Ranting About TeeVee

Howdy, y'all!

Yep, I live and breathe. Long time no post, but there's a good reason for it. I've been up to my ears in Facebook. Well, okay, to be honest, I've been up to my ass in Mafia Wars *on* Facebook. I'm having fun. Two of my three daughter with Mafia Wars accounts have quit playing for various reasons, most of which is that Zynga's programmers have messed it up so much it can be more frustration than elation when playing. Since I don't work outside the home (thank you God and John!), I have more time to mess with the game and I'm just stubborn enough to put up with a lot of the game's bullcorn as a way of beating it before it beats me!

But that's not what I want to rant about. The most glaring failing of Facebook is that it's not easy writing anything with any substance or length and anyone who's ever read me knows I can go on and on about pert near nothing! Therefore I had to come here to express myself!

Today I'm unhappy with TV and can't just sit there and stifle the rage a minute longer. (I do so love the cathartic aspect of Bloglines!)

I watch TV while I'm playing Mafia Wars. Don't really have to think when doing either one. I've said before that I watch everything with 'crime', 'forensics', 'cops', and cop related in the title. I'm a huge fan of mysteries and I'm alternately horrified and fascinated with true crime and I like seeing how the good guys catch the bad guys. I know that real life isn't like TV and that solving crimes doesn't happen in 30 or 60 minutes, but I'd rather watch those kinds of show than the caca I'm going to slam.

Case in point: The Bad Girls Club, Prison Wives, I (Almost) Got Away With It, Little Miss Perfect, I Didn't Know I Was Pregnant (that worked for the Virgin Mary MAYBE, but get real people!), Operation Repo, etc., etc., etc. I'm not the sharpest knife in the drawer by any means, but how anyone with any brains at all can watch any of the shows I've specified much less the dozens of others that pander to idiots is beyond me. You couldn't pay me to watch any of them!

Prison Wives: I've never liked anything that glorifies criminals and I'm sure I'm not alone in my thinking that anyone who hooks up with someone in prison is beyond pathetic. It's one thing, I guess, to have your spouse carted away, but to go out of your way to communicate with people that are tried and convicted of a crime is just goofy. Who on God's green Earth needs a prison penpal? I'm not going to debate the merits of those that might be innocent of the crime(s) they were convicted of...I'm sure that happens, since the criminal justice system is not infallible, but to hear them tell it they are ALL innocent victims of the system and that's just not possible IMHO.

As for those on the outside that seek those on the inside, fine, do what you want with your life, fool yourself, but don't try and fool me via TV. Who cares if you fell in love with a convict? The one commercial for Prison Wives that makes me laugh out loud is when I gal says "his face just lights up when he sees me"....frankly the lady speaking is a bow-wow complete with wagging tail! Hell yes he lights up, he's got someone to give him money and commiserate with him about how unfair life is to separate true love, etc. and she's never going to get a clue. He has it made! My momma used to call it having "a bird's nest on the ground".

The show Little Miss Perfect makes me sick. I've never watched ANY of the shows I'm writing about....all I watch is the commercials for them that I'm force fed during the breaks. I DVR a bunch of the stuff I watch and can fast forward, but a good portion of the time I'll just sit and bear it. Little Miss Perfect brings back images of JonBenet Ramsey. It's just wrong to dress up and make up a child into a 30 year old hooker! Shame on the mothers especially when they claim the children are the ones insisting they want to participate. Whatever happened to just saying NO? You know, if those little girls play their cards right they could grow up to hook up with some loser in prison and generate another TV show...I Was A Child Beauty Queen Who Grew Up Too Fast And Too Dumb To Know Better.

The Dumbing Down Of America is alive and well and living in every aspect of our lives. Pants On The Ground. Brains On Hold. The right blames the left and the left blames Bush. How can one educate when it's so much easier to just sit back and infiltrate instead? The saddest part is that the ignorant don't even know they are ignorant. I don't have any answers. I'm not sure anyone else does either. Turn off the TV, that would be a good place to begin.

Dell Computers: Why Are They Still In Business?

I ordered a new laptop computer April 7th because my old Dell laptop is so slow it's getting to be only good for playing solitaire.

Dell had sent out a postcard with a laptop on sale that caught my fancy. I went online as I love to do and picked out what I wanted and didn't want on it.

I was getting Win XP with an option for Vista. I never intended to use that option as I'll wait for something better and I've heard nothing good about Vista unless one buys all new hardware and software, etc.

So I waited and checked the link Dell had provided in the same email that said my order was being processed and that my preferred financial account would happily allow payments. There was no charge for shipping, the only charge was for taxes. It was a good deal for a laptop equipped like I wanted.

Obviously it was too good of a deal. The next time I checked the link it said the one with THAT order numbered had been cancelled!

WTF?

There was another order number listed and it was for the exact same computer so I did a "phew" and then noticed that the new delivery date was for May 14th. The new ordered date was April 16. I was irritated, but at least it was going to be on its way THIS YEAR...

I checked a couple more times and everything seemed to be "in the works". I got no other emails. Nothing telling me the first one was canceled, no problems with my financing, and no problems with the SECOND ORDER that was ALSO canceled.

Surprise, surprise. Dell hell is now open for bizness.

I just spent the last 33 minutes talking to every Tom, Dick and Harriet in India. I finally demanded to speak to an English speaking supervisor and it became clear that they were going to keep me on hold until the sacred cows came home.

No mas. It would of been my FIFTH Dell computer purchase. Now I'm not buying another system from them and I'll urge everyone I know to do the same.

I do not know what's keeping them in business. They are soooo painfully polite. I finally told the last gal to stop apologizing because it was beginning to make me mad. The very first person I spoke too about the cancellation said "there was a problem with my financing" and an email was sent telling me to contact Dell Financial. I got nothing from them. The financial folks checked and said there was no problem with financing.

*I* think the problem was with Win XP. They didn't want to build what I wanted to buy. I was taking it pretty much straight up, not a lot of extras, no software, etc. It was supposed to be an Inspiron 1545, Intel Pentium Dual Core T4200, 2.0 GHz 800Mhz, 1M L2 Cache with "Genuine Windows Vista Business Bonus". It was supposed to have a 320GB Sata Hard Drive.

The 5th person I talked to was going to reorder the "exact same" computer, but she was in financial and couldn't do that so I'd have to go BACK to sales or customer service or whatever where, of course, they'd want all my information for the 6th time. She got rid of me by giving me a phone number that she said would get me where I needed to be and THEN I could ask for a supervisor.

Which leads me back around to the beginning of this saga.

Never again.

I have a Dell printer so I have to buy their ink, but that's it.

Dell Computer and Comcast must of been separated at birth because they are both I-don't-give-a-shit companies.

UPDATE: How About A Houston Tea Party?

UPDATE: I got a comment with this link to the Houston version of the Tea Party! Thanks Josparks!

---------------------------------------

Check this out........

Why It’s Time For A Second Boston Tea Party

For years I’ve been speaking and writing about the need for conservatives to use the tactics of the left to fight for our ideas of lower taxes, less government and more freedom. I am aware that many conservatives don’t feel comfortable doing things like rallying, protesting or shouting slogans. But we need to get over ourselves and understand that mass demonstrations are an effective way to get a message out, identify supporters of our cause and earn media coverage. Plus, this is how the left has been able to shape public opinion on issues from the war in Iraq to labour disputes to social security benefits. Why have we ceded this battlespace to the left for so long??

The government bailouts of Wall Street, the auto companies and other corporations have galvanized public anger at a level I haven’t seen in some time. People who play by the rules are furious at the elites in government and business who screw over the taxpayers with corporate welfare, rent-seeking and distortions of the free market. Many Americans are fed up with the corruption, scandals, kickbacks and political deals that are going on. I’ve noticed that this anger is beginning to reach a fever pitch, and that more people have shown a willingness to take to the streets in protest, as my boss Dick Armey urged a few weeks ago.

The federal government is way out of control, and has intruded into our lives in an unprecedented way. This did not start with President Obama (it started with President Bush) but he is the current president and should be held accountable for his actions. The time has come for a second Boston Tea Party, a protest that ignited the people around a common cause and sent a message to the tyrants of those times.

This bailout nation thing, coupled with the largest federal spending bill in the history of our country is going to push people over the edge with anger and disappointment. And the proper outlet for this anger is a massive, nationwide, persistent, aggressive protest every week in dozens of cities around the country. Only with this kind of massive national movement can the American people rein in the politicians of both parties and build a constituency large enough in each congressional district and state to kick out the politicians of either party that voted for these bailouts and massive spending bills.

I, for one, will be doing my best to foment these protests around the country, targeting any politician that has pushed these terrible ideas publicly. I ask Americans across the country to join groups like FreedomWorks, Campaign for Liberty, National Taxpayers Union and the other groups who are encouraging taxpayers to organize the resistance against the federal government’s attempt to take away whatever economic freedom we have left. I fear that if we fail, this country will look a lot more like France, and less like the country that was founded 200 years ago. This is a battle between freedom and socialism, and we the people are the only ones standing between the federal government and our cherished liberties. If you want to make a difference, please organize your own community and march on main street every week if you have to, and send a message to your congressman and senators that we’ve had enough.

Finally, ask yourself this question, which was posed by another fellow blogger, “What would Thomas Jefferson do?”

Cool, huh?

My idea was for us to just go to the Mall in D.C. and stand quietly....thousands and thousands of us, but I like the idea of protesting right here in Houston too!

Let me know if you know when and where! Let's do it! There ought to be plenty of folks laid off with nothing to do besides make and carry signs!

The Conservative Revolution Blog

Schedule My Ass!

I know about schedules. When the clock says IT'S TIME, then it IS time. To go. To quit. To leave. To change programming before the end of the current program!

The latter would be what happened this a.m., right at 1:30 CST on the Oxygen Channel via my DirecTV. Hacked me royally. Here I'd sat for HOURS watching You've Got Mail and they cut the friggin' thing off before the meeting in the park! I was astounded and then I looked at my clock and saw that it was 1:30 a.m. and evidently time for Snapped to begin.

It occurs to me that if the Oxygen Channel didn't spend so much time on their lame ass, kept repeating commercials they might actually have time to complete a scheduled program! But, hey, that's just me.

Although how many times do I have to grit my teeth and hear "bitches" said concerning their I'd-rather-eat-glass-than-watch Bad Girls Club? I noticed on their website, which I will not link to, they never use "bitch" or "bitches" once in their advertising. Only on TV where Lord knows the kids aren't supposed to be up at that ungodly hour, but us old gals that HAVE to have our romance fix from time to time are insulted with the use of the word. Isn't the Oxygen Channel supposed to be one of those "women's" channels? Why on God's green Earth would a woman's channel use the term "bitches"? Isn't that still an insulting term? Did RapCrap make it stylish and now it's some kind of compliment?

Now, granted, I'm getting old and cranky, but GET REAL...is one ever too old for good taste?

(Along about now this joke pops in my head: something about stewing something old with basil, garlic and a bay leaf until it tastes good. I can't help it, that's the way my mind works!)


The truly bizarre part is that I own a perfectly good DVD entitled You've Got Mail, but I didn't feel like slamming it into my PS3 to finish the flick. I KNOW how it ends, I just wanted to SEE it...kind of like a nightcap but without the booze. I could of just watched the DVD from the beginning if I wanted to see it, but, again, I just didn't feel like going to the trouble when the TV set is just sitting there gazing at me saying "come on, you know you wanna watch me".

Tell you what, the Oxygen Channel can kiss my old, cranky bottom if they think I'm going to sit around trusting them to finish what they start!

Is America Next? Join the NRA today!

It will happen here if we don't stop it!

Join the NRA today!

Kroger is Dumb

I went "Krogering" today and spent some time picking out just the right two gift cards.

I know, "they" say don't give gift cards this year because you're playing financial roulette trying to pick who might go belly up before the cards can be redeemed, but I was trying to save myself some time with my dime PLUS they have a gift card merry-go-round every few feet just begging for your patronage.

One of the cards was rather dicey because it was for a fancy French food joint, but the other was freakin' KROGER. I figure if Kroger goes under so does Walmart and we all know that ain't going to happen any time soon.

However Kroger gets my dumb shit of the year award.

I got to the checkout and while waiting for the final tally I started making out my check as is my custom. It's my custom to have everything in place so the folk(s) behind me don't have to wait any longer than necessary. That's because I'm nice.

The checker, who was not a regualr checker, but rather someone "in charge", says "OH, you can't write a check for the gift cards....you'll have to use a credit card or debit card or cash".... I say "huh?"..... He goes into this long, boring song and dance about how people would get hundreds of dollars worth of gift cards on their credit cards and then cancel them, blah, blah, blah.... they have decided to go back to honoring the credit cards, but no checks. I guess the Gov isn't bailing out the paper hangers.

Anyway I almost let fly, but instead I did my best pre-Xmas passive-aggressive bit about how I didn't see any signs saying such in the store or around the VAST displays of gift cards. He just repeated the purchase options like he was dealing with a ...... well, he probably WAS dealing with a fill-in-the-blanks, but it riled me no end. I've never written a bad check. (Okay, ONCE, back in the 70's, but that was an accident and I took care of it immediately!) I had already written out my check for an amount over so I could have some cash back (another one of my customs!). Since they are so strict about limiting overages to $50, I couldn't even say, okay just forget it. I said OKAY JUST FORGET IT, but had to write out another check to wit everyone in line had to wait.

It's no wonder that business is having a hard time with policies like that. Both the fancy French joint and Kroger lost out....I will go elsewhere and pick up two other cards and go back to being nice once more.

My View - Miller High Live Commercial

If you haven't seen the commercial...... go here.

As I rule I don't watch commercials if I can avoid them. The joy of DVR!

But I'm forced fed this commercial because I watch baseball games in real time during the playoffs, etc. and I have to take a deep breath before I continue because I'm probably the only viewer in 'Merica that thinks these commercials suck and I'm going to tell you why....

Ok, first off, I'm from East Texas and that wins me a redneck from the get-go. I have to work at it to some extent because on the one side is the East Texas background and the other side is my belief in the Golden Rule. And my distaste for judging whole groups of anything such as 'all cops are', 'all blacks are', 'all whites are', 'all fat people'...... I know, I do it too, but I really would rather go one-on-one with folks and get to know them as individuals before I go off on them.

Or maybe I don't, maybe I just think I do and I'm really just a racist, but if I am, so are the folks producing this commercial. Clearly they are using the political sign of the times to bring about the change that is so sought.....that change being the black man rising above the white one and paying us back.

IMHO this commercial is reverse discrimination. It's bigoted. Its message is that if you can afford the good seats, you aren't worthy of the brew. The actor Windell Middlebrooks is a very talented black. His job is acting, he doesn't write the commercials and maybe because he's black and very believable it's (ahem) coloring my view, but from where I sit it's not possible for me to watch the thing and not feel uncomfortable wondering if I'm the only one of the globe that thinks this is anti-white-rich-folk?

If you look carefully you'll see token black actors in the back, background of all the commercials, I guess that's supposed to be where my argument falls apart, but that doesn't work for me any more than token black in the background have worked for THEM in the white bread world.

Kelsey Seybold Sucks! - Medicare Part Two

And I was hoping there wouldn't be a Part Two.... sigh....

I don't know what I'm whining about. Some people don't even have medical insurance. Some people don't even have Medicare. Some people don't even have supplemental Medicare coverage through the employer that their dead husband gave his life for.

BUT it's MY blog and I can whine if I want to.

I've been going to a dermatologist at Kelsey-Seybold for years and years. I recently went to a Family doctor and thought I'd be using him for years and years. I'm waiting for my appointment next week with a OB/GYN also with Kelsey-Seybold.

Yesterday I get a call from some clown representing Kelsey-Seybold and he tells me that he's just following up on the letter(s) I've gotten telling me that KS will soon no longer accept "regular Medicare"...they'll only accept the Kelsey-Seybold version.

I figured him for a salesman or a con.

For Christ's sake he was calling me on his cell phone and we lost connection!

Today I did some checking and sure as shootin', KS will no longer take "regular Medicare" after 1/1/09. I either have to join one of THEIR plans or take my poor old bones elsewhere knowing full well that it's not easy finding ANY doctor that will accept "regular Medicare".

WTF?

I CAN join KelseyCare Advantage Standard Option and STILL retain my retiree/widow supplement, but if I choose to go that route I can't go to my beloved cardiologist any longer. ONLY KS's docs are included in The Plan and they are all subject to change at any given moment. (To wit: KelseyCare Advantage has formed a network of doctors, specialists and hospitals. You can only use doctors who are part of our network. The health providers in our network can change at any time.)

It's a monopoly. Or a conspiracy. Or a private company in it for the dough and perfectly capable of calling all the shots and you can either like it or lump it. Don't let the double sliding glass doors hit you in the rump on the way out, sucker.

I don't recall if I've mention that you get more mail as you approach your Golden Years than ever before in your life. Everyone wants a piece of your Medicare pie. Everybody and his brother want to sell you their plan. After awhile you just toss them all away in disgust. Obviously ONE of those I tossed unopened was the one from KS telling me I was fixin' to be screwed and to just lean back and enjoy it. No cig after though because that's bad for your health.

I'm keeping that appointment next week and the one scheduled for August 20th with the dermatologist (it takes THAT long to see her) and come 12/31/08 I'm bidding them all adieu at Kelsey-Seybold. Next time I need medical assistance other than from Dr. DeBauche I'll just book a flight to Lourdes.

New Car Bug - Chill Pill

I had the new car bug bad.

My car is 11 years old and in very good condition, but it IS eleven years old. So I convinced myself that it was time to get something newer.

I thought I wanted an SUV. Not because I needed either the 'sports' or the 'utility' part, but just the 'vehicle' and thought it'd be nice to have a place in the back to set up my dog's crate so she'd be safe and out of my way.

I was torn between the Toyota RAV4 and the Hyundai Santa Fe. I drove a 4 cylinder RAV4 and wasn't impressed with the get-up-and-go. I drove the Santa Fe in a 6 cylinder and it was okay, but it horrified me when I saw the BLUE lights on the dashboard. Now granted that was in board daylight and it's probably swell in the dark, but my God in Heaven it's UGLY! I won't say what I said about the color when I was describing it to a friend because it's horribly politically incorrect and I could probably be sued just for thinking it these days. But UGLY, just butt UGLY! Heck, hairy old men's butts are prettier than that blue is!

So I went back to thinking the RAV4 was the way to go but I needed to drive a 6 to be sure. Me and a pal went to the dealership and I whipped out the business card of the salesperson I'd already dealt with and, as luck would have it, he was either off or run off that day. I also tried to hand over my driver's license and insurance card. I told The Other what I wanted and that I wanted to drive it alone with just my bud for company and he said okay. He ran off and did Lord knows what and I waited and waited some more. He'd said he was going to start one up and let it cool down the insides, etc. Now I wasn't about to start thinking: WHAT? How efficient is that A/C if he has to go to all that trouble. This is after all TEXAS and it was spiking 80-something which is pert near balmy by Texas standards...but I digress....

He pops back in the door and again I hand him my insurance card and driver's license. He takes both and goes running off AGAIN and we wait some more. Finally here he comes and he's got a clipboard in his hands.....he shoves the clipboard at me and says SIGN THIS. I said THIS WHAT? He says it's a standard paper blah, blah, blah that'll keep the cops from stopping us or some such B.S. I say I didn't have to sign that with the other two new vehicles I've driven alone, one of them from this very dealership and he says something like WELL YOU SHOULD OF. Well, sir, 'bout then my cranky pants got bunched up good and tight and I said NO, I'll just go to another dealership. I turned and hauled butt back to my car with my buddy tagging along behind probably thinking WOMEN!

I will admit that later....MUCH later I got to thinking that the first car guy did throw a paper tag up on the dash and said something about COPS, but it wasn't a big deal....he just said it along with and this is how to adjust the seat and this is how to adjust the mirrors, etc. Sooooo .... maybe the cops are just sitting around waiting for me to take a car off the lot so they can pounce on me and make my life a living hell, but I DON'T THINK SO.....

We ended up going to CarMax and looking at used and there wasn't anything there that grabbed my attention, but I did get my car appraised and the number they came back with is not the point....the point was they'd checked off everything they check off to the good. My car has a few little problems, but they didn't even note them..... so I got to thinking why am I going to get rid of a car about which I know every bolt and nut and how often those have been serviced? I took two Tylenol and killed the new car bug.....at least for the time being......

Anyone that knows me knows I'm just the type to have taken The Other's treatment as vindication to say TO HELL WITH IT, I'll walk before I deal with jerks like him. They need my money a lot more than I need their shit.

Oh, did I mention that my car has 54,600 miles on it and that when I bought it there was 245 miles on the odometer. Not bad for a little old lady from near Pasadena, huh?

I guess the whole point of this little ditty is that there are lines and when someone crosses one of them you gotta do what you gotta do and I come from a long line of folks that would rather cut off our own noses to spite our own faces that put up with crap when the crap line has been crossed. It's the principle of the thing. You have to stand up to honor your own principles. It's a rule.

Goodbye, Earthlink! You're Gonna Miss Me.

I officially canceled my account with Earthlink yesterday and it will be final on March 5, 2008.

"Syd", the man I spoke to said he was sorry to see me go and acted like he really cared when I told him how woefully I was ignored by their "Level 3" tech folks. He said they *should* of made arrangements to send someone out to my house and see what was wrong. Should'a, could'a, would'a....so I move on.

He said for only $2.95 (or some such) a month I could retain 2 of my email addresses. I thought about it a few seconds and then said naaawww. THEN he said that since I'd just gotten the new equipment, they were going to charge me a $39.95 "cancellation fee".

Well as you can imagine that's when the stuff hit the rotors!!

I passed the shuttle in my own orbit!

I said I'd hire an attorney before they saw one thin red dime. I said that was an "absolutely free" modem according to the gal that I spoke to at the time who said it was free EXCEPT for the $19.95 S&H. I paid that I ain't paying no mo! Biggest crock of excrement I've ever heard of!

Then he started backpedaling a bit and said the final say was not heard from yet and perhaps they wouldn't charge me blah, blah, blah. My daughter says he was probably trying a last ditch effort to keep some of my money coming in each month with the email address offer and hoped I'd knuckle under and pay that to avoid the additional fee. I pointed out to him not only the "absolutely free" part, but that I didn't sign anything or agree to any binding contract...I've had a DSL line from them for SEVEN years and before that I was a dial-up customer for several years. I think I've satisfied any and all requirements.

The heck of it is I was their biggest fan. I never missed an opportunity to say how well my DSL worked and how reliable Earthlink was. NOW I say, don't let the door hit you in the modem, Earthlink, I'll urge people to stay away from your domain in droves!

What The News Doesn't Tell You

I get annoyed when I read the comments posted online at the Houston Chronicle because most of them are jerks and assholes. They are always quick to slam law enforcement and too stupid to know that just because the story is in the Chronicle doesn't make it Gospel. They read only one slanted side of every story and base their condemnations of that slanted view. They paint everyone with the same color brush. Right now they are anti-Grand Juries and anyone NOT indicted is, in their views, guilty anyway and just being protected by the 'good ole boy' system. Seems to me that most of the time those guilty are "guilty" of being white males.

Makes my blood pressure rise.

Which is not of itself a bad thing seeing as how since I've lost weight I have the blood pressure of a stone. Yea, me!

I find this little item to be of interest and certainly haven't seen it in the Chronicle....

Spears' Latest Trip To Hospital Cost LAPD $25,000

Don't The Elephants Want To Win Again?

This is mostly about local politics. I think I've mentioned before that I HATE politics. I hate liars. I hate holier-than-thous. I hate 2nd guessing even though I do it quite a bit. If there is one thing that has been shown to me to be true for many, many years it's what goes around comes around. It's karma, baby. It's the Golden Rule. Judge not blah, blah, blah or you'll wake up in the hot seat too.

Harris County DA Chuck Rosenthal has made some serious errors in judgement granted, but would someone please tell the Republican hierarchy in Harris County (much less Texas and Washington) that they are singlehandedly giving it all away to the Dems. The Chronicle is doing what the Chronicle does best....stirring up hatred and dissension. They are loving it that Chuck is stuck. They are beating the dead email horse for all its worth.

For the record, I don't care what Chuck does/did in his personal life. I don't care what he did/does on his work computer. I only care about the catching, cleaning and filleting of criminals in Harris County and I'd say Mr. Rosenthal has done a fairly good job being the head chef.

I think that Kelly Siegler is a fine DA. She is tough and I want tough in the DA's office. She is spot-on about Lakewood Church members too, but it's not just Lakewood Church IMHO, it's any church member that is zealous to the point of extreme. I believe in the complete separation of the church and state. I believe that any person of any faith that inflicts their own moral code in their decision making is just as bias and prejudiced as any sheet wearer and that both are tainted from the get go and I wouldn't want them on any jury I was a part of. I come from a long line of religious wack jobs and I know from what I speak.

By the same token, no one can sit in a jury box without bringing in some of their beliefs and observations and biases and such. The key is you TRY and keep an open mind and you definitely view the accused as innocent until proven otherwise and deserving of a jury of their peers.

But back to why I decide to rant....

I'm not understanding why Harris County Judge Ed Emmet or Charles Bacarisse are setting themselves up as holier-than-thou. Don't they see that they are just compounding the black eye that the elephant is wearing right now? Do they honestly think that by standing back and pointing the finger in outrage they are making themselves look better? From the White House to the jail house it looks to me as if the Republican party is staying "here, take it, you deal with it for the next four to eight years".

God help us. And God damn politics too.

After Viewing Sex Crimes and the Vatican...

I'm frankly stunned.

I was born and raised Catholic and feel that it rejected me in 1963 when a priest told me in confession to find a nice Catholic boy to love. That was the response to my plea that I loved the non-Catholic man who was later to become my husband of 33 years.

This was the same church that said I couldn't practice birth control. ME who got preggers when my husband even looked at me! That was the final cut of my Vatican cord.

It's not easy being a "fallen away Catholic" either especially when most of what's left of my family is still in the fold. My mom pretty much went to her grave praying for me to renounce my vow and tell the father of my children to take a hike.

I've never seen any part of ANY organized religion that appealed to me. I'm too brainwashed to be a Protestant and too redneck to be a Jew! I went to parochial school for the first six grades and I can't recall which grade it was now, but one day I was standing before the class at the blackboard trying to add a column of double digits. I couldn't do it. I couldn't of done it to save my life much less my immortal soul. The nun kept asking me "if I couldn't see it" [the answer I guess] and I kept saying "no, sister". She got so mad at me that she ended up slapping me in the face in front of the entire class.

I think I must of disassociated at the moment because I don't recall what happened next. I don't know if I cried or just continued to stand there in total humiliation. I don't remember what the nun did. I don't remember how I got out of it. I DO remember telling my mother and the usual feelings that it was all MY fault. I also remember hearing or rather overhearing that the nun had a nervous breakdown. I probably felt like I caused THAT too.

Poor, poor pitiful me. Alas this post is not about that. It's about ALL my other conflicted feelings about "The Church". We were taught from the first day to never, ever criticize the Church. Or the priest or the nuns or God forbid the Pope himself so I always feel a tad uncomfortable when I think or read about the sexual abuse that runs rampart and how nothing is done until forced to by the authorities and then they may or may not throw a sacrificial lamb in the guise of a defrocked priest on the fires.

I ran across this TV program that I think ought to be required viewing by Catholics, former Catholics and especially future Catholics. It was called Spotlight: Sex Crimes and the Vatican and on Link TV. I think it can be viewed online at BBC One.

The program points out that nothing is being done for the victims. The abuse is still going on and the Pope could put a stop to that if he wanted to. It's also about how a secret document "called Crimen Sollicitationis, was enforced for 20 years by Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger before he became the current Pope". That's heavy stuff, folks. My family would most likely think that even reading the document is a one way ticket to hell.

In my own mind I like to think that even widespread abuse by the clergy doesn't mean ALL of them are bad, but if the head of the organization is bad what does that make the rest? I dunno what to make of any of this.

Huh? My Ears Are Stopped Up!

I swear it's getting worse too! It's been off and on for a couple of years, but the past 6 months or so my ears are stopped up more than ever plus I get off balance and stagger around like I'm enjoying some cheap wine!

So what do you do when you have a medical complaint besides complain? You go to the doctor. I made an appointment with an ENT and successfully completed a hearing test, a check on the pressure in my ears, an open MRI to make sure I have a brain and there is no evidence of anything blocking my ears from the brain side and finally an ENG test which was loads of cheap drunk feelin' fun.

I found out that I have a slight hearing loss in the high frequency range...I already knew that, but since the last test it hasn't gotten any worse and "considering I live in a metropoltian area and my age" it's no big deal. There is no evidence of anything untoward going on in my brain and YES I DO have one even though it "shows the usual evidence of normal aging". I was given an Rx for something mild to help with the dizziness and pretty much told it should all clear up "on its own" and to check back in 6 months. Ack! Oh and my OLD ears are "extremely" clear of wax which shot down my hope that it was a build up of crayons keeping me stopped up.

I don't want to take more drugs. I just want to hear or at least not have to walk around, correction, STAGGER around feeling like there are giant bubbles in both ears and not knowing if I'm talking too loudly or not talking at all! It seems worse when I do talk.

I know it's just allergies and the congestion is causing the eustachian tubes to block up and most people would just slug down a decongestant and be done with it, but I can't take decongestants since my MI. I take a generic Allegra every day for all the good it does. Sigh.

Oh and if I try to hold my nose close and blow it just makes it worse.

I'm bummed.

I think I'll go chew some gum. That sometimes helps.

Eating Out After RNY Gastric Bypass Surgery

My gosh it's not easy to eat out after the surgery. Now don't get me wrong, you can get the food and then get take home containers and even throw some of it away and walk away happy, but my query today is WHY can you get SUPERSIZED but you can't get SLENDERIZED meals everywhere?!





I've tried a couple of times to flash the little piece of paper I got from the surgeon saying how I can't eat a whole lot now and could I pretty please have a smaller portion even if I'm not under 12 and the request doesn't phase 'em. I was so happy when we went to Minute Maid and I discovered I could get a delicious BBQ meal deal from Lefty's. ONE meat portion with 2 sides and bread was $5.50, half the price of the much larger 2-meat $10.50 regular sized meal. Even at that I'd take a piece of foil and a plastic baggie to tote home most of the meat for a couple of other meals or give my "leftovers" to the nearest big guy with a hearty appetite.

When I made it a point to thank the man in charge for the ability to buy a smaller portioned meal he said that at first "they" were not crazy about the idea, but that he pointed out that all people had to do was buy one regular meal and then share it. We actually saw THREE adults share one regular meal one sunny afternoon at the ballpark.




My favorite Tex-Mex joint charges one dollar more for kids over 12 and adults for their "kid's meal" and they don't just have fried meat with fried potatoes like MOST of the kids meals you see. Subway is good now because they have a kid's meal with healthy choices and they aren't sticklers about age.

So mostly I just don't eat out much anymore. Or I'll get stuff to go so I can get it home and in the refrigerator quickly. I live in Texas and it gets mighty hot even in the winter especially in the closed up vehicles. Too hot for food to sit around without being kept cold.

All I'm asking for is the other side of the coin. If you can feed the kids less and healthier why not throw the old folks a bone too!
As the population ages I'm betting you'll see some more concessions made to help folks with smaller appetites, but I want it NOW!

UPDATE on Dallas State Fair's New CHL Policy

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Apparantly, including the media in our last email was a good idea! I just received a call from a reporter at the Fox Affiliate in Dallas, KDFW, who had just gotten off of the phone with officials at the State Fair. According to the reporter, the State Fair has NOT changed their policy regarding patrons who have a Concealed Handgun License and are entering legally armed.

To recap what to expect, you need to notify the person with the wand (all incoming patrons are wanded) that you are armed and have a concealed handgun license. You will probably be escorted to a point just inside the fence, where you will be asked to wait for a supervisor. Depending on how crowded the park is, you will wait for anywhere from a few minutes on up (I have heard of one member who left after waiting in vain for 45 minutes, but this seems to be an extreme example). The supervisor will verify that your license is valid, and on my only visit to the park armed, the number of my CHL and name were recorded on a notepad. In my case, on a weekday afternoon, the whole process took about 5-10 minutes.

Going through this process, while certainly annoying, will at least allow you to be able to defend yourself during your time of greatest vulnerability, which is the walk to and from the parking areas, since Dallas Fair Park is in one of the most dangerous neighborhoods in the city.

If anyone does encounter any difficulty in carrying a handgun legally at the State Fair of Texas, please contact our office immediately at 972-889-8772, and we will take whatever actions necessary to see that this important right does not get interrupted.



I am writing to you today to let you know of a possible change in policy by the State Fair Foundation, regarding CHL Carry at the State Fair of Texas. In years past, CHL holders were allowed to carry after displaying their CHL to a supervisor brought to the front gate for that purpose. We have reason to believe that policy may be undergoing revision, but cannot yet confirm it. We also have no confidence whatsoever of getting a straight answer out of State Fair officials.

Our source of information is the following message posted to the Texas CHL Forum:

We just attended our orientation meeting for all the officers that will be working the State Fair this year. One important change to this year's event is that CHL holders will not be allowed to carry firearms while in the Fair this year. This is a big change from previous years that you will need to prepare for. This is not a DPD rule or policy - this comes from the State Fair management.

We were told that if someone comes into the fair with a gun and they have a CHL that there will be no LE action taken against them as they have not broken any state laws. However, a representative of the State Fair will be contacted and the violator will be detained until they arrive. Once the State Fair representative arrives the violator will be informed once again of this new policy and asked to remove their gun from the premises. If they refuse to do so then they will be given a Criminal Trespass warning and if they refuse at that time to leave, or return back to the fair grounds this year they will be arrested. I can also pretty well assure that their weapon will be seized and a report made to DPS.

Anyway, I wanted to let as many of you know as soon as I found out since the Fair opens tomorrow. I can just imagine that there will be quite a few people parking some distance from the fair grounds and being stopped at the gate regarding this new policy. They will be faced with a long trek back to their vehicle, or if they took DART to the fair they will have to spend money and time to return to some location where they can safely store their gun.

Also, be prepared for longer lines at the entrances due to the extra security of wanding every person and searching all of their belongings. If you do decide to come and visit have a great time as there are a lot of new attractions, rides and food vendors this year.

We are presenting this information to you as quickly as possible as a warning, so that you will not find yourself in a predicament. If you do wish to attend the State Fair with your legally carried firearm, be prepared for this new policy to be enacted. If you are ordered to leave, do not risk your CHL by refusing to do so. But we are sharing this information, so that you can prepare yourself for the eventuality of having to walk back to your car to store your firearm, or leave entirely if you utilize DART transportation (since you will have no place to store your firearm).

Remember, if given instructions or a trespass warning by the State Fair officials, please follow them. If the Fair personnel insist on attempting to change their long-standing CHL policy, which has not resulted in a single incident or injury, then we will take this issue up with the State Legislature in 2009.

Questions regarding this message can be directed to the Texas State Rifle Association at 972-889-8772.

James Dark

Executive Director

Texas State Rifle Association

What I Hate About Minute Maid Park!

Thanks to my best friend Paula and her lovely husband Larry, I get to go to Minute Maid Park a LOT and if you are around something long enough it starts to bug you. Or at least it starts to bug ME, so in an effort to soothe myself I'll list the gripes....to wit....

1) The beer sellers and other peddlers are just too much. I think it might be just isle 113, but I'm not sure. I do KNOW they come down that isle in droves. About 4 or 5 DIFFERENT beer sellers come one right after the other and they don't just scream BEER/WATER at the top of their lungs, they stand in the isle and block the view(s). Naturally they spot the ones drinking beer and that is like chum to a shark. They KNOW if you drink ONE you're going to just keep on buying until Last Call so they just keep circlin'.

So how would *I* fix it?

I'd do like they do to wrecker drivers. Give them a chip and then let the folks in the red shirts pick ONE and that ONE would be allowed to peddle on THAT isle or maybe that isle and a couple on either side of it. Better yet would be that one isle and assign them another isle clear across the stadium so it'd take them some time to get there and back. Brilliant!

See it's not just the beers sellers. They also have the frozen lemonade (Minute Maid, of course!) sellers, the Peanut Man (who's pretty cool and really more fun than irritating, so, okay, he can stay), the giant 'Rita with the little-or-no-alcohol so-why-would-anyone-buy-one? sellers, the cotton candy and assorted memorabilia pushers and I'm probably forgetting one or more of them. Ever so often you get the hot dog sellers, but not that much 'cause most folks go get their own which is a good idea for ALL that stuff except maybe the beer 'cause then they buy it in open cups and spill half of it before they get seated again.

Oh and the really, really irritating part is that they hold up these little stop signs to keep the fans from running down the isles while folks are batting and yet they don't stop the peddlers from doing the same thing!

2) My 2nd biggest gripe is the give-aways. Now they have done a tremendous job this year of HOW they give stuff out, but why oh why do the sponsors give out 10,000 of something knowing that 20k plus are going to be upset THEY didn't get one? We'd get there way early and always got whatever it was being given away, but that's not the point. It's like if you bought one super good toy at Christmas and had 3 or 4 kids and the first one in the den got it. Well you can imagine the angst that would ensue!

3) My final gripe (at this time!) is about sound. They like to play stuff on the big screen and some of it like the 1 minute player to player interviews are cool except that you can't hear what's being said....probably because some half dozen beer sellers are screaming all around you! Turn up the volume on the teevee and shut the sellers up!

I've also got a similar gripe with FSN when they have the after game autopsy questions and answers by the team manager and you can only hear HIM and not the questions and he's not about to respond by repeating the question so it's like...

Manager: Yes, I do.

blah, blah, blah

Manager: That's not a bad idea. We might implement that some time in the future.

You get the drift. Can't blame THAT one on the beer peddlers.

See if Drayton sat in the real seats he'd know this stuff. He sits in his ultra cool, got their own wait staff assigned, no peddlers yelling in HIS ear or blocking HIS view seats and could care less what the rest of the fans are going through.

Online Intrusion Or How To Keep On Your Toes

I buy a LOT online. I belong to MyPoints.com (ask ME how YOU can join and *I* can benefit!) and I'm saving up the points for my trips to "the islands" next year.

When you go to order something you have to stay alert! I reckon you should stay alert everywhere online, but it's crucial in the order blank filling out game!

They like to run these checked boxes in on you and hope you won't notice that you've just given them permission to make your inbox a living hell.

They ALL want to send you exciting offers.

I get so excited.

It's not just when you buy something, of course.

Take MLB.com for instance. They like to get you to vote for this and that and they are notorious for their checked boxes and once they get you on their mailing list they don't EVER let you off. I vote for the All Stars candidates and they LET you vote a gazillion times before they say "enuff" and it's so darn easy...all you have to do is fill in the info once and then just keep hitting 'vote again' or some such. The rub comes in, again, with those dadgum filled in boxes. You uncheck and if you don't remember to uncheck each and every time, they get you!

Now I know that built into the software and it's as automatic as looking at chocolate and wishing it was in your mouth and starting to slobber (in a nice, ladylike way, of course). You can't help the chocolate thing and they can't help the checked box thing. But they could if they wanted to. They could just as easily write something into the code that said you had to check it for it to stick, but noooooo that would defeat the whole purpose of tricking you.

Phooey. Makes me irritated.

I think I need some chocolate.

Earthlink Drives Me Crazy!

I've used Earthlink for seven long and sometimes tumultuous years. Day one of their offer to my area of DSL service I called them up and got hooked up....before that I used their dial-up service. I've never been late on even one monthly payment. They debit my credit card. I don't mess with them, why in the heck do they mess with me?

Not me personally, 'me' as in MY homepage. I've lost count of the number of "new and improved" home page changes that have been foisted upon me. They tend to make these great changes on Sundays without a by your leave.

Today's change was the last straw.

My favorites box is gone. In its place is a new and improved edition and that means I'd have to start all over again filling in my choices. Phooey.

Next up is my stock market info....the carefully constructed list of what I like to keep an eye on. That's gone too. It shows the Dow at its closed Friday. AGAIN I'd have to fill in the missing info. Phooey.

They took away MY weather choices. I only got 5 choices to begin with and Houston led the list. I also like to keep tabs weather-wise on Las Vegas and Maui. The other two I change depending on where I'm going or have been. Do you sense a theme here? Yep, gone! I'd be back to square one just trying to get MY homepage like I like it. Phooey.

So short of telling them where to put my entire account (and the constant flow of incoming real mail on the other options out and about in this big old competitive world are verrrrry tempting) I'm just changing what I use for a home page when my Firefox browser loads. I'm going with my Bloglines and quick access to the feeds I follow.

All because some whiz kid has to keep "improving" things that don't need improving IMHO. Over the years there have been very few improvements anyway.....most of it is irritating sh*t that I block or move to the bottom of the columns which put it on the 2nd page. That would be the page I never look at!

The more I'm with Earthlink the more it's getting to be another AOL.

Phooey.