I F-ing Hate Wal-Mart

During my cross country drive this week I was forced into getting an oil change at Wal-Mart. I thought I knew how evil they really were, but during my hour long visit they surpassed all of my wildest expectations of evilness and they tried to steal $24 from me.

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Mercedes to go Green. ALL Green. No Petroleum by 2015.

In less than 7 years, Mercedes-Benz plans to ditch petroleum-powered vehicles from its lineup. Focusing on electric, fuel cell, and biofuels, the company is revving up research in alternative fuel sources and efficiency.

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Volcanoes could supply up to 25 per cent of US power needs

As fuel prices soar, Alaskan officials announced the exploration of the state's volcanoes, saying they could be exploited to provide energy for thousands of homes.

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Bookshelf

product contamination: dog food

The CDC has issued a warning about Salmonella found in dried dog food and might pose a risk to humans. There has been at least a few outbreaks in some states. They haven't listed the specific dog food brands yet but I will update this when they do.

boycott: hewlett-packard

Wow, it's been a long while since my last post. Apologies to my non-existent readers.

I wanted to put Hewlett-Packard on the boycott list because I've been helping someone fix his laptop. I've been having trouble getting his Broadcom wireless to work properly and I was amazed that there is a long list of people who are having similar problems. Turns out the HP doesn't much care for its consumers as few of these consumers have had satisfactory resolutions.

I tried chatting with a technical support person. I have to say, tech support people are seldom helpful. They might be useful for those who have really simple problems, such as not realizing the power button is off, but others who are slightly more sophisticated usually don't find my help in tech support. That goes with most companies, probably.

So, if you're looking to buy a laptop, steer clear of HP. These people won't do a thing until it hurts them where it counts.

Lead paint in Mattel toys

Just months after the massive product recall of pet food, another scandal hits the Chinese manufacturing market: lead paint in toys by Mattel. Over the weekend, a Chinese executive hanged himself after allegations of the lead contamination hit. The news report goes on to say that Chinese manufacturers are often under pressure to cut costs, and so they tend to substitute cheaper labors and parts to save. I think this is again a good indication of why the corporate structure the way it is designed is fundamentally hauled and need a serious reexamination before more people are hurt in a serious way.

In this particular incident, I wonder where you can place the blame. If the allegations are true, and I think the suicide seems to point to it being the case, then the manufacturers ought to burden most of the blame. However, I don't think that means the Mattel people, or whoever else manufacturers their products in China, are off the hook.