Raise Your Hand Texas - Tommy Lee Jones PSA

I'd follow Tommy Lee Jones more than I would Rick Perry!



44^th out of 50 states helps to prove the stereotype of Texas...a bunch of gun-toting, tobacco-chewing, cattle-raising, horse-riding, cowboy-hat-wearing bubbas!

This is what's wrong with the world!

Part of a quote from a story about a grand piano I read at Yahoo!News:

...not responsible for...

Yep! Simple as that.

This coming from the spokesperson of a state agency in Florida called Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. He goes on to say,

...unless it becomes a navigational hazard, the U.S. Coast Guard won't get involved.

My first thought is, this is a funny prank. It's obviously a prank unless someone is planning a "stunt" or something later and didn't inform the powers that be.

Second, I'd say this spokesperson for the Commission is a complete and utter dip shit! Saying we don't know how it got there and we don't know when it'll be removed because we don't do this kind of shit is ridiculous. Granted it wasn't the Commission's fault but wouldn't you think they would want to remove it for the potential of it becoming an issue? How hard would it be to break it down and put it on a skiff or something and dispose of it properly? Or light the damn thing on fire while it's on the sand barge and remove what's left because it will be significantly less. I don't understand this mentality of "I didn't do it so why should I clean it up?" It's not like it's an oil spill or something grand...okay it is a grand piano but you know what I mean.

Finally, if the Commission doesn't step up, why wouldn't the Coast Guard? Is the spokesperson speaking on behalf of the Coast Guard or just assuming what the Guard's response would be? My hope would be the Coast Guard would be smart and say, "Commission...dudes! You need to step up!" And if they didn't, the Coast Guard should and bill those lazy fuckers at the Commission.

Lack of pride, ownership, sensibility, responsibility and just general smarts is why America, and the world, is going to shit. It's not Bush, Obama, Bin Laden, God, Allah, Buddha or the high school principal. It's the people that allow other people to be stupid and not pointing out to them that they should take a step back and THINK!

It's like if I saw that a neighbor of mine's house was getting robbed. It's not my job to watch the neighborhood so I won't get involved and call the police. It also only affects my neighbor right now and not the entire neighborhood just yet so until it happens to someone else why should anyone care?

Overnight this piano was placed on the sand barge. Overnight it could disappear. Would the Commission, Coast Guard and anyone know what happened to it if they didn't remove it themselves? It could have sunk into the water without knowledge and then a boat hits it and causes deaths or whatever.

You get the point, right?

End rant!

All I see is BOOBS

This image is from the Planning Guidance for Response to a Nuclear Detonation.

I guess it should be/could be a serious thing if a nuclear detonation actually happened but all I see is BOOBS!

New overdraft protection rules

I saw some articles in the papers today regarding the new overdraft protection and credit card "laws." I don't fully understand or care at this time. I'm sure once I get dinged with some bullshit charge, I'll be up in arms about it and some customer service person is going to get an ear full. You can see different articles here, here and here while they last.

That being said. I did get some notice a few weeks or more ago about my bank and opt-in for overdraft protection. It's funny that I kept the paper in my backpack as I fully intended on commenting sooner. So, without further delay, some gloriously ignorant (IMHO) verbage from the "letter to loyal customer:"

You need to decide if you want to:

1. OPT-IN - This means you want [bank] to authorize and pay your one-time debit card and ATM transactions when there may not be enough money in your account to cover the transaction.
2. OPT-OUT - This means you DO NOT want [bank] to authorize and pay your one-time debit card and ATM transactions when it appears that there is not enough money in your account to cover the transaction.

Here are a few examples:

1. At an ATM: You have $80 available in your account and you use your debit or ATM card to withdraw $100 at the ATM.
• IF YOU OPT IN: We may, at our discretion, authorize and pay the withdrawal. This could result in an overdraft in your account, which means you may be charge an NSF Charge-Paid Item fee of $38.
• IF YOU OPT OUT: The transaction will be declined. You will only be able to withdraw $80 from your account. You will not be charged a fee.
2. At the convenience store: You have $2 available in your account and want to purchase coffee and a snack for $8 with your debit card.
• IF YOU OPT IN: We may, at our discretion, authorize and pay the transaction. This could result in an overdraft in your account, which means you may be charged an NSF Charge-Paid Item fee of $38.
• IF YOU OPT OUT: The transaction will be declined. You will be able to purchase $20 worth of items, or have to use an alternative form of payment. You will not be charged a fee.

So, my thought is if the person doesn't have the money, then the transaction should be declined from the beginning. If they can't pay $80 or $8, what makes the bank think they will be able or want to pay the $38 overdraft fee?

To me, this is basically enabling. The way a parent enables an adult child - adult child has a job but instead of pays his/her bills, gets a tattoo; adult child owes money for electricity or rent, asks parent for money and parent pays the bill; next payment time rolls around and the adult child has put them self in the same situation; parent pays again. Hopefully you get the picture.

Using an ATM/debit card isn't like writing a check that you can float. It won't work if you don't have the a greater balance of funds already in the bank than your purchase amount. After the fact clearing, is one thing but letting people use more funds than they actually have is just stupid. It's kind of why we are in the economic bust we are in: too many people who couldn't really afford a house, bought a house and now they have to foreclose. If we'd stop people from making stupid decisions in the first place, we wouldn't have to clean up after them.

In the news 07/28/2010

Saw in the news today (article here while it lasts) about the decisions the judge made on Arizona's illegal immigration law.

A quick thought for me is, SOMETHING needs to be done and until the federal government gets off their kickbacks in the back pockets, why not let the states drum up some enforcement laws?

A second thought comes from reading the article and seeing the following quote:

Critics said it would lead to racial profiling.

If you still believe there ISN'T racial profiling in America, then you should be kicked out of the country along with the illegals. Look, I have brown skin (sometimes dark sometimes light depending on my sun exposure), black hair and non-slanted eyes. That means I'm profiled as Mexican. I've said it before and I'll probably say it a million times more, "Americans only see so many ethnicity categories [especially in Southern states]: White, Black, Asian, and Mexican/Hispanic." If you are German, Jewish, Irish you'd fall under White; Nigerian, African, Ethiopian you'd fall under Black. China, Korea, Japan you'd fall under Asian. Spanish, Columbian, Argentinian you'd fall under Mexican (or "politically correct" Hispanic).

If you doubt me, ride around with me for a day (or less). You can see first-hand how many times I'm "profiled" whether it be driving, walking into a department store, or going to a restaurant. The funny thing is I'm profiled by all other races. I can't tell you how many times I'm spoken Spanish to. Should I feel pissed off that I'm profiled...not by just Whites but also Blacks, Asians and Hispanics.

Hell yeah, I'm pissed off. Everyday! But because of my upbringing in the South by a White dad, I'm just as racial profiling as anyone else...maybe worse! The difference with me is that I make fun of ALL races. I've lived with and am relatives with all backgrounds so I believe I've earned a bit of a right to poke fun or slur the races I'm extremely familiar with because it comes from fact not assumption or fiction! LOL!

Since the federal government doesn't want the states to overstep their "authority," then they should stop worrying about what's going on in other countries and start paying attention to the homeland. It too take time but making the world a better place starts at home. If the U.S. can't solve its own problems, why the hell would we think we could fix the world's.

Ah well, the quick post turned into more of a rant. I just can't stand to read people having sympathies for illegal immigrants. "They just want a better way of life" you say but I say, "Go about it the legal way. If it happens, then good. If not, then it just wasn't meant to be! Things worth having are not easy to come by. If they were, I would have illegally purchased my college degree a long time ago!"

Oh well, it's almost 5 o'clock so it's quitting time! At least there's something to "Woohoo" about.

Memorial Day - yesterday, today, tomorrow and beyond

This is technically what I would call email spam. I think most of this shit is baseless, worthless and empty. The only reason why I'm sharing is because I believe this - that our military, our FIGHTING soldiers in particular, deserve all our respect and appreciation. What they do, right or wrong in your eyes, they do it because they are following orders; they do it for Americans; they do it for their families; most importantly, they do it so I don't have to. I think injured soldiers, physically and/or mentally, deserve the governments attention, care and support until death because that's what the soldiers pretty much agreed to.

So before I get too high on my soap box. I share this...

It is the
VETERAN,
not the preacher,
who has given us freedom of religion.

It is
the VETERAN,
not the reporter,
who has given us freedom of the press.

It is
the VETERAN,
not the poet,
who has given us freedom of speech.

It is
the VETERAN,
not the campus organizer,
who has given us freedom to assemble.

It is
the VETERAN,
not the lawyer,
who has given us the right to a fair trial.

It is
the VETERAN,
not the politician,
Who has given us the right to vote.

It is the
VETERAN who
salutes the Flag.



It is
the
VETERAN
who serves
under the Flag.



ETERNAL REST GRANT THEM O LORD,
AND LET PERPETUAL LIGHT SHINE UPON THEM.

In the news 05/18/2010

From the Dallas News, headline reads:

Plano-based Frito-Lay urged to drop sponsorship of Arizona sporting events

Click here for story while it lasts

Boycott Frito-Lay? Are you effing serious? Give me a break. That's like when people thought about doing the same thing to Wal-Mart. The problem is that there is no "real" substitution to Frito-Lay (or Wal-mart).

As the article quoted the Accion America president, the Latino community spends "billions and billions" on Frito-Lay products. So, where are they going to spend that "billions" instead? NO WHERE! They may try but they will always return until there is a comparable replacement. Until that time, good luck with calling a boycott! The LULAC executive director has got it right by saying, "Let me be clear: There is no LULAC boycott of Frito-Lay or any other company."

How many little Mexican kids are going to be pleading, "Mama, quiero mi Cool Ranch Doritos!"

The problem with these "immigration groups" is that they only offer reaction to the cities or government ideas/plans to "fix" illegal immigration. They don't offer suitable replacement ideas. Hell, they don't even offer the first idea. I think these little fuckers WANT the illegals to enter and stay in America. Why wouldn't they? It gives them more of a showing at these protests to have legals and illegals!

What these groups and even people that complain about the efforts of cities or states to enforce the federal law is that they aren't doing it to be mean, necessarily. You are always going to have a few bad apples enforcing stupidly but the greater overall good is to be a legal immigrant. What are illegals teaching their legal (by birth in the States) children by not admitting that they are breaking a very serious law? Do these children even care about the illegality of their parents' or grandparents' crimes? Is being illegal really not as bad as being a murderer or rapists? There is no levels of breaking the law. You either break it or you don't. It's the punishment that has levels dependent on the severity of your crime. But breaking the law is still breaking the law. It's pretty cut and dry!

I'm all for people having to carry identification to prove their legal immigration status. I don't think we should limit it to just Mexicans. We should check ALL people who could be questionable. Is my Russian neighbor here legally? How about the German, the British, the Somalian, the Nigerian, the Polish, or the Canadian? Just because there are more browns here illegally doesn't mean they should be the only ones checked! Granted, they are more so we have to start somewhere but let's start and get on with it.

And just so you know, this comes from someone who has been profiled since I was a kid although I look more Asian as a child than a teenager and older. I'm half Hawaiian and half White. The White gene gives me less Asian features and American people only see certain races: White, Black, Mexican and Asian. I don't have a fair complexion. I have black hair and tan skin. I don't have very slanted eyes or a flat nose. What do you think people automatically assume what I am? Mexican. Although 90% of the people who assume I'm Mexican are White, about 8% are Mexican and 2% are Asian.

How many Asians can say they've gone into a Chinese buffet restaurant and been asked what you would like to drink in Spanish by the Chinese waiter? I'm slammed and disrespected by my own peeps! :-)

How many people can say that they've been pulled over by the police with their girlfriend in the passenger seat and the cop asks her if she is alright and with me on her own accord? My girlfriend at the time, who is also now my wife, is White.

How many people have gone to a job fair when a recruiter (this one was a UPS and is why I don't endorse them or will ever work for them) automatically marks on a card that I'm Hispanic without asking. I asked him why he assumed I was Hispanic. I told him he was a racist honky mother fucker and told him to give me the card. I ripped it in half and threw it in his face. (Beeyawtch!)

How many people can say that they've been called spic or wetback while walking down the street by (mostly white) kids as well as adults? How many of those kids will think twice about name calling after I gave them the Nacho Libre beating they deserved? Ha!

All I'm saying is that profiling sucks balls. But if the paperwork is in order and you are legal, wouldn't you much rather know they are trying to "clean up" your country than try to deter them from doing so? Until a "better" solution is brought to the table, I think some things need to be tried. Again, I don't expect things to go smoothly. That's human nature more than it is White nature, Black nature or whatever-race nature.

It's called trial-and-error. It's got to be done! Somethings got to be done! About everything that's wrong in this country! I could go on and on but my soap box is done for now!

We need to trim our "garden" and keep it that way

Okay, seriously!?

I get an email from the "landlord" saying that the city is pressing to have the alley ways more clear than they have been. They are no longer going to warn the tenants. They will just fine them.

She was nice about it and this is part of what she said:

You all do not have much back there but there are some weeds that exceed the 8” limit – behind the fence and garage. You need to trim them and keep them trimmed from now on.

I can't believe that this is what she considers "overgrowth" in the alley.

How stupid!

I will pull this shit up and leave it in the alley just to spite them. But then again, I may not be quite as angered when I pull it up and I will probably think more clearly and chunk it in the neighbor's yard.

Quote: "I was only inside for a few minutes..."

This is a few days late but I'm okay with that...

From the Star-Telegram

Arlington woman’s parking mistake costs her $640

Click here while the link lasts

All I have to say to this woman is, "Shut the wholly fuck up, stupid ass bitch!"

Pardon my French but stupid, ignorant people like this make me want to hit them with a bat multiple times. I'll tell them to stand up and then proceed to beat them down again. They'll continue to stand and I'll continue to beat them. That's how stupid they are!

Parking illegally is illegal no matter how long you are doing it. Would you stop your car in the fast lane of the highway because you wanted to make a quick call on your cell phone? Hell no! I mean it's thoughtful but it's dumb and ILLEGAL!

So, now this stupid woman is probably putting out more money to fight the ticket. That shows even more how smart this dumb woman is! Oh, and the article says that she was just going inside to see how long it would take to pay her daughter's fine. The apple doesn't fall far from the tree, does it?

I guess one thing is good about her hiring an attorney to fight the fine. She wants to "raise awareness." Good, people should know how much they are going to pay when they get busted for doing something illegal even if it's not seemingly as bad as "driving drunk or speeding in a school zone."

Geez, the rationale of this woman! I'd be embarrassed if she were my parent!

Food, Inc [The Movie] (2008)

I just got an email from my Corporate Ethics and Social Responsibility class. Yep, the one I just did my presentation in yesterday.

He forwarded a link to a movie that will be playing on KERA Channel 13 (locally for Dallas) from 8-10pm tonight.

It's called Food, Inc (2008)...official web site here. The trailer looks pretty interesting. I think I may have to watch it...for brown-nosing and actual-learning purposes. I'm always inquisitive up until the day/time of actual execution. Things, more interesting ones, come up and I take the better option of the two, three or more.

In the end, after all the boasting and bragging, I'm sure I'll end up watching it just because I truly am curious AND I have no life...tonight!

In the news 04/20/2010

From Dallas News, headline reads

Whitewater park for kayakers planned on Trinity River in Dallas despite water quality concerns

Click here for the article while it lasts

Um, I don't know if you are familiar with what's called the Trinity River within the DFW city limits but it's not pretty. It's not a body of water I would willingly get into. I might even take death by execution-style versus getting in and submerging my head into the Trinity. This isn't the Holy Trinity. This is the Holy-Shit-That-Smells-Unsafe Trinity!

Some quotes from the article:

The Trinity River, which often seems like a dirty drainage canal...

The state has long deemed Dallas' stretch of the Trinity unsuitable for activities such as swimming, diving and water-skiing because of elevated bacteria levels that signal the presence of animal waste and human sewage.

And many paddling enthusiasts say they aren't worried.

But it is not those chemicals in the sediment that are likely to pose a hazard to kayakers; it is fecal matter that flows in from storm-water runoff.

It doesn't mean you shouldn't go in, but you should have caution...You should be careful. Don't be drinking a lot of it. When you get out of it, make sure you wash your hands before you start eating.

There is NO amount of justification for getting into the Trinity water. Unlike the mentioned bodies of water compared to, the Trinity has a lot of industrial runoff from many places like manufacturing and even residential.

This "river" has all kinds of shit in it: tires, grocery carts, all kinds of trash, maybe even a few bodies. It is not at all inviting and even if they did make it so, I still would not jump in.

A few years or so back there were talks of amoebas and parasites in the water. Deformed and poisoned fish. Even the article says there are industrial compounds in the water "making fish unsafe to eat." If the fist are tainted (and sea life is pretty resilient) what the hell do you think is going to happen to kayakers, especially after prolonged exposure.

Oh well, you psychos that want to get diseased, you drop right in there. I won't even use the viewing area. Why would I, to have a place to sit and smell the awful aroma from the Bog of Eternal Stench? Blah!

Taxes are done and e-filed

Woohoo! I just finished double-checking our taxes and e-filed them.

What's not so exciting? I had to pay $2,100 + $53 service fee to pay via credit card (that 2.49% of the taxes owed amount).

Bastards!

But hey, I'm done. I can pay the credit card bill off when it comes in...or split it into 2-4 easy monthly installments.

The wife and I don't know where this supposed amount of GI or AGI is because we sort of don't recall ever receiving it. Actually, she doesn't but I do. I know exactly what we buy and where the money goes (sometimes wastedly) because I'm the one that keeps the checking account register balanced. We didn't spend close to as much money last year when the wife didn't have her debit card. I was the only one with a debit card and it made her random fucking purchases much hard to do!

Oh well! We are glad for the money we made. We obviously enjoyed it somehow, somewhere. We are not glad that we had to pay two thousand dollars!

Fucking government!

In the news 03/29/2010

I saw in an article today at Yahoo!News with the following headline:

Naked Erykah Badu video at Kennedy site stirs controversy

Click for article while it lasts.

I won't spend a lot of time on it but I don't think what Erykah Badu was appropriate.

It's not how she or her people didn't get the proper permits to film. It's not how she basically disrespected the site of the Kennedy assassination.

My problem with what she did is she stripped naked when there were children present. About 2:55 in the video here, you can see Erykah passes by a young boy, a very young girl and two adults I'll assume are their parents. The mother looks at Erykah and kind of pulls back on her daughter who is trying to enjoy the nice day, sightseeing. The mother then kind of pulls back on the son. She's not in good focus but it looks like the mother gives one of those "what-in-the-hell-is-going-on" looks.

Anyway, the song is just okay in my opinion. I don't know what she was really trying to say other than look how I can offend children. Good protesters don't offend or involve children. To me, that's where you lose all respect for whatever message you are trying to convey.

Spring Break Travelers Should Avoid Mexico

This email came across the office wire just moments ago. Apparently, Mexico is NOT the place to be this Spring Break season!

U.S. Flag etiquette

I was just randomly thinking and a distinct thought popped into my head..."Is it really necessary or required to put your right hand over your heart during the U.S. National Anthem?"

It made me think of the stupid, annoying email chain letters that were going around about Obama "refusing to place his hand over his heart during the National Anthem." Granted he may have been ignorant and not realized that everything he did or didn't do was going to be scrutinized to the minute detail and blown up to enormous proportions but I never believed he outright refused! I just don't see his "people" letting him get away with blatantly stupid things like that because I don't doubt that some dip shit redneck would show him how "we 'mericans handle those folks who are anti-American types." There's always one in the crowd.

Anyway, Snopes kind of took care of that email chain letter here...pretty much. Enough for me since I wasn't actually there.

So, back to my search for the expected etiquette. I found something at USFlag.org flag etiquette which doesn't specifically say what civilians should do.

Then there's Wikipedia's version here that says some code was passed around 1998 that required the hand-over-the-heart.

And then Slate had a good article here pretty much saying the same as Wikipedia but the code was adopted earlier.

I guess I can come away with the knowledge that it's proper and somewhat required to put your right hand over your heart during the U.S. National Anthem.

Let it be known that I have always done this as I was brought up properly in regards to respect and the hand-over-heart has always been something I was taught to do. I was just curious if there was actual written etiquette.

In the news 02/04/2010

Busy at work but didn't not want to share even though I can't comment fully on it right now.

From MSNBC:

LEGO My Gun: S.I. Boy Faced Suspension Over Tiny Toy

Click her for story while it lasts.

Really dumb! I think the definition of "toy gun" needs to be better defined so these stupid school principals don't make asses out of themselves. I mean really, look at the picture of the size of the toy that got this 9-yr-old boy in trouble. Stupid, really stupid!

On a lighter note. From the Frontburner:

A Soldier’s Last 24 Hours in Iraq

Click here for story while it lasts.

When I saw the title, I thought it was going to be a sad story. I'm glad it wasn't. I feel for the families of soldiers serving in a war. I commend them for giving themselves up for the possible betterment of others. I believe those that serve in combat deserve to be taken care of for the rest of their lives by the government. Sadly, the government seems to consider them disposable and yet they'll spend billions on the bank bailout and other ridiculous things.

8775401330 (877) 540-1330

Received a call from this number 8775401330/(877) 540-1330 on my cell phone. Why? Who the fuck knows.

Anyway, I ignored it and they left a voice mail. Voice mail says that I won "a free cruise and a 1000 dollar shopping spree."

Funny! I don't recall ever registering for anything, especially with my cellular number!

The government has to do something about these bullshit telemarketing calls! Yeah right, immediately after they balance the budget.

Anyway, I thought I'd vent and share my experience to help others. You can also click here to find what others are saying about this number in particular.

---

Live Long and Prosper!

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In the news 12/09/2009

From CBS11TV:

AT&T Says Usage-Based Data Price Is Coming

Article here as long as it lasts

I'm not an AT&T cellular customer but to me this is just wrong and bad for business. The problem is that customers won't make a stand and will still pay the fees because they don't want to do without their little iPhones and such.

The real simple solution albeit probably expensive for AT&T is to just make sure your equipment can handle the product(s) you are selling before you sell them.

I'm a Sprint customer. Yes their customer service typically sucks ass and charging a one-time fee to add a new phone is utterly ridiculous (especially when AT&T sim cards pop in and out of phones without any charge) but they have a pretty good SIMPLY EVERYTHING plan at a good rate. I don't use the data a whole lot other than email and email attachments through my Blackberry Curve 8330 but I think it still is a decent plan. Maybe if, when, the iPhone moves from AT&T exclusivity or a very comparable phone makes it to the Sprint line of phones, then we'll be able to see how good the EVERYTHING plan really is.

Either way, I just think it's sticking it to your customers to have tiered charges. Do it with Internet because different people have different needs but with cellular I think it should be a one-size-fits-all kind of deal.

---

Live Long and Prosper!

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In the news 12/08/209

From the Dallas News:

Fort Worth teen files civil rights complaint, says volleyball coach benched her over pregnancy

Article here while it lasts

I really can't comment on this other than something like is she not only stupid for getting knocked up as a teenager but very ignorant for thinking that she should continue to play volleyball while pregnant. Now, I can see that maybe she could have been the water girl or the girl that towels the floor after some sweaty player hits the deck but an actual ACTIVE player? Get real, stupid!

It's obvious that she has no cares about the child she is carrying. She wants to seem responsible enough to want volleyball scholarships but she wasn't responsible enough to make her baby's daddy wear a freaking condom or just not have sex at all?

Up yours girlie! She should be ridiculed. Not for being pregnant as a teen (that's like normal these days isn't it?) but for being absolutely and completely stupid! Do you think scouts would actually extend any scholarships to you when they would know you are/were pregnant around signing time? They are not going to put their hopes on a single mother [they made no reference to a responsible father figure stepping up] when they could take a back seat to the child's needs, as they should.

Somebody McFly her!

Hello, McFly!

The World's 18 Strangest Roadways

From a post at the Frontburner to Popular Mechanics?

Dallas' High-Five is 16th. Little do they know that this interchange is still shit. All they did was make congestion, stupid merges, and unrelenting traffic look cooler. It's really cool to drive up the high ramps (the young-uns will find it fascinating) but it didn't really relieve any of the problems that Dallasites thought it was to fix.

Whether you are heading north or south on 75 and you are looking to go East or West (which is worse) on 635, you will still slow down for the stupidest reason: the road goes from two lanes from 75S to two lanes on 75N merging together into two lanes on 635W which then merges into 1-2 lanes on 635W depending on if you are exiting or staying on 635W. The merge from 635E to 75S is almost as bad. I would assume that 635E to 75N is similar but I don't go that way often if I have at all.