/O.CON.KLOT.WS.W.0001.000000T0000Z- 060317T0600Z/ WINNEBAGO-BOONE-MCHENRY- LAKE ILLINOIS-OGLE-LEE-DE KALB-KANE- DUPAGE-COOK- INCLUDING THE CITIES OF... ROCKFORD...WOODSTOCK...WAUKEGAN... OREGON...DIXON...DEKALB...AURORA... CHICAGO 408 AM CST THU MAR 16 2006
...WINTER STORM WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL MIDNIGHT CST TONIGHT...
A WINTER STORM WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL MIDNIGHT CST TONIGHT.
SNOW WILL DEVELOP OVER NORTH CENTRAL ILLINOIS AROUND SUNRISE SPREADING EAST INTO PORTIONS OF THE CHICAGO METRO AREA AFTER 9 AM. SOUTH OF INTERSTATE 88 AND THE EISENHOWER EXPRESSWAY... PRECIPITATION WILL BEGIN AS A MIX OF RAIN AND SNOW TRANSITIONING TO ALL SNOW EARLY THIS AFTERNOON. SNOW WILL BE HEAVY AT TIMES THIS AFTERNOON AND EARLY EVENING...TAPERING TO FLURRIES AROUND MIDNIGHT.
SNOWFALL ACCUMULATIONS OF 4 TO 8 INCHES ARE POSSIBLE ACROSS THE WARNING AREA...WITH THE HIGHEST AMOUNTS EXPECTED NEAR THE WISCONSIN BORDER. SLIGHTLY LESSER ACCUMULATIONS OF 3 TO 5 INCHES ARE EXPECTED SOUTH OF DOWNTOWN CHICAGO.
A WINTER STORM WARNING MEANS SIGNIFICANT AMOUNTS OF SNOW ARE EXPECTED...RESULTING IN HAZARDOUS TRAVEL CONDITIONS.

BAH!

Posted by: Contagion at 06:06 AM | Comments (9) | Add Comment
Post contains 277 words, total size 2 kb.

It has been snowing off and on yesterday and today. I believe this is only the third time weÂ’ve had snow with ANY accumulation. It looks like we are up to a whopping 2 inches at this time. Yet all I heard today was people complaining that it is snowing. As I listen to these people complain, I just want to scream at them. My screams would remind them that weÂ’ve in a drought for the last year and a half. We have hardly had any snow this winter, and that is vital to preparing the soil for planting. The much needed moisture the snow provides will be necessary for crops.

Yet these people donÂ’t understand that. All they see is that they are minorly inconvenienced by having to drive on slick roads. Since they arenÂ’t farmers and their jobs arenÂ’t dependant directly upon a crop, they just donÂ’t care. Many of them complained last year when it did rain. All they think about is how it affects their little world. Heaven forbid the farmers need the rain; itÂ’s interfering with Dick and JaneÂ’s weekend on the lake! IÂ’ll admit I get irritated when it rains on one of my re-enactments. Yet I always seem to make the statement, If we didnÂ’t need the rain, IÂ’d be pissed. I admit we need the rain and accept it. Not these people, nope. They just complain that itÂ’s interfering with their lives.

Personally, I would like to see a good 2 feet of snow fall on us. We havenÂ’t had much in the line of snow fall all year. I miss the old winters when I could get lost in the snow banks digging forts.

Posted by: Contagion at 04:09 PM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
Post contains 291 words, total size 2 kb.

Does anyone teach manners anymore? When I ask for something I say “please”. After I have received what I’ve asked for I say “thank you”. If someone says, “thank you” to me, I respond with a “your welcome”. Unfortunately I’m coming to the conclusion that I am one of the last individuals in the world that does this.

This has always bugged me, but of late I’ve noticed a rapid increase in the lack of manners and common courtesy in people. On television shows, at the gas station and at work, almost everywhere I turn people don’t use it. I guess this really bothers me because I’m teaching my boys to say “Please” and “Thank you”. Even Clone will politely ask for a drink and say “thank you” when it’s received. Yet many adults just seem to think it’s a waste of their time.

Not that I want to be a politeness police and start correcting people. After a couple of incidents that happened today, I’m ready to stop assisting people that can’t ask me nicely. That includes some of my peers at work. How hard is it to say, “Contagion, could you please rerun that report for me?” Instead I got, “You need to rerun that report for me.” When I gave it to the individual I received the response, “I’ll look at it later when I have time.” At this gas station this morning I hear, “Give me two packs of cigarettes.” The cretin couldn’t add a “please” to the end of the sentence.

Maybe IÂ’m being too nitpicky, maybe I should just realize that polite society is about dead anymore and give up my archaic ways.

Posted by: Contagion at 06:06 PM | Comments (11) | Add Comment
Post contains 283 words, total size 2 kb.

Yesterday Ktreva requested one thing from me, “Can I please have a half an hour to write a post about this weekend.” She knew that if I started playing my new game, the computer would be locked up for the rest of the night unless she said something before I started. Upon arriving at home I dared not start playing. There is a tendency of mine to get absorbed into the game and loose track of my surroundings.

Since I had to watch Clone, this would not be good. I could just see it now; IÂ’m playing Age of Empires 3, absorbed by my marching ranks of musketeers, falconets and mortars against the French. Meanwhile Clone is trying to find out what happens when he sticks a fork in the light socket. IÂ’m pulled away from the game in anger when he blows a fuse right as my attack was at its peak. After fixing the fuse, I go back to playing while my poor son is lying in the middle of the living room twitching.

As soon as Ktreva walked in the house, I had her dinner ready and told her the computer was all hers. She sat down and instead of posting, she started reading blogs! Okay, she was eating while she did it, so I didnÂ’t count that time. However, 2 hours later she was still on there! I kept telling her that it was a moral imperative that she turns the computer over to me. The French were overrunning my forts along the frontier and I needed to defend them!

But did she listen to me? NOOOOooooooo! She had to sit there and continue on and on about how she wanted to see what you all wrote and still had to make her post! Did she ever consider the women that were being slaughtered, or at least rendered homeless? How about taking the time to think about how this is going to effect trade with the natives and the havoc itÂ’s bringing upon my colonies? She didnÂ’t even think about the poor innocent children that were being orphaned by her greedy need to deny me the computer! SHE DIDNÂ’T THINK ABOUT THE CHILDREN!

She gave me the game! Yet she wonÂ’t let me play it. Tell me, good contaminants, is this fair to me? To toy with my mental and emotional wellbeing? She asked for a half-an hour, I made sure she had it. I think itÂ’s only fair that she turned over the computer as soon as those thirty minutes were up!

Posted by: Contagion at 04:00 PM | Comments (12) | Add Comment
Post contains 437 words, total size 2 kb.

1 She could be an agent of the French. You may want to interogate her Abu Gahrib style (you know nekkid pyramids and stuff).

Posted by: Dr. Phat Tony at February 22, 2006 03:06 PM (fk/lm)

2 Looks like somebody needs 2 computers in that house. Didn't see that coming... Quit being such a wussie. :-)

Posted by: Sarah at February 22, 2006 03:28 PM (T4FQi)

3 Heh. I agree with Sarah. Either buy her a computer or suck it up.

Posted by: caltechgirl at February 22, 2006 03:44 PM (jOkK0)

4 Wow women suggesting spending money to fix a problem....gasp i thought I would never see the day. /sarcasm

Posted by: Dr. Phat Tony at February 22, 2006 03:58 PM (fk/lm)

5 Way to work that innocent act Ktreva! *winks and high-fives Ktreva*

Contagion, dude, stop whining! You remind me of that guy for Queer Eye For the Straight Guy! *wink, wink* - *Runs Away!*

Posted by: Oddybobo at February 22, 2006 03:59 PM (6Gm0j)

6 She took my crayon!! Geez, it's like you've never lived with a woman before! :-)

Spazzy wuss.

Posted by: Sarah at February 22, 2006 04:20 PM (T4FQi)

7 This is like partisan politics, of course all the women stick together. Nevermind the fact she misled me to believe it was only going to be half an hour. We'll get a second computer if one of you graciously pay for it!

Posted by: Contagion at February 22, 2006 04:34 PM (e8b4J)

8 She didn't mislead you, she changed her mind. Women do that you know!

Posted by: oddybobo at February 22, 2006 04:36 PM (6Gm0j)

9 Bla bla bla.

I was only pointing out that you are whining like a little girl.

Posted by: Sarah at February 22, 2006 04:48 PM (T4FQi)

10 Seriously Commander Floppy Pants, get a basic laptop and wireless router and your problems are solved. She can blog anywhere in the house and you can game until the French are pushed back into the sea.
WAYYYYYYYYYYY easier this way.

Posted by: spurs at February 22, 2006 05:25 PM (27GT7)

11 That's right! Why spend the money on a computer that would probably be used every day, when that money could be better spent on reenactment crap that will probably be used six times a year!

Posted by: Shadoglare at February 22, 2006 06:15 PM (PO0eN)

12 No, you see, HER half hour for writing the post was at the END of the night -- she was just trying to get to that point...

Posted by: Ogre at February 24, 2006 10:25 AM (/k+l4)

Hide Comments | Add Comment

Being an American Citizen, we all have rights that given to us by the Constitution of the United States. A lot of people take this freedom, this right, this privilege for granted. That is until something happens where it is taken away. Then they will scream about the loss of their first amendment rights.

Blackfive has a post regarding a University of Illinois editor being suspended. The student published the Danish cartoons that caused such uproar over the last couple of weeks. Many have voiced their opinions that what was done to this editor is wrong. Maybe IÂ’m mistaken, but I think that the majority of my readers would agree that this is wrong. The student, Acton Gordon, is being punished for exercising his first amendment rights. I have strong issues with that.

Now, lets turn the table. Barb at Righty in a Lefty State has a post regarding the University of Washington student Senator Jill Edwards. For those of you that havenÂ’t heard about this, it is where the Ms. Edwards made a statement along the lines

”…Whether it is appropriate to honor a person who killed other people. (I) don’t believe a member of the Marine Corps was an example of the sort of person UW wanted to produce.”

This has angered many people, and I think she was wrong is saying such things. But then in BarbÂ’s post she states that Ms. Edwards is going to be forced to make an apology. She has the following excerpt from the mandate:

WHEREAS Student Senator Jill Edwards offended all members of the United States Marine Corps, past or present, dead or alive; especially those who were, are, or will be students at the University of Washington with her comment that she "didn't believe a member of the Marine Corps was an example of the sort of person UW wanted to produce." This commented brought shame and dishonor to not only the UW Student Senate, but also the University as a whole, all its members who have served in the Marine Corps and all Marines past and present.

BE IT RESOLVED BY THE ASSOCIATED STUDENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON:

THAT

Student Senator Jill Edwards will submit, in writing, a signed apology letter seeking forgiveness to all students, staff, and alumni who are now or ever have served in the United States Marine Corps. In said letter it will contain a formal apology and a recognition that her very rights and freedoms are guaranteed by such members of the armed services, to include the Marine Corps, Army, Navy, Air Force, and Coast Guard, past or present, living or dead. Additionally, said letter will be printed in all its form and substance in that day's edition of the UW Daily newspaper as well as being recited on the UW Radio station. To realize her mistake, she must acquaint herself with the history of the person she is so keen to dismiss, by reading Col. Boyington's book, Baa, Baa, Black Sheep. All of these requirements are mandatory, under pain of losing her seat on the Student Senate.

History of Legislation
02/15/2006: Submitted for consideration

The problem I have with this is not that Ms. Edwards is being asked to issue an apology. ThatÂ’s fine, if someone actually managed to offend me IÂ’d demand an apology too. Where I have an issue is that Ms. Edwards is going to lose her student elected seat on the student senate if she doesnÂ’t. Apparently IÂ’m one of the few people that see this as wrong. IÂ’m not seeing too many of the blogs I read shouting out how this is wrong, even the ones saying that what is happening to Mr. Gorton is wrong arenÂ’t touching this? Are the blogs I read that bigoted? Are they not saying something because they donÂ’t feel this is wrong, or are they not saying something because they didnÂ’t catch that part? Maybe IÂ’ve been wrong and they arenÂ’t as freedom minded as I had thought, only comments they agree with are allowed protection under freedom of speech. Personally, IÂ’m hoping itÂ’s just and over site.

Sure I may not like her statements, I may feel what she said was completely wrong. Ms. Edwards may not appreciate the fine men and women that served and fought to give and protect her freedom of speech, but she is still entitled to it. In this case if she feels strongly about her statement and decides not to apologize, she will be punished. Now in BarbÂ’s comments she states:

I haven't followed the U of I story, and don't know anything about the circumstances there. However - I think that the resolution made by Ms. Edwards' fellow senators and peers, if approved as-is (highly unlikely) or even in a toned down form (still unlikely) is valid. They are a self-governing group, and should be permitted to censure their own - you and I have no right to interfere with whatever process they choose.

If she is forced to apologize, I believe that she will learn something - or she is lost already. If the senate backs down and nothing really happens - she will have learned that negative feedback is just fluff she can ignore. At worst (from her perspective) she will be forced to be more introspective in her manner of discourse, at best it will all quietly go away.

DonÂ’t get me wrong; I like Barb and her blog. Maybe IÂ’m misunderstanding what she is saying there, but by her statement IÂ’m under the impression that as long as itÂ’s a self-governing group in the United States, they can do what ever they want. Well the U of I is self-governing, wait most corporations are self-governing. Hell, the mainstream media is self-governing. I guess itÂ’s okay what happened to Mr. Gorton. Hey, for that fact any newspaper should be able to censor any story they want. States, cities and municipalities should be able to censor their senators, aldermen, council members maybe even their citizens. No, I donÂ’t think so.

I think that the UW is just as wrong for threatening to take Ms. Edwards student elected seat away from her if she doesnÂ’t follow their demands as much as it was wrong for the U of I to suspend Mr. Gordon. Wrong is wrong people; a violation of rights cannot be taken as a shade of gray just because you donÂ’t agree with the message.

Posted by: Contagion at 10:34 AM | Comments (14) | Add Comment
Post contains 1087 words, total size 7 kb.

1 Jill Edwards, private citizen, has the right to say any damnfool thing she likes.

Jill Edwards, Student Senator, speaking in her official capacity as a Senator, however, should take care that when she presumes to speak for the organization as a whole, she not completely misrepresent them or their beliefs.

That, I think, is the difference.

Posted by: Jenna at February 17, 2006 11:40 AM (f/kUC)

2 There is validity in what Jenna says. When acting a representative of a group, the group is allowed to dictate the rules and standards for those that are members. If Jill Edwards broke a rule, when making that statement, then she should face the repercussions. On the other hand, Jill as an individual with no affiliation to any group is allowed to say whatever she wants and can just look like an a$$hole all by herself, but being part of a group that has standards as to how their members act, she must either abide by them or leave the group.
The press part is just ridiculous. If it was a report that included the cartoons and there was no malice intended, then the whole thing is a crock.

Posted by: Dr. Phat Tony at February 17, 2006 02:15 PM (fk/lm)

3 When I posted about Acton Gordon I said - the paper had a right to fire him. This is true - I didn't like that they were doing this and I felt it set a very bad precedent. But it is their right to get rid of him if he doesn't toe the line of the board.

Now in the matter of the Student Senate - I don't know what the status of this body might be. I would PREFER that she be voted out of her office (however, considering the interest that people actually take in student politics - who would vote?) But as to the rights of the council to boot her off because of what she said - that would depend on their by-laws.

I hadn't been following her story because the original disgusted me so much and to tell you the truth I expect no less from anyone out on the left coast.

Posted by: Teresa at February 17, 2006 05:15 PM (FZwDL)

4 Seems to me that you're comparing apples to crayons with these two stories. (Caveat: I haven't researched either story very well, so I may be completely full of it.)

Mr. Gordon is being let go by the administration of the school/paper, but Ms. Edwards is being cencured by her peers. You made a point of stating that Edwards was "student elected", and I see in the release from the student senate the phraseology "BE IT RESOLVED BY THE ASSOCIATED STUDENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON:", and that leads me to believe that the same process that got her elected is setting her straight. That's all "according to Hoyle" in my book.

The Girl expressed her opinion, and is being afforded an opportunity to change said opinion by way of the agreed upon resolution of the body of "student elected" people with which she is a member.

Gordon is being canned by "The Man" because he printed FACTS that were contrary to what the administration thought was proper. No apology afforded to him, and IMHO he wouldn't do it anyway ...due to the fact that he had enough balls to print them in the first place, and by doing so he let his readership decide.

"Student Senator" does not equate to "Student Newspaper Editor".

I believe that the folks who are ranting about the injustice of the treatment of Gordon are standing on principle, and shouldn't be chastised. As far as I'm concerned, he did what others in the "media" wouldn't do, and showed the truth... unobjectively. He should be praised for this, as it's so rare.

She gave her opinion, and misrepresented the people who put her there to represent them. The folks she is there to speak for are now calling for her apology and requiring her to learn more about the subject she opined upon...which is what an electorate is supposed to do when they are misrepresented. The people who are affording her an apology should be praised for doing so, as it's so rare.

I think you're looking at two sides of two different coins here. Then again...I've been drinking, so all bets are off. :^)

Posted by: Johnny - Oh at February 17, 2006 10:16 PM (uKudz)

5 I think Jenna distilled my view nicely. Although I have struggled with turning it around - say she insulted the ACLU or the UN ... something which I (private citizen) do all the time. I still think that it stands when turned around, though, which was my purpose it twisting it that way.

Posted by: Barb at February 17, 2006 10:56 PM (g9qHI)

6 we all have rights that (are) given to us by the Constitution of the United States.

I disagree, somewhat.

The Bill of Rights protects the rights that the founders thought were God given, and/or inherent to the human condition.

I realize this sounds picky, but your wording implies that human rights are given to us by the government, and logically, they would then not exist when the government is gone or decides otherwise.

Words have power.

No disrespect intended, I might add.

Posted by: jimmyb at February 18, 2006 09:35 AM (XpVhl)

7 Day late and a dollar short am I. Johnny-oh said pretty much what I was going to before I opened the comments. (Much more smarter though)
And Jimmyb, I agree 100%

Posted by: littlejoe at February 18, 2006 07:30 PM (vBIjH)

8 Well, the Bill of Rights covers what the "government" can do about your speech. You have the freedom to say what you want without the government arresting you in the middle of the night and throwing you in jail. What happens in the work place or in schools is governed by their rules.

In Acton Gordon's case - (and Eugene Volokh pointed out on his blog) the board of directors of the paper (which is not part of the school it is a separate entity - has the right to fire him if they don't like what he's doing as editor... even if we think it's wrong.

I don't know where the student Senate falls in this mess. It may be something that is covered by the bylaws of the Senate (covering objectionable speech by a Senator) or it may be covered under the same rules that govern free speech on campus... I have no idea.

But as I said at Barb's - it's not a good idea to make a martyr of this chickie - embarrass the hell out of her by passing a unanimous disagreement with what she's said.

Posted by: Teresa at February 18, 2006 11:36 PM (FZwDL)

9 Some of you are saying this is comparing apples and oranges. If you go deeper then what I'm implying yes, it is different. If you look at the basics of it, no its not. Both said/printed something of their own free will, both are being punished for it. (Even if Mr. Gorton wasn't given a chance to appologize)

Amongst yourselves you've established that both the school newspaper and the senate can do what they want. Now we get back to the heart of my post, why isn't anyone that is screaming that what happened to Mr Gorton is wrong, not screaming that what is happening to Mrs. Edwards wrong?

Ms. Edwards didn't do anything worse then some of the current U.S. Citizens/politicians we have now. She wasn't speaking for the school she was voicing her oppinion.

JimmyB: you went way too literal into that statement, poor choice of words.

Posted by: Contagion at February 19, 2006 04:19 PM (e8b4J)

10 I am not making any noise about Mr. Gordon, and I do think that the editor is subject to the publishers.

Posted by: Barb at February 19, 2006 09:58 PM (g9qHI)

11 I felt it an important distinction.

A very important one.

I may have used a poor choice of words.
It would not be the first time.
I don't claim to write well, or to be that insightful.
But I feel this was important, because while you say I misread what you wrote, there are many in this country who feel exactly that way.
That rights are bestowed by the state.
This is a dangerous mindset.
I apologize if you took offense.

But I don't think you disagree with what I said (correct?).
This seemingly insignifigant parsing of words is what the left uses to do what they wish regarding constitutional issues. The 2nd Amendment is one issue they do this to all the time.
Stoopid hippies.

Posted by: jimmyb at February 20, 2006 06:45 AM (lmeFW)

12 Jimmy, I was saying it was my poor choice of words. I do agree completely.

Posted by: Contagion at February 20, 2006 10:53 AM (e8b4J)

13 cool!
Let us smite hippies together in solidarity, then!!!

Posted by: jimmyb at February 20, 2006 11:39 AM (lmeFW)

14 Yay! Hippie Smiting! Count me in!

Posted by: Ogre at February 24, 2006 10:33 AM (/k+l4)

Hide Comments | Add Comment

About now all of my loyal contaminants, and some of you passer bys are probably thinking, “Where the hell is Contagion’s Valentines day post?” Well you know what, just like Birthdays, father’s day and sweetest day; I don’t celebrate Valentine's Day. It’s a manufactured BS holiday that is designed to make card companies, jewelers, florists and candy makers rich.

To be honest, I find this holiday pretty damn insulting. I donÂ’t need some St. of frou-frou love telling me that I have to do something special for my wife. IsnÂ’t that something I should do on my own and on a regular basis, not just once a year? Sure, some of you are going to smart off, well you do it on a regular basis AND on Valentines Day. Well Bullocks on you! If IÂ’m forced to shell out money to buy a gift for someone, why the hell should I do it all the other days? YouÂ’ve already mugged me for a gift; I hope you enjoy it! If I give them of my own free will, then IÂ’m more likely to do it again of my own free will. And not just when I did something stupid to get myself in trouble.

Plus, if the gift is obligatory, is it really heart felt? Think about it, did you buy your special someone a gift just because you wanted to or because it was Valentines Day. Some of you are probably lying to yourself and saying both. I call BS! Yes, I do! If Valentines Day was next month you wouldnÂ’t have gotten a gift for your loved one this week. You would have waited until next month to do it. Admit it, itÂ’s okay.

Today at work, I’ve been “volunteered” to hand out flowers at work. Yea, that’s right. Mr. Love and cheer here gets flower distribution duty for all the minions. This is part of someone’s plan to “soften” my image with the employees. They even wanted me to dress up as cupid. CUPID PEOPLE! Can you imagine me walking around work in nothing but a giant diaper holding a bow and arrows with heart shaped heads? (You’re welcome for that mental image!) Needless to say, I put my foot down and said, “I’ll wear a red shirt and tie, that’s as far as I’ll go.” True to my word, I’m wearing a red shirt… Blood red.

My ever so cheery smile will be walking up to people, dropping flowers on their desk. I’ve even written a little poem to recite when I deliver the flowers. “On this Valentine’s day, someone bought a flower for you. It’s not from me, because I don’t have a heart like others do.” Then I’m going to smile one of those forced smiles that looks like I’ve gone insane.

Valentines Day, Bahumbug!

Yes, I did get Ktreva a gift, IÂ’m not that stupid.

Posted by: Contagion at 12:42 PM | Comments (9) | Add Comment
Post contains 488 words, total size 3 kb.

1 Ya! Valentine's Day is for suckers!

I bought a gift for my wife too.

Posted by: Dr. Phat Tony at February 14, 2006 10:55 AM (fk/lm)

2 Oh, I wish I were there to hear that poem! That is awesome!

Posted by: Oddybobo at February 14, 2006 11:04 AM (6Gm0j)

3 I bought $3 worth of "American Chopper" foil cards for my first grader to hand out to his classmates. I checked his handwriting and spelling as he put his name and their names on the cards. I folded the cards and affixed the little heart stickers. I stuffed the cards back in the box, and made sure the box was in his backpack when he left for school this morning.

I'm done celebrating. Woo. And Hoo.

Posted by: Jenna at February 14, 2006 12:52 PM (f/kUC)

4 Happy VD!

Posted by: caltechgirl at February 14, 2006 01:01 PM (uI/79)

5 Awwww. I think you might have looked cute as cuipd! You'd have to wear a tartan diaper, though. And I don't know that it would be good for you to be armed in any way.... But the insane smile would still work!

Posted by: Richmond at February 14, 2006 01:06 PM (e8QFP)

6 Yes, I can imagine it... accessoried with a sporran. And hiking boots. And a cigar.

Posted by: Omnibus Driver at February 14, 2006 02:03 PM (6VG2d)

7 I'll bet you're a wonderful little cherub........*he says sarcastically*...

Posted by: spurs at February 14, 2006 02:45 PM (tdOZ4)

8 A diaper... ROFLMAO... oh yeah I can see that one then Ktreva can get to you easier to pinch you when you're out of line.

No, we don't do the V day either - we never have. And no my husband will not come home with a present for me nor do I have anything for him. What a waste of time and money... sheesh.

Posted by: Teresa at February 14, 2006 04:34 PM (FZwDL)

9 "Bullocks on me?"

Would that be SANDRA Bullocks?

Posted by: Ogre at February 15, 2006 08:04 AM (/k+l4)

Hide Comments | Add Comment

Last weekend was a long weekend for me. I had Monday off work because of Martin Luther King Day. Now I appreciate the day off, and this year it was timed just right to keep me from blowing a gasket. However, I would rather have worked yesterday. I just had Christmas and New Years off; did I really need another holiday two weeks later? What am I going to do with this day besides sit at home? ItÂ’s the middle of January. I do NOT do winter sports at all.

We also have Presidents day in February. Both of these holidays irritate me. Why canÂ’t they give us the day after the Fourth of July off? How about the Monday after the Super Bowl? Maybe even the day after Halloween. I feel like IÂ’ve wasted a vacation day when these holidays come around.

Staffing ways for work, it is also a nightmare. January is typically our busiest month of the year, surprisingly the Tuesday after MLK day is our busiest day of the year. The whole week is busy because we are making up for having Monday off. That means long hours/over time for everyone to help cover the increased activity. Logistically speaking it would be easier on the staff to work that day.

Looking at my approved vacation for 2006, I can see numerous one-day requests. It would be better for me to have two floating holidays or two extra vacation days then for them to give me MLK and Presidents day off. At least then, I know I would be doing something I enjoyed on those days. I can make sure that they are days off that actually help me.

Yesterday, I spent the whole day playing with Clone (the grouch) while watching the entire season of Firefly. What else was I going to do? The wife had commandeered the computer to blog and play the Sims 2 all day. Over all it wasnÂ’t a bad day, but I could think of better things I would rather do.

Posted by: Contagion at 01:06 PM | Comments (10) | Add Comment
Post contains 344 words, total size 2 kb.

ItÂ’s been a while since IÂ’ve done anything to piss people off, on here. Yet I canÂ’t help but to bring up something that really annoys the hell out of me. ItÂ’s something that many of you do or have done in the past. What is it?

Guest blogging.

I can forgive typos, bad spelling, poor grammar and slang (Hey IÂ’m probably the king of grammatically incorrect misspelled slang with poor grammar!). When I go to a blog and I see a post up by someone other then the blog owner, it irritates me. The reason I go to that blog is so I can read the posts by the normal author. If I wanted to read these other peopleÂ’s posts, IÂ’d go to their site. If they donÂ’t have a blog of their own, then someone needs to twist their arm a little.

Now before you guest posters go off on me, IÂ’m not saying I donÂ’t like what you wrote. What IÂ’m saying is that I go to that personÂ’s blog to read their thoughts, not yours. Normally when I see a guest post, I just hit the back button and go on to the next blog as if the author has not made a post that day. What, I might be missing out on a great post? YouÂ’re correct I might, but I can honestly say IÂ’ve never picked up a new read based on a guest post. IÂ’ve always picked them up based on recommendations or links to a post on their own blog. When I hit my blogroll, I have a limited time to check them all out. When IÂ’m finished, which is rare anymore, I go on to look for new reads. Seeing as I can barely keep up with my blogroll now, I want to make sure I hit all my regular reads before I start looking at new ones.

I understand that many people get guest bloggers while they are away just to keep traffic up. Admittedly, I am a statistic junky. I donÂ’t know if youÂ’ve noticed all the crap in my sidebar, but IÂ’m tracking everything. Yet, I donÂ’t see how you not posting for 1-3 weeks while your on vacation is going to hurt your overall traffic. Yes, while you are gone it is going to drop off. Nevertheless, your readers will return once you do. It has every time I left for a while.

IÂ’m seeing this trend more and more often. In fact, I was recently asked to guestblog for someone while they where away. While I was honored that they not only trusted me with their blog, but that they also appreciated what I did here enough to ask me, I had to decline. In keeping with my beliefs, I could not guestblog somewhere else, while refusing to read other guest bloggers.

This is why I will never have a guest blogger here. Also, this is my blog; it is an extension of me. ItÂ’s where I spew forth my toxic and corrupting thoughts across the internet like a bad STD. If I let someone else post here, it would be like giving a piece of me up. This hastily assembled HTML island in the tumultuous sea known as the internet is MY safe harbor. When all else goes bad, I can come here and get away from all the other problems in the world, and focus on me. Why would I want to give a piece of that up?

I know not everyone will agree with me, but what are your feelings on the subject? Am I the only one that feels this way?

Posted by: Contagion at 12:54 PM | Comments (7) | Add Comment
Post contains 615 words, total size 3 kb.

Oil Company Execs Defend Profits to Senate. Just reading that headline pissed me off more then I could fathom. Does the government not have something more important to look into? Wait, this involves money so of course they donÂ’t. No matter what anyone tries to tell me, I have seen no proof in the last 12 years to prove that not all politicians are into politics just to make money for themselves and to spend mine for me.

So the oil companies made a huge increase in earnings?

ConocoPhilips earned $3.8 billion in the third quarter, an 89 percent increase over a year earlier. But Mulva (exec for ConocoPhilips) said that represents only a 7.7 percent profit margin.***”

*** Emphasis mine.

If I did my math correctly, that is a profit margin of $292.6 million dollars. Good for them and their stockholders! Since when is it wrong to make a profit in America? I thought that was the point of our society, the ability to work hard and make money. There are accusations that there was price gauging after Katrina and Rita to make this money. The companies are claiming they raised the prices to help reduce the length of time and the severity of oil shortages. I believe it was a little bit of both. I can picture an oil exec wondering what to do with the impending shortage of oil and deciding to raise the price. When the American public continued to pay the inflated prices, they just continued to let it sore.

Over the last two and a half months, I’ve had people ask me about my nonchalant attitude towards gas prices. While others where up in arms complaining about it, I just sat back and rolled with it. When others would complain how much it cost them to fill their tanks, I would think about my next oil change. How can I be like that? Simple, if I can’t afford to pay $3.75 a gallon, then I don’t drive… as much. Remember people, my vehicle gets 12 miles to the gallon. I thought about the gas mileage when I purchased it and said to myself, “If I can’t afford the maintenance/upkeep on this vehicle, then I can’t afford to buy it.” I knew what I was walking into. Okay, I didn’t know gas would rocket over $3.00 a gallon. Not everyone thinks like that? Tough. The poor didn’t buy a new car, right, but they didn’t need that 8-cylinder gas-guzzler either.

If the gas companies can get Americans to purchase gas at $3.75 a gallon, then I say let them charge $3.80! When the price of gas rises above what a reasonable person is willing to pay, the amount of gas purchased will drop. It’s supply and demand in action. Someone needs to explain to me why this is wrong other then, “The poor can’t afford to drive.” Hey, I’m not exactly rich, both my wife and I work to eek out a living. If they can’t afford gas, then maybe they need to look into cutting expenses elsewhere, cut back on driving or maybe start carpooling.

This leads me right into the next issue I have with this whole thing:

”Some Republican and Democratic lawmakers have suggested that oil companies should funnel some of their earnings to supplement a federal program that helps low-income*** households pay heating bills”

*** Once again emphasis mine

What you talking about Willis?! First off, if the government did decide to step in and prove that capitalism is bad, instead of doing something that benefits everyone, they are going to do something that benefits only a portion of the public. ItÂ’s nice to know that the lawmakers are thinking about all of the American public. Why is it that I highly doubt that most of the profits these oil companies made came from low-income households? Actually, IÂ’m pretty sure that itÂ’s those of us that have the bigger vehicles or do a lot of driving, and continued to do so after the prices rose, that those profits stemmed from.

This is bullshit! I am taxed to pay for welfare, Medicare, social programs, and social security. Then IÂ’m basically forced to donate to charities at work. This is on top of my actually donating money freely to numerous charity organizations of my own free will. Yet, now they want to take the money that they say was wrongfully taken from me by the oil companies and instead of giving it back to me, they want to give it to someone else?

What the hell kind of restitution is that? That would be like having someone break into my house, steal my stuff and instead of my insurance paying me, they give it to the family down the street where dad hasn’t held a job for more then 3 weeks over the last 10 years. Why would they do that? “Because I have a job and can afford to buy new stuff and he is underprivileged.” That is essentially what the government is telling those that don’t qualify for these programs.

If the feds actually feel the need to do something about the oil companies, why not do something that would benefit everyone? Maybe instead of fining oil companies they should have them reduce the price at the pumps by so much over a period of time. This way those that actually paid for the profits can receive some of their “stolen” money back.

Some of you might think I’m being insensitive to the underprivileged. To those of you that believe that; I say, “Gum nudge my left testicle.” I worked hard to go to college, get an education and work my way up in a company that doesn’t appreciate anything I do… yet pays me decently. Others can do the same… and should have.

So what do you think about this whole thing? Discuss this over lunch and get back to me.

Posted by: Contagion at 12:38 PM | Comments (6) | Add Comment
Post contains 1003 words, total size 6 kb.

1 Instead of fucking with the oil companies the assholes should fix the goddamn problems THEY created by making it easier to build new refineries and nuke plants. Gas and electricty prices would go down. End of story.

Posted by: Graumagus at November 10, 2005 12:49 PM (98II9)

2 You've been deluded. Yes, it IS bad to work hard and earn. If you do, you shall be punished.

America is socialist, I've finally realized it. Capitalism is dead. It's very sad, but true.

Posted by: Ogre at November 10, 2005 12:55 PM (/k+l4)

3 I'm so sick of hearing about forced helping of the "poor". Oil companies are in business to make money. Oil is their business. They make money on that business, profits are the bonus, you know, the big banana! I think I'll go run my tank out today so I can donate to the coffers of big oil

Posted by: oddybobo at November 10, 2005 01:26 PM (6Gm0j)

4 Grau... okay, but if the do that and the oil companies decide to leave the prices where there at, it's fine by me. They are out to make money, not friends.

Ogre: How many times have I told you to lay off psycotropic drugs? You've finally let those NC whackjobs brainwash you.

Oddy: I'd wait till this is over to do that. You might just be increasing their fine.

Posted by: Contagion at November 10, 2005 01:46 PM (Q5WxB)

5 Heh - heard a guy on the radio today talking about "those criminals who run the oil companies"... ARG!!! Immediately turned the channel. I know he's a flaming liberal - but if you're going to make statements like that - you better be able to back it up with laws!!! The problem with the left is that they are so tremendously uneducated... especially when it comes to business. Apparently businesses are there to just "give" us things...

Posted by: Teresa at November 10, 2005 03:56 PM (FZwDL)

6 The prices will go down not because they have too, but because if we have a larger refining capacity, and the gas ends up cheaper to produce because of it, the oil companies will try and underbid their competition thereby causing all of the prices to drop. Free market in action.

The goddamn government at the state and fed levels make a shitload more money off of each gallon of gas in taxes than the oil companies do from sales, and they didn't have to lift a fucking finger except to sign a bill making it so.

Posted by: Graumagus at November 11, 2005 12:04 PM (98II9)

Hide Comments | Add Comment

It must be “tell me how to live my life” day. First over at Technicalities we have a fisking of a campaign to keep people from eating hamburgers. Then I find this article about how Washington State is trying to pass the most stringent anti-smoking ban in the US.

How stringent is this ban? Check this out:

“Initiative 901 would ban smoking in bars, restaurants and other indoor public sites and workplaces throughout Washington. It also would prohibit smoking within 25 feet of doors, windows or air vents of public places."

ItÂ’s bad enough you want to take smoking away in barsÂ… but to make these poor people exercise walk what could end up being blocks in a city is just mean!

25 Feet from a door, window or air vent?!?!?! WTF? Maybe you donÂ’t smoke, but maybe you have a friend who does. You all go out for a night on the town. After a couple of drinks, your friend decides he wants a cigarette. WaitÂ… He canÂ’t smoke in here because of the law. They head outside, only to be reminded they canÂ’t just stand outside the door. They have to be 25 feet away from doors, windows (open IÂ’m assuming or it makes this scenario even worse) or air vents. Now your friend goes walking looking for somewhere to grab a cigarette. Everywhere he turns, there is a door, window or air vent. After thirty minutes, he gets irritated and lights up anyway, only to get a fine/ticket/arrested for smoking. Hopefully by now you are wondering where the hell your friend is and go to find him. Both of you end up losing a good hour out of your night because of this BS.

Maybe you’re a non-smoker and your saying: “Contagion, he should just quit smoking. This will help motivate him to quit.” To which I respond, “Why don’t you get off your high horse and quit thinking your better then other people.” Why should he have to quit? He likes smoking, he knows the risk, (Hell since the 80’s everyone knows smoking is bad for you.) why should he have to quit? Because you don’t like second hand smoke… Ahhh, well now I understand. Since you can’t stay the hell out of a bar or restaurant that allows smokers, the smokers should be punished. Got it… dumbass.

Okay, IÂ’m a smoker. I know itÂ’s bad for me, I know it is slowly killing me. I donÂ’t care. ItÂ’s my choice. Maybe I want to drink, eat red meat, smoke and die a slow happy death. I know the risks and IÂ’m a big boy, let me make the decision for myself. When other people try to take away peoples ability to smoke, it makes me want to smoke even moreÂ… Just because I know it pisses someone off!

Hey, IÂ’m afraid every time a loved one or I gets behind the wheel of a car they will be in a horrible maiming accident caused my a reckless driver. Maybe I should lobby to have cars outlawed since IÂ’m worried someone might hurt my family or me. I can disguise it as a bill to help the environment and promote safety. Okay, IÂ’m going to extremes, but I rank both scenarios as being on the same page.

I always felt it should be up to the individual business to determine if they allow smoking or not. It should not be the government dictating to the business not to allow people to smoke there. If JoeÂ’s bar doesnÂ’t allow smoking, then I donÂ’t go there, IÂ’ll go to JohnÂ’s bar that allows it. For people that donÂ’t smoke, they can go to JoeÂ’s bar. If a non-smoker wants to hang out with the smoker, one will have to compromise.

Posted as part of Breakfast.

Posted by: Contagion at 07:47 PM | Comments (9) | Add Comment
Post contains 647 words, total size 4 kb.

This blog was part started as an outlet for various things; it seems as late itÂ’s become an outlet for my frustration about people. Today I have another issue that has been bugging me about people apparent lack of common sense.

Guys, how many times have we heard a woman say she doesn’t like it when a guy is looking at their chest or behind? It seems to be a common complaint, and I agree that when talking to a woman one should look her in the eye. Some women don’t like to be “checked out” at all. They get upset if they find some guy giving them the once over.

Fine, that is their right. IÂ’m not going to tell you not to wear clothing that compliments the shape of your body. It doesnÂ’t matter because people will look anyway even if you wear a baggy t-shirt and frumpy sweat pants. Women are catty and guys just check everything out. Guys, you can deny it, but you know itÂ’s true.

Just donÂ’t wear something that forces the human eye to look at your chest or backside.If IÂ’m not talking about figure enhancing cloths, then what am I talking about? Simple, shirts and pants with words on it. Over the last 6 months, IÂ’ve noticed the trend of females wearing shirts that have phrases or logos right across their chest. They also wear pants that have logos right across their butts (usually sweat pants/shorts). If you donÂ’t want people looking at your chest or ass, donÂ’t wear items like that.

The human eye naturally is drawn to lettering to read it. ItÂ’s like a sign. I know personally IÂ’ll see someone with a t-shirt that has writing on it, and with out thinking, I just start reading what it says. This gives the appearance that I am staring at their chest. No, IÂ’m reading their shirt. When walking through the mall I see a girl wearing shorts that says something written across their butt. Before I can even think about it, IÂ’ve read what was written, and to be honest in some cases I wish I hadnÂ’t.

Not just guys do this either, women read what is front of them as well. Just the other morning I was at a restaurant with my wife. A girl came in wearing a white sweat suit. (BTW, what ever happened to proper dress when leaving the house? A sweat suit is not appropriate to go to a sit down restaurant.). After she walks by Ktreva says to me, “One should not wear turquoise underwear with a white pants.” I had no idea what she was talking about, so I reply with a “huh?” She tells me that the girl that walked by is wearing turquoise underwear under her white sweat suit.

Now here I am thinking my wife is displaying some lesbian traits and is checking out girls as they walk by. Fantasy time! Smirking, I ask her how she knows. She responds that as the girl walked by she looked up and she had “Abercrombie” across her butt, when she read it she could see the underwear. Fantasy denied! But it enforced the fact that if there is writing, humans will read it.

The manufacturers of these clothes know and understand that. They put the lettering and logos in those places for a reason, to help draw the eye there. This is fine if you accept and don’t mind people staring at our chest or bottom. If you mind, don’t wear clothes that have it. If you do mind and wear clothes like that, don’t get mad at me if I “read” what you are advertising. In addition, don’t wear the shirt that says, “Don’t look at my chest”, by the time everyone is done reading it, it’s too late.

Posted by: Contagion at 12:49 PM | Comments (10) | Add Comment
Post contains 650 words, total size 4 kb.

1 Yah, the writing...that's what I'm doing. I'm reading what that women's brea... shirt has written on it.

Posted by: Dr. Phat Tony at November 07, 2005 12:07 PM (fk/lm)

2 I don't mind if someone checks out my chest. They are, afterall, my best feature

Posted by: oddybobo at November 07, 2005 12:26 PM (6Gm0j)

3 I sometimes wish more people would look at my chest. LOOK AT ME!

Posted by: Ogre at November 07, 2005 01:29 PM (/k+l4)

4 Okay Dr. Phat Tony... you just blatently stare at women's chests...

Ogre... Ewwww.

Posted by: Contagion at November 07, 2005 02:04 PM (Q5WxB)

5 Yep, love to wear things that draw attention to my chest now adays. But was VERY careful about it at work. No badges clipped to the collar, no 'flowers', 'writing' or anything else across the breasts. I was more afraid of getting the guys in trouble than worried about it myself. Sigh. Now I just hope they continue to stick out further than my tummy.

Posted by: vw bug at November 07, 2005 07:29 PM (2+gaO)

6 My girlfriend has EXTREMELY large boobs. She loves wearing shirts that draw attention to that. She too gets pissed when a female will draaw attention to themselves, and then chastise a man for looking. BTW- Her favorite shirt reads "Got Cookies?". I now have a shirt with a picture of a box of Chips Ahoy!

Posted by: Shawn at November 08, 2005 10:02 AM (9vBnd)

7 I don't wear clothes that talk. The closest I come to that is an Army tshirt that I used to wear to tai chi and Blackfive's tshirt. Otherwise - I prefer my clothes to remain silent and do what they were meant to do - cover me! Maybe I don't get out enough - I never have trouble with guys checking me out... or if they are - they are very circumspect about it.

Posted by: Teresa at November 08, 2005 02:48 PM (FZwDL)

8 what bothers me is more along the lines of what Ktreva noticed. When I was a mere slip of a girl (not that long ago, mind you) I wasn't allowed to leave the house unless I looked like a young lady: no bra straps, pantylines, underwear showing through my clothes, etc.

Don't these chickies understand that if you look classless people will assume that you are classless? Unless that's really what they want (ex Paris Hilton)

Heh. Abercrombie on her butt. Does that indicate what she thinks of their company?

Posted by: caltechgirl at November 08, 2005 03:28 PM (/vgMZ)

9 Every shirt my wife owns says "It's a little chilly in here".

Written in braille.

Posted by: Harvey at November 08, 2005 03:28 PM (ubhj8)

10 CTG: I don't think a lot of people care anymore

Harvey: That's just... funny. I can't wait to "Read" that shirt! *Ducks and hides*

Posted by: Contagion at November 08, 2005 03:59 PM (Q5WxB)

Hide Comments | Add Comment

Steve the Pirate talks about an interesting story where a black conservative Lt Governor (Michael Steele) is running for the senate in Maryland and the black Democratic Party is slinging racial slurs at him. The kicker is that according to the article, they feel this is okayÂ… because Steele is a Republican/conservative.

I just want to know, does that mean its okay to refer to a white democrat/liberal as a cracker?

Posted by: Contagion at 01:08 PM | Comments (5) | Add Comment
Post contains 75 words, total size 1 kb.

I need to go off on something that has been bugging me for a couple of weeks now. It has me so pissed that itÂ’s interfering with my ability to think logically and control my uncivilized impulses.

Why do people that claim to be using their freedom of speech get so bloody upset when you voice a dissenting opinion and claim censorship? The best example I can give that most people will remember is when the Dixie Chics made their comments about G. W. Bush about 4 years ago. They spoke their oppinions; they had every right to do so. I donÂ’t agree with what they did/said but it is their constitutional right to do so. Where they pissed me off was when their fans and radio stations disagreed with what they said and spoke out against them.

When the public voiced their dissention of what the Dixie Chics had said, these “freedom of speech” fighters claimed that people where trying to censor them. BULLSHITE! Those people were exercising their freedom of speech to say they disagree or to tell the Dixie Chics they where wrong. Why is it when they said something against what the President was doing it was freedom of speech, but when their fans said something against what they did it was censorship? Isn’t that a huge double standard? I believe it is. If burning the American flag is covered by the first amendment as freedom of expression, then bulldozing thousands of the Dixie Chic’s CD’s is also a freedom of expression covered by the first amendment. This however is old news.

There have been a couple of incidents in the last month that really set my blood boiling. I feel people have the right to preach/evangelicalize/”spread the word” about their religion. This is part of freedom of speech. But when you start preaching at me and I tell you I’m not interested, and then you persist to preach at me; you are starting to cross freedom of speech into harassment. When I tell you to get off my property and not come back because I think your religion is nothing more then a glorified cult, that is NOT censorship. Just like you have the right to tell me that I’m going to hell if I don’t follow Jehovah, I have the same right to tell you that you’re a nut job and to get off of my property. It’s all covered under freedom of speech.

People that have political beliefs have the right to stand out in front of stores to promote their beliefs and hand out fliers. (If the store approves, it is private property) The other day walking into a local store some hippy love child… well I don’t know he was a love child, but he looked (i.e. smelled) like a neo hippy. He was handing out fliers trying to get people to join an anti-Bush protest rally in Rockford, IL. He was also trying to promote some local vast left wing conspiracy newspaper. (To be honest, I always thought it was the right wing that are the conspiracy theorists. j/k) He had the right to stand in front of the store smelling like patchouli and body odor to spread his message. I had the right to tell him I’m not interested and walk right past him with out hearing another word. Freedom of speech/expression does not necessarily mean words have to be involved. By my ignoring his presence, I “spoke” volumes. This is not censorship. Freedom of speech does not give you the right to sit there and hammer me with a barrage of words in which I don't want to hear. Freedom of speech gives you the right to talk to an audience, it does not mandate that the audience has to stick around and listen to the message.
There is a Green Bay Packer flag hanging off my truck antenna. It is my freedom of speech to support my team proudly. Living in Illinois, this does come with some ribbing. Freedom of speech gives the local Bear fans the right to do so. See, that is how it works. I’m promoting my team, which is my freedom of speech. A Bear fan gives me a hard time for living in Illinois and not supporting the Bears, that is his freedom of speech. Now when the militant Bear fan tells me I should take that flag down because “the Packers suck” and I remind him the Bears haven’t exactly been a stellar team over the last two decades, I’m still using my freedom of speech.

To be honest this cretin didnÂ’t say I was trying to censor him, but he did verbalize a hostile retort about doing something unpleasant with that flag and my lower digestive tract. But, it helps to explain my point. Now we had a whole freedom of speech back and forth there, until he threatened physical harmÂ… or I guess in Illinois that would be considered Aggravated Criminal Sexual Assault. Then you get into other legal issues that have nothing to do with freedom of speech.

My whole point to this convoluted post is that if you are going to exercise your freedom of speech, donÂ’t be surprised if someone else exercises their freedom of speech with an opposing response. That is their right. They are NOT trying to censor you.

Posted by: Contagion at 12:45 PM | Comments (3) | Add Comment
Post contains 901 words, total size 5 kb.

1 Stop yelling! I know you are doing it just to oppress me. my freedom of being free from your speech is being trampled on! Have a nice day.

Posted by: oddybobo at November 03, 2005 10:54 AM (6Gm0j)

2 Well said.

Posted by: vw bug at November 03, 2005 02:11 PM (2+gaO)

3 Wait... there was an anti-Bush rally in Rockford? When did this happen?!?!

Fuck, there goes a perfect opportunity for me to use some hippies as stress reduction targets....

Posted by: Graumagus at November 03, 2005 02:30 PM (98II9)

Hide Comments | Add Comment

This morning on the way to work, I was traveling at a very unrespectful speed of 55 mph in a 45. Yes, I acknowledge I have a speeding problem. On the stretch of road I was on, it is not uncommon for most of the traffic to be doing 55, with the occasional driver doing 50. Sometimes however, you get some jag off that feels that 55 is just too slow. These also tend to be the same dumbasses that weave in and out of traffic almost colliding with other vehicles. I had a run in with one of these rectal-cranial inverted wastes of space today.

I was in the right lane doing 55; there was a Lexus in the left lane just ahead of me, also doing 55. We came upon a slower moving Buick in the right lane. This is when I decided I was going to switch lanes and pass. As I checked my mirrors, I saw this green Saturn come flying up behind the Lexus. The Saturn didnÂ’t slow down until it was right on top of the Lexus. They where so close I swear that the bumpers could not have been more then a foot apart at times.

After I had passed the slower moving Buick, I changed back to the right lane. The intellectually challenged driver in the green Saturn (With dealer plates) stayed on the bumper of the Lexus. At this point, IÂ’m not sure if the Lexus driver was nervous or just trying to get the Saturn to back off, but they started gradually to slow down. Like by a mile an hour every 2 minutes. This means that I am now starting to pass both vehicles on the right. Just as I am almost right up to the Saturn, still inches away from the Lexus, the mentally myopic driver just whips into the right lane.

The flaming butt nugget was so close to me in my truck that I could NOT see the trunk of their vehicle. I of course slowed down to avoid an accident. But in a most uncivilized manner, I switched my headlights to high beams. At 6:30 in the morning, itÂ’s still dark out here. My headlights are high enough to shine right into the back window. They are also bright enough to cause physical pain to anyone that is caught unaware by them. I left my high beams on for the next quarter of a mile until I turned off the main street. Part of me was hoping the driver of the Saturn would turn off to confront me; I really would have loved to vent some anger onto this asshole. My more responsible and civilized parts however did not want anything more to do with the dumbass.

Just in case any of the drivers involved actually find this post, I have this to say.

To the driver of the Lexus;

IÂ’m sorry if I blinded you with my headlights. It was a very juvenile and assholish thing for me to do. I let my anger get the best of me and you innocently suffered. You handled this situation with more class then I did. My most sincere apologies.

To the Driver of the Saturn;

One day you will cause an accident, not just any kind of accident, but a serious one, possibly with fatalities. At the speeds we were traveling, there was absolutely no reason for your boorish behavior behind the wheel. There is no excuse for trying to squeeze in one car length closer just so you can get to work maybe 30 seconds faster. If you are running late, try to get your arse out of bed earlier, especially on days when you have to scrape frost off your windows. You are damn lucky I donÂ’t know what dealership those plates belong. If I did, trust me, by now I would have called them AND the police to file a complaint. Even if that meant getting my own speeding ticket. If there is a hell, I believe there is a special place for drivers like you.

P.S. If you didn’t notice, the ¾ ton extended cab/extended bed Truck I was driving had almost three times the mass of your little four banger. If something had happened, I would have crushed you like the roach you are under my size thirteen shoe.

Posted by: Contagion at 12:42 PM | Comments (3) | Add Comment
Post contains 746 words, total size 4 kb.

Last week I received notice that I have been selected for jury duty. This has made me as giddy as a boy going out on a date with a girl that is a “sure thing”. For years, I have wanted to serve on a jury. It is something that I have always wanted to do, and I’m hoping that this will be my turn. At this point, I’m pretty sure most of you are thinking I’m rather insane. Most of the people that I have talked to about this don’t understand either. They would do just about anything to avoid jury duty. To them it is a burden and waste of time.

To me jury duty gives me a chance to see something I love in action and to be a part of it, the American legal system. When I worked in Law Enforcement, I loved court days. Sitting in the courtroom, hearing the cases, listening to the lawyers fight for their clients by presenting or spinning facts, just being a part of the legal system. Watching the judge and jury listen to everything and mull over the evidence. Seeing the beauty of years of defining constitutional rights and to see them applied to an individual case, was their fourth amendment rights violated, where they denied due process, etc.

Too many people I have talked to either view it as a waste of their time or, in a couple of occasions, a way to get out of work. IÂ’ve even heard people telling each other what to do to get out of jury duty. This really pisses me off. As a citizen of the United States it is your duty to serve on a jury, it is an obligation and a way to uphold our way of life. How? When you sit in the jury box, and the lawyers present their cases, you are helping to enforce our laws and constitution. If Slick Johnny gets off on a technicality because Officer Jones performed an illegal search of his vehicle, hopefully Officer Jones learned from his mistake so next time someoneÂ’s constitutional rights arenÂ’t violated. If Scary Bob is convicted of a crime due to overwhelming evidence, then you just helped uphold the laws of our country.

Think of it this way. If you ever had to go to court (innocent or guilty) who would you rather have on the jury, someone that is there wishing they where somewhere else or someone that is actually interested and excited to be part of the system? I know I would rather have someone that is paying attention to the case. That way I don’t have to worry about my fate being determined by someone with a “gut feeling”.

Now I have to sit and wait to find out if they will actually pick me to serve on the jury. The last two times I was called up I was dismissed. Once when I was in college, because I was studying law and the second time I was working in Law Enforcement. What I really would like to do is serve on the Grand Jury. In Illinois, it is a six-month assignment every other Wednesday. IÂ’d be in heaven. To hear that many cases and to decide if there is enough to indict would rock!

Posted by: Contagion at 01:15 PM | Comments (9) | Add Comment
Post contains 557 words, total size 3 kb.

What an interesting trip to Texas. I wish I could share everything I learned with you; unfortunately, some laws prohibit me from doing so. Since what I can share would turn this post into a novel to rival that of “War and Peace”, I’m just going to share the highs and lows with everyone.

1) You cannot bring a lighter into the airport. There were no signs stating such, so I didnÂ’t think about it as I walked through the checkpoint with a lighter in my pocket.

2) Security does not appreciate when you try to bring contraband through a checkpoint. They tend to make quite a show of it.

3) If you put the lighter in your purse you can bring one past the checkpoint, you just canÂ’t have it in your pocket. My traveling companion was able to get two lighters onto the flight.

4) Before you let the shuttle go that took you from the airport to your hotel, make sure it is the right hotel they dropped you off at and not the closest one. Some of those drivers do NOT want to drive any further then they have to.

5) It is cheaper for more then two people to take a Taxi from the airport to a hotel then to take the shuttle.

6) Having reservations in a hotel (Crown Plaza Suites Park Central in Dallas, TX Sucks) does not necessarily mean they will honor the reservations, even with a secured late check in. Everyone in my group requested a smoking room, and not a one of us received one. The day before we all confirmed we had one.

7) Just because you (your company) pay a lot to stay in a hotel, it does not guarantee that the service will be good, the rooms will be cleaned, trash will be emptied and the staff polite. (Did I mention the Crown Plaza Suites Park Central 7800 Alpha Rd Dallas, TX 75251 sucks?) Everyone in my group had the same issues with rooms not being cleaned and rude staff.

Restaurants in hotels that suck, like the Crown Plaza Suites Park Central in Dallas TX, also suck. Service was very slow, the food was inconsistent (They have a breakfast buffet, the food was good one day and the same style of items were horrible or bland the next.), drinks were weak/watered down.

9) You cannot smoke in Dallas, TX. This means that if you are stuck in a non-smoking room because the Crown Plaza Suites Park Central in Dallas TX sucks and wonÂ’t hold your confirmation, you have to leave the building in order to have a cigarette. You canÂ’t even smoke in a restaurant or bar. This wouldnÂ’t be a big deal if those ripe bastards had put you in a damn smoking room! However, if you smoke in your current room, they very rudely informed me, that there would be an extra $50.00 per day cleaning chargeÂ… and they donÂ’t clean the room anyway!

10) If you smoke outside in some of the smaller communities you can get a citation for smoking in publicÂ… and you still canÂ’t smoke in bars/restaurants.

11) Parts of Texas are dry, as in no alcohol. In these areas, the only place you can get a drink is in a club that you are a member. I.e., you have to buy membership to the club in order to go in and get a drink. Fortunately, these memberships are relatively cheap.

12) People in Texas like to water down their alcohol. Every drink I had down there was weak!

13) Texas has a concealed carry law; the people are allowed to carry guns if they have a license. This means there are alcoholics out there in desperate want of a drink, going through nicotine withdrawal and carrying a gun. Needless to say, I tried not to piss any locals off.

14) Texans get pissed if you start to emulate their accents, even on accident. However, they find it “cute” when a northerner says “y’all”.

15) Before riding in a vehicle that you donÂ’t personally own, check to make sure the back seat is secured to the vehicle. Being flipped out of the back seat of a minivan as the NASCAR inspired driver makes a left turn at 70 mph is not a good way to start your morning.

16) The signs and displays telling you how big a carry-on bag can be in an airport are only for suggestion. No one that works for the airline will actually enforce how big an item can be. Therefore, if you take a full sized garment bag with what is obviously at least 4 days worth of suits, you can carry that on and cram it into an overheard compartment and no one will say a word to you.

17) People cannot count. When they say you can bring one carry-on bag and one personal item onto the airplane, that does not mean you can bring a three-piece luggage set AND your purse. I donÂ’t care if your bags are smaller then the guy who just jammed a large suitcase into the overhead, at least he only brought one.

1 If you are turned back to check in luggage because itÂ’s too big, you brought too many with, or because other people with large bags took up all the overhead space, donÂ’t spend the rest of the flight complaining to me about it. I donÂ’t care if you or other people canÂ’t follow simple directions.

19) If you travel with me, inevitably you will have the parent with the screaming kid right behind you on the airplane. Why people think any child under the age of five will travel “nicely” on a plane is beyond me.

And finally:

20) You can spend 6 hours sitting on your arse (in the car, airport, airplane, bus, any combo, etc) and when you get home, you are seriously exhausted. I have yet to figure out why this is.

Posted by: Contagion at 04:16 PM | Comments (7) | Add Comment
Post contains 1010 words, total size 5 kb.

1 Welcome Back! Go piss off some locals as a reward!

Posted by: oddybobo at October 21, 2005 02:32 PM (6Gm0j)

2 Amen, Bobo!

In New Orleans they used to count bags. I got in a serious dispute with a TSA bitch about whether or not my purse shoved into my tote bag was a separate bag and whether or not that meant I had one too many. I ended the conversation by marching past her and going through the security line, where surprisingly enough I wasn't hassled once

There's a reason they call it Tex-ASS, you know....

Posted by: caltechgirl at October 21, 2005 02:37 PM (/vgMZ)

3 LMAO! I read 15 and thought I would fall over laughing. I have been in a van were the seat moved when we started. Luckily they didn't drive fast ... but I had to laugh at what happened to you.

Hey, I drugged my kids with Benedryl before getting on the plane. ;-) Just don't blame me that we kept the bathroom busy for 7 visits. It kept one of the monsters occupied. GRIN

Posted by: vw bug at October 21, 2005 04:59 PM (flzGe)

4 So... you're Google baiting "Crown Plaza Suites sucks"? :-)

Posted by: Harvey at October 21, 2005 11:35 PM (ubhj8)

5 Ohhh, you poor thing!

1st, you really want to get back at Crowne Plaza - you and your buddies should go to fodors.com and other travel sites rate the hotel a half star and then cut and paste all the stuff you wrote into your comment.

I'm not a smoker, but I think thats the worst thing you could do to someone. The retards!

Posted by: Michele at October 22, 2005 08:03 AM (ht2RK)

6 So, I've heard that Crown Plaza Suites suck. The one in Dallas, TX. Does it really suck?

Posted by: Ogre at October 24, 2005 10:54 AM (/k+l4)

7 I feel this post on soooooo many levels.
I have yet to stay in a Crown that didn't suck in some way or another.

Posted by: spurs at October 25, 2005 10:56 AM (tdOZ4)

Hide Comments | Add Comment

People always complain about there being a double standard for different things. While over at Steve the Pirate's I saw him calling for a boycot of Cafepress. Being curious I went over to The People's Cube to see what was going on.

I have to side with them, in a humurious letter to the company you can see what is causing all the fuss and decide for yourself.

As for me, I think I'll avoid Cafepress for a while.

Posted by: Contagion at 06:33 PM | Comments (4) | Add Comment
Post contains 89 words, total size 1 kb.

ItÂ’s that time of year again. Not fall, even though today is the first official day. No, itÂ’s that time when companies across the country try to extort money from their employees to donate to the United Way. Why do companies force this issue so much? ItÂ’s because then they can say they raised so many dollars for them and get a special mention in next years drive. ItÂ’s all marketing that they donÂ’t have to pay as much forÂ… they make their employees do it.

I donÂ’t mind charity drives, but I hate feeling forced into donating my time and money. Is it a donation then? Not in my mind, if forced to pay then IÂ’m not donating money IÂ’m a victim of extortion. IÂ’ve worked for companies that keep track of donations to the United Way and if you donÂ’t donate so much you wonÂ’t get a promotion or good review. They went so far as to tell the employees that. My current company is not that bad, however they do put a frown on a lack of participation, especially if you are management level. They do however hand out a sheet telling you what the recommended donation is based on your salary level.

My company makes a huge deal out of this drive. They put on shows, hold raffles, have fundraisers, and do what they call “Supervisor Stunts”. The Supervisor Stunts starts with a drive for money. They have cups set up with various peoples names on them and employees in the company drop money in to the cup to vote for which supervisor has to do a stunt. The four with the most money are the “winners”. The stunts are usually unimaginative things stolen from pop culture. A couple years ago, they did a fear factor take off where the individuals had to eat something safe, yet disgusting. In all actuality there was nothing all that disgusting about what they ate. Last year they did a take off of the old Nickelodeon show Double Dare. Each supervisor had to go through an obstacle course that was only designed to get them covered in slime, condiments, ice cream, pudding, etc.

This year they decided to open it up to all management and some of the support staff. I was strongly encouraged to participate in it this year. Why? Because with my position I am easily one of the top two people in the office that the employees would like to get revenge on. Thus, I would bring in a lot of money. Unfortunately, for them I had a different idea. Mine was more along the lines of, “I’m not donating one damn cent to the United Way and I’m not doing anything that might help raise a dime for them.”

See the extended entry for my reasons.
more...

Posted by: Contagion at 12:54 PM | Comments (8) | Add Comment
Post contains 1081 words, total size 6 kb.

On my drive to work every day I drive past cornfields. Every day I notice how short and sickly it looks compared to years past. The ears that have managed to form are small and under developed. The drought we are in is really taking a toll on the local agricultural industry. Some of the local media has run stories and interviewed multiple farmers regarding the status of the crop.

One of the farmers stated that the quality of the corn isnÂ’t even good for silage and that he wasnÂ’t sure if it was worth harvesting it from the field, with the price of gas being as high as it is. I knew it was bad, but not that bad. I figured they could at least use the corn for feed. I tried to find a link to this story; unfortunately, I was not able to find one. For you folks out there that donÂ’t know what silage is, itÂ’s fodder from plants converted into feed for livestock through a fermentation process in a silo. The farmers use this to supplement their livestock feed, especially in the winter months.

When the local farmers feel that it might be better off for them to let the crop rot in the field because they would go further in to debt just to harvest it, you know itÂ’s got to be bad. They usually get some kind of return on it, but in the interview that I saw the farmer said in not so many words that harvesting this corn would be as smart as throwing money into a furnace. Even if they used the entire crop just as feed, at least they received something for it. Instead, they may have to purchase extra feed just to keep their livestock fed over the winter. Farmers make a living off their crops and livestock. If it isnÂ’t worth it for them to pull the crops out of the field, what will they do? How are they going to pay their bills or provide for their families?

If the drought broke today and we received a good steady rain for the rest of the year, it’s too late to save this year’s corn crop. Maybe it isn’t as bad as that one report made it out to be, but looking at the cornfields I can’t help but to think it is. Growing up in Illinois and spending times on farms, I know what good healthy corn looks like. The corn crop in Northern Illinois and Southern Wisconsin cannot be described as “good or healthy”. Even the sweet corn you get at roadside stands and in stores are some of the sorriest I’ve seen in years.

Since I havenÂ’t seen a lot on this issue, maybe IÂ’m in the minority that is concerned about it. With harvest coming just around the corner I suspect we all will start to hear more regarding this issue, then again maybe not. It seems that unless something happens to a large urban area, the national media doesnÂ’t cover it. For now, IÂ’m just going to hope that the farmers in this part of the country fair better then I think they will.

Posted by: Contagion at 04:40 PM | Comments (5) | Add Comment
Post contains 540 words, total size 3 kb.

LetÂ’s say that you were driving home. On a backstreet, you are stopped by a school bus dropping off 12-14 year old kids from school. Shortly after the bus leaves you, witness two kids get into a fight. One kid is about twice the size of the other kid. This might be a serious issue if either knew how to fight, but most of the kicks and punches are hitting air instead of the other person. When they do land a blow itÂ’s not a solid hit so no real impact. The bus is gone; would you step in and break it up and why?

This exact scenario happened to me last night. I was waiting at the bus stop for Boopie to give him a ride home. As soon as I went to drive off, I saw these two boys off Boopie’s bus throw down their books in the middle of the road and start fighting. I put my vehicle in park, jump out of the door and head toward the boys. In my “I’m a pissed off authority figure voice” (Left over from Law Enforcement days) I holler: “You two, knock it off! Over here, NOW!” While saying that I’m pointing at both of them and then point to the ground right in front of me as I am walking toward them. Not once through this whole ordeal did I lay a finger on either boy.

Both of the boys stop fighting and start heading my way. They give me the story they where just play fighting. Any male out there that was ever in a fight as a kid can tell the difference between play fighting and real fighting. Play fighting you donÂ’t swing so hard as to throw yourself off balance, because you donÂ’t know how to fight. IÂ’m trying to get both kids to come with me to talk to their parents.

The older kid points to a house just across the street. So I tell him, lets go talk to his parents. Then he changes which house he lives in. Apparently, he didnÂ’t think I was serious. The younger kid told me he lived a couple of blocks over.

I knew there was no way to get both kids to stay with me, even though I tried. Deciding that I was going to talk to the bigger kids parents for a couple of reasons, I follow him to his house. I believe that the smaller kidÂ’s mother works with me and I can talk to her at work. Also he seemed scared witless and I think I did enough damage that one close call may be all he needs to go straight. The bigger kid coped an attitude and was blatantly lying to me. He also appeared to be the instigator. His parents needed to be advised.

Sure enough as soon as I started walking off with the older boy, the younger one took off. Ktreva saw which way he ran, we tried looking for him later but couldnÂ’t find him.

On the way to the bigger kidÂ’s house, the story changed from play fighting to him defending his country. Apparently, the boyÂ’s parents are from Russia and the younger kid made some disparaging comments about it. Now I have confirmation that it was not play fighting. When we get to his house, he goes in while I stay outside. I figured heÂ’d lock the door and IÂ’d have to ring the bell to talk to his mother or father.

After a couple of minutes, his mother comes to the door. After speaking to her briefly, and she did have an accent, I got the distinct impression that she didnÂ’t care that her little boy was fighting with a kid half his size or that he was fighting at all. Maybe I wasted my time, maybe not. Maybe she was just pissed and didnÂ’t want to say anything in front of me, which I can understand. If my kid were fighting, I would want someone to break it up and tell me what was going on. Maybe IÂ’m the last parent that feels that way. Then again, maybe IÂ’m the last adult that gives a shit about the future of our country anymore.

Let me tell you this, if I catch that kid fighting again I will have one more talk with him and his mother. Then IÂ’m going to the police about it. This little punk had bully written all over him from his attitude to his stance. Maybe if someone nips it in the bud now he can straighten out before he gets himself into serious trouble later on.

What really gets me about this situation is that there where other adults that saw this happen and live right there and they did nothing. Most of them just turned their backs or watched. That really pisses me off people! We wonder why our kids are becoming degenerates and delinquents, maybe itÂ’s because no one cares anymore. People will bitch about violence and sex in the media being the cause. Maybe itÂ’s apathy toward how the kids behave. Well I care, and IÂ’m not going to sit by idly.

So tell me, do you think I over stepped my boundaries and why?

Posted by: Contagion at 01:03 PM | Comments (13) | Add Comment
Post contains 889 words, total size 5 kb.