No sex for anyone

This is, um, interesting.

Still more legal corporate scams

Don't get that extended warranty!

More corporations that want to hurt you

As this columnist says, this is a good time to think about how bad it really is to rack up credit card debt.

Priorities

This is the kind of anecdote that really brings home the disturbing nature of the consumer-focused American culture:

Charlo Sterio, a 58-year-old horse groomer from Miranda, about 55 miles south of Eureka, was first in line to wait for the doors to open at 5 a.m.

Having camped out in front of the store for 24 hours, Sterio passed up Thanksgiving dinner offers from friends in order to drive down in his RV and buy a $380 laptop, a $190 desktop computer, a TV/DVD combination unit and other gizmos at steep discounts.

"I'm pretty hungry," Sterio said as he was jostled in yet another line inside the store at the computer section. "I missed Thanksgiving dinner. I sacrificed that."

But Sterio had no regrets. "I can't be in two places at one time, and my first choice was coming to Best Buy to get the deals," he said.

"Black" Friday

Busy day, today! At one point there was cookie-baking, soup-cooking and candle-making going on simultaneously!

The only buying I did today was of lunch at Quiznos and some candle-making supplies at Michael's.

Turkey Day

I'm thankful that this baseball season eventually did end.

I'm thankful that OJ isn't going to get to be on TV again.

I'm thankful that I live in California and not here.

Mostly, I'm really thankful for my wonderful little boy, fabulous husband and cute doggie. Happy Thanksgiving!

I hate Trader Joe's, too

So I went to Trader Joe's today to get this special pumpkin creme pie for tomorrow's Thanksgiving dinner with our neighbors. I was also shopping for the rest of our Thanksgiving stuff. Trader Joe's failed to provide fully HALF of all the stuff on my list. I don't understand why people shop there! You can't actually do your shopping there. They don't have pop. They don't have Cheerios. They have, like, two kinds of soup. Ugh. How do they stay in business?

oops

Boy, sometimes it's hard to post every day! And yesterday, I could have ranted about this or pontificated about the Soriano deal.

I hate Dianne Feinstein

She embodies all that is wrong with San Francisco politicians. She believes the entire world revolves around San Francisco and the needs of the city trump everything else. Most San Franciscans believe this, but she has the power to impose this belief on the rest of us.

How dare a private business announce plans to leave the glorious city! How dare the cities that buy water from San Francisco ask that SF use those cities' own money to fix the broken water system! And how dare environmentalists even consider moving San Francisco's water (never mind the millions of little people who don't live in SF who use the water) so that a crime against the land of a national park be reversed!!!

Meteor shower bust

Arthur and I drove up to Skyline tonight to try to view the meteor shower. Some other folks who were up there claimed to see a couple shooting stars, but I guess I missed them. We all left after about an hour...

This is pretty terrible

This is one misguided judge.

Horrors! I didn't post yesterday!

Luckily, this post, which links to one of the most disturbing things I've seen in the paper recently, makes up for it.

This is what's wrong with the world

A cyclist gets run over by a car, and then gets arrested. No charges for the incompetent driver, of course.

Andrew Hamm web memorial

Please check out this great website in tribute to our friend Andy.

Cool the Planet!

Cool the Planet: Tips #3 from Cool Families

The air is crisp and you've probably turned on your heater or furnace
by now. So here's the first Action of the month: Turn down your
thermostat by two degrees in winter. For each degree, you can cut your
energy bills up to 5 percent and keep 315 pounds of planet-heating
carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere in a year. Flex Your Power
recommends 68 degrees in winter, and 55 degrees at night and when
you're not home. Consider installing an inexpensive Energy Star
thermostat that you can program (set it to warm the house just before
you get out of bed!).

Second action of the month: Use less gasoline! This is probably one of
the biggest things we can all do to stop global warming. Here are a
few suggestions to get you started:
* Don't idle. Whether you're in the school's drop-off zone or on the
wrong side of road construction, turn off your engine and save gas and
money.
*Spend a few minutes talking with your family about how you can drive
less. Maybe you could set up a carpool for after-school activities.
Maybe you could walk to a nearby shopping center to run a few,
lightweight errands, or if you do drive, park in a central location
and walk to the shops within a quarter of a mile. Ride your bike with
your kids to do your errands or go to school.
*Consider if there's one day in your week or month when you can leave
the car in the driveway, choosing instead to bike to work, take the
bus to the movies, or stay at home relaxing. One less pound of carbon
dioxide is emitted for every mile you bike, walk or take public
transit instead of driving.

To learn more: Last month we talked about how much money and
electricity you can save by installing compact fluorescent bulbs. Old
thermostats and compact fluorescent light bulbs contain mercury.
Please dispose of them at free household hazardous waste days or the
San Carlos Recycling Center, 650-592-2411.

To do more: Consider supporting International Buy Nothing Day, held
the day after Thanksgiving. By staying home from crowded shopping
centers, you'll save gas, save money, and save on the gasoline used to
make products, package them and ship them. We'll give you some great
alternatives to shopping next month in the December issue of Cool the
Planet. In the meantime, check out these great resources on
simplifying the holidays http://www.newdream.org/holiday/simplify.pdf
and buying responsibly http://www.newdream.org/consumer/index.php.

Subscribe to the Cool Families bulletin for future tips and links at
this site: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Cool_Families_Bulletin/. If
you'd like to work with us to inspire positive action, join the group
here: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/CoolFamiliesRWC/.

Warming, schmarming

Great to see people are pointing to Chrichton's novel as a way to learn about global warming. As my hubby said, that's like reading "Disclosure" to learn about sexual harrassment. Yikes.

Farewell to Rummy

Here's a good one:

"We do know of certain knowledge that he [Osama Bin Laden] is either in Afghanistan, or in some other country, or dead."

Or, just stick with the old classic:

"Reports that say that something hasn't happened are always interesting to me, because as we know, there are known knowns; there are things we know we know. We also know there are known unknowns; that is to say we know there are some things we do not know. But there are also unknown unknowns -- the ones we don't know we don't know."

The "Real OC"

I'm trying to decide if I can actually feel sorry for these parents or not. Yeah, the MTV presence is probably a distraction, but they're the ones who are letting their kids drink, go on shopping sprees and get plastic surgery.

"Anyone out of high school forced to watch more than an hour of “Laguna Beach” might possibly feel the urge to beat themselves about the head with a large stick."

Down with Pombo!

A lot of great stuff happened this Election Day, but this one may be the top.

Don't forget to vote!

...if you havne't already. (This isn't Chicago, after all...)

A's actually moving?!?!

OK, I know tomorrow is election day and all, but this is a really big deal! If it actually happens this time.

It would totally rule to have them so close!!!

(Btw, am I the only one who thinks it's incredibly freaking weird that the Chronicle is linking to Wikipedia???)

Prop. 87: YES (duh!)

If Exxon is opposed to it, you want it to happen.

Andy's obit from the Tracy Press

Andrew Hamm June 7, 1960 — Oct. 30, 2006 Services will be Monday for former Tracy Press reporter Andrew Hamm, 46, who suddenly died Monday at his Tracy home. A native of South New Jersey, Mr. Hamm had lived in Northern California for the last 26 years. A veteran of the U.S. Marine Corps, he served from 1978 to 1982 and was discharged as a corporal. Mr. Hamm covered city and police issues for the Press until about 1998, when he left for a position with the Tri-Valley Herald. He spent the last six years reporting for the Silicon Valley/San Jose Business Journal. Mr. Hamm loved sports, especially baseball, and he played on many recreation softball leagues as an adult. He was an avid fan of Bruce Springsteen. Mr. Hamm was a beloved brother and son and he will be missed by all who knew him. He is survived by his mother, Jean Hamm; brothers, Douglas Bonnell, and his wife, Amanda, Glenn Hamm, and his wife, Annette, Frank Hamm, and his wife, Trish; sisters, Marianne Bonnell, Paula Hamm, Alice Baker, and her husband, Larry, Janet Brunetti, and her husband, Jon, Betty Carter, and her husband, Dale, Judy Barker, and her husband, Michael, Victoria Anderson, and her husband, Jim; former wives, Esther Gonzales and Zena Robbins; and numerous nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his father, Frank Hamm. Monday’s services will be from 2 to 4 p.m. at Hotchkiss Mortuary, 5 W. Highland Ave.

Published on Saturday Nov 04, 2006 in http://www.tracypress.com

Andrew F. Hamm, 1960-2006

A good friend, good writer and good softball player.

Prop. 90: NO

It's almost election day. So it's time to talk about propositions. Let's start with 90. Proponents say this is supposed to limit eminent domain, which sounds like a great idea. Except it actually forces the government to pay people when they do something that damages their property values. (Does that mean Redwood City has to pay me because my street is unsafe and they refuse to do anything about it? Hmm, probably not.) This would basically decimate all publicly funded programs. So I don't know how this got on the ballot. Anyhow, it's bad.

Cheap Food Nation

"Throughout the European Union, laws have been passed to guarantee food safety and animal welfare, restrict the use of antibiotics among livestock, ban genetically engineered foods, encourage organic production, and begin the deindustrialization of agriculture. These laws do not mean a return to the 19th century. On the contrary, they encourage the wise, careful application of 21st-century technology, along with a sense of humility before nature."

It's November

Regan says we're supposed to post every day.