No announcement about an LA show yet, but two CA shows are scheduled:
Sun 08/01/04 – San Francisco, CA – The Fillmore
Wed 08/04/04 – San Diego, CA – SOMA
The SOMA show’s only $16, so if you’re in the San Diego area you should definitely go.
Category: News
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Hives on tour again
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More evidence: Enron helped bring on the California energy crisis
CBS News has the story.
CBS News: Enron Traders Caught On TapeFour years after California’s disastrous experiment with energy deregulation, Enron energy traders can be heard – on audiotapes obtained by CBS News – gloating and praising each other as they helped bring on, and cash-in on, the Western power crisis.
“He just f—s California,” says one Enron employee. “He steals money from California to the tune of about a million.”
“Will you rephrase that?” asks a second employee.
“OK, he, um, he arbitrages the California market to the tune of a million bucks or two a day,” replies the first.
The tapes, from Enron’s West Coast trading desk, also confirm what CBS reported years ago: that in secret deals with power producers, traders deliberately drove up prices by ordering power plants shut down.
“If you took down the steamer, how long would it take to get it back up?” an Enron worker is heard saying.
“Oh, it’s not something you want to just be turning on and off every hour. Let’s put it that way,” another says.
“Well, why don’t you just go ahead and shut her down.”
Officials with the Snohomish Public Utility District near Seattle received the tapes from the Justice Department.
“This is the evidence we’ve all been waiting for. This proves they manipulated the market,” said Eric Christensen, a spokesman for the utility.
I wonder how many Californians still blame Davis for the energy crisis.
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Mr. Excitement update: Day 1
That was quick.
After dropping off Mr. Excitement at the crack of dawn, I got a call less than two hours later saying that he was ready to be picked up.
To my surprise, he was awake; Mu was groggy when she came home. Then again, it’s a different procedure altogether for males and females.
He began meowing quite a bit on the way home and the carrier smelled of musk, so I put him in the upstairs bathroom with a fresh litter box. He immediately stumbled over to the litter box and sprayed.
When he was done, there was a clump at least six inches in diameter giving off the foulest eye-watering stench I’ve smelled in a while. My head still hurts thinking about it.
There were also drops of musky urine all over the bathroom floor. He’s staying there all night.
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Mr. Excitement and the knife
Perhaps to chase any doubt from my mind about getting him fixed, Mr. Excitement filled the entire house with the smell of musk this morning. It was so powerful I could smell it in my sleep. I hope he enjoyed the experience; at this time tomorrow he will be missing some vital equipment.
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Credit card companies still out to get you
MSNBC reports on a new survey by Consumer Action that shows credit card fees are rising.
They also reported on a practice called “universal default”:
Universal default criticizedAnother troubling finding, Sherry said, was the increased use of a controversial practice known as “universal default” by the credit card issuers. Banks now regularly check their customers’ credit reports for signs of late payments on any of their bills. In fact, credit reporting agencies now offer daily account reviews, with names like “notification services,” and “risk triggers,” to alert credit card firms of any late payments. Any reported late payment can be used to trigger increased credit card interest rates, even if all payments to the card issuer are up to date.
That’s just bullshit.
If your credit card company engages in this practice (regardless of whether it affects you), consider canceling that card.