OUCH! Didn't Christina Aguilera practice either the music or the words to our national anthem? That was just awful! You would think that she would have at least hummed the tune before taking the stage or done a quick run-through of the words. Has to be at the top of the list for all-time worst performances of the national anthem, especially to a world-wide audience.
Updating After the Game: glad to see the Packers win it as they outplayed the Steelers. Big Ben forgot to wind his clock and missed game time.
Best Part of the SuperBowl: The GLEE special, which was outstanding. However, it must be noted that Sue Sylvester does NOT exist in real schools, nor do any schools anywhere have the performance budget GLEE has, including the wet stage for the Singing in the Rain mash-up and/or the professional make-up for tonight's Thriller, nor the sound system that makes the choir room sound like a sound stage.
But, other than Sue Sylvester being so far over the top that she gives even bad schools a bad reputation, I love GLEE and look forward to the new season, but please -- don't invite Christina Aguilera to be a guest performer. She needs to stay home and learn both the words and the tune for our national anthem just in case anyone ever asks her to perform the song in public again.
Sunday, February 6, 2011
Friday, February 4, 2011
CATastrophe!
Mia hates cats, especially when they dare to enter her yard. This week, we've been surrounded by a herd of feral cats who have decided that mi casa es su casa. If the front room windows survive the stand-off, I'll be surprised. This photo shows only the half of the herd that was napping in the shade. Another cat was on the wall, while two others were underneath the shrubbery by the front window, daring the dogs to come on down. 
Evidently one of the cats is in heat, and the screaming sounded like a woman being raped all night long.
The number for Animal Control is no longer a working number (cutbacks), so I was referred to the local animal shelter. The woman with whom I spoke was very nice as she explained that it's my responsibility to "do something" as the Animal Control officer does not handle feral cats because they can be really hard to catch and very aggressive.
"Yeah," I responded, "I know. But the thing is, a herd of 7 of these cats, each one larger than my little Jack Russell terrier, has taken over my front yard. My dogs, who are either inside the house, trying to get out to kill the cats, or in the yard and still trying to get out to kill the cats, are going crazy. My neighbor called to ask me to please stop my dogs' barking last night, but that is not an option as long as the cats are here, especially when one of them is in heat and letting the whole neighborhood know that she's open for business."
"Well," she said again, "we don't deal with cats, but what you can do is ... rent a cat trap (which we have for this purpose) and trap the cats one at a time. Once the cat is in the trap, we'll send someone out to pick it up and euthanize it. We really can't have feral cats in our kennels as they are too aggressive and dangerous, so we have to put them down."
"Yeah," I again responded, "I know they are both aggressive and dangerous because they don't even flinch when the dogs challenge them or I walk outside my front door. However, I have 7 feral cats who have taken up residence in my front yard and I need them to be removed. And, to be blunt, I'm not going to be the one to do that task because, as you've already said, the cats are overly aggressive and dangerous and I don't want to put myself into that situation."
"Oh," she said. "Dear, you really don't have any other choice because we don't have anyone who can do that for you."
I'm thinking a .22 is a whole lot cheaper than the routine she described, and if the cats are going to be euthanized anyway, why not take out the middle man? I also am considering other dire means of dealing with this issue as I have a feeling the cats aren't going to go away by themselves. But the bottom line is that unless I'm willing to pay to rent the traps, catch the cats, then call for removal, I'm going to have cats living wherever they want to live for however long they want to live there.
This totally sucks.
Evidently one of the cats is in heat, and the screaming sounded like a woman being raped all night long.The number for Animal Control is no longer a working number (cutbacks), so I was referred to the local animal shelter. The woman with whom I spoke was very nice as she explained that it's my responsibility to "do something" as the Animal Control officer does not handle feral cats because they can be really hard to catch and very aggressive.
"Yeah," I responded, "I know. But the thing is, a herd of 7 of these cats, each one larger than my little Jack Russell terrier, has taken over my front yard. My dogs, who are either inside the house, trying to get out to kill the cats, or in the yard and still trying to get out to kill the cats, are going crazy. My neighbor called to ask me to please stop my dogs' barking last night, but that is not an option as long as the cats are here, especially when one of them is in heat and letting the whole neighborhood know that she's open for business."
"Well," she said again, "we don't deal with cats, but what you can do is ... rent a cat trap (which we have for this purpose) and trap the cats one at a time. Once the cat is in the trap, we'll send someone out to pick it up and euthanize it. We really can't have feral cats in our kennels as they are too aggressive and dangerous, so we have to put them down."
"Yeah," I again responded, "I know they are both aggressive and dangerous because they don't even flinch when the dogs challenge them or I walk outside my front door. However, I have 7 feral cats who have taken up residence in my front yard and I need them to be removed. And, to be blunt, I'm not going to be the one to do that task because, as you've already said, the cats are overly aggressive and dangerous and I don't want to put myself into that situation."
"Oh," she said. "Dear, you really don't have any other choice because we don't have anyone who can do that for you."
I'm thinking a .22 is a whole lot cheaper than the routine she described, and if the cats are going to be euthanized anyway, why not take out the middle man? I also am considering other dire means of dealing with this issue as I have a feeling the cats aren't going to go away by themselves. But the bottom line is that unless I'm willing to pay to rent the traps, catch the cats, then call for removal, I'm going to have cats living wherever they want to live for however long they want to live there.
This totally sucks.
Followin' the Doc's Orders
Cletus is passing by Billy Bob's hay barn one day when, through a gap in the door, he sees Billy Bob doing a slow and sensual striptease in front of an old green John Deere.
Buttocks clenched, he performs a slow pirouette and gently slides off first the right strap of his overalls, followed by the left. He then hunches his shoulders forward and, in a classic striptease move, lets his overalls fall down to his hips, revealing a torn and frayed plaid shirt. Then, grabbing both sides of his shirt, he rips it apart to reveal his stained T-shirt underneath. With a final flourish, he tears the T-shirt from his body and hurls his baseball cap onto a pile of hay.
Having seen enough, Cletus rushes in and says, "What the heck ya doin, Billy Bob?"
"Good Lord, Cletus, ya scared the bejeezers out of me," says an obviously embarrassed Billy Bob. "Uh, me 'n the Ol' Lady been havin' trouble lately in the bedroom d'partment, and the therapist suggested I do something sexy to a tractor. I'm jus doin' what the doc ordered!"
Don't make me come 'splain this to you!
Have a great weekend.
Buttocks clenched, he performs a slow pirouette and gently slides off first the right strap of his overalls, followed by the left. He then hunches his shoulders forward and, in a classic striptease move, lets his overalls fall down to his hips, revealing a torn and frayed plaid shirt. Then, grabbing both sides of his shirt, he rips it apart to reveal his stained T-shirt underneath. With a final flourish, he tears the T-shirt from his body and hurls his baseball cap onto a pile of hay.
Having seen enough, Cletus rushes in and says, "What the heck ya doin, Billy Bob?"
"Good Lord, Cletus, ya scared the bejeezers out of me," says an obviously embarrassed Billy Bob. "Uh, me 'n the Ol' Lady been havin' trouble lately in the bedroom d'partment, and the therapist suggested I do something sexy to a tractor. I'm jus doin' what the doc ordered!"
Don't make me come 'splain this to you!
Have a great weekend.
Thursday, February 3, 2011
Man Up!
The judge ruled on the Warm Sands sex scandal: yes, perhaps the police officers made inappropriate comments about being involved in the gay sex sting, but the comments were not directed at any one individual, so there is no discrimination, harassment, or do-over. As the police officers explained during the trial, it is not easy to pretend to be a gay man if you aren't, especially when it involves encouraging sexual activity with the gay man.
Additionally, the gay men are caught on tape engaging in sexual acts in public, so they did what they are accused of doing and will stand trial unless they accept the plea deal the DA has offered. That deal is very generous: none of the men have to register as sex offenders if they plead out. Don't accept the plea and deal with some stiff consequences, no pun intended.
For once, the judge understood the concept of obfuscating with verbiage: fill the air with enough hot-button discrimination words and the real crime disappears in the media feeding frenzy. Not this time!! Even the protest against the ruling was sparsely attended: the gay community did not show up this time because they probably all know that this time, you do the crime, you do the time -- even if you are gay.
Additionally, the gay men are caught on tape engaging in sexual acts in public, so they did what they are accused of doing and will stand trial unless they accept the plea deal the DA has offered. That deal is very generous: none of the men have to register as sex offenders if they plead out. Don't accept the plea and deal with some stiff consequences, no pun intended.
For once, the judge understood the concept of obfuscating with verbiage: fill the air with enough hot-button discrimination words and the real crime disappears in the media feeding frenzy. Not this time!! Even the protest against the ruling was sparsely attended: the gay community did not show up this time because they probably all know that this time, you do the crime, you do the time -- even if you are gay.
Smart Business Practices
Last Friday, SoCal Edison Co came through the neighborhood and replaced all the old electricity usage monitoring meters with the highly-touted, new, smart meter. I've been following the letters to the editor from customers whose meters were changed in the past several months, and the response has been consistent: electric rates are skyrocketing. I've resided in my current domocile for a full decade, and I have all my past utility bills (I know, I know). It is simple to see that my usage is consistent, as are my bills for service during the past decade. If my cost suddenly escalates, it will be a function of the new monitoring system, not changes in my electric habits, especially after replacing every darned thing in the house I can think to replace with energy-efficient products and curly-que bulbs.
Therefore, to bypass the public utility commissions' legal inability to increase consumer prices, another way has been found: change the equipment and charge the consumer for both the (new, improved, smart) equipment and the (basically unchanged) service. TW Cable does it by refusing to allow customers to install their own wi-fi router and/or DVR: if you want the TW service, you must rent their equipment, paying quickly for the basic cost of the boxes, but then repaying repeatedly over the time of use in the home. Thus, a $100 DVR retail (and TW does NOT pay retail) is paid for within the first 10 months' of use in the customer's home, and all the monthly rental fees after that are pure profit for TW.
SoCal Edison Co, as well as other utility companies, must be taking notes as baseline usage does not take into account either living space or number of occupants; instead, it is a usage baseline that assumes how much an individual utility each consumer should be allowed and how much to sock it to 'em when they naturally exceed that baseline each and every month.
As every consumer will do because the baselines are unrealistic.
Son is having another issue at his home in the other CA: the internet providers are increasing the revenue stream by charging for excessive usage, using their own definition of excessive in the process. Of course, the baseline is set excessively low to ensure that any and all tech usage will be excessive and generate maximum revenue, just as it is locally. The media push is for everyone to spend the bulk of their days online, using electronic devices in their homes, on the job, and as the focus of their discretionary time. Verizon came on-board and is now selling the I-Phone with the "if you can't beat 'em, join 'em" philosophy alive and well in commerce. Wal-Mart is selling I-Pads, not at a discounted price, but at full retail -- and along with all the "I" products comes the internet connection to support it. And NetFlix is downloading movies directly to your computer and/or TV. They are making their profit margin much, much larger, while diminishing the financial assets of the individual consumer.
Great job, corporate people. But don't YOU also have to pay for skyrocketing costs when you get home? You make decisions to increase the bottom line for the corporation, but forget about the individual consumer. When we cannot pay our bills, we shut down the service, and losing customers eventually can bring down even the biggest corporation.
When I relandscaped every square inch of my property to eco-friendly desert landscaping, my water bill actually increased ... because the water company has a baseline usage and I exceed it every single billing cycle. I shower once a day (and I'm well-known for my 5-minute showers), I do 2 loads of laundry each week (one white, one colors), I handwash dishes once a day (and recycle the wash water outside), and I use an updated watering system that is tuned and timed to the desert. Yes, I do use one of my two toilets several times a day, but they are both low-flow (replaced them, too). With such restricted water usage, how is it possible for me to go over my baseline?
Yes, I'm aware that just one employee earning a base salary of $40,000 annually, as well as an additional $20,000 in overtime, cannot be paid even one year's salary based on my water consumption, much less provide additional revenue to pay for the infrastructure that brings the water to my meter from the aquifer, but ...
where is it going to end?
We all want to live the high life, the American Dream, but we have created a nightmare of costs that we cannot sustain. Increasing the prices to unrealistic levels for the individual consumer reaches the breaking point pretty darned fast, especially when the consumer may be either under-employed or unemployed. There isn't just no money to pay the mortgage, but the other "fixed" expenses on top of that payment tip the scales to giving up and walking away.
All these empty houses? All these unpaid utility bills? "Someone has to pay for them" seems to be the standard response, but I'm darned sick and tired of being the responsible "someone" picking up the tab for all the irresponsible "someones" who have left me holding the bag!
Therefore, to bypass the public utility commissions' legal inability to increase consumer prices, another way has been found: change the equipment and charge the consumer for both the (new, improved, smart) equipment and the (basically unchanged) service. TW Cable does it by refusing to allow customers to install their own wi-fi router and/or DVR: if you want the TW service, you must rent their equipment, paying quickly for the basic cost of the boxes, but then repaying repeatedly over the time of use in the home. Thus, a $100 DVR retail (and TW does NOT pay retail) is paid for within the first 10 months' of use in the customer's home, and all the monthly rental fees after that are pure profit for TW.
SoCal Edison Co, as well as other utility companies, must be taking notes as baseline usage does not take into account either living space or number of occupants; instead, it is a usage baseline that assumes how much an individual utility each consumer should be allowed and how much to sock it to 'em when they naturally exceed that baseline each and every month.
As every consumer will do because the baselines are unrealistic.
Son is having another issue at his home in the other CA: the internet providers are increasing the revenue stream by charging for excessive usage, using their own definition of excessive in the process. Of course, the baseline is set excessively low to ensure that any and all tech usage will be excessive and generate maximum revenue, just as it is locally. The media push is for everyone to spend the bulk of their days online, using electronic devices in their homes, on the job, and as the focus of their discretionary time. Verizon came on-board and is now selling the I-Phone with the "if you can't beat 'em, join 'em" philosophy alive and well in commerce. Wal-Mart is selling I-Pads, not at a discounted price, but at full retail -- and along with all the "I" products comes the internet connection to support it. And NetFlix is downloading movies directly to your computer and/or TV. They are making their profit margin much, much larger, while diminishing the financial assets of the individual consumer.
Great job, corporate people. But don't YOU also have to pay for skyrocketing costs when you get home? You make decisions to increase the bottom line for the corporation, but forget about the individual consumer. When we cannot pay our bills, we shut down the service, and losing customers eventually can bring down even the biggest corporation.
When I relandscaped every square inch of my property to eco-friendly desert landscaping, my water bill actually increased ... because the water company has a baseline usage and I exceed it every single billing cycle. I shower once a day (and I'm well-known for my 5-minute showers), I do 2 loads of laundry each week (one white, one colors), I handwash dishes once a day (and recycle the wash water outside), and I use an updated watering system that is tuned and timed to the desert. Yes, I do use one of my two toilets several times a day, but they are both low-flow (replaced them, too). With such restricted water usage, how is it possible for me to go over my baseline?
Yes, I'm aware that just one employee earning a base salary of $40,000 annually, as well as an additional $20,000 in overtime, cannot be paid even one year's salary based on my water consumption, much less provide additional revenue to pay for the infrastructure that brings the water to my meter from the aquifer, but ...
where is it going to end?
We all want to live the high life, the American Dream, but we have created a nightmare of costs that we cannot sustain. Increasing the prices to unrealistic levels for the individual consumer reaches the breaking point pretty darned fast, especially when the consumer may be either under-employed or unemployed. There isn't just no money to pay the mortgage, but the other "fixed" expenses on top of that payment tip the scales to giving up and walking away.
All these empty houses? All these unpaid utility bills? "Someone has to pay for them" seems to be the standard response, but I'm darned sick and tired of being the responsible "someone" picking up the tab for all the irresponsible "someones" who have left me holding the bag!
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