Kingofpain678
Returned from the dead
exciting news for me, I made my first contribution to my first 401k. my company matches what I put into it up to 6% of my income so I'm getting free money baby. woohoo
What's goin' on with everybody
- Thread starter Kingofpain678
- Start date
TAE
All you have is now
It's been a while since we've had one but at this juncture I'm totally fed up with the traffic ticket money extortion game. I support my police when they are policing but this BS of sitting by the side of the road with a radar / laser gun, stalking an intersection for roll thru's on a right hand turn, parking tickets etc are 99% revenue streams and definitely not part of the serve and protect thing. It isn't the good ol days of Andy Griffith and Barney Phife..I live in a smaller bedroom city of @ 50K ...we have at least 100 cops that drive pretty SUV's, they have an arsenal of riot equipment, a bitchen gym and lovely pension program. How do we pay for all of that? Hmmmm? When I got my last speeding ticket to the tune of +$500 I said enough is enough and I decided to fight the ticket...oh but not in the traditional way. Nope I paid the $100 to one of those 1-800- fight your ticket companies and learned how to make them pay for their extortion. If they're going to extort me they are going to have to work for it and thus not make the money they would have had I just rolled over and paid it out. I start with paying the fine and request a trial by written declaration. In that I explain what I was doing, not admitting guilt and explain that I was operating safely. So if they find me guilty with this filled out form it's not over..though I could just walk away and let them have the money why should I? Again the whole thing is 99% money making scheme 1% serve n protect. So when you do a trial by declaration if they find you guilty you can request a regular trial in front of a judge..Oh yeah sure, my word against the cops...yeah I'm gonna win...not...But wait that cop isn't who is prosecuting me, he's just one witness and how good is he as a witness? Ya see it's the District attorney that is the prosecutor...funny I have never seen a DA at a traffic court hearing. So you send a registered letter to the DA asking for a litany of information. When was the officers laser gun last calibrated? When was the last traffic study done? How many tickets does he write a month? What is the ethnic ratio of those tickets written? How many speeding tickets did he write that day, that month? and on and on...Guess what the DA is used to getting these and they almost NEVER respond...So if by now the court has not dismissed your ticket...they usually do...you show up and maybe the cop shows up or not...if he doesn't it is usually automatically dismissed. If he happens to show up...( He's on the clock costing $$$) you show the judge the registered letter you sent the DA with your questions and say you can't defend yourself without the DA's response and generally the extortion team realizes that the game is over and it gets dismissed. I think by now at least in my part of California most courts recognize the written declaration form and generally just dismiss at the get go rather than go through the legal cat and mouse dance. My ticket was dismissed and they held onto my bail for about 3 months but I got it back...a year or two later the wife got one...rinse and repeat..same outcome... What is often forgotten in this stupid extortion game is more than the fine which in of itself is way out of line these days, moving violations are the gift that keep on giving for at least 3 years on your insurance...spank spank...screw that.Last year, my wife was pulled over for not coming to a full stop at a right-turn-on-red. She asked the cop, "What, I didn't count to 3 Mississippi?"
That was worth the $200 ticket.
TalismanRich
Well-known member
Good for you. I can tell you from experience it will be worth it. If you're young, be aggressive. Its amazing how it adds up. If you have the option, put it in "after tax". Then all interest and growth is tax free (at least until the govt tries to changes the rules, which will be a really tough sell).
I've known folks who were promised pensions, only to have the company to go belly up, along with the pension funds. That really screwed up their retirement plans.
TAE
All you have is now
Roth IRA's same deal ...money going in is taxed at time of contribution ....you can invest that money in any way you wish and all earnings from those investments are tax free once you are of age to start pulling from it...
Chili
Site Moderator
Yeah, I need to convert some stocks over to a Roth.
I got out of several tickets while standing in front of the judge. One time, it was my excellent driving record that got me out of a ticket. The judge looked at the points on my record. Points, you know those things... you start at zero and every time you have an infraction, points are deducted. 2 for speeding, 4 for an accident, etc...
Well mine was +4!! The judge shouted at me, "+4 points?!!?? I have never seen anyone with +4 points. How the hell can you have +4 points?" He was asking me a serious question. Too funny, so I said, "That's because I'm a good driver, your honor." He dismissed the ticket.
I got out of several tickets while standing in front of the judge. One time, it was my excellent driving record that got me out of a ticket. The judge looked at the points on my record. Points, you know those things... you start at zero and every time you have an infraction, points are deducted. 2 for speeding, 4 for an accident, etc...
Well mine was +4!! The judge shouted at me, "+4 points?!!?? I have never seen anyone with +4 points. How the hell can you have +4 points?" He was asking me a serious question. Too funny, so I said, "That's because I'm a good driver, your honor." He dismissed the ticket.
If I'd said that, he would have said 'Oh, a smartass, eh?' and I'd still be serving time.
grimtraveller
If only for a moment.....
Once, I was making my way back to my van and I saw two wardens about to give me a ticket. At this point our company made the drivers pay the fines we incurred if it was deemed that we could have avoided them and that was £60 a time {$82} so I ran over to them, threw myself onto the front of the van and shouted in a most theatrical voice "I throw myself on the mercy of the court !" They thought it was so funny, they didn't give me the ticket ! I too drove off laughing.
grimtraveller
If only for a moment.....
Actually, I could probably write a short book on my adventures over the years with traffic wardens, authorities, judges and the like. Sometimes funny, sometimes infuriating, sometimes I'd lose big time, sometimes, I'd win.
A ticket became valid only once it had been placed between the wiper blades on the windscreen so my favourite gig was to jump into the van and drive off before the warden could place it. I saved a fortune that way. It came about because I used to argue with them and they were ever so happy to chat and argue while typing then they'd print the ticket and place it and say "well, you can appeal it" {which we always did. Won probably 90% that way}. I soon wised up and thought, 'don't give them that opportunity of time' and so I got to the point where I didn't even care if they were typing out a ticket. The second I saw them, it was straight into the van and off. I got quite good at that move and wished someone would film it and put it on the news. It felt quite dramatic.
Sayonara, Batman !
The other thing that became a biggie by late 2006 or early 2007 was that they would photograpgh the ticket on a windscreen to prove they'd put it there. So we began to fight fire with water........I insisted on a camera. Many, possibly most, wardens did not know the law they were supposed to be enforcing but after getting a very unfair ticket once {the restriction was attached to a slightly above knee height bollard that no one would ever look at ~ virtually all restrictions were on lamp posts and could be easily seen} I made it my business to determine to know exactly where I could stop and when. Most wardens just seemed to assume if there was a double yellow line it was curtains but it didn't actually work that way. So if a warden had already given me a ticket, I used to take lots of pictures from various angles and also a picture of the timeplate indicating when the restriction was enforceable. I got off so many tickets that way, the camera became my chief weapon of financial solvency from about 2007 until 2017. On 3 separate occasions, I hunted down the warden {one of which involved a mad dash up Piccadilly and over-dramatically pulling up in front of one} and asked if they'd given me that ticket. When they said 'yes' I challenged them to go and look at the timeplate. Two of them did and rescinded the ticket there and then. The third one just took my word for it and cancelled the ticket because of the way I had pulled in front of him. On another occasion, this guy was giving me a ticket as I came out of a building after a delivery and when I challenged him, he said "You can't stop here, it's a double yellow." I just looked at him and quoted Van Halen's "Romeo delight" ~ I know the laawww, friiieeennnnd ~ complete with rubbish David Lee Roth accent.
Needless to say, I didn't get the ticket.
On one or two occasions, I got a ticket and it was my own fault for stopping where I did so I'd just pay the fine. I didn't even tell work. Then one day, I happened to mention to my manager that I'd paid the fine off my own bat a couple of times {I think we were having a conversation about responsibility. It wasn't at all work related} and he said I should always appeal them because even if the appeal was lost, the tax arrangement meant I'd only pay something like £31 of a £60 fine.
But even with that in mind to take some of the pressure off, it was like a personal contest for me. I actually used to have contests with myself to see if I could get through a year without a ticket. I once got up to November before getting one. The last couple of years before I stopped delivery work, I didn't get a ticket at all. And prior to that for quite a while, none that stuck.
I must admit, I did become pretty formidable. It also helped that I used to chat with wardens got kind of friendly with loads of them. We'd wave at each other and laugh at some of the aggressive drivers out there. The way I was when I was about to "retire" was a far cry from my earlier arguing days with the wardens. I actually wrote a song about them called "Piccadilly Mafia."
1. There they go, it’s the Piccadilly Mafia
You better move, you know – or they’ll flippin’ ‘ave yer
“Move your car ! Move your dog ! Move your wife !
Or I will issue you with ticket !”
Don’t even get the joy of knowing somebody will nick it.....
2. Don’t even bother to appeal, the fine is flamin’ plenty
It’s a different kind of steal, starts at 60, rises to 120 !
And if you’re pretty you can smile,
I hear it’s worth 1000 words....
Or you can throw yourself on the mercy of the court
And beg for your life and say “oh please, I can’t afford it
My children are hungry, my landlord is mean,
My other half is absent, the taxman is punishing, my boss is a
drongo, My headache is splitting, my eczema is raging,
I can’t sleep at night and money is short..…”
A ticket became valid only once it had been placed between the wiper blades on the windscreen so my favourite gig was to jump into the van and drive off before the warden could place it. I saved a fortune that way. It came about because I used to argue with them and they were ever so happy to chat and argue while typing then they'd print the ticket and place it and say "well, you can appeal it" {which we always did. Won probably 90% that way}. I soon wised up and thought, 'don't give them that opportunity of time' and so I got to the point where I didn't even care if they were typing out a ticket. The second I saw them, it was straight into the van and off. I got quite good at that move and wished someone would film it and put it on the news. It felt quite dramatic.
Sayonara, Batman !
The other thing that became a biggie by late 2006 or early 2007 was that they would photograpgh the ticket on a windscreen to prove they'd put it there. So we began to fight fire with water........I insisted on a camera. Many, possibly most, wardens did not know the law they were supposed to be enforcing but after getting a very unfair ticket once {the restriction was attached to a slightly above knee height bollard that no one would ever look at ~ virtually all restrictions were on lamp posts and could be easily seen} I made it my business to determine to know exactly where I could stop and when. Most wardens just seemed to assume if there was a double yellow line it was curtains but it didn't actually work that way. So if a warden had already given me a ticket, I used to take lots of pictures from various angles and also a picture of the timeplate indicating when the restriction was enforceable. I got off so many tickets that way, the camera became my chief weapon of financial solvency from about 2007 until 2017. On 3 separate occasions, I hunted down the warden {one of which involved a mad dash up Piccadilly and over-dramatically pulling up in front of one} and asked if they'd given me that ticket. When they said 'yes' I challenged them to go and look at the timeplate. Two of them did and rescinded the ticket there and then. The third one just took my word for it and cancelled the ticket because of the way I had pulled in front of him. On another occasion, this guy was giving me a ticket as I came out of a building after a delivery and when I challenged him, he said "You can't stop here, it's a double yellow." I just looked at him and quoted Van Halen's "Romeo delight" ~ I know the laawww, friiieeennnnd ~ complete with rubbish David Lee Roth accent.
Needless to say, I didn't get the ticket.
On one or two occasions, I got a ticket and it was my own fault for stopping where I did so I'd just pay the fine. I didn't even tell work. Then one day, I happened to mention to my manager that I'd paid the fine off my own bat a couple of times {I think we were having a conversation about responsibility. It wasn't at all work related} and he said I should always appeal them because even if the appeal was lost, the tax arrangement meant I'd only pay something like £31 of a £60 fine.
But even with that in mind to take some of the pressure off, it was like a personal contest for me. I actually used to have contests with myself to see if I could get through a year without a ticket. I once got up to November before getting one. The last couple of years before I stopped delivery work, I didn't get a ticket at all. And prior to that for quite a while, none that stuck.
I must admit, I did become pretty formidable. It also helped that I used to chat with wardens got kind of friendly with loads of them. We'd wave at each other and laugh at some of the aggressive drivers out there. The way I was when I was about to "retire" was a far cry from my earlier arguing days with the wardens. I actually wrote a song about them called "Piccadilly Mafia."
1. There they go, it’s the Piccadilly Mafia
You better move, you know – or they’ll flippin’ ‘ave yer
“Move your car ! Move your dog ! Move your wife !
Or I will issue you with ticket !”
Don’t even get the joy of knowing somebody will nick it.....
2. Don’t even bother to appeal, the fine is flamin’ plenty
It’s a different kind of steal, starts at 60, rises to 120 !
And if you’re pretty you can smile,
I hear it’s worth 1000 words....
Or you can throw yourself on the mercy of the court
And beg for your life and say “oh please, I can’t afford it
My children are hungry, my landlord is mean,
My other half is absent, the taxman is punishing, my boss is a
drongo, My headache is splitting, my eczema is raging,
I can’t sleep at night and money is short..…”
grimtraveller
If only for a moment.....
None of that had anything to do with the thread subject but who cares ? 
Mick Doobie
Resist We Much
Hey Dan. How goes it, man.
Went to see your art show video, Youtube says "Private Video". No big deal, just letting you know. Hope your show went well & keep on keeping on.
Went to see your art show video, Youtube says "Private Video". No big deal, just letting you know. Hope your show went well & keep on keeping on.
LazerBeakShiek
Rad Racing Team
T Mobile has a promotion going..Every week on one day. For five weeks. You check in each week and click a box. At the end of the five weeks if you checked in each day you get a $5 mail in rebate.
Dude, I made it to week 3. I totally forgot. I blew it in week 4.
Dude, I made it to week 3. I totally forgot. I blew it in week 4.
JamEZmusic
Active member
Just spent a couple days in London, twice, I looked like an asshole.
I mik'd up a couple high profile people, ITV never told me I needed to mic up a 3rd person, 3rd person turns up 2 others buggered off with mics and packs, scrambling around for a spare earpiece, got one off someone else I kitted up earlier but had like 1minute before we went live so he panicked and pulled it out of his ear and unfed through his suit, earpiece fell apart in my hand, what the hell do I do now. I fit broken earpiece to tv presenter, it all falls out live on air and she can't hear anybody on the zoom, Annie Lennox etc. Adlib and cut, scrambling to get decent earpiece run off then re-fit this person in panic. all went ok afterwards. but I lost a lot of sleep over it and I thought I was going to get in serious trouble but nobody cared as it happens. Of course, I am the one that looks like the idiot though.
second day, fit earpiece and mic to a Lord, did my job everything looked neat, he did his live tv segment, i'm waiting by stage for him to walk off so I can have the quick chat and un clip everything, after scene was cleared for me to walk on set this Lord gave me looks like he wanted to kill me, stood there thinking, what the hell went wrong? It sounded great to me.... someone left a channel open elsewhere that was out of my control and he could hear chatter on his earpiece throughout his entire speech and he found it incredibly difficult to concentrate, he stood there and berated me in front of everyone, I didn't have a clue what was going on and thought i'd fucked up somehow by leaving a mic on elsewhere by accident. Took the wrath for a few minutes and I just walked away, cooled my head off a bit and just spent a while figuring out what went wrong. It wasn't my fault as it happened but I am doing the sound there and I was the one who mikd him up so he took it all out on me. Whatever...
Intense couple of days, glad to be home.
I mik'd up a couple high profile people, ITV never told me I needed to mic up a 3rd person, 3rd person turns up 2 others buggered off with mics and packs, scrambling around for a spare earpiece, got one off someone else I kitted up earlier but had like 1minute before we went live so he panicked and pulled it out of his ear and unfed through his suit, earpiece fell apart in my hand, what the hell do I do now. I fit broken earpiece to tv presenter, it all falls out live on air and she can't hear anybody on the zoom, Annie Lennox etc. Adlib and cut, scrambling to get decent earpiece run off then re-fit this person in panic. all went ok afterwards. but I lost a lot of sleep over it and I thought I was going to get in serious trouble but nobody cared as it happens. Of course, I am the one that looks like the idiot though.
second day, fit earpiece and mic to a Lord, did my job everything looked neat, he did his live tv segment, i'm waiting by stage for him to walk off so I can have the quick chat and un clip everything, after scene was cleared for me to walk on set this Lord gave me looks like he wanted to kill me, stood there thinking, what the hell went wrong? It sounded great to me.... someone left a channel open elsewhere that was out of my control and he could hear chatter on his earpiece throughout his entire speech and he found it incredibly difficult to concentrate, he stood there and berated me in front of everyone, I didn't have a clue what was going on and thought i'd fucked up somehow by leaving a mic on elsewhere by accident. Took the wrath for a few minutes and I just walked away, cooled my head off a bit and just spent a while figuring out what went wrong. It wasn't my fault as it happened but I am doing the sound there and I was the one who mikd him up so he took it all out on me. Whatever...
Intense couple of days, glad to be home.
dtb
Well-known member
LazerBeakShiek
Rad Racing Team
There was a huge spider in my shower. I wasn't gonna smoosh it. Not my style to step on things. So I tried to flush it down the drain. It was too friggin big.
Now it has become the spider that guards my drain..Its going to kill me in my sleep. It will need to be extracted.
Now it has become the spider that guards my drain..Its going to kill me in my sleep. It will need to be extracted.