The slime we call politicians

I am sick of politicians, especially the South African variety, we have a corrupt system that allows politicians to "walk over" to another party.
This makes for disgust and contempt by voters, we vote for Mr X and he wins his election just to cross over at a later stage when the other party winks at him.
This system brings out the slime in politicians who at best are the lowest of the low as far as I am concerned.
Anyone can be a politician and the pay and perks are astronomical, as far as I know we are the only country that gives medical benefits to politicians and pays them a pension when they get voted out!
It sucks...

Dear MISS AMINAT IBRAHIM you get the WDA this week.

Sigh... this grieves me to tell you my dear but you are just about the billionth person to send me this sorry tale so I thought just before I mark your mail as spam and send it to Abuse@alltheaddysused.com I would express my sincere condolences on your loss... but can I really believe that?
By the way the correct word is "magnate" you dumbass spammer! Next time turn CAPS LOCK off too, frikken amateur...

ASSIST ME.

I AM AMINAT IBRAHIM AMED, 23YEARS OLD AND THE ONLY DAUGHTER OF MY LATE PARENTS MR.AND MRS.AMED, MY FATHER WAS A HIGHLY REPUTABLE BUSNNESS MAGNET-(A COCOA MERCHANT)WHO OPERATED IN THE CAPITAL OF IVORY COAST DURING HIS DAYS.

IT IS SAD TO SAY THAT HE PASSED AWAY MYSTERIOUSLY IN FRANCE DURING ONE OF HIS BUSINESS TRIPS ABROAD YEAR 12TH.FEBUARY 2006.THOUGH HIS SUDDEN DEATH WAS LINKED OR RATHER SUSPECTED TO HAVE BEEN MASTERMINDED BY AN UNCLE OF HIS WHO TRAVELLED WITH HIM AT THAT TIME. BUT GOD KNOWS THE TRUTH

MY MOTHER DIED WHEN I WAS JUST 14 YEARS OLD, AND SINCE THEN MY FATHER TOOK ME SO SPECIAL. BEFORE HIS DEATH ON FEBUARY 12 2006 HE TOLD ME THAT HE HAS THE SUM OF TEN MILLION UNITED STATE DOLLARS.(USD$10 000 000) LEFT IN A SECURITY COMPANY IN A METTALIC TRUNK BOX, BUT THE SECURITY COMPANY DIDN'T KNOW THE CONTENT BECAUSE IT WAS REGISTERED AS FAMILY VALUABLES FOR SECURITY REASONS. HE ALSO HAND OVER THE DOCUMENTS TO ME.

I AM JUST 23YEARS OLD AND A UNIVERSITY UNDERGRADUATE AND REALLY DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO. NOW I WANT YOU TO ASSIST ME CLEAR THE CONSIGNMENT FROM THE CUSTODY OF THE SECURITY COMAPNY. THIS IS BECAUSE I HAVE SUFFERED A LOT OF SET BACKS AS A RESULT OF INCESSANT POLITICAL CRISIS HERE IN IVORY COAST. THE DEATH OF MY FATHER ACTUALLY BROUGHT SORROW TO MY LIFE.

I AM IN A SINCERE DESIRE OF YOUR HUMBLE ASSISTANCE IN THIS REGARDS. YOUR SUGGESTIONS AND IDEAS WILL BE HIGHLY REGARDED. NOW PERMIT ME TO ASK THESE FEW QUESTIONS:-
1. CAN YOU HONESTLY HELP ME ?
2. CAN I COMPLETELY TRUST YOU?
3. WHAT PERCENTAGE OF THE TOTAL AMOUNT IN QUESTION WILL BE GOOD FOR YOU?
PLEASE,CONSIDER THIS AND GET BACK TO ME AS SOON AS POSSIBLE.
THANK YOU SO MUCH.
MY SINCERE REGARDS,

Contacts me in my yahoo ok (aminatibrahim1@yahoo.com)

MISS AMINAT IBRAHIM.

Update: 29/08/2007
abuse@yahoo.com works... Thanks Kelvin, you guys rock!


Hello,
Thank you for writing to Yahoo! Mail.
In this particular case, we have taken appropriate action against the
Yahoo! account in question that was reported for fraudulent activities,
as per our Terms of Service (TOS). Please know that Yahoo! is unable to
disclose the action taken on another user's account with a third party.
We are not able to make exceptions to this rule.
If in the future you receive an unwanted email message that appears to
derive from a Yahoo! Mail account, please include the following in your
report of mail abuse to assist us in a prompt and full evaluation:
1) Original subject line -- please forward the email with a subject
identical to the original subject.
2) Complete headers -- email programs often display abbreviated headers.
To learn how to display the full headers in a Yahoo! Mail account,
please visit the Yahoo! Mail Help Desk at:
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If you are using a different client to read your email, please consult
your email program's help system for more information on viewing full
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3) Complete message body -- please include the complete, unedited
content of the email message in question. Please do not change or edit
the message in any way.
If reports of email abuse are missing any one of these three items, it
may take longer for the Yahoo! Mail Abuse Team to properly investigate
and take appropriate action. We appreciate your efforts in reporting
this abuse to Yahoo!. Due to security restrictions of our custom
messaging system, we request that you simply forward a copy of the
message on to us as opposed to sending it in an attachment.
Thank you again for contacting Yahoo! Mail.
Regards,
Kelvin
Yahoo! Customer Care
http://www.yahoo.com/
38412836

No camera again!

High drama today on campus as I left the one Caf where I had been sorting out a comms problem... mmm now who is burning stuff in front of then West entrance I think to myself when it strikes me there is a small commotion going on and fellas dressed in blue running around with extinguishers and a car is burning... sorry blokes but the golden 2 minutes are gone... that baby is gonna burn!
As most rally enthusiast and racers will attest, you have 2 minutes tops to hit the extinguisher if you smell smoke on a rally car... if you see flames you bale out and let it burn... your own skin is worth more than a few hundred grand rally car.
The same goes for civilian rust buckets... usually by the time you smell the smoke the flames have taken hold under the bonnet and it is pretty dangerous to pop the hood and disconnect the battery, meanwhile the clock is ticking down to 120 seconds elapsed... that is when the fuel lines, brake lines etc. melt and dump their contents into the growing conflagration. Time to phone your insurance broker and tell him to bring the claim forms forthwith and then the fire brigade... just to make sure no other cars go up in smoke...
Sad but a fact of life unfortunately. This song is what went through my head while I watched this unfortunate incident... Somone is Carlos tonight...
Burn Baby Burn - ASH - Written by Tim Wheeler

You're all I have in this teenage twilight
Your golden hair and pale blue eyes
But through all the days and the sleepless nights
We have never been satisfied
Tumbling like the leaves
Yeah, we are spiralling on the breeze
Almost to the point of no return
Everything will burn baby burn

Look into my tired eyes
See someone you don't recognise
Binds that can't be untied
Oh this is slow suicide
Feelings that I can't disguise
And never will be reconciled
Oh something inside has died

You walk like you're in a daze
Unresponsive eyes in a distant gaze
Like all the good times have flown away
And their memory leaves a bitter taste
Tumbling like the leaves
Yeah, we are spiralling on the breeze
Destructive love is all we have
Destructive love is all I am

Look into my tired eyes
See someone you don't recognise
Binds that can't be untied
Oh this is slow suicide
Feelings that I can't disguise
And never will be reconciled
Oh something inside has died

Vicious bitter words
Becoming more and more cruel
But you always take me back
And let me lick your wounds
Tumbling like the leaves
Yeah, we are spiralling on the breeze
Almost to the point of no return
Everything will burn baby burn

Look into my tired eyes
See someone you don't recognise
Binds that can't be untied
Oh this is slow suicide
Feelings that I can't disguise
We're living in a compromise
Oh something inside has died
I hope this ends the misfortune I have seen, experienced and lived through the last few days... Things can only get better! As the D:ream song attests...
Things can only get better - D:Ream
You can walk my path, you can wear my shoes
Learn to talk like me and be an angel too
But maybe you ain't never gonna feel this way
You ain't never gonna know me, but i know you
I'm singing it now-
Things can only get better
They can only get better if we see it through-
that means me and I mean you too
So teach me now that things can only get better,
They can only get, they only get, take it on from here
You know i know that things can only get better

I sometimes lose myself in me, I lose track of time
And I can't see the wood for the trees
You set them alight
burning bridges as you've gone
I'm too weak to fight ya
I've got my personal hell to deal with, then you say
Walk my path, wear my shoes, talk like that-
I'll be an angel then
Things can only get better
they can only get better, now i found you
Things can only get better, they can only get better,
now I found you
and you and you
You have shown me prejudice and greed
And you've shown me how I must learn to deal with this disease
I look at things now in a different light than I did before
And I've found the cause
and I think you can be my cure
So teach me to...
Walk your path, wear your shoes, talk like that, I'll be an angel and
Things can only get better.....
Tomorrow will be a better day I say, every day seems better than the last when one looks back. I think a stiff one for medicinal use is called for tonight...
"Reminds me of my safari in Africa. Somebody forgot the corkscrew and for several days we had to live on nothing but food and water." W. C. Fields (1880 - 1946)

Cry me a river

Dear Mr Rasool, let me explain something to you;
1. You arrive at Heathrow from Malaysia, a muslim country known to harbour islamic nutcases, not from SA. That set off a warning bell.
2. You claim the following;
"Rasool attended the conference in London on his way back from the World Islamic Economic Forum in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. He said his experience illustrated the sentiment, felt by many Islamic nations, that their money was welcome in many countries, but they were not."
Does the fact that not one islamic nation/organisation has organised a protest AGAINST fanatics of your faith to cut out their shit not been the reason why we distrust you?

So drop the victimisation thing and get off your butt and organise your fellow muslims to denounce terrorism and 17'th century practices and move into the 21'st century. Then, and only then you may be welcome...

Here's a thought...

since Americans are so wound up by the proposed immigration legislation and the influx from Mexico. Why not just buy the friggen country from the Mexican government... See, instant citizenship and no more border crossings... I am sure Bill Gates and George Soros have enough small change lying around to swing the deal. They can rename it Gatsoros!

Ethical Blogging

All the hoo ha about ethical blogging got me thinking why I blog;
Is it to please my neighbour?
Is it to piss off my boss?
Is it to impress my significant other? (Not that there is one at present.)
Is it to stroke my ego?
Is it to give a place for total strangers to come and type some comments?
Well folks, none of the above, I do it because it helps me sleep at night!
So I regard this whole ethics thing as a stupid exercise in my case, I will do as I please here because Blogger lets me and no one will tell me how to do it either. This here is mine and mine only, if no one reads it so what and if they do it is their indaba to process what they read... I do not pay for other peoples therapy! Grow up if you do not like what I say or just leave... don't let the door hit you on the way out!
Yes I sound angry, I am angry that people seem to have lost all vestiges of common sense these days, everyone gets offended at the drop of a hat/word/symbol/cartoon/description/(add a million other inane reasons here)/gesture but no one will think that you have choices these days. You have the choice to let something that you regard as offensive written on someone else's PRIVATE place get to you or to use the little cursor thingy to CLICK somewhere else. Eish bru! Chill!
With that done let me say that I enjoy perusing other blogs and may once in a while drop a comment but with this proviso... comments are a host's living room... and in a living room one acts like a civil guest. If not the kind host may evict you with whatever force necessary and often you will no longer be welcome to darken his portal ever again.
Like I said... common sense folks... it always works for me.
But let us ponder on the following quote... very fitting for the topic.
Non Judgment: In our world where it seems we are taught to judge everything all around and about us and we spend so much of our time doing just that, it might be wise to ask if we can judge anything. To judge anything with any degree of clarity and accuracy we would need all the information past, present and future and how it will affect all concerned to make a perfect judgment. Since no one has that skill, ability or information, you might agree, it may be unwise to judge. This idea may be hard to accept, but when you look back over your life and the judgments you made, ask yourself. How many of your judgments, when you made them, were you perfectly sure they were correct, would you want to change now with the benefit of 2020 hindsight? Since every judgment is only an opinion based on the limited information at hand, filtered through one's personal value system, it might be safe to assume no two people will judge anything exactly the same. Even concepts of right and wrong, good or bad, good or bad morals and ethics are only opinions, for what may be good in one case may be a disaster in another.
Sidney Madwed

Holy Moses who?

This is going to piss off some traditionally weaponed tribesmen for sure!
I must say there is quite a paucity of quotes etc. about this "illustrious" comrade on the internet, so much for being "famous.

See the yellow spot...

way up the mountain? That was one of the Marshall points on the route for the Rouxville 200 off road race.

Being MSA Steward afforded me more time to take pictures, here is the Bike Start at 09:30, 56 bikes entered

Kenny screwing his eyes shut from the glare of a scorching sun!
And this was the Quad Start at 13:30, 67 quad entries in all. Minus the one dude that had no racing kit!

Last quad home was at 17:25. To Sarel, Ria and all the other organizers and sponsors, job well done. The venue was 100% better than last year and the route was well marked as usual, technical but not dangerous, the average speed of both the leading Quad and Bike was well within the 60 Kph target. To all the Welkom riders... grow some! This is off road racing, not flat track or drags! Here one can see the dust trail of one of the quads negotiating the trail down the first leg.
And this was the same guy approaching the pit section... still going flat taps, balls to the wall!
A dedication Cross for Elmer Symonds was also present during the race and prizegiving, it will be at each of our regional events, thanks guys this is a wonderful memorial to a bloke that lived for the sport.
After the racing the dam became a good spot to relax and cool down in after a very hot and hectic days racing.
All in all a great event and I am looking foreward the the Mayaputi 200 next month... but as I will be scoring there will not be much time for picture taking.
"Dedication is not what others expect of you, it is what you can give to others." Unknown

Peroni, nice ad but you got your credits wrong!

Sitting watching CSI the Peroni ad came up with the song Baby It's You by the Shirelles (also covered by the Beatles by the way as well as Smith ), perusing the Italian beer maker's website I see they say it was done by the Sapphires... dead wrong dudes! I hasten to add that if they cannot get the group right thenn wat does the beer taste like? Nobody brews it like Windhoek!

I then did some Googling and affirmed my suspicions... the Sapphires never ever sang any Burt Bacharach songs ever! Check out Songfacts for the composers and some other factoids.
The Sapphires discography proves my theory as well, The Best of the Sapphires and Who do you love were the only albums made by the trio. Sadly no Baby It's You is listed there... So there... my own Musical CSI!

Baby It's You - Burt Bacharach, Hal David, and Barney Williams, made famous by the Shirelles and the Beatles

It's not the way you smile that touched my heart
It's not the way you kiss that tears me apart

But how many many many nights go by
I sit alone at home and cry over you
What can I do
Can't help myself
Cause baby it's you
Baby it's you

You should hear what they say about you (cheat, cheat)
They say, they say you never never ever been true (cheat, cheat)

Whoa, it doesn't matter what they say
I know I'm gonna love you any old way
What can I do, then it's true
Don't want nobody, nobody
Cause baby it's you
Baby it's you

Whoa, it doesn't matter what they say
I know I'm gonna love you any old way
What can I do, then it's true
Don't want nobody, nobody
Cause baby it's you
Baby it's you
Don't leave me all alone
I leave you with this gem... (Sapphires? geddit?)
"Marriage is based on the theory that when man discovers a brand of beer exactly to his taste he should at once throw up his job and go work in the brewery."George Jean Nathan (1882 - 1958)

UPDATE 10/03/07
Seems like there may be a new girl band called The Sapphires that got their break by singing this song for the ad... I still have to find their website and confirm this... the song sounds just like the Shirelles version though. My suspicions are still not satisfied that this was not a rippoff of the Shirelles. It has been done before... anyone remember those two dweebs called Milli Vanilli that won a Grammy and then lost it because they mimed the words other people sang? I still smell lutekefisk and not beer... by the way... SABMiller owns the Peroni brand now... more reason to drink Windhoek, a real beer!

Time to get the brat with wings...

in the sights of my Barrett .50 sniper rifle.

Once again we are being bombarded with Valentines Day adverts... this is my uptake on the whole Commercial Cupidian Conspiracy. I need some depleted Uranium ammo, a good fire position and that will be the end of this critter... time to get me some cherubic wings... I hear they are quite crunchy dipped in chilli sauce.

Don't get me wrong, I believe in love, just not the type inflicted by my Nemesis with wings! Been there, done that! So Mr Cupid you are hereby warned, you are fair game and in my sights.
So to celebrate the stupid season I decided to put together another Screaming Tangerines playlist with a twist in the arrow... but damn... ambushed again... while compiling the list I was listening to "I'll Surrender" by Calienda, vocals by Linn aka Linda Bredschneyder and I think I have an arrow in my heart! The angelic voice of Linda got to me... ah well next year.. this is a pic from the website. Can you blame me?
Back to the playlist... Called Bullet For Cupid.
74 tracks in playlist, average track length: 4:20 Playlist length: 5 hours 21 minutes 10 seconds.

1. Placebo - Bulletproof Cupid (2:22)
2. Sentenced - Bleed in my arms (5:09)
3. Evanescence - All That I M Living For (3:48)
4. Gregorian Masters of Chant - Stop crying your heart out (5:16)
5. Crowded House - Into temptation (3:52)
6. Moon - Thoughts (3:44)
7. MacAngel - Love Is The Hunter (3:26)
8. Theuns Jordaan - Soos bloed (3:30)
9. Nick Kamen - Each time you break my heart (6:19)
10. No Mercy - Missing (4:01)
11. Delta Goodrem - Lost Without You (4:08)
12. Roxette - I didn't want to get hurt (4:16)
13. Peter Gabriel feat. Kate Bush - Don't Give Up (7:36)
14. Spice Girls - Viva forever (5:10)
15. Jennifer Lopez - Ain't it funny (4:06)
16. Akira - Wanna be with you (3:06)
17. Frontline Assembly - Justify my love (4:59)
18. Dht - I Cant Be Your Friend (4:10)
19. Southside Spinners - Luvstruck 2005(Klubbheads Mix) (3:29)
20. Armin van Buuren - Burned With Desire (4:13)
21. Nicki French - I surrender (shanghai surprize radio edit) (3:51)
22. Mylo - In My Arms (Tocadisco's 'Zwischen Den Stühlen Mix') (5:52)
23. Dance Nation - Words (3:28)
24. Rachael Starr - Till There Was You (3:26)
25. Kylie Minogue - Love At First Sight (3:59)
26. Meck ft. Leo Sayer - Thunder In My Heart Again (3:00)
27. Ferry Corsten Pres. East West - The Love I Lost [Robert Nickson Mix] (8:08)
28. SOS - Just be good (3:39)
29. Jennifer Rush - Ring of ice (3:45)
30. Rikke - Gimme gotta gimme (3:28)
31. JMC ft Maria Liucci - The reason (3:30)
32. Imperio - Amor Infinitus (Album Version) (4:54)
33. DJ Bobo - I believe (2:54)
34. Love Bite - Take your time (3:46)
35. Shine 4 - Begin weer voor (3:15)
36. Pet Shop Boys - Love Is A Catastrophe (4:50)
37. Drop Dead Gorgeous - Pain (4:12)
38. Mark Knopfler - Romeo And Juliet(Live, Hamburg 2001) (9:33)
39. Jewel - Foolish Games (long) (5:44)
40. Dido - My lover's gone (4:26)
41. Dht - I Miss You (3:54)
42. Level 42 - Lessons In Love (4:03)
43. Rihanna - Unfaithful (white disc mix) (4:17)
44. Linn - Falling in love (3:24)
45. Jennifer Rush - I see a shadow (4:13)
46. Fragma - Every time you need me (3:32)
47. Kate Ryan - Love or lust (3:44)
48. C-Base - Superstring (3:42)
49. Delerium - Silence(dj tiesto) (6:02)
50. Iio - Is It Love [Radio Edit] (3:09)
51. Benassi Bros ft Dhany - Hit My Heart (5:08)
52. Calienda - I'll Surrender (3:38)
53. Marc van Linden - Real Thing (7:33)
54. Damae - Control (3:01)
55. DJ Bobo & Sandra - Secrets of Love (2006 Club Mix) (6:41)
56. ATB - Believe In Me (3:18)
57. Kate Ryan - Alive (3:31)
58. Royksopp - What Else Is There (5:17)
59. t.A.T.u. - All About Us (3:02)
60. Pet Shop Boys - Single bilingual (3:50)
61. HIM - Wicked game (4:06)
62. Cutting Crew - (I just) died in your arms tonight (4:41)
63. The Ronettes - Be My Baby (2:39)
64. Roxette - The Sweet Hello, The Sad Goodbye (4:49)
65. Gregorian - I still haven't found what I am looking for (4:50)
66. Jewel - Fragile Heart (3:21)
67. Sonja Heroldt - What do I do now (4:05)
68. Jak de Priester - My hart is in Intensive Care (4:13)
69. Pearl Jam - Last kiss (3:19)
70. Tommy James & The Shondelles - Crimson & Clover (3:28)
71. HIM - When love and death embrace (6:08)
72. The Awakening - Death Says Yes (5:23)
73. Rammstein - Mein herz brent (4:40)
74. Evanescence - Even In Death (4:09)

"Must, bid the Morn awake!
Sad Winter now declines,
Each bird doth choose a mate;
This day's Saint Valentine's.
For that good bishop's sake
Get up and let us see
What beauty it shall be
That Fortune us assigns."
Michael Drayton (1563 - 1631)

House of horrors...

well not quite but after finding the wierd stuff I reminded me of a house of horrors, this is going to be our new offices from next year. Hopefully we will be ensconced in bright airconditioned place that one can swing a camel, our present offices are darker than the rest of Africa and so small one can barely swing a mouse let alone a cat. Will post pics as things improve from the present mess. That "thing" nailed to the table is some waxworks abstract art thing... to me it was plain scary!

Oh, boss asked, "Why so many plugs"... errrr because we need 8 each boss! We do not just use a laptop like you, there is an encoder, the printer, the camera, the graphics controller etc. etc. We will still need some snapper strips!

Relocating is so much fun, almost like a holiday, NOT!

"[Abstract art is] a product of the untalented, sold by the unprincipled to the utterly bewildered." Al Capp (1909 - 1979)

Lutefisk... no, just smelly Panga

Brian Lundemark at Rockwood Comic must have smelled my fishy disaster!


Saw these really nice Pangas at Plick&Pray on Thursday, all nicely flecked ready for the pan and at a good price... (note to self. NEVER EVER buy fish during a heatwave.)
Bought a bag of frizzen potato wegies to keep said fish cool on the way home but alas I decided to do the fish on Friday, there was still enough left over chicken for toasted chicken mayo sarmies!
(less hassles to knock together see...)
Big mistake... friday morning comes and I catch a wiff of Lutefisk, just a wiff mind you, could it be the tub of 2 month old vanilla yogurt that the kids begged me to buy but only ate 1/3?
Friday lunch... the wiff is becoming potent Lutefisk but it must be the chicken carcasse I left for the ferals... out it goes and joins the yogurt in the bin outside...
Back from work and I need a cold one when WHAM... Lutefisk attack... I take out the Pangas and pass out...
Ten munutes later the Lutefisk aka Panga is with the yogurt and chicken carcasse... Sigh! Always remember to fry when you buy when it comes to Pangas!
Thank goodness they came and cleared the trash today, by Sunday the whole neighbourhood was smelling of Lutefisk!
PS... I just read all about Pangas at Wiki... and these fish can be queer! No wonder they went off like that!
"Well, we tried the lutefisk trick and the raccoons went away, but now we've got a family of Norwegians living under our house!"
The Ole and Lena joke books.

How can we make you cry...

is the line from the advertisments of FNB. Well you could have helped by linking my new Credit Card to my existing PIN on my Credit Card account and thereby sparing me a month of hassles with PIN's being rejected and cards becoming invalid. Come on how difficult is the small thing I ask? I just get so irritated when one has to be inconvenienced by illogical systems. I am sure I am not the first customer to have this comedy of errors to be inflicted on them.
This all started last month on the day I went to fetch my new card that would start working this month...
Error 1, the clerk activated something when reporting that I had collected my card.
Error 2 The next time I went to draw money with my then still valid card... "Incorrrect PIN" x2.
So the next monday I tootled to the bank and tried again... then the ATM purloined my card!
Popped in to see the manager and retrieved the card... he informed me that as the new yet still not valid card had been reported as collected the older card would not work at ATM's any more. So I arrainge for my new card's pin to be diverted to my post box...
Error 3 Today, in the time that my new card is supposed to work I try and draw money... no dice "card invalid"... So my new card and new PIN are worthless... thank you First National Bank! I am now reduced to a quivering tearfull frustrated wreck...
Hopefully next week we will see the new card replacement and two days later the PIN in the post... Then we do it all over again...

UPDATE:
My new card works... this still took 2 months to fix... FNB still sucks...