I haven't been angry much lately.

Someone cut me off and sent my car onto the dirt embankment into the woods about a month ago. I kept calm, avoided the woods with some crafty driving skill and managed to slow the car down. It was the opposite of how I would have reacted ten years ago. I waved to them as they sped off.
I felt no need to rant afterwards, I just waved and thought,"wow, I hope they don't kill anyone. I've had a good year, which means few rants.

I'm guess "Irony" is a popular middle name.

I was watching the Rutgers/ Maryland game in Maryland with a mixed crowd of Rutgers and Maryland fans. Someone said: What's with all the Black people with the last name "Justice"?

I hate fantasy football

I hate picking in the middle of the round. I hate picking a quarterback. I hate checking the stats every two minutes on espn.com. I hate drafting for hours on end. I hate the guy who picks in front me. And yet, every year...

Why not rebuild houses with Billy Baru?

It seems like a few of us are sick of working for the man. I propose we buy a house and bang it out real nice. Baru seemed to have a similar idea, but how do we get the money to get started? It might take a complicated plan, but I feel like it deserves some consideration.

Start with the theory that Heather and I could sell this house for seed money. She is pretty crafty about finding houses that need TLC, but are structurally sound and in great neighborhoods. We could sell this for profit, transfer the mortgage to the new house, and use the profit to salary Baru for the project. Then we need to figure out how to divide up the profits.

Part 3 of 2 Starting a [censored] with Airtran

Well, I thought I might add in the e-mail they have, as well as the latest Super Rant. I feel kind of sorry for "Some Jerk" (name withheld to protect the guilty. Who has to deal with me.

Subject: Try again.

Dear Airtran complaint department. The offer below has been rejected. I will NOT accept a free one-way (subject to blackout dates) for my silence about what you have done to us.

Offer material goods. T-shirts and hats, or some corporate trinkets. This offer of a one-way ticket is completely acceptable. Now, comeback with something substantial and I will consider dropping our two person campaign of writing and talking about how poorly we were treated by your company.

I really think Airtran is a terrible company for treating us the way they have and I plan on conveying this every person I now through the internet, personal communication, and all other means legally possible. I'm not accepting one free plane ticket, so what else do you have?

Dan Powers
[My Address to send stuff to]


>From: [Some Jerk]
>To:
>Subject: Re: You are probably going to lose a family of customers and everyone else I can convince not to fly with you.
>Date: Thu, 16 Aug 2007 21:39:51 -0400
>
>
>Dear Mr. Powers,
>
>On behalf of AirTran Airways, please accept my apology for the difficulties you experienced during your travel. Our objective is to operate our flights in a safe, reliable and timely manner, which will allow our customers to reach their destinations as scheduled. However, there are occasions when Air Traffic Control implements a holding program in an effort to better manage the volume of air traffic. While we understand the frustration this causes, we have no control over the situation and can only await their clearance.
>
>
>
>All of our Crew Members are instructed to professionally perform their responsibilities while providing the highest level of Caring Customer Service. There is simply no excuse for our agent's failure to properly address your concerns during a misconnection. I have forwarded a copy of your comments to the appropriate department head for review and action.
>
>
>
>
>
>As a gesture of good will, I have authorized complimentary one-way travel per passenger, valid for a period of one (1) year from today, to any destination on our system. In order to redeem this compensation, please call, 800.204.5695, and reference itinerary . Travel is subject to blackout dates and capacity controls. International Departure Taxes are not included.
>
>
>
>
>Your continued support is important to us.
>
>
>
>
>Sincerely,
>
>[Some Jerk]
>Customer Relations Department
>AirTran Airways
>
>
>
>--- Original Message ---
>From:
>Received: 8/9/2007 11:12:32 PM Eastern Standard Time (GMT - 4:00 )
>To:
>Subject: You are probably going to lose a family of customers and everyone else I can convince not to fly with you.
>
>
>
>
>------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> COMMENTS My wife and I recently flew from LaGuardia to LAX with a stop in Atlanta. It cost me 27 consecutive hours of our lives before we left Atlanta. When it was mistake after misdirection of your employees that cost us our vacation. Leaving New York, there was a storm front approaching so the pilot let us know it would be an additional twenty minutes before we would leave. Three hours on the Tarmac later, when we were three planes from take-off, he announced he would take a vote from the passengers about whether to return to the gate or keep our spot in line for the next half hour. Four passengers decided they would rather return to the gate, so all of us had to get off the plane. It was later explained to us that you are not responsible for the weather, but I assure you I hold you accountable for the actions of your employees. When we were forced off the plane, we had to spend an extra half hour near the gate to ensure we didn't lose our seats. When the plane reboarded, we spent an extra hour on the plane when, if we had taken a "vote" we would have been in the air at least an hour before we actually left the ground. Again, pilots decision is not the same as weather problems. When we finally arrived in Atlanta, we were told by the gate agent that we had to run across Atlanta's airport to reach the next connecting flight. As I started to run, my wife asks the gate agent if our connecting flight had actually already left the gate. He sheepishly admitted that it had left the gate, left unsaid was he was wasting our time trying to send us running across the worlds biggest airport. We were then directed to customer service who gave us a voucher for a hotel room and promised we would be on the first flight to LA in the morning. I asked her for a ticket confirming this and she replied that the computer couldn't print the ticket, but there was no feasible way we would not be on that plane because they always took ten to twelve standby passengers on the first flight to LA. Standby ticket in hand, we called the numbers on the hotel voucher. Guess how many rooms were available. Can't guess? I'll give you a hint, the number was less than one and more than negative one. Zero is the number you are looking for. Of course, at that point, the customer service desk closed and everyone had left. We were told people worked at the airport through the night, but the only people we could find were the metal workers who were repairing the sheet metal around the airport at an almost injurious noise level. No bed, no blankets, stranded in Atlanta in a construction zone, we didn't get much sleep, but we had been assured we would be on that first departing flight. You could imagine how our hearts sank as the ticket agent in the morning told us we had no such deal. Having not bathed in 27 hours and barely slept for 38 hours, you could imagine how used we felt. Not only were not getting on the first flight in the morning, we were told you had no responsibility to us because of a "weather policy." Weather had less to do with our delay than the pilot taking an informal poll and grounding us, but the ticket agent again disappeared when we started to ask questions. Finally, after a complete day of dealing with the misdirection and inaccurate statements by Airtran employees, one person went into a computer and booked us on the next flight. It was that easy all along. I wish I had carried a tape recorder to record all the statements so I make a comedy, but at that point, we felt rather tragic. Nothing is more important to me than my time, and for Airtran to claim it was the weather's fault was not only inaccurate, it was downright misleading. The said thing is my wife and I each have two free tickets to fly anywhere in the country at anytime in the next six months, and they will most likely go unused. There are many places I want to see in the world, and none of them would I let Airtran fly me to. It was one of the more degrading experiences in my life. I look forward to sharing this experience with all of my family and friends and telling them how I wouldn't let Airtran fly me anywhere for free, never mind pay for the experience. Because of our delays, we couldn't meet up with the person we were staying with costing us another 10 hours of our vacation. An entire day of my life was wasted and no one would admit anything outside of the pilot who apologized, but of course I didn't bring my tape recorder, so I had no proof. I don't know how you would hope to make up for this experience, but I will be publishing the experience next week, and using this as an example of poor customer service whenever I get a chance unless you think you could find a way to make things right. Please encourage your employees to be forthright, because at the end of the day, a companies reputation is all it has to stand on. The good news for us is we fly frequently and we get to interact frequently with other frequent flyers. This was the worst and most degrading experience we have had with an airline, and hopefully we can share our experience with others. I thank you for hearing my concerns and I look forward to your response, Dan Powers
>
>------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> LAST NAME Powers
>
>------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> FIRST NAME Dan
>
>------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
>
>------------------------------------------------------------------------

>------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> AREA Flight Experience
>
> SUBJECT You are probably going to lose a family of customers and everyone else I can convince not to fly with you.
>
>------------------------------------------------------------------------
>

>------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
>
>
>------ Please do not remove your unique tracking number! ------


>From: Some Jerk
>To:
>Subject: Re: You are probably going to lose a family of customers and everyone else I can convince not to fly with you. <<>>
>Date: Thu, 16 Aug 2007 21:39:51 -0400
>
>
>Dear Mr. Powers,
>
>On behalf of AirTran Airways, please accept my apology for the difficulties you experienced during your travel. Our objective is to operate our flights in a safe, reliable and timely manner, which will allow our customers to reach their destinations as scheduled. However, there are occasions when Air Traffic Control implements a holding program in an effort to better manage the volume of air traffic. While we understand the frustration this causes, we have no control over the situation and can only await their clearance.
>
>
>
>All of our Crew Members are instructed to professionally perform their responsibilities while providing the highest level of Caring Customer Service. There is simply no excuse for our agent's failure to properly address your concerns during a misconnection. I have forwarded a copy of your comments to the appropriate department head for review and action.
>
>
>
>
>
>As a gesture of good will, I have authorized complimentary one-way travel per passenger, valid for a period of one (1) year from today, to any destination on our system. In order to redeem this compensation, please call, 800.204.5695, and reference itinerary . Travel is subject to blackout dates and capacity controls. International Departure Taxes are not included.
>
>
>
>
>Your continued support is important to us.
>
>
>
>
>Sincerely,
>
>Customer Relations Department
>AirTran Airways
>
>
>
>--- Original Message ---
>From:
>Received: 8/9/2007 11:12:32 PM Eastern Standard Time (GMT - 4:00 )
>To:
>Subject: You are probably going to lose a family of customers and everyone else I can convince not to fly with you.
>
>
>
>
>------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> COMMENTS My wife and I recently flew from LaGuardia to LAX with a stop in Atlanta. It cost me 27 consecutive hours of our lives before we left Atlanta. When it was mistake after misdirection of your employees that cost us our vacation. Leaving New York, there was a storm front approaching so the pilot let us know it would be an additional twenty minutes before we would leave. Three hours on the Tarmac later, when we were three planes from take-off, he announced he would take a vote from the passengers about whether to return to the gate or keep our spot in line for the next half hour. Four passengers decided they would rather return to the gate, so all of us had to get off the plane. It was later explained to us that you are not responsible for the weather, but I assure you I hold you accountable for the actions of your employees. When we were forced off the plane, we had to spend an extra half hour near the gate to ensure we didn't lose our seats. When the plane reboarded, we spent an extra hour on the plane when, if we had taken a "vote" we would have been in the air at least an hour before we actually left the ground. Again, pilots decision is not the same as weather problems. When we finally arrived in Atlanta, we were told by the gate agent that we had to run across Atlanta's airport to reach the next connecting flight. As I started to run, my wife asks the gate agent if our connecting flight had actually already left the gate. He sheepishly admitted that it had left the gate, left unsaid was he was wasting our time trying to send us running across the worlds biggest airport. We were then directed to customer service who gave us a voucher for a hotel room and promised we would be on the first flight to LA in the morning. I asked her for a ticket confirming this and she replied that the computer couldn't print the ticket, but there was no feasible way we would not be on that plane because they always took ten to twelve standby passengers on the first flight to LA. Standby ticket in hand, we called the numbers on the hotel voucher. Guess how many rooms were available. Can't guess? I'll give you a hint, the number was less than one and more than negative one. Zero is the number you are looking for. Of course, at that point, the customer service desk closed and everyone had left. We were told people worked at the airport through the night, but the only people we could find were the metal workers who were repairing the sheet metal around the airport at an almost injurious noise level. No bed, no blankets, stranded in Atlanta in a construction zone, we didn't get much sleep, but we had been assured we would be on that first departing flight. You could imagine how our hearts sank as the ticket agent in the morning told us we had no such deal. Having not bathed in 27 hours and barely slept for 38 hours, you could imagine how used we felt. Not only were not getting on the first flight in the morning, we were told you had no responsibility to us because of a "weather policy." Weather had less to do with our delay than the pilot taking an informal poll and grounding us, but the ticket agent again disappeared when we started to ask questions. Finally, after a complete day of dealing with the misdirection and inaccurate statements by Airtran employees, one person went into a computer and booked us on the next flight. It was that easy all along. I wish I had carried a tape recorder to record all the statements so I make a comedy, but at that point, we felt rather tragic. Nothing is more important to me than my time, and for Airtran to claim it was the weather's fault was not only inaccurate, it was downright misleading. The said thing is my wife and I each have two free tickets to fly anywhere in the country at anytime in the next six months, and they will most likely go unused. There are many places I want to see in the world, and none of them would I let Airtran fly me to. It was one of the more degrading experiences in my life. I look forward to sharing this experience with all of my family and friends and telling them how I wouldn't let Airtran fly me anywhere for free, never mind pay for the experience. Because of our delays, we couldn't meet up with the person we were staying with costing us another 10 hours of our vacation. An entire day of my life was wasted and no one would admit anything outside of the pilot who apologized, but of course I didn't bring my tape recorder, so I had no proof. I don't know how you would hope to make up for this experience, but I will be publishing the experience next week, and using this as an example of poor customer service whenever I get a chance unless you think you could find a way to make things right. Please encourage your employees to be forthright, because at the end of the day, a companies reputation is all it has to stand on. The good news for us is we fly frequently and we get to interact frequently with other frequent flyers. This was the worst and most degrading experience we have had with an airline, and hopefully we can share our experience with others. I thank you for hearing my concerns and I look forward to your response, Dan Powers
>
>------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> LAST NAME Powers
>
>------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> FIRST NAME Dan
>
>------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
>
>------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> ADDRESS2
>
>------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> CITY STATE, ZIPCODE Arlington MA, 02474
>
>------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
>
>------------------------------------------------------------------------
>

>
>------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> AREA Flight Experience
>
> SUBJECT You are probably going to lose a family of customers and everyone else I can convince not to fly with you.
>
>------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
>
>------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
>------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> ORIGINATING PAGE http://www.airtran.com/help.aspx
>
>------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
>
>
>------ Please do not remove your unique tracking number! ------

Part 2 of 2 Now it's on...

Not only do I ridicule AirTrans offer of peace, I'm declaring all out [censored because I can't breath under water] on these guys. I am going to start hanging around airports wherever I go, asking why the company did what it did to all of it's staff, until I have demoralize the staff and convinced my fellow passengers not to ride AirTran.
The offer for peace was a one way free ticket anywhere AirTran travels. I'm going to write back, encouraging them to reconsider. The campaign of undermining AirTran begins today. TREMBLE IN FEAR AIRTRAN!!!!! You have annoyed Dantion, and [censored for fear of Patriot Act]. I will let all know you what you have done to my wife and I have. You have not only insulted me with this offer, but the thought of bringing this laughable offer to my wife makes me afraid.

I have two free roundtrip tickets to anywhere Airtran travels to begin with. I wouldn't even use the free tickets anywhere because of the constant deception AirTran used. The only acceptable truce would be something more material. I want an ounce of flesh. Hmmm... I'm out of clean t-shirts, I'm out of t-shirts. I'm demanding material goods.

This is a two part entry (part 1 of 2)

I'm not sure what's worse, losing an entire day of your life to travel from Boston to a runway in Atlanta, or being told the entire time you will be waiting for about another twenty minutes, until the person behind a desk hands you a voucher for a hotel room that has no vacancies and promises you will get on the next available flight. And then you never do get on that flight. Arrgghh, I honestly can't express my anger an at this airline, because if I went on the rant I want to, they'd send me a certain bay in Cuba.
Okay, it's the fact that those smug little b@st@rds kept lying to us. They told us to run for planes that were no longer on the runway. They knew the planes had left, they told us to run across the airport in Atlanta. The biggest airport in the US.
They gave us a voucher for a hotel room because they had screwed up. But I'm regressing. While they kept our destination of LA another twenty minutes at all times, we had to listen to one employee of this airline after another explain why the last employee had lied to us, and they were about to fix it, repeat cycle every twenty minutes for 27 hours.

They mucked with the wrong G. I'm personally going to ridicule every passenger I see who takes this airline. [content censored to keep me from being waterboarded]
But that's not why I'm writing this entry, not to [content censored] but to find out what I get for my little holiday in hell. Oh, and in the hell that is Atlanta, they airport was being renovated by Iron workers. Everywhere, someone was firing up an arc welder and melting plastic. They had masks. We didn't even get a blanket. AAARRRRGGGHHHH! Thinking about it makes me want to...
Anyway, I just got the email back. In part two of this entry I'll reveal the contents of the e-mail response and tell you what I get for my wrongful imprisonment.