Ouch, there goes the money for a new rifle...

...as I just got hit for $602.00 to fix my Ford Taurus. It was not all that many years ago that I could have bought a decent used car for that much. This is a big chunk of change coming out of my pocket right now. No, I am not begging for handouts, just moaning and groaning because while I work for a living I do have to point out that this is steep. They charge $95.00 per hour for labor at the dealership's service center. I guess someone has to get rich, and it isn't me! Too bad my local mechanic was not able to decipher the problem, I am certain it would have been at least $100, maybe even $200 less expensive at his shop. Oh well, life goes on, and no more Fords for me. I am pretty certain of that 'no more Fords for me' thing because there have been just way too many problems with this car since we drove it out of the dealership, brand new, about 11 or 12 years ago.

I guess maybe it is just about time to start looking for a new car; but I am hoping we can hold out until next year though, so I am also hoping that the Taurus will do likewise with no other breakdowns.

Maybe double ouch, I just (as I sit here typing) got a call from the dealership's service shop, my car is ready. Heck, I only called them about an hour and a half ago to okay them fixing it once they told me they had figured out the problem. I am almost willing to wager that they charge for more than two hours labor, but it would be a safe bet that I am not going to pay for more. Then again, who knows, maybe I will be happily surprised to find the final cost lower than they estimated. Yeah - right!

All the best,
Glenn B

Not unique, but there are not many...

...folks out there in the USA who have my name, at least according to some web site I just visited. Rita, at the Jungle Hut, had an interesting link to http://howmanyofme.com/ on her site. It was basically an icon showing that she was the only person with her particular name in the USA. There was a link on the icon, so I figured why not give it a try. My name is nowhere as unique as is hers, but it is on the less common side with only 18 people in the USA supposedly having the same name as me. I fell between Jesus Christ (6 people in the USA with that name) and Daniel Boone (with 354 people in the USA having that name). Try it for yourself by clicking on the below link:

HowManyOfMe.com

There are 18 people with my name in the U.S.A. How many have your name?

Now don't take this too seriously, they readily admit that the accuracy of this thing falls between a Magic 8 Ball and taking 300 million surveys. I can say for sure it is not bang on because I just ran some family member names, and at least one aunt's name came up with zero people in the USA having that name. I just spoke to her the other day, so I imagine, unless she was recently abducted by aliens, it is not 100 percent accurate. Have fun with it.

All the best,
Glenn B