Playstation 3 for 99 cents

Waiting in line: 40 hours

Extra controller and games: $180

2 year extended warranty: $200

PS3 new in box: $599

Starting Bid: $0.99

Not realizing you set "buy-it-now" instead of "starting bid"

PRICELESS!

Separate but Equal

The government has issued its final rules on how it will enforce Title 9 which deals with antidiscrimination. Title 9 says you cannot treat people separately. This is the same law that allowed girl’s sports teams to sue school for equal funding. Under the new rule change, the local school systems now have discretion to implement same sex classes, grade or even schools.
This has been banned for decades. In 1975, some same sex classes were allowed. These were basically sports classes or sex education classes.The test examples have shown that same sex classes result in better student achievements. Another benefit is less discipline problems. Same sex classes make it easier to get girls to be more competitive and boys to cooperate more.
It had been widely accepted that girls with defer to boys and so teachers give boys more attention in class. With separation, boys and girls test scores have become closer. Girls are enrolling in higher education at a higher rate and they are earning more bachelor degrees than boys.
Classes teach the same principles in these pilot programs. They do use different examples for the girls and boys. In the math classes, teachers for the girls use shopping examples to teach. The boy’s teachers use sports related examples. This recognizes the fact that boys and girls learn differently. Girls tend to ask questions and boys will wait before asking for fear they will look less smart. One girl commented, ‘I like math more now that the boys are no longer in the class room. Boys are a distraction and goof off.’
The new guidelines take effect this Friday 11-24-06. This should increase the number of schools participating from the 253 present today. The requirements state that classes:
* must be geared for achievement
* must be geared towards creating diverse experience to meet the
particular needs of students (?????)
* they must treat girls and boys equally
* must be voluntary
* must offer the same subjects

The critics say this is a step backwards. The national Organization for Women says this creates a risk of breeding a 2nd class citizen. The American Association of University Women declares this will throw out the basic legal standards for sex discrimination and there is little evidence it helps.
The ACLU sued a Louisiana junior high that had planned to separate the genders. They say the plan violated Title 9, which requires equal treatment foe boys and girls for any institution that receive s federal funding.
Now this sounds like the 1890’s law requiring separate but equal. This time the separate is not by race but by gender. Where the example from history used the words equal between the races, but never really meant equal. Maybe this will mean equal treatment between the genders. If so, then maybe it will prove our forefathers right. Separate but Equal DOES work.

10-4 We're Outta Here

Watch out all you police scanner listeners. Soon to be gone from the airwaves are all those "10 codes" used by the police departments. No longer will we hear: "Unit 4 will be 10-8, 10-19." No. Now, the abbreviations will have to spoken in plain language. BTW. 10-8, 10-19 = in route to location. Instead of 10-36 they will just ask what time is it.
I can see some advantages in this new method. I mean some numbers sound the same and I would hate to see a message misunderstood. Can you imagine calling in the SWAT team instead of asking for a phone number?
But I'm actually here to talk about the huge disadvantages. Can you imagine what Friday and Saturday night entertainment is going to sound like now. Instead of relaxing at home. listening to the scanner to see which one of your coworkers will be late Monday morning,the official sounds of police business will now sound more like a family vacation.
No more calls by officers, "Dispatch, I'm going to be 10-8 at the 7-11 for a 10-100". NO!! Now we'll hear, "Dispatch, I'm stopping at the 7-11 to pee." And, if they bring up 10-200?? Too much information.

Waterline Leak

Thought I would post a few pics of the "work truck".














My poor truck. You should've seen the guys at the quarry when I told them I wanted a load of gravel. The scale master asked me if I was sure I wanted to get gravel in that truck! 2300 lbs later and the backend was riding pretty low.

Talk about dirty. It hasn't been this dirty all summer. I'm glad I'm not headed for a show. At least it will give me some pictures to put in my car show photo album. See....I do use it.

Wow, it took me 2 hours to get it to this point. Everything underneath is still terrible. At least it's presentable.

I Get to Play With Heavy Equipment

I just spent 3 days playing with heavy equipment. We had a water leak. It seems we've had a leak for months. I didn't realize this until our last bill. Our useage went from 18k gallons to 26k gals to 57k gals. Holy Chit. Can you say a $580 water bill? I checked it out and we were losing close to a gallon every other minute. Now I know you're wondering if there were wet spots in the yard. I wondered about the same thing when the water department warned us there was something wrong. With the geography in this area, lots of shale. The water was obviously seaping through shelves and not seaping to the surface, We called a couple of plumbers. OMG I realize we had a 275ft long service line, but $4600??? The other quoted $13 per foot. Anyway, I decided I could do it myself alot cheaper. I spent a little over $1200 doing it myself. We rented a backhoe and at one point a trencher. As you can see I definately had fun. At one point, I had to get a load of gravel to place under the water line. I went to the loacl quarry where the operator and site forman had reservations about loading my truck. Needless to say a ton later and my truck was squatting pretty low.

OJ: If I Did It - DO NOT BUY this book

As a society, can we get any more perverse? OJ's new book, If I Did It, is the epitome of slease. I'm sure this will be a best seller. Hell, the good ole FOX network will actually help promote this crap with a 2 broadcast special interview.
I'm sorry if this just pisses me off. The freakin asshole gets away with murder and after losing a civil lawsuit, he hasn't paid anything towards the judgement against him??? I'm sure he doesn't live on the golf course for free.
The book, due for release in two weeks, explains how OJ would have committed the murders, "if he did it". Regan books is publishing this crap saying that it is of 'historic importance'. Bullcrap. They are publishing this to make a dollar. I urge everyone to leave this trash on the shelves to gather dust. Do NOT watch the FOX special, (timed to coincide with the last days of sweeps week.) I'm too sick to write more. I know it could be interesting to see what this guilty asshole might say. But don't lower yourselves.

The Leonids are Coming The Leonids are Coming

Break out the coffee, grab a warm blanket and head out of town to find a nice cozy, dark spot in the open wilderness. This Saturday Nov 18th around 11:45 pm Eastern Time, there should be a brief surge in the Leonid meteor activity. This could last up to 2 hours and at the peak, 150 meteors per hour may fall. Afterwards 'only' 100 per hour or so.
The Leonids are bits of debris left behind by repeated passages through the inner solar system of the comet Tempel-Tuttle. Each November, Earth crosses various trails of debris, which have spread out over centuries and millennia. Dense debris trails have caused incredible meteor storms in years, past, notably 1998 through 2002.
I'm going to get in trouble here but I believe in 2000 ( it might have been 1999), I took Glo out to an overlook around an hour away. It sits on the side of the mountain overlooking the valley. Man what a view. I think it was the first time she had seen a shooting star. That night the sky was full of them. The only bad thing was it was cold as heck.
So hopefully the weather will cooperate and maybe I can talk Glo into going out tommorrow night. See ya.

Long Time but not dead Yet

Hey ya'll. I'm not dead. I've been busy as hell. It's seems like I haven't had to stop and when I do, blogging is the last thing on my mind. I can't really say I've tried to think of any topics. Maybe I'm having blog-fade? Dunno. I just can't get motivated to do anything. It would be different I guess if I was getting a little feedback. Anyhoo, guess I'll cut this short and go to bed.

BTW what about those Dem's? Now lets see them f-up the government. I would say it will be better but it'll be back to the same old, do what it takes to keep my campaign money rolling in BS before long.

Also, I went to the last car show f the year in Prince George Va. I got a top 25 in the 73-2006 class. That makes 6 1st place trophies. 4 top 25 or better a second place and recognition for traveling the longest on the show last weekend. Not bad for 14 shows. Patting myself on the back. The sad thing about all of this is the fact that the biggest trophy (3 1/2 ft) was for the longest distance. I can see it now everyone looking at this thing like a won best of show and it's for driving the longest. Gees. It also paid $200. Kewl huh?