So...Friday was Ichiro Bobblehead night at Safeco Field.  The first 25,000 "fans" get Ichiro Bobbleheads.  I love my bobbleheads, so I got tickets to the game. 

 

As you may or may not know...I had season tickets last year, but didn't resubscribe once the Mariners announced they weren't firing GM Bill Bavasi. 

 

Anyway, I got tickets along with my cousin, her husband, and my friends John and Willi.  Since not many people are attending the games, lately, I figured I could arrive at 6:30 (1/2 hour early) and would have no trouble getting my Ichiro Bobblehead.

 

Wrong.

 

Apparently, there was already a line of 10,000 people when the stadium opened at 5:00.  The bleacher seats sold out first...cause they cost $7 and $10.  People would buy 10 of them.  Then, they went into the stadium, got their bobbleheads (1 per ticket) and turned around and left.  I'll bet if you go on Ebay and seach for "Ichiro Bobblehead" you will find about 1000 hits.

 

This is another reason to be pissed at the Mariners.  They need to regulate that better.  I was pissed that I didn't get my bobblehead.  In fact, we ran into a dude at the game who was carrying 3.  Jon says, "Yeah, that's not fair."  And the guy responds, "I'll sell you one." 

 

I have no interest in watching the Mariners, in their present crappy state, play the Royals, on of the worst teams in the league.  I would rather spend my money on Ms vs Red Sox or Yankees or even the Twins or White Sox.  I just bought a house, I am only going to be able to see a few games this year.  I went to this one for the bobblehead.  Yes, dispite jerks and bad organization, I didn't even get that. 

 

Stupid Bill Bavasi. 

Or are they?  Hypocrites. 

 

---

 

 

2008 Candidates Rely on Private Jets

By JIM KUHNHENN
Associated Press Writer

April 26, 2007, 6:44 PM EDT

WASHINGTON -- A flock of small jets took flight from Washington Thursday, each carrying a Democratic presidential candidate to South Carolina for the first debate of the political season.

For Sens. Hillary Rodham Clinton, Barack Obama, Chris Dodd and Joe Biden, it was wheels up shortly after they voted in favor of legislation requiring that U.S. troops begin returning home from Iraq in the fall.

No one jet pooled, no one took commercial flights to save money, fuel or emissions.

All but Biden, who flew on a private jet, chartered their flights -- a campaign expense of between $7,500 and $9,000.

Federal Election Commission rules allow candidates to pay only the equivalent of first-class fare to fly on private jets owned by corporations or other special interests. But a Senate ethics bill approved earlier this year would require senators flying on corporate jets to pay full charter rates. The legislation must still be reconciled with a House bill and has yet to become law.

Several senators running for president are abiding by it anyway, either paying charter cost or avoiding corporate jets altogether, as Obama and Republican Sen. John McCain have done. Dodd pays full charter rates when he flies on private planes. The Clinton and Biden campaigns did not immediately explain their policies.

Candidates who follow the more lenient FEC rules have a financial advantage.

Democrat John Edwards, for example, regularly uses a jet owned by Dallas trial lawyer Fred Baron, who is also the finance chairman of his presidential campaign. His campaign pays first-class rate for those flights. Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney also flies on corporate jets and pays first-class rates.

Under FEC reimbursement regulations, a candidate flying in a corporate or union jet must pay the first-class rate unless the flight's destination does not have scheduled commercial service. In that case, the candidate must pay the cost of chartering the plane.

For candidates who are now eschewing corporate jets, the cost difference can be significant.

For example, a one-way first class ticket on United Airlines with four days advance notice is $694 per person. A typical one-way charter flight on a small Lear jet seating six people would cost about $9,000.

Critics of corporate jet flights for politicians say the difference in cost makes a private jet an extraordinary special benefit and can give corporate executives or union leaders unusual access to a candidate.

Thursday's debate, set on the campus of South Carolina State University in Orangeburg, S.C., made for some whirlwind scheduling. Clinton, for instance, was scheduled to return to Washington Friday morning for an 8 a.m. address to the New York State United Teachers 35th Annual Representative Assembly, then fly back to South Carolina for an 11 a.m. event in Greenville.

So...the Washington State Legislative Session is over.  "Education" made off well, as usual. 

"Dang, Jason...you're a jerk.  Don't you care about the future of our children?"  Short answer:  Yes.  Long answer: Yes, but...

The butt comes from the fact that Washington schools are a piece of crap.  I firmly believe that you should not pour more money into a failing system.  WASL math scores are down.  They're downright pitiful.  Instead of saying, "Our kids aren't learning math," our brilliant governor says, "The system is failing our students." 

Bull...it's not "the system."  It's the teachers.  That's right, I just threw down the gauntlet. 

The Washington State teachers union has way to much power.  We have too many bad teachers that we do nothing about.  Just like any company, when you have someone that is not performing up to task, they should be fired.  If our students aren't passing math, our first step should be to fire our math teachers.  Not give them a raise.

At the very least, we need to alter the compensation plans.  Pay based on performance.  Many companies do it.  Microsoft does.  It doesn't matter how much education you have (really...how hard is a Masters in Teaching?  I've looked into it...it's basically more of the same stuff undergrad is with a thesis at the end...I was almost a teacher, you know).  Instead of paying teachers for tenure or education level, we should start paying them based on how many people pass their classes.  100% pass...you get a 10% raise.  90%...5%.  Less than 90%...no raise. 

Teachers are getting raises.  More schools are being built to shrink class sizes.  But, our kids are still failing.  How about, WEA, you stop blaming "the system."  How about you stop blaming "the people."  How about you take a look in the mirror and start blaming yourselves. 

Those that can't do, teach, right?  I used to think this was a very insulting statement.  Part of the reason I decided not to be a teacher is that I learned, in many cases...it's true. 

My solution (and the reason I will never be elected governor)...make all teachers re-interview for their jobs.  Make them put together a resume of successes.  Make them prove that they deserve to make as much money as I do for 9 months of work per year.  Then...the effective teachers, the ones with proven track records of success...keep them and give them raises.  The others...fire them and find professionals that want to teach.  Pay them more money per year, as well.  And, give them raises based on their success rates. 

Teachers are important.  I am an advocate of education.  Our children deserve a proper education and they should not have to pay for it.  I believe in all of these things.  Unfortunately, too many people think it's bad to criticize our teachers.  After all, they work so hard for so little pay.  I used to think that was true.  But, it's not.  Many of them do.  But, right now...many of them don't.  But, they expect more and they expect us to fork it over.

I'm done.  I refuse to fork over any more until the problems are fixed.  Until our WASL math scores are at 85% passing instead of 35%.  Until 90% or more students that enter high school finish high school.  And, until we clip the claws of the Washington State Teachers Association and remove the ridiculous influence they have in Olympia. 

So...my wife and I recently moved, right.  Moved from good ol' T-town (which I miss sometimes) to Seattle.  West Seattle, to be exact...but, still Seattle.  Hippieville at it's worst.  Or best?

 

Anyway...one thing I can't stand are hypocrites (hippiecrites.  HA!).  The community we moved to (High Point) is built green.  The carpet is made from recycled bottles, all the appiances are Energy Star, and the community is built on the world largest natural drainage system that filters rain water before sending it back to the river.

 

I consider myself an environmentalist.  I try to think green.  Ever since I started commuting, I have used mass transit.  Currently, I carpool.  I firmly believe that one of the fastest ways to curb global warming is to drive less and take cars off the road. 

 

So why the tangent?  Simple.  Today was the first home owners association meeting of the new community.  The meeting took place at High Point Elementary which is about 1/2 mile from where I live.  Maybe 3/4 mile from the most distant house of the neighborhood.  I walked myself over to the school for the meeting to find the parking lot full.  ??? 

 

After the meeting...we all said our goodbyes as I started my 10 minute walk back to my house and they took their 2 minute drives back to theirs while spewing the gasoline needed to start their cars and drive the 1/2 mile back home. 

 

Seriously?  I can't walk 5 blocks?  You can't take an extra 7 minutes and walk the short distance?  Very annoying.

 

More annoying, however, was getting there, looking at the snack table with bottled water and coffee in paper Starbucks cups, and then noticing that there was nowhere to recycle.

 

Green my arse. 

I recently hired 2 interns out of Virginia Tech.  I've spoken to both.  They are shaken up (of course), but okay.

 

Not really much to say about this.  It's baffleing, sometimes, how messed up someone can be.  I can't imagine hating life so much that you decide to shoot over 30 people. 

Well...apparently, freedom of choice is alive and well.  That is, assuming you are a proponent of abortion.

I am particularly mad at my State this morning.  For a while, the Pharmacy Board, the Governor, abortion opponents, apportion supporters and a few other people with opinions have been debating whether or not an individual pharmacist or a privately owned pharmacy can opt out of providing Plan B...aka: the morning after pill.

It wasn't a large number of people, but there are a few pharmacists in Washington State that have moral objections to this pill.  While this is NOT the abortion pill, potentially, it could prevent a fertilized egg from attaching itself to the uterine wall.  For those of us that believe that Life begins at conception, this is the same as abortion.

I think it's important for everyone to understand where everyone else is coming from in this argument.  Let me help you understand where I, many other Catholics, many doctors, and many people all over the world are coming from.  Life begins at conception.  That means, when the sperm gets it's manly little butt into that egg and the egg starts doing all that biological stuff.  If you need a more technical description, go look it up.  To us, life is not determined by when the egg attached to the uterus.  Therefore...if this egg is destroyed, to us, it is the equivalent of killing a human life.  That's the bottom line.  I understand that many people don't agree with this belief.  That's okay.  But, for this topic, it is essential.

The State has now determined that a pharmacist or pharmacy MUST fill any prescription.  This means, that if someone comes in for Plan B, that pharmacist must either fill it, or lose their license.  If the fill it, they are potentially contributing to, what is in their minds, murder.  Just because the governor doesn't agree doesn't mean that it doesn't have an impact on that pharmacist. 

So, Governor Gregoire (who I understand from the radio this morning threatened to replace the entire pharmacy board if they didn't pass this), I ask you:  What is worse?  Asking someone to go across the street to the Walgreens or Rite Aide to get the pill they are asking for?  Or, making someone, for the rest of their life, wonder if they helped extinguish a human life?   

This new rule is 100% politics.  It's bowing down before the ridiculously powerful lobbyists for NOW and NARAL and Planned Parenthood. 

If the pharmacy were State run, I would probably have a different argument.  If there were only one pharmacy for 50 miles, I may have a different argument.  But, this is Washington.  We're huge.  There are enough options out there that someone who is stupid enough to have unprotected sex in the first place can just go find someone else that will help them cover their asses. 

One more reason to run for Congress next year.   

 

You know what this means?  It means my marriage is going to end.  That's right.  Now that we are allowing gay people to have rights as couples, we are one step closer to allowing them to marry.  And, that, my friends, will make my marriage so worthless that it will just dissolve into a tiny puddle of goo.  Where my marriage once stood will be a grubby lake surrounding a statue of a couple naked dudes making out.

It's a shame, cause I rather enjoyed my marriage.  Too bad once gay people start living together (cause they're not already...if they were, I am sure my house would have already burst into flames due to the rapid pace at which Traditional Living would deteriorate), I will have to pack my bags and move on. 

It's sad that my intimate relationship will also crumble, because once they allow gay people to do the deed (obviously, they're not already because if they were my junk would probably fall off due to the quick withering of Traditional Sex) then, I will certainly be forced to live a celibate lifestyle.  But, that's okay as I will no longer be married. 

Why oh why doesn't God just smite these horrible people who insist on screwing up everything that He has planned for Human existence.  Why can't he just kill those evil beings who claim to fall in love with a person who they obviously can't have any feelings for since they share the same parts.  And...while He's at it, why can't he just crush the wicked who continue to try to thwart the natural warming of His planet.  And...he can keep going by vanquishing those sinister politicians who Dare to condemn the actions of His chosen president! 

Wow...this blog would make you think I'm down right Liberal, wouldn't it?  Alas...I'm not.  Just smart and caring and non-judgmental.  Well...maybe not totally non-judgmental.  However...as I have said many times in these...uh...pages:  What two people do in their own lives is not the business of anyone else.  Do not play God and judge them because a Pastor pointed out to you 2 lines in the Old Testament (which is 5000 years old and passed on by word of mouth).  Don't claim to have some moral authority that allows you to say who someone can or cannot fall in love with.  Don't be a baby and act like everything you know and love will fall apart simply because we change the rules a little bit to accommodate another way of thinking.  Until the government says, "Only gay people can get married," these "it will hurt traditional marriage" people need to sit down, shut up, and stay out of other people's lives. 

Oh...and Global Warming is real and it's okay to oppose the war and not to like Bush but still be a good American...even a good Republican American. 

Stupid thing to say?  Of course.  Should he apologize (which he did)?  Probably.  But, should he be fired?  Not unless you fire all of the shock jocks for the stupid things they say. 

Look...if someone thinks that one shock jock should be fired for one of their stupid and offensive comments, they should be calling for the oust of all the idiots who make racist, sexist, homophobic, anti-Semitic, anti-Christian, anti-whatever comments that they make all the time.

I totally recognize the ignorance and prejudice in his comment.  I'm not saying it's okay to say such things.  What I am saying is that it is hypocritical for Al Sharpton and Al Roker (a weatherman, for crying out load) to get on their high horse and start calling for Imus to be fired.  He's been saying offensive things for years, as have Stern and Tom Likis.  You can't wait until he makes a comment against black people and then say he needs to go. 

These personalities are either welcome, or they're not.  The argument is...if you don't like it, don't listen.  I agree with this point of view and still use it here.  If you don't like what Imus has to say (and I don't) don't listen to his show (which I don't). 

So...as any good Harry Potter fan should know:  Book 7: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows comes out in July.

 

As has been my custom since Book 5 was released (I started reading shortly after Book 4 came out), I am beginning the ritual series read-through, once again.

 

This involves starting with page one of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone and ending with page 608 of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.

 

This will make read-through #4 of books 1-4, read-through #3 of books 5 & 6. 

 

Why do I do this?  Easy...cause I am a big, fat, nerd. 

 

Also, because I enjoy these book emesely.  Seriously, I can still find new things that I either missed or have forgotten.  Now that I know most of the story, it's also fun to find foreshadowing in the earlier books.  For example, now that we know about Horcruxes, how cool is it to re-read Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets?  Tom Riddle isn't a "shadow" in the diary!  It's actually a part of Voldomort, trying to come back! 

 

Not since Ender Wiggin have I enjoyed following a character so much.  But, with Ender, the story because so weak at the end, that once he died, I didn't really care what else happened.  With Harry, ever story has been strong, every character has their own personalities that make you care about them, and the entire Harry Universe pulls you in. 

 

So...here are some of my theories.  Please be aware, if you haven't gotten through book 6, there are certainly spoilers in here.

 

So...as many of you know, I am a Navy Reservist currently on inactive status.  This simply means I am not drilling.

 

Aparently, my unit decided to pay me for drilling last November.  I was already gone at that point.  I received a letter from the Department of Defense stating that I owe them money.

 

This makes total sense to me.  They gave me money they weren't supposed to.  I should give it back. 

 

I went into my Credit Union account where my Navy checks are deposited.  Nothing else goes into this account.  It appears that they deposited a little over $50.  So, why was I being asked to return $304?

 

Well...first is interest.  They are collecting interest while they wait for me to give it back.

 

Second, is taxes.  I owe them the amount of the check before taxes.  So...even though I only received $50, I need to give them an additional $250.  Hmmmm.  Needless to say, I don't like this.

 

A) It was their error.

B) They, like the IRS, are the Feds.  Let them work out the difference.  Make the IRS cut a check for $250.

C) I just moved to a much more expensive place and am pinching pennies.

 

I asked the (not so) nice lady if I was going to get back the $250.  Yes...after I file my 2008 taxes.  I just filed my 2007 taxes. 

 

I asked her if I am allowed to charge the government interest while they hold on to my money.  She didn't think that was funny.  The answer was no.

 

Funny thing is...I have been contemplating going back on active status.  Now...I'm just pissed. 

So...for a guy that plays a lot of games, it sure sucks not to have any.  All I currently have is Call of Duty 2 (which I beat a long time ago...trying to beat it on Legendary, now) and Dance Dance Revolution, which I bought for parties, not to play by myself.  I rented MLB 2K7 because Baseball season just started and I couldn't resist.  MLB 2K7 is one of the games I owned that mysteriously disappeared at GDC.  I am trying to convince MGS to give me new ones...since I lost mine while promoting them.  

 

Games I am totally missing:  MLB 2k7, Gears of War, and Viva Pinata.  Also gone (but I am not missing as much) are Crackdown (already beat it and didn't like it that much.  Rather play Saint's Row, again) Kameo, PGR3, DOA4, and Halo 2.  I think that's it.

 

Good news...I was in Kirkland with the Bungie dudes the other day (interviewing an intern candidate...great way to combine my new work in campus recruiting with my old work in games).  Jaime offered to let me play some Halo 3.  I was like, Yeah right.  And he was like, no really.  And I was like Holy (explitive). 

 

I didn't have time, though.  Confoundit!  Maybe another time.  Not having my games sucks.  I saw someone playing the Shadowrun beta the other day.  Gotta figure out how to get my hands on that. 

 

For the record, I kinda suck in mutiplayer.  I'm a campaign guy. 

 

blah blah blah.  I want my games back.  I only need 2 more Pinatas.