The Next Dark Age
We're in it Now
Oh. I Don’t Think So.
The link reads:
McDonald’s sued after nude pics lost in phone go online.
Yeah. The AP is running the story of a guy that left his phone at a McD’s. Apparently, he called and the employees said they would “secure” it for him. The naked photos of his wife show up online. Because they were on the phone.
So he is suing McDonald’s for $3 million dollars because they had to move away.
I was in college when the famous McDonald’s coffee case was decided:
Woman was driving with a McDonald’s coffee cup between her legs. Coffee spilled and she was burned, admittedly pretty badly, then sued McDonald’s for not telling her the coffee could due that. She won the case.
I wanted her arrested for driving that way. And being stupid. And cashing in on being stupid.
Anyway, if the guy wanted to sue the jerk who put the naked pictures online, it would be one thing. But unless the store manager put the pictures up on McDonald’s corporate web site, I think this is utterly ridiculous. Awarding him a dime is just encouraging the madness.
Leave It
I had been looking at the link for about a week..about the Obama family and the dog they will be bringing home soon. But I hadn’t read it. As part of the Movement or whatever (I should copyright that), I very much hope that the Obamas adopt, rather than buy a dog from a breeder or store.
However.
Even I am tired of the people lecturing him on statistics of pure-bred dogs in shelters and how many hypo-allergenic dogs can be found on Petfinder.com.
We are talking about two little girls that were promised a puppy. They just want a puppy! You want to make this a teaching moment?
What I hope the President-Elect teaches his daughters is how to take care of them. To take the responsibility seriously. To understand that any family pet will be dependent on them for its physical and emotional needs. That a dog must be properly trained and supervised so that it is never a threat to other people or pets. So that it will not run off into the street and get lost or hurt. That a pet is part of the family for the rest of its life.
This is the article that started my rant. And this is the picture it printed of the President-Elect and the rescued dog being used in the campaign to shut down the puppy mills.
I think we can count on him to do the right thing. Now everyone, please be quiet. You’ll ruin it for the girls.
What I Did on My Saturday
Each Holiday Season my mother, like many people, goes on a frenzied cleaning spree. Such that I don’t want to be in the house. And then she gets angry because I’m not helping and I want to be in the house even less.
This afternoon she wanted to put up the Christmas tree. I wanted to start the cleaning and avoid the madness. But nothing sounded good to me because if we do hard core cleaning now – the kind that involves moving furniture and electric scrub brushes and steam cleaners – it will just have to be done again before Christmas. At the same time, if we do the vacuuming and dusting now, she will just want to do it again Thursday morning.
Here is what I came up with:
That, ladies and gentlemen, is my pantry. It is cleaned out for real about every five years. I know this because the oldest expiration date I found on a can of soup was 2003. And the clean out time before that was when Geoffrey was still living in the house, so it was either 1998 or 1999.
Someday, I will remember to do a “Before” pic. But not today. And now I am tired.
Reprinting the Love
Chicago has been getting a lot of attention lately, thanks to our friendly neighborhood President-Elect. But John Scalzi wrote something the other day that I find worth repeating:
“This is a good a place as any for me to trot out my reason why I think Chicago is so special: It’s the largest city in the US that is truly an American city. New York and Los Angeles are great, don’t get me wrong — you all know I’m from the LA area — but I think of them as international cities, with New York looking toward Europe and Africa, and Los Angeles looking toward Asia and Latin America. Chicago, on the other hand, looks out toward the rest of the U.S.; it’s got a unique sensibility that’s both cosmopolitan and heartland. I would go so far as to say it’s the Great American City. You can argue with me about that, if you like, but you’re not going to get too far.”
We know the Eastern Establishment and the West Coast..however you label them…look down on us. “Flyover” territory. I remember a radio DJ on a rant a couple of years ago. Saying something like, “There are too many people here, anyway. We don’t need you jokers.” Of course, that guy wouldn’t count me in the club, seeing as how I live outside city limits.
Anyway. Scalzi’s comment – particularly about the Midwestern Sensibility – is probably why I can’t seem to bring myself to leave.
That and I am 20 minutes from a direct flight to anywhere. But this is what I really want to tell everyone on the Internet:
The Obama family did not make Chicago cool. They just swung the spotlight over for a minute.
The Nicest City in the USA
I am not kidding. I am there about once a year and if it weren’t for the cold…the kind of cold that makes you unable to breathe…I would want to live there.
Every person you meet is nice.
Last year when I checked into the hotel, the lady at the desk told me that the restaurant was on the second floor. I said, “Thanks, but I’m just going to order a pizza.” She handed me a menu, saying that Domino’s would deliver to the hotel, but this place was better.
Someone from the office always picks me up at the airport and shuttles me around for the entire time I am there. They take me out to eat. I should be taking them out to eat, because I am working the expense account anyway. But they won’t let me. Something about being a guest.
Last year, I was there early Thanksgiving week. I was invited to go to the tree lighting ceremony. Tree lighting. Like in Chicago but without 9,000,000 people.
I do not remember ever seeing a Starbucks or a Lexus in Fargo.
A couple of years ago, there was a scuffle over who would take me to the airport and buy me lunch. Because the airport restaurant has the best beer cheese soup. This year, when I noted that if I flew out early, I would miss the beer cheese soup, my colleague said that they sell it by the quart and someone would pick some up for me.
At 9:30 this morning, I went flying into the Fargo airport, in my urban uniform of black, black and black trying to hop on standby on the 10:37 flight to O’Hare. I was the person that I hate. Guy at the counter told me to breathe – there were seven seats left and I would have time to spare. He was right. He knows he was right because he was also the guy that printed my ticket at the gate. And then the guy that boarded us.
Every single person in the security line was in a good mood. There was laughter. In the security line. TSA guy hands me my bag and says, “Wow. It is really busy today.” Which is when I thought I wanted to live there.
Then I looked at the board and remembered that Fargo has direct flights to exactly three cities. I couldn’t really live there. But it is a very nice place to visit.
Barnes and Noble Bestsellers
This book was originally published in 2005 and it won the Pulitzer. So color me happy that the aftermath of the election seems to have re-ignited an interest.
Because seriously, everything else on that list was involving those kiddie-Vampire books.
Who is the Jerk in this Scenario?
Guy in front of me in the security line at the Raleigh airport shows his i.d. to the…what is the title? I.D. checker?
She notes that the name on the ticket is not the same as the name on his i.d. Apparently he is called by his middle name. She asks for a different i.d. He kinda rolls his eyes and takes out another i.d. card. This one confirms the initials, but not the full name. She asks for another piece of i.d.
I can see his ticket from where I am standing. He is a 1K flyer. I may have mentioned that my friend the retired meeting planner is only at 830,000-some lifetime miles. 1K flyers do not do things that they remotely think will get the held up in security. I think this chick is being unreasonable.
On the other hand, people that go by their middle name should be used to this problem and make accomodations.
Then I hear her say, “No, sir, I am not kidding.”
Holy crap, dude. Did you just say, “Are you kidding? ” to the TSA? Are you an idiot? Now I am on her side.
He was pulled out of line until they could talk to a supervisor and I moved on. The guy was on my flight back to Chicago, so it must not have been a tragedy, but still.
Check Your Assumptions at the Door
There is a …I’ll go ahead and call him Senior…Asian gentleman that I have seen at the Library a couple of times in the last month or so. He reminded me of the grandfather of my childhood friend Augie.
I had never heard him speak, (which makes sense, because we were in the Library) so I wasn’t sure whether he spoke English. But tonight, he came over to look at the used books and started a small pile on the desk.
He asked if we were doing a holiday sale. His English was accented, but clear. Like he was raised in another country, but had been here for 20 or 30 years. I gave him the dates, December 6 and 7. I said that if I were him, I’d go on Saturday because the really good books would likely be gone by Sunday. He said, “Yes, but don’t you do a clear-out on Sunday?” No. No “$2 to fill a bag” deals here.
“Well, then I will take your advice.” He weeded out a couple of books from his pile and wanted to buy the remaining three. I checked the prices. He said, “Oh, they are only the $1 books. I check because I am cheap.” We laughed.
I took his money, gave him change and put his books in a bag. I noticed his clothes – very modern American, brightly colored. Why had I wondered whether he spoke English? Was it because of Augie’s grandfather (who didn’t)?
Why am I telling you this? Check out what he bought:
- A modern mystery/thriller. I forget the author’s name, but it was of the Kellerman variety
- A memoir by Bob Zmuda (not 100% sure I have that name right) about his friendship with Andy Kaufman
- A history of the New York Yankees
I suppose that the books could be gifts..but I rather think that I simply misjudged this person.
Last Night at the Shoe Store
I went to Famous Footwear to buy new gym shoes last night. Again, they had the Buy One Get One Half Off sale, so I went to find some new gym shoes for my nephew. This is how I deal with my urge to not pass up a sale and still avoid spending way more money than I should. What size was he again? I called my brother’s phone:
Me: Tell me again what size shoe Alex wears.
Him: …7?
Me: Hm. There is a cool pair of size 8. Oh! And that 7 ½ is even cooler.
Him: Maybe the 8 is better.
Me: Are you sure?
Him: No! Why are you calling me! Call Becky!
So I call the house and talk with my sister-in-law. She validated everything he said. He was growing out of his shoes and the 8 would be better. Fine. Black and blue with Velcro. (When should we be teaching him to tie his shoes?)
At the counter, the guy asks me if I want to donate $3 to the March of Dimes. Famous Footwear will triple my points or something. Very quickly, I do this in my head:
- March of Dimes really isn’t my charity
- I never use those rewards certificates in time, anyway
- $3 is more than the usual “rounding up” or “extra dollar” donation
- I am already spending a bunch
- If they are putting their money where their mouth is, I should, too
- ‘Tis the season or something
So I told the guy to go right ahead and add the extra $3.00. Ringing it up, he said:
“You know, I have worked retail for a lot of years. Stores try to collect for charity all of the time and I never saw it working. Until I came to Glenview.”
Yeah. This is often a stupid town. But it’s my stupid town and it was nice to hear we are getting one thing right.
Costco
I go to Costco about once a month. Contact lenses and supplies are my primary driver. Also paper products and some of their fresh foods. As I threw the gigantic package of toilet paper into my cart, I wondered if it was really a good deal. Better that on sale at the grocery store? I have never done the math. MSN did it for me in this article.
The answer is no. Paper products are not a good deal.
Milk is good. Meat (as long as you are going to eat it) is good. Frozen foods are ok, but only if you have the storage space (and for my mini pizza bagels, I make room). Their ready to bake pizza is good, but I literally cannot fit it into my oven.
Electronics at Costco are a good deal. I normally pass it up for 12 months/no interest at Best Buy, but perhaps those TVs are worth another look.
The best deal at Costco, which is no surprise to me, is good booze:
“Warehouse clubs sell more Bordeaux than fine-wine shops,” says Natalie MacLean, the editor of NatDecants.com, a wine education site. Costco recently offered a magnum of Chateau d’Yquem Sauternes 1997 for $500 — $300 cheaper than the price on WineAccess.com.
You can read the entire article here.
The Next Dark Age 