It Just Slays Me

Long Time, No Post

2008-12-01T17:47:00.002-06:00

It has been a long time since I've posted on this blog. I originally set it up to point out things that piss me off or things that I want to complain about. Well, it is time to put it to good use. It was one of those days where beating people over the head with a shovel would require a masters degree in some art form or another.

First, pedestrians. Traveling through a few shopping centers during the last few days have really cranked me the wrong way. Just because you are a pedestrian doesn't give you the right to just walk whenever, wherever, however you damned well please. Your dumb ass is going to get run over. Can you get your vehicle to stop on a dime? Especially in this weather? I think if I ever hit one of you "I'm a pedestrian, I'll walk whenever, wherever, however" types, I'm going to back up over you to make sure I got you. Why don't you just run east on the westbound lanes of I-74 and play "chicken" with a semi if you have such a death wish? Hell, just save us all time and insurance policy increases by just jumping off Murray Baker. Maybe a barge will hit you on the way down.

Speaking of pedestrians, I'm on my way home tonight and the two joggers, dressed in dark clothing, on less than perfect condition pavement are trying to get across War Drive by sneaking through traffic stopped at a light. If you are out jogging for exercise, are a few extra yards to cross at the light going to over exert you?

Blue day. Blue cards (Link - food stamps) and blue hair (Social Security checks) day. First LINK card purchase I saw: 10 CASES of soda. One of the local media outlets had some "Can you live on what LINK card recipients receive" feature. And you hear stories where there are kids going hungry at the middle\end of the month. I'm not busting ALL LINK card holders...I know some are really trying to get their feet back under them. But I just have a hard time with it when I see some mom and several kids in tow with 10 cases of soda and bags upon bags of chips and candy.

What the hell is up with the "Build The Block" museum people? I hope the hell someone(s) are picking up the tab for all that advertising you are doing, because if you are spending the money you raised to build that future taxpayer supported (read Civic Center HRA tax) boondoggle, you will never get that thing built. There is an idea. Spend all the money on advertising so you don't have enough money to build it saving us taxpayers the expense of having to support it later.

I'm not tired of complaining...just tired of typing.

'Tis The Season

2007-12-03T10:04:00.000-06:00

Well, it is happening. Those who flunked 3rd grade reading are out shopping, ads in hand. It continually amazes me that people, ad in hand, will incessantly argue with me that I'm wrong about the price and\or product. I'm not bitching about someone who makes an honest mistake; we all do that. It is the people who become argumentative, abrasive, loud, resort to name calling or stating the lack of my intelligence when THEY ARE WRONG.

Did all of you know I have magical powers that allow me to override systems put in place to keep me from taking your bad check, over limit credit card, not enough $ on your LINK card, etc. ? There is a reason for those checks and measures to be in place and Me NOT being able to override them. I don't care how much $$$ you SAY or THINK you have, I can't do a damned thing about it. Call your bank, state, etc. and figure it out; don't stand there and yell at me. Pony up another form of payment or move on. And the only people I feel sorry for is my staff who has to put all the stuff back on the shelf. This also goes for expired coupons. Why the hell do you think they put dates on them? Companies spend huge dollars on advertising and they want to track how well their advertising is working for them by bringing people in during a certain time frame. They WANT you to shop during that time frame and the coupon is designed to bring you in during that time frame.

They are called cashiers. They ring up your purchases. That is what they do and the reason they are there. If you have any other needs, please see a person at the customer service desk, a department head, whatever cool name the company has given the sales floor person or a stock person. Nothing is more aggravating than being in line behind you and for you to drag that line's cashier out into the store to help you find bunny slippers.

I know I've mentioned this before. If I have a 75 pound case on my shoulder and I'm dragging a cart full of product behind me, so, no, I can't show you were the cat kibble is. I can come back and help you when I'm finished with what I'm currently doing. I dunno. If I'm in a store and I see some guy struggling with a box on his shoulder and straining to pull a load of product behind him, I just don't think asking him for help finding something because he doesn't have anything else going on at the moment.

I've explained the situation to you. You are asking me to do something against, or seriously bend, my company's policy. Why are you so insistent? Do you like to get people in trouble, written up, reprimanded or fired? Do you go around and get your jollies doing that? Oh, now you want to talk to MY boss. Good for you Mr.\Mrs. Imsoimportant. I'm sure my boss will tell you the same thing. Get over yourself. Don't like it, call corporate and tell them you think their policies suck and shouldn't apply to your pompous ass. Trouble is, when you are dialing the general customer service number, I'm calling the person you REALLY want to talk to DIRECT.

Wow. Two days gone, 22 to go. Jim Koch better schedule some overtime.

Side note. The day wasn't a total loss. I did get a hug from an attractive blonde customer. Some people are so much more appreciative.

People With No Sense of Right

2007-05-26T19:31:00.000-05:00

What the hell is the matter with some people? I have to run into more short-minded people of late. Examples:

As I don't want to hurt anyone's business, I was at a nameless buffet last week. There was a woman who was picking out food with her fingers, eating it with her fingers, then trying something else in the same fashion. My GUESS was she was seeing what she liked and did not. YUCK!! About the same time I noticed this, another buffet guest said something to this woman and got a dirty look. Moments later an employee had a converstation with this woman, she left the buffet area and went back to the dining area. Don't remember her seeing her after that. But WTF? Can someone REALLY be that socially stupid? This is probably the same type of person who would have called the health department if an employee stirred the pudding without sanitary gloves on.

I'm in at CUB Foods on Knoxville. I notice this mother, father and two little kids. The one kid is eating candy from a bag. They stop their cart and the kid sets the candy bag on the shelf and they all wander down the aisle. Here is my deductive reasoning. If the candy was brought in with them or previously paid for, would the parents just left it on the shelf (could be they that they didn't notice, but...) or would they have retrieved it? My guess it wasn't paid for and they just didn't give a shit. Kids are happy and it didn't cost anything. I'm sure the grocery manager just loves to find things like this as I'm sure as with most departmental managers, they are bonused on keeping spoilage (out of date items), customer damage, received goods damage, and theft to a minimum as it affects his\her bonus. Next time I'm at CUBS, I think I'll help myself to the sushi??????????

I can't make this shit up. A group of young women were slowly meandering across Prospect in front of Glen Oak Park having an apparent conversation\discussion\argument (was above the decible level of what I would consider normal as I could hear them, but not what they were saying, in my car with the windows up two cars back) WHILE one of them was on a cellphone. The light turns green finding them in the TURN LANE into the park. The car wanting to turn left into the park honked at them to (I'm guessing) move out of the way. Well, the focus turned quickly to the honker and verbal assaults and guestures were offered in response.

I dunno. I can't fathom acting or behaving like any of the above. Maybe it is I'm a wimp. Maybe good manners. Maybe a sense of decency. Hell, maybe just some old fashion common sense. I think they just need a good fanny paddling from my mother to straighten them out.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I Have Questions, Too

2007-05-01T21:47:00.000-05:00

Over on BJ Stone's Blog, he has some serious and not so serious questions that probably need some answering. While driving around the Peoria area today, I came up with some, also.

1. There is a building for rent, lease or sale within the first 1/4 mile north of I-74 on Knoxville. You mean someone can't pull some strings and get a Cash Advance store, a nails\tanning\hair cut joint, a Mexican restaurant, a cell phone place or a sub sandwich shop in there? Come'on Peoria, we're slippin'!!

2. There is this nice, new long I-74 on ramp off of Lafayette Street (for I-Brows) with a pretty good view of east bound traffic going over the Murray Baker. However, both times going to East Peoria via that route, there was a car damned near parked in the merge lane. What? Can't talk on the cell, eat, pluck nose hairs and merge onto 74 at the same time?

3. I come back and take the exit that will get me up Adams to 150. I'm stuck in front of Taft Homes because two school busses are letting off kids. It took soooo long, that all lanes of traffic were backed up waaaaaay into downtown. So, why does it take these kids so long to get off the bus?

4. I know I shouldn't harrass the Peoria Police Department. However, at University and War, these TWO cars turned left sooooooooooooooo long after the arrow went red onto War from University RIGHT in front of this officer and nothing. Guess he was too busy staking out Beechlers.

5. What happened to spring? Spring-ish, then cold, then rain and now it is 85 flippin' degrees. Note to self. Next year take month long vacation on Tybee Island, GA so I get my spring. That said, it is now time for "open the windows" season which also happens to coincide with the neighborhood "toss Fido outside so he can bark his fuckin' head off for hours on end" season. This quickly turns into the "continual testing of Cerwin Vega H-15 speakers powered by a 350 watt (8 ohms, baby) Yamaha amp" season at my house. Nothing like dusting by sound waves :)

6. I complained profusely about my insurance company wanting to raise my rates because I have a less than perfect credit score. Since I was on vacation this past week, I decided to write a nasty-gram. I received a phone call today and though my credit isn't a thing of beauty, apparently it isn't bad enough to raise my rates. Now I understand that they are required by law to send this letter out informing me (and everyone else) that they are going to start using FICO scores to determine insurance rates. Since you can find out your score for free, why in the hell don't they put in the letter "If your score is xxx or above, you have nothing to worry about."? I'm sure my poor agent probably got many seething letters as I wrote because the dipsticks up at world headquarters forget what it is like to be in the "field" and send out braindead, negatively misleading and thoughtless form letters to millions of people.

7. If you tell someone you need 10 square feet of sod, does their suggestion of two rolls of 8' x 18" (or whatever the standard sod roll is) make any sense to you? Me, neither. Thank God they don't sell carpeting.

I think I'm done.

Its 6:08 AM

2007-04-29T00:48:00.000-05:00

I'm asleep, or at least it would have seemed to be the case. I'm awakened by lawn mowing and weed-eating. I don't think either of my neighbors are that industrious at that time of the morning. The COP was mowing and trimming the boulevard at 6:08 AM!!! Now, don't get me wrong, I appreciate the fact that it got done, but 6:08 in the morning? I know if I cranked up the lawnmower at 6:08, I'd be the cause of early morning doughnut break interruptions.

While I'm watching in disbelief of break of dawn high decible sleep interruption, a thought comes to mind: I wonder if this is the same guy who weed wacked my 6' hollyhock last year in my back yard.

This year, I'm going to put up a big sign: HEY! This is a flower you botany challenged foliage terminator!! Put down the weedwacker, take two steps back and pray I'm not at home having a bad day.

Guess I'm in the minority....

2007-04-17T22:53:00.000-05:00

The people I voted for made the council. However:

Peoria Library Bonds
93 of 93 Precincts (100%)
Yes 9,951 72%
No 3,949 28%

Peoria Smoking Ban
93 of 93 Precincts (100%)
Yes 9,191 67%
No 4,560 33%

I voted in the 28 & 33 percent groups respectively. If 9191 people split my $49, it'll only cost them a half cent each....until all the bars start closing when all the smokers run to the Heights, Dunlap, Norwood, West & East Peoria and some digit scrambler decides to raise AV to make up for lost property taxes. I'm joking about the last part...someone will still have to pay property taxes whether the building is inhabited or not. Unless the state imposes a ban, I'm just getting another "I told ya so" shot in.

Now off of that subject. I'm witness to potential stupidity today. I'm driving down Prospect. A mom (I'm guessing) daughter (5-sih) and child in stroller heading toward me, on a pretty bumby looking, less than maintained sidewalk (but gee we can pump 35M into a library). The little girl is giving the stroller a huge push and lets it traverse on its own. Mother does nothing. Now, I guess the stroller could have been empty (the convertible top was up) and that Ms. Pushy was the previous occupant, even though the stroller looked a bit small for her. But it freaked me out!!

Do you think yelling at me over the phone is making me more sympathetic to your issue and wanting to help you? A. NO B. Hell NO. C. Click.

I saw an SUV with, what appeared to be, maybe 30" rims. Kinda looked silly. Was waiting for the clowns to come out and start a parade.

I can't make this up. "So, YOU'RE Chef Kevin." "Yep, its me." "I thought you'd be older." Great. So I type in old or something. Nothing like a backhanded compliment.

Sigh...

Getting Tired of Feeling Broke

2007-04-11T22:48:00.000-05:00

I know I'm not, but the recent and possibility of more outlay of cash is getting a bit much. More Ameren, increase in house insurance, $3.00\gallon gasoline looming, three year high beef prices, I know my property taxes will most likely be higher than last year and now the library wants $49 a year. I know my last (yearly) raise isn't covering it.

I bought an older home in a "nicer" part of the East Bluff. It needed some work and some remodeling. It started off with a bang, but has staggered and now is crawling to get finished. The excess cash to do so has evaporated into other people's pockets. Everyone thinks they need my money for their purposes worse than I do.

Am I the only one who feels this way?

Cars That Honk

2007-03-21T08:50:00.000-05:00

I feel this blog has been a gripe session of late, but things just seem to be getting on my nerves a bit more than usual. Here is my latest.

A lot of new(er) vehicles, when you lock or unlock your car via remote, honks the horn. Both of my neighbors have this damned feature and park their cars outside. This morning HONK! HONK! HONK! at 6:45 am right next to my bedroom window. A nice rainy day to sleep in (I don't have to be at work until late). Not anymore. Now I'm not saying I'm a perfect neighbor (ask them, I'm sure they will tell you), but this is a daily thing...sometimes twice...or 4 times.

It seems to me that with all today's modern technology they could make this: A keychain remote that would chirp (or hell, play ringtones) and buzz in your hand when you lock\unlock your vehicle. There could still be a "alert" button to get the car to honk in an emergency situation or when you want to find your vehicle parked in O'Hare parking lot.

Of course, I'm sure the "higher ups" at GM, Ford, etc. don't get awakened at 6:45 am sleeping in their gated estate mansions so they know to correct this stupidity....

More Insurance Bitching

2007-03-13T23:31:00.000-05:00

As I posted previously, my insurance company informs me that they are providing me with less coverage with no additional cost to me. Now these geniuses are informing me that they are going to start basing rates partially on credit history.

This bothers me. I know I don't have great credit...maybe average at best....some troubling times several years ago. However, I've had my car insurance with them since the mid 80's and my house insurance with them since '95 and renter's insurance before that. As far as I know, I've never missed a payment...might have been late, but never missed. I had one claim on my car insurance about 3 years ago when I took a turn in a parking lot a little too short and knocked off my driver side mirror on a cement post. Its not like I hit someone causing thousands of dollars worth of damage and\or hospitalization, lawyers, court, etc.. And if they REALLY want to do some research they will find in 30 years of driving, my "mirror" accident was my only "accident". Last ticket, over 10 years ago ( which was a laughable matter...I'll bore you with it after this rant). You'd think this clean of a record would be worth something.

However, according to them, statistics "show" that the worse your credit score is the more likely your are to file a claim. Anything to screw you out of more money.

Let me give them two statistics....statistics don't write insurance payment checks, I do. And statistics say that when you feel like you are being bent over by your insurance company, you go looking for a new one.

Ticket scenario: I'm in Kewanee. I had just bought my Monte Carlo z 34. I hear on the news that golf ball sized hail was reported in Cambridge (12 miles west of Kewanee) and the storm producing it was traveling SE at 35 miles per hour. Well, I don't want golf ball sized hail hammering my brand new car. So, I leave Kewanee on 34 and head due east on 91, thinking taking it (and rt. 93) to Bradford and take 40 into Peoria might let me avoid the SEerly travelling storm. Well, I'm cruising at 75 in a 55 and zip past a State guy (wtf is a state guy doing camped out on 91? - sheesh). Pulls me over, does the routine, all the while I'm sweatin' the storm. He comes back to the car, hands me the ticket and says "Just to let you know, there is a bad storm coming this way producing damaging hail and high winds. You might want to seek out a safe place until the storm passes". To which my response was "It's a brand new car, what do you think I was doing?" *eyeroll* DUH.

The Anti-Gun Morons Are At It Again

2007-03-13T22:15:00.000-05:00

I am so sick and tired of the anti gun people and the gullible legislators who listen to them I could scream. I was reading Rob's Rant over on Angie's blog how there are bills that are trying to be passed that once again only affect law abiding, legally owning gun owners. Stupid things like banning semi-auto rifles and shotguns. So, the semi-auto shotgun once belonging to my grandfather which probably hasn't been shot in 25-30 years, which I don't have any shells in the house to put in it, will now be against the law and I should just hand over a remembrance from my grandfather. Well, f*ck you and bite My ASS!!! Will all you brainiac anti gun fantics please explain how the hell taking away my grandfather's legally owned shotgun is supposed to stop some idiot with an illegally owned Mac-10 or Glock 9 from holding up liquor stores or shooting someone? HUH? What was that? Speak up! Please explain it to me. You can't, so don't pass such a stupid bullshit law. You can't have it until ALL illegal firearms are removed from those that are in illegal possession of them.

Why don't you people make anti-gun laws like this:

Using a gun of any kind that is not legally yours to commit a crime: 30 years in San Quentin busting rocks with a ballpeen hammer for 16 hours a day.

Using a gun of any kind that is not legally yours and wound someone: Add 25 years to the above, but at Rikers Island.

Using a gun of any kind that is not legally yours and kill someone: Slap on another 25 years to the 55 you already have at the Holiday Inn of the Rockies, ultra max security, Florence.

Oh, and no time off for good behavior. And get rid of laws that say if you are a minor, the sentence ends at 21. Bullshit! You go from Juvie to the big house: do not pass go, do not collect another illegal weapon.

Get tough with criminals, not legal, law abiding gun owners. Until you get some laws on the books that actually deter crime, leave us law abiding gun owners alone.

I know, I know...(in a puny, nasally, whiny-ass voice) "why do you need a semi-automatic rifle with a 30 round clip?" Am I pointing at you? No. So what difference does it make what I do with it? Maybe there are some evil retired bowling pins that need their tops blown off at 300 yards with a Mini 30. And you know, shooting those darned clay pigeons at a range in rural Tazewell County may very well start some farming turf war.

Second thought, I might need some shells and new batteries for the holloscope...

Too Be or Not To Be..Glen Oak Park a Historical Site

2007-02-26T15:19:00.000-06:00

There is a hearing on Wednesday concerning whether or not to designate Glen Oak Park as a historical site.

Well, it would be nice, but I think that time has passed. Why? Well look at everything that has already been lost...the Sunken Gardens and the Palm House. At at this time you can't cross the suspension bridge and they want to remove the Parapet & Cannon from the shore of the Lagoon because it is falling apart. The roads in some areas are falling apart. The history to be preserved is gone or very close to extinction. Yet there is this fine quote (emphasis mine):

"The park district is opposing the designation, saying it will interfere with its ability to govern and maintain the park, which is Peoria's first public park. Park Board trustee Roger Allen told commissioners that residents can come to Park Board meetings to lodge complaints."

So, the city council and the Historical Society would interfere with their "maintenance" of the roads, parapet, cannon, suspension bridge, lagoon, etc.....? Personally, it LOOKS like someone needs to interfere...and they want to maintain a how many mile long trail? Like my mom used to say "If you don't take care of this bike, we aren't getting you a new one." Hmmm....where's mom?

I'm Insured Against What?

2007-02-22T22:34:00.000-06:00

I got a letter from my homeowners insurance company today. They are amending certain parts of my policy. In other words, they are eliminating or reducing coverage AT NO CHANGE TO MY ANNUAL POLICY COST. Well, thank you. In other words, I'm just paying the same for less. And of course it is in such jargon that you have to be a politician to understand the legalbabble or have your lawyer explain it to you. I'm pretty sure at this point I'm covered only if nothing happens...and I can only make claims on Tuesday as long as I didn't have dinner after 6:30 PM and 7 African wooly worms wearing fuschia vests and paisley ties are dancing to "Wild Thing" on my front porch.

Equality?

2007-02-22T12:53:00.000-06:00

After years of pressure, the Wimbledon tennis tournamnet is now going to pay women the same prize money as men. HUH?

I'm sorry, but WTF is that? Women play best of three sets, men best of 5 sets. So even if the number one seeds breeze through all six matches in straights sets and the prize money is (estimate) $1,000,000 each, that means a woman makes $83,334 a set and a man makes $55,556 a set. If things go badly, but still win and have to play 3 and 5 sets respectively for six matches, a woman makes $55,556 a set, a man $33,334.

I know all women are cheering and in most respects I'm glad that a professional sport has done the right thing and paid female athletes their just due. But this isn't the case. If women play the same 4 quarters of basketball as men, well, I see it. Or the same rounds of golf on the same course. Or the same NASCAR race. Or play 2 halves of soccer on the same field. But not 3 sets of tennis versus 5.

Womens' mantra for years has been "equal pay for equal work". So, play potential 5 set matches and get potential 5 set pay.

I don't know what his view is, but if I were Roger Federer, I'd be pissed. I'd do everything I could to win Wimbledon this year to tie me with the immortal Bjorn Borg's record of five straight Wimbledon titles. And if I did so (and it looks like right now, nobody is going to stop this guy), what do you think would be the interest of '08 Wimbledon? On the verge of breaking Borg's record? F N HUGE!! Or he says "I'm playing equal sets for equal pay..until I'm paid for 5, I play for 3. Ball's in you court, Wimbledon. There'd be no shame (but no glory) staying tying for Borg's record.

Rails & Trails

2007-02-20T07:58:00.000-06:00

Everyone seems to have a point of view on this, so I am going throw in my two cents.

First, though, some disclosure. My parents live very close to the Fon du Lac Trail in East Peoria right before it goes into Morton. As a kid, we used to watch the trains go by. It rocked. I'm in my mid 40's and I still love a good 4 engine, 120 car train lumbering by. Damned technology killed the cabooses, though..damned shame. And as far as I remember, no one was ever killed on the three very primitive crossings that existed in the immediate area. My parents probably use the trail daily. As the train\trail heads toward EP, it cuts through my grandfather's (now aunt's) farmground. Enough disclosure for all of ya?

This is kinda long and doesn't really say anything new except for an interesting idea toward the end.

When Pioneer was on the Kellar Branch, I can't say I ever saw it a giant weed bed. But then again I wasn't REALLY looking. As I believe David Jordan said, the STB makes surprise inspections. What have they found at other Pioneer maintained tracks? Are these inspections findings public or available to the COP? I think it would be a portion of a deciding factor before selling the branch. In otherwords, I say let the tracks be and sell them to Pioneer. Even if business grows in various cells that require a train or two or three to cross Knoxville daily, so what? My guess is that the train will be very short and probably wouldn't shut down traffic any longer than a stop light. It will give those who are yakking on their cells, shaving, putting on make-up, screw with their Blackberry, finding tunes on their I-Pod time to finish before venturing off into traffic. It can't be any worse than the mother of all stop light clusterfuckz on Sterling. And no, I didn't receive cash, check, money order, a cookbook deal, trips to Cabo, sexual favors, sporting event tickets, a lifetime supply of saffron, use of aero transportation or any other sort of compensation for my endorsement. Not that my endorsement means a shit. Personally, I'd think there would be more interruptions of traffic from people using the trail trying to cross Knoxville.

As for the Trolley. I don't see where it would be a moneymaking operation, but I could be wrong. But if it was a private enterprise (as if Pioneer ran it) and didn't cost taxpayers anything, go for it. As for Mr. Junction City who threatens not to finish Phase 2 (or whatever) if the Trolley goes in. Your land, do with it what you will. Most Peorians are just thankful that you tore down the Grandview so we don't have to look at it (or hear about it) anymore. But if the trolley is a privately funded and maintained identity, I hope the city council doesn't give in to a developer's threats. OTOH, anyone who has invested the time and money into J.C. as Mr. Khazzam has, regardless of the trolley, eventually won't be able to stand seeing empty, undeveloped space. I don't see how the trolley wouldn't benefit him and his tenants. But I'm a chef, what the hell do I know about these things?

Now the trail. I would much rather see the trail next to the rail instead of replacing it. If Pioneer is going to assist in building it, great. I think there are some logistical issues regarding where it would go if the trains tracks are not used, but I'm sure there are people who have ideas, etc. to overcome that. The trail people worked around the glorified trailer complex in Morton. I think that it would be a neat thing to see a Morton to Toulon Trail going from a more scenic setting (Morton until downtown EP), through two urban areas (downtown EP, Peoria) and back to serenity from outskirts of Peoria to Toulon. Actually, there would have been a cool way of getting to Washington, IL via the Fon du Lac Trail going into Morton, but I think that (my) idea is shot because of how they built the Morton spur (as I call it). More on that, later.

Personally, I like to ride my bike on occasion. I find it a pain in the arse to hook up the bike carrier and drive to Alta or EP to get on a trail. I'm not so inclined to ride the cellphone ridden streets of Peoria.

However, this is my nay for the trail. The Peoria Park District. Some are SOOOO concerned that Pioneer won't maintain the tracks. How about the PPD maintaining the trail or will it look like these two fine examples (stolen from PeoriaIllinoisan) of upkeep maintenance exhibited by PPD in 20 years?

Now, back to my Toulon to Washington scenario. When they (whoever they are) announced that they were expanding Fon du Lac into Morton, I thought, no, make Morton a spur, take the trail to Washington. I know, "Kevin, you are an insane man. How the HELL do you propose that?" Half way between the East Peoria|Morton border and the village of Morton on Rte. 150, Rte. 150 crossed over the top of a set of (now defunct many years ago) tracks. Now where do these tracks go. One way they head on a SSE direction out of Morton. The other way: Farmdale Park area. The tracks ended up on SE Farmdale Road. A quick ride\walk along SE Farmdale road to Farmdale Road and you end up at the Toledo, Peoria and Western line going pretty darn near downtown Washington. Not abandonding the line, just doing a trail beside it. Some very scenic and wooded areas to make for a nice ride. Now, how do I know this. As in all of our lives, we have done some REALLY STUPID shit. We used to ride our bikes in the woods in this area. There was a spot that the train wasn't built up very high. Some trains moved so slowly through there that you could almost out walk them. Is all you had to do was grab the ladder on a car.... Of course we were invinsible high school students and a bizzillon ton train couldn't hurt us. We figured out getting on it...getting off wasn't as simple on the other end. Of course, I have no idea how this would have been financed..it was just an idea. But how they built the trail into Morton kind of kills this idea unless they built a tunnel :) But that would have been a killer trail..Washington to Toulon. ah, shit. I probably gave the trail people a wild idea and they are foaming at the mouth with endeavor...if anyone read this far :)

This Explains It

2007-02-18T23:17:00.000-06:00

I have always wondered why there aren't more happy blues songs (there are a few). I was watching a blues documentary tonight and this old blues dude explained it:

"There are two types of blues: Sad blues are written cause the girl goes away. Happy blues are written cause the girl comes back." (A big, shit eating grin appears on this guys face and starts nodding his head up & down.) "We all know whats gonna be happening when the girl comes back. Thats why there ain't no such thing as happy blues."

Ahhhhh....THAT's it. Wise old horndog.

Now, I wonder if he could explain Britney Spears.....

Convenience Fee Outta Hand

2007-02-16T23:01:00.000-06:00

I was looking for tix online to the Lynyrd Skynyrd show at the Civic Center. To order them online there is a $9.50 convenience fee per tix. I remember when the first convenience fees were $2-3. Hey, I can understand that to cover handling, shipping materials and postage. But $9.50? I then looked at cheaper tix. HUH? the convenience fee dropped to $8.75 or something. Isn't convenience, convenience? I mean does it take more time, effort, material, postage, paper to print tickets on the high $ tix compared to the mid $ tix? What the heck is the reduction in convenience fees? If I buy the 8 ticket limit, does the convenience fee decrease? I'd assume all tix would be shipped in one envelope for far less postage than sending them individually. And I wouldn't think it would take TOO much more effort to put 8 tix into an envelope compared to one.

Can someone explain to me what $9.50 is covering or is it a Civic Center money making ploy to try to get them out of their constant state of financial red?

Sir, if you want your steak its in the kitchen....if you want me to bring it to you, there is a $9.50 service charge..................

National Health Care

2007-02-08T10:39:00.000-06:00

In a recent Yahoo news article (to which now, I can't find a link) I was reading, John Kerry wants to raise taxes, especially on the wealthy, to provide health care to everyone.

I guess to some of us who have health care benefits, maybe we don't seem sympathetic to those who do not. After I left my parent's house, I didn't have insurance for 20+ years, but, of course, I was INVINCIBLE!!! I realized I was wrong. I also realized that I would have probably paid far more in than I would have eventually received. But, this is a two sided coin to me. Of course, everyone screams tax the wealthy, they have a lot of $$. And scream louder when that $$ was made on the backs on the working class. And get laryngitis from screaming so loud when they see the Paris Hiltons of the world spending those $$ faster than the cleaning staff at grandpa’s\daddy’s Hilton Hotel chains can scrub toilets.

But how about those who have achieved their $$ the old fashioned way and worked, without screwing others, saved and end up with some decent to serious cash? Why tax them extra; because they were frugal? Because they invested wisely? Without getting into specifics, my grandfather & father both came from Germany with nearly nothing. They both learned to speak the language. Eventually, through the years, they fought and toiled, scrimped and saved and both, along with their wives are\were fairly\very comfortable in their retirements. But tax them extra, we shall, so those people who spend their $$ on 24” rims, latest fashion, X-boxes, clubbin’, etc. can have health care. Something seems very wrong about that, doesn't it?

I don’t have an issue with public heath care. But it has to have a cap of what you can spend. We all know people who run to the emergency room NOW for a stomach ache, canker sore, hangnail, pimple on their ass, “just don’t feel right”, their hair hurts, nick themselves shaving, just hung over, etc., Lord KNOWS they would LIVE in the ER if they had free, unlimited healthcare. Bill Gates’ wealth would be reduced to zero in 3 hours if there were no deductible or cap. And then there are some of us that if massive doses of Cabo Wabo tequila and\or ibuprofen doesn’t kill\cure it in two weeks, we figure another two weeks might work. After a month, we MIGHT go see a doctor.

I think there should be a deductible just like regular health care. It should be a percentage of your income. And by income I mean everything from the dividends on your Berkshire Hathaway stock to the amount on your Link Card. And there should be three sections to everyone's "policy": Emergency care, preventative (dentist, etc.) and catastrophic\hospitalization. The deductible applies to any of the above, but there is a yearly cap to the first two.

Oh, and we better make DAMNED SURE that to qualify, you, or your parent\guardian, have a SOCIAL SECURITY number and are currently or have paid into that thing called Federal Withholding Tax line on a paycheck stub unless you are a ward of the state. If you are able and haven’t held a job in a year, better start looking. No pay in, no pay out. If you aren’t contributing to the greater good, the greater good isn’t going to contribute to you. There are exceptions, but….

More Barbies

2007-02-04T09:58:00.000-06:00

Sorry -

No pics here. We were discussing this at work and two of us are really offended by the Barbie post below. We live in the East Bluff and do not have our own Peoria Barbie. We feel discriminated against and plan to sue Mattel unless they make an East Bluff Barbie. >end sarcasm for those who don't "get it"< Here are our suggestions:

East Bluff Barbie: This gangsta wannabe Barbie comes with thong exposing extra low riding baggy pants, hoodie and a pair of $300 sneakers. Comes with a permanent "why you lookin' at me" expression on her face since she can only meander\jaywalk across busy E.B. streets at her convenience and a 1985 Buick LeSabre Limited with 7000 watts of subwoofer power and 30" rims with spinners. A new talking version is in the makes, but Mattel can't figure out how to get it to stop ending each phrase with "bee-otch".

Anybody else feel slighted out there?

Peoria Barbies

2007-01-31T23:23:00.000-06:00

Ok, this was sent to me via e-mail. While I do not endorse nor did I design any of these, I do find them kinda funny and thought I would pass it along.

Mattel recently announced the release of limited-edition Barbie Dolls for

the Peoria market:

"Weaver Ridge Barbie"

This princess Barbie is sold only at Grand Prairie. She comes with an assortment of Kate Spade Handbags, a Lexus SUV, a long-haired foreign dog named Honey and a cookie-cutter house. Available with or without tummy tuck and face lift. Work-a-holic Ken sold only in conjunction with the augmented version .

"Dunlap Barbie"

The modern day homemaker Barbie is available with Ford Wind star Minivan and matching gym outfit. She gets lost easily and has no full-time occupation. Traffic jamming cell phone sold separately.

" West Bluff Barbie"

This recently paroled Barbie comes with a 9mm handgun, a Ray Lewis knife,a Chevy with dark tinted windows, and a Meth Lab Kit. This model is only available after dark and must be paid for in cash (preferably small, untraceable bills), unless you are a cop, then we don't know what you are talking about.

" Peoria Country Club Barbie"

This yuppie Barbie comes with your choice of BMW convertible or Hummer H2. Included are her own Starbucks cup, credit card and country club membership. Also available for this set are Shallow Ken and Private School Skipper. You won't be able to afford any of them.

" Creve Coeur Barbie "

This pale model comes dressed in her own Wrangler jeans two sizes too small, a NASCAR t-shirt and tweety bird tattoo on her shoulder. She has a six-pack of Bud light and a Hank Williams Jr. CD set. She can spit over 5 feet and kick mullet-haired Ken's butt when she is drunk. Purchase her pickup truck separately and get a confederate flag bumper sticker absolutely free.

" Bartonville Barbie "

This tobacco-chewing, brassy-haired Barbie has a pair of her own high-heeled sandals with one broken heel from the time she chased beer-gutted Ken out of Creve Coeur Barbie's house. Her ensemble includes low-rise acid-washed jeans, fake fingernails, and a see-through halter-top. Also available with a mobile home.

" Moss Avenue Barbie"

This doll is made of actual tofu. She has long straight brown hair, arch-less feet, hairy armpits, no makeup and Birkenstocks with white socks. She prefers that you call her Willow. She does not want or need a Ken doll, but if you purchase two Moss Avenue Barbies and the optional Subaru wagon, you get a rainbow flag bumper sticker for free.

" South Side Barbie"

This 16 year old Barbie now comes with a stroller and infant doll. Optional accessories include a GED, bus pass and Link Card. Gangsta Ken and his 1979 Caddy were available, but are now very difficult to find since the addition of the infant.

" Downtown Peoria Barbie/Ken "

This versatile doll can be easily converted from Barbie to Ken by simply adding or subtracting the multiple snap-on parts.

And The Most Ironic Statement of the Year Award Goes To....

2007-01-21T08:35:00.000-06:00

I didn't look too well at my snail mail yesterday. I just did and now I'm LMAO. Good way to start a Sunday...a good cup of coffee and a laugh.

I read in the Winter 2006 River City Review (sent by the city??) under the heading: Snow + cars parked in snow routes = traffic fine increase. (The bright green emphasis is theirs...it is in the publication this way, the gold is my .02) "It will cost Peorians more in fines if they leave their cars on "snow route" streets when snowfall reaches more that two inches. The City Council recently voted to raise the fine from $40 to $200 if the fine is paid within seven days. Fines not paid within the seven-day period will increase to $300 if not paid within 30 days. The traffic fine was increased by the City Council in December due to the number of cars parked in the street during a major snowstorm in Peoria in November, which prevented snowplows from doing their job. Cars had to be towed despite warning citizens that it was illegal to park along "snow routes" streets if the snowfall reaches more that two inches. Each car towed in November cost the City $50. After the fine of $40 was collected, the City was still responsible for the $10 difference. For questions, call (here it comes, the weener of the most ironic statement of the year award) Peoria Cares, 494-CARE (2273).

I could type enough snide comments here to fill the Rose Bowl, but I figure I'll let my readers do that.

I now own a dog?

2007-01-19T22:32:00.000-06:00

I come home from work tonight. I see something hanging from my front door. It is from PAWS. Apparently, my dog does not have it's rabies shot nor tags, it has been barking and has no water, food or shelter. If I do not reply to this "summons", it may result in legal action. WOW!! I'm a horrible pet owner. I don't know how they saw my invisible dog. Invisible as in I DON'T OWN A DOG!!

So, I call the number on the door hangy thingy. I give them all pertinent info. and let them know the only animals I own are goldfish (from my outdoor pond "slumming it" in a warm 42 gal. aquarium), that I fed them this morning, they are all accounted for, well hydrated and I could assure them they have not been out causing disruptions in the neighborhood. I speculated that it might be one of these two culprits that live on either side of me and that they are "barking up the wrong tree". (Sorry, couldn't help myself.)

First, it is 6 1/2' "weed", now its unfed, unsheltered, dehydrated, rabid barking goldfish. I'm such a nuisance. No wonder the C.O.P. keeps raising my property taxes...they are trying to make me move!!!

Go to Walmart and buy a $5 calculator.

2007-01-19T22:03:00.000-06:00

Ok. Most of my readers know I'm not a chain restaurant proponent and not a big fan of fast food. However, I find myself in some need (well, want) of chow. So, I go through a drive through. I have my window down thinking soon I will be at the ordering thingy. I hear from the vehicle in front of me: "I have three seperate orders".

You mean you can't take the food back to wherever and figure this out on your own time? So, I'm waiting. Then it appeared all transactions were complete, but no movement of said vehicle. I'm waiting. Window opens and arm extends and knocks on drive through window. It appeared that there must not have been enough (or any) ketchup. Can remember three peoples orders but not ketchup.

Ok, I'm a whiner.

Jerk

2007-01-17T22:08:00.000-06:00

I witnessed some asswipe today whistling and snapping his fingers at a sales clerk trying to get her attention. Does that shit usually work for you? What the hell is the matter with you? Does she look like a Labrador Retriever? Seriously, how rude are you?

If she would have went over and beat the hell out of him she should be exonerated of all charges and I wouldn't have saw a damned thing.

The week ain't over but this tactless P.O.S. earns the "person I want to beat over the head with a shovel" award of the week and want to nominate him for Scott Janz's Idiot of the Week Award.

Minimum Wage Increase?

2007-01-10T16:52:00.000-06:00

Today the House passed a federal minimum wage increase. It now goes to the Senate. The increase, if passed, will go into effect in three stages.

Now if this were Billy Dennis's blog with as many hits as he gets a day, I'm sure I'd get far more hate mail over this. I really don't have anything against the PRINCIPLE of minimum wage going up. What I am against is the issues, problems and costs with which it challenges the small business owner.

Let me set a scenario. Sally has been a stellar employee for Bob's restaurant for 8 years. She can do everything, wait tables, cook, hostess, wash dishes, prep and you can trust her to make a bank run for you. She is eager, ambitious and 99% complete isn't done in her eyes. She treats your business as if it were her own. Any company would love to have an employee like Sally. You pay her $12 an hour and pay a substantial part of her insurance to keep her around. You feel she is a true asset and fairly well compensated for what she does. And then there is Joey the wannabe gangsta high school dishwasher\busperson. He does a fair job, but you frequently have to remind him to take off the dirty apron and take out the nose ring before going out into the dining room. Last week he had on a Scorpion's "Virgin Killers" T-shirt and you had to find him something to cover that up before going out into the dining room. He may or may not feel like picking the fork out of the garbage can that he just dropped in there. However, he is like clockwork..he is always there...not something that can be said about most dishwashers you've previously had. Most seem to like him and he is a friendly sort of kid, but Sally thinks he's a slacker. He has been with you for 6 months and due to his stellar attendance, has been nagging you for a raise over the min. wage he is being paid. You sat him down and set some goals: No Virgin Killer (or the likes) T-shirts, the walkin needs to be mopped every night AFTER the waitstation is put away, just remove the nose ring before starting work and you won't "forget" during your shift, the radio can be on, but not so loud that you can hear it over the dishmachine so the customers out in the dining room get a full dose of Mudvayne and stop clocking in early and "hanging out" trying to "impress" with the younger waitresses. Do this for two months and there is .50 an hour. OK, 50 cents isn't a lot but Sally didn't start out at $12\hr., either. Now I'm going to have pay him $7.25 hour. He's happy. $7.25 an hour and he doesn't have to conform to get 50 cents. Of course, long term employees who are making little more than $7.25 now want a raise because they feel their worth is greater if I'm paying Joey $7.25. Unfortunately for you, Sally is one of these and feels that if you can "afford" to give average employee Joey a +\- $2 raise, she wants one too for not doing anything more than she already does...just like Joey. Kinda sucks, huh? And where are you going to get the extra money for this. Guess jack the price of meatloaf and iced tea, huh? Great...just what your customers will want.

Gotta love small business. Not only does it increase hourly wage, but it increases the amount that the business has to contribute to Social Security, Medicare, on state and federal levels. A $2 raise is almost a $4 raise when you figure ALL the payroll numbers.

I worked for min. wage a lot of years. Heck, I remember $3.15 an hour. But I was never happy with it. Wanted more. Now I'm going to sound really bad. Why are people happy with min. wage or slightly more? If they constantly live on that, don't they think that trying to better themselves, their performance at work, etc. might pay dividends to secure a better paying job or receive merit raises? But they drone on with mediocre work ethics and have little or no ambition to go back to school, etc. to obtain better money. I'll be willing to bet than when $7.25 rolls around the only thing that will improve for some of these people are a better cell phone, a better brand of beer, some new "fashionable" clothes, dying their hair purple, a new tattoo, an Ipod and all sort of other useless stuff instead of fixing their car, taking a college class, paying off a 28% credit card or putting a few bucks back in savings.

OK, yell at me.

One should be able to get a permit....

2007-01-03T22:30:00.000-06:00

After today, I think there should be a law that allows you to get a permit to beat the hell out of a person by any means feasible for using the word "fuck" in front of a child in a public place. What the hell are the matter with people? Ya better not PRAY in public, but going off with the f word in front of kids that aren't your own is totally permissible...?? no wonder this country is (bleep)ed up.

Freedom of speech? Sure. You have all the rights you want to tell the nice EMT person your blood type for the transfusion you're going to need at the hospital to get that 34 Louisville Slugger removed from the side of your head that is causing you to bleed profusely for f-bombing in front of a child.

What Does Federer Have To Do?

2006-12-25T19:11:00.000-06:00

I read where Tiger Woods won the 2006 AP Athlete of the Year Award. I don't have anything against Mr. Woods, but come on, over Swiss tennis star Roger Federer? Even Tiger was surprised:

"What he's done in tennis, I think, is far greater than what I've done in golf," Woods said. "He's lost what ... five matches in three years? That's pretty good."

Federer actually has lost a few more than that, but not many. His record in 2006 was an amazing 92-5, including three of the four Grand Slam titles: the Australian Open, U.S. Open & Wimbledon in addition to 9 other men's singles titles. He utterly annihilated people. NOBODY dominated their sport like Federer did this year.

And Woods wasn't the only person to beat him. LaDainian Tomlinson did too. Geez, what does this guy have to do? Play blindfolded and left handed, beat the world's no 2 & 3 men's tennis players at the same time? Or doesn't he have a hot enough girlfriend\wife?

Woods received 260 points from sports editors around the country. Tomlinson, who already has set an NFL record of 31 touchdowns with one regular-season game left, was second with 230 points. Federer, who lost in the final at the French Open, had 110 points.

I guess he'll have to improve next year....

UPDATE!!!!! I read\heard\saw that Federer was named the Outstanding Athlete of The Year by USA Today. Guess the voters for USA Today didn't get "the same oral perks" the AP people got....

RAISE PROPERTY TAXES and More Complaining

2006-12-23T10:11:00.000-06:00

I don't know where to start.

The Library Board voted to go ahead with a multi million dollar renovation of its Libraries. Whoopee. As President of my house, I just voted to renovate my fourth bedroom and the second phase of my backyard landscaping. What's the difference? They want property taxes to be jacked up to pick up part of the tab. Of course, they want a referendum on a ballot, which unlike the school district, I gotta give than some credit. WTF is it in this town that whenever some identity wants $$ the first thing they go screaming for is to raise property taxes? RAISE PROPERTY TAXES!! RAISE PROPERTY TAXES!! RAISE PROPERTY TAXES!! RAISE PROPERTY TAXES!!

When I started my restaurant, is was my money and a BANK loan. So, I really get pissed off when I hear shit like RAISE PROPERTY TAXES!! because someone wants money for something. Raise your own damned money like I did. Leave us property owners alone. I'm sorry I'm making the library an example; I really have nothing against them; its just the way they want to obtain funds. However, I don't remember the last time I stepped into a library. Maybe in 1994 at Culinary School? So, when the possibility exists that my taxes are going to go up around another $50 bucks, well, I equate it to 2 gallons of really good paint and some plaster patch and I have a room partially done. I don't see me getting $50 use out of the library.

And how long would this tax go on? Will it be like the civic center?

Speaking of the civic center. When are we going to yank that 2% entertainment tax life support system and tell this indentity to stand on its own two feet? Put the 2% into basic services or something. It is time to wean. In 2008 (so they have time to plan their budget - don't want hear any whining), 1/2 of what they get goes away and in 2009, it is time to stand and walk. Which brings me to this rant: Although I don't like the 2% tax, it is something I would rather see than RAISE PROPERTY TAXES!! RAISE PROPERTY TAXES!! all the time. It is a use tax\fee. Ya wanna use it, YOU pay to support it.

I'm done with those multiple rants. Now another one. The school in the East Bluff. I think CJ Summers or Peoria Illinoisan (which one I'm not sure and I'm not going to run around looking for it) said something like this: Ken Hinton & Co. always said the new school was all about the children. So, now that the school isn't going into the park apparently it isn't about these kids anymore. It is about different kids in another part of the city. Well put. Apparently, it is only about certain kids at certain times when it is convenient for Ken & Co. to be concerned about them. So, where to put the school. I guess if I had $877,500 dollars extra to make some suggestions it would help. Someone really needs an asswhooping over that AND pay it back. So, some research. The first thing I though of is where I went to school. Waaay to small. Those of you who are familiar with the Pleasant Hill Antique Mall in EP...that was the "campus". The school sat where the parking lot is, the gym is still there as part of the "mall" and where the new building is was the playground. About when I was in 4th grade, we moved to the school across Pleasant Hill Road. We went back & fourth to the gym for lunch and recess (in the winter) daily. So, I get on mapquest and do a little site comparison between the "new" Pleasant Hill school and where I'm thinking the new EB school should go. Well, I will admit that the ground that PH in EP *might* be a bit bigger, it IS a shitload of space. If you couldn't build a school (not a school, community center, nuclear weapons test site, Indoor football arena, Taj Mahal thingy that Ken & Co. wanted), a gym, parking, a recess area and green space for a ball diamond or whatever, wow, you are building something huge. That space in EP is pretty good size.

There have been many possibilities discussed about the current spot. I still like going south. Build the school on the block south of Frye. When it opens, move the kids. Over the summer, knock down the old one, develop green space and parking. So, it becomes a split campus. The kids are used to crossing the streets there plus they would have adult supervision. People who drive daily in that area are used to the school zone speed limits, etc. As the south end of the campus would be Kansas, the Boys & Girls Club is right there and maybe the two identities could work out some sort of co-sponsorship of afterschool activities. I know I'm gonna catch grief over this idea, but it is only an opinion and I don't have $877,500 to go out and start buying up houses, anyway.

Ok, I think I'm done. Time to find breakfast.

Help Me Out, Here.

2006-12-21T22:41:00.000-06:00

I read in the P.J. Star that the River Station is planning to re-open. I don't have any feelings about it one way or another. However, where in the budget did the city find $150,000 to give the owner a low percentage loan? Can other small, independent restaurant owners get low percentage loans, too, or does the building have to be owned by the city to qualify? Three more shootings, not enough police officers, truancy school closing, fire station not open, sidewalks crumbling, not enough snow plows, yet the city can find $150,000 to low interest loan a private company. Personally, I don't care if it comes from some "special budget" or grant or some shit. I just find something "not quite right" with this.

Something You Didn't See On The News

2006-12-18T11:41:00.000-06:00

Happened on my street. Why in the name of God would anyone attempt taking such a large vehicle around the miniscule area at the end of a dead end street perplexes me. Notice that the side of the bus has been crinkled by the light post and the bus itself is sitting on a fire hydrant.

More Shovel Beatings

2006-12-17T23:36:00.000-06:00

Am I the only one running into mindless idiotic shoppers? Do any of you encounter this shit? I'm doing the last of my Christmas shopping today. I didn't see the sign to which the clerk and the female shopper were "debating". Apparently, the woman had items that were on a sale\discount rack. According to said woman shopper, there was a 20% sale on and she wanted 20% off. But, says the clerk, the 20% off doesn't apply to items previously on sale and that information is clearly posted. Of course, we all know what happened next . I guess I gotta get my ass up and outta bed 5 minutes earlier or quit playing on the computer so I get a head start so I'm in FRONT of these people in line. The joy of the Christmas giving season just goes out the f-in' window during my last two Christmas shopping expeditions.

Next year, all gifts will be purchased over the internet.

Maybe it is me. Maybe it is a guy thing. Maybe there should be a guys only line. I guess I will get hate comments from women readers. We simply don't care. We go in, pick up an item, pay and leave. We don't care if it is on sale, not on sale, 1/2 off with the purchase of a greater priced item, free with additional purchase, etc. ... we have better things to do like mess up the house, drink beer, watch sports or check out eye candy on Billy and Scott Janz's sites than haggle with a clerk over a free thingybob when you buy a whatchamacallit. Great if it is on sale, we have more beer money!!

I'm beginning to think that reading and writing in this country isn't the problem...it is COMPREHENSION. Now I'm going to bash a guy. I'm trying to explain the following: Different manufacturers package items differently even though the item may be darn near identical. One picture shows a table cloth hanging far over the edges of a table and the other has a shorter overhang. There were not enough of the "shorter overhang" picture tablecloths to meet his need and wanted more. The explanation was it is simply a picture...both table cloths are 84" in diameter. "But this one hangs over farther". Maybe the manufacturer used it on a 60" round table so it does appear longer than the other manufacturer that appeared to cloth a 72" round table explaining why one 84" diameter table cloth looks "longer" than another 84" diameter tablecloth. It didn't make a dent...still wanted the "shorter" tablecloth..........

Help me......

Filing this under "people I want to beat over the head with a shovel".

2006-12-15T22:19:00.000-06:00

I'm doing a bit of CHRISTMAS shopping this morning before work. I'm in a department store in the mall (why I go there, I don't know...) and I'm behind this woman in line to check out. She is berating the poor check out clerk because the store was out of what she wanted. The clerk kept saying "I'm sorry" and the woman went on and on and on about how "sorry doesn't get me the gift I want to give", blah, blah, blah. Will you STFU!!! I was looking for something heavy to just beat the hell out of this woman with because a. she was rude b. I'm sure there is nothing the clerk can do about it nor does she have any control over inventory c. she is wasting my time with her ill pointed rant d. I felt bad for the clerk. If you want to bitch, bitch at a manager, call the corporate office, hell, call the world headquarters. What the hell do you expect...the clerk to take a squat and crap you one out? "Gee, there is your fuschia angora sweater in medium, ma'am...has a bit of a stain on it, though." I get to the counter and the clerk was trying to compose herself after bitchzilla's verbal onslaught and look happy. Before she could say anything, I said "What a bitch". I thought the girl was going to pop. With a smile, she replied "They come out of the woodwork at Christmas". Hopefully, I made her day a little brighter (even though beating this woman with a shelving unit would have been more appropriate).

I would like to nominate this unknown woman for Scott Janz's "Idiot of the Week" Award. Hmmm...Scott has this "Idiot" Award. Maybe I need to start the "Person Who Deserves To Be Beat Over The Head With A Shovel" of the Week Award.

Is there a law against this (or should we just get to smack people around for doing it?)

2006-12-10T00:53:00.000-06:00

In my travels the last few days, I've seen three morons shoveling their cars (or whatever) out of mountains of snow by SHOVELING THE SNOW BACK INTO THE STREET!! I saw it again this morning on my way to work. While most of Peoria is bitching about the untimeliness of getting our streets plowed, these yahoos must be oblivious to the fact that with the amount of people irate about (the lack of) snow removal, that they could be putting their physical well being into jeopardy with their actions.

Rewind to last Friday. I dug out my driveway which had a drift about eyeball high to me. I'm thinking I can make it out to Prospect because two neighbors down the street from me have 4 wheel drive vehicles and have made some nice tire trails to follow. I look up the road and what do I see? Two idiotic neighbors shoveling and snowblowing the snow from their driveways into the street blocking any chance for my escape from being snowbound. After a few "choice" words, I calmed down and tried to figure out what would be the best way to let the air out of all their tires so THEY couldn't leave...then I realized I didn't have enough 7.62x39 rounds in house to accomplish that feat.

So, in both cases, what are these mental deficients thinking? I think they better plan an escape route next time because I'm sure I'm not the only one who wants to stomp the shit out of them.

Is all I wanna know is....

2006-12-01T07:50:00.000-06:00

NOW where are all those neighborhood kids that want to shovel my driveway for $20 when there is 1/16" of snow on it ????? Don't hear anyone bangin' on my front door now with that offer today (however, with size of that drift they may need oxygen masks.....)....

Tired of PC Christmas

2006-11-27T17:43:00.000-06:00

I guess I really don't know quite where to start here, so this may ramble a bit.

I'm "fortunate" enough to work in an environment that pumps in canned music for the 10 hours a day I'm there. Last year, and now again this year, the music is all Christmas PC. Well, I'm sick of hearing the same damned songs over and over and over again, because someone may be offended by the word Christ or God or some phrase that might give thoughts to Jesus's birth. Too bad. 20 years ago the biggest fear of a Christmas song might be having to explain to a 9 year old what a virgin was. Why do we have Christmas? What is the reason? Because it is some tradition developed by Hallmark so we spend a bunch of money on stuff to give to people so they can return it to Wal Mart in two days because it is a piece of useless shit to them? No. It is the celebration of Jesus's birth. And this stupid need to play PC Christmas music so no one is offended just well, just offends me.

Yeah, yeah, I was brought up Mennonite. Sue me. I do (and have done) a lot of things a lot of self respecting God fearing Mennonites probably don't do....like curse so profusely that Richard Pryor would have blushed. So, it really doesn't have THAT much to do with this rant.

So, if you are anti-Christian, anti-Jesus, a Buddhist, pessimistic, agnostic, atheist, or whatever then I hope you don't celebrate, buy or receive presents, go to your company's annual Christmas dinner, turn down your annual Christmas bonus, work Christmas eve and Christmas day and turn down the time and a half or give up Christmas pay as it should just be another day for you. And go listen to some PC "happy holidays" pc bullshit.

After hearing Rudolph the fuckin snot nosed reindeer for the millionth time today, I have found a fault in that song. Follow along here: "Rudolph with your nose so bright, won't you guide my sleigh tonight? Then all the reindeer loved him and they shouted out with glee...." OK, enough. Hurts me even to have to type that crap. I don't know about you, but if I was a reindeer hauling Santa's fat ass around all night long and Rudy's nose caused me more work cause fat man could now see where he was going, I wouldn't be shouting out anything gleefully: I'd be kickin' Rudy's ASS!!

So, bring back Away in the Manager, Silent Night, O Little Town of Bethlehem, Joy To The World, The First Noel, Hark, the Heralds Angels Sing, We Three Kings, O Holy Night, The Little Drummer Boy and Oh, Come All Ye faithful. They (whomever "they" are) don't even play O Tannenbaum and its usually in GERMAN...nobody understands it anyway. and as far as the rest of you go who don't like it...stay home and order your CHRISTmas gifts online so I can listen to CHRISTmas music the way it is supposed to be played.

I Got An Idea.....

2006-11-18T11:09:00.001-06:00

Hey, New Orleans!! Need more police protection?? Do what Peoria, IL did an institute a $6 month garbage fee per household that has nothing to do with garbage (well, except supposedly pay to have more police on the street to remove them (not it)) and adds $$ to police coffers. And you're right: surely I jest. I guess the ACLU is trying to protect the 2nd Amendment to by letting people have guns and kill each other at these parades. I jest again. Maybe the ACLU should go to these events and frisk every one....hmmm...now THERE is an idea!!!

ACLU sues New Orleans over parade fees
By CAIN BURDEAU, Associated Press Writer
Thu Nov 16, 11:36 PM ET

NEW ORLEANS - The city is stifling free speech — and threatening a unique part of its culture — by charging steep fees for police escorts at the jazz-and-parasol processions called second lines, the ACLU alleged in a federal lawsuit Thursday.

"If we don't get some relief from the court, this tradition will be taxed out of existence," said Joe Cook, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union in Louisiana.

Police raised fees from about $1,200 to about $4,000 this year after two second-line parades were marred by gunfire. One person was killed and several others wounded.

The fees are so excessive they will infringe on clubs' First Amendment rights by preventing them from holding parades, the ACLU argues.

Franz Zibilich, an assistant city attorney, said that the cash-strapped city is in a no-win situation because it would be blamed for not providing more officers at the processions, and that it needs to raise fees to pay for them.

Second-line parades and their sash-wearing, parasol-twirling participants, mostly members of the working poor, are enmeshed in the city's musical and cultural history.

"In many cases, you have fathers and grandfathers marching with the boys, and I think they do a great deal to strengthen family bonds," said Jason Berry, a New Orleans music writer.

The parades, which usually take place on Sundays and feature brass bands and wild dancing, sprang from New Orleans' jazz procession tradition and inspired Louis Armstrong. They are often organized by black social groups and wend through neighborhoods, drawing people out of their homes and onto the streets.

The clubs, which range in membership from a handful to over 100, often pay for their annual blowouts by holding fundraisers.

Terrence Williams, one of several second-line members attending a news conference with the ACLU, said his three-man group, the New Generation Social Aid and Pleasure Club, will have a hard time coming up with the fee for its Dec. 10 parade.

He said social clubs shouldn't be held responsible for the criminals who cause violence at the events.

"If they want to shoot somebody, they're going to do it; that's the bottom line," Williams said. "But don't penalize us for it. We didn't do it."

The Joys of Home Ownership

2006-11-14T18:20:00.000-06:00

As some of you are aware from reading another blog-o-mine, I have an 85 year old East Bluff home. Last night, I noticed the water heater had sprung a leak. Eh, its 18 years old. I head out to Lowes, buy one and install it without issue. Except for the vent (its gas) being a bit too long, it was a perfect fit (what luck). A hacksaw and 10 minutes later, I'm vented. Turn on water, check for leaks, and two minor ones. Where is that damned 3 foot long pipe wrench? That did it, nope, it didn't take care of them. Disassemble. DAMN!! Those are nasty junked up pipes. Off to the hardware store in search of a lot of new 5/8". New pipes, new fittings. Assemble, assemble, assemble. Turn on water, NO LEAKS!! Sweet!! I hear water running. Into the back room I race and there is OLD Faithful Blowin' H2O all over the friggin' place!! Apparently all that new 5/8" (as the old 5/8" was so gunked up it was more like 1/4") had too much water flow for that poor connection that downsized to 1/2" before heading up stairs. Ah, dry the damned thing off, get some sealer, goop the damned thing up. Wait two hours. Turn on. SWEET!! WTF?? I hear water. Look behind me!! SHITBISCUITS!! Thot the PFD had brought the big hose and was trying to put out an five alarmer!! Turn the damned H2O off. Now the line going to the basement sink on the other side of the house is leaking. M-er F-er. Hmmm...looks like this could have been leaking a bit previously. Where's that pipe wrench. Awfully tight fit. Crank it down a bit more. That should do it. H2O on, more water spewing forth than before. I strung together so many profanities that I would have made George Carlin and Richard Pryor blush. Wrench thrown. Water off. Ladder kicked. More profanities.

So, I'm pissed waaaaay off. I know my German temper will get the best of me and I'll break something....and badly. So, I'm quitting. Time for re-enforcements. Dad is coming over tomorrow night. I think he has a 4' pipe wrench. Fuckin' pipes are in for it now...the old man's gonna whoop your ass bad.

Why Some People Shouldn't Be Allowed Power Equipment

2006-11-05T08:35:00.000-06:00

There is an alley running behind my house. It doesn't get much use as it is a dead end alley. However, along the border of said alley and my property, I keep it fairly well maintained..some landscaping rock, some plants...more for my benefit and enjoyment that anyone else's. Actually, it looks better than my yard!

Well, some nimcompoop (or however that is spelled...actually I wanted to use asshole, but) got weed wacker happy. Now, I want to think it was a city of Peoria employee or maybe park district worker because a. my neighbors are to lazy to do this much weedwacking. b. It appears it runs along the whole alley. Now, it could have been my overindustrious elderly parents trying to improve the whole freeking neighborhood and it wouldn't surprise me a bit. However, they wouldn't have done this:

They weedwacked my 6 1/2 foot tall black hollyhock. WTF? Among all the rest of the well maintained landscaping they think I leave go a 6 1/2 foot weed? How the hell do you operate a gas powered weedwacker and smoke a bong at the same time. Sorry, I just can't say WTF enough!!

To whomever did this. For future reference if you have enough brain cells to remember it, if you see a 6 1/2 plant among neatly maintained landscaping, think for a second: Would the homeowner who neatly maintains this landscaping allow a 6 1/2 foot weed grow in it? Uh, NO, Dummass!! DUH! WTF!!! Are you a Fuckin' MORON!?!?! If you have no common sense to realize the aforementioned, not to mention knowing the difference between a flower (albeit no longer blooming) and a weed, you should NOT be allowed to go wack weeds. I really want to repeatedly beat you in the head with a shovel and plant you head first in a nicely composted hole. Maybe if it was marijuana or a poppy plant you would have known what it was and left it alone (only to sneak back at night and harvest it). WTF!!

OK. If I'm wrong about it being a COP or PPD employee, I'm sorry, but.....WTF!!

Maybe if I call Prez Bush and tell him that illegal aliens are crossing into my back yard, he'll give a few mill to build a wall.....

Why This Person got an F- in Debate 101 While in High School

2006-10-30T22:04:00.000-06:00

This was posted as a response to one of my blogs:

From: "Anonymous"
To: chef_kevin@xyz.com
Subject: [It Just Slays Me] 10/30/2006 06:32:16 PM
Date: Mon, 30 Oct 2006 16:32:20 -0800 (PST)

It's idoit motherfuckers like you that make life harder than what it really is...u fuckin cocksucker. I bet your some white red neck fat sloppy short dick bitch thats having a hard time gettin laid...so your miserable and want everybody else to be miserable like you white ass. I hope someone kill you...shoot you right in the head fa sayin some shut like that...BITCH

--
Posted by Anonymous to It Just Slays Me at 10/30/2006 06:32:16 PM

He wins the debate!! They have convinced me that, well, um, uh, well, nothing, actually. Maybe that they are too ignorant to hold a meaningful debate, should get a spellchecker that works, not be allowed to reproduce and be permanently banned from the internet.

24/7 Government

2006-10-30T12:39:00.000-06:00

Ummm....just wondering who they thought they would reach...the janitor, maybe?

"The ranking (St. Louis being the most dangerous city in which to live), being released Monday, came as the city was still celebrating Friday's World Series victory at the new Busch Stadium. St. Louis has been spending millions of dollars on urban renewal even as the crime rate climbs." "Mayor Francis Slay did not return calls to his office seeking comment Sunday."

Yep, I'm sure Mayor Slay was just sitting around in his office on a SUNDAY afternoon waiting for you to call. Dumbass. Just curious if Mayor Ardis (and no offense here) just hangs out in the mayoral chambers waiting to field calls by the press on Sunday afternoons. Reminds me of the time a PJS reporter called me during my lunch rush and wanted me to answer a few questions. Ah, duh, no, not right now. Didn't quite grasp the concept that someone had to actually be cooking to be able to serve lunch: "Please call me back in 45 minutes and I'll answer all your questions" "Its only a few questions" I understand that, but someone has to cook" "But its only a few questions" To which "What if it was your lunch I was supposed to be cooking....still want to ask those questions?" And I hung up.

On a side note: Detroit was the second worst city on the list. Wow. St. Louis beat the hell out of Detroit twice in one week! (Albeit one whoopin' ain't worth braggin about.)

Who is this Woman?

2006-10-26T10:52:00.000-05:00

I know Peoria Illnoisan and I have lamented that there just isn't a lot of good music anymore. All these rappers and their wannabes, pop darlings who wear less clothes than they have talent and "rock" music which is so depressing sounding that I'm not sure if it isn't a good incentive to kill yourself,(Ok, I'm kidding about the last one.) just makes you want to turn off the radio.

I'm sorting through some old VCR tapes. I come across a Rolling Stones concert that was broadcast on HBO maaaany years ago...maybe late 80's\early 90's. During "Gimme Shelter" this background singer takes the mic from Mick and Holy Shit this woman has some serious pipes and just blew Mick off his stage!! Fast forward to the end of the tape to find out who this woman is. Lisa Fischer. A little internet search find out she sang background for Luther Vandross and then Tina Turner. Since (plus or minus the) mid late '80's she sings back up for the Rolling Stones. She released an album in 1991 which won a Grammy for the song "How Can I Ease The Pain". However, the rest of the album (was listening to bits on I Tunes) is that synthesised bubble gum 1990's pop stuff (think Whitney Houston's Dance with Somebody) which with such a great blues voice...eh, doesn't work. Oh, and she has Mariah Carey's range too boot or very close to it. Yet, since 1991, she hasn't much of anything besides back the Stones (which might not be the worst gig on the planet). This is sad.

Anyway, two You Tube links:

How Can I Ease The Pain (Mariah Carey-like vocal gymnastics and range at the end of the song)

Singing "Gimme Shelter" with the Stones. Particularly like it when she slaps Mick, who obviously needs dance lessons, on the back of the head.

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Come on Mick, front Lisa some cash to put out a blues R&B CD...she's too good to be singing behind your old ass.

Why is Ameren smiling

2006-10-23T22:25:00.000-05:00

I'm watching a tennis match between Roger Federer and Bjorn Borg... the cool Swiss vs. the stoic Swede. Blistering backhand passing shots, icy cold stares, so much topspin that they have to change tennis balls every three points cause they knocked the fuzz off 'em. Points seem to last forever as the two bombard each other with punishing, pinpoint groundstokes.

Of course, its a dream. But wow, an "in his prime" Borg vs. Federer. Damn that would be something to see.

Now, I'm sure you're wondering a. what the hell brought this on b. what does it have to do with Ameren doing the happy dance.

I'm driving home from work tonight. It's 9:45 PM. It's a bit windy. Its 36F. And ALL the fucking lights are brightly beaming down on the Glen Oak tennis courts along Prospect!!! What the hell? Is this for security reasons so someone doesn't steal the nets. Big black market for stolen tennis court nets.

Ummm....where is the Park District getting the $$ to pay Ameren for night upon night of unused, lighly lit, nobodyplayingonawindy36fnightat9:45pmtenniscourts? I think it's from this piece of paper I get every spring that makes my blood boil.

If the shoe where on the other foot...

2006-10-19T23:45:00.000-05:00

The more I think about it, the more I think, WTF.

First, before someone goes apeshit, I DO NOT want North Korea to have "the bomb".

But if I am North Korea, I'm thinking two things. One, if I have the bomb, no one is going to fuck with me because they all know I'm slightly askew. Two, If I back down, the rest of the world thinks I'm a big wuss because I bowed before the almighty USA and I ain't going to be someone's bitch, so Fuck off USA.

Now, if N.K. had the bomb and we didn't and we were always a bit worried that their government could deep fry us into the next millennium, what would the US do? Say, OK, North Korea, we won't build the bomb because you tell us not to, or FUCK YOU ya bunch of shitheads, now WE'VE got a bomb, too, so suck our ass. Damn straight, skippy, choice number two.

So while I don't blame them for wanting to build it and have it, I still think we should kick their ass for shits and giggles and well, if you take off the pitty pat Vietnam and Iraq kiddy gloves, just annihilate them. Screw with us and well....

get a few Sam Adams in me and I get a little fiesty, huh?

It Only Proves...

2006-10-18T17:09:00.000-05:00

This link proves two things:

A. Some people just have waaaaay toooooo much money

B. Why I buy my art at Wal-Mart

Well, THAT Certainly Helps Make Your Point.

2006-10-12T16:23:00.000-05:00

In the last week or so, it seems to me that there has been a lot more name calling, etc. in the Peoria area blogosphere than normal. On The Blogfathers' and Vonster's websites, I dunno, it is almost tiring reading all the insults. If you can't get your point across in a simple debate without calling someone a shit for brains, f*ckhead, dumbass, numnuts, etc. or accusing them of sleeping with farm animals, sympathizing with Al Quieda or being a facist Nazi pig, well, maybe your point isn't worth expressing. I for one think it makes you sound less intelligent and it takes away from your argument. Maybe he spits venom and throws things around his office, but this guy very well documents AND gets his point across and never (as far as I know) has ever called anyone a dickhead.

Recently the Knight and I had a fairly civil debate on the smoking in restaurants issue. I think we will agree to disagree on that topic (even though I think I have come up with a better compromise), but at least we didn't call each other assholes (or the like). Now if he called me a slightly overweight, starting to bald, old car driving onion chopper, OK, that's fair.

I had some people call me lower than dirt things about my post regarding Spike Lee's film "When the Levees Broke". It's OK, I've got thick enough skin to handle a few foul mouthed (or typists) comments as it made them sound so less intelligent I had to laugh.

So, from now on, in any of my blogs' comments, you call someone a shithead or anything of the like, I've placed my "EASY" button over the delete key.

New Downtown Hotel

2006-10-06T09:45:00.000-05:00

I know this topic has been all over the Peoria blog-o-sphere, but I thot I would put in my two cents. In today's Peoria Journal Star, City Manager has made an inquiry to an unspecified developer about putting in an upscale hotel next to the civic center. Mayor Ardis knows nothing about this and directive didn't come from the city council. Hey, if Oliver can find a developer who will foot the bill and not want public money or TIFs, good for him. My only question is why a high end hotel? Great if we have a hotel that will help the Civic Center attract new business and conventions solely at the developers\hotel's expense, but will they come if rooms are three figures a night?

Which brings me to a question. If the hotel is such a F N great idea, why are hotel chains lining up at the City Council's door? Uh, huh.

In the same article it mentions the much maligned City Centre. The owner wants financial assistance to fix it. He owns 33 hotels. Crack open the books, dude, and lets take a peek at how much $$ you actually have and see if you REALLY need a loan or if this is some sort of extortion. And if the city gives you $5 million (read the article and you know where I get this number) What do we get? A percentage of the income to pay back the loan?

There is an idea in there somewhere. Oh, there it is. Let the city match funds of the owner to repair the City Centre. If the owner spends a mil, the city puts in a mil. Where does the city get a mil? From the Civic Center bloodline, of course. (Hey, Civic Center, its been a buttload of years that you've been on taxpayer life support, its time to pull the plug.) When the the hotel is hoppin' again due to renovations and all the business the Civic Center will have, the owner can pay the city the amount loaned back.

Then we can buy more street cameras and fancy garbage cans.

For a few million a year, I'll get used to it.

2006-10-06T00:32:00.000-05:00

The NBA is going to start using a new ball this year. Some players are hating it already. According to the NBA:

"The new model, the league said in a release, "is a microfiber composite with moisture management that provides superior grip and feel throughout the course of a game."

(Shaq) O'Neal, along with many of his Heat teammates, strongly disagree.
"I think the new ball is terrible," O'Neal said Monday. "It's the worst decision some expert, whoever did it, made. (It)feels like one of those cheap balls that you buy at the toy store, indoor-outdoor balls," O'Neal said. "I look for shooting percentages to be way down and turnovers to be way up, because when the ball gets wet you can't really control it. Whoever did that needs to be fired. It was terrible, a terrible decision. Awful. I might get fined for saying that, but so what?"

It's only the second time in 60 seasons the NBA has changed its game balls, and the first time in 35 years.

"I don't like it, because it's different," Heat backup center Michael Doleac said. "You get used to something, you don't want to change it. ... But in three years, we'll probably all look back and not be able to imagine playing with anything else."

The new composite will be the third type of ball Heat guard Dwyane Wade will use in four months.

Last season's finals were played with the traditional leather ball, then the FIBA world championships used a ball that was slightly smaller than the NBA model — something Wade spent most of the summer getting familiar with.

"Now I've got to make another adjustment with a ball that I haven't shot with at all and it's going to be a challenge," Wade said. "That means it's going to take a lot of late nights for me, I'll tell you that, to get really adjusted to the ball because I have no choice."

Ok, I've never played a lot of organized ball. However, I do agree with Shaq that any composite ball just doesn't have the feel of a leather one. Even though I don't play much, I own both and even a hack like me prefers the leather.

But WAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!! I make $10 million a 1/2 year and now I have to practice a bit more so I get used to a new ball. If I told my boss "Gee, I can't chop that onion very well because I don't have my JA Henckels knives and have to use Chicago Cutlery", my ass would have been told to get back in the kitchen and make myself familiar where the Band-aids were.

I think I'll take the test.

2006-10-02T17:44:00.000-05:00

I have a My Space page. I dunno about the rest of the My Spacers out there, but when I sign in to check my site, change things, etc., about 99% of the time an ad for True comes up. For those unaware, True is an online dating service that seems to be a bit more provocative than Yahoo, AOL or Match.com. So, I'm signing on last night and this pops up:

Hmmmm... (and doesn't the above woman have a little Jennifer Garner going on?)

I have to laugh though. This is the first time this "test" has popped up in their ad. Usually, one of the following vixens are enticing me to join True:

Now, really. Do they think I'm that naive that I am going to find these model-esque, 20 something hotties with a come hither look searching for slightly overweight, thinning hair mid 40 guys like me? Please. Nor do I expect to find any of them. Now gals, don't get your VSs all twisty here...cause I'm sure they put the Matthew McConaughey stud-a-likes on your computer so you sign right up.

Anyway, I find it comical. Give me this woman anyday.

Back to my regularly scheduled My Space maintenance.

Let's ban this, too.

2006-09-28T00:13:00.000-05:00

The ongoing debate to ban cigarette smoking boggles my mind. I'm against the ban and I don't smoke. In fact I hate smoke. Actually, if was banned in restaurants, I wouldn't shed too many tears, but I think they should leave bars alone. What I mean by a bar is a place that's alcohol sales exceed food sales.

I've heard some of the lamest excuses for banning smoking such as "if the restaurant owner doesn't ban smoking, he obviously doesn't carte about your health so you should wonder what the kitchen looks like". Gee, the last place I worked that allowed smoking, my heath department scores were always in th mid 90's. Yep, that argument made sense.

If you don't like it don't go. If you are an aethiest, you don't go to church. If you are a recovering alcoholic, you don't go to Super Liquors. If you think strippers are degrading themselves, you don't go to Big Als. If you are afraid of needles, drills and novocaine, you probably stay away from the dentist. Ah, the argument is that none of those will kill you. Very true, but neither will smoking if you stick to your beliefs and don't go into places that allow that behavior.

So, what's next. The "its not good for you so lets ban it" are at it again in NYC (where smoking has been banned for 3 years). What now:

NEW YORK - Three years after the city banned smoking in restaurants, health officials are talking about prohibiting something they say is almost as bad: trans fatty acids.

That's right folks, they want to ban any food that has transfat in it. Its getting ridiculous.

Gonna Have To Put Some Coked Up Squirrels On A Treadmill

2006-09-18T19:13:00.000-05:00

Yeah, gotta figure out a way to conserve more energy now that our good friends at Ameren are going to get to jack prices up +\-55%.

I've posted on this before and not much has changed. I did get a little taxation lesson\reply from Eyebrows McGee that a. either confused the hell out of me b. pissed me off more. I like b. I'm thinking two ICC accounting classes in the '80's probably doesn't qualify me to make this statement, but what the hell. If they get corporate tax breaks or pay less in taxes due to all their 5 figure event sponsorships and giving a cool million to a St. Louis hospital, etc., where does the tax break money go? Did anyone see "The money we saved on taxes by getting breaks since we sponsored community events" refund on your Ameren bill last year? I missed it too.

I hear that prices have been frozen for 10 years and they should rise. Gee, Ameren is still in biz, gobbled up CILCO, makes millions in profits, donates\sponsors millions and the pictures on their website shows some higher ups lookin' pretty sharply dressed all on charging 1996 prices. So how stupid am I not to see the dire necessity of raising prices 55%? What am I missing? Someone not get caviar at the last board of directors meeting? The Bentley not get its 2x a month detailing? I'm not saying they aren't allowed one. But 55%? Better start cranking up the fireplace a lot more.

With the dividend where it is on their stock, its time to start investing.

I don't want to sound cold, but...

2006-09-10T14:44:00.000-05:00

I was listening to NPR this morning. I caught part of a discussion about how family, friends, etc. of the victims of 9/11 want their departed to be listed on the Memorial.

I'm sorry. I don't want to sound callous, cold, unsympathetic, etc., but there are people who want different groups of the victims to be categorized with those whom which they perished. One woman thought that all co-workers on the upper floors above the plane strikes should be together. One thought each tower should have its own Memorial. There were a few others. I guess I can maybe see the fallen rescue personnel listed separately.

What is wrong with alphabetical order? If you want designate, a star, asterisk, ^, #, + will be put after a name with a footnote to what the symbol means at the bottom of the memorial. What happens if someone falls into two or three groups? List them 2 or 3 times? If you don't know what category they fall into, how would you locate the name?

Ahhh...before you get your FTL's all in a twist, my grandfather's name is on Ellis Island. That was a task trying to find HIS name as another man had the exact same name. While I'm not saying the Ellis Island Memorial is a clusterf..., seems to me that alphabetical and the year they came over would have been more simple. Maybe it seemed what they did at the time made sense. Maybe all these different groups, etc. that these people on NPR were talking about makes sense now, but in 2075 when little Timmy is trying to find his great grandfather's name on this memorial, he better know that great grandpa was an accountant working on the 68th floor in the south building, was called in on his day off and was wearing a blue suit on 9/11/01.

An interesting question.....

2006-09-05T19:17:00.000-05:00

Over on Scott Janz's website, Scott is a bit upset with all the liquor licenses being granted near his home and what it is doing to his taxes. But it brings up an interesting point. If you want a liquor license, you hope you get the liquor commissions and the neighbors approval. Especially, the close neighbors. This seems to be a big concern of the city's. Applications, notifications, fingerprinting, hearings, etc. But why doesn't it seem to be a big concern to build a new school (Glen Oak Park version) a hundred feet from an existing liquor license?? Things that make you go Hmmmmmmmmm....

Personally, I think you should have a permit to have a dog. That way, when Fido is barking his f-in' head off at 4:00 AM, the cops can track the owner to dog, put the dog in the house and throw the owner in the "pen" for disturbing the peace.

And What Do You Think Of This??

2006-09-04T10:51:00.000-05:00

I got an e-letter from Jim Ardis. It wasn't a personal letter, it was "bulk rate" so to speak. Does anyone else get this? Any way, below is its contents.

"I hope this month's message finds you having enjoyed a nice Midwestern summer and looking forward to another school year. Even if you don't have children in school, you can certainly anticipate increased traffic around schools, more students in the neighborhoods near schools and all of the associated school-related comings and goings in the city. Be sure to be careful and watch for our children in those areas. Personally, I can't wait for high school football. Mimi and I love going to varsity games on Friday nights and frosh-soph games on Saturday morning.

In other news around the city, we're expecting an important decision about the location the school board will select for the new school to be built on the East Bluff. We've all heard plenty about the pros and cons of rebuilding on or near the current footprint of Glen Oak School vs. building the new school near Glen Oak Park. As you know, I am hopeful the school will remain at the current location. I firmly believe that building a new school at the same location as before will achieve the visions of the School Board and Superintendent Hinton, while also revitalizing and reinvigorating the current building's neighborhood. It is a difficult decision for the School Board and one they don't take lightly. The City has made an offer to partner in helping make the Glen Oak School site happen and Councilmember Manning has done an outstanding job of helping us come up with an offer we hope they will accept.

As we look into September, we will continue our Budget discussions for the City's '07 budget. We started the hearings early this year to be sure the Council had the opportunity to thoroughly understand the budget issues and communicate their priorities to the staff as early as possible. When we start this process every year, many of you ask the City to provide more services while also requesting tax reductions. Over the last six or seven years we have squeezed most of the inefficiencies out of local government, so it is going to be increasingly difficult to provide a high level of public safety, good roads and the other programs you want and need without a new revenue stream.

This is not to say that we won't be able to balance the budget this year without new revenues, but you will likely see a reduction in some services if we can't identify more dollars. Something all Peorians should be aware of - but most aren't - is that the City has maintained the same tax rate for nearly 10 years. The $1.27/hundred assessed valuation is a number your council has worked hard to maintain. At the same time, our City has grown geographically and, just as you have likely experienced in your own homes, the costs to just maintain our existing infrastructure and operations continue to grow. One of the difficulties in seeking new revenues this year will be our upcoming at-large election in the Spring. Those seeking political office are reluctant to enhance fees or raise taxes during an election, for obvious reasons.

I talk with many people daily who request that we dedicate more financial resources to public safety. For those who live in troubled neighborhoods the reason is clear. For those who live in safer neighborhoods, they want to ensure that their neighborhoods remain free from the encroachment of crime.

With all of this in mind, the big question I have for all Peorians is "Would you be willing to provide the City with a new revenue stream to increase financing to public safety, with the understanding that 100% of the new revenue stream would be dedicated to improving police protection and adequate fire service throughout the city?" I hope we all understand that even if we had a police officer on every corner it will not completely eliminate crime, but if we are able to utilize new technology (camera's, etc) and allocate resources for a dedicated gang crime prosecutor we will have an opportunity to be more successful in making your neighborhoods safer. Keep in mind this could be in a form other than a property tax increase.

As we continue to wrestle with this issue, I'd appreciate input from you in order to ensure we're taking into account a wide variety of opinions. In an effort to make that feedback easy for you, I'm including a question below and asking that you consider answering it honestly and constructively. This will not be a highly scientific poll, but it will provide me and the council with some insight on the sentiments of those who receive this email. Also, please don't hesitate to forward this message to other citizens who may not receive it so that they, too, can respond. Again, please understand that the Council has not even discussed revenue enhancements yet - I am merely trying to get ahead of the inevitable debate by getting a pulse on your comfort level for helping us in our crime fighting/public safety efforts with more money.

When considering this topic, it's important to remember that not only has the City held the line on your tax rate for the services we provide for a decade, but also that the City of Peoria performs all of these services with only twelve cents of every dollar you pay in real estate taxes. TWELVE CENTS. Only 12% of your real estate bill goes to the City of Peoria.

Please respond to the following question:
I would be willing to pay more on my real estate taxes if the money were to be spent only on public safety in Peoria (police and fire).

Yes

No

As a point of reference, a $.15 cent increase in your property tax would generate the following amounts depending on the value of your home:

Property Tax Increase Amount

Home Value 100,000 150,000 200,000 $$ Generated

cent increase
0.10 $2.33\month $3.75\mo. $5.17\mo. $1.6 Million
0.15 $3.85\month $5.57\mo. $7.75\mo. $2.4 Million
0.20 $4.75\month $7.50\mo. $10.25\mo. $3.2 Million

I look forward to your feedback and encourage you to participate in the budget discussions by letting myself and other council members know how you feel about our budget priorities. I will continue to focus on improving our educational opportunities, increasing safety in the whole city and bringing new job opportunities to our citizens. I hope that you will join us in achieving these goals.

OTHER POTENTIAL NEW REVENUE STREAMS

The following are other potential revenue opportunities and the amount of revenue each would be expected to generate.

1% increase in Amusement Tax (movies, video rentals, etc) $392,000
1% increase in "H" Tax (on hotel rooms) $302,000
5% utility tax on water $1,250,000

In closing please don't panic. Your City Council began budget discussions several months early in an attempt to work though another very difficult budget year. All options are on the table at this time as they should be. After direction is given to staff, we will look for your input to help us establish the final '07 budget later in the fall. I look forward to your feedback.

Jim Ardis
Mayor
309.494.8519"

Well, folks of the blogging world?

Am I reading this right. Only $.12 cents of every property tax dollar goes to the city of Peoria but the proposed increases start at $.10? That's a healthy jump. How about $.03 and see how that works first?

My thots are this: As a home owner, I'm tired of hearing every time something\someone needs $$ the first thing that comes out of the mouth of those who want $$ is to raise property taxes. How about a 1/2% increase on food bought at a grocery store. EVERYBODY eats. This way it effects everyone, just not property owners. Essential services effects everyone thusly it should come from everyone. How about telling the Civic Center to start standing on its own two damned feet and take the 2% the city is slapping on restaurants, etc. and putting that $$ to essential services? How about when the District 150 bonds come due, give the homeowners a break: we get half of what used to go to D150 bonds and the other half goes to E.S. That way I won't miss it as much. How about sitting 2 undercover police officers at each major intersection along War Drive and bust all those people who turn left WAAAY after the light has turned red. At $100 a pop, War and Prospect would rake in 2K a day. How about a shiny copper Lincoln on every outbound cell phone call (I'd be pissed about incoming with all the shit phone calls I get).

I dunno. I'm tired of sinking $$ into my house, the taxes go up, but I see conditions of some of the houses on my block and the area go downhill making all my improvements worth what? Bringing my house back to the value that I paid for it (regardless of what the "assessed valuation" is)?

However, let's say for instance the $ .15 mentioned above does go into effect. If "improving police protection" doesn't lower crime, do I get it back? Will someone say "Hell, that ain't working, let's not tax homeowners next year: we're taking their money, but not living up to our end of the bargain. If we give $ .15, what will be the goal in crime reduction..2%? 10%? 20%? How will we guage the results? To quote Timothy Olyphant in "The Girl Next Door": "Is the juice worth the squeeze?" (AH, but not quite in the same context as Mr. Olyphant was suggesting). If we are going to feel the squeeze are we going to get the juice?

I can't fathom having Mayor Ardis's job. It's gotta be hard trying to please everyone. But how much money has Peoria put into things like the RecPlex, promising $$ to the new museum, etc. while those monies, I think, should have went to essential services first. Oh, wait, I already said that .

Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs vs. Peoria

2006-08-28T11:00:00.002-05:00

We keep being told that we need things like the Civic Center expansion, zoo, regional museum, etc. to help draw people to Peoria. But let's get real. Is this what is going to draw people to Peoria? What do you think people first look for when they move to a new city due to a new job or any other reason? Cost and standard of living, schools, crime, housing costs and general amenities. Sounds like some pretty basic stuff. WOW...the basics, the essentials. Sounds like the stuff some behavioralist developed that we were preached to about over and over and over again in college management classes. Maslow said you need to achieve and sustain the basics then move to and sustain each new level until you reach self fulfillment. Thusly, we need to look at, and apply, Maslow's hierarchy of needs to Peoria.

First, you need your very basic needs. Sleep, food, shelter, oxygen and water. I'm going to forego this one, because, hopefully, you can get this in most cities. However, I'm going to use this section for basic qualities of living in a city. How are the schools? Shopping for necessities, general resources for the basic standards of living and the resources to get around?

Second is safety. With crime rising in Peoria, will prospective Peorians feel safe here? Do we have jobs here that will make people feel financially safe? Fire and ambulance services?

Third falls into belongingness and love. This is hard to relate to a city, but this is where I would put things like hospitals, city essentials like garbage pick-up, water quality, quality of roads & sidewalks, transportation, the opportunities to raise a family here. How does our cost of living compare? I guess one could add here are there religious, social and ethnic groups here that a prospective Peorian associates with?

Fourth is esteem needs. Do we have a growing economy? Are people generally happy with Peoria? Does it offer not only good employment, but steady employment with opportunity for advancement. In other words, can you more than just live here, can you thrive and succeed here?

Fifth is "does Peoria offer more or less extras than a comparatively sized city". What is the cost involved to be part of these extras?

Last is what we say at work. "It's just extra gravy on top of the 'tators", which means if all things are equal between us and some other city, what is Peoria's "extra gravy"? The cherry on the sundae? The knock out punch. The ace on match point, the hole in one on the 18th?

We can have Denver's view of the Rockies to our west, Savannah, GA's riverfront, St. Charles, MO's downtown, the rolling hills of southern MO to the south and the pristineness of upper Minnesota to our north, but would that make a heck of a lot of difference if your kids go to declining schools, you are in fear of getting shot, a stagnant job base and roads and sidewalks falling to decay? No.

The old saying is "build it and they will come". That may be true, but will they stay? It seems Peoria is working on Maslow's five and six and figure one through four will eventually follow. I don't think that is how Maslow intended it to work.

Burglar Wants Police Help

2006-08-19T10:58:00.000-05:00

I'm LMAO.

"A juvenile was in a Hyde Park home Thursday afternoon when he tried to take the law into his own hands.

Around 2:45 p.m., Jonathon Smith, 18, of Shreveport, broke into a home in the 700 block of Kingridge Place where the juvenile lived, said Kacee Hargrave, Shreveport Police Department spokeswoman. Authorities were unsure of the juvenile's age late Thursday.

The juvenile then chased Smith out into the street, firing a semiautomatic weapon at him. One of the shots grazed Smith's leg, Hargrave said. He was taken to LSU Hospital according to a hospital spokeswoman.

A neighbor was standing outside when Smith ran by.

"I heard four shots," she said. "Then (Smith) ran across the yard and told me to call 911."

The shooter was taken into custody and charges are being considered, said Sgt. Pam Lee. An investigation of the incident continues and authorities are also looking into charging Smith for the burglary, Lee said."

Ok, I'm not condoning that you should be running down the street popping shots off at someone who was burglarizing your home. There is a law against that. Inside your house is a different matter. But ya gotta laugh at the burglar dude wanting the cops called.

Even though you kinda hafta give it up for the kid preventing crime, the sad truth is there is a minor, who has access, the know how and the ability to be running down the street firing a semi-automatic weapon at someone.

The article http://www.shreveporttimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060818/NEWS01/608180326/0/BREAKINGNEWS goes on to say that there had been a rash of burglaries in the area of late and hopefully for this community, this junior vigilante has taken care of the problem.

Sounds like something Peoria would do.

2006-08-12T09:01:00.000-05:00

I read this nonsense and immediately thought, this is something Peoria would do. Ok, the kid could be violating some law depending on who you talk to in their city. Next they will want him to collect sales tax. I can't believe this town's zoning people, city council, etc. have nothing better to do than fight nightcrawler sales. Hell, if THAT is the biggest problem in this city, hell, anyone want to buy a house...I'm moving there.

Who are your friends?

2006-08-09T10:52:00.000-05:00

Comments like this bother me a bit:

“I’m here today asking, ‘What are we going to do about this?’” said Powell, who asked Mayor Jim Ardis to “maybe have a press conference or something to speak with the citizens.”

Juanita Powell’s son, 29-year-old Travis Powell, died after being shot multiple times in the driveway of 1536 W. Butler St. Five days later, her nephew was on his way home when he was shot in the back. He survived.

I hate to hear about people getting killed. But what is the city supposed to do? Hand out free bullet proof vests to anyone who think they may get shot at?

My question to Ms. Powell is "What activities was your son involved in that got him shot multiple times and your nephew involved with that got him shot in the back?" I can't believe this was coincidental. Nor can I believe the son getting shot multiple times a simple, random drive by. I can't believe some 80 year old woman was bustin' some 9's at them for picking daisies out of her front yard.

It appears these were grown men. Arguably, it appears they made some bad decisions and someone didn't like what those were. But Ms. Powell is asking the city to know what bad decisions people are making, who they are making them with and then wanting the COP to stop any (unknown to COP) actions that may be taken. WOW, does Mayor Ardis and the Chief of Police have a crystal ball?

I guess what I'm saying if you earn an honest living and stay away from those who tend to get involved with illegal or questionable activities, your chances of getting shot while mowing your yard will probably decrease.

I Can't believe I just read this!!

2006-08-09T00:05:00.000-05:00

Was this ACTUALLY said by a District 150 Board Member: ""There is a real cost in terms of how many schools we end up replacing. We have a finite capacity to do so," Matheson said.

THUD!! (that was me falling out of my chair)

Oh, wait. I'm reading out of context. It doesn't say "We have finite financial means to do so". I'm sorry, I just saw real costs and finite in the same sentence from a D150 higher up and was stunned.

Oops. Never mind. Go about your blogging. Sorry. My bad.

When The Levies Broke

2006-07-30T03:02:00.000-05:00

I'm watching HBO last night. I see an advertisement for an upcoming documentary on HBO called "When The Levies Broke" which is about Katrina\New Orleans. It is by Spike Lee. I saw this commercial several times and the more I saw it, the more it looks like Spike should have named it "When The Levies Broke It Only Affected The Poor Black Folks of New Orleans". Except for an odd rescue worker or two and a city council woman which were white, everyone in the movie trailer was black. One quick segment had a middle aged black gentleman say: If black people don't move back to New Orleans, it may still be called New Orleans, but it won't be New Orleans.

Before I get sued by Spike Lee, hey, maybe HBO picked out all these clips\trailers. But it should be interesting to see if Mr. Lee presents what happened to all ethnic groups in the aftermath of Katrina. Maybe I should have reserved judgment until I watch this two part documentary, but I just found the promotional material a little too one dimensional not to make me go "Hmmmmm......what is Spike going to portray?"

But Spike and everyone screaming that the feds did very little for N.O., I still say, N.O. and the State of LA knew this shit may occur for decades and what did they do? And maybe the fed government might listen to them and others that could be in the same predicament ahead of time and save us taxpayers some cash preventing instead of cleaning up. And for the people who had the means to get out and didn't? I've bitched about these issues before at New Orleans

BTW, Spike...I missed your documentary on "When The Levies Were Too Low: The Aftermath of the Great Midwestern Flood of 1993". Maybe not as many lives lost, but flooded communities, lost homes, autos, businesses, billions in crop damage, ruining farmland for years or decades, damages and total destruction to levies, dams and river cities along the Illinois, Mississippi, Missouri, North Platte and Ohio Rivers effecting 11 states was catastrophic. River commerce and bridges closed for months effecting far more business than just along the rivers. Guess the biggest natural disaster in the US until Katrina (estimated at 17 billion compared Katrina @ 25 billion in damage) wasn't worth documenting. Hmmm. Wonder why?

I Can't See.....

2006-07-18T09:03:00.000-05:00

I'm reading Pammy's post entitled Driving Miss Daisy where Pam is voicing her aggravations about driving. Point number 9 kinda jogged my memory banks. It reminded me about the bitch I had one afternoon in a local supermarket parking lot that I forgot to rant about.

When I came out with my stuff, on one side of me was one of these huge SUVs, like an Escalade. On the other side was a Ford F350, dual back wheeled, mini monster truck. I own a sports sedan, so I'm kinda low to the ground. However, in a normal car, I think you'd have just about the same problem. Well, to see backing out if the "coast was clear" was quite the chore and I got honked at once. Ah, bite me...if you think I could see where I was going do you REALLY think I would be pulling out in front of you?

Hmmm...handicap parking, expectant mother parking, mothers with small children parking, senior citizen parking, how about giant super sized vehicle parking somewhere in the back 40?

Now what could have been possibly going on?

2006-07-16T17:18:00.000-05:00

A Peoria man was shot to death at Harrison Homes early Saturday as a crowd of residents looked on.

Ingersoll said police were called at 2:37 a.m. to 2719 W. Trewyn Ave.

{A witness said} "He just came up to the SUV and shot the boy; it was a big crowd, and they were shooting in the crowd".

WhyTF is a large crowd hanging around an SUV at 2:37 in morning? And better yet, if there was a big crowd of people around, there would be plenty of witnesses, but yet "no arrests had been made by Saturday night". Wonder if the two instances have something to do with each other? Large group of people hanging around a SUV at 2:30 am and no witnesses\arrests....... Well we do know it was "he" and they". Maybe the police should go out and arrest somebody, anybody, nobody and everybody....

O Pleez

2006-07-09T22:42:00.000-05:00

This really can't be serious:

WASHINGTON -- When "say," "they" and "weigh" rhyme, but "bomb," "comb" and "tomb" don't, wuudn't it maek mor sens to spel wurdz the wae thae sound?

Those in favor of simplified spelling say children would learn faster and illiteracy rates would drop.

It has been 100 years since Andrew Carnegie helped create the Simplified Spelling Board to promote a retooling of written English and President Theodore Roosevelt tried to force the government to use simplified spelling in its publications.

But advocates aren't giving up.

They even picket the national spelling bee finals, held in Washington, costumed as bumble bees and hoisting signs that say "Enuf is enuf but enough is too much" or "I'm thru with through."

"It's a very difficult thing to get something accepted like this," says Alan Mole, president of the American Literacy Council, which favors an end to "illogical spelling."

I guess words have gotten harder to spell since I was in fifth grade? Oh, wait, they are the SAME words. It's called one thing: study. Put down the X-Box, get off the cell phone, quit playing\IMing\My Space-ing on the computer and crack open a book and learn how to spell.

In the business I'm in, you have to be able to spell, without spell check. If you can't spell the product to find the product for a customer, well, it's a lost sale and maybe even a lost customer. Applicants with more than one error rarely see an interview as it, well, the last sentence says it all.

Congrats

2006-07-09T12:00:00.000-05:00

This really isn't a rant about anything. I enjoy watching tennis as it was a sport I played semi competitively at one time. I love watching Roger Federer play and watching him play reminds me of my childhood idol, Bjorn Borg. The smooth topspin strokes, the dazzling backhand passing shots, the cool unraveled look, win or lose, reminds me of the stoic Swede. What a battle Federer & "an in his prime" Borg would be.

Congats, Roger, even though you will probably not read this. You can win one more to tie Bjorn's 5 straight Wimbledon men's single titles, but then I hope someone kicks your ass so you don't break it :)

A bit of advice, though (even though you won't read it): Don't get married. Except for Andre Agassi, I think every men's tennis player at or near the top of his game who gets married, falls from the top ten, then 20 and then off the radar. Borg himself, Sampras, Lendl, Wilander, Connors (I guess if you are going to tumble out of the rankings, landing on 1977 Playboy Playmate of the Year, Patti McGuire sure is a great way to break the fall), Becker, Johnny McEnroe.... Ok, some these guys were getting old, but most were in their mid late 20's.

Speaking of John McEnroe, here is a word of advice to the runner up, Rafael Nadal: Hire Johnnie Mc as your serving coach. No lefty ever served like J Mac. With the rare exception, it always appeared that Federer knew where you were going to serve and was always right there to return. Add J Mac's serve, with an added 20 mph to it, to your arsenal and Borg's record will be safe in '08.

Tsk.

2006-06-25T08:33:00.000-05:00

This reminds me of my very first post on this blog called Bitch Slapped by Granny
I'm at a local Home Improvement store. I track down an employee to give me a bit of advice on an adhesive I was needing. This guy is about done explaining the difference between two different products and this woman walks up and just starts talking. "I've been searching this whole store and I need someone to help me find...". The sales dude cuts her off with "I'll be with you in a moment ma'am". She shoots this "F--- you, I'm insulted" look at us, makes this tsk-ing noise, does sort of a hair fling thing and storms off. "Oh, well", the sales guy says, "won't be the last time today".

What the hell is with some people? How about an "Excuse me, when you are done helping this gentleman, I'd appreciate your assistance?" Lady (this doesn't happen with men. We would roam around ENDLESSLY for HOURS until we found what we were looking for...we'd NEVER ask...just like directions, HOWEVER, we do have other faults) while, you are storming away mad, why don't you go in search of the MANNERS department.

Boys Will Be Boys, But Girls....

2006-06-18T23:27:00.000-05:00

I don't have to ask the guys this question because the answer is Who Cares?? But the women of the blog reading world, you just have to help us poor slobs out here. I get this e-mail titled "Boys Will Be Boys" with various pictures of things you expect boys to do. But this one poses a question that I just have to have a woman's perspective on. In viewing the picture below, I serious doubt many heterosexual men between the ages of 10 and death wouldn't take a second look:

Ok, this kid looks about 14 years old and drinking a beer for starters. But that isn't the obvious. From a woman's perspective, she is wearing this dress because:

a. she just likes the dress

b. she is a tease

c. she knows she has some "special attributes" and wants to share them with the world.

d. she wants us guys to look

e. she's daring us guys to look so she can catch us and make us feel like perverts.

f. it was the only thing she had clean to wear.

g. "hey, I look good, I feel good, if I want to dress like this and the guys want to ogle my breasts, oh, well".

h. any of the above

i. none of the above

j. Chef Kevin has some great friends to send him pictures like this.

Or am I missing the boat altogether?

And You Wonder Why The Violent Criminal Element Doesn't Go Away

2006-06-13T09:48:00.000-05:00

Are you f - ing kidding me!!!????

From WMBD's Website: "It`s a return trip to prison for a teenager who was caught with a gun outside a Peoria school. Omar Porter was sentenced to two years in prison for possessing a loaded gun as a felon. He pleaded guilty to that charge. Police found a loaded rifle in his car last February during a traffic stop. Porter was out on parole for the Greeley school incident when police caught him with the other gun.

Why is he out on parole? A gun at a school, less than two years ago, and he's out? Now, as a felon, he is not supposed to have a gun, but he has a LOADED rifle in his car. Now I'm not a police officer, lawyer or judge, but I can think of the following laws being broken: Possession of a firearm by a felon, No valid FOID card (I'm assuming as felons aren't supposed to be able to get a FOID card), Illegal transportation of a firearm (guns are to be transported UNLOADED and ammunition transported seperately in a locked area that does not have access to the car's occupants - like locked in the trunk). Of course, he was pulled over for something warranting the traffic stop. Since the gun shouldn't have been his, as in legal owner, is there a possibility of possession of a stolen firearm? If not, where did he get it and that person needs to be arrested (I'm sure there is a law against giving or selling a felon a firearm, and the bullets, as you can't buy bullets without an FOID). And I bet $10 that running around with a loaded gun in his car just might be a violation of his parole?

And this guy gets TWO YEARS. Does that mean he's out in 1? 1 1/2? And you wonder why a. the criminal element doesn't go away b. why gun control laws don't work. All you anti gun people out there: Instead of wanting to make more constrictive gun laws that only affect law abiding gun owners, why don't you spend some time figuring out how to get guns out of this guy's (and other guys like him) hands without infringing on my second ammendment rights? Obviously, he has a source. However, about 15-20 years in Menard might have kept him away from whatever evil is preying upon him that he needs to be armed.

It Shouldn't Amaze Me.

2006-06-07T23:16:00.000-05:00

Anybody go to the Buddy Guy concert at the CEFCU stage on the riverfront Wednesday night? I'll get to that in a second.

BEFORE the opening act started, I picked out, what I thought, an unobtrusive place to stand (didn't feel like sitting) that wouldn't be in anyone's way. I watched the opening act. More and more people start to fill the area with their lawn chairs, etc. before BG comes out. A couple of people set up some chairs behind me minutes before BG comes out. Between BG's first and second song, I hear "Hey move, we can't see". Yeah, it's the dickhead and his friends behind me. I just stood there. I think they eventually moved. Now how flippin stupid do you have to be to set up lawn chairs behind me (and a friend of mine, also standing) and expect to see? Drag your procrastinating ass down to the CEFCU area more than a few minutes before the main attraction is supposed to start and maybe, just maybe, you could find a more visual appeasing place to sit so you wouldn't have to stare at my ass. Dipshit.

On to the show. I know most of the guys in the band who opened, especially the guitarist. Personally, I think Joe (the guitarist) needs to go down to one of the pawn shops on Adams, buy a guitar and beat the living hell out of the sound guy with it. (Note: Joe's guitars are waaay too nice to waste on this moron). Had to be some of the flattest, dry, stale sound I've ever heard. Kinda sucked as he played "(Will It Go) Round In Circles" as a tribute to the recently departed Billy Preston. However, when BG came out, the sound was great. Speaking of BG, I left when he broke into Voodoo Chile. IMHO BG has enough songs that I would have rather heard him play than him covering the great JH. There are enough guitarists in Peoria that can do justice to VC that I can get a fix if I need one.

Wonder what this smelled like?

2006-05-31T22:36:00.000-05:00

I'm reading this article about allegations vs. Lance Armstrong that he used performance enhancing drugs. And read all the testing and re-testing various sports factions have done throughout the years on his urine samples. Which prompts me to ask: How many gallons of piss did Lance Armstrong give up in 1999 that they can keep re-testing it? I mean really...from the news:

The French sports daily L'Equipe reported in August that six of Armstrong's urine samples taken in 1999 came back positive for the endurance-boosting hormone EPO when they were retested in 2004.

So, five year old piss is tainted in '04 and NOW after more testing, he's being cleared with 7 year old piss. My goodness, how long do they hang on to some guy's piss? Are they going to test the 1962 Tour de France winners piss next?

I'd hate it if my job description required me to analyze 7 year old piss. Dennis Miller used to rate what the worst job in the world was. It used to be assistant crack whore. I think "Lance Armstrong 7 year old piss tester" has to rate up there.

What's $11,000?

2006-05-30T10:05:00.000-05:00

In today's news:

SEOUL, South Korea - A Seoul court on Tuesday sentenced the founder and former chairman of collapsed conglomerate Daewoo to 10 years in prison for a range of charges including embezzlement and accounting fraud.

The Seoul Central District Court said it also ordered Kim Woo-choong, 69, to forfeit more than 21 trillion won ($22 billion dollars) and pay a fine of 10 million won ($10,600 dollars).

WOW...give up 22 BILLION dollars in assets PLUS an $11,000 fine. Ouch that 11K has GOT to hurt!!!

I'd like to know how they arrived at an 11K fine. What is that; about a .0000005% of his assets\net worth?

Give me your tired....

2006-05-29T20:31:00.000-05:00

Lots of controversy about letting illegal immigrants\aliens into the country of late. I was reading Eyebrows McGee's post and two things came to mind. Actually, these things have sort of been on my mind for awhile.

1. With NAFTA, a lot of Big US companies have been sending jobs to Mexico. Let's be honest: A lot of the aforementioned immigrants we are refering to are from Mexico. Which makes me ask: If we are sending so many jobs there, why are they coming here? Are these skilled positions that all these border crossers aren't qualified for? Or do they just want all the "good" that is available here in the US of A?

2. I think there is a different thought process now than in "the old days". My father came to the USA in 1952 from Germany. He spoke no English. There was a possibility he might have played soccer for Germany if some moustached madman wouldn't have started killing Poles, Jews, etc. in the late 30's\early '40's. Though his uncles, etc. here in the Peoria area helped bring him over, even these guys WHO OWNED BUSINESSES and could have made it easy on him giving him a job, would not give him a job until he learned the language. He worked for two (I believe) years at Libby's in Morton until he did. However, he WANTED to learn the language and he WANTED to become a citizen. The little boy who grew up in war torn Nazi Germany then went on to defend this country in the US Army. He became an icon of sorts in this area for his trade in the 60's and early 70's. I think he saw his parents 3 times after 1952.

When I think of this I also think "How many people crossing our borders today have the same ambition as my father?" If they were ALL like him, I doubt many people would be bitching and moaning about people hopping the border. So, I'm not as forgiving as most who say "let them in". My father lived JFK's words (ask not what...) and didn't expect "the good life" in the US without giving something beneficial back in return.

Who is watching what?

2006-05-28T10:13:00.000-05:00

It's been a long week. I didn't feel like going out, so I decide to stay home and watch some TV. I like to watch boxing. I don't follow it religiously, but there are a few guys out there that are fun to watch. Of course, I have my favorites and there are a few guys I just don't like. In other words, I wish Manny Pacquiao would put on 15 pounds and beat the hell out of Floyd Mayweather, Jr. to shut his damned mouth. Kinda like Antonio Tarver did to Roy Jones. Unfortunately (well for me anyway), Pacquiao likes where he is at weight-wise. Mayweather wouldn't know what to do if Pacquiao threw 115 punches A ROUND at him (like Manny does). And Tarver, not that you would ever read this, but I used to like you...you were confident and assertive. But your only real claim to fame is beating Jones twice, you got to slap Stallone around in Rocky 6 (big whoop) and its turned you into an arrogant, mouthy SOB. So I can't wait until Bernard Hopkins moves up in weight, puts you down and shuts you up.

But this isn't the point of this blog. I watched a bantamweight fight. These two guys put on a fairly good fight and I thought it close. So did the commentators, one of whom was the former heavyweight champ of the world, Lennox Lewis, who should know a thing or two about boxing. The fight goes to the judges as there was no knockout. This fight was for a championship belt. How the HELL does one judge score it 115-113 for one guy and another judge score it 118-111 for the OTHER guy? (the third judge had 116-112 for the same guy who got the 118-111 score, the AP scored it a draw at 114 apiece.) What fight was the 118-111 judge watching? Giving the winner 118 points means the loser only got 8 points in one round. Unless there is a knockdown, it is EXTREMELY rare that the loser of a round only scores 8 points. The winner did not overly dominate the loser by that large of a margin and it puzzled the commentators.

So, Kevin, what's your point? I guess I don't really have one. It's just odd to me that 4 people (judges 1,2,3 and the AP) watched the same fight and none of them, except maybe judge 1 and the AP, even got close to the other judgess scores while watching the same fight. Why the hell is that? Even though these guys are getting a frikkin busload of cash for beating the hell out of each other (which immediately shouldn't make me care), their futures are on the line by some guys sitting ringside watching the Spurs\Mavericks game on their cellphones...it's OBVIOUS they aren't watching the fight.

Testing, testing

2006-05-21T08:00:00.000-05:00

Bear with me...I'm trying to get the hang of HTML :)

K & L Wines

Sammy Hagar

If you want help....

2006-05-20T18:31:00.000-05:00

I talk to a lot of people every day. Some are greatful for the assistance I provide. Some are indifferent. There are even some who don't think I do enough to help them. However, GET OFF YOUR FUCKING CELLPHONE!!!! I don't know if you are talking to me, the person on the phone, both of us or whom. I have other things to do, people to assist, etc. instead of you requesting my help, then hold up your index finger as to tell me "one moment". If you are so popular, maybe you need to get an assistant to a. do your purchasing for you or b. answer your phone.

From now on, I think I'm just going to walk away from you. You can find me when I fit into your schedule.

A little stupid humor, if you will.

2006-05-16T08:34:00.000-05:00

Yes, a pretend conversation with my parent's collie.

WOOF, WOOF, BARK, WOOF!

What's that boy, little Timmy fell in a well? We don't have a well.

WOOF, WOOF, BARK, WOOF!!!

Oh, you want to write a pop song? Come on, get real, you're a collie, go herd something.

BARK, WOOF, BOWWOW, GROWWWWWL, GROWWWWLLLLL, WOOF, BARK!

Get my ass back there before you take a bite out of it!!

WOOF, HOWL, WOOF, BARK, BARK

Give you a beat?

HOWL, GRRRRRR, WOOF, HOWL.

Not an AC|DC beat, stupid, more like LL COOL J with a bit of Snoop Dog attitude you moron.

HOWL, WOOF.

Better? Thanks.

WOOOOOOOOOOO, WOOF, GROWLLL WOOOF, BARK, BARK, BARK, WOOOOOOOOOOO, YIP YIP, GROWL BARK BARK BARK, WOOOOOOOOOOOOO, GRRRRR, BARK HOWL HOWL, yIP, HOWL, BARK, WOOOOOOOOO, BARK, HOWL, WOOOOOOOOOOO, GROWL, GROWL, WHIMPER WHIMPER, YIP, BARK, WOOOOOOOOO, WOOOOOOO, WOOOOOOO, WOOF, HOWWWWL,WOOF, WOOOOOOOOO, WOOOOOOO, YIP, BARK, WHIMPER, WOOOOOOOO, WOOOOOOO.

Damn, boy, that has all the makings of a top 10 useless dribble Marc Anthony pop song!

WOOF, BARK, GRRR, BARK HOWWWWL.

Call your peeps and get Nate Dogg and his female dancers to do the video? Snoop Dogg to produce?

BARK, BARK, BARK, HOWL, BARK, YIP, YIP

Tell dad to put some 24" spinners on the S-10 because the weak-ass stock rims are an embarrasment when you want to go for a ride?

GRRRR, GRRR, WOOF, GRRRR, BARK

Get your posse some beer...dogs love beer?

GRRR, YIP WOWL BARK BARK WOOF

Get the big gold chain, not this wimpy stainless K-mart thing.

WOOF, BARK HOWL, WOOOOOOOOOO

Tell Paris Hilton's mutt to come over and party?

WOOO, BARK, WOOO, YIP, GRRRRR

Jennifer Lopez? Lisa Boyle? Jessica Simpson?

yeah, I've got waaaaay too much time on my hands.....

Oh, WAAAAAAAAHHHHH!!!

2006-05-16T07:54:00.000-05:00

Read this in the news headlines today:

LOS ANGELES - Paris Hilton's mother can only imagine what her celebrity daughter got her for Mother's Day. That's because thieves stole the gifts before Kathy Hilton received them. A gift bag containing nearly $10,000 worth of Christian Dior shoes, sunglasses, handbags and perfume was taken from outside the Hilton home, spokesman Elliot Mintz said Monday. The younger Hilton "spent three or four hours shopping to put together this wonderful collection of things for her mom," Mintz said.

Hey, Paris! I got a great idea for a substitute gift. It won't cost you a cent (even though you wouldn't understand THAT concept) and I'm sure your mother would appreciate far more than all the Christian Dior shit you bought that Mommy could afford to buy herself. How about not publicly embarrassing mom for the next year? Try keeping your name out of the news for drunk\out of it sex videos, embarrassing statements, looking like you just shot a hardcore porn movie (or looking like you are hanging out at Hollywood and Vine), drinking and driving, public drunkeness, buying 1000's of dollars on dress up items for your dog, you know, all those things you do that would make any mother cringe let alone those constantly being exposed by the media. Maybe you need to go shopping again to buy your mother those Christian Dior sunglasses TO HIDE BEHIND to avoid being recognized for embarrassing daughter moments.

Wonder what all the maids at daddy\grandpa's hotels got for mom's day.....

Please help me understand.

2006-05-14T18:05:00.000-05:00

I've noticed this before. However, today I must comment. I'm driving today on University. I get buzzed by one of these "The Fast & the Furious" (movie) look-a-like wannabe cars. I dunno, maybe they are even as fast as the movie cars. Anyway, what gets me gigglin' is this. These are front wheel drive cars and some of them have huge-ass rear spoilers. I don't get it. Aren't rear spoilers at higher rates of speed designed to force the rear of the car down to keep the weight over the tires to help increase traction? Wouldn't that theory-ism work against a front wheel drive car? I musta have missed that day in school while working on my doctrates in physics at MIT. If I'm mistaken, then why in the late 60's - early '70's didn't Plymouth put that HUGE 3' spoiler on the FRONT of the Roadrunner Superbird? Because it would have impared the driver's vision? I guess with all the balls of a 426 Hemi, it didn't matter where they put it.

I guess it looks cool.

Just give me a '70 Chevelle Super Sport 454, m22 tranny, 4:56-1 12 bolt rear end and some sticky rear tires and unless you're sportin' a vehicle with a 6 figure price tag, I don't care where, or how many spoilers you have.

What kinda dribble is this?

2006-05-03T10:54:00.000-05:00

I'm listening to the radio. I don't usually listen to "pop" stations very often. Now I know why. I heard a song by Marc Anthony called "I Need To Know". What kind of useless dribble is this? For the hell of it, I checked I Tunes and it is the most downloaded M.A. song.

b gagsda bjja p8g9asdwt4ljb gadlijgt da bvpjwagrsagn jjagogjka sanjsgd8975yjhb OWWW SHIT

That was me banging my head on the keyboard again.

I think my parent's collie could have written those lyrics.

I had to immediately apologize to my ears by listening to Gary Richrath shred his '59 Les Paul on the live version of Golden Country.

Ya Think?!?!

2006-05-03T07:50:00.000-05:00

Yeah, I'm griping about Glen Oak School AGAIN!

According to the PJ Star: "Board member Sean Matheson said Tuesday that he was sorely disappointed that Glen Oak parents and teachers didn't speak Monday. To his knowledge, the only parents who spoke were parents of two future Glen Oak students. Because of this, he said he left the forum feeling less supportive of the park site. "If the parents and staff don't care (what we do), then maybe we have to listen to the very concerned voices of neighbors," Matheson said."

Really? Ya think? Maybe the District should listen to the neighbors? WOW! What a novel idea. But Mr. Matheson is correct; he is very correct and I wholeheartedly agree with him about the lack of parents with children attending Glen Oak not speaking up. I was fairly shocked at this. What, you think District 150 is going to send the school bully after your kid if you said something? However, I do not agree with the lack of teachers as they may have been deemed troublemakers, putting "bad" ideas in childrens' heads, etc.

"No one's trying to force something on a neighborhood that doesn't want it. They'll say 'We do want it, but we want it with all our qualifiers and all our stipulations,' but the problem with that is that it may not fit in with the plan of our district," Morris said Tuesday, the day after about 30 people voiced opposition to a proposed school site at Glen Oak Park. The overriding opinion at Monday's public forum was that Glen Oak Primary School should be the site for a new school. It's scheduled to close in the next several years. Construction of a school in the Woodruff area is part of a "minimum" facilities plan the district is pursuing. The district also has identified a "full plan" that would include the construction of four more schools if and when the district gets construction money from the state. Morris is suggesting that plans for a site in the Woodruff area be moved to the full plan. Then one of the sites in the full plan could be moved to the minimum plan. He made reference to the Manual High School attendance area, where the district would like to replace Tyng and Whittier primary schools. Board member Mary Spangler also mentioned this possibility, saying that it may be better to hold off on a school in the Woodruff area if the district can't find a solution that pleases the public and is financially and educationally sound.

In other words if we can't have it our way, the residents of the East Bluff can't have it their way either. So, since the school is slated to close in a few years, what is the board going to do then? Wait a few years then condcut a few more closed door meetings to try and sneak it past us? I don't agree that the people attending the forum were saying ALL our stipulations and ALL our qualifiers. We do not, as a community group, have a set in stone plan like the district. We would like to see all options THOUROUGHLY explored, not "guessing" what it would cost to renovate\re-build\add on.

The district has said it would be too expensive to rebuild on the Glen Oak Primary School site. It has looked at acquiring three adjacent blocks, which is 17 acres. This would affect about 80 property owners and cost up to $5.5 million for land acquisition. The cost to acquire land at the park site is expected to be about $1.6 million.

I wish the Peoria Journal Star would quit printing this bullshit. They don't need 15 acres...the district WANTS 15 acres. They can build the school on 7.5 acres if they want to do so. All these numbers do is scare the hell out of the uninformed taxpayer into thinking that financially the Glen Oak Park site is more affordable. That's not necessarily so! Or, it would be equally appropriate if the PJ Star would also print the costs, etc. involved with 3rd District Councilman Manning's plan or the gentleman's plan that involved closing Frye and expanding south plan.

But questions arose Monday about the cost to rebuild or renovate the school, and several proposals were made to build on sites that include the school but require buying less land. Superintendent Ken Hinton said the district will research the cost to rebuild and renovate the primary school and will investigate all the proposals made Monday. "Those kinds of things will be looked into. If we didn't do that, there would be no purpose to the forum in terms of the input," he said.

Hey, that is all the East Bluff residents have ever asked...well, we weren't, we had to make them ask.

The district plans to pay for the schools by issuing bonds and having taxpayers pay them back, but this shouldn't affect the tax rate that is already scheduled to increase this year.

What's new? I've commented on this before. A smaller parcel of land would be cheaper and save us some $$. I hope that if the council and the city of Peoria make the wise choice and build\remodel\add on to the current site that they take a look at the National Trust for Historic Preservation's website concerning restoring Historic Neighborhood Schools. This Trust offers various resources that could shed somelight, resources and hey, maybe even a few $$ to renovate Glen Oak School.

Go, BOB!

2006-05-01T23:57:00.000-05:00

I went to the school board\public meeting tonight. One thing that I thought was inappropriate was that a woman, & I don't remember her name, was trying to push the board into a public debate\discusson format. First, I thought it inappropriate. Second, that type of forum never accomplishes anything. When Family House approached the Hillcrest\Nebraska\Frye residents about building on the 6 acre tract at the end of Hillcrest\Nebraska owned by Dr. Giess, they held a meeting. It was supposed to be an information meeting followed by a Q&A session. They didn't get through the presentation when the war of words started and continued even with residents at each other's throats. I don't think it helped any that then 3rd District councilwoman seemed to favor the idea when her constituents were against it.

So, tonight Bob Manning gets up to speak. Bob loaded both 40" barrels on the East Bluff constituent 10 guage, aimed and pulled. Armed with info. about schools all over the country that have restored\restored added on and how it was cheaper, he received a standing ovation for taking a visable, public stand against the school board. Go BOB!!

Bob wasn't the highlight of the evening though. A gentleman got up, who at first the crowd wasn't too sure of where he was going. But when he got going, he's got the answer. Expand the current location of Glen Oak School SOUTH! That's right, SOUTH. Close Frye and extend the school to Kansas which would be right across from the Boy's & Girl's Club. As he stated, 2 businesses are already for sale and could be bought out for under $125,000. The few houses in that block (according to him) could not possibly cost the district near what they would have to pay for the houses on Prospect, East & Republic. This would keep those higher property tax values on the books. It would close Frye, which isn't the best option, but he did pose a point on what effect that might have on slowing the drug, etc. trade. You ask how that could help. I live on a dead end street in the East Bluff. You don't see cars cruising back and forth at all hours of the day and night. This guy got a HUGE ovation!!

I don't know if the meeting accomplished much. I don't think there was that much new "evidence" (as the school board put it) presented. Most of it was heartfelt. there was also quite a few potshots taken about "if you have so much money to spend on a new school, why don't you spend some of it on bettering the education of our children?"

One thing I had to laugh at. The powerpoint presentation by the district. The presenter went through each frame discussing each site considered. for each site considered, they listed the proposed cost and reasons not to build there. The last site was Glen Oak Park. I don't recall the negative issues pointed out, but there were two or three frames of why they should. And those frames had happy pictures of happy kids and happy families up in the corners. I guess there wouldn't be happy happy happy at the other locations?

Nature's crime deterrent

2006-05-01T17:47:00.000-05:00

Saturday night I got home about 1 am. Yes, I was "out on the town". But I wasn't out until 1 am partying: I was observing.

I left Po' boys a little after midnite after catching some great blues. As I drove someone home who lives on High Street, my natural course home is Sheridan to Nebraska past Wisconsin to Prospect. As it was POURING down rain, I noticed something: no groups of people hanging out on corners, nobody in the streets, no cars "parked" side by side in the middle of the road acting like they are supposed to be doing that, no "looks" and no loud music blaring from anywhere. "Huh, interesting", I said to myself, how bout driving around the East Bluff and Old North towne and see if this holds true. DAMN! It DID! It's like the rapture hit (or those of you non religious sorts, nuclear holocaust)!

Morale of the story: pray for heavy rain every night between 11 PM & 4 AM. Pray for it even if you aren't religious. Wish for it. Most respectable activities are over by then. Keep all the dopers, gangbangers, druggies, crackheads, etc. inside.

The New School.....again.

2006-04-25T09:42:00.000-05:00

It looks like the powers who are\think they are have slowed up and are actually going to hear what Peoria residents (probably most will be East Bluffers) say about building a new school on Glen Oak Park. There is a HUGE discussion going on about this over on the Peoria Pundits website. Instead of posting a mile long post there, I though I would just make a comment and let people read what I've got to say over here.

My first thought is why can't the school board be open, honest and straightforward about this? Why all the private meetings, the half truths, and using lines like "it's for the kids"? I'd just like a straightforward, non beat around the bush, simple, honest reply to some questions.

1. The first really isn't a question..it calls for a plan. I would like someone to address the traffic issue. Some feel it's safe. I don't. I ask anyone to stand at Prospect and Frye all day and watch traffic. As stated before, I've seen a car go through the parking lot on the NE corner of that intersection not to wait for the bus to pick someone up. The creative driving into and out of the convenient store (which would be cut 80% if the would close the ingress\egress off of Prospect). I watched kids walking to Woodruff the other day. No such thing as waiting for the light...damn the cars, they'll stop. Ok, they are high school kids, but what example does that set for grade schoolers? Are all the kids going to cross at Prospect and Frye with a crossing guard? I don't see them walking south first if they live north. So, my question is: If it's for the kids, what are we going to do to protect our kids against the knucklehead driving and the "I'm the pedestrian" 'tude that occurs in this area? They are going to clash and it will get worse with grade schoolers walking and parents taking their kids to and from.

2. Also speaking on safety, what about the Glen Oak Lagoon. Are they going to have to fill it in? I can't believe that some governing body or some safety commission or little Suzie's mom isn't going to have something to say about kids drowning in the lagoon. Will they fill it in? I want to know the answer now, not later. I want the situation looked into BEFORE they build or don't build the school. We can all read the headlines now: Child Drowns in Glen Oak Lagoon. "Little Johnnie must have snuck away from the rest of the group during recess." Please don't respond with "that will never happen", you know better. The same goes for the amplitheater..lots of fun jumping off that stage until someone gets hurt. Please don't give me that neither scenario will happen...we all know what sneaky shit we tried to get away with\got away with in our younger years and if we were kids today, you darn well know those two would be big "fun" attractions. Giving up some parking land space in the park doesn't bother me as much, but giving up these two Peoria landmarks, well, I don't like it.

3. I'll be frank. I'm not a huge fan of the convenient store on the SE corner of that intersection. I have this feeling that far more "business" goes on outside the walls. And that business isn't good. But I can't say "close the guy down". If he is doing a legal business, then more power to him. The question is this: If I build a new restaurant, grocery store, etc. next to a school (or church) I have to be (and I think it's) 500 feet away in Peoria, (I could be wrong). As the convenient store holds a liquor license, I'm understanding that District 150 can build a school regardless. You can't obtain a liquor license next to an existing school but you can put a new school next to an existing liquor license? Hmmmm... So, why does that law\ordinance, etc. exist? To protect our children? Hmmm... So does that mean that there will be some underhanded, behind closed door meetings to get the Liquor commission to refuse to renew the convenience store's liquor license when it comes up for renewal? That might not be the worse thing, but it's not the right thing. And I can see it happening in Peoria.

4. I don't get the park or "park like setting" thing. Do kids learn better in park\park like settings? Or does it just look nice? And who does it look nice for? If you took all of Peoria's high schools, throw in EP, Limestone and even Notre Dame, with the possible exception of Peoria Heights, the school with the most park like setting is Woodruff...right across the street from Glen Oak and all the massive old trees up on the bluff. How do their GPAs compare to other high schools? I just don't see why it's SOOOO important. WHY is this park like atmosphere so important and how does it relate to learning? WHO says? It's a simple question (or two).

5. The old school. Lots of debate about it. What gets me is the dismissive attitude of remodeling it. I'm not actually for remodeling it, but when you hear things like "it's not worth it", well that could also be said about my (and probably quite a few other) East Bluff home. I'm getting close to putting into it what I paid for it. I guess I would have been better off moving to Dunlap than restoring a gorgeous old house to it's former glory and leaving it to become part of the East Bluff decay? The question is...has anyone actually looked into the cost of doing so or is the idea just dismissed? Which brings up:

6. What other avenues\areas were looked at and why were they dismissed? This is where I don't know if I would get an honest answer. The most obvious as there would be a landswap, it's free land. But I think there is more to the story. If they didn't "need" such a park like atmosphere, 150 could buy St. Bernards, tear it down and build there. Yeah, it would probably take some houses, but that is going to happen, regardless. But was it considered? Did they approach the church? How about renting Bernards for a year and rebuild Glen Oak at it's current location? I keep hearing it's going to take far more land than the GOP site. If the school hasn't been designed (or so we're told), how do we know that? Because we need to build a park around it? If GOP wasn't there\wasn't an option, what is plan B? Is there a plan B?

I'm against the school in GOP. I don't like the idea of giving up park\green space. If we (the city) HAD to, the school would be my first choice. I think the swap with PHA sucks and the last thing the East Bluff needs is more subsidized housing where GOS sits now and I think that is my bigger concern next to safety. Give it to the city and make it a POLICE Station to help combat crime in the East Bluff.

Sleeping with the windows open

2006-04-22T10:08:00.000-05:00

Isn't it great? 55 degree nights, all tucked away in our nice warm beds, windows wide open. Ya sleep great. And then at 4:45 AM it happens: GGGRRRRR WOOF, WOOF, WOOF, WOOF, WOOF!!! What the hell? Ah, Jesus. This goes on for 45 minutes. UGHHH...I was bitching about this at work the other day when I fell asleep in my coffee and burnt myself. A co-manager suggested that we don't hear this in the winter because our windows are closed and we need to re-adjust a bit. I guess that might have something to do with it, but I have about half of the remaining original (read 1913) windows in my house with circa 1970 storm windows...I can hear a butterfly fart outside through those things, winter, fall, summer....!!

Seriously though, unless someone kicks Fido out at 4:45 am before going to work, I got one simple question...no, two. Do you think the neighbors enjoy Fido's vocal expressions at 4:45 AM or are you fukkundeff (this is Swedish for hearing impaired, BTW)? It happened at a little before 6 this morning...different dog...more yappy. It's 10:16 AM now and it's perfectly silent...a few bird chirps and the click of my keyboard. Why all the barking at 6:00 AM? Hell, I don't mind it at all during the day.

This is why I'm pissed off: Last spring, about this time, on a weekend, it was about 10:30-11:00PM. I still had a few people hanging around from an earlier dinner party and we went outside to shoot a few hoops...more like tossing the ball around a bit, not some NBA wannnabe all-out on the court war. I know the neighbors next to me, where my hoop is, were gone for the weekend. We were out there 15-20 minutes and the cops showed up. Apparently there wasn't too much crime going on on the East Bluff. They received a report of yelling\the basketball bouncing and loud music. Ok, we were bouncing a basketball infrequently...we ended up hanging around the picnic table before they arrived..not bouncing anything. B. We weren't loud. C. We didn't have a radio, CD. etc. playing. The cops actually admitted they didn't hear anything the FIRST TWO TIMES they drove by and the only reason they stopped at my house was because there were two people standing further up on my driveway closer to the street and the house lights were on and thought "maybe this is it?" THEY thought the whole situation was ridiculous because there was no music, they didn't hear us yelling and no basketball. They hung out for awhile and talked to us and asked us not to bounce the ball. Still slightly irritated, I asked about barking dogs...obvious an issue then, too. Apparently dogs have to be barking for 1/2 hour and be barking when the cops show up to do anything. So, at 5:15 AM I can call the Fido police.

Next weekend, weather permitting, I'm replacing the front porch flooring. Believe me, I'm not going to have an issue of cranking up the coffee, the Sammy Hagar and the Skil circular saw at 7:00 AM. The nail gun comes out at 9:00 when the ply is cut to size. Then I'm going to mow the yard and then have people come over and drink heavily while enjoying my new porch. Somebody doesn't like it, I'll play my new dog barking recording through 750 watts of Yamaha infused Cerwin Vega's...maybe they will prefer that. Yeah, I'm gonna be a bad neighbor.

And what's this honking of the car horn shit, too. Get on your GD cellphone and tell the ridefreeloader or carpooler to get their happy ass out to the curb.

Yes, I LOVE dogs. Laddie ruled. God bless his soul.

Uh-huh, now we know...bend over Peoria County taxpayers.

2006-04-12T08:39:00.000-05:00

Ah, money. Money to build new Distrcit 150 schools. Now we know where it is coming from (like we ever had a doubt). Property tax. YIPEEE!

According to the Peoria Journal Star "Under the legislation, the Peoria Public Building Commission could issue up to $60 million in bonds for school construction. But the school district (District 150) would want to access just $30 million, Cahill (District 150 treasurer) said.

District 150 taxpayers gradually would pay off the bonds, which could have a life of up to 20 years. Cahill said they would not see a property tax increase, though, because the new bonds would replace older bonds that are close to being paid off."

So, let me get this straight. District 150 isn't borrowing the money, in essence, the taxpayers are being forced to do so to support the fiscally irresponsible district's spendthrift ways.

Hmmm...does anyone believe we won't see a property tax increase? Do we really believe and trust anything anyone from District 150 says right now? With all the people moving out of the Peoria area to Dunlap, Washington, etc.... Well, I keep all my property tax bills, I'll be watching. Personally, I would like to spend my hard earned dollars the way I want to, not funding $30 million dollars worth of bonds for the next 20 years. It's getting old every time some cause needs money in Peoria, up go the property taxes.

Doesn't this sort of remind you of the restaurant\amusement 2% tax that was SUPPOSED to go away after the civic center was built?

"The Peoria PBC consists of seven members - four appointed by the city, one by the sanitary district, one by the school district and one by Peoria County, Thornton said. It would have to approve the architect and site for any school construction if the legislation is enacted into law."

Does anyone know who these seven people are? I've apparently got a few more e-mails to write asking\encouraging NOT to build on the proposed Glen Oak Park site.

The Landfill Issue

2006-04-07T00:43:00.000-05:00

I started watching\reading this one far after it started and I just never got too interested in it. But that's not why I'm blogging. To quote Merle Widmer from his blog: "By a vote of 10 to 7, the Peoria County Board voted tonight to deny acceptance of the recommendations of the Peoria County Staff to approve the expansion of the 27 year old hazardous waste site."

OH MY GOD!! SOMEONE IN PEORIA ACTUALLY SAID NO!! to something?

Holy shit, stop the PJS presses!!

Now can we get these same 10 people to fill in and vote no on the relocation of Glen Oak School and putting public housing in it's current location? Oh, and the part time museum, too.

Even MORE Stupidity

2006-04-06T09:22:00.000-05:00

I live a block or two from the site where District 150 wants to build the new Glen Oak School. Obviously from the previous rant, I'm totally against it.

There has been this big push to clean up the East Bluff: encouraging current home ownership and pushing for more, the re-introduction of the Guardian Angels (is this happening?), a seemingly much more committed Councilperson, a much more noted presence of various East Bluff Associations.

There was never a decent reason given WHY Glen Oak School couldn't be built on it's current site. The reason given was the site wasn't big enough. Why isn't it? According to 150 head honcho Bob Matheson, Matherson said the location for the new school is final, but the programs that go into it are not. He encouraged the residents to be part of the process to design the school, which will take place in the coming months. If the school hasn't been designed, how do they know the current location of Glen Oak School isn't large enough? How do they know it's going to take much more privately owned property around Glen Oak School than around Glen Oak Park? LIE, LIE, LIE!! I've asked the question before and received no answer. Of COURSE it's been designed. Obviously caught in a lie.

I asked why couldn't they move the kids to\rent out the vacant St. Bernards for a year or two while they they re-build Glen Oak at its current location (actually not my idea...I stole it from someone else website, but it is a brilliant idea!!). No answer. (It's too good and too simple of an idea...the powers that are\think they are can't grasp it.)

Now the reason comes out: District 150 and The Peoria Housing Authority want to do a land swap and build subsidized housing where Glen Oak School currently sits!! This is just what the people trying to revitalize the East Bluff need: slums. Don't like me using that word, well, I'm just sort of quoting:

"John has suggested that a 20-acre portion of Harrison Homes that sits north of Krause Avenue be given to the district. The dilapidated buildings there already are vacant because the PHA plans to tear them down. The original plan was to build new public housing there, but the PHA is open to other sites." Not my words...these came from the Peoria Journal Star.

Tear down dilapidated, vacant public housing. That's what the East Bluff needs in a decade or two...dilapidated vacant public housing. Please view this a sarcasm.

I won't get an answer to this either, because it is too flippin' simple for the powers who are\think they are to grasp the concept: The school district wants\needs to (re)build Harrison school. Apparently there are 20 acres the PHA ISN'T USING so do a land swap and build the new Harrison there. Ah, that's in the works, too apparently. Maybe, just maybe, someone put down the crack pipe and is actually thinking straight. OOOPS!! I'm disillusioned again. According to the Peoria Journal Star: "Already, School District 150 and the Peoria Housing Authority have been mulling a land swap that would allow a new Harrison School to be built on a portion of Harrison Homes property." If there are 'sorta" plans to rebuild Harrison on the 20 acres that are supposed to be given to the park district in exchange for the Glen Oak site then how does one give the park district 20 acres with a school built on it?

What about public housing? Re-read the above: John has suggested that a 20-acre portion of Harrison Homes that sits north of Krause Avenue be given to the district. The dilapidated buildings there already are vacant because the PHA plans to tear them down. If there are +\- 20 acres of vacant housing, apparently we don't need it. River West is still partially empty. As it is going to take 15 acres of Glen Oak park to build the new school and they used the same 15 acres to build Harrison, there would be 5 acres left to build some public housing. Thusly, by deductive conclusion, there is little to no need to build subsidized housing at the current Glen Oak School location and if they need more housing, well, there are an unused five acres.

Hey! Thusly, there is no reason NOT to re-do the non existing plans that obviously do exist to re-build Glen Oak where Glen Oak sits.

Build Harrison on 10 acres of the PHD's 20 acres that are currently not used. Build 10 acres (which is 10 acres more than there is now) of public housing next to it. Build Glen Oak where Glen Oak sits. God, that is just too damned simple. But the underlying principle is this: This wouldn't spend enough taxpayer money. The powers that are\think they are couldn't gouge us for more property tax money.

And if this all does go through? What in the world would the park district do with +/-20 acres of dilapidated buildings? I know!!! Sell it to Lakeview and Caterpillar to build their welcome center and only open part time Museum on!!!! They could use the proceeds to build the zoo! That way when the only open part time museuam fails it will look like the dilapidated houing that currently sits there.

Lakeview on Water Street

2006-04-05T17:02:00.000-05:00

Who, besides Lakeview, Caterpillar and some of the city council spending taxpayers money, actually thinks that turning the Sears Block into a museum (that is only open 9-5 Monday thru Friday and maybe a few hours on Saturday) is good & profitable idea?

I'm waiting.....

Still waiting.....

That's what I thought.

The New Glen Oak School

2006-04-04T08:52:00.000-05:00

There has been a lot of talk in the community and on various Peoria area blogsites about the school & park boards plans to move Glen Oak School from its current location to the NE corner of Frye & Prospect. This is going to take up part of the Glen Oak park and dislodge 14 homeowners to build. As this plan sounds like a done deal and was obviously done behind closed doors with no involvement from area residents, I'm going to go on record and say I think it sucks.

1. With the park district already $8 million in debt, and are going to borrow the money to get out of debt, they want to build a new school. How many million will that cost? How much is it going to cost to buy out angry homeowners? How many various consultants form Chicago are you going to have to hire? Property taxpayers going to have to foot the bill here, too? My last post was on this: DISTRICT 150: IF YOU DON'T HAVE THE MONEY, QUIT SPENDING IT!!! What part of that don't you understand? All you understand is that someone else is going to foot your bill. Let's see some REAL HARD WORK AND EFFORT with MEASURABLE RESULTS BEFORE you build something you can't afford.

2. Displacing people is wrong. My grandfather was forced to move to build the "much needed" I-155 to link the two supermega financial and business powerhouse cities of Morton & Lincoln together which ultimately lead to his death. So, my head is out of my ass when I say I know what I'm talking about..I watched him die every day for a year. I think for every homeowner they displace, we displace a school board member or park board member from their home in the same time frame and turn their property into green park space. Oh, and they don't get any money for it...it goes to build their school.

3. Location is bad. Did any of the planners actually spend what would amount to a school day's time standing at the corner of Frye and Prospect? The traffic is not good. I live around there and that intersection is scary. There is a lot of traffic, the cars coming and going from the convenient store, drive in and out at very odd angles (they head out of the lot on the Prospect side, turn right, and don't bother with the turn lane heading west of Frye..it's a beeline shot from that lot exit to west bound Frye if the coast is clear) and there are probably as many commerical vehicles in the area as anywhere. Any given day, as soon as the coast is clear, Woodruff students will walk (few run) across Prospect whether they have a walk sign or not..they don't show too much concern if you are driving or not. That will soon set bad and disasterous examples for grade school students and without a crossing guard there (read more money), I give it a year before some kid gets hit or causes an accident. Oh, did I mention all the suspicious looking characters that frequent the convenient store there? And how many times a week the police show up there (and it ain't for doughnuts)? Hey, and doesn't candy, soda and other goodies sound good after school?

Are they going to fill in the Lagoon and put an end to a traditional Glen Oak Park annual community event? That is a disaster waiting to happen. Or are they going to fence it in? Any industrious third grader will figure out how to get in. Any parents whose kids would attend this school and aren't concerned about any of the above...

So, let's get to the heart of the matter. I believe that there was a quote from either a school board member or park board member who said this sight is the ONLY sight to which to build a new school. Bullshit. It's the "ONLY" sight because it's partly FREE!! As some guy commented on the Peoria Pundits website http://www.peoriapundit.com/blogpeoria, close Glen Oak, lease St. Bernard's for two years, raze Glen Oak School and rebuild there. They say they would have to take homes. Aren't they anyway? And how do they know it will take homes? Supposedly (as quoted by someone commenting on the aforementioned website who attended the recent school board meeting), that residents will have input on how the school is designed, etc. If we will have input to how it is designed, then how do you know it will take up additional houses at it's current site? Uh-huh. Lie, lie, lie. Seems like you'd have to have SOME sort of plan or design to know how much park space they need in addition to screwing people out of their homes. Change your design: build up like Glen Oak School already is. The current location of Glen Oak is already paid for, has city utilities, is more conveniently located and has less traffic. Why wouldn't they rebuild there? But THAT is the issue no one has mentioned, is scared to mention, haven't thought to mention: Urban blight in the East bluff is increasing. Gangbangers, thugs, drugs, unkept properties, etc. If 150 builds a new school, they certainly don't want to put it there. They want to move it where they have a more suburban, pretty setting like Glen Oak Park...away from gangbangers, thugs, drugs, unkept properties, etc. so they can say to their other national school board yahoos "Oh, look at the big pretty school we built on such beautiful property" (that we can't afford and screwed homeowners).

Oh, PLEASE Raise My Taxes!!

2006-03-28T10:32:00.000-06:00

In light of the District 150 school board now wanting to borrow their way out of the $8,000,000+ deficit they have incurred, I thought I would re-post this from my other blog that I wrote last last year. Any lender would be happy to lend them the cash knowing that they will most likely screw property owners to pay for the loan AND NOW the interest. Tighten the belt 150, we all have to nowadays.

From my December 6, 2005 blog:

The comptroller at District 150 has been working overtime trying to figure out a plan to cut the district's $8 million dollar deficit. I'm sure after countless hours, many sleepless nights, 1000's of phone calls to other districts to see what they are doing and of course, scrutinizing every penny, every receipt, every expenditure to curb costs, the plan has been developed. And the verdict?? RAISE PROPERTY TAXES!! NO SHIT?!?! WOW, I'm glad we're paying this person(s) a fuckin' busload of money to come up with this brilliant idea. I don't know who you are, but I'd call your alma mater up and demand a refund. Either them or whatever beer company you funded by drinking yourself through CPA school instead of going to class. My parent's collie could have come up with that one. My next thought. This is supposed to balance or get into the black the school districts finances by 2008. Will my property taxes go down or will they continue to quietly and unsuspectedly continue to gouge us like the entertainment tax of 2% that was supposed to have disappeared from restaurants, etc. after the Civic Center was built (the first time)?I got a plan. It's called a use tax. First, cut everyone's salary to what I make. That would save +/-$135,000 just with the top three salaried persons. So, I think I could save the district about 2 mil right there. Less salary, less matching taxes to pay. Next, $6,000,000 divided by 15,000 students. That's about $400 a kid. Divide that out over the next 5 years and it's $80 per kid per year. Send the bill home with the kids. No $80, no school. No school, you go to jail. Then you can pay bail and an attorney, too.

OR

District 150. Call me. Let me help you out. $6,000,000. I know of a program that guarantees you $4 profit per pie you sell in a legit fundraising program. $6,000,000 divided by $4.00. That means each kid would have to sell 20 pies per year for the next 5 years. And if you play hooky and get caught, you have to sell 10 extra pies. Detention: 5 extra pies for each offense. I know that sounds far fetched, but relying on tax payers to bail you out sucks.

The problem isn't the debt. Well, it is a problem...if my restaurant is $8 mil in debt I have to shut the doors..I can't raise property taxes like the government when they are short of money or charge $185.99 for chicken cordon blue. It's how you are going to balance the budget once you fixed it after shoving more property tax increases up my ass. In six years are you going to come back and say "Oh, we're $10 million in the hole again...let's raise property taxes $120 per 100,000k." Most likely.

What is the plan to stay in the black, 150? I have to tighten my belt once again (my last raise doesn't begin to cover the cost of CILCO, gas prices, insurance increases, etc.) I had to figure out ways to save money, get more money (without screwing someone by raising their taxes) or conserve and devise a new budget. Pony up 150, let's see a plan.

Really!! They Do Still Exist!!

2006-03-27T11:11:00.000-06:00

What still exists you may ask? Dinosaurs? Doodoo Birds? Ethics in Politics? Young female Pop Stars wearing more than a two feet of "fabric"?

No.

I was cruising through Webster's Dictionary looking for the appropriate spelling for a word and noticed the words\phrases: "Excuse Me", "Please", Thank You" & "You're Welcome" still do exist. I know it's been a few decades since I was in first grade when I learned them & was just curious.

WOW! Yeah, something brought this on, but it involves work and I'm not going to involve work in my blogs.

My Mother for President

2006-03-26T07:17:00.000-06:00

That's right, folks, I'm going to vote for my mom for president when the next elections come around. I'm convinced she could have this country whipped into shape AND have money left over.

Sorry for all the Democrats out there, but I've got a pretty darn good idea my mother is a very conservative Republican. Well, she's very conservative anyway. I think she would start the Frugal Party and her campaign slogan would be "You got a coupon for that?" None of this buying a hammer for $100 crap. If "he who is in charge of buying hammers" doesn't send someone over 65 to Menards on 10% off Senior Day WITH a coupon, they might as well start looking for another job.

I'd think she'd just flat out fire all the lawmakers. Then she would take applications from regular, normal everyday people who would serve their country in this capacity (and for probably 1/3rd the cost). Then hold elections from those qualified, in her eyes, applicants. The worse campaign slam you might hear is "We noticed Maryanne's laundry hanging out to dry wasn't quite as white as Suzie's". Well if Suzie is using name brand bleach without a coupon, and my mother finds out about it, her political days are over.

I'm sure she'd initiate zero based budgeting. You tell her how much money you need, for what purpose PLUS a very well detailed plan and she'll ask you how many coupons you've got or how many bids you've received. None of this "President, I need 10 zillion dollars to study worms" and the pres, says OK, and puts it in the budget. Ain't happening. Better yet, YOU spend your OWN $$ on it and she'll reimburse you for what SHE feels was necessary. Positive most stuff will get axed. I'm sure she will hire David Spade from the Capital One commercial. Mom: Dave? Dave: No! If you don't have the money, you don't buy it. If you want it bad enough, go get a job..or two and hold a bake sale and wash someone's car.

Don't get her started on births out of wedlock. Or most versions\levels of public aid. Repeat criminal offenders and child beaters\sex offenders would only be seeing barbed wire. Drug dealers, suspected drug dealers, users. Bye Bye. The Tony Montanas of the world better start looking for a new pension plan. If you are a contractor and do a lousy job..OUCH! And doing anything while driving. You don't take care of\keep up your property, you're on her hit list. I'm sure there will be a law instated that will make it illegal to have a messy household (which means I'll have a rap sheet a mile long). The punishment for telemarketers calling "over the dinner hour" will be severe. Unless it's as squeaky clean as "Little House on the Prairie", it won't be on regular TV before 9PM, which is national bedtime for anyone in grade, junior or high school...unless you are in high school and you're at work. She finds out you weren't in bed FOR SLEEPING PURPOSES by 9 PM, she'll give you a reason to be up late...extra homework and housecleaning projects. And there will be one DECENT thing on every restaurant menu: her meatloaf. Any cook, chef, owner, etc. that varies the recipe and she finds out about it, there is gonna be a public spanking right over the hood of the presidential Metro. That's right, a 1993 Metro (Ok, I'm kidding about that one - the meatloaf that is, not the Metro).

I'm sure spankings would make a HUGE comeback in this country. Every household would receive a free spanking stick , just like she used to use and autographed by mom. "Spare the rod, spoil the child". I can ensure you, it works. Now the spanking stick can only be used on the buttocks...nowhere else. Anyone found using them inappropriately, well, Tim (from my previous blog concerning loud rude people in restaurants on my other blogsite) is gonna be busy rounding up those offenders and holdin' down while mom demosnstrates upon them (many times over) the PROPER usage\method of said spanking device....plus a few weeks in Menard to let the sting go away.

Prayer in school. Mom's pretty religious. But almost every kid prays anyway, don't they: "Oh, God, I hope I pass this test". To whom are they talking?

Most of you think I'm being funny. Well, I'm stretching it a bit for humor sake. But you get the point. Follow the basic principles this country was founded upon: belief in God, good morales, decent work ethic, be frugal and respect for your fellow citizens and you'll do well in Mom's 32 years of presidency. If not, you better be wary of a blue '93 Metro in your neighborhood...

Chef Kevin's Mom for President in '08.

Oh, come On, Mom, GET REAL Part 2

2006-03-21T22:23:00.000-06:00

In one of my earlier blogs on Chef Kevin's Culinary Rants and Raves, I talked about the 25 year old female teacher in Florida who had several sexual encounters with her 14 year old male student. The mother of the teen said he was traumatized by the ordeal. At that time, I laughed at mom saying I thought he was traumatized over the media and all the press that he was getting, not living out every male high school aged guy's dream of having sex with the attractive, blonde teacher....well, that is if you have an attractive blonde teacher.

Well, two of the three charges have been dropped against the teacher. In court today it was revealed that: " A psychiatrist who examined the teenager told the judge...that the boy suffered extreme anxiety from the media coverage of the case and does not want to testify." No shit, really? As I previously stated, I don't think he was traumatized by "gettin' some" during some extracurricular activities. Furthermore, why would he want to testify against the proverbial hand who fed him?

One charge still stands as one of the "traumatizing act" occurred in a different county.

Read the article and watch the video here: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060321/ap_on_re_us/teacher_sex

She is definitely attractive. I don't think too many guys would not take a second look if they passed this woman on the street. Regardless of what the press, psychiatrists and mom say, this kid is grinnin' ear to ear behind closed doors.

But here is the sticky part which I do not agree. How in the hell is she beating a stat rape charge? If this was a 14 year old girl and a 25 year old male teacher, who let's say resembled...hhmm....Matthew McConaughey..there would be much more outcry and we all know that this would have never been pleaded down to three (but now just one) counts of lewd behavior....

Bitch Slapped by Granny

2006-03-16T17:34:00.000-06:00

Sometimes you are just in the right place at the right time. It always bugged me in the restaurant business that some couple, who have theater tickets at 8:00 pm, rush into the restaurant at 7:15 and use some line like: "Can you let the kitchen know we are in a hurry, we have 8:00 theater tickets". Ah, YOU are more important than other people who have theater tickets who arrived at an APPROPRIATE time and are in process of having their dinner cooked for them. Trouble is, ya gotta bite your tongue. You can't say that.

HOWEVER, I was in a store today. I'm not going to name the place because I'm not sure they would want this type of publicity. The only sales clerk (I saw) was assisting an elderly female customer. A 40 something woman rushed in, picked up a few items and impatiently stammered around looking annoyed. After a few minutes she abruptly blurted out: "Excuse me, I'm in a hurry, can't you possibly check me out?" The sales clerk not quite knowing what to do or say, well, didn't have to. The elderly woman said "I'm in a hurry too, and I need his help". I about dropped over. I was drawing blood chomping down on my arm to keep from laughing. There was some conversation and the younger woman set her stuff down and left. After she was gone, the snappy older woman said "Maybe she needs to get up earlier". Now my other arm is bleeding. But, she's on a roll. "I'm not really in a hurry, I just thought she was rude". The clerk and I can't take it anymore and bust a gut.

Beware of sharp tongued grannies with an attitude.