IN CONGRESS, JULY 4, 1776
The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America

...

We, therefore, the Representatives of the United States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States, that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do. --And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.

Go here for the complete document.

I guess what I really wonder is how the colonists really felt that the time. From what they have outlined, they were very oppressed - be we certainly are today. They had trouble with the ruling class not applying laws to themselves - as our legislators do today. They complained about centralized power that overruled their governors -- as the federal government does to states quite often today.

They complained that the King "erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harass our people and eat out their substance" -- as the federal government certainly does today. They complained about the King cutting off trade with all parts of the world -- as our federal government does today.

The American Patriots seemed to face an oppressive king that did many things that our federal government does today. But they had the guts and the willingness to give up everything they had, including their lives, to make this land a better place. I wish we had some true American Patriots today.

Posted by: Ogre at 08:00 AM | Comments (4) | Add Comment
Post contains 361 words, total size 2 kb.

Time again to introduce a new neighbor. This week I present for your approval:

The Dawn Treader

When I first read that, I kept seeing the Dawn TRADER. It doesn't say trader, it says TREADER. In short, this place is:

A site for discussing any and all issues related to worldview, philosophy, ethics, religion, and culture. The title is taken from C.S. Lewis' classic book in the Chronicles of Narnia.

I have read that book, and I do remember that ship and that voyage quite well. Very nice.

The author is a "Husband, father, writer, teacher, and life long learner" who homeschools his 4 children. He says "My favorite blogs are those that promote good thinking and have thoughtful, edifying content. My goal is to make The Dawn Treader such a blog."

Mr. Dawn Treader, I believe you have been a success.

The blog appears to only have been around since January 2005. It's updated daily and has information on all sorts of different topics. He talks about golf courses, Nashville, church, and plenty more.

So once again on this Sunday afternoon, I ask you to take some time, head on over, and read some news, information, and talk from my neighbor.

Posted by: Ogre at 11:58 AM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
Post contains 208 words, total size 2 kb.

So, can anyone tell me how much I'm supposed to tip for other things?

I know the 15% rule, and you waitresses, if you're only getting 10%, it's not the customer, it's YOU. Also, if you work at a place where the 15% is already built-in, you're shafting yourself (at least when I come to visit). AND if you're working at a place where tips are pooled, and you like it, odds are you're a slacker.

But I'm wondering about other things. When I get a haircut and it costs $9, is a $1 tip still appropriate? It sure doesn't seem like much. Same with pizza -- is $1 a pizza correct? It seems that I remember when I delivered Pizza that $1 a pie was good, but that was quite awhile ago. Today I'm giving about $1.50 a pie. Do the delivery people think I'm a cheapskate?

How much do you tip for these and any other misc. services?

Posted by: Ogre at 10:00 AM | Comments (27) | Add Comment
Post contains 162 words, total size 1 kb.

1 Thank you for straightening that out there at the beginning about waitress tips (Yup, I'm a waitress, and damn tired of hearing the slack asses gripe about bad tips). Generally, you're right on, on all counts, except for the geriatric crowd, who will generally tip based on a fixed income rather than on quality of service, but who can blame them? Anyway, I tip 15% everywhere. Hair salon, Pizza delivery guy, all get 15%, more if the 15% ends up being something pitiful, like on a cup of coffee, or a slice of pie. I don't know if that's customary, or if it's because I'm a waitress, but that's my advice.

Posted by: Erin Monahan at July 02, 2005 12:14 PM (0Ea9a)

2 On pizza...I usually do $5. Take into account more than just the cost of the pizza. Take that the person got it to you in a timely manner, and the outrageous prices of gas these days. On haircuts...I usually tip $3. I usually get a haircut with my son, so it turns out to be $6 total I am tipping, but usually two different people.

Posted by: Jay at July 02, 2005 12:25 PM (BKqRl)

3 Two pet peeves re: tipping -- 1. Tip jars at counter service: what "extra service" am I allegedly to be tipping for? 2. Waitpersons who, upon receiving payment for the meal, ask, "Do you need change back?" Whatever I had planned to tip goes down at that point. It strikes me as a lazy way to demand a tip of a certain amount.

Posted by: Mellie Helen at July 02, 2005 03:32 PM (vGpbw)

4 I have the same pet peeves Mellie...the tip jar does bother me and the waiters shouldn't ask or assume. I can't stand either when the waiter brings back change and hands a five instead of all ones...to me that makes me think he is asking for the five dollar bill. I am more inclined to dig in my wallet for four dollars before giving him the extra dollar... But having said that, I am a fairly generous tipper. I tip 20% for most services and all restarants except if service is bad...then I will only tip 10 - 15%.

Posted by: jody at July 03, 2005 01:05 AM (FawQf)

5 Mellie~ Most waitresses who do that are under boss's orders to do so - it saves time in the long run if you don't need change because they can do the final closeout of that ticket imediately, rather than having to go back into the computer at the end of the night and do it. It's another case of the restaurant owner trying to shave time off his payroll (as if paying the waitresses another 30 minutes hurts much when we actually only make something like $2.50 an hour) Tip jars piss me off too - why do I need to tip the guy at Starbucks? It's like asking me to tip the cashier at McDonalds.

Posted by: Erin Monahan at July 03, 2005 01:07 AM (0Ea9a)

6 My husband always adheres to the 15% rule when out eating, unless the waitress sucked the big one, then s/he gets ZIP! Also, we don't tip at buffet restaurants. All the guy/gal did was take my drink out and haul it back out. They didn't have to write anything hard down or make sure the cook made the correct thing. Call me cheap, but I see no reason to tip someone for that. My hairdresser and nail tech get $3 extra no matter they do for me. I asked my nail tech one day if I was being cheap on the tip and she told me straight out "At least YOU tip" and didn't say anymore and I haven't given anymore. I don't know why I went with $3 .. just that's what I do.

Posted by: Jo at July 03, 2005 07:15 AM (+zmkP)

7 In the UK here, there isn't really any hard and fast rules about how much we should tip (generally we don't). As far as waitresses go, there aren't as many about as there are in the USA. (Maybe I don't go to the right places). With regards to delivered take-outs, I generally do not tip unless it is an exceptional service. Take-outs in this country aren't exactly cheap- a 12" pizza will cost about 9-10 GBP on average (roughly $18 depending on the exchange rate) and getting a few of those rarely leaves extra money for a tip. My hairdresser does a wonderful job on my hair, provides a great cup of coffee (or three) and I can be at the salon for up to 2 hours at a time (yes I'm a guy, but I like to look good). With highlights, my cut comes to £27 (call that $50) and I always hand over £30 and tell her to keep the change (so that's £3 or roughly $5.50) which I think is fair, especially as a lot of people don't even bother to tip. My personal rule is only ever tip, and tip accordingly, if the person deserves it, not because it is expected.

Posted by: Damien at July 03, 2005 09:09 AM (dWnRl)

8 Damien, you make me glad to be an American.

Posted by: Erin Monahan at July 03, 2005 10:40 AM (0Ea9a)

9 Waitresses & Waiters: I usually give minimum $5 max $10 (unless the meal or number of people is high). Pizza: $1 or $2 If the waitsperson is bad - I give nothing. If the pizza deliverer is driving a car nicer than mine - I give nothing.

Posted by: Tuck at July 03, 2005 05:34 PM (6Aq8W)

10 Excellent, thanks for all the comments, folks. Guess I'm a little cheap!

Posted by: Ogre at July 04, 2005 04:26 PM (lZf6y)

11 Ogre, I tend to stay near the 15% mark for dining out. I was recently clued in to the fact that the servers at Sonic are paid on the same scale as servers in "sit down" restaurants, and I would like to apologize now for my not tipping to this point. I don't eat there often, but I will tip from now on. On the hair cut note, I tend to tip $1 if it's just a cut (although it's a "non issue" now that I'm BALD!), but that should go up if you get, say, a shampoo or something as well. As for the pizza, I try to guage it based on price, if you have a LARGE order (4 or more pies), try to go for 10%, but typically $1 to $3 is the average, and a lot of people pay by check or credit/debit card now, so either the tip is less than $1 or is an "odd" amount (to bring the total to an even dollar figure). Anyway, just my 2 cents. BTW - HAPPY 4TH MARINE, God Bless and THANK YOU!

Posted by: Smoke Eater at July 05, 2005 01:29 AM (PWgRI)

12 I always overtip. I usually give 15% for bad service, and upwards of 30% for really good service. As it turns out, I spend that 30% more often than not. If there is any chance that you will be coming back, they will remember that you tipped big last time. I get waitstaff gossip all the time, because that even happens if I don't get the same server.

Posted by: Phelps at July 05, 2005 12:23 PM (KAQTS)

13 15% for BAD service? I can't do that. If I'm getting thirsty because my beer has been empty for too long, your tip is gone. If you offer me a new beer before the first one is quite gone, you just added an extra 5% -- every time you do that.

Posted by: Ogre at July 05, 2005 12:50 PM (/k+l4)

14 Wow, I feel like a big spender now. I tip $2 at a buffet, $1 for coffee, $5 to everyone besides waiters (hair, nails, pizza), and about 25% on meals. If the meal is less than $10 I tip $5 minimum.

Posted by: Ashley at July 05, 2005 09:04 PM (g7rdQ)

15 You get a $2.99 breakfast and tip $5? Really?

Posted by: Ogre at July 06, 2005 05:10 AM (qV2zb)

16 At a restaurant I'll tip between 15 and 20% depending on the service. Service has to be awful to get below that. At a buffet, between 10 and 15%. Remember also, even in America what's reasonable service changes drastically in different geographic regions. I have to downgrade my expectations when I go to Boston. For a 10-14 $ haircut I usually tip 2$, unless the person was annoying.

Posted by: owlish at July 06, 2005 12:15 PM (fKZxn)

17 I was thinking about that very thing on the way to work today, Owlish. I wondered how much the tip for a haircut might vary by geographic location...

Posted by: Ogre at July 06, 2005 02:07 PM (/k+l4)

18 Then again, I guess that's why it's normally considered to be a percentage -- as the values and prices change, so does the tip.

Posted by: Ogre at July 06, 2005 02:08 PM (/k+l4)

19 I tend to think of it as part of their salary, or maybe a consulting fee? A new haircutting place opened up recently, and was charging 5$ a cut. I would still tip 2$, since the barber was putting in the same effort and time. I'd be much more likely to tip 20% on a 10$ dinner than on a 100$ dinner.

Posted by: owlish at July 06, 2005 10:15 PM (fKZxn)

20 $5 a cut? I need to visit there. I can't find anyone under $9 here. And yes, I am laughing at those who live in big cities and are now drooling at the $9 charge...

Posted by: Ogre at July 07, 2005 05:25 AM (qV2zb)

21 It was a "we're brand new, and looking for customers" price. It quickly went up to more normal prices.

Posted by: owlish at July 08, 2005 12:34 PM (fKZxn)

22 Hehe. I'm not picky. I've been known to volunteer at barber schools...

Posted by: Ogre at July 08, 2005 12:57 PM (/k+l4)

23 I tip 20% for bad service and 30% on up for excellent service. I always figure if I get bad service maybe the waitress/waiter is just having a bad day. I guess I don't encourage the wait staff to work very hard by tipping good on bad service though. Last week I tipped $30 on a $50 bill. Stupid, I know, but he truly was an excellent bartender. I'm by no means rich & sometimes I tell myself to quit tipping so much because it's really adding up. Until reading some of these comments, I thought the majority of people were like me.

Posted by: shelly at July 25, 2005 05:35 PM (T+xUX)

24 I can certainly understand overtipping for excellent service -- I am guilty of this myself. But for poor service? Indeed, you're messing things up! I'm trying to teach them that they're giving poor service by giving them less money -- if you give them more, they'll never learn!

Posted by: Ogre at July 25, 2005 06:02 PM (L0IGK)

25 I tip the food delivery people atleast 20% and more depending on how far away I live from the establisment. I don't understand why people would only tip a $1 a pie when they wouldn't tip there waitress based on the number of plates of food they ordered. And consider the fact that delivery drivers have to use there own car most of the time, pay for their on gas and maintanence they should receive more than other workers in the service industry.

Posted by: angel at August 26, 2005 12:33 AM (gqjMI)

26 Interesting comparison. $1 a pie does seem too little -- but nowadays there's a delivery fee from many places -- I wonder if the driver gets any of that....

Posted by: Ogre at August 26, 2005 06:05 AM (L0IGK)

27 I would -- unless you know the cost of a haircut is lower than what you've been charged. For example, if the salon collects $5 a cut and your hairdresser asks you for a check to him for $10, then the profit is already built in. I'm not sure a tip is appropriate there. However, it's more likely you don't know what the salon charges, so I'd just add a tip anyway.

Posted by: Ogre at September 21, 2005 02:54 PM (/k+l4)

Hide Comments | Add Comment

The Carolina Panthers used to have one of these things hanging around, I'm sure of it:

But these days I can't find any evidence of anything but a silly stuffed mascot thing that hugs people. Only 2 months until football season.

Posted by: Ogre at 02:10 PM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
Post contains 43 words, total size 1 kb.

Ah, a new month, a new design.

What do you mean, nothing's changed?

Ok, you're right.

The new month has arrived, but the blog layout is just the same as it's been all month long. I am truly sorry for those who absolutely cannot stand this layout. However, for those who aren't regular readers, The Ogre is off on vacation. Yes, this post was written weeks ago!

So the new layout is ready, but although I could find a way to have posts appear magically while I'm gone, I couldn't find a way to automatically change the layout for the new month. Well, that's not entirely true -- I'm sure I COULD find a way to make that happen, but then I wouldn't be around to watch everyone's reaction -- or to make minor repairs to anything that didn't work just right.

I'll tell you the new layout is named the "drainpipe" layout. It's vertical again, I don't think I'll try this horizontal layout -- it is abnormal and violates many design rules. The new layout IS ready, and it will be in place as soon as I return, in the next few days or so. In fact, one way you'll be able to tell I've returned is that the layout will change. It will probably be July 4th or 5th.

And Boudicca's been helping me make plans for the blog layout change that should show up in August...

Posted by: Ogre at 10:10 AM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
Post contains 243 words, total size 1 kb.