Get your shit together!?  I am tired of hearing local businesses pitch the ‘buy local’, ‘support small business’, and ‘family owned’, only to have them turn around and purchase B2B (business to business) type items off the internet or from out of state.  Again, I know who you are, I deal with you every day whether you know it or not and it makes me sick.  Hey you big time movie man in Evansville, think those jerks you purchased that equipment from in New York will come down and buy a soda and popcorn?  NO!?  If it’s available local and even marginally close on price you should be spending locally.

It’s not just the big guys, it’s the little guys who rely on the normal you and me coming in to buy sandwiches, buy beer, or just use your services, whatever you may offer.  Tired of losing business to internet competitors or out of state contractors, how about spending money with your own local businesses and contractors where possible.  Ignorance is no longer an excuse.  If it’s good for the goose it’s good for the gander.

I’ve watched multiple businesses purchase product from an out of state vendor to save $10.  I’ve stood by while profits erode for everyone and then the business owner speaks out the side of their mouth.  I have officially STOPPED patronizing local businesses that refuse to purchase locally where applicable.  It’s no different expecting your business purchases to be kept local, than to expect your end users to use your products and services locally.

I would encourage everyone to do the same, speak up if someone insists on making purchasing decisions for a very marginal savings.  I’m not against saving money, but I am at the cost of giving business away to the lowest bidder, despite future costs and local support.  Post on Twitter, make a facebook update, create a blog post, tell someone about bad purchasing decisions.  Shame on you and you know who you are.

Insight Deception

Looks like Insight is wasting no time in 2011 doing the same thing.  Yesterday I received an official, red marked envelope, with official lettering stating ‘Do Not Bend’.  Did I miss a payment, will there be interruption in my service, is this a court summons?  Nope, just some spam informing me that I can get a deal on a phone line for the same price I could get it at the last 2 years.  This is not breaking news and as far as I’m concerned, should be illegal to market this way.

Insight Deception Phone Offer

Keep it up Insightbb, I’ve already talked with WOW cable and internet provider and I’m ready to make the switch.  Put another stack of this crap in my mailbox and I’ll be cancelling immediately.

I wasn’t interested in debating the merits of Proposition 8 or the moral implications or lack thereof that might surface.  However, I do find it interesting to see how the Evansville community discusses such important and potentially life changing news.

Let’s say a viewer only looks at the comments found on the Courier Press article, the following would be revealed.  If you support Proposition 8, then you are a right wing moral army nut job, however if you are for the overturn then you are a leftist, liberal, supporting the moral decay of the US.  So where is the gray area?  Is it possible the city of Evansville can be split directly down the middle using these two assumptions?  I think not.

Readers of any online news/opinion site need to keep in mind that the most out spoken people on comment posts and forums are not always the majority of a community.  These are just the people who feel their opinions are important enough to discuss upon their soap boxes.  Again, this is true no matter which side of the argument or political landscape you may be on.

Although the inspection is most likely being done to curb any future lawsuits, the parents of the small girl who fell look like they will be suing the Parks and Recreation Board.

Jones said the girl’s family has sent a tort claim to the city, a preliminary step to filing a lawsuit.

So what’s the solution, put up barriers everywhere and make sure said barriers are padded?  Take down the bike trails, because it’s too dangerous anyway?  Surely some of the responsibility should be laid squarely on the parents and people who ride the trails and enjoy the scenery.  We are a sue happy society and it’s going to end up ruining Evansville for the rest of us.

My heart does go out to the little girl cited as getting hurt, it’s a very scary thing to have a child injured.  But is the first step to always go after someone else in hopes of getting money?  Instead, lets look at ways that the community could help with medical bills or another means of generating funds, that won’t require extreme measures like building walls.

Lastly, if assessment is necessary and actions are required, let’s keep the work local.  I can already imagine the next headline, ‘Evansville Hires Employees From Mexico To Install Safety Equipment On Greenway’.

Source: CourierPress.com

Since then there have been 2 others mention the stench that seems to be moving all over the city.  Of course there hasn’t been an official response or comment in the media, Hoyt of Channel 14 WFIE made an observation.

Likely farming. We did a story out of Gibson Co. about using turkey litter which has strong smell when it gets wet and warmer.

So, if you are outside today and wondering what’s crawling up your nose, it’s probably fertilizer.  The warmer temperatures bring out more than greenery and wild life, it also brings out the squiggly stink lines.

*Update

According to Jeff Lyons we are experiencing a weather condition called Inversion.  This conditions normally causes conditions for smog, but in our case can intensify the stench of the city dump and fertilizers being used on nearby farms.

Also, added this to the weather category.

What this means for the city of Evansville are extremely steep fines.  According to the Courier and Press these fines can reach up to $37,500, per day!  Weinzapfel replied in a statement that this was bullying by the federal government to exert control.  Sounds familiar.

My opinion is that there have been way too many pet projects over the past 10 years, spending money that should have been put toward sewer and drainage upgrades.  The huge downpour in Evansville on Sept 5th, 2009 is cited as one example of how our sewers lack the volume to handle a lot of rain, thus dumping sewage into the Ohio.  I know the residents of the South Side of Evansville know a little something about down pours and no where for the water to go.

I really don’t know if the money being spent on the stadium comes from the same purse as what’s used for our Sewers, but it should.  There should be some way to dip into allotted budgets to take care of emergencies, like our sewer problems, to keep Evansville homes and businesses from flooding.

1. Always advertise the price, don’t  make me call you.  Town and Country Ford is the latest offender of this and frankly I’ll never shop there again, that’s how much it pisses me off.

2. Provide plenty of pictures, at least 4, don’t tease me with the perfect exterior picture when the interior is rotted.

3. Remove the damn listing if you’ve sold it off your lot.  Internet shoppers don’t like to hear about great sales after the fact.

4. Don’t Spam!  Filling up Craigslist with listings from your car lot is the equivalent of filling my email inbox with Viagra ads and then coming to the grocery store with me and pushing my cart over when it’s full.  Don’t do it, you are ruining the free service for everyone else and it makes you look like a dick.

5. Don’t list crap.  Only list things on Craigslist that are of value or a special deal.  This means if you have a special edition car or truck you want to sell, list it, or if you have a bargain basement price, list it.  Everything else you can keep to yourself and try to sell off of your lot.