Speaking of Etiquette and Respect

I'm quite embarrassed about my employer. A state agency, no less, that seems either unwilling to take any action without getting explicit instructions from the politicos in Austin, or unconcerned about displaying contempt for a United States Senator.

This is a photo I took this morning of the flags flying in front of the administration building here. Note the date -- Senator Ted Kennedy died yesterday morning.

I called the appropriate parties yesterday morning pointing out that the flag should be lowered in remembrance of Senator Kennedy. I was told our Police Department was waiting to hear back from Austin about what to do.

What to do? Do you really need to be told what to do?

Yesterday afternoon, as it seemed obvious that our employer was dragging its heels about lowering the flag, one of my co-workers (originally from Michigan or Ohio) asked me why they hadn't lowered the flag. "Is it because this is Texas?" she wondered.

I had to say yes, probably.

As of 10:30 this morning the flags were still fully raised (not at half-staff). They were only lowered some time before 11:15. I'm convinced that they would still be at fully raised if I hadn't been spotted taking these pictures.

A Great Job to Have

According to the radio this morning, the recently deceased writer, Dominck Dunne was, "the guy that reviews celebrity murders on the Criminal Investigations cable channel."

His shows must have been great.

I have to give Ryan Jenkins some credit for going to the trouble of removing the teeth and fingers of his ex-wife, model Jasmine Fiore before dismembering her body. But he lacked panache, as well as foresight. Anyone can stuff a body in a suitcase and toss it in a dumpster. No, if he meant to impress, he would have opted for using this antique butterfly steamer trunk (available at Neiman Marcus), or something equally stylish.

At the least, he could have picked a dumpster in a better neighborhood. A killer with style would have chosen to use the disposal container of a fine restaurant or maybe a trendy nightclub; not a seedy grocery store.

So, for style, I have to give Ryan Jenkins a D. For execution, Mr. Jenkins receives an F. Of course, almost all suicides automatically earn major negative marks, but even without this decision (Canada? He ran away to Canada?), I'm certain he still would have earned an F. His actions were those of an inexperienced and incompetent killer. To go to all the trouble of hacking up his ex-wife's body, only to leave the breast implants untouched is a truly amateur move. Everyone knows those things have serial numbers that are better than teeth for identifying a corpse.

We all miss the excitement of a master like O.J. Now I can hardly wait to witness the courtroom drama that is sure to be an everyday part of the Michael Jackson murder.

I know, I am a sick pup.

A great light dimmed

For all those whose cares have been our concern, the work goes on, the cause endures, the hope still lives, and the dream shall never die.

-- Senator Edward M. Kennedy
1932 - 2009

You Get The Nails, I'll Find The Tree

It seems that the Supreme Court nomination process becomes more and more ridiculous each time a chair is vacated. Barely a day had passed after Obama's nomination of Judge Sotomayer and the pitchforks and torches were raised in opposition. Can this country do anything with out crucifying someone first? And the accusations of Sotomayer range from ridiculous to loathsome.

She's a racist!

She made a joke about legislating from the bench!

She's going to take all our guns and nunchaku away!

She might even make reasoned and rational arguments! AAAaahh. Dick! Rush! Karl! What we gonna do?

Maybe the whole white smoke/black smoke thing isn't such a bad idea after all.

Bastards don't even realize their pissing away their chance at a getting a fairly moderate justice. She saved baseball for gods' sake! The dems (those stupid bastards) should shove a real activist judge down their throats. Maybe put Ralph Nader on the bench. Declare the mute Clarence Thomas brain dead and put Jane Fonda in his seat.

Let's start throwing some goddamn elbows, people!

Trendy's!

I had a crappy experience with a restaurant chain tonight. You know the one -- the name rhymes with Trendy's. And since a shitty day for me should always mean sharing with you, my gentle reader, the pain we call existence (at least mine, anyway), here you go:

I ordered:

• 1 single w cheese combo; catsup, mustard, lettuce, tomato only
• 1 single w cheese combo; mustard, lettuce, tomato, pickles, onions
• 1 double stack; plain - meat & bread only
• 1 crispy chicken sandwich: plain - chicken & bread only
• 4 small choc frosties
• 1 order of fries.

At the order pickup window we were handed the 4 frosties and 1 bag, *stuffed* with four sandwiches, 3 fries, 4 straws, 4 spoons, and napkins. We had to ask for the drinks that came with our combo meals.

We parked the car and had to unpack everything to check it for accuracy. (It has not been unusual to get home and find the orders from this particular Wendy's screwed up.)The sandwiches in the bag were poorly wrapped. Neither of the singles w cheese hamburgers had cheese on them. The chicken sandwich, however, did have mayonnaise and lettuce, which we did not want.

I went into the store with the three incorrect sandwiches and asked for new sandwiches. The cashier asked for my receipt. He explained that he would have to charge me for the cheese. I went back to my car and neither my wife nor I found a receipt. We were never given one. The cashier repeated that he would have to charge me for the cheese. I said this was not acceptable. I then observed the cook putting cheese on the now cold patties, and begin to assemble them. I said that this, too, was not acceptable. The cashier was reluctant to have new sandwiches made and continued to argue with me stating that he had to charge me for the cheese because I didn't have a receipt, and because he could not call up the receipt.

I demanded to talk to the manager. She was not much more helpful. I repeated my order to her, and informed her that I expected new sandwiches and I would not pay an extra fee for the cheese. She agreed. The cashier continued to be unpleasant.

All this time my wife and two daughters were out in the car waiting for me while our food grew cold and the frosties melted. Finally the manager handed me a bag and said, "Here you go." I opened the bag and saw only two sandwiches. I informed her that I was missing the chicken sandwich. She said it was coming. Finally, she handed me the chicken sandwich; wrapped, but not in a bag..

I did not spend more time checking the sandwiches because my kids were tired, my wife was tired, I was tired, and it was late - around 8:15PM.

When we got home we found this in our bag:

• 1 single w cheese sandwich; mustard, lettuce tomato, pickles, onions (correct!)
• 1 single w cheese sandwich; mustard, lettuce tomato, pickles, onions (wrong!)
• 1 crispy chicken sandwich; with mayonnaise and lettuce (wrong!)

It also seemed that they had re-used the original hamburger patties.

Our dinner was cold and the entire experience left a bad taste in my mouth. I was, and still am, angry about the terrible food service and bad attitude of the servers.

And you know what? Not one person offered an apology or acknowledged that my service was unacceptable or even unusual.

I will never trust this store with any order more challenging than four frosties, because that seems to be the one thing they can get right.

Why should you care? I don't

I finally decided to add a new post. Not that anyone is waiting on the edge of his or her barcalounger with bated breath.

But, what the hell?

I was going to write about . . . ahh forget it. I can't even be bothered to type a complete s

The Pandemic Begins

Apparently the only known cure for Swine Flu is to subject the victim to ridicule and humiliation.

How much comfort do you think these nurses can give the children?

I did not know that the Swine Flu actually made one so pig-like and hideous that its victims are condemned to a life of wearing masks. The silly hat really doesn't draw the eye away from the mask.