It's that time of year again...
New Year's Eve. A time to reflect. To join with friends to celebrate another year past and a new year to come. To watch football, and drink (responsibly) and remember that a baby born tonight gives you a year's worth of tax help :-)
2006 has been in many ways a year of grace for us. Quiet and unremarkable, which is good after 2005's roller coaster. There were many moments of peace and thankfulness: our one year anniversary of our move back to CA, my Dad's cancer-free anniversary, milestones and accomplishments at work. Quiet evenings at home, evenings spent at parties and games. Moments spent with new friends and old. Just moments unremarkable except that we were able to enjoy them. All in all a good year.
There are many things I could say that I want for next year: better health, to become a homeownwer, to get a raise at work, for DH to have an easier group of students. But really, if 2007 is anything like 2006, I'll be more than happy with its quiet, steady passage.
A blessed and Happy New Year to each of you, may 2007 bring health, happiness, and dreams come true.
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And now we have a dead Bronco as well. As the story is coming out here; a group of Bronco players got into an arguement with another group of guys at a party. After the party in their Hummer limo, they were shot at with Williams killed and two others injured. I'd like to say more.
Posted by: Stacy at January 01, 2007 04:11 PM (92p8H)
And a veddy nice time was had by all
Sharp-eyed readers will notice two things:
1. This post was actually written after the post at the top(but time-shifted)
and
2. New "Bloggers that Actually Exist" in the blogroll on the right sidebar.
This morning several of the SoCal Bear Flaggers got together for brunch and I finally met the very interesting Gay Patriot West (Dan) and the lovely and generous Tammy Bruce, who picked up the check.
It was lovely to see everyone, and thanks, Tammy!
PS: Noticably missing? One Dr. Rusty Shackleford, whose sojourn in SoCal for the holidays was the impetus for today's get together. Tsk, Tsk.
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It's about time. I think someone is conspicuously absent from the party, though... *narrows eyes to find Osama*
Posted by: Thomas Warlock at December 29, 2006 06:43 PM (kT6aE)
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ROT IN HELL YOU FUCKTARD!
We lit sparklers to celebrate.
Posted by: wRitErsbLock at December 29, 2006 07:50 PM (0Pi1o)
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We must buy our clothes from the same high-end boutique.
My thoughts, exactly.
Posted by: Erica at December 29, 2006 09:30 PM (n1ABe)
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I was a soldier in the latter days of Reagan's Army, and have known the name Saddam Hussein for over 16 years. I loathe the man, and feel some comfort in his just execution, just as I felt glee when the 4th Infantry captured him that wonderful December day, 2003.
Justice is harsh. But necessary. I need a drink.
Posted by: PaleoMedic at December 29, 2006 10:01 PM (GRpJ1)
The Final F*ck Off
The final Friday F*ck Off thread of 2006 is posted at it comes in pints? for your reading and venting pleasure. Complete with some of this year's best F*ck Offs.
The winner, for sheer volume of F*ck-ed-ness and creativity, however, is Val, with these posts (NSFW, so posted below the jump) under the category of "Love Thy Neighbors":
I never knew you had it in you, my friend.
more...
Posted by: Amy at December 29, 2006 04:55 PM (DWNNI)
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how did I miss this as a regular topic? I could do entries every now and then.
Posted by: wRitErsbLock at December 29, 2006 07:49 PM (0Pi1o)
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Ha ha ha ha ... I worked with a couple of men that could compete in this and possible get honorable mentions!! This is great.
Posted by: vw bug at December 30, 2006 05:00 AM (ovn9H)
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For you folks who haven't participated before, but feel the urge, Emily posts it every Friday sometime between 7 and 9 am PST ("God's Time").
Drop by and say "Fuck Off"!
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Bwahahaha! I laughed myself damn-near in half over that! Mrs. Who just gave me a serves-you-right look as I was in tears...
Looks like I have a new outlet - one that won't make Mrs. Who quite so... uncomfortable... as when I go off on one of my 'Sanford and Son Ghetto Fabulous' rants.
Hate to drive the property-value down at the HoZ after all that hard-work, you know... ;-)
Posted by: Bitterroot at January 01, 2007 01:17 PM (GValb)
Mother Mary protect us...
It seems St. Joseph isn't the only statue with a useful place around the house. Drop in at Mrs_Who's new digs and read how a statue of the Holy Mother helps out around the house!
Lumberjack Down
J.R. Salzman, the blogger behind Lumberjack in a Desert has been wounded in Iraq by an IED.
"it is hard for me to tell you all this but i was hurt by an ied here. my right arm has been amputated below the elbow, my left has four working fingers. my legs are fine so l can still logroll! i am on my way to the hospital in germany, then back to the states for more care. i am in high spirits. i am going to be ok, but i will have a long road to recovery. please remember me in your prayers, as well as those who were injured with me. i will let you know more as time passes."
I never read J.R.'s blog before today, in fact I never knew about it, but I'm a big fan of his from the Great Outdoor Games. I knew he looked familiar.
J.R. in full battle gear
The Good news is that J.R. is already at Walter Reed, doing the every-other-day surgery thing until the doctors can get his wounds healing appropriately. His wife and parents are with him.
The Better news is that TheUsualSuspects are already at work getting JR a Valour-IT laptop so that he can continue to communicate with the world at large.
Please keep J.R. and his family, and all the men who were wounded with him and their families in your thoughts and prayers
Yep. Pretty Much
Anyone who was part of one of the AIDS debates at DW knows this one is true:
My Peculiar Aristocratic Title is: Her Eminence the Very Viscountess Caltechgirl the Sophisticated of Wallop upon Deane Get your Peculiar Aristocratic Title
Attention Target Shoppers-- Target SUCKS
Or more appropriately, Attention Target Returners. Especially those of you who got gifts without gift receipts.
Look, you all know how much I love Target. Not any more. Some of you know how strong a statement that really is.
According to Vanessa, "manager" of store 1417 in Fresno, Target's return policy is that if you DO NOT have a receipt for that item, any return is only issued as a "suspended transaction" and you can only purchase:
THE SAME ITEM or a similar item ON THE DAY OF THE RETURN AT THAT STORE
This means that you may only purchase an item from that particular department. In my case, kitchen electronics. If you want to buy clothes or shoes or something and you returned a blender. Yep, sorry. You can't. But would you like a deep fryer?
Without a receipt they place SERIOUS restrictions on what you can get for a return. AND if it's over $100, good luck sucker. The lady next to me at the return counter was returning a PSP someone gave her son. They told her that they couldn't even take it.
Even worse was the father whose son had received a jacket he really liked but was too small. The kid wanted the same jacket, but this store didn't have his size EITHER. They couldn't give him a gift card to go to the other Target in town and get one. AND the jacket had already gone back to the floor while he was shopping, so they wouldn't give it back to him and void the return. When I left he was warming up to get as pissed off as I was.
As far as I know, Target is the ONLY store that restricts what you can spend your return $$ on after returning a new, unopened, fully functional item.
Kind of ironic when their signs promise "EASY RETURNS! EVEN WITHOUT A RECEIPT!"
In fact none of this policy (as it was explained to me) is even ON their website. Here's the sum total of what it says regarding store-purchases returned with out a receipt:
Don't have your receipt?
In most instances, Target stores can verify purchases made within the last 90 days on a store account, third-party charge account, check or GiftCard using our unique Receipt Look-up system.
In fact, their website even says the following for target.com purchases, but nothing for Target store purchases:
Refunds to a Store - Gift Recipient
Form of Payment: Your refund will be issued as a GiftCard good for purchases made at Target stores and on Target.com.
They already got the $$$, folks. It's in their coffers. Why THE F*CK should they care what I want to get for that money???
And why do they care for store purchases but not Target.com??????
And believe me, I know from experience, if it didn't come from their store, the computer won't recognize it, even for common items, like video games. They don't need a receipt to verify it was sold in Target.
Between this policy, Che on everything, and last year's "Happy Holidays" and Salvation Army fiascoes, my once favorite store is quickly going to the bottom.
So I won't be shopping there anymore, and you should tell them how you feel about this ridiculous policy.
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I've returned things to Target before... with out a receipt, and never had this problem. In fact I did it just last month.
Posted by: Contagion at December 27, 2006 05:06 PM (MsT2U)
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I had this same return problem about two years ago, when they changed the policy. It's completely ridiculous! I got lucky because the policy had JUST changed, so I was able to get store credit after bitching repeatedly to the manager, and calling that 1-800 number. I love them for everything else, except this damn policy! they have redeemed themselves with me from the Che fiasco becuase that was just ignorance and they pulled the items, but they really have to take care of this stupid policy!!
Posted by: Amanda at December 27, 2006 06:47 PM (kfBkP)
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Co-worker was lamenting this exact thing to me the other day.
I've never tried to return anything to Target, so I can't say much.
Posted by: wRitErsbLock at December 28, 2006 05:37 AM (MwQOF)
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Heh. Dominant color scheme? Red.
Che? Red.
Return policy? Commie.
You connect the dots.
8^)
/snark for those who are irony-challenged.
Posted by: John of Argghhh! at December 28, 2006 04:33 PM (9FPYz)
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For some reason trackbacks are not working... My comments are here.
Posted by: Amy at December 28, 2006 05:18 PM (DWNNI)
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I thought of you today when I returned an item with a gift receipt. Even with the receipt I could only get store credit. I hate that! I'm saving the thing til their shelves are restocked.
Posted by: Marie at December 29, 2006 12:48 PM (4768w)
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I don't shop too much at Target - but I don't need much of what they have. So it may be that I can get along without ever going there again.
Posted by: Teresa at December 29, 2006 12:49 PM (gsbs5)
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Target WAS one of my favorite stores. I encountered this same issue the other day and I was totally shocked. Target sucks whale balls.
Posted by: Mia at December 30, 2006 10:47 AM (Dlq0g)
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I wrote about this same thing yesterday. In addition to the restrictions you mentioned, the return in the same department musrt be equal or greater than the item you brought back. They will not even give you a gift card for one or two dollars if the new purchase falls short.
Jerks.
Posted by: Hoosierboy at December 31, 2006 06:08 AM (5TIBn)
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Target used to be one of my favorite stores but not anymore. My son got 2 of the same video games for Christmas, I could not find the recent. They said I could not even exchange it because I had 2 returns in a rolling 12 months. I was outraged, all I wanted to do was exchange it for something different. I asked to spaek to the manager, she was beyond rude and told me "sorry about your luck". I came home and dug through my trash found the recent and took the game back and threw it at the customer servicer desk with my receipt, they gave me a store creid, but no I'm sorry, thanks or anything. They did not even speak to me.
Posted by: Nikki at January 07, 2007 07:34 PM (pixnI)
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Target BLOWS!!!! Most of their crap is in a big red target box but you still have to have a receipt for everything. Even with a receipt, there are too many restrictions. Everyone, STOP shopping at TARGET. Too many other stores to blow your money at. Target just opened, two years ago in my area. Can't wait until it closes.
Posted by: targetsucks at January 16, 2007 12:39 PM (pTpsk)
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Target is exactly like Wal-Mart. Cheap crap with better PR. It's like a pig with lipstick.
Posted by: Big-box Swindle at January 16, 2007 03:28 PM (1lXzF)
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Hi I tried to trackback to you, not sure if it worked or not. Thank you so much for this video, I had forgotten all about it.
Posted by: Wild Thing at December 27, 2006 12:41 AM (tj1zH)
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Oh, Caltechgirl, I remember that one, it's hilarious. And I think that President Ford probably had the good humour to enjoy it, also.
Posted by: Beth at December 27, 2006 04:36 AM (9FPYz)
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Love that old Dana Carvey bit. He nails the Brokaw liquid "L".
Gerald Ford took on a very unenviable job and for the most part did a very job. I believe more than a few people would have messed it up horribly. For that I will always honor the man. Rest in Peace, Mr. President.
Posted by: PaleoMedic at December 27, 2006 07:13 PM (GRpJ1)
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From what I understand the man always had a good sense of humor and was very self-deprecating. I can imagine he'd be amused by this... also by the fact he outlasted Brokaw on the news.
The man stayed active with the Boy Scouts up until very recently. A man to be proud of.
Posted by: rSM at December 27, 2006 08:16 PM (L32zm)
Posted by: vw bug at December 21, 2006 02:58 PM (ZbLU8)
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Merry Christmas to you and your family.
OH and one little thing to add. I am tagging you for a fun thing if you would like to do it. It is a Christmas MEME.
http://www.theodoresworld.net/archives/2006/12/christmas_meme.html
It was my first time to be tagged so you are also the first person I am tagging too. heh heh
Thank you for your friendship, it is an honor to know you!
Posted by: Wild Thing at December 24, 2006 01:58 AM (tj1zH)
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.. Merry Christmas, ma'am.... and thank you for the wonderful card....
Posted by: Eric at December 24, 2006 04:59 AM (NlzwQ)
Posted by: GUYK at December 21, 2006 06:44 AM (pbl9X)
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and yet no one is addressing the issue of the touching yet unspoken relationship between Bert and Ernie. Scorsese is COMPLETELY covering this scandal up, whitewashing over it with Bert's accusations of adultery. Burt has NEVER been married. The two have lived together in a small 1-bedroom, 1-bath apartment for over 30 years.
Let's face the realities here.
Posted by: rsm at December 21, 2006 08:15 AM (IyNwh)
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Sick. Twisted. Nearly blasphemous.
I LOOOOOOOOVE IT! Two very enthusiastic thumbs up!
Fine holiday fun.
Love yas,
Posted by: Just Me at December 21, 2006 09:02 AM (tNDpT)
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My favorite is still the "C For Cookie" trailer. Not only would I pay full price to see it at the theater, I'd wait in line overnight to see it opening day...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V9rzMaAucI4
Posted by: zonker at December 21, 2006 10:41 PM (PrUNH)
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time
Have you stopped by to check out the newest member of the Bad Example Bunch? It's Bitterroot, also known as =HC=, husband of my blog sis Mrs_Who.
And he's got a great story to tell about their Golden Retriever.....
"...Mothers can tell what every different nuance in a baby's cry means. I've never understood that. But I can understand my dog.
I can tell the difference between a cat in the parkbark, a strange dogs are in my yard! bark, and even a neighbor girl and her boyfriend are talking/making-out in her driveway bark. There's also the strangers walking past the yard bark, and of course the usual bored reply to the other barking dog down the street bark.
But at about 2:30 this morning, she was barking something different. It definitely wasn't a bored or cat bark - it was more insistent. She almost sounded scared. As I listened, her barking intensified - whatever it was was really unnerving her - she was already up to DefCon 2. I got up and went to the family room at the other end of the house and peered out the windows. I saw nothing. By this time, Dog is going positively ape-shit out there. Something or someone is in the yard, and it's definitely a stranger bark! I moved as quickly as I dared through the darkened house to secure my gun and flashlight. (I know, I know) They should have been in my hands before I went to investigate.) Damn! Mrs. Who or the kids - okay, maybe even *I* left the MagLite somewhere other than where it was supposed to be. Too late, I can't turn-on lights to search for it. There's no time, and I'll only handicap my own night-adjusted eyes - blinding myself and possibly even making a silhouette of myself!...."
Read the rest, and find out WHY she went to DefCon 2
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Wow - I linked here from my email and watched your "Sesame Streets" video - too funny. "You talkin' to ME? You must be talkin' to me, 'cause I'm the only one here..."
I was surprised to see just below that the name of a not-so-widely-read book that I had read some time ago which I found... intriguing.
I was even more surprised to discover that the post beneath that book title was a link to my site and my story!
Thanks!!
As for the book:
"4 yellow cars in a row made it a Black Day, which is a day when I don't speak to anyone and sit on my own reading books and don't eat my lunch and Take No Risks"
I can identify... 8-|
Posted by: Bitterroot at December 21, 2006 04:46 AM (GValb)
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Oops - I goofed my link to the book in question... for anyone interested.
(Note: It's a good way to brush-up on your prime numbers!)
Posted by: Bitterroot at December 21, 2006 04:50 AM (GValb)
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I just reAD THAT BOOK THIS YEAR, AND LOVED IT...
A second incidence of bleeding has Jen in the hospital for the rest of her pregnancy. While I know it's terribly boring and tedious for her, especially being stuck in the hospital over the holidays, at the same time I hope her bedrest is longer rather than shorter, and ends with a healthy little boy and healthy Mom, too.
Any good thoughts and/or prayers would be much appreciated.
Drop Jen a note and let her know you're thinking of her.
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Tried to leave her a note, but kept getting kicked back to put the "word" in. Unfortunately once you get to the preview screen, the "word" no longer shows up. In any case I wish her well and hope she has a nice healthy baby.
Posted by: Teresa at December 21, 2006 08:05 AM (gsbs5)
Posted by: oddybobo at December 19, 2006 06:03 AM (mZfwW)
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I never watch SNL, but always Tivo it in case I hear there was anything good. This past week's episode was pretty good. Best of all was the Nancy Grace bit on the Duke rape prosecutorial misconduct case.
Posted by: Xrlq at December 19, 2006 06:35 AM (WBDk4)
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Um, the word "rape" was supposed to be in strikethrough.
Posted by: Xrlq at December 19, 2006 06:35 AM (WBDk4)
Posted by: Teresa at December 19, 2006 06:57 PM (gsbs5)
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I am so glad you posted this. I would have missed a chance to laugh about it again with the guys at work. I love how blogging keeps me up to date on "current events"!
Posted by: Amy at December 21, 2006 09:05 AM (DWNNI)
You can dress a thug in fancy clothes...
But you can't take him to church.
Sorry, David Stern. Bullshit fines aren't the answer. All 7 of the suspended players should face the same punishment as Ron Artest. If you want them to play nice, make so that they play nice or don't play at all.
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I heard they suspended 7 players - from what I understand they should've suspended the coaches too.
Posted by: Teresa at December 18, 2006 03:44 PM (gsbs5)
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Yeah, Carmello Anthony got 15 games. But really, if you're going to have a bunch of low-lifes out there playing professional sports, you should have police everywhere to arrest them when the assaults start. Geeze! A couple of them really should be in jail over that - anyone else would be.
Sadly, the NBA has turned into bunches of thugs who make way too much money. If they want that kind of action, why don't they get into the Ultimate Fighter circuit and take some real punches.
Posted by: Teresa at December 18, 2006 03:53 PM (gsbs5)
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again, part of the reason I dislike basketball so much. It's all about the posturing and their newly discovered rich lifestyle while they try so hard to maintain their street toughs.
Cut out their source of pride, their money, for a long long time, if ever letting them come back in the first place. The flagrant foul included grabbing someone around the neck. Sorry. you can no longer be trusted to play in professional sports. Go away.
Posted by: rsm at December 18, 2006 04:23 PM (IyNwh)
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Worse yet, this is the most entertaining thing the Knicks have done in the past 4 years. Really if he wanted to "save the fans from seeing that" with the hard foul on the Nuggets player, shouldn't he have just cut the arena's power before the game?
Posted by: the Pirate at December 19, 2006 08:36 AM (tM0AO)
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As much as I loathe the NBA, I gotta give props to Nate Robinson. Taking on men almost twice your size is brave.
Posted by: Lisa at December 19, 2006 08:50 AM (S64wG)
Thanks!!
As for the book:
"4 yellow cars in a row made it a Black Day, which is a day when I don't speak to anyone and sit on my own reading books and don't eat my lunch and Take No Risks"
I can identify... 8-|
