Combat Fuel Prices with Beer!

If you've recently checked your bank account and noticed that your life savings is down to a meager $1.26, then it comes as no surprise that the record gas prices are raising the cost of nearly everything we buy. While we could organize revolts against The Man for allowing oil tycoons to smoke cigars made from $100 million bills (What, never heard of that? You have to rip the American public off for at least $5 billion per year to get sent these special treasury notes!) At BeerMagnet.com, we believe in doing something that is both legal and fun.

A recent article written by Bill Fleckenstein titled "$4 a gallon means more for a beer" finally struck us where it hurts. In it, he claims that soaring gas prices will raise the cost per hour of farmers selling hops, and that would indicate a 25 cent per pint increase on beer at your local brewpub. Now, a little known fact is that all BeerMagnet staff is required to drink nothing but beer. We drink beer, our kids drink beer, grandma drinks beer. It's a way of life – for us – and many other Americans.

So how do we, as a beer loving (nay, worshipping!) society, combat this situation? How do we help both the consumer and the pub, club and grub industry? Beermagnet.com!

In the car industry, some dealerships make a little money per sale on many sales per month, while others make few sales with a high profit margin per sale. Currently, the escalating price of beer follows the latter model. Perhaps by joining together, and selling (and drinking!) more beer, we can switch it to the former. Selling more beer at a smaller profit margin per beer allows everyone to win! The bars and clubs will receive more profit, and the consumers obtain The Golden Juice Of The Gods in the vast quantities they deserve.

But it can't happen, right? Wait! Don't leave, we're just joking. It CAN happen. Bars do it all the time – they're called specials! The problem with having specials is that people have to know about them to take advantage of them. You can either use the ancient art of telepathy, or bravely step into the 21st century and use www.beermagnet.com!

Help BeerMagnet.com help you by getting your favorite bars and clubs to post their specials on BeerMagnet.com, and tell all of your friends (your enemies too, we're not morally opposed to luring your arch-nemesis into a nearby pub and getting him a little happy) to use BeerMagnet.com to check out all of the Hot Spots in their area. If we can get BeerMagnet.com to grow fast enough, we can make going out for a good time a true escape from the hardships of rising gas prices!

Although BeerMagnet.com wholeheartedly believes that the relation between beer and www.BeerMagnet.com might allow you to put your children through Harvard, it is not recommended that you empty your children's future into the nearest pub.

Unleash your Pubtential(TM)!

Paparazzi in Muttgaritaville!

If you're looking to pamper your dog and have them chased by the paparazzi instead of just chasing their tails there is a new site on the web. I say new, newly discovered might be more apropos. In a few simple clicks you can turn you're families best friend into the star of the show. Paris Hilton would be proud to put Tinkerbell in a velour tracksuit and let her sip "Muttgarita's" on a patio in Beverly Hills!

I know I've got some dog loving friends that would be interested in the vanity collars, Jimmy "Chews" plush toys and a nice big "Sniffany & Co." blue box pillow for their little buddies.

I personally am waiting for the gun toting camo line for my dog. I'm not sure I could make him wear a pink collar, he might get mad and not hunt any longer.

It's a competitive market out there for Dog accessories, but Fleur de Pup has some interesting things for, in the words of Brad Paisley from I'm Still a Guy "your sissy dog".

Check out the site, buy your pup something nice and let Fleur de Pup donate to the humane society. Even those pets lost deserve a nice present. I say this year instead of adopting an angel, we all adopt a pet! They may not be as grateful for the gifts, but they sure love the attention.

Foreclosures Increase the Threat of West Nile Virus

Yes, this blog is called Nonsensical Ramblings, but this one has some meat to it.

The increase in foreclosures and the slow movement of the housing market are leaving pools abandoned and unmaintained, thus an increase in Mosquito breeding. Mosquito's carry the West Nile virus, just in case you've been under a rock for the last few years.

There are several stories out about it...

ABC News
Pestworld Press Release

..and the list goes on.

One interesting story was in The Wall Street Journal this morning, but I haven't found it online yet. Yeah, I do still read print articles. Amazing isn't it?

The Gambusia affinis is being used in California to keep the mosquitos down and keep the city cost for extermination and pesticide spraying down. That's probably one of the best ideas to come out of California in a while!

How Dirty are Collection Attorneys?

Collection Attorneys are notorious for their threatening and questionable tactics when t comes to collecting a debt. Often times debtors who are sued experience what is called "Sewer Service" where a Collection Attorney or process server does not properly serve the debtor with a summons in order to obtain a default judgment and execute to collect. Some states do allow for summons to be affixed to the door of a residence, or for debtors to be served via U.S. Mail. I have argued until I was blue in the face that this is a violation of a debtors Constitutional right to a fair trial, but as I am not a lobbyist it falls on deaf ears. Collection Attorneys will defend their practices as "just", "fair" and within the law, but are they ethical, and are they really "within the law"?

I found some marketing information from a debt collection attorney that could shed some light on all of this. Here are a few snippets.

• We provide the muscle behind your push for payment.

This sounds aggressive, and while it creditors may be looking for someone to help them collect the outstanding debt, there are consumer protection laws in place to make sure debtors are not "harassed".

• places a calculated amount of pressure on the debtor

What would be a calculated amount of pressure? I have heard of collection attorneys threatening several things that they cannot do. Keep in mind that you cannot be taken to jail for an inability to pay your debt. Could your wages get garnished or property have a lien put on it? The answer is yes, but only after a judgment is granted, and if your state law allows for it. Many Collection Attorneys will threaten these things and not tell you that they have to obtain judgment first. Getting a judgment is not always as easy as they make it out to be.

• It is important to note that the Defendant is unaware you have asked the Court for judgment in this case.

Here is a Collection Attorney admitting to "Sewer Service". By manipulating the system they are not giving debtors a chance to file an answer or appear in court to dispute the debt, or even give the debtor access to the information pertaining to the account. In a lot of cases there are trumped up and inaccurate charges and penalties on the account making the balance much greater then it actually is. Debtor's do have the right to review the information and get a fair trial. It's never good to just hide or ignore the summons.

• If, however, the Defendant files an answer, we usually respond with a motion for summary judgment. This motion is predicated on an affidavit from you that the account is due.

A motion for summary judgment can be looked at two ways, either the Collection Attorney has all of their information together, has presented it to the court and it is irrefutable evidence that the account is owed, or they have no information and are trying to push the case through without proving anything. Record keeping in the collection industry is sub-par, even more so when a debt has been bought and sold to a collection agency or recovery company. Often the Collection Attorney has no records pertaining to the debt and could not properly prove the amount owed in court.

• In most cases the Defendant cannot defend themselves and the Court awards a judgment in your favor. Note: if the Defendant can defend themselves at this point by showing the Judge that there are particular areas of the invoices that have been paid, then this is not a routine collection case and we need to carefully examine the circumstances surrounding the invoices to be certain everything is "in order."
  

Everything is "in order"? Does this reference the earlier mention of poor record keeping? Could it be that Collection Attorneys are suing without proper evidence in order to obtain a judgment and keep the debtor from a fair trial?

I can't answer all of that. I'm not an attorney, but debtors should know the dirty practices of Collection Attorneys. It is not a crime to have a hardship that has set you back on keeping up with your financial obligations, it is not a crime to seek debt help through a consolidation loan, CCCS program, debt settlement, or bankruptcy, but the practices of some Collection Attorneys are a crime. The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act outlines consumer rights pertaining to debt collection. If you are in debt and are struggling to gt it resolved, know your rights and exercise them. Good people fall on hard times and do not deserve to be treated poorly by bad Collection Attorneys.