Hmm, it's been awhile since I've been on a blog-rant. Must be time for one!!!!
So, I'm driving to work today. It's Wednesday, so I didn't have my kids this morning, which means I frequently sleep in a bit, and I did again today. So, to be fair, I was leaving my house later than I do ordinarily.
More background: It's a beautiful, BEAUTIFUL morning -- it was high 50's when I woke up, and clear and sunny.
I leave my house, and pull out onto the main street that my neighborhood is off of, heading east. As I come close to the neighborhood just next to me, a car pulls out in front of me. I was a little close for them to be pulling out (and they knew it, because they ran the stop sign to get in front of me), but OK.
But then they drive slow. Like 5 miles below the speed limit slow (and, yes, I mean the school zone speed limit!).
And THEN they turn into the middle school parking lot. Which is, oh, 50 FEET from the neighborhood!!! Oh, and there's a walking path from the neighborhood to the school!
Here's a map showing exactly how far they went (may need to zoom out to get the full effect):
View Larger Map
So, in summary, on an absolutely beautiful morning, when it's not cold, raining, snowing, dark-of-nighting, this parent decided that they needed to DRIVE their kid the tenth of a mile or so from their house to school. And go slow to boot.
And we wonder why there's a childhood obesity problem!
.
Showing posts with label rants. Show all posts
Showing posts with label rants. Show all posts
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Thursday, September 11, 2008
She'll get my vote? In a pig's eye!
Oh, wait, can I say that? Or might it possibly be miscontstrued as a jibe at the Republican Vice-Presidential candidate, since she wears eye makeup?
How about this: She'll get my vote? When pigs fly!!!!
Nope, probably not that either -- as an elected official in Alaska, she had to fly, a lot (can't get to Juneau except by boat or plane). So that's probably off limits too.
To paraphrase Binkly from Bloom County, we've become a nation full of offensensitivity; that is, highly and easily offended to the point that normal conversation becomes impossible.
OK, I understand that people have their hot buttons. Lord knows I have enough of them myself.
But honestly, people. Stop a moment, take a deep breath, and really THINK, please.
Yes, Barak Obama made the dreaded, "You can put lipstick on a pig, but it's still a pig" comment this week. Republicans and Hillary-crats have used this to lambast him and accuse him of being sexist.
Now, for all I know Sen. Obama is the most mysogenistic, sexist SOB in the world, and his wife, two daughters, and record of supporting women's issues is all a facade to dupe the American public.
But if you're going to make an argument for that scenario, make it a real argument, please! Act as if you, and your fellow Americans, have enough of a brain to actually read, interpret and evaluate an actual, well-thought out argument rather than a vitriolic diatribe aimed at people's hot buttons!
First of all, the lipstick-wearing pig is a folk expression that's been around forever, people. It means that just because a person SAYS they've (or their ideas) have changed, doesn't mean they actually have. In other words, seeing is believing. Or actions speak louder than words. Or any of a million other adages.
Secondly, this phrase has been used often by Obama, LONG before McCain named a female as his ticket-mate. In fact, it was used by McCain during the hard-fought Democratic primary. In all cases, it was used, as is correct, to refer to a candidates plans, policies or ideas, NOT the candidate themselves.
And, finally, in this case Obama was not referring to Palin at all, INCLUDING her plans, policies or ideas. This was all about McCain.
But now he's sexist.
And what's worse, it's not even just the Republicans who are making this accusation; one can, of course, expect it of them; if they can twist words to their advantage, they will (note: I'm a Democrat, yes, but I also know that they, too, twist words to their advantage. I'm neither stupid nor unrealistic, thanks).
But Democratic women are jumping on the Obama is Sexist bandwagon, too.
Have you women actually paid attention to Palin? Have you listened to her? Have you researched AT ALL her policies, her ideas?
She's a fundamentalist Christian who supports teaching Creationism in schools (more full disclosure; I am also Christian, but I find no conflict with my belief in God and my belief in science).
She's absolutely lied regarding her record. She never said "Thanks but no thanks" to the so-called bridge to nowhere; she removed her support only after Congress decided that the appropriations would go to other projects. And, in fact, Alaska STILL got the money, so she didn't save the taxpayers any money, either.
She is absolutely opposed to legalized abortion, except in cases of rape and incest (notice that the mother's health is not included there).
How, HOW HOW can Democrats consider this woman a step forward? In what way does she support their concerns?
Or do two X chromosomes trump political ideology? Do we believe that we should vote for someone SIMPLY because she's a woman? That she will do a good job SIMPLY because she's a woman?
And if we believe that, how are we any different than certain men (not all, by any means), who believed that there were certain jobs that a woman couldn't do, SIMPLY because she was a woman?
I'm sorry, I don't buy it.
Yes, Palin is female, as am I
Yes, she's a working mother, as am I.
She does not, however, in any way shape or form, believe in what I believe. She is not concerned with my concerns. She does not share my political ideology.
And that, my friends, will never change. Not even when pigs fly.
How about this: She'll get my vote? When pigs fly!!!!
Nope, probably not that either -- as an elected official in Alaska, she had to fly, a lot (can't get to Juneau except by boat or plane). So that's probably off limits too.
To paraphrase Binkly from Bloom County, we've become a nation full of offensensitivity; that is, highly and easily offended to the point that normal conversation becomes impossible.
OK, I understand that people have their hot buttons. Lord knows I have enough of them myself.
But honestly, people. Stop a moment, take a deep breath, and really THINK, please.
Yes, Barak Obama made the dreaded, "You can put lipstick on a pig, but it's still a pig" comment this week. Republicans and Hillary-crats have used this to lambast him and accuse him of being sexist.
Now, for all I know Sen. Obama is the most mysogenistic, sexist SOB in the world, and his wife, two daughters, and record of supporting women's issues is all a facade to dupe the American public.
But if you're going to make an argument for that scenario, make it a real argument, please! Act as if you, and your fellow Americans, have enough of a brain to actually read, interpret and evaluate an actual, well-thought out argument rather than a vitriolic diatribe aimed at people's hot buttons!
First of all, the lipstick-wearing pig is a folk expression that's been around forever, people. It means that just because a person SAYS they've (or their ideas) have changed, doesn't mean they actually have. In other words, seeing is believing. Or actions speak louder than words. Or any of a million other adages.
Secondly, this phrase has been used often by Obama, LONG before McCain named a female as his ticket-mate. In fact, it was used by McCain during the hard-fought Democratic primary. In all cases, it was used, as is correct, to refer to a candidates plans, policies or ideas, NOT the candidate themselves.
And, finally, in this case Obama was not referring to Palin at all, INCLUDING her plans, policies or ideas. This was all about McCain.
But now he's sexist.
And what's worse, it's not even just the Republicans who are making this accusation; one can, of course, expect it of them; if they can twist words to their advantage, they will (note: I'm a Democrat, yes, but I also know that they, too, twist words to their advantage. I'm neither stupid nor unrealistic, thanks).
But Democratic women are jumping on the Obama is Sexist bandwagon, too.
Have you women actually paid attention to Palin? Have you listened to her? Have you researched AT ALL her policies, her ideas?
She's a fundamentalist Christian who supports teaching Creationism in schools (more full disclosure; I am also Christian, but I find no conflict with my belief in God and my belief in science).
She's absolutely lied regarding her record. She never said "Thanks but no thanks" to the so-called bridge to nowhere; she removed her support only after Congress decided that the appropriations would go to other projects. And, in fact, Alaska STILL got the money, so she didn't save the taxpayers any money, either.
She is absolutely opposed to legalized abortion, except in cases of rape and incest (notice that the mother's health is not included there).
How, HOW HOW can Democrats consider this woman a step forward? In what way does she support their concerns?
Or do two X chromosomes trump political ideology? Do we believe that we should vote for someone SIMPLY because she's a woman? That she will do a good job SIMPLY because she's a woman?
And if we believe that, how are we any different than certain men (not all, by any means), who believed that there were certain jobs that a woman couldn't do, SIMPLY because she was a woman?
I'm sorry, I don't buy it.
Yes, Palin is female, as am I
Yes, she's a working mother, as am I.
She does not, however, in any way shape or form, believe in what I believe. She is not concerned with my concerns. She does not share my political ideology.
And that, my friends, will never change. Not even when pigs fly.
I love my school
Or, rather, my kids' school.
Now, to be fair, it has it's ups and downs. I have not been uniformly pleased with everything that has ever happened there, and in fact there have been times when I've been quite distressed about things.
But overall, it's a good school.
Here's an article in Newsweek on "America's struggling boys". Now, to be fair, magazines have to sell to continue to exist, and to sell they tend to, shall we say, exaggerate some things. AND this is an op-ed piece.
But it raises some valid, and scary for those of us who have children, points. And, yes, I did deliberately say children, not boys, because I believe that girls are just as affected by these trends, but it manifests differently in girls.
Anyway, the point of the article is that the recent high incidence of behavioral problems in children, which affect boys to a much larger degree, may have as much to do with ourselves as parents and our society as anything.
To wit: Boys are active. They need to move, they need to yell, they are loud, mobile, energetic creatures. Duh, to anyone who's ever spent more than about 2 seconds with one.
But here's what's happening in our schools and our society:
Now, I will admit, my children do have a pretty scheduled life. But I'm (reasonably) careful about what I schedule them in; and I wouldn't do it if they didn't have some outlet for free play. They're in an afterschool program that does provide for free play; this certainly makes it easier for me to put them into their activities (which they choose, incidentally). Their Dad and I have also begun, for the past two summers, using a babysitter in the summer rather than camps, at least partially to give them down-time.
And, yes, for the record, in their pre-school, there were parents who brought in workbooks that they expected the teachers to use with their kids. The teacher in question adamantly refused, which is one reason I requested her for both my kids (and continue to think she may be the greatest pre-school teacher in the world!).
But back to my school. Here's why I love it, in relation to this article:
Now, in the interests of full disclosure, we have also not met our No Child Left Behind goals the past two years. We missed one goal out of 22. For those of you without kids, to be considered "passing", a school must meet 100% of it's goals. Nice and realistic....
Anyway, to be fair, we are not a School of Excellence.
But given the option, I'd rather be a less than excellent school that actually gives a damn about the minds of the children who attend, not just their test scores.
Now, to be fair, it has it's ups and downs. I have not been uniformly pleased with everything that has ever happened there, and in fact there have been times when I've been quite distressed about things.
But overall, it's a good school.
Here's an article in Newsweek on "America's struggling boys". Now, to be fair, magazines have to sell to continue to exist, and to sell they tend to, shall we say, exaggerate some things. AND this is an op-ed piece.
But it raises some valid, and scary for those of us who have children, points. And, yes, I did deliberately say children, not boys, because I believe that girls are just as affected by these trends, but it manifests differently in girls.
Anyway, the point of the article is that the recent high incidence of behavioral problems in children, which affect boys to a much larger degree, may have as much to do with ourselves as parents and our society as anything.
To wit: Boys are active. They need to move, they need to yell, they are loud, mobile, energetic creatures. Duh, to anyone who's ever spent more than about 2 seconds with one.
But here's what's happening in our schools and our society:
- Children are sent to 'academic' pre-schools, where they are not simply socialized and taught how to get along in a group, but drilled in academics
- Children are enrolled in structured activities to the point of never having any free time to do what they want, or to learn how to entertain themselves
- Schools have cut recess and PE across the board, and have also cut programs such as music, art and science that can provide a tactile, hands on learning environment
- These cuts have been in favor of more rote learning in order to pass the dreaded EOGs (End Of Grade tests)
Now, I will admit, my children do have a pretty scheduled life. But I'm (reasonably) careful about what I schedule them in; and I wouldn't do it if they didn't have some outlet for free play. They're in an afterschool program that does provide for free play; this certainly makes it easier for me to put them into their activities (which they choose, incidentally). Their Dad and I have also begun, for the past two summers, using a babysitter in the summer rather than camps, at least partially to give them down-time.
And, yes, for the record, in their pre-school, there were parents who brought in workbooks that they expected the teachers to use with their kids. The teacher in question adamantly refused, which is one reason I requested her for both my kids (and continue to think she may be the greatest pre-school teacher in the world!).
But back to my school. Here's why I love it, in relation to this article:
- The kids get two half hour PE periods a week. That's twice what the State requires
- In addition, they get a recess period daily. There's a teacher around to monitor for safety, but during recess the kids decide what and how to play.
- We have a science lab, and a dedicated Science teacher. In an elementary school. Depending on their age, the kids go for an hour either weekly or bi-weekly; they do experiments, make use of the creek that runs through the school property, or work in the garden
- The school also has a resident Arts program for 4th graders, where they learn dance, as well as strong music and visual arts programs
- The kids are given plenty of projects that do NOT fall into the category of rote learning
Now, in the interests of full disclosure, we have also not met our No Child Left Behind goals the past two years. We missed one goal out of 22. For those of you without kids, to be considered "passing", a school must meet 100% of it's goals. Nice and realistic....
Anyway, to be fair, we are not a School of Excellence.
But given the option, I'd rather be a less than excellent school that actually gives a damn about the minds of the children who attend, not just their test scores.
Friday, June 06, 2008
Mean people suck.
Remember those bumper stickers? I think I need to get one made into a placard, or possibly "calling cards" that I can hand out when people irritate me: "Mean People Suck, and you're lookin' like a Hoover, babe!"
On my drive into work, there's a particular place where there are two very poorly synchronized stoplights; the first is where people turn to go to the Hospital and the second is where they turn to go to the Catholic school (and Good Lord, there are a lot of people who go there!!! Invest in a bus, folks!).
Frequently, the second of the two lights has not yet turned green when the first has, this couples with all the Catholics trying to get to school (again, splurge for a bus, folks) who back up the left lane, and traffic gets backed up to the first light (the two lights are less than a city block apart).
Now, I have a driving pet peeve: I HATE people who block intersections. That doesn't get you to your destination any faster, and it's really, really anti-social behavior. So, I try to always stop BEFORE the intersection, even when I have a green light, if traffic is not moving.
Well, apparently the world of right-turn-on-red people think that I'm stopping there to let them go. Twice now in the past week, with traffic backed up INTO the intersection, I've stopped early only to have someone from a side street pull in front of me, and FURTHER block the intersection!!!!
Memo to right-turn-on-red-lighters: If turning right on red will block an intersection, it's probably NOT the right thing to do....
On my drive into work, there's a particular place where there are two very poorly synchronized stoplights; the first is where people turn to go to the Hospital and the second is where they turn to go to the Catholic school (and Good Lord, there are a lot of people who go there!!! Invest in a bus, folks!).
Frequently, the second of the two lights has not yet turned green when the first has, this couples with all the Catholics trying to get to school (again, splurge for a bus, folks) who back up the left lane, and traffic gets backed up to the first light (the two lights are less than a city block apart).
Now, I have a driving pet peeve: I HATE people who block intersections. That doesn't get you to your destination any faster, and it's really, really anti-social behavior. So, I try to always stop BEFORE the intersection, even when I have a green light, if traffic is not moving.
Well, apparently the world of right-turn-on-red people think that I'm stopping there to let them go. Twice now in the past week, with traffic backed up INTO the intersection, I've stopped early only to have someone from a side street pull in front of me, and FURTHER block the intersection!!!!
Memo to right-turn-on-red-lighters: If turning right on red will block an intersection, it's probably NOT the right thing to do....
Wednesday, June 04, 2008
Oh, Puh-LEASE!!!
It's the 25th anniversary of the movie Bull Durham (one of the all-time great baseball movies), so the city of Durham, as well as the Durham Bulls, are kinda excited.
One of the things they're doing is bringing Kevin Costner, who played Crash Davis in the movie, back to Durham.
But not to do anything Crash Davis-ish. Nope, he's coming with his band to play a concert in the Bulls' stadium (which, incidentally, is NOT the one the movie was filmed in!). But, still, it would've been cool, and it was on the 4th of July, so it was followed by fireworks.
I briefly considered going, but decided I'd rather go to the ballgame the night before, when I'll have my kids, so I went out to the Bull website to buy tickets. Because of other people in the group, I needed 7 tickets. I've been to enough Bulls games that I now refuse to buy tickets unless they're under the roof -- there's always a really good chance of either rain or blistering hot sun, so the roof is a good investment.
So, I found the section I wanted, and there were three rows with open seats: Row Z had three seats, row Y had 5, and row X had 3. The automated progam gave me 3 seats in row X, three in row Y, and one in row Z. Not really what I wanted, 'cause who wants to sit alone at a ball game? So I went in and changed it to 5 seats in row Y and 2 in row X.
Nope, can't do that. The online ticketing won't allow you to buy seats if it will leave a singleton seat open.
Um, excuse me???? I got there first, I should be able to buy those tickets!!!!! You're going to charge my credit card immediately, before we know anything about injuries, rain, win-loss record, who's pitching, or ANYTHING, but you want me to re-arrange my seating preferences for a hypothetical couple who might or might not decide to come to the game at the last minute?!?!?!?!
Uh, NO!!!
Now, because tickets are cheap, I merely went back to the ticket selection screen and added another ticket to my order, and now I have a row of 5 and a row of three.
But still! This is stupid! Memo to Bulls: If someone wants to give you money for tickets, a month in advance, TAKE IT!
Sheesh.
One of the things they're doing is bringing Kevin Costner, who played Crash Davis in the movie, back to Durham.
But not to do anything Crash Davis-ish. Nope, he's coming with his band to play a concert in the Bulls' stadium (which, incidentally, is NOT the one the movie was filmed in!). But, still, it would've been cool, and it was on the 4th of July, so it was followed by fireworks.
I briefly considered going, but decided I'd rather go to the ballgame the night before, when I'll have my kids, so I went out to the Bull website to buy tickets. Because of other people in the group, I needed 7 tickets. I've been to enough Bulls games that I now refuse to buy tickets unless they're under the roof -- there's always a really good chance of either rain or blistering hot sun, so the roof is a good investment.
So, I found the section I wanted, and there were three rows with open seats: Row Z had three seats, row Y had 5, and row X had 3. The automated progam gave me 3 seats in row X, three in row Y, and one in row Z. Not really what I wanted, 'cause who wants to sit alone at a ball game? So I went in and changed it to 5 seats in row Y and 2 in row X.
Nope, can't do that. The online ticketing won't allow you to buy seats if it will leave a singleton seat open.
Um, excuse me???? I got there first, I should be able to buy those tickets!!!!! You're going to charge my credit card immediately, before we know anything about injuries, rain, win-loss record, who's pitching, or ANYTHING, but you want me to re-arrange my seating preferences for a hypothetical couple who might or might not decide to come to the game at the last minute?!?!?!?!
Uh, NO!!!
Now, because tickets are cheap, I merely went back to the ticket selection screen and added another ticket to my order, and now I have a row of 5 and a row of three.
But still! This is stupid! Memo to Bulls: If someone wants to give you money for tickets, a month in advance, TAKE IT!
Sheesh.
Thursday, May 29, 2008
Great Minds Think Alike
I was all ready to go on a rant today about the UNC Athletics website. Not a huge rant, but a minor one.
Before I did, though, I went to catch up on Trina's blog, and found THIS post. Apparently, it's been a bad day or so in the ether!
Anyway, so my rant.
The UNC Athletics site is actually pretty good. It's easy to navigate, and reasonably easy to find information on schedules, results, summer camps, tickets, etc.
I went there today to see about getting tickets to the NCAA regionals (baseball). Carolina is hosting, and I didn't get tickets last year, so really wanted them this year. I got there and found out (actually I suspected this all along) that I could not buy single game tickets, so I selected what I needed for the whole series, then went to the order screen to debate if I actually wanted to do it.
Like most online ticketing sites, they have a timer, 5 minutes in this case, after which the tickets will be released. So, I think and debate and think some more, and with about a minute and a half left, click on "Purchase". I then have to create an account; OK, no biggie.
Except the time it takes to create the account counts against my 5 minutes!!!! THAT'S not right, at least not without making it very clear somewhere! But if a screen has two buttons, one labeled "Release Tickets" and one labeled "Purchase Tickets", I'm by golly going to assume that clicking Purchase Tickets is going to, oh, I don't know, earmark the tickets for purchase, perhaps?
Sheesh. I hate bad websites.
Before I did, though, I went to catch up on Trina's blog, and found THIS post. Apparently, it's been a bad day or so in the ether!
Anyway, so my rant.
The UNC Athletics site is actually pretty good. It's easy to navigate, and reasonably easy to find information on schedules, results, summer camps, tickets, etc.
I went there today to see about getting tickets to the NCAA regionals (baseball). Carolina is hosting, and I didn't get tickets last year, so really wanted them this year. I got there and found out (actually I suspected this all along) that I could not buy single game tickets, so I selected what I needed for the whole series, then went to the order screen to debate if I actually wanted to do it.
Like most online ticketing sites, they have a timer, 5 minutes in this case, after which the tickets will be released. So, I think and debate and think some more, and with about a minute and a half left, click on "Purchase". I then have to create an account; OK, no biggie.
Except the time it takes to create the account counts against my 5 minutes!!!! THAT'S not right, at least not without making it very clear somewhere! But if a screen has two buttons, one labeled "Release Tickets" and one labeled "Purchase Tickets", I'm by golly going to assume that clicking Purchase Tickets is going to, oh, I don't know, earmark the tickets for purchase, perhaps?
Sheesh. I hate bad websites.
Monday, May 19, 2008
That's too easy
OK, shouldn't trivia contests be SOMEWHAT hard? Or at least accurate?
The online radio station I listen to at work is giving away tickets this week to see KT Tunstall (one of my favorites, btw). You have to be the nth caller, but you also have to answer a trivia question correctly; the subject changes, as far as I can tell, at the whim of the DJ.
So, today's question was about Star Wars (yeah, I know, I'm a Star Wars freak). The question was, "Other than Darth Vader, name the two other Darths in the first 3 Star Wars episodes."
OK. The answer they were looking for was Darth Maul and Darth Siddious.
EXCEPT THERE WERE THREE OTHER DARTHS! Count Dooku was also a Sith Apprentice, and went by the monniker Darth Tyrannous.
I'm not asking that they make someone name all three; that's pretty arcane and, uh, trivial (grin) knowledge. But at least write the question such that it's accurate: "Other than Darth Vader, name 2 of the 3 other Darths in the first three Star Wars episodes"
Hmph. And I would've liked the tickets, too, but I'm not sure how I would've gotten to Nashville to see the show...
The online radio station I listen to at work is giving away tickets this week to see KT Tunstall (one of my favorites, btw). You have to be the nth caller, but you also have to answer a trivia question correctly; the subject changes, as far as I can tell, at the whim of the DJ.
So, today's question was about Star Wars (yeah, I know, I'm a Star Wars freak). The question was, "Other than Darth Vader, name the two other Darths in the first 3 Star Wars episodes."
OK. The answer they were looking for was Darth Maul and Darth Siddious.
EXCEPT THERE WERE THREE OTHER DARTHS! Count Dooku was also a Sith Apprentice, and went by the monniker Darth Tyrannous.
I'm not asking that they make someone name all three; that's pretty arcane and, uh, trivial (grin) knowledge. But at least write the question such that it's accurate: "Other than Darth Vader, name 2 of the 3 other Darths in the first three Star Wars episodes"
Hmph. And I would've liked the tickets, too, but I'm not sure how I would've gotten to Nashville to see the show...
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
The Grocery Gods are not with me
And nor are the router gods.
So, last night was Tuesday, which means I was more or less kid-less. I took a quick swing by Best Buy to look at gaming systems (I want an XBox SO bad, but can't bring myself to buy one...), got myself dinner at Moe's (I love Moe's), then headed home, debating which to do first, cut my grass or go shopping.
Since grass cutting pretty much requires light, and natural light at that, and since it was already after 6pm, I decided I should do that first. I was done and cleaned up by 7:30, though, so I headed out to do my shopping.
Now, Chapel Hill has a plethora of really good natural foods stores. We have our local chain, Weaver Street (my personal fave), a Whole Foods, a Trader Joes, and we're getting a Fresh Market. Not bad for a reasonably small town. But, we have a LOUSY selection of 'regular' grocery stores. Basically, your choices are Food Lion, which I lovingly call Food Slug, or Harris Teeter. HT's tag line a few years ago was, "The only low-price food store that refuses to act like one" My comment was, "Yeah, because they don't charge low prices!" And Food Slug is just nasty, and caters primarily to students. Yuck.
Anyway, so I usually go to the HT closest to my house. It used to be decent, but now it stinks. Meat is still good, but they're produce is atrocious, and they're frequently out of things and don't re-stock in a timely manner. Now, I know some of that is dependent on their supplies, but please, if you're out of skim milk FROM A LOCAL DAIRY on 5 consecutive Sunday nights, perhaps you should think about upping your order!
So, since I had the time last night, with no children to be fed, bathed, homework-monitored or whatnot, I decided to drive to the HT near my office, which is one of the better ones in town: Good produce, well stocked, etc.
Except not last night.
I'd already scoped out all the specials for the week, which change on Wednesdays, so I pretty much knew what I was going to buy. But I swear, the Carr Mill Harris Teeter ghosts had taken over the Meadowmont Harris Teeter! They were out of produce, the specials had been changed early, the produce that was there was ugly, and to top it all of I got a cashier with an attitude who was purely incapable of figuring out how to bag my groceries!
I was appalled! Befuddled! Ticked!!! I've never been failed this badly by that grocery store.
And, then just to add insult to injury, I got home, ready to blog about it, and my stinkin' router was being goofy!
So, last night was Tuesday, which means I was more or less kid-less. I took a quick swing by Best Buy to look at gaming systems (I want an XBox SO bad, but can't bring myself to buy one...), got myself dinner at Moe's (I love Moe's), then headed home, debating which to do first, cut my grass or go shopping.
Since grass cutting pretty much requires light, and natural light at that, and since it was already after 6pm, I decided I should do that first. I was done and cleaned up by 7:30, though, so I headed out to do my shopping.
Now, Chapel Hill has a plethora of really good natural foods stores. We have our local chain, Weaver Street (my personal fave), a Whole Foods, a Trader Joes, and we're getting a Fresh Market. Not bad for a reasonably small town. But, we have a LOUSY selection of 'regular' grocery stores. Basically, your choices are Food Lion, which I lovingly call Food Slug, or Harris Teeter. HT's tag line a few years ago was, "The only low-price food store that refuses to act like one" My comment was, "Yeah, because they don't charge low prices!" And Food Slug is just nasty, and caters primarily to students. Yuck.
Anyway, so I usually go to the HT closest to my house. It used to be decent, but now it stinks. Meat is still good, but they're produce is atrocious, and they're frequently out of things and don't re-stock in a timely manner. Now, I know some of that is dependent on their supplies, but please, if you're out of skim milk FROM A LOCAL DAIRY on 5 consecutive Sunday nights, perhaps you should think about upping your order!
So, since I had the time last night, with no children to be fed, bathed, homework-monitored or whatnot, I decided to drive to the HT near my office, which is one of the better ones in town: Good produce, well stocked, etc.
Except not last night.
I'd already scoped out all the specials for the week, which change on Wednesdays, so I pretty much knew what I was going to buy. But I swear, the Carr Mill Harris Teeter ghosts had taken over the Meadowmont Harris Teeter! They were out of produce, the specials had been changed early, the produce that was there was ugly, and to top it all of I got a cashier with an attitude who was purely incapable of figuring out how to bag my groceries!
I was appalled! Befuddled! Ticked!!! I've never been failed this badly by that grocery store.
And, then just to add insult to injury, I got home, ready to blog about it, and my stinkin' router was being goofy!
Tuesday, May 06, 2008
Uh, yeah, how 'bout you respect MY life
Today was a busy afternoon; sans kids I tried to pack as much into the few hours after work as I could: got my bangs trimmed, went to Peter's game, and got a massage. In the process I drove from one side of Chapel Hill to the other about 4 times in 5 hours. There are WEEKS in which I don't drive that much!
Anyway, as I was on my way to get my bangs trimmed, I was behind a minivan with two ... well, I'm in a good, un-militant mood so I'll call them pro-life (rather than anti-choice) bumper stickers on the back bumper.
OK, not my opinion, but everyone's got a right to their own beliefs, and to express them in whatever ways makes sense to them.
Provided they're not hurting others.
Because the driver of said van, who, presumably, is concerned about the sanctity of life?
Yeah, she was READING THE COMICS AS SHE DROVE!!!!
Please. If you're going to claim the label pro-life, let's start with those sharing the road with you, shall we?
Anyway, as I was on my way to get my bangs trimmed, I was behind a minivan with two ... well, I'm in a good, un-militant mood so I'll call them pro-life (rather than anti-choice) bumper stickers on the back bumper.
OK, not my opinion, but everyone's got a right to their own beliefs, and to express them in whatever ways makes sense to them.
Provided they're not hurting others.
Because the driver of said van, who, presumably, is concerned about the sanctity of life?
Yeah, she was READING THE COMICS AS SHE DROVE!!!!
Please. If you're going to claim the label pro-life, let's start with those sharing the road with you, shall we?
Friday, April 04, 2008
Americans are stupid sometimes....
(of course, so am I, but that comes later)
OK, my current pet peeve? I am SO sick and tired of hearing Americans go on and on and ON about how freakin' wonderful it is to "just have a woman running for President!!! We've come SUCH a long way!!!!"
Bull Hockey Sticks!!!!
Wake up and smell the catfood, people. We are very nearly the LAST industrialized, non-third world, non-theocratic state to have a female head of state! A (very) small list of nations that have ALREADY had a female leader: India, Israel, Ireland, Switzerland, East Germany, Pakistan, Great Britain, China, Finland, the Phillipines, Argentina.
We've only come a long way because we started so incredibly far BEHIND everyone else, and making teen-einey little baby steps while the rest of the world is leaping ahead is NOT something to be proud of.
Hmph.
OK, my current pet peeve? I am SO sick and tired of hearing Americans go on and on and ON about how freakin' wonderful it is to "just have a woman running for President!!! We've come SUCH a long way!!!!"
Bull Hockey Sticks!!!!
Wake up and smell the catfood, people. We are very nearly the LAST industrialized, non-third world, non-theocratic state to have a female head of state! A (very) small list of nations that have ALREADY had a female leader: India, Israel, Ireland, Switzerland, East Germany, Pakistan, Great Britain, China, Finland, the Phillipines, Argentina.
We've only come a long way because we started so incredibly far BEHIND everyone else, and making teen-einey little baby steps while the rest of the world is leaping ahead is NOT something to be proud of.
Hmph.
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
Oh! Let's Make Sure It's PRETTY!!!!
Well, it's Spring Break, so I'm taking a week off. Are we going to the beach? Nope. Mountains? Nope. DC, Williamsburg, or any other close and fun destination? Nope, nope, nope.
This is Meg, remember, so I must fill the week with a project!
Now, I have learned since the ceiling fan fiasco that NO home repair/improvement project comes without an unexpected twist. And, since my project for this week is stripping the wallpaper from the downstairs powder room and painting it (I HATE wallpaper), I know enough to know that wallpaper has it's own special level of hell associated with it. So, I didn't expect this to be a walk in the park.
But, OMG, whoever installed this paper was without a doubt a special demon from Hell. A true follower of Lucifer himself, and probably his own special protege, because I have never seen such a maze of ungodly traps set for any assuming person.
Forget the overlapping wallpaper in the corners; that's standard, and I expected it. Same with the wallpaper all the way behind the toilet tank; gotta do it, a paint to deal with, but I can work with it.
And, I knew that the wallpaper would go behind SOME fixtures; the towel bar, certainly.
But what's getting to me is that whoever hung this stuff wasn't consistent in how well/how much they overlapped fixture and paper. In some places, there's a half an inch or so, in others it just goes up to the edge.
But, for some demonical and unbeknownst reason, they TOOK THE BLOODY LIGHT FIXTURE OFF SO THAT THE PAPER COULD GO BEHIND IT!!! Holy Smokes people, was that really necessary?
Oh, and not only that, but in a couple of places it seems that the wallpaper paste (which is a big enough pain in the tuches to get off a wall) just wasn't doing it for them, so they decided to use something else to stick the paper to the wall. I haven't figured out what yet; it looks like Elmer's glue, but acts like Super Glue; regardless, it ain't fun to get off the wall.
Sheesh.
Memo to anyone considering wallpaper out there:
This is Meg, remember, so I must fill the week with a project!
Now, I have learned since the ceiling fan fiasco that NO home repair/improvement project comes without an unexpected twist. And, since my project for this week is stripping the wallpaper from the downstairs powder room and painting it (I HATE wallpaper), I know enough to know that wallpaper has it's own special level of hell associated with it. So, I didn't expect this to be a walk in the park.
But, OMG, whoever installed this paper was without a doubt a special demon from Hell. A true follower of Lucifer himself, and probably his own special protege, because I have never seen such a maze of ungodly traps set for any assuming person.
Forget the overlapping wallpaper in the corners; that's standard, and I expected it. Same with the wallpaper all the way behind the toilet tank; gotta do it, a paint to deal with, but I can work with it.
And, I knew that the wallpaper would go behind SOME fixtures; the towel bar, certainly.
But what's getting to me is that whoever hung this stuff wasn't consistent in how well/how much they overlapped fixture and paper. In some places, there's a half an inch or so, in others it just goes up to the edge.
But, for some demonical and unbeknownst reason, they TOOK THE BLOODY LIGHT FIXTURE OFF SO THAT THE PAPER COULD GO BEHIND IT!!! Holy Smokes people, was that really necessary?
Oh, and not only that, but in a couple of places it seems that the wallpaper paste (which is a big enough pain in the tuches to get off a wall) just wasn't doing it for them, so they decided to use something else to stick the paper to the wall. I haven't figured out what yet; it looks like Elmer's glue, but acts like Super Glue; regardless, it ain't fun to get off the wall.
Sheesh.
Memo to anyone considering wallpaper out there:
- Don't. Just don't.
- If you ignore rule #1, do not, repeat DO NOT use any other sticking mechanism other than paste to adhere said wallpaper to the wall. I don't care how neat and pretty it makes it look, do NOT do this. Pretty is as pretty does, and if you do this your karmic beauty will go down the toilet.
So, at this point my mirror is off the wall, my light fixture is hung askew (tried to get off, and the fixture part is, but the grounding wire is permanently stuck to the box, and is NOT coming off), there's bits of paper strewn around my bathroom, and I'm cranky.
I really do like DIY stuff....really....
Monday, January 07, 2008
How is This Fair?
I'm online at a local coffee shop (Cup A Joe) with Grace while Peter is at basketball practice. I brought my computer because we needed to go check the school lunch tomorrow to know if Grace needs to pack or not (gotta love life in the brave new century).
Once we got that figured out (Grace is buying, if anyone cares), I was playing around surfing the web. I thought I remembered that my local grocery store had online shopping, and figured that this was as good a time as any to investigate. I went to the web site, and sure enough, they do, at selected stores.
So, which store in my area has online shopping? Not the one I shop at, which I expected. But surely the "new" one, on a direct route either for people working in Research Triangle Park coming home to Chapel Hill, or for people working or studying at UNC and heading back to Durham, Raleigh or other Triangle communities.....Nope.
No, instead they put it at the Harris Teeter NEAR THE RETIREMENT COMMUNITY! Yeah, the folks who....have no jobs. Have nothing to do all day (except of course drive slowly during rush and lunch hours).
What?!?!?!? Am I the only one who thinks this is a dumb idea?
Once we got that figured out (Grace is buying, if anyone cares), I was playing around surfing the web. I thought I remembered that my local grocery store had online shopping, and figured that this was as good a time as any to investigate. I went to the web site, and sure enough, they do, at selected stores.
So, which store in my area has online shopping? Not the one I shop at, which I expected. But surely the "new" one, on a direct route either for people working in Research Triangle Park coming home to Chapel Hill, or for people working or studying at UNC and heading back to Durham, Raleigh or other Triangle communities.....Nope.
No, instead they put it at the Harris Teeter NEAR THE RETIREMENT COMMUNITY! Yeah, the folks who....have no jobs. Have nothing to do all day (except of course drive slowly during rush and lunch hours).
What?!?!?!? Am I the only one who thinks this is a dumb idea?
Friday, December 07, 2007
Boooo, CVS!!!!
I had some pictures on my computer that I wanted hard copies of, so I decided to use a local drugstore (DVS) to print the pictures.
I've printed pictures online before at WalMart and Target, and have always been fairly happy with them. My Christmas Cards this year were actually printed at Target; they were quick and cheap. So why did I go with a different store? Well, because CVS is 5 minutes from my houes, and Target is 20.
So, on Wednesday I uploaded the photos, selected the prints I wanted, and ordered them. And that's when the nightmare started......
First, because my order total wasn't 5.00 they tacked on an extra $1.50. OK, not such a big deal, but it would've been nice if they'd told me that up front.
Second, they decided it would take them 1 or 2 days to print my photos, and they didn't tell me THAT till after I ordered, either. Now, this is harder to accept. These were digital pictures, for heavens sake. There's no processing here. Just open the file and print it! It should take about 10 seconds......NOT 2 days. But, OK, whatever. I hadn't gotten furious yet.....
So this morning I get an email from CVS saying that my order had shipped. What? I think. Shipped? What the heck are they shipping to me?
Turns out that when you select a store where you want to pick up your prints, that does NOT mean that's the store that processes the order! Oh, no!!!! The photos are printed at some undisclosed location, and SHIPPED to the store where you want to pick them up, which takes ANOTHER TWO DAYS!!!!!
And just to reiterate..... these were digital pictures. Files, in fact. Could be emailed anywhere. Oh, and every CVS store has a photo processing center, where you can bring disks, cds, memory cards, etc to print your digital photos.
SO WHY THE HELL DON'T THEY JUST EMAIL MY FILES TO MY LOCAL STORE AND PRINT THEM THERE?!?!?!?!?!?!
Needless to say, I was a bit irked. I sent a nasty-gram to CVS telling them their digital photo services are abominable, cancelled my order, and about 2:40 pm placed it with the Target store that's near work.
I asked for them to be done in 2 hours. I got the order confirmation at 2:41 pm EST. I got the "Your order is ready" email at 2:50 pm, EST. Target, obviously, gets it.
I'm never using CVS again!
I've printed pictures online before at WalMart and Target, and have always been fairly happy with them. My Christmas Cards this year were actually printed at Target; they were quick and cheap. So why did I go with a different store? Well, because CVS is 5 minutes from my houes, and Target is 20.
So, on Wednesday I uploaded the photos, selected the prints I wanted, and ordered them. And that's when the nightmare started......
First, because my order total wasn't 5.00 they tacked on an extra $1.50. OK, not such a big deal, but it would've been nice if they'd told me that up front.
Second, they decided it would take them 1 or 2 days to print my photos, and they didn't tell me THAT till after I ordered, either. Now, this is harder to accept. These were digital pictures, for heavens sake. There's no processing here. Just open the file and print it! It should take about 10 seconds......NOT 2 days. But, OK, whatever. I hadn't gotten furious yet.....
So this morning I get an email from CVS saying that my order had shipped. What? I think. Shipped? What the heck are they shipping to me?
Turns out that when you select a store where you want to pick up your prints, that does NOT mean that's the store that processes the order! Oh, no!!!! The photos are printed at some undisclosed location, and SHIPPED to the store where you want to pick them up, which takes ANOTHER TWO DAYS!!!!!
And just to reiterate..... these were digital pictures. Files, in fact. Could be emailed anywhere. Oh, and every CVS store has a photo processing center, where you can bring disks, cds, memory cards, etc to print your digital photos.
SO WHY THE HELL DON'T THEY JUST EMAIL MY FILES TO MY LOCAL STORE AND PRINT THEM THERE?!?!?!?!?!?!
Needless to say, I was a bit irked. I sent a nasty-gram to CVS telling them their digital photo services are abominable, cancelled my order, and about 2:40 pm placed it with the Target store that's near work.
I asked for them to be done in 2 hours. I got the order confirmation at 2:41 pm EST. I got the "Your order is ready" email at 2:50 pm, EST. Target, obviously, gets it.
I'm never using CVS again!
Wednesday, November 14, 2007
OK, AMEX, Let's Get This Right
OK, American Express, you're normally much better than this....
I'm flying to San Francisco next week, and it occurs to me that I should probably print out my e-Tickets at some point (at this point Kathy and my Dad are both quivering....). So I go to the American Express site, since that's who I used to buy my tickets.
Well, I can't remember my password. My bad, but it happens all the time. I go to the page to reset my password, but as soon as I get there, I remember what I think is my password. So, I go back, type in that password, and get directed to the "change your password" page again. Hmph.
Now, I'm not sure whether this is because of some hideous AMEX cookie they've set, or if it's because I didn't really remember my password, and I passed some number of tries limit. All I know is I was caught in Security Question HELL!
First they asked me for my mother's maiden name. OK, no problem. I type it in. They say, Nope, not it. Uh, yes it is. Trust me on this one. So I think, OK, maybe it's case sensitive (I'm bad about typing security questions in all lower case). So I type it in in lower case. Nope, not that either.
Grrrr.
So, I close my browser, and start all over, 'cause I'm still convinced I remember my password. I type it in, and I go to SECURITY QUESTION HELL again. But this time, it's even worse: they ask for my mother's birthday.
OK, for reasons beyond my control (at least sort of) I can NEVER remember whether my mother's birthday was January 16th or 17. Never, never, never NEVER! So, as a consequence, I NEVER pick it as a security question! And, I'm pretty darn convinced I didn't on this internet account, either!
Well, by this time, I've locked myself out of on-line access, so I have to call the toll-free number. I get a VRU, and the nice mechanicized female voice asks me to enter my card number, which I do, and she asks me to enter the 4 digit security code, which I do.
Then she asks me to enter my mother's birthdate.
GRRRRRRR!!!!!! Dammit, people, if I knew that I wouldn't BE here!!!!!
Finally I got a person, who was very nice. I think he said his name was O'Neill, but I find that difficult to believe (he had an Indian accent). He asked me the make and model of a car registered to my address (don't you love what people know about you based on public records?), and since I was able to tell him that, we got my password reset.
So it all worked out, but I swannee, AMEX is usually MUCH better than this! This should not have been this difficult!
Sigh. I'm too traumatized to print my tickets now...
I'm flying to San Francisco next week, and it occurs to me that I should probably print out my e-Tickets at some point (at this point Kathy and my Dad are both quivering....). So I go to the American Express site, since that's who I used to buy my tickets.
Well, I can't remember my password. My bad, but it happens all the time. I go to the page to reset my password, but as soon as I get there, I remember what I think is my password. So, I go back, type in that password, and get directed to the "change your password" page again. Hmph.
Now, I'm not sure whether this is because of some hideous AMEX cookie they've set, or if it's because I didn't really remember my password, and I passed some number of tries limit. All I know is I was caught in Security Question HELL!
First they asked me for my mother's maiden name. OK, no problem. I type it in. They say, Nope, not it. Uh, yes it is. Trust me on this one. So I think, OK, maybe it's case sensitive (I'm bad about typing security questions in all lower case). So I type it in in lower case. Nope, not that either.
Grrrr.
So, I close my browser, and start all over, 'cause I'm still convinced I remember my password. I type it in, and I go to SECURITY QUESTION HELL again. But this time, it's even worse: they ask for my mother's birthday.
OK, for reasons beyond my control (at least sort of) I can NEVER remember whether my mother's birthday was January 16th or 17. Never, never, never NEVER! So, as a consequence, I NEVER pick it as a security question! And, I'm pretty darn convinced I didn't on this internet account, either!
Well, by this time, I've locked myself out of on-line access, so I have to call the toll-free number. I get a VRU, and the nice mechanicized female voice asks me to enter my card number, which I do, and she asks me to enter the 4 digit security code, which I do.
Then she asks me to enter my mother's birthdate.
GRRRRRRR!!!!!! Dammit, people, if I knew that I wouldn't BE here!!!!!
Finally I got a person, who was very nice. I think he said his name was O'Neill, but I find that difficult to believe (he had an Indian accent). He asked me the make and model of a car registered to my address (don't you love what people know about you based on public records?), and since I was able to tell him that, we got my password reset.
So it all worked out, but I swannee, AMEX is usually MUCH better than this! This should not have been this difficult!
Sigh. I'm too traumatized to print my tickets now...
Saturday, October 27, 2007
Oh, puh-LEASE!
OK, Michelle Porter, are you listening to yourself? I mean REALLY listening to yourself? (disclaimer: I typically don't use my blog for either public outing or flogging; it's just not fair. So, if Michelle Porter happens to be reading this at some point and wants to respond, by all means do so.)
Who is Michelle Porter, you ask? She, according to today's N&O, serves on the landscape committee of a local (Raleigh) homeowner's association. A resident in that neighborhood asked permission to (gasp) plant Bermuda grass rather than fescue. For the record, fescue requires a lot of watering in hot weather (roughly an inch per month), while Bermuda doesn't. While theoretically fescue is an annual, because of the summer's here, it's essentially treated as a perrennial; re-seeding is encouraged, if not required. The homeowner in question was tired of a. having high water bills during the summer watering season, b. tired of his grass dying during droughts, and c. felt like he wasn't exactly making the best use of a limited resource.
The response from the Homeowner's Association? A resounding NO. As Ms. Porter put it, "In a subdivision with 1,100 homes, you have to make a call to have one [type of grass] or the other. You can't have both both because of the cross-contamination with the seeds."
Again, for the record, Bermuda is a fairly aggressive grass -- it spreads easily, and will, in fact, spread into an area of fescue.
OK, fine. Here's my question: WHY IN GOD'S NAME DO WE CARE ABOUT THIS?!?!?!?!? It's GRASS for heaven's sake! It's supposed to be there to keep our front yards from washing away in the rain (not that we've had any), to play on, to pull out leaves and make whistles from them, to lie on and watch the stars, to run barefoot through. Grass should not be a status symbol.
If you're so emotionally bound up with your landscaping (LANDSCAPING!) that you can't allow it to go play with the neighbor's grass there may be something wrong.
Let me re-iterate for those of you who may not live in the Triangle. The entire state of North Carolina is in the worst drought since weather records have been kept. Precipitation levels are about 8 inches below where we normally are (and that's AFTER 3 straight days of rain). Durham will run out of water by Christmas. Water rates may go up to 8, 10, 20 dollars per thousand gallons, depending on one's consumption (mine are now about 4 bucks per thousand gallons). WE ARE RUNNING OUT OF WATER.
But we can't plant a drought-resistant, low-maintence, cheap grass in our yards, 'cause it might go visit the neighbors.
Yeah, that makes sense.
Who is Michelle Porter, you ask? She, according to today's N&O, serves on the landscape committee of a local (Raleigh) homeowner's association. A resident in that neighborhood asked permission to (gasp) plant Bermuda grass rather than fescue. For the record, fescue requires a lot of watering in hot weather (roughly an inch per month), while Bermuda doesn't. While theoretically fescue is an annual, because of the summer's here, it's essentially treated as a perrennial; re-seeding is encouraged, if not required. The homeowner in question was tired of a. having high water bills during the summer watering season, b. tired of his grass dying during droughts, and c. felt like he wasn't exactly making the best use of a limited resource.
The response from the Homeowner's Association? A resounding NO. As Ms. Porter put it, "In a subdivision with 1,100 homes, you have to make a call to have one [type of grass] or the other. You can't have both both because of the cross-contamination with the seeds."
Again, for the record, Bermuda is a fairly aggressive grass -- it spreads easily, and will, in fact, spread into an area of fescue.
OK, fine. Here's my question: WHY IN GOD'S NAME DO WE CARE ABOUT THIS?!?!?!?!? It's GRASS for heaven's sake! It's supposed to be there to keep our front yards from washing away in the rain (not that we've had any), to play on, to pull out leaves and make whistles from them, to lie on and watch the stars, to run barefoot through. Grass should not be a status symbol.
If you're so emotionally bound up with your landscaping (LANDSCAPING!) that you can't allow it to go play with the neighbor's grass there may be something wrong.
Let me re-iterate for those of you who may not live in the Triangle. The entire state of North Carolina is in the worst drought since weather records have been kept. Precipitation levels are about 8 inches below where we normally are (and that's AFTER 3 straight days of rain). Durham will run out of water by Christmas. Water rates may go up to 8, 10, 20 dollars per thousand gallons, depending on one's consumption (mine are now about 4 bucks per thousand gallons). WE ARE RUNNING OUT OF WATER.
But we can't plant a drought-resistant, low-maintence, cheap grass in our yards, 'cause it might go visit the neighbors.
Yeah, that makes sense.
Monday, October 22, 2007
Don't Be Stupid!
It's been awhile since I've been on a rant about sportcasters; usually I save it for college basketball season (give me Woody over Vitale any day of the week, don't even get me STARTED on Billy Packer, and if I have to hear Clark Kellogg say "you can't coach tall" again I'll just cry). But every now and then you have to just look at the television and scream, "HEY! DON'T BE STUPID!"
I'm watching Indianapolis beat up on Jacksonville; supposedly The Who was the halftime show. I say supposedly because The sportscasters never actually SHOWED us The Who, they just told us they were the halftime show. Unfortunately, the music that we could hear in the background was......Tom Petty. Yep, Tom Petty, "Running Down a Dream".
Now I like Mr. Petty as much as the next guy, maybe even better, and I'm no Who fanatic, despite the fact that they've appeared in my Blog twice in the past month or so. But if you're going to make the halftime show part of your schtick, it might be a good idea to make sure that they're actually playing at that point.
Hmph. The world would be SUCH a better place if they'd just put me in charge.
But, on a brighter note, Jacksonville is now in scoring position. Doubt they'll come back to win, but perhaps they'll score.....
I'm watching Indianapolis beat up on Jacksonville; supposedly The Who was the halftime show. I say supposedly because The sportscasters never actually SHOWED us The Who, they just told us they were the halftime show. Unfortunately, the music that we could hear in the background was......Tom Petty. Yep, Tom Petty, "Running Down a Dream".
Now I like Mr. Petty as much as the next guy, maybe even better, and I'm no Who fanatic, despite the fact that they've appeared in my Blog twice in the past month or so. But if you're going to make the halftime show part of your schtick, it might be a good idea to make sure that they're actually playing at that point.
Hmph. The world would be SUCH a better place if they'd just put me in charge.
But, on a brighter note, Jacksonville is now in scoring position. Doubt they'll come back to win, but perhaps they'll score.....
Friday, October 12, 2007
She did WHAT?!?!?!?!?
A story from the local news channel today reports that police in a Philadelphia suburb found a "weapons cache" in the home of a 14-year-old boy, including guns, knives and explosive materials. The boy was apparently the victim of bullying, to the point that he left school after middle school and was home schooled. While there seemed to be no immediate plans for a school shooting, apparently the kid had tried to recruit others to help him attack a local high school.
OK, terribly sad story. I have no patience with bullies, mental or physical, and I hope neither of my children are ever victimized by them.
But the line that stopped me dead (so to speak) in the article was this one: "The weapons found during the search...included a 9mm assault rifle that the teenager's mother had recently bought for him..."
Um, excuse me? A 9mm assault rifle? For someone who can't drink, drive, vote, and probably doesn't even shave that much yet? And who's possibly emotionally fragile because of bullying? An ASSAULT rifle????
What in God's name was that mother thinking? That it would give him confidence? Assurance? Help him stand up to the bullies? Well, yeah, it might do that last, but with potentially disastrous consequences.
Now I have no particularly strong feelings one way or another regarding guns. I neither hunt, collect, nor feel a need for a gun as protection, but I have friends who do. I don't think that guns will, or should, be eradicated from our society, but I also thing that no one has a "right" to buy and own as many of any type of gun that they want. With ownership comes responsibility, and the primary responsibility of gun owners, imo, is to realize that a gun has one purpose: to kill things. Yeah, they're cool. Yeah, they can be collectible. But when you boil it down to it's essence, it's a very efficient tool for killing things. If you're going to own one, you need to accept that. They are not tools for increasing self-confidence, self-image, or to prove one's man (or woman) hood. If you're going to buy a gun, and particularlky if a child is going to have access to that, you've GOT to have a good grasp of that.
When are they going to put ME in charge of the world? :)
OK, terribly sad story. I have no patience with bullies, mental or physical, and I hope neither of my children are ever victimized by them.
But the line that stopped me dead (so to speak) in the article was this one: "The weapons found during the search...included a 9mm assault rifle that the teenager's mother had recently bought for him..."
Um, excuse me? A 9mm assault rifle? For someone who can't drink, drive, vote, and probably doesn't even shave that much yet? And who's possibly emotionally fragile because of bullying? An ASSAULT rifle????
What in God's name was that mother thinking? That it would give him confidence? Assurance? Help him stand up to the bullies? Well, yeah, it might do that last, but with potentially disastrous consequences.
Now I have no particularly strong feelings one way or another regarding guns. I neither hunt, collect, nor feel a need for a gun as protection, but I have friends who do. I don't think that guns will, or should, be eradicated from our society, but I also thing that no one has a "right" to buy and own as many of any type of gun that they want. With ownership comes responsibility, and the primary responsibility of gun owners, imo, is to realize that a gun has one purpose: to kill things. Yeah, they're cool. Yeah, they can be collectible. But when you boil it down to it's essence, it's a very efficient tool for killing things. If you're going to own one, you need to accept that. They are not tools for increasing self-confidence, self-image, or to prove one's man (or woman) hood. If you're going to buy a gun, and particularlky if a child is going to have access to that, you've GOT to have a good grasp of that.
When are they going to put ME in charge of the world? :)
Thursday, October 11, 2007
THIS IS CRAZY
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