Monday, July 28, 2008
Please educate your children
Over the years I’ve come to terms with the fact that the Texas education system pretty much sucks. I’m sure other states have this problem as well, but it seems like while many are trying to correct the problem, Texas continues to pile more and more bullshit into the curriculum which leaves less time for the fundamentals.
I met a young elementary school teacher that happened to her course curriculum binder in her car. After looking through it I realized that about a third of what she was teaching actually belonged in the classroom, the rest belonged in the home. Things such as racial tolerance, family values, self-esteem, and on and on.
Because of all this, I end up bumping into people like Tom. One of my favorite things to do after playing golf or hitting balls on the range is to cool off with a slushie, icee or some other frozen concoction. This weekend I found myself at the corner store for this treat. It had been especially hot and I was very thirsty. Instead of using one of the smaller slushie cups I grabbed one of the 64oz. drink cups and filled it with my frozen treat. This is where things went stupid.
I walked up to Tom and things went something like this.
Me: That’s a slush not a soda. (I say this because soda is cheaper and I didn’t want to rip anyone off.)
Tom: I’m sorry, we don’t sell 64oz. slushes.
Me: I know there are no 64oz. slushie cups but can’t you just charge me double the prize of a 32oz. slushie.
Tom: I don’t know how to do that sir. There’s no item on my register for a 64oz. slush.
Me: Can’t you just double the price of the 32oz slush and put it under fountain drinks?
Tom: Let’s see. Hmm. $1.39 times two would be about $3.00 plus tax.
Me: (light bulb) Hey, you have a button to ring up a 32oz. slush right?
Tom: Yep, but that’s not a.... (I cut him off)
Me: Let’s pretend I bought two 32oz slushes. Can you ring up two 32oz slushes?
Tom: I sure can. Are you sure you want to pay for two? That comes out to more than 64oz.
Me: Call me weird but I’ll pay for the two slushes.
Tom: Must be nice to have money to burn, they don’t pay us hardly nothing here.
Me: Thanks Tom. Oh are you going to be here tomorrow night? No? Thanks, I’ll be back.
Posted by deadscot on 28 Jul, 2008 at 20:19Just Plain Stupid • (0) Comments • Permalink
Monday, July 14, 2008
Hell hath no fury like a Texan in a pickup
In the past, I may have mentioned a time or two how maniacal the drivers in San Antonio are. We have two loops of highways which encompass the city and I refer to them as the junior and amateur circuit for NASCAR.
Also, folks down here are hell bent on driving pickup trucks that dwarf the modern car while barely squeezing into one lane. One would think that the price of gas would curb their enthusiasm, but that would border on being unpatriotic.
That brings me to this morning. I had an early appointment this morning and chose to take my motorcycle before the temperature reached 200 and also to save some gas. A little background, I ride a Yamaha R1 (1000) race-bike that is capable of accelerating from 0 to 100 and back to 0 in under 10 seconds. Sometimes faster if you hit something solid.
While cruising home around 80mph a rather large pickup apparently took notice that I was speeding and invoked his Texas born right to cut me off in an effort to slow me down. Being the easy going person I am, I swerved around him to pass on the right. This is what kills me, or almost did. The pickemup truck driver swerves back into the right lane in an attempt to ride me into the guardrail. I mentioned that 0-100 part right? I lit up the bike and squeezed between him and the next car.
Now I’m pissed and seeking a little vengeance. I slowed down and pulled back in front of the pickup and slowed down to about 35. He’s now honking and flipping me the bird while I’m just keeping his eye on his bumper. Now comes the fun part. He goes to pull around me and I pull out in front of him and begin accelerating. He’s chasing me and I can’t believe leave it. I take it up to 105 and he’s sill trying to stick with me. This went on for nearly 20 miles. About a mile before my exit I kicked it up to around 140 and easily lost him but I imagine I could have found him at the next gas station cursing me and the gas prices.
At 100 mph I would imagine that a V8 pickup gets about 4-6 MPG while the bike is just breathing nicely at 100 and getting close to 40 MPG.
As an aside, I don’t mess with drivers that aren’t out to kill me through stupidity or their own intentions. I’m very respectful of motorists but God help you when you piss me off.
Posted by deadscot on 14 Jul, 2008 at 17:53Personal • (0) Comments • Permalink
Wednesday, July 09, 2008
Man sues for a chance to win the lottery
Let’s forget for a moment that playing any state lottery game is very much like flushing the money down the toilet. Even if you can pacify yourself with the notion that it benefits the educations system, you’d be gravely mistaken. The odds on winning any of the larger prizes in a state lotto or scratch off are roughly 1000 times worse than winning big in Vegas, and Vegas casinos take in big money.
All that aside, a professor in Virginia went ahead and purchased a $5 scratch off ticket only to discover afterward that all of the top prizes had been award. He’s now filed suit against the state claiming deceptive polices because the advertised winning value of the ticket was already paid out and there was absolutely no chance that his purchasing a ticket could have netted any of the larger prizes.
The professors lawsuit has become a class action suit on behalf of all Virginia lottery players for the past five years and seeks $85 million in damages.
Not surprisingly, this practice of continuing to sell tickets after prizes have been awarded is pretty much a standard practice in the state gaming racket.
The practice among state lotteries is widespread, said Rob Carey, an attorney who has filed similar challenges in Arizona, California, Colorado and Washington state.
“It’s flat-out false. It’s deceptive,” he said. “They all play for the grand prize.”
In New Jersey, for instance, no top prizes remain for an 8-month-old game, $1 million Explosion, but Lottery spokesman Dominick DeMarco said he was unaware of any similar lawsuits in that state.
Virginia Lottery Director Paula Otto said Monday she had not seen Hoover’s lawsuit, but that policies were being updated to ensure that top prizes were available for all games.
Hoover’s action said the problem arose in popular games, in which the Lottery issued new shipments of tickets but did not tell retailers to pull tickets from old shipments when all the top prizes were awarded. As a result, the lawsuit said, tickets with no chance of winning a game’s top prize were sold. Source: Lottery Post News
I agree with the premise that no one plays a $5.00 scratch-off game to win 20 bucks. At the same time I can see the state’s need to recoup the monies spent of printing tickets and advertising a particular game. If the winning ticket sold on the first day should the state eat the cost?
Since playing the lottery is basically another way to tax the poor I feel that some measure should be in place to protect the wild dreaming and feeble minded. No lawsuit needs to be brought, just a simple adjustment within the states operating procedure. Once a top prize has been awarded for a particular game, a notice should be placed on the advert of said game stating what the new available winnings can be.
Most tickets have a disclaimer on the back stating that the prizes offered may have already been awarded but who really reads that? My decisions is that the state award the professor a full $5.00 refund and pay for his court fees. All states have websites than be checked to see what prizes have been awarded and store owners have access to this information as well. You’re gambling and if you’re not willing to educate yourself on the risks than be prepared to suffer the loss.
Random Turds • (0) Comments • Permalink
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