A Couple of Things

"This depiction is soo absurd it should be an offense to anyone's intelligence. If you can't cook pasta without being driven to suicidal panic you should be institutionalized." SuperGoober commenting on my Ad post...

See, SG gets it. He was referring to those ads for the microwave plastic pasta cooking devices. The ad shows some poor, harried Housewife desperately trying to cook spaghetti for her brood the old fashioned way; you know a pot of boiling water.... Apparently this woman is so uncoordinated that she just can't seem to carry a pot of water/with cooked spaghetti in it to her sink and poor it into a collander. She splashes, she struggles, her hair is all unkempt and it looks like she's about to take Hubby's shotgun and suck on the business end of it and end it all!!! Yeah, good point SG.....totally nuts. A lot of ads have stooped to that level; the scare tactic. Take the Netflix ads.....some poor soul forgot to take back the movie they rented to the video store, or some poor soul just HAS to get a movie NOW!!!! and they go rushing to the local store all unkempt (I've used that word twice now.....) and stressed out. The tagline is "Take the drama out of renting..." What drama? Nothing against Netflix, it's a great service from what I've been told, but give me a break. I know from friends experiences that sometimes you have to wait for those "hard to find" movies to arrive from Netflix just like when they are all rented out at the store. Yes there are not late fees, but whatever. Hollywood video gives you 5 days for movies and games, even new releases. If you can't get around to watching something or playing something in 5 days, you shouldn't have rented it to begin with. The one's that really get me are the Pharmaco ones. We have two new vaccines now that if you don't get them or someone you loved vaccinated it will rain fire and brimstone, dogs and cats will live together and there will be mass hysteria!!!! Enter Gardasil and Menatra (sp?). The first is for Human Papalova Virus....essentially the virus that causes Cervical Cancer.......not sure of the percentage chance of getting CC, but apparently because this company has now created a Vaccine for it, the percentage chance is much higher than it was.........same with Menatra(sp?) which is for Menigicacul Menigitis......basically Mono.......their ads bascially make it sound like all teenagers should be decontaminated on a daily basis because they are writhing crocks of Menigicacul Menigitis. How many people do you remember getting Mono in school? I remember one, and she recovered and didn't die or have any long term effects because of it. Apparently though because of this new vaccine, Mono is rampant in the current teenage population. Let's see, I have a 14 year old Step-Daughter, she has some teenage friends and a boyfriend her age. I've met all these kids and not a one of them are a writhing crock of menigitis; of any kind! The one billboard ad I saw that was this bad was in Cookeville, TN. There's a local pest control company who put up a billboard that has a sleeping, precious little snowflake of a blonde blue-eyed infant sleeping. Crawling near said precious little snowflake is a HUGE (in comparison to the baby) Black Widow Spider......the tagline says something to the affect "Sleep Safe?" or something like that. In other words....if you don't hire these folks, giant Black Widow Spiders (in comparison to the baby, about the size of a silver dollar....that's a damn huge Black Widow) will sneak into your home and kill your baby.

Now to the next item on the agenda. Businessweek published a list the other day about the Unhappiest Cities in America. It used the criteria of crime rates, divorce rates, suicide rates, unemployment, etc. Portland was apparently number 1 on the list because of the weather....and Nashville was number 8. Now alot of people out here were annoyed by that; I look at them and say "what they Hell are you smoking?" Nashville, the City where a couple of years ago two spoiled, rich, youths were walking along the riverside one frosty winter night, high and drunk, and decided to roll some poor sleeping homeless woman into the river. They thought it was funny. She ended up drowning. They are now in jail screaming everytime Bubba anally rapes them. The same City where gang banging thugs abuse the privalige of After Hours clubs by always getting into fights that end in a shooting or a stabbing. Yes, out here there are clubs that re-open from 2am to 6am after clubs are supposed to be closed by law. The catch? They don't sell acohol during those hours. The problem? They allow you to bring your own alcohol in. Yeah, that's not going to be a problem.....noooooooo not at all. High divorce rate, oh yeah. Lot's of Teens who are repressed by parents who just tell them "it's a sin to have sex so don't do it" and don't actually talk to their Teens about the real consequences of having sex before you are ready. So far our talk with my Step-Daughter seems to have sunk in. These same Teens then rush to the altar to get married and end up divorced years later because the person they slept with and that got them pregnant/they got pregnant wasn't Mr/Ms Right but Mr/Ms Right Now. The same City where just last night someone shot a homeless man in the face. The Police say it was an apparent robbery. Now let me get this straight, you are trying to rob a HOMELESS MAN.....for what? His cardboard box???? The poor guy is on the streets...that means he has enough change to by booze and that's it. The same City where little punks don't even wait anymore for people to be away from their house before they rob the place. No, these punks bust in, tie everyone up, sometimes rape the women, then rob the place blind. Oh yeah, and they usually shoot someone even when they are being cooperative. The weather in Middle Tennessee is weird to begin with....I can see that being a factor. The freeways are in need of some serious fixing in places. Heck, for awhile there it seemed like there was nothing but construction delays and that certain projects would never get finished. The same City where Downtown is loaded with tons of vacant buildings that seem to have been empty for years. Don't get me wrong, at least Nashville isn't Memphis.....Thank God it's not Memphis. Let's just say that Memphis is a cross between Oakland, Harlem, Brooklyn and Detroit. The City just needs a change that's all...yeah if there was any money.....I'm glad I live in the Burbs.....I've always been glad I've lived in the Burbs actually.

Ads and Advertising.

Behold the picture of the Salesman of the Centure....it's true. Ron's my Hero. This guy started with the Ronco Pocket Fisherman and the Ronco Record Vacuum in the 70's...for all you little kiddies out there thats Record as in Vinyl album.....he had tons of crap coming out all the time. He was the originator of the term "now how much would you pay?" This guy has made a mint convincing us we need to pay, in 4 installments of 19.95, for his useless plastic gadgets. Okay...yes I'm guilty of once owning a Popeil Pasta Maker.....

In all seriousness though, you gotta love Ron.....you see that Showtime Rotisserie oven of his, and you can't help but say to yourself "Set it, and forget it...". You know you do.

Remember the Ginsu Knife....it slices, dices....you can cut through a nail and still slice a tomato paper thin......

Lately we've been having some fairly bizarre items appear on our TV....some that are truly funny.

Ah yes...One size fits all....that's right it's the Sunggie! Yes, you too can purchase a backwards bathrobe with big sleeves that makes you look like a reject from some Cult. Seriously you look like you stepped out of the Spanish Inquistion Skit. (Google Monty Python for the reference). Seriously for 20 bucks you can scare your neighbors as they think you are going to sacrifice small animals to Satan or something. Hell, just get a fleece blanket......we got some on sale at Penney's for 7 bucks a piece.....or better yet, put on a damn sweater......

Speaking of Spokesmen........

Don't you want to stick an ice pick in this guys head everytime you see him on TV? Seriously, I don't think Billy Mays has an inside voice. This guy yells more than Dora does! He talks in all Caps for Christsake!! I think that the only way any of the stuff he sells works is if you yell at it at his volume. Oxy Clean uses the power of oxygen; the oxygen coming out of Mays' lungs at full volume that is.....

Then there's this Douchebag....

Oh yeah...the Vinnie the ShamWow guy......hey the Shamwow is German and you know they make quality stuff.......this guy reminds me of all those guys you see at the County Fair in the Commercial buildings selling crap just like this......or doing cooking demonstrations with new, non-stick cookware......or even demoing a Ginsu knife.....they talk fast, they know all the tricks, and odds are if these guys didn't look normal they'd be working a Carny somewhere trying to get you to throw darts at a balloon.

I love the other ads that we are subjected to as well. I remember a Gillette ad that was like mind control or something. It was in Black and White with all these images of their razors, and sports cars, and hot chicks and it was narrated by some guy in an almost hypnotic voice talking about quality, and class, and being cool and the tag line was "I need to have that feeling again...." I stopped using Gillette razors (the Mach 3, etc) ones awhile ago when it got to the point that the replacement razors cost more than the damn handle itself!!!! Seriously the handle plus 2 razors costs 7.99 - 9.99. Four replacement blades cost in this range, depending on the color scheme.....15.99-22.99.....WTF??? If you have the vibrating one, those are green and orange, they cost more than the grey and blue ones for the non-vibrating handle. Guess what, the freaking blades are the same damn thing but with different colors!!!! I go to Sam's and buy the disposable ones (shut up you whiny Eco freaks......one way or another metal and plastic are going in the landfill....)......you get 32 blades for about 25-30 dollars.

The ads I truly love, are the one's that make me laugh. If you are going to advertise to me, entertain me. The Bud Light "Real Men of Genuis" radio ads are some of the funniest ads around. I actually turn them up so I can hear them. I don't drink Bud Light, nor would I if you paid me, but their ads are damn funny.

The ones I hate, are when they work ad placement into a TV show and they aren't real subtle about it. On CSI they drive Yukons. You see the company Badge on the car, and even see the name of the make of the vehicle on the side in the shot sometimes, but it's logical for it to be there because the actor is getting stuff out of the SUV speaking lines. Then you will see a few ads for the Yukon during the commercial break. That's subtle. In the second season of Heroes, Claire was driving a Nissan Rogue. This was pointed out to us blantantly by Noah, her Dad, saying "Claire I bought you a new Nissan Rogue". When it was stolen, she said "Sorry Dad, they Stole the Nissan Rogue". Way to make me almost not watch a show. Damages and Leverage did the same thing. Cadillac sponsors Damages, and they had Glen Close getting into her Escalade Hybrid (they pointed this out very blatantly) and their was a Mini Cooper parked next to it.....she basically said the commercial (there's a commercial where they compare the City MPG of the Hybrid Escalade to the City MPG of the Mini Cooper) word for word. Okay, so a scene in a good Drama that had nothing to do with the current episode, or any episode for that matter, was turned into a commercial....the same damn commercial they showed during the next commercial break. In Leverages they have been driving a Hyundai Genesis.....talked about a lot during that particular episode.....they even showed them playing around with the GPS screen and this little Hyundai Genesis screen came on........

I know these cable networks don't have the big budgets the Networks do, but give me a freaking break okay!!!

It's March.....And it's still freaking cold!!!!!

Seriously, I'm shooting Pickipsy Phil or whatever the name of that ridiculous Ground Hog is.  Cold weather sucks.  K...I'm tired of it.  I have a Pond to dig damn it!!!  I have bikes to ride with my Wife.....I have a fence to re-do.......we even found plans for a screened building that we like.......seriously this is getting annoying!!!  We have buildings to build at the Airsoft field....I went out there yesterday and we were bundled up working...damn arctic wind blowing through.....  Please Spring...get here soon...pretty please......

Nature in the Burbs

Back when I lived in California there was some wildlife that would mix with the suburban sprawl of the various places I lived in.  The City I grew up in had lots of sparrows and black birds but that was it.  I knew there were numerous amounts of deer that would haunt the hills above I-280....you'd sometimes see them on the side of the road....usually they were standing and eating but other times they were smeared across said side of the road....and a Hawk or two would circle overhead playing on the thermals from the Interstate.  One City I lived in had a trail up the street from the apartment building and deer and other critters lived there.  At night, the deer would creep down to my kitty corner neighbor's yard so they could eat his flowers.  Heck Cathy and I saw a dog sized Raccoon duck into a storm drain once.  Then there were the squirrels.  The grey one's were common, but in the last City I lived in there were hoards of the black ones.  Cute little things too.  When I moved to Tennessee the first thing I noticed was Cardinals.  Actual freaking RED birds......like the sports teams mascot, but real!  We don't have Cardinals in California....we have annoying Blue Jays, Canadian Geese (who are a nuisance because they crap EVERYWHERE) and Seagulls who, if you've ever attended school at the Discourser's Site like I did, would ascend on the playground in a scene reminiscent of the Birds at lunch time.   To attract more birds to our yard, we've bought some bird feeders..actually  3 of them came with the house.....we also have a hummingbird feeder and a feeder where you put sticks of food so you can feed Woodpeckers.  We also now have a butterfly house.  I saw a Bat house, but you have to put them so far away from humans that it wouldn't be worth it....hey Bats eat mosquitoes......that's a good thing by me.   Over the years we have had our share of visitors to the yard.  Tons of Finches....the usual brown bodied, black headed ones and a few Golden Finches.  We have a few bird families that come around as well.  We have the Dove couple (brown doves not white), the Robin couple and the Cardinal Family.  The Woodpecker is pretty cool too.  He's got a black body with white spots and a bright red head.   Of course our Diva Kitty Panther thinks it's Kitty Buffet time...although she hasn't figured out that the bell on her collar warns the birds in advance of her coming.  Panther's brother and sister, Cubby and Pandy, also think it's buffet time.   We even have a Falcon that hunts our yard sometimes.  I saw him one morning with a blackbird pinned down, noshing away.  It was damn cool!!  Nature at work right there for all to see.  Heck the Falcon must have a mate or something because the other day two of them were circling the yard looking for food.   Of course we have the other visitors.  Possums have been seen in the yard as well as wild rabbits.  We even had a skunk that was a regular visitor for awhile there.  Our one stray cat Pumpkin found out about Mr. Skunk the hard way......needless to say, Pumpkin was banned from the house for a bit.   

Award Shows

I remember back when I used to watch all the Award shows; Oscars, Emmys, Grammys, etc but then in 1977 when a certain movie that was years ahead of it's time in Special Effects, etc got only an award for effects (you know the one I'm talking about....it was the second film by some guy named Lucas.....something about a Death Star and a Villan named Vader???) and then when the Grammys would ignore your record if it wasn't "Top 40" or if your name wasn't Michael Jackson, it was then I realized that these shows really didn't award things that should have been awarded. Take this year for example. Slumdog Millionaire apparently won Best Picture, but until it had been announced that it was nominated for Best Picture, myself and everyone I know hadn't heard about this movie, but yet it was nominated for Best Picture. Huh??? Heath Ledger won an Acting award, and as the Joker he was brillant. Something tells me though if he hadn't died he wouldn't have won it. Alot of the awards are given as "hey sorry we've snubbed your ass for so long but you are an Icon now and we'd look like real assholes if we didn't give you something". Clint Eastwood got one for "Unforgiven"...it was a good movie, but not his best. When "Return of the King" won for Best Picture I was pleased, but honestly the Academy gave it that because you can only ignore box office performance to a certain extent. Back to my earlier example, Star Wars. I believe Out of Africa or something like that won, yet Star Wars box office was off the chart!! I know I saw it multiple times as did most of my friends at the time (I think my Dad got tired of sitting through it with me) but yet it wasn't considered Best Picture. These award shows are also way too long and have all kinds of useless musical numbers, etc (okay except for the Grammys which is about music, yet then again some of those performances are stupid and lame). Oh, apparently God and Jesus are Agents because most of the acceptance speeches usually have "I'd like to thank God/Jesus because withouth you I wouldn't have won this.." Uhhhhhh, no...don't think so. Neither God nor Jesus had anything to do with you winning. Speaking of the acceptance speeches.....give me a break with some of these....."I'd like to thank blah blah, and blah blah, oh and blah blah....." why not just thank everyone involved by saying "Thanks to all the great cast and crew I worked with.....you helped make this moment". There, simple and sincere. No one gets their panties in a bunch because you forgot them, and no one gets their panties in a bunch because you mentioned so and so first......here is the perfect speech: "Thank you for (insert name of award here). I'd like to thank my Parents for letting me follow my dream of becomming (insert what you did to win this award; ie actor, singer, etc), [this section for actor only] I'd like to thank the cast and crew that I worked with on this project; it's because of your assitance I'm standing here. [for musician only] I'd like to thank my Producer(s) and the production staff and the rest of the gang (fellow band members/session musicians)...I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for you. [next part is for both] I'd also like to thank the fans out there who, saw the film/watch the TV Show/bought the CD, if you didn't like it, I wouldn't be here." There see? Honest and to the point. Honest because if your parents didn't encourage your creative side then you'd be a cubicle jockey like me. So yeah, they deserve thanks. It takes a great Cast and Crew plus a good script to make a great movie. Hell you can take a lame script and make the movie great as long as Cast and Crew are top notch. The actors are only as good as the director. Look at the new Star Wars movies. Lucas stopped trying, said he'd rather direct in the editing room than waste time and money trying to get the "perfect take". Thus the wooden performances by some great actors in all of those movies. So yeah, they deserve their props. Same with Producers and the production staff when it comes to making a record. Puddle of Mudd is one of those bands that has one deceptive song that is pretty much not what the rest of their album sounds like. Same with Soul Asylum. One song gets over-produced and sounds perfect; eveyone loves it and you buy their album. The rest of the album sounds like a different band took over. Thus Singers/Bands owe alot to their Producers. Movies and Records and TV shows become popular because people watch/buy them. Most of the Authors that I read get this, and are very friendly and considerate of their Fans. Yes Fans can get a bit crazy, but these Authors get it. George R. R. Martin attends a certain Con each year. He usually invited everyone along that wants to come on a Pizza/Pub crawl. Now you might not get to sit by him, and he's sure not buying, but you are invited to join him; and he will usually say "hey" to you. E.E. Knight himself sent me a few PMs on his Ning fan site...basically saying Hi and thanking me for reading his stuff. I was a bit shocked, but pleased. The guy gets it. I think it's easier for Authors to get it because their industry is often in danger of going away. Amazon and others are trying to push digital readers on us, and one day they make catch on, but for now we still like our actual books. Actors get so pampered and spoiled that they treat their fans like crap (not all, but a good lot of them do). This makes me not want to help further your career by seeing your movies. Tom Cruise is one of those that does this. I pretty much refuse to see any movie he's in no matter how good it is, just because he's in it. Him and his crazy Cult Religion and arrogant manner can go die in a corner for all I care. I understand some fans can get out of hand, but there are those of us that just want to shake your hand and say "I love your work..thanks". I remember running into Robin Williams coming out of a sword shop at Ren Faire once. I held out my hand and said "I just want to say it's great to meet you and you have always made me laugh". He shook my hand, said thanks, then said "I have to catch up with my son but thanks again" and left. He took the time at least to acknowledge a fan. Heck Claudia Christian took fencing lessons from us and had a few beers with the gang at the Cardiff Rose at Faire one year. Now that was fun, and she appreciated being treated like a person and not a celebrity. All I have to say is thank God the Oscars weren't on CBS.....I'd be pissed if I had to miss the Amazing Race for that drek.

Blatant Blog Plug and more Folks who can't drive

If you are one of those that believe in the coming Zombie Holocaust, then click on The Warden's Blog on my links list and read away. The Warden will tell you all the best tips on how to Survive the Zombie Holocaust. His years in LE have given him a tactical advantage on the walking dead. Also check out The Discoursers Blog, which usually centers around the crap one has to deal with when one is a Middle School Principal. Check out Supergoober's Blog for his insights into the human mind (he is a Psychiatrist after all) and general other things of interest (cars, sports etc). Also give a peek at NTTs Brain's sketch a day. He's an artist that works at a major video game design company and his sketches are great. For the continuing Advertures of Max the Miracle Baby, check out Lizz's Am I a Funny Girl blog. It's all about being a first time parent and the trials involved with dealing with a premature Baby....whew it was a rough ride but Max seems to be doing well. Also check out the Professors Blog and The Perfect Line's Blog (when they update them). The Professor will give you insight into Politics, Gaming, Geekness, Teaching and life basically. The Perfect Line will give you insight into Cars....racing...and Drums.

Now for the Rant part of our program:

If you buy a muscle car/sports car, drive it like one. Seriously, The Perfect Line and the Super Goober are the only people I know who have Sports Cars that drive them like sports cars!!! Out here Ford Mustangs are very popular, but most of the people that drive them bought them for the fact that they are a Mustang; thats it! I got stuck behind some moron this morning in a new, blue Mustang who drove like this: slooooooowwww FAST...slooooooowwwww FAST....sloooooow FAst.......... Not sure what they Hell they were doing, but I was getting ready to declare Car Wars on this schmuck! Helpful driving hint moron: If you are too busy doing other things in your car instead of DRIVING then pull the Hell over and do what you need to do so you can get to the process of driving. I also don't get the folks out here on the Interstates. At certain times of the morning there is ample room to drive the speed limit; 70 mph. Yet, these Morons have some kind of phobia about driving that speed I feel like I'm the only one moving as I zip around them from lane to lane just so I can drive the legal posted limit!!!! Seriously folks, if the road conditions are perfect, the legal limit is 70...why not drive it? The THP will not give you a ticket for going the speed limit...they will actually ignore you. Oh, and if there are brake lights 15 miles ahead of you and no one in front of you, DON'T SLAM ON THE BRAKES RIGHT NOW!!!! Apparently these dumbasses want to make sure they come to a complete stop before they cover that 15 mile gap. I'd say get those brakes looked at if it takes you that long to stop.....

Karma Sure is a Bitch....

Click on the blog entry title to read the full article on SFGate.com.

It seems that some people actually regret going on Reality Shows....gee you don't say? Of course they do, Attention Whoring only leads to a moments fame then nothing. At least on Survivor or The Amazing Race you can actually win a Million bucks for your Attention Whoring. Anyway, back on topic. This Family in San Francisco was on the lame ass reality show Wife Swap and apparently he claims he was told by the directors to play up the SF, wealthy, Liberal to the hilt. His Wife was swapped with a lady from Missouri and apparently this dude was an absolute douche to this woman. So bad in fact that he and his wife were kicked off of the boards of Non-Profit Orgs they belong to and had potential business partners tell them to take a hike. And now he regrets it......Moron!!! What gets me is folks go on these shows but yet don't get the fact that if you are an ass, it's going into the final edit...seriously. The bigger a douchebag you are, the more TV time you get. But, at what cost? On Survivor last year there was a guy named Randy who was a Wedding Videographer. He was the miserable Old guy who lived alone and didn't care about making personal relationships with anyone. He was a complete Douche and therefore got a lot of airtime. He of course was voted off and didn't win the cash, which is usually inevitable on these shows. Now what I don't get is if you watch this show, you know what happens to "that guy/girl" but yet these dumbasses think they're going to be the exception to the rule.

Just a few more ranting things....

A few more rants about my fellow Tenneesseans and things in general.....

Out here there is a State law that was a reaction to an unfortunate situation that can afferct LEO's at any time (that would be Law Enforcement Officers for those that don't know). It is well known that drunk drivers are drawn to the flashing lights of Police Cruisers that are parked on the side of the freeway like moths are drawn to a flame. Drunk Drivers have been known to take out a Cop and the person they have pulled over before. The accident that caused this law to be passed wasn't a result of a Drunk Driver, but the result of a Semi driver falling asleep at the wheel. So now, because of one overworked truck driver, we have to move over (that's the name of the law the "move over" law) one lane to the left, only if you are in the slow lane, and drive slowly past the Emergency vehicle that is stopped on the side of the freeway. Now it can be any vehicle with flashing lights; fire truck, paramedic, cop, TDOT rescue truck....it doesn't matter. Oh yeah, there's one little caveat that folks forget about this law; if you can't get over safely, then you have to slow down to at least 30 as you pass the Emergency vehicle. So why discuss this you say? Well, I discuss this because my fellow Tenneseeans forget that last part and this "law" causes more issues than it saves lives. The minute someone sees a cop, etc on the side of the freeway it's SLAM on the brakes and jump over a lane as fast as possible. I've seen this behavior almost cause more wrecks. In talking with some of my Trooper friends out here, they agree that it's really not a great law. I see why these guys get killed though. They still approach the stopped vehicle on the Driver's side. In California, the CHP awhile ago started approaching your vehicle from the Passenger Side; basically not having their backs to traffic. They approach from the rear and slowly move from the left rear (driver's side) to the right rear then to the passenger side of the car. This way they can see what you are doing before they come to your window to talk to you. It keeps them from being suprised when someone pulls a gun. Good plan I say.

The other thing about my fellow Tennesseean's that annoy me is the propensity to be NICE!!! Now normally that's okay and a pleasant surprise, but not while driving!! The exit I use to get off of the freeway always has a lot of Semis on it because there is a large TA Truck Stop facility. The amount of semis and people's fear of them out here (you hear all kinds of horror stories about Semis taking people out......well if you didn't come up on the side of them and slow down maybe there'd be no problem. It's called PASSING....this means you speed the Hell up and flash your lights and honk your horn so the driver of said Semi knows you are there....) causes making a simple left turn from a light to be one of the feats of Hercules!! Then there's two other lights you have to get through before you can continue on the road I use to go home. Between the first and the second light is the driveway entrance to the Truck Stop. Folks coming out of it, just like folks coming out of any non-protected driveway DO NOT HAVE THE RIGHT OF WAY! This means they have to wait for the cross traffic to be clear. Now, some of my fellow Tennesseans have this overwhelming urge to STOP and let the big, loaded Semi out of the driveway......and no, they usually aren't making a simple right turn and going our way. NOOOOOO they are turning left, across traffic. These NICE folks usually do this when the second light has turned GREEN!! Yes, instead of driving forward and continuing the flow of traffic, they stop and impede it. Well Mr. Semi, not wanting to look a gift horse in the mouth drives out of the driveway, across both lanes of forward traffic (so you can't even go around the Nice asshole) and then stops....they do this because our light which was green has now changed to red and the traffic coming the other direction's light has changed to green and they are proceeding forward. By the time this traffic has cleared, our light has changed to green and then back to red again by the time Mr. Semi has completed his left turn. So, Mr Nice Folk has now made me and about a dozen or so folks miss the light twice AND has backed up cars down the on ramp onto the freeway. Why? So they could be NICE!!!

The other day I ran into the other "neighborly" type of driver out here....the car to car talker. Oh yes, these morons see their idiotic friends in the car next to them so they both roll down their windows and keep pace with each other talking while driving....meanwhile behind them, is everyone else being slowed down because of these narcissitic assholes who have to have a conversation. Hey pal, why not pull your asses off to the side of the road and let the rest of us FREAKING Drive.....I usually give them the horn, and they give me looks. I proceed to then give them the horn some more and then give them half of a peace sign to emphasize what they and their stupid friend should go do to themselves. Wish I had a carry permit sometimes.....a few warning shots might make them realize they are not the only people using the roadways...

This morning was the one's I hate the most....The Helpers/Nosy Noras. We got up to one intersection, and I notice what looked like a fender bender. Three pick ups were all off the road and there was plastic all over the roadway. The light was green and we proceeded through the intersection when all of a sudden we stopped....for no apparent reason. Well the reason was that Joe Helper in a white pick up in front of everyone decided he was going to save the world today so he stopped......mindless of the fact that there was a loaded semi and about 8 cars behind him going through an intersection at about 45 MPH.......we all slammed on our brakes to avoid causing an even bigger wreck which would have been Joe Helpers fault. Now, did Joe Helper get out of his vehicle and help out? HELL NO! He stopped to ask if everything was okay, then when it was clear that his great assistance wasn't needed he started off on his merry way again. Thanks ASSHOLE....you were such a help. Look folks, if you think you can render assistance to accident victims, that's great but do me one little favor; PULL YOUR FREAKING VEHICLE OFF OF THE DAMN ROAD!!! Actually this is what you should really do; keep driving, dial 911 and report the accident to the local PD/Highway Patrol or whatever authorities. Trust me, unless you are trained to save lives you are only being a hinderance by stopping and trying to help. I knew a guy that got killed because he decided to pull over and help some accident victims. He walked around a large vehicle and right into traffic and was run over. All because he was trying to be the Good Samaritan. This jackass this morning didn't even get out of his truck...nooooooo Mr. Helper just wanted something to brag about at work..."yeah dudes, I was rolling along in my truck and I saw these other trucks all smashed up....I stopped because someone had to do something and when I saw it was all okay I moved on. But man I would've helped if I could." Wow, you're real brave Moron!!! You probably forgot to mention how everyone else behind you had to slam on their brakes and how you almost caused another wreck trying to be a superhero. Look folks, unless you can fly, stop time, run real fast or have super strength, just pull the frak over and call the cops. The PD are trained to handle these kinds of things, and if you say there is an accident, the PD usually show up followed by their good friends Firemen and Paramedics.......these people are trained to deal with accidents. Not you Mr. Helper Construction Worker guy in your white pick up with your Real Tree Camo hat.

It's February....where's the rants?????

Supergoober says he needs a rant....okay one rant....coming up!

It's February, the shortest month of the year, usually the rainiest back home, and it's time to celebrate the following things:

1. George Washington's Birthday......we celebrate the General who won this Country it's independence from overtaxation at the hands of the corrupt British Parliment by doing the following: In elementary school you have some super cheesy plays they make you do, then you cut out cherry trees and silouettes of Washington. You still have to work that day, unless of course you work for the Federal Government or are a Teacher. Department stores have President's Day sales.....because nothing says Happy Birthday George Washington like a blender, costume jewelry or new sheets for your bed. Oh, and you also usually have some cheesy local furniture guy or car dealership owner dressed up as Washington holding an axe near a cherry tree saying stupid shit like "We cannot tell a lie, we're chopping down prices!!!"

2. Abraham Lincoln's Birthday.....we celebrate the President who freed the slaves and had to deal with the South getting all rebellious and bent out of shape because they couldn't oppress Black People anymore (my Southern friends out here love that one.....I often hear bbbbut it's about State's rights.....yeah the right to own Human beings isn't a right.) by doing the following: In elementary school, while some guys are dressed like George Washington and performing some cheesy skit the teacher would usually get the tall kids and put a big construction paper stove-pipe hat on their heads and a fake beard and they'd be Lincoln. You still have to work, unless like I've stated above you work for the Government or are a Teacher. Also as mentioned above, Department stores have a President's Day sale to commemorate this occassion, and the same cheesy local furniture guy/car dealership owner also dresses as Lincoln (when he's not dressed like Washington) saying stupid shit like "Four score and seven years ago, I'll make you a deal..."

Oh by the way, several years ago they decided to combine the two Birthdays into one day and call it President's day. This means the kids only get one day off of school, unlike us old folks who remember getting two days off of school because of the individual birthday celebrations. Ha ha.....

3. Black History (awareness.......that's such a stupid term....Black Awareness Month...c'mon...) Month. We celebrate by doing the following: nothing really.....the network's have little 30 second spots in between shows with a Black Celebrity reading off some fact about a famous Black Person in history, and you get to see snippets of Martin Luther King, Jr's speech but that's about it. I can't even imagine what kind of cheesy crap they do in elementary school as my generation apparently didn't need to take a whole month just to be "aware" of Black People in history.

4. Groundhog Day. Not sure the origins of this stupidness, but apparently their is this magical giant hamster that comes out of the ground and depending on whether or not he sees his own shadow we somehow either get 4 more weeks of winter or not. I think it's bad if he sees his own shadow. So if that is the case, and since I hate winter, I suggest we kill all of the Groundhogs on January 31rst each year and that way their evil shadow magic won't affect our weather. Who's with me??

5. The BIG ONE....the one Holiday that was made violent in the 30's by Al Capone as he chose that day to whack a bunch of rival gangsters.....the one day that is an official conspiracy between the Florist Industry, Restaurant Industry, Greeting Card Industry, Jewerly Industry and KY, Trojan and Victoria's Secret....yep I'm talking about Valentine's Day......you know the day when guys who usually ignore the women in their lives for the other 364 days of the year make up for it by buying extremely overpriced flowers, crap jewelry from Kay or Zales, a cheesy card that says something like "Valentine, when I see you the flowers bloom and the birds sing!!! blah blah blah..." and dinner at their favorite restaurant which miraculously has a "Special Valentine's Menu" with only two choices on it, chicken or beef with the usual sides and drinks for only.....75 dollars a person........all in the hopes of getting laid. Oh, and they usually buy these women lingerie as a gift.....yeah nice gift. Dude you won't go to the store and buy a freaking box of maxi pads for the woman nor will you go shopping with her, but you will go buy filmy underwear for here to wear one night a year. I know what you are thinking....he's sleeping on the couch tonight......nope. Cath and I talked about this before, and we share the same opinion. Her attituded is why do you need one day to show your love for someone, you should show it all the time. I love my wife, I truly do. I hear this year because the economy sucks florists and restaurants are complaining they don't have the sales.....well here's a tidbit for you.....LOWER YOUR DAMN PRICES!!!! Freaking dozen roses is anywhere from 30-150 dollars depending on where you go. For damn flowers that will die in a week or two. I usually buy my Wife a plant, something she can re-plant out in the yard or leave in a pot in the house. I will also buy my Step-Daughter some flowers too......she likes it and she's a good kid.

So there's my rant, and looking at the calendar I see there's two more weeks until March....yay March where we celebrate nothing, well I do since it's both my Parent's birthdays (3 days apart). Since it's an empty month I'd like to propose Italian Awareness Month/Italian History Month. The Networks will run little snippets like "Today in history Frank Sinatra sang his first song" or "Al Capone committed his first crime" or something like that. We can have those furniture/car dealership guys standing on a boat saying "Mama Mia we've crossed the ocean to bring the land of opportunity to you!!!!". We could have Nintendo's Mario and Luigi as the official mascots and run an all day "Soprano's" marathon on A&E combined with every Rat Pack movie and all three Godfather's on AMC.

5 Years Ago Today

I married my Best Friend Cathy. We were married in the Redwood City Courthouse weeks before the Scott Petersen Trial started (so we avoided the whole media circus) at that same Courthouse. Liv was 8 years old I believe and was part of the ceremony; she wanted to carry her stuffed cat instead of flowers. It was cute. Our reception was at Fresh Choice and we spent our Wedding Night at Chuck E Cheese (figured treat Liv a bit since the whole day was about us). It was actually nice because while Liv was playing the games and such, Cat and I sat in the booth relaxing after a hectic day. I love you Cathy even more as the years go by. Here's to many more.

Narrow Minded People

I'm still coming down off of the high that was Tuesday's inauguration, but not everyone in this great Nation was so elated. It was fairly sad to say the least, here in my office they made an announcement that the IT guys would have the live streaming webcast of the inauguration playing in the training room. Out of 150 employees, most who will benefit from Obama's tax cuts, only 8 showed up. A few others were watching History being made from their desks, but really it was about a dozen people total. The rest; still dining on their meal of sour grapes and sipping a nice hot mug of "oh woe is me". People on the street were interviewed and some of the typical mouth breathers said shit like "well he should really re-take the oath....he screwed it up so it's not official..." Or my favorite "he's not MY President..." Really dumbass? Who's President is he? If he's not your President, then may I see your citizenship papers please...oh you were born here? Guess what Hillbilly...he IS YOUR DAMN PRESIDENT...so SUCK IT!!! Such talk of succession coming from a Southern State....why that's never happened before......if it comes to that again, I am hearby volunteering to be a spy for the North...right now. Actually more like a spy for the West. First off, the Chief Justice screwed up the Oath not the President. The President paused to let the Chief Justice get it right but it just came out wrong. To be official, the oath was retaken on Wednesday. There whiny bitches....you happy now??? Oh, hey did you notice that Koran Barack and Michelle were holding...you know the one he took his oath on? Oh wait, it was the Holy Bible that Lincoln had used to take his oath on......to all the morons I heard say that and actually believed that; don't you feel real stupid about now? Probably not as you didn't feel stupid then nor will you ever feel stupid. Now you've got Rush and other mouth breathing, irrelevant Neocons mocking the Inauguration and people's overwhelming feelings of elation and hopefulness. These short sighted, narrow minded asshats want the man to fail....they want our Country to come crashing to the ground. And you dickheads claim to be Patriots. Yeah right, my ass is more Patriotic. I see the pictures of the Civil Rights movement of the 60's. The firehoses being sprayed on young, Black people who just wanted the same rights as every other human being in this damn Country. I see the racists, narrow minded White Southerners riding down the streets flying the Confederate Flag......these same assholes years later have the audacity to tell me it's "Heritage not Hate". Yeah, keep telling yourself that. I bet it's the only way you can sleep at night. Here's your Confederate Heritage: Slavery, hatred, racism, open rebellion against the Country you claim to love so much, narcissim, arrogance, ignorance, narrow mindedness and defeat. Yeah that's such a great Heritage to be soooo damn proud of. I dropped a friend of a friend from my facebook list for his moronic comments. On the day of Hope and Elation he posted on his wall "Why do people put their faith in Obama when it's God they should be putting their faith in...." he went on with some other drivel which I quickly ignored. I wanted to reply, but figured I'd just drop the dude. Here's my reply to that. God doesn't run this Country. God doesn't care about this Country or any other. God is probably really pissed off at us for the way we've treated each other and others for the past decade or so. God isn't going to lower my taxes or help my Kids get through college or lower the cost of Health Care. No, a human being is going to do that. God doesn't give a rats ass about politics or the United States of America anymore than he does about other Countries. To these 22%ers and other narrow minded people who chose to ignore history on Tuesday, I say this: I feel sorry for you; I really do. You have officially become irrelevant. The world has moved on, and you chose to be left behind (hee hee....I bet they hate that fact especially the Fundies and Bible Thumpers). The world has chosen to look past skin color for once in the history of Mankind and bestow great responsibility upon someone who has proven, so far, to be a smart custodian of said responsibility. To the doubters and closed minded people I further say this: enjoy your four/eight years of misery. Instead of whining and wallowing in self pity get your damn party's head out of it's ass and start examining why you lost a crapload of Senate seats and the Presidency. Here's a hint; The Jebus Squad isn't going to get you elected, so pandering to them will get you nowhere. To be honest, Republicans and Democrats don't really exist anymore. The President is so Centrist that he's like the balance bubble on a level. A sure way for you to lose again; pin your hopes on Palin.....go ahead make that mistake yet again. The Pres is a religious man; he's made that clear. What he doesn't do is make it the focal point of every damn conversation he has. His Faith is between him and his God. That's how it should be. This Country was founded by Deiests not Bible Thumping, Fundamentalists. Not everything is God's Will or Faith based okay? Lot's of people are real tired of that crap. No your kid doesn't get to pray in a school my taxes pay for. To bad. If you want your kid to pray in school, then enroll your precious little snowflake in a Religious school. You pay for it okay? I want the teachers that are teaching my child to TEACH THEM....not preach to them. They go to school to learn; to become intelligent, productive members of society....Society as a WHOLE, not your little pocket world of Christianity. Keep it to yourself, I'm not impressed with your imagined level of holier than thou status. You aren't anymore of a Child of God than I am. Your not anymore saved than I am. Besides, I'm freaking Italian....we run Heaven if you didn't notice. Where do you think the Pope lives? In New York? No he lives in Rome. See what you did; made me go off on a tangent against Religion again. Back on track now. I guess this is how it felt to be a Bush supporter in 2000 eh? I won't say I agree with the statement Bush stole the election, we will never truly know what happened. I will say the whole situation was highly suspicious and was very embarassing for this Country. In conclusion I will say this: The train is leaving the station heading towards the New World Order. It's not too late to get on board and join the team.

History has just been made.

Today I find myself with renewed enthusiasm to face tomorrow. I caught a momentary glimpse while watching Barack H. Obama be sworn in as the 44th President of this Country of the light at the end of the tunnel. Here's the text of his acceptance speech:

"My fellow citizens:I stand here today humbled by the task before us, grateful for the trust you have bestowed, mindful of the sacrifices borne by our ancestors. I thank President Bush for his service to our nation, as well as the generosity and cooperation he has shown throughout this transition. Forty-four Americans have now taken the presidential oath. The words have been spoken during rising tides of prosperity and the still waters of peace. Yet, every so often the oath is taken amidst gathering clouds and raging storms. At these moments, America has carried on not simply because of the skill or vision of those in high office, but because We the People have remained faithful to the ideals of our forbearers, and true to our founding documents. So it has been. So it must be with this generation of Americans. That we are in the midst of crisis is now well understood. Our nation is at war, against a far-reaching network of violence and hatred. Our economy is badly weakened, a consequence of greed and irresponsibility on the part of some, but also our collective failure to make hard choices and prepare the nation for a new age. Homes have been lost; jobs shed; businesses shuttered. Our health care is too costly; our schools fail too many; and each day brings further evidence that the ways we use energy strengthen our adversaries and threaten our planet. These are the indicators of crisis, subject to data and statistics. Less measurable but no less profound is a sapping of confidence across our land - a nagging fear that America's decline is inevitable, and that the next generation must lower its sights. Today I say to you that the challenges we face are real. They are serious and they are many. They will not be met easily or in a short span of time. But know this, America - they will be met. On this day, we gather because we have chosen hope over fear, unity of purpose over conflict and discord. On this day, we come to proclaim an end to the petty grievances and false promises, the recriminations and worn out dogmas, that for far too long have strangled our politics. We remain a young nation, but in the words of Scripture, the time has come to set aside childish things. The time has come to reaffirm our enduring spirit; to choose our better history; to carry forward that precious gift, that noble idea, passed on from generation to generation: the God-given promise that all are equal, all are free, and all deserve a chance to pursue their full measure of happiness.In reaffirming the greatness of our nation, we understand that greatness is never a given. It must be earned. Our journey has never been one of short-cuts or settling for less. It has not been the path for the faint-hearted - for those who prefer leisure over work, or seek only the pleasures of riches and fame. Rather, it has been the risk-takers, the doers, the makers of things - some celebrated but more often men and women obscure in their labor, who have carried us up the long, rugged path towards prosperity and freedom.For us, they packed up their few worldly possessions and traveled across oceans in search of a new life.For us, they toiled in sweatshops and settled the West; endured the lash of the whip and plowed the hard earth.For us, they fought and died, in places like Concord and Gettysburg; Normandy and Khe Sahn. Time and again these men and women struggled and sacrificed and worked till their hands were raw so that we might live a better life. They saw America as bigger than the sum of our individual ambitions; greater than all the differences of birth or wealth or faction. This is the journey we continue today. We remain the most prosperous, powerful nation on Earth. Our workers are no less productive than when this crisis began. Our minds are no less inventive, our goods and services no less needed than they were last week or last month or last year. Our capacity remains undiminished. But our time of standing pat, of protecting narrow interests and putting off unpleasant decisions - that time has surely passed. Starting today, we must pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and begin again the work of remaking America. For everywhere we look, there is work to be done. The state of the economy calls for action, bold and swift, and we will act - not only to create new jobs, but to lay a new foundation for growth. We will build the roads and bridges, the electric grids and digital lines that feed our commerce and bind us together. We will restore science to its rightful place, and wield technology's wonders to raise health care's quality and lower its cost. We will harness the sun and the winds and the soil to fuel our cars and run our factories. And we will transform our schools and colleges and universities to meet the demands of a new age. All this we can do. And all this we will do.Now, there are some who question the scale of our ambitions - who suggest that our system cannot tolerate too many big plans. Their memories are short. For they have forgotten what this country has already done; what free men and women can achieve when imagination is joined to common purpose, and necessity to courage. What the cynics fail to understand is that the ground has shifted beneath them - that the stale political arguments that have consumed us for so long no longer apply. The question we ask today is not whether our government is too big or too small, but whether it works - whether it helps families find jobs at a decent wage, care they can afford, a retirement that is dignified. Where the answer is yes, we intend to move forward. Where the answer is no, programs will end. And those of us who manage the public's dollars will be held to account - to spend wisely, reform bad habits, and do our business in the light of day - because only then can we restore the vital trust between a people and their government.Nor is the question before us whether the market is a force for good or ill. Its power to generate wealth and expand freedom is unmatched, but this crisis has reminded us that without a watchful eye, the market can spin out of control - and that a nation cannot prosper long when it favors only the prosperous. The success of our economy has always depended not just on the size of our Gross Domestic Product, but on the reach of our prosperity; on our ability to extend opportunity to every willing heart - not out of charity, but because it is the surest route to our common good.As for our common defense, we reject as false the choice between our safety and our ideals. Our Founding Fathers, faced with perils we can scarcely imagine, drafted a charter to assure the rule of law and the rights of man, a charter expanded by the blood of generations. Those ideals still light the world, and we will not give them up for expedience's sake. And so to all other peoples and governments who are watching today, from the grandest capitals to the small village where my father was born: know that America is a friend of each nation and every man, woman, and child who seeks a future of peace and dignity, and that we are ready to lead once more. Recall that earlier generations faced down fascism and communism not just with missiles and tanks, but with sturdy alliances and enduring convictions. They understood that our power alone cannot protect us, nor does it entitle us to do as we please. Instead, they knew that our power grows through its prudent use; our security emanates from the justness of our cause, the force of our example, the tempering qualities of humility and restraint. We are the keepers of this legacy. Guided by these principles once more, we can meet those new threats that demand even greater effort - even greater cooperation and understanding between nations. We will begin to responsibly leave Iraq to its people, and forge a hard-earned peace in Afghanistan. With old friends and former foes, we will work tirelessly to lessen the nuclear threat, and roll back the specter of a warming planet. We will not apologize for our way of life, nor will we waver in its defense, and for those who seek to advance their aims by inducing terror and slaughtering innocents, we say to you now that our spirit is stronger and cannot be broken; you cannot outlast us, and we will defeat you.For we know that our patchwork heritage is a strength, not a weakness. We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus - and non-believers. We are shaped by every language and culture, drawn from every end of this Earth; and because we have tasted the bitter swill of civil war and segregation, and emerged from that dark chapter stronger and more united, we cannot help but believe that the old hatreds shall someday pass; that the lines of tribe shall soon dissolve; that as the world grows smaller, our common humanity shall reveal itself; and that America must play its role in ushering in a new era of peace. To the Muslim world, we seek a new way forward, based on mutual interest and mutual respect. To those leaders around the globe who seek to sow conflict, or blame their society's ills on the West - know that your people will judge you on what you can build, not what you destroy. To those who cling to power through corruption and deceit and the silencing of dissent, know that you are on the wrong side of history; but that we will extend a hand if you are willing to unclench your fist. To the people of poor nations, we pledge to work alongside you to make your farms flourish and let clean waters flow; to nourish starved bodies and feed hungry minds. And to those nations like ours that enjoy relative plenty, we say we can no longer afford indifference to suffering outside our borders; nor can we consume the world's resources without regard to effect. For the world has changed, and we must change with it.As we consider the road that unfolds before us, we remember with humble gratitude those brave Americans who, at this very hour, patrol far-off deserts and distant mountains. They have something to tell us today, just as the fallen heroes who lie in Arlington whisper through the ages. We honor them not only because they are guardians of our liberty, but because they embody the spirit of service; a willingness to find meaning in something greater than themselves. And yet, at this moment - a moment that will define a generation - it is precisely this spirit that must inhabit us all. For as much as government can do and must do, it is ultimately the faith and determination of the American people upon which this nation relies. It is the kindness to take in a stranger when the levees break, the selflessness of workers who would rather cut their hours than see a friend lose their job which sees us through our darkest hours. It is the firefighter's courage to storm a stairway filled with smoke, but also a parent's willingness to nurture a child, that finally decides our fate. Our challenges may be new. The instruments with which we meet them may be new. But those values upon which our success depends - hard work and honesty, courage and fair play, tolerance and curiosity, loyalty and patriotism - these things are old. These things are true. They have been the quiet force of progress throughout our history. What is demanded then is a return to these truths. What is required of us now is a new era of responsibility - a recognition, on the part of every American, that we have duties to ourselves, our nation, and the world, duties that we do not grudgingly accept but rather seize gladly, firm in the knowledge that there is nothing so satisfying to the spirit, so defining of our character, than giving our all to a difficult task.This is the price and the promise of citizenship.This is the source of our confidence - the knowledge that God calls on us to shape an uncertain destiny.This is the meaning of our liberty and our creed - why men and women and children of every race and every faith can join in celebration across this magnificent mall, and why a man whose father less than sixty years ago might not have been served at a local restaurant can now stand before you to take a most sacred oath.So let us mark this day with remembrance, of who we are and how far we have traveled. In the year of America's birth, in the coldest of months, a small band of patriots huddled by dying campfires on the shores of an icy river. The capital was abandoned. The enemy was advancing. The snow was stained with blood. At a moment when the outcome of our revolution was most in doubt, the father of our nation ordered these words be read to the people: "Let it be told to the future world...that in the depth of winter, when nothing but hope and virtue could survive...that the city and the country, alarmed at one common danger, came forth to meet [it]." America. In the face of our common dangers, in this winter of our hardship, let us remember these timeless words. With hope and virtue, let us brave once more the icy currents, and endure what storms may come. Let it be said by our children's children that when we were tested we refused to let this journey end, that we did not turn back nor did we falter; and with eyes fixed on the horizon and God's grace upon us, we carried forth that great gift of freedom and delivered it safely to future generations.Thank you. God bless you. And God bless America."

I've always been a patriotic American. When one's ancestors flee their Country of Origin for a strange land so they can make a better life for themselves and their progeny it makes you appreciate their adopted Country more. In the beginning of the movie "The Godfather" a Scillian immigrant tells the Don "I love America." We have a series of pictures on the wall in our living room of my Grandparents and Great-Grandparents. My favorite one is the picture of my Nanu standing by the first truck he ever bought with his own hard earned wages that he saved up until he had enough to purchase it. The look of pride on his face in that picture always inspires me. That one picture, to me, sums up the immigrant experience of what it is to be an American. Those previously in power have come from long lines of Mayflower descendants....the man in power now came here for a better life because it's America!!! The golden land of opportunity. Today I can say with head held high that I've never felt more proud to be a Citizen of this great nation than I do today.

I have a dream.....

Today is the day we honor Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. who's birthday was last Thursday the 15th. He made one of the most constantly watched and referred to speeches in history....here is the text:

I am happy to join with you today in what will go down in history as the greatest demonstration for freedom in the history of our nation.
Five score years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand today, signed the Emancipation Proclamation. This momentous decree came as a great beacon light of hope to millions of Negro slaves who had been seared in the flames of withering injustice. It came as a joyous daybreak to end the long night of their captivity.
But one hundred years later, the Negro still is not free. One hundred years later, the life of the Negro is still sadly crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination. One hundred years later, the Negro lives on a lonely island of poverty in the midst of a vast ocean of material prosperity. One hundred years later, the Negro is still languished in the corners of American society and finds himself an exile in his own land. And so we've come here today to dramatize a shameful condition.
In a sense we've come to our nation's capital to cash a check. When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir. This note was a promise that all men, yes, black men as well as white men, would be guaranteed the "unalienable Rights" of "Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." It is obvious today that America has defaulted on this promissory note, insofar as her citizens of color are concerned. Instead of honoring this sacred obligation, America has given the Negro people a bad check, a check which has come back marked "insufficient funds."
But we refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt. We refuse to believe that there are insufficient funds in the great vaults of opportunity of this nation. And so, we've come to cash this check, a check that will give us upon demand the riches of freedom and the security of justice.
We have also come to this hallowed spot to remind America of the fierce urgency of Now. This is no time to engage in the luxury of cooling off or to take the tranquilizing drug of gradualism. Now is the time to make real the promises of democracy. Now is the time to rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice. Now is the time to lift our nation from the quicksands of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood. Now is the time to make justice a reality for all of God's children.
It would be fatal for the nation to overlook the urgency of the moment. This sweltering summer of the Negro's legitimate discontent will not pass until there is an invigorating autumn of freedom and equality. Nineteen sixty-three is not an end, but a beginning. And those who hope that the Negro needed to blow off steam and will now be content will have a rude awakening if the nation returns to business as usual. And there will be neither rest nor tranquility in America until the Negro is granted his citizenship rights. The whirlwinds of revolt will continue to shake the foundations of our nation until the bright day of justice emerges.
But there is something that I must say to my people, who stand on the warm threshold which leads into the palace of justice: In the process of gaining our rightful place, we must not be guilty of wrongful deeds. Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred. We must forever conduct our struggle on the high plane of dignity and discipline. We must not allow our creative protest to degenerate into physical violence. Again and again, we must rise to the majestic heights of meeting physical force with soul force.
The marvelous new militancy which has engulfed the Negro community must not lead us to a distrust of all white people, for many of our white brothers, as evidenced by their presence here today, have come to realize that their destiny is tied up with our destiny. And they have come to realize that their freedom is inextricably bound to our freedom.
We cannot walk alone.
And as we walk, we must make the pledge that we shall always march ahead.
We cannot turn back.
There are those who are asking the devotees of civil rights, "When will you be satisfied?" We can never be satisfied as long as the Negro is the victim of the unspeakable horrors of police brutality. We can never be satisfied as long as our bodies, heavy with the fatigue of travel, cannot gain lodging in the motels of the highways and the hotels of the cities. We cannot be satisfied as long as the negro's basic mobility is from a smaller ghetto to a larger one. We can never be satisfied as long as our children are stripped of their self-hood and robbed of their dignity by signs stating: "For Whites Only." We cannot be satisfied as long as a Negro in Mississippi cannot vote and a Negro in New York believes he has nothing for which to vote. No, no, we are not satisfied, and we will not be satisfied until "justice rolls down like waters, and righteousness like a mighty stream."

I am not unmindful that some of you have come here out of great trials and tribulations. Some of you have come fresh from narrow jail cells. And some of you have come from areas where your quest -- quest for freedom left you battered by the storms of persecution and staggered by the winds of police brutality. You have been the veterans of creative suffering. Continue to work with the faith that unearned suffering is redemptive. Go back to Mississippi, go back to Alabama, go back to South Carolina, go back to Georgia, go back to Louisiana, go back to the slums and ghettos of our northern cities, knowing that somehow this situation can and will be changed.
Let us not wallow in the valley of despair, I say to you today, my friends.
And so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream.
I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal."
I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia, the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.
I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.
I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.
I have a dream today!
I have a dream that one day, down in Alabama, with its vicious racists, with its governor having his lips dripping with the words of "interposition" and "nullification" -- one day right there in Alabama little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers.
I have a dream today!
I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, and every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight; "and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed and all flesh shall see it together."2
This is our hope, and this is the faith that I go back to the South with.
With this faith, we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope. With this faith, we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood. With this faith, we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day.
And this will be the day -- this will be the day when all of God's children will be able to sing with new meaning:
My country 'tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing.
Land where my fathers died, land of the Pilgrim's pride,
From every mountainside, let freedom ring!
And if America is to be a great nation, this must become true.
And so let freedom ring from the prodigious hilltops of New Hampshire.
Let freedom ring from the mighty mountains of New York.
Let freedom ring from the heightening Alleghenies of Pennsylvania.
Let freedom ring from the snow-capped Rockies of Colorado.
Let freedom ring from the curvaceous slopes of California.
But not only that:
Let freedom ring from Stone Mountain of Georgia.
Let freedom ring from Lookout Mountain of Tennessee.
Let freedom ring from every hill and molehill of Mississippi.
From every mountainside, let freedom ring.
And when this happens, when we allow freedom ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God's children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual:
Free at last! Free at last!
Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!

It seems that tomorrow, January 20th, 2009, Dr. King's Dream will come true at last.

http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/mlkihaveadream.htm Link goes to an audio file of the speech.

TV Wasteland

Well for the most part it is anyway. Every once in awhile I hear about something on Fox that may actually look like it can bring that station back to the way it once was....BAI...that's before American Idol for those that didn't catch that. When they first started they were the "upstart" network that showed that you could take on the big three and do well. Remember 21 Jumpstreet? Married with Children? Werewolf? Great shows back then...then they went even further and tried out a silly little animated show that all the critics scoffed at. You know the one...I believe it's called "The Simpsons"? Then the "reality show" craze hit the airwaves. I for one am not a big fan of the "reality" show. I do watch Survivor, but honestly it's because my Wife watches it and I enjoy spending time with her and besides Eleventh Hour is on that same night, and I really like that show. I do enjoy the challenges in Survivor; the obstacle courses, etc. I hate the whole whiny bitch drama bit in between, and honestly I uses those moments for a pee or crap break. I do like Top Chef, but only catch it now and again. That's more of a competition show...a culinary game show if you will...than a reality show. The "reality" part is when some of the Chef's are at odds with each other in the group house they live in, but those portions of the show are very minimal. It's about cooking after all, and there's not much time for filler crap. Technically Survivor is a 30 minute show but it takes up a hour timeslot........it would be 30 minutes if they just showed the challenges then tribal council. The one I really like is the Amazing Race. It's even less of a reality show than Top Chef. The only time you get the whiny attention whore bs is when couples clash during the course of the game, or other teams clash with other teams. Other than that (it's not that common and usually relegated to one team) there's too much going on to deal with that crap. All the rest of them can go die in a fire. All the Wife Swap, Temptation Island, Bachelor, Who's a Gold Digging Slut...I mean who wants to marry a Millionaire.........seriously who does?? Shouldn't it be who wants to marry a billionaire by now? Top Model, Top Hair Dresser, et etc.....these shows are all really stupid and lame. The lamest one by far.....well not lame but there's just too much of it on....is American Idol. I've gone on and on about this one so no need to flog that dead horse again. Fox has 24, but honestly I've never watched it and figured it's too late to watch it now. That's one good show they have other than "The Deathstar" (credit that one to Tim Goodman the Chronicle's TV Critic) that is American Idol. They tried to have a hit with the Terminator TV show.....too late. Seriously, that franchise is done and making a TV series about it just doesn't do anything to help it along. Besides, from my understanding it was lame. Fringe, sounded good almost X-Files like but after 3 episodes I said CYA.......it never went anywhere. It's like Fox isn't trying anymore. Eventually people are going to get tired of what boils down to Star Search for the 21rst Century and want something else. Fox has decided to give it to them in the form of a show called "Bitches". It's a cross between a Werewolf movie and Sex in the City. Yep, you read that right. It's about 3 Manhattan Women who are werewolves. Apparently werewolves are going to be the next "hot" thing with the release of the next Dawson's Creek Vampires movie....you know that Twilight crap that my Step-Daughter loves sooooo much.....any way, it's another large FAIL for Fox. What is funny is all of these satellite networks, FX, USA, TNT are putting out great shows that you want to watch while the networks, with the exception of most of CBS, Heroes on NBC and Life on Mars on ABC, are just putting out crap. FX has the Shield (had anyway), Damages and others. USA has Monk and my new favorite Burn Notice. TNT has the Closer....all great shows. What did ABC give us......more Desperate Housewives (and they wonder why the divorce rate is so high in this Country...hey let's make if trendy to be a cheating slut....), Push Daisies, Carpoolers (oh this was going to be a hit...c'mon...how can a sitcom about 4 carpoolers be anything but comedy gold??????) and the stupidest idea ever, Cavemen. Now, don't get me wrong, I think the Geico Caveman commercials are chuckle worthy, but that's for 30 seconds and worth just a chuckle. Not worth trying to make it funny for 25 minutes plus commercials.... It actually made it to a handful of episodes. At least CBS had the sense to kill Viva Laughlin after 2 or the Ex-List after 3. NBC gave us Chuck (mildly amusing but we can live without it), Journeyman (really confusing and one of those shows that's based in San Francisco but everything they show is completely not in San Francisco nor did it happen the way they portrayed.) and the stupidest idea yet (even stupider than Cavemen) a remake of Knight Rider. Oh yeah, and they didn't kill it right off, they kept trying to string it along. The Networks are becomming like the Movie industry; no more ideas and trying to rehash old shit. Ah well, there's always my Wii to keep me entertained......

First post of the New Year.

I know, it took a bit, but here it is....post number 370! Holy crap that's alot of BS spewed on the internet isn't it? The new year is looking up. Cath bought us a Wii game called "My Fitness Coach". It's more like an interactive work out DVD than it is a game, but it's really great for getting ones lazy, sedentary, fat ass in shape. Yes I'm referring to myself. C'mon folks, this old dude is going to be 44 this year and he's not in the best of shape. When you create a profile on this program you have to answer the questions honestly or it won't do you any good. Then you take a brief fitness test (think those President's Health Board tests you used to take in PE....push ups, sit ups, jumping jacks, etc) after which your virtual Trainer, Maya, gives you a recommended workout schedule and what you need to work on the most. You can also incoporate actual workout gear you have in the work out. Steps, weights, stability ball and heart rate monitor all can be checked off on the list and they are used in the routines (I used the step, weights and stability ball in this mornings work out). The workouts a varied and after each block of routines you are asked how it was for you. Your choices are "no sweat", "I was working hard" and "I had a hard time keeping up". Depending on your response (again be honest) the program will either dial it up/back the next time. The part about it I like the best is the tutorial button. If, during the workout routine, you don't know what she's doing or have issues following it in real time you can click on the tutorial button and that particular part of the routine will be explained over and over again until you click the return button. Also I should note that at this time the timer for your workout has been paused and it gets restarted once you hit return. The other nice thing is that you start the whole rep session of that routine over again so you don't miss any of the benefits of the work out. You get to pick from 3 starting locations to work out at and three types of music. After 5 workouts (as I found out this morning) you are rewarded a bronze medal status and you get one new type of music and one new workout area. So far I'm sticking to it and I'm feeling great. Oh yeah, and if you do any outside activity such as biking, yoga, running, walking, etc you can go into your profile and get "workout credit" for you outside the game efforts. Did about 45 minutes of a Tai Chi video on Saturday and recorded that.

On the world politics front, would someone please tell me why our Government is getting annoyed at Israel????? Seriously, Hamas is as bad a terrorist organization as Al Qaeda and the Israelis are kicking their asses back to the stone age but we are saying some harsh things??? When will we learn that Israel is a great ally, but they honestly don't need our help or us sticking our nose in their business. I guess its okay for us to invade and occupy sovereign nations in search of terrorists but if someone else does it we cry foul?!!?!?! Makes no sense.

Also as I write this I'm excited to see that there's only 14 days left of BS then the hard work begins....

In the final words of Hawkeye Pierce written on the ground in the final episode of MASH....

Goodbye, farewell and Amen.

2008 the Year in Review

Here's my Year in Review for 2008. We saw the year of the "kick ass" Super Hero movies with the Dark Knight and IronMan......haven't seen Hulk yet, although not really convinced it will be that good. It looks like the new Punisher movie went in and right back out of theaters; not really surprised at that. Sports, the Raiders and the Niners ended on good notes and with good coaches (who are replacements for the ones that started the season). Yeah, I guess I should mention the Titans having a stellar season too, and with a vet as their QB, not their whiny little Rooking superstar. Baseball; I'll get back to you on that. The Giants and A's sucked and it doesn't look like it's going to bet better soon. TV; lots of good new shows and a whole crapload of stupid ones. Life on Mars, The Mentalist, Eleventh Hour....all awesome. Leverage, just as good. The Shield ended on a WOW! note like it started. Politics; the American people finally spoke up and said "Dear Republicans, we've had enough of your shit for the past 8 years. Go sit in a corner and be irrelevant for another 8 or so until you pull your heads out and figure out where you went wrong". An intelligent, well spoken, honest, Family Man is going to be our President. A man who props up his weaknesses by surrounding himself with people who know what the Hell they are doing and actually listening to their advice. Okay, I guess I should mention he's the first Black President.....but honestly that doesn't matter. Only a small portion of the population still cares about such things. We saw what happens when you sell your soul completely to the company store and let them turn you into something you aren't. That was John McCain. He went from the once proud Maverick, bucker of the system that he was in 2000 to Old Man Withers from any Scooby Do cartoon saying "I'd have gotten away with it to if it wasn't for you meddling kids and your dog..." Seriously, he turned into mean, angry, Old Guy with slight alzheimers. He let the RNC pick that joke of a running mate which essentially killed any chance he had. Just shows how out of it the RNC is. The Republican Part; the Party of Irrelevance. The Homefront; Cath and I are going strong after what will be 5 years this January 22nd. The oldest go married and I have a new Granddaughter. We also have a kitten who is bringing out the kitten in our older cat. I haven't been back home to visit still, but Mom and Dad and Sis are coming out in April. The Economy put a kabosh on Cath's Real Estate career....at least for now, she's wanting to get back into it and I can tell she misses it. 1/20/09 can't get here soon enough for me, know what I'm saying? Airsoft; my team The Order has become more respected as a separate entity and less "friends of Bad Karma" like we used to be. We are coming into our own and it feels good. Then again I have a bunch of great teammates so it's hard not be good.

In conclusion, I for one will be glad when this year is over. Enough of the crap already. Here's to '09 being much better.

Winter is Coming....

Sorry George R.R. Martin I had to borrow that from you.......actually Winter is here....now!!!  To my dear friends in the GoG...I give you the true meaning of cold....it was 9 degrees this morning.  Yes you read that right, 9 fricking degrees.  That's bloody cold!!!  Hell I remember back in Cali when it was like 40 we'd be "damn it's cold today...." and put on a heavy coat.  I can't imagine anyone getting used to this...this is warm to a damn Polar Bear....9 flipping degrees.......brrr......

The Christmas Truce

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christmas_truce

I like to put up the link to this story this time of year as it's one of my personal favorite tales of WWI. To me it speaks truly to the duality of mankind. We kill each other one minute, then pause just long enough to enjoy a shared experience like a Holiday....then back to the killing. Great story that shows that not even War can dampen the Holiday Spirit, and that there is a connection we all share regardless of where we were born or what language we speak.

Wiiiiiiiiiii!!!!!!

Yep, we finally got a Wii. Nintendo has impressed me with the way this motion controlled console works so well. Remember all previous attempts at motion control? Can anyone say Nintendo Power Glove???? You know, it used sonics for motion. But when you got it home, it absolutely blew. It never worked and it ended up being an expensive paper weight. Cathy and I have been talking about getting one, mainly for the Wii Fit board and exersice programs that come with it...hey need to get off my fat ass and get some exercise and train for airsoft in the off season....besides it's a way to get Cathy to play video games with me (she can't get into the PS2...which is fine. I will use that for my violent, war games and FPSes....). Although I do want to get the star wars lightsaber duel game.....and maybe the light saber controllers (they fit over your Wii remote although I can just see me actually hit someone with them....can't help it I'm a fencer for crying out loud!!)

Updates and ramblings....

So my favorite TV show Heroes is back on stride with it's last episode of the season. There was a big shake up when new writers took over after an episode or two because the best two writers were tapped to by ABC to write for "Pushing Daisies".......even they couldn't help that show. Now they are back and this latest episode was much better than the whole season. Things got so jumbled and muffled and confused that it was driving viewers away. Although I must say the show has basically become a modern retelling of all of the great '80's X-Men story lines. The latest, Volume 4, is called "Fugitives". Nathan Patrelli (a person with powers himself) has just given US President Worf....yeah that was Michael Dorn, I'd know that voice anywhere...a dossier with the names, photos and explanations of powers of all the characters from all three seasons. What he wants the Pres to do? He, Nathan, wants to round them all up and throw them in camps....er I mean a Facility so they won't harm anyone. Nathan was always borderline villan but now he's crossed over completely. It seems that Sylar burned up with the Primatech....I doubt it. This is Heroes after all. Clares bio-mom seems to not have bought the Personal Immunity Advantage to her flame powers....ooops.... So basically Nathan has become Senator Kelly and has initiated the Mutant Registration Act.....I wonder if there will Sentinels.......

SuperGoober posted a great description of a typical Gathering of the Geeks on his blog. It's really funny, and having experienced several of these I can hear the voices and bad impressions mentally.

The oldest Girl is married now. She's happy and they are doing great. My new GrandDaughter is getting bigger and cuter. Oh yeah she's going to be spoiled. Nanu is already looking for plans for a doll house for her.

That's it for now.........

All Hail Mr. Plow!!!

Actually all Hail Mr. TDOT Salt Truck. So about 3-4pm yesterday the Wife calls to tell me "hey, have you looked outside yet?" I knew it was going to be a balmy 36 yesterday but I didn't know it was going to freaking snow!!!! Now, as the title of the blog suggests I'm originally from California, where if you want to see snow you drive 4 hours to Tahoe to see it then drive home to the 50 degree winter weather. The flakes yesterday were so big that visibility was as bad as it is during a good San Francisco morning Fog.....The GoG knows what I'm talking about. It stopped snowing by the time I got home, but it was cold enough to start sticking. Slippery!!! I had to salt the driveway this morning so I didn't skate driving out of it. On my normal route I lucked out and got behind a TDOT salt truck!!! This means that the road ahead of me was nice and non-icy. Of course you don't follow too closely behind the salt truck....does nasty things to your paint....but it's easy to see the Area of Effect (Salt Truck: 4d6 EB, AE Circle. Only when roads Icy -1/4 Charges: 1 truckload +1 linked to:Change Environment: icy road to non-icy road). All Hero System fans will get that last bit......yes I know my Geek is showing. I must say this snow crap sucks. Of course the Discourser has dealt with this before as he used to live in a snowy State so he knows my pain. I just look at it this way, it's another skill I will develop.

More recomendations

Bought Dark Knight yesterday....brillant movie. Heath Ledger will be missed. He was demented as the Joker. Brought the characters true nature out. The same character that blew up the second Robin (although the readers pretty much voted for this because apparently that character was a complete ass) and tortured Commisioner Gordon and shot Barbara Gordon paralyzing her in The Killing Joke. Yeah very twisted indeed. Also caught the second episode of Leverage. I'm going to like this show.

More Movie and TV recommendations

Cat and I did something we hadn't done in awhile; went to a movie. I know, we don't get out too often. The last movie we saw was Indiana Jones and the Aliens.....you know that piece of crap that Lucas and Spielberg made.....a script that took forever to write, and this is the piece of crap they come up with????? I've come to the conclusion that if the name Lucas or Spielberg is on a movie, I'm not paying to see it. They've become reverse King Midases....everything they touch turns to a steaming pile of crap. Anyway, I will leave my Lucas/Spielberg hate for the time being and get back to it. We saw Transporter 3. Yes I know, I'm lucky that way. My Wife loves these movies as do I. We both agree, the stories are lame but it doesn't matter. The whole point of a Trasnporter movie is to watch bad ass Audi's race at high speeds with some intense driving manuevers and to watch Jason Statham do some bad ass martial arts. He's not trying to be a serious actor here, the guy knows he makes good action movies and that's all he needs to do. Haven't seen in the Name of the King (heard it was crap) nor have I seen Deathrace (there they go again with the remakes). Transporter 3 was good. There was a lot of the elements that make these movies fun; like riding a rollercoaster. Saw the preview for Watchmen. Oh my freaking God that movie looks awesome. Also saw the one for the Spirit which looks bad ass too. I also saw more examples of Hollywood running out of ideas with the following two remakes: Return to Witch Mountain and My Bloody Valentine. Yep, The Rock is going to star in a remake of the Disney classic Return to Witch Mountain called Race to Witch Mountain. Same basic story but updated. They are remaking My Bloody Valentine but making at 3-D version. Seriously, stop now. Don't remake the old cheesy 80's horror movies. Let them stand on their own. Now to the TV recommendations. Just watched the full premiere episode of Leverage. Pretty good. It's kind of a mixture of Snatch and the Ocean's movies. It's a group of thieves who is headed by an ex-insurance investigator who is the "one honest man" in the bunch. They go after the bad guys and act like modern day Robin Hoods. The team is made up of the Face who is an excellent con-woman, the muscle who is a guy that looks like a surfer dude but is a fairly bad ass martial artist. The computer guy, who is basically a geek and the cat-burglar, a borderline crazy woman named Parker. Then there's the leader, Nathan, the "one honest man". It looks to be pretty good. Also, if you haven't caught it yet (good luck in doing so) the last episode of the Shield was bad ass!!! Vic's bad karma came to bite him in the ass big time.

Boycott Dollar Tree

Click on the entry title to go to the Chronicle article. A single Mom of an 11-year old son was working at the Dollar Tree in Fairfield when a random nutjob comes into the store and stabs her to death. When he is caught, he tells the police his only reason for killing her was that she was black. Pretty horrible, but here's the real nasty part; Dollar Tree and it's Insurance Company are refusing to pay her son Worker's Comp benefits because even though she died on the job, her death "wasn't job related". Can you freaking believe that?!?!?!? This Corporation that sells shit made in China for a dollar can't pay a kid left motherless because of some racist asshole the 250K this child is entitled to as the sole survivor of this tragedy. It is work related Morons!!! If she didn't have to work that day, she wouldn't be dead. This reminds me of Ford and the Pinto memo. Some number cruncher told the heads of Ford that it would be cheaper to pay the lawsuits when folks died in the firey explosions of their Pintos then to fix the problem with the car. Imagine that? Thought processes like that I just don't get. Yeah it may be cheaper to pay lawsuits, but we are talking wrongful death lawsuits!!! For every lawsuit they pay, someone died and it was their design flaw (a bolt underneath the gas tank that when the car was in a rear end collision scraped across the gas tank opening it up and causing sparks) that did it. I mean 250K for a workers comp claim is nothing to a corporation like Dollar Tree. Their product overhead is nothing. Cheap crap made in China for pennies and sold for a buck or 2...c'mon it's a brillant scheme. So please join me in boycotting this heinous company.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/12/08/BATP14KFTT.DTL

Follow up: Click on the above link for the article. So it looks like Dollar Tree got shamed into paying the full amount. It's taken two years for this Family to get justice. For once the media did some good. After this story broke, Dollar Tree stores were picketed and empty. See folks, speaking with your wallets does do some good sometimes. Personally I will continue to boycott their stores as the thought of them denying someone what is rightfully theirs because of a technicality is wrong, and will cost them more than the 150,000 that was due the Family. Isn't that funny, they tried to save themselves 150K but will end up losing more than that in sales and might have to close stores.