Set your clocks ahead an hour before you go to sleep tonight if you don’t want to wait until 2 am.

It’s also a good time to test your smoke detectors and carbon monoxide detectors and change the batteries if necessary.

Puerto Rico, Arizona, and Hawai’i do not participate in Daylight Saving Time.

It is Daylight Saving Time not Daylight Savings Time.

click to embiggen. Spring is coming. Yay! Nearly 50°F today. I’m still waiting to see the Robins though.

I received notice today that my contract as an Amazon Associate will be terminated as of April 15th due to Governor Quinn’s decision to sign a bill into law.

Buy a Kindle or anything else before April 15th and send me a couple cents at no additional cost to you…

The text of the email I received from Amazon follows:

Hello,

For well over a decade, the Amazon Associates Program has worked with thousands of Illinois residents. Unfortunately, a new state tax law signed by Governor Quinn compels us to terminate this program for Illinois-based participants. It specifically imposes the collection of taxes from consumers on sales by online retailers – including but not limited to those referred by Illinois-based affiliates like you – even if those retailers have no physical presence in the state.

We had opposed this new tax law because it is unconstitutional and counterproductive. It was supported by national retailing chains, most of which are based outside Illinois, that seek to harm the affiliate advertising programs of their competitors. Similar legislation in other states has led to job and income losses, and little, if any, new tax revenue. We deeply regret that its enactment forces this action.

As a result of the new law, contracts with all Illinois affiliates of the Amazon Associates Program will be terminated and those Illinois residents will no longer receive advertising fees for sales referred to Amazon.com, Endless.com, or SmallParts.com. Please be assured that all qualifying advertising fees earned prior to April 15, 2011 will be processed and paid in full in accordance with the regular payment schedule. Based on your account closure date of April 15, 2011, any final payments will be paid by July 1, 2011.

You are receiving this email because our records indicate that you are a resident of Illinois. If you are not currently a permanent resident of Illinois, or if you are relocating to another state in the near future, you can manage the details of your Associates account here. And if you relocate to another state after April 15, please contact us for reinstatement into the Amazon Associates Program.

To be clear, this development will only impact our ability to continue the Associates Program in Illinois, and will not affect the ability of Illinois residents to purchase online at www.amazon.com from Amazon’s retail business.

We have enjoyed working with you and other Illinois-based participants in the Amazon Associates Program and, if this situation is rectified, would very much welcome the opportunity to re-open our Associates Program to Illinois residents.

Regards,

The Amazon Associates Team

Hubby went to the bakery this morning for packzi and a king cake. So sweet, he let me sleep in since I was up late writing a paper last night.  I had started my paper, then realized it was next week’s paper, not this week’s with only a short time left before it was due. Oh well, I have a head start on next week’s paper.

One month ago today the Blizzard of 2011 started. Today it’s 45° F and sunny. Much of the Blizzard snow is gone but not all.

I got the Christmas lights down today and I found a small bit of green trying to poke its way out of the frozen soil. I was trying to free the spike that held up the snowman face lollipop like light in the garden when I found it. A lovely little sign that spring is indeed on the way.

Below is an aerial view from Google Maps. The red arrows denote where and in what direction the union supporters were “parading”. The light green area is where the Scott Walker supporters were.

Police allowed a very narrow access to that area and union supporters would come in and yell “kill the bill” for a while, then the Walker supporters would shout “pass the bill” in return, then the union supporters would leave for a while.

Gateway Pundit linked. Thanks Jim!

Continue reading →

Corporate espionage exposed – GM steals Edsel idea. Forgets to check Ford’s history as part of market research.

The Chevy Volt has a plugin electric and gas powered engine and the prices reflect the premium for the electric part. We went to the Chicago Auto Show last Friday and the first thing we did was go on a test ride of the Volt on Chevy’s Volt test track.

[flickr]5437784970[/flickr] Chevy was running four Volts with two in charging stations in the middle of the track. Running on battery they are exceedingly quiet. The dash is all LCD with a gauge to tell you how many battery miles you have left. As I recall the car we rode in had 23 battery miles left.

It’s a nice entry level sedan, but nothing really special. Capacity is four adults comfortably, five with some squishing unless they’re all kids. But it is an entry level sedan, $16-$20K not the $40K plus currently being asked.

Instapundit tells us that one Chevy dealer is charging $65K and more for a Volt.

This is where the Edsel comparison comes in. Edsel wasn’t a bad car, it ran well and didn’t look bad, but it was a Ford at Mercury prices. What we have here is a Chevy at Cadillac prices.

There is a premium price with the purchase of an electric vehicle but this is too much. You’ll never save in gas what you are paying in the premium.

The Volt has an electric range of ~35 miles depending on variables such as weather, traffic, and hills. The gas tank holds about 9.5 gallons of premium grade gas. The battery does not recharge with driving like a hybrid does.

The Smart cars were also at the Auto Show. I happen to think they’re adorable and they are introducing a new plugin electric version, but as the representative admitted, the price would be twice that of their already thrifty gas version and the gas version has greater range.

Until and unless the premium paid for an electric or gas/electric vehicle can be recouped with energy savings, it’s the Edsel all over again. A non-luxury vehicle at a luxury price.

Okay, so I thought the original Clutch Cargo cartoons with the real mouths were creepy, but Dirt Girl World on Sprout has real eyes and mouths. Super Creepy. But the proportions are way off. http://dirtgirlworld.com/

Here’s Bernice to serenade you: