-04-18T13:03:00.000-04:00

I hit the little white ball for the first time yesterday. I normally hit a few buckets of balls in February or March, but not this year. I went up to the first tee cold turkey. Now, for someone that began golfing at 8 years old, I am a hacker. Well, maybe not a hacker, but 95-100 would be my average score. I haven't shot 89 since I was 17. I started out the first hole straight down the middle of the fairway. Hit my second shot right to the middle of the green, with a nice putt for birdie. 4 putted for a double bogey. I wound up shooting 90!!! I think I also three putted about 5 times. Really was the round of the past decade. Man am I excited for golf this year. I hope I can keep it going.

Adoption

2005-04-14T18:17:00.000-04:00

I have a terrible story to tell about my neighbors and the child they are trying to adopt. They have had him every weekend for about a year and a half. As of today they haven't seen him in two months. These f-ing dead beat parents should be shot!

I've got chicken kabobs and zucchini for din din. More tomorrow...

Car Eating Potholes

2005-04-13T07:55:00.000-04:00

It happened this morning. The birth of a car eating pothole. So, instead of actually preventing the pothole from ruining someone's car/morning, the news stands out there and films 20 people changing their tires. Yep, 20+ cars all at once fell victim to the largest pothole of the year. Why couldn't they park their damn van in front of it? How does the news beat the cops/road commission to the scene? I love the motor city! And in other news, the mayor of Detroit has a new idea to cover the money shortfall. A 2 percent tax on fast food. He says 2 percent on fast food would raise 17 million dollars. That's a lot of happy meals! Funny thing is, 17 million doesn't put a dent in the shortfall. He had to cut something like 50 ambulance drivers. It seems that people were using 911 to get an ambulace ride to where they needed to go, stating that the bus they normally took was not running. They say 50% of the 911 calls were for a ride, not help. I don't know that I believe that one, but that's what they are saying.... Scary!

Moving

2005-04-12T11:48:00.000-04:00

Did you ever think about just packing everything up and moving to where you want to be? I really want to do that right now. If I had a choice I would move back to the Metropolitan area of Washington D.C. The only problem is that my job skill set is not needed in DC. I have tried several times to find a job in that area, but to no avail. Maybe a little career change is in order...

Hydrogen Fuel Trucks

2005-04-11T08:49:00.000-04:00

What a nice weekend, 65 and sunny both days. I got the garage cleaned out and the car waxed. Then raked the back yard and filled two of the big recycle bags. All the neighbors were outside working on their lawns too. I feel like I ran a marathon. The Masters was one hell of a finish. I can't believe Tiger choked and let it go to a playoff. He is so lucky.

I see the government took delivery of a new GM Truck that runs on hydrogen. They say it is super quiet and puts out a very low heat signature. The only by product it produces is water. They are saying it can be used in combat and provide drinking water. GM says they will have a hydrogen powered available to the public by 2010. I think the big three should get these to the market as soon as possible and the government should help with the research. If we could reduce the demand for oil, the price would come down. I think sometime in my life time, the gasoline engine will be a thing of the past.

The Commute

2005-04-08T09:28:00.000-04:00

Right now I drive 35 miles one way to work. It is not too bad, highway all the way. It takes about 40 minutes. It really piles the miles on my car. We have a group of people who are moving to a different building, which is only 11 miles from my house. I have worked out of that building before. I didn't like the atmosphere very much. My office was not on the ground floor and the elevator was a pain, and made going for a smoke not so fun... I am sure I could get transferred back there, because that group would need help from operations, but I REALLY don't like the atmosphere. Then again, saving $30 a week in gas would be nice. I could sleep a little later in the morning and be home a lot earlier, but I don't like the atmosphere. Just think, over and hour more free time to my day. How can I talk myself into going back there... Mmmmm, my car would last twice as long, no car payment. Gas is $2.40/gallon! 22 miles/day vs. 70 miles/day. I know I should do it, but it really does suck over there... OH, I just remembered the cafeteria. I have been in some pretty nasty plants that sever SOS to 40 year hourly workers that think it is gourmet. But this cafeteria tops them all. I refuse to eat there! I will eat road kill, but not a thing from that place. An hour more free time, no gas bill. I don't know!

Funerals

2005-04-07T07:22:00.000-04:00

Man do funerals suck. I spent Tuesday night and half a day yesterday in my home town, about 100 miles away from the motor city. My poor friend Annie lost her dad. In the past three years she has lost her mom and dad and two grandmothers. She is an only child on top of all that... She is way too young to be in her situiation. I had a good cry and drove around the old stomping grounds. I saw some old friends. I need to stay in touch a little better. It was 80 degrees and I had to turn the air on in the car. I took the scenic route home and got the lawn fertilized. I love having four seasons.

Opening Day

2005-04-04T12:27:00.000-04:00

Today will be the first baseball game of '05. I have been to about 8 of the past 10 opening days, but just didn't feel like going this year. They past three years it has been about 35 degrees and windy cold. Of course, today is 60 and pure sunshine. I might try to sneak out a little early and just hit the DAC (ask your friend from Detroit) for a couple of pops. Then again, walking my neighbors dog sounds like fun too.

Forgot

2005-04-01T15:45:00.000-05:00

I forgot to say that I also drove all the way home with the ass warmer turned OFF!!! What did we do before heated seats? Then again, what did we do before ATM cards, microwaves, bread slicers etc...

Gas Prices

2005-04-01T15:40:00.000-05:00

What is up with the price of gas? Gas has been $2.19+ for about the past month here in The Motor City. I mean anyhing over $2 hurts, but 2.19! I drive about 70 miles a day. It is a good thing I get 30 mpg. What should I have for dinner tonight? I am thinking a nice filet with a caesars salad... mmmmmm

Spring Has Sprung

2005-03-30T13:34:00.000-05:00

I got in the car to go home from work yesterday, clicked the one touch button for the moonroof, cranked the stereo up loud, and drove over the speed limit all the way home. For some reason, the nice weather makes me want to drive fast. I got home and had to go to the grocery store and my hair was standing straight up. I am going to have to keep a hat in the car. Today is just as nice. Tomorrow they are saying that we have a chance of snow showers. I love The Motor City.

Spring

2005-03-24T13:43:00.000-05:00

Winter just won't let go! Spring was a couple of days ago and we got hammered with 4" of the white stuff yesterday. My drive home yessterday was on hour and a half. Not much else really happening here.

Pot Holes

2005-03-16T13:24:00.000-05:00

For those of you who have never been to The Motor City, it might surprise you that we have bad roads. I mean, why would you want good roads where all the cars are built? Winter time is hard on the roads. We use tons and tons of salt to keep the ice off the roads. Why salt? Well, right below our feet is one of the worlds largest salt mines. I am guessing because it is cheap and right below us. Potholes are everywhere right now! What happens is, the sun warms things up during the day and melts the snow. The water runs into the cracks in the road and then freezes at night. Water when frozen, expands and pushes the cracks, making bigger cracks. A few times a year the news crews show up when a car eating potholes shows up. They will show ten cars in the same spot changing tires. Hilarious! Well, I guess as long as it's not me. Ohio just to our south has the nicest roads of anywhere I have been. I wonder what their secret is? Oh, and does anyone know where a dirt road is in Ohio? I lived down there for a few years and could never find one. I think every road in the state is paved.

Changing Desk Locations

2005-03-15T15:11:00.000-05:00

How long have you been with your company? 5 years
In the past year, how many times has you desk location changed, yet still at the same building? 3
I the past five years how many times has you office buildings location changed (if you were still with the same company? 3
In the past five years, how many different desks have you had? guessing 18!

I don't understand why, but change is good. I have been at the same building for a year now. My current desk only a month or so... I thought I had seen cube land before, but this building takes the cake. Over one million square feet of cubes. If you walk the main aisle, the building is half a mile long. Cubes for as far as you can see. Even the Directors and shooters sit in cube land. No offices with doors. Believe it! It is an old assembly plant made into an office building.

Diabetes

2005-03-12T19:01:00.000-05:00

I guess it's hard to write about the automotive industry everyday. I will have to just start writing about what I think every other day. I don't think I have ever mentioned that I am diabetic. Yep, 4 shots a day. (not the kind I like either) Pricking the shit out of fingers and testing my blood. I found out about a year and a half ago. I am not over weight by any means, I could actually stand to gain about ten pounds. My mom was adopted (so I don't know about that side) and my great-great grandfather on my dad's side had it, but other than that, no one else in my family has it... Since begining the shost, I feel a lot better. Getting used to the diet and stuff really hasn't been that hard. I used to eat a shit load of candy and giving that up has been rough. Anyone else that can give me some advise, I would love to hear from you. Thanks.

U-Scan It

2005-03-10T07:03:00.000-05:00

Here in The Motor City we have two major food chains, Farmer Jack and Kroger. Both chains have added the U-Scan it, where you can check out your own groceries. At first I thought it was great, no lines, boom, in and out. Now, I am going to ask you to write our Senators. New laws needed: 1. If you are over 50 years old and have never used a computer and have never read a blog, you can not use U-Scan it. 2. If you are over 60 years old and have never used a debit card, you can not use U-Scan it. 3. If you are over 70 years old with coke bottle glasses and the big ass change purse, so you can pay exact change down to the penny, you can not use U-Scan it. 4. If you are just in general an idiot with out any common sense, you can not use U-Scan it.

I think that about covers it.

Automotive news? Still doom and gloom. I am starting to wonder about my job. Well, not really. The Lions signed a couple of good free agents! Now all we need is a quarterback. Here is a good article on one of the cleaner cars.

http://www.freep.com/money/autoreviews/phelan10e_20050310.htm

Tomato Plants

2005-03-09T09:34:00.000-05:00

How many people grow their own tomatoes every summer? I have been doing it almost my whole life. We had a huge garden growing up with every vegetable we could grow.
Right now my back yard is too small to have a large garden, but the 20 acres up north is just right. I manage to fit in about seven or eight tomato plants. I am thinking about putting one in, I just don't know how I would keep the deer out of it... I guess I could build a fence, but that would cost too much. Plus, they could just jump it... Any ideas?

Snow

2005-03-02T11:50:00.000-05:00

It has been quite the winter here in The Motor City. We got another 6" of snow yesterday, ontop of the 8" we got last week. I am so glad I bit the bullet and got the monster six horse snowblower. The baby will throw snow from one side of my driveway all the other and then some. I think Detroits annual average snow fall is somewhere in the 40" range. The radio said we are up to 50 something for the year. March can go both ways and snow in April is rare but possible. There is a light at the end of the tunnel.

It is starting to happen!! GM announced this week that they are lowering the sticker prices on some of its mid-sized SUV's. Ford and GM have cut production for a second time this year. I am not getting a warm fuzzy about how the rest of the year will follow...

As I have said before, I am try to post more often. We'll see what happens.

Update

2005-02-15T08:33:00.000-05:00

I fell off the wagon again. This is my first update of the year. Well, it has been quiet to say the least. Nothing really new off the top of my head. I do like the Honda commercial that shows three different cars with the electric technology. Like I said before Christmas, it is going to be a long rough year. A few retirement packages were offered to the old timers. I'll try and find something interesting to post.

On a personal note, Michigan really has not had much snow this year. I mean to say northern Michigan. I have only gotten to ride the snowmobile once this year and it wasn't a very good ride at that... The deer seem to be thriving with the low snow level. I had twelve deer in the spinner last Sunday morning.

Industry Update

2004-12-21T10:26:00.000-05:00

I almost forgot... The automotive industry update for 2005. Bleak! GM is going to have 5 of their truck plants down the first two to three weeks of January. This is bad people, really bad. I still think the guys in scheduling are to blame. It is going to be a rough year here in Detroit.

Airport

2004-12-21T10:06:00.000-05:00

Almost a month since I last posted... The big week of shut down is coming quick. For those of you who don't know, the big three shut down all of thier plants the week of Christmas. Yep, just like the first two weeks of July. I am lucky enough to be off that week too. I am suppose to fly out Thursday night and guess what the weather man is saying? A foot of snow, 12 inches+. Just my luck. I had a trip scheduled just after 9/11 that was cancelled. I was at the airport when the electricity went out for the blackout, I made the trip, but a day later. Now they are predicting a foot of snow the day I a suppose to go on this trip. I think I am jinxed. Good thing I don't travel too much.

Back to Reality

2004-11-29T13:41:00.000-05:00

Well, the vacation is over... I am trying to dig out of e-mail jail. I even spent a few hours last night on the couch trying to make today less painful and it didn't work.

Deer Camp was great. Tons of food, laughter, companionship, adult beverages and hunting. No one got a deer! That's not to say we couldn't have shot many. We are all getting better a letting the spikes and fours go because you have to have six points or better to win the pot. In other words, all the money. Yep, we all throw $20 in the pot and whoever get the first deer gets half and the largest deer the other half. It rolled over this year. Highlight of the trip: I actually didn't get scalped!

I saw today that Toyota has shut their plants down in Japan for a shortage of steel. I wonder if that is really why. The big three have been chartering their steel. MMMM

Deer Hunting

2004-11-11T09:07:00.000-05:00

Deer hunting is huge in Michigan. For those of you who don't know, November 15th is always opening day for rifle season. You can bow hunt from October 1-November 14 and then bow hunt again all of December. Only the two weeks from November 15-November 30 can you use a rifle. Oh, and December 1-January 1 you can use a muzzleloader or commonly referred to as blackpower. You know, where you pour the gunpowder down the barrel and stuff in the lead ball, old school. There are a lot of other rules like your have to be north of Bay City or something like that to use a rifle too... I'll stop boring everyone.

Yes, I am a deer hunter. I am making the 550 mile drive from The Motor City to almost the west end of the Upper Peninsula. Yep, just north of Wisconsin and almost to Minnesota. Michigan is a huge state. Think about driving 550 miles and still being in the same state. It is only 500 miles to Washington D.C. from here. My first trip I think I was 8 or 10. My dad and grandpa have been going since before the bridge was built. They used to sit in line for 24 hours waiting to get on the car ferry. It has changed quite a bit over the years. We used to camp, then stayed in crappy motels, then bought a house trailer, and now stay in brand new house in the woods. My dad plans to retire up there in a couple of years. It is Gods country. Don't worry, the deer will be safe with me. If it isn't the 30 point buck, I don't shoot. I haven't shot a deer since '91. I hope I do see the monster buck this year... I wish we would adopt a law that protects the little bucks and let them grow. Camp will be lite this year, just my dad, uncle and two cousins. Grandpa is going to stay in Florida, he just can't do it anymore. It will be my younger cousins first hunt!! He'll be shaking like a leaf when he spots that first deer.

A little Upper Michigan education for you out of state folks: People who live in the Upper Peninsula are called Yoopers. (We call the Upper Peninsula the U.P.) People in the Lower Peninsula are call Trolls. (There is a bridge that connects the two peninsulas, just incase you didn't know that.) People from Wisconsin are called cheese heads. And People from Illinois are called FIBS. (F****** Illinois Bastards) Oh, and they do say EH and talk funny like our neighbors in Windsor.

OK, any question let me know and good luck hunters!

The Election

2004-11-04T07:29:00.000-05:00

Well shoot, it has been a month. Not a much is new in The Motor City. Mayor Kwamie has his whole family on the payroll, but for Detroit, that is not new. Car sales are wishy washy across the board. The Lions are wishy washy. One week they look great, the next week, the Lions of old. We get to keep President Bush for another four years. I don't want to talk polotics, but he created the mess, he should clean it up.
That's about it...

Incentives/Sticker Price

2004-10-03T14:24:00.000-04:00

Who will do it first? With all the incentives right now, I wonder when the sticker prices will change? Why don't they just lower the sticker price by the amount of incentive and say your car is cheapest in it's class. I predict it will happen in the next couple of years. I like the latest round of incentives, 72 months with 0% interest. Great deal for the people who drive their cars until they are dead. Bad for the impulse buyer who trades their car in every couple of years. Very few people have any equity in their cars today. What ever happened to leasing? The big three have made leasing so expensive these days. I wish I didn't drive so much and could get a new car every two years...

In other news, the Lions finally met their match. I think our bye week hit at just the right time because we are pretty banged up. I have a pot of 5 alarm chili on the stove right now and my first taste test lit my ears up. Sunday are the best.

Classic Cars/Fuel Economy

2004-09-23T07:18:00.000-04:00

What is your favorite car of all time? http://classyauto.com/v/Chevrolet+Impala/28108 If the sky was the limit, this would be me. Except it would have to be a 4-speed. It should be illegal to put an automatic on a muscle car. I am writing to my senator.

It is amazing how efficient engines have come in the last 40 years. My dad had a '62 409 and I think he said it got, on a good day, about 8 mpg. Well, that is running her pretty hard. My uncle in VA had a '64 Continental with a 460, and I can attest to 7 mpg. You could watch the gas gage move in that baby. It was slow as hell off the line, but from 60-90 you could burn a gallon of gas pretty quick.

I had a recall on my current car and borrowed one of those new Cadillac SRX's for a couple of days. It kind of looks like a station wagon, but under the hood was 320 ponies. The moon roof was as wide as the roof and went all the way back past the rear passenger seats. If you drove very calmly it would get 24 mpg on the highway. Then again the urge to hear her sing put me back to 18 mpg.

I wonder if that '62 Impala would really keep up with the new Corvette?

Job Perks

2004-09-21T10:35:00.000-04:00

One of the cool things about my job is that I get to see and drive stuff long before the public. ie...A couple of months ago I drove the 2005 Corvette. It was your basic plain jane model. Six speed stick, no glass roof, but it did have the heads up display. I put her to the test and she did not disappoint me, not at all. 400 ponies and six forward gears! Really, you only need the first three, unless you have a death wish. I turned the traction control off and yes, it will throw smoke for as long as your heart desires... I am humbled by GM's engineering. To take so much power and make a sports car that almost rides like Cadillac. Looking over the hood and seeing the two front fenders jetting up into the air was great. To think that you can keep up or even spank some of the big dollar imports for 40K really makes this what America is all about...

Advertising

2004-09-20T08:47:00.000-04:00

Watching the Lions go 2-0, yes, that is the Lions 2-0! I was assaulted with unending advertising for the big 3. Mostly Ford, because the game was held at Ford field and Coach Mariucci was seen driving just about everything Ford produces.

Believe it or not, the big 3 spends 3 billion a year in advertising. Yes, that is 3 with a B billion. That's about a billion a piece in advertising. Sounds pretty lucrative doesn't it. What suprises me is that they don't actually produce their commercial themselves', it is outsourced. I guess it kind of makes sense, since their business is making cars/trucks. But, with such a large spend, I think they could get more bang for the buck if they managed it a little better.

Detroit is such a different market for sales than the rest of the country. Most people walk into the dealership and have a discount already because they work for the maufacturer or have a supplier discount. At the end of the model year things get crazy. Right now you can get a F150 4x4 for $3,500. That right, $3,500 cash gets you a 2004 F150 for 24 months, 24,000 miles and 0 monthly payment. That works out to $145/month. Of course this is the employee price.

Buy anything you want, just buy American.

The cost of transportation

2004-09-16T14:39:00.000-04:00

CNN-Money is all over cars today. I was wondering why my wallet felt so lite. My Uncle in Virginia has four cars and pays less than I do for two. Oh, and his cars cost twice what my do too. I wish we had a subway system or light rail like they have out east... The other bad part is all the snow we get in Detroit. One of our vechicles is four wheel drive and gets, oh, 14 mpg. When your handing over Mr. Grant to fill the tank, it sucks.

http://money.cnn.com/2004/09/16/pf/autos/newcarcosts/index.htm?cnn=yes

How to name your car?

2004-09-16T13:34:00.000-04:00

Do you have a name for your car? My current car I don't but I did have a van we called "The Brown Bomber" I let my buddy borrow it for a month in a time of need and got it back minus a transmission and rear quarter window.

Peter Valdes-Dapena, CNN/Money staff writer has a great atricle on how the OEM's really name their vehicles.

http://money.cnn.com/2004/09/07/pf/autos/car_name_decoder/index.htm

WOW, two posts in the same week. I might be getting better at this...

NFL

2004-09-14T07:53:00.000-04:00

Ah, the best time of the year. Are you ready for some football? I don't follow any other sport. No college football, no basketball, just the NFL!!! I might watch the playoffs like I did for our champs the Pistons, but that's about it.

Write this down. The Detroit Lions are 1-0 with a win on the road. Detroit has had a few good drafts the past two years and our potential is good. The only problem is, we have had to suffer 3 years for a total of 10 wins to get it. I am still faithful. I went online to find a new Lions hat yesterday. We have the ugliest hats of all the NFL. The pain never ends.

Ug, the auto industry.... The big three collectively cut production in the 4th quarter to the tune of a whole assembly plant of capacity. GM and Ford taking big cuts. Incentives keep going up and up. If there was ever a time to buy a new car on the cheap, it is now. Competition is tough.

Speaking of competition. I don't understand how an airline can file for chapter 11 twice within in two years. I didn't really didn't like ECON 101 and all that supply and demand crap. But common sense tells me that if you don't have any money in the check book, you can't keep writing checks. I think the sheriff's department makes sure of it. Either a whole lot of people are stupid and keep losing money or Corporate America is corrupt. I am banking on the latter.

Good old Detroit based K-Mart is another great example. Did all of those people that held K-mart stock really lose all of their money? Some rich guys come in and throw up a couple of dollars, sell off some of the assets, give themselfs a shit load of "new" stock and run it's price up to $100. Then, sell of all the stock they gave themselfs' and run the price back down to $50. I think the real crooks are white collar people.

It takes money to make money!

Almost forgot

2004-08-31T12:52:00.000-04:00

I still can't figure out how to put links in the body of my message. Can anyone help me?

Changing Jobs

2004-08-31T12:42:00.000-04:00

Why do the automotives companies work so much overtime? Plants will work overtime and then a month later shut down for two weeks and not make a thing... I want to change my job and work in scheduling. Those guys are idiots.

I am sure sales and orders have something to do with the answer, but I still think they are idiots.

Updates

2004-07-01T09:38:00.000-04:00

Well, I am not being a very good blogger. I think I am just going to leave this open all day and write a little more often.

Dial up connections are just terrible now a days. I remember, back in the day, dialing up with the old C64 and getting a 2200 baud rate. That was back befoe Mr. Gates had billions. I wish I had put my paper route money into Microsoft.

Ah, the big two week shutdown starts after tomorrow. Watch for me on the trails tearing it up on the four wheeler. I think I am going to take a nap every day.

Vacation

2004-06-15T07:08:00.000-04:00

I need a vacation. In Detroit, the big 3 take off the first two weeks of July. (If you don't know who the big 3 are, call your friend in Michigan) All of the plants shut down and are silent for two whole weeks. This gives the maintenance people time to do repairs and actually fix the things that are taped together.

The suppliers on the other hand are usually still producing to try and catch up. The big 3 like to tell the suppliers that they only need 20 widgets/hour when they initially source a widget. Two months down the road they need 30/hour, but the supplier can only make 28, running 24/7. This means that the big 3 likes to call the supplier and yell at the top of their lungs and tell them how stupid they are etc... Oh, and flying lots of planes at very exorbitant prices to keep the line running.

I usually take the first week off and then work a nice and quiet second week. I plan on heading "Up North" and trying to navigate the parking lot called I-75. It seems that even if you leave a day before the actual holiday starts, there is still too much traffic.
Coming home is a eight hour day that should only take four. I think I will just worry about my golf handicap the whole time.

Maybe later today I can figure out how to post links better...

Only one more W

2004-06-14T14:24:00.000-04:00

Tomorrow is a big night in Detroit.

I can't figure out how to change the color of the title just yet.

Click on the title to see the link.

It worked!

2004-06-14T13:54:00.000-04:00

It worked but you have to click on the title. I am going to have to figure out how the either change the color or some how get to highlight a word in the note.

This is going to be more work than I had anticipated...

The Motor city

2004-06-14T12:24:00.000-04:00

Welcome to The Motor City! I don't know how this all works yet, so bear with me a little while. I want to learn how to add links for news etc... I have been reading b-logs for quite awhile and will add my favorites when I learn how.

Of course living in The Motor City, you can guess what industry I work for... I hopefully will be able to give a little insight as to what is happening. Right now it is a little slow, compared to record builds of the late '90's.

I love living in Michigan, just not Detroit. I especially love going "Up North". If you don't know what this means, call your friend in Michigan. Four wheelers in the summer and snowmobiles in the winter!!!!! Boating is fun too, but I'll leave that to my cousin. What else?

I don't know, I'll write somemore later. Drop me a line if you have any questions.