Stuck in Reverse

The boon of a deal the City of Chicago signed with a private company for the parking meters revenue in the city, seems more and more like a boon for the private company, instead of the other way around.

New information states that the City has to pay the private company when ever the city has to block off parking spaces for parades, fairs, construction, etc. The legal mumbo-jumbo of this idiotic deal also states the City gets to keep revenue from parking tickets given to people that park at metered spaces, but don’t pay the parking fee.

If the private company gets money back from us for lost revenue from things like construction and parades and the like, I’m hoping there isn’t microscopic fine print somewhere stating that we have to pay them a portion of parking ticket revenue, because of their “lost revenue”.

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Sin City, Thin Skin

Who would have thought that a city famous for mobsters would take, if anything, something that could be taken as indirect criticism, so personally. I read and watch the news. I know Las Vegas has been hit hard during our economic crisis. Tourism is down which means money is down, which means unemployment is up, as it is damn near everywhere else. But, when President Obama says:

“When times are tough, you tighten your belts”

“You don’t go buying a boat when you can barely pay your mortgage”

“You don’t blow a bunch of cash on Vegas when you’re trying to save for college. You prioritize. You make tough choices.”

Casinò Bellagio
Image by lorenzo stupid kid AKA rockito via Flickr

That’s NOT a dig at Las Vegas, that is the voice of the nation saying spend your money wisely. If you have a vacation fund, by all means, book the flight, the room and the gambling time. Have a blast, that’s what Vegas is there for. But, if you truly can’t afford it, don’t go to Vegas and dump your load at the $1,000 ante poker tables. It may seem like a great idea at the time, but you’ll regret it later. What the hell is he supposed to say?

SPEND SPEND SPEND! Let’s keep Vegas afloat while the lot of you go bankrupt from one too many spins on the roulette wheel?

Now, if he said, screw Vegas, go to Atlantic City. Then, maybe they’d have something to bitch about.

This boils down to one, simple thing. The whole country is suffering right now, Vegas isn’t going through something the rest of us aren’t. Hold your chin up, fight through it, and hopefully, we’ll all be better for it, when this whole mess is over.

Furthermore, the supposed first dig at Vegas, from last year. Wasn’t a dig either! I sure as hell don’t want companies receiving government bailouts to still give corporate executives, massive bonuses and then shooting off to some fancy retreat, vacation, or bullshit corporate outing on my dime! Metaphors aside, most people would think the corporate execs would be jetting off to Vegas.

If I was representing Las Vegas, I wouldn’t be taking this personally. All this does, is make the city of Las Vegas and the state of Nevada get the same reputation as casinos have had for so many years. Who cares how much you spend, or what it does to you, financially, as long as you spend it here. It is the President’s responsibility to get into the hearts and minds of the American public about our spending and our saving. If that means you get mentioned as he attempts to educate us, so be it. When the economy levels out, the people will come flocking back, just as they did before we bottomed out.

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FIP: Death Sentence?

In a house with 6 cats, you expect some fighting about any number of things, from territory to food. In September, Snuggles (#6) graced our horde and as the youngest at barely 6 weeks old, fought hardest to make alliances and find his place amongst the clan. It wasn’t easy for him, with his fair share of fights, including getting a right hook to the eye from one of his pseudo-sisters. But, somehow he managed to gain acceptance from the oldest of the bunch and things slowly became easier from there. He still has issues with the girls from time to time, but for the most part, everyone seems to count him as one of the family now.

Snuggles

Snuggles the Cat

Monday night, little Snuggles suffered a seizure. A little spooked, we took him to the Vet and they ran some blood tests. They’ve diagnosed him with Feline Infectious Peritonitis, or FIP. All manners of research have told us this is a death sentence as there is no known cure. The dreaded “comfort care” was mentioned at least once as I browsed the web. A term I don’t much care for, as past experiences have left some sorrowful memories. We’re holding out hope that this little guy,who was left for dead once in his life, already, sitting in a taped up box with air holes next to my wife’s car on that night in September shouldn’t be forced to endure something so horrible. The Vets prescribed some medicine to help his immune system and now we’re left with a day-by-day situation, hoping for steady improvement, instead of decline.

If interested, here are some links about FIP:

Some may seem reduntant, but then again, more information is always better than less. If you would like to pass along links to further information about FIP, please comment on this post or contact me by way of the “Contact Me” page

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I Want an iPad!

I took a few days away from blogging while working on a couple of web design projects. Before I get into that, though, there is now a new toy to add to my Wish List, the iPad. Check out the info here, from Apple and watch the video, too. It’s a hell of a nice piece of hardware and the price is amazing if it stands up to the hype. I’ve got to get to an Apple Store when they hit the shelves so I can test drive it. First,  of course, I need a job, so I afford to buy one.

Back to the web design; One project which sort of came to me all at once and wasn’t planned previously, is complete as I moved the Web Design page to it’s own subdomain at http://webdesign.dmlabadie.com.

I’m still working on SHPD.org and hope to make some progress on that soon. Its shifting from a total redesign to more of a touch up job. Will have to wait and see if that changes again, though.

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Stupidity Breeds Stupidity

The worst part of this story is that a 4 year old boy was shot. That’s a no-brainer. I’m more curious as to which part of this incredibly moronic incident is the most stupid. Follow along with me for the low points:

  • Two men get into an argument
  • Later that day, Man #1 drives up next to Man #2, gets out of his car and points a gun at Man #2
  • Man #2 tries to drive off, but Man #1 opens fire, striking the back window of the car and hitting the 4 year old son of Man #2, in the leg.
  • The father and brother of Man #1 attempt to bribe Man #2 to not cooperate with the police, so the charges will be dropped.
  • Man #2 contacts police and the father and brother of Man #1 are later arrested for bribery.

Just for a moment, I’ll put myself in their shoes. Worry for my son? Of course. Wishing there was something I could do to fix the situation? No doubt. But, I’d tell my kid how stupid he was for thinking up an idea like that in the first place, let alone, following through with it! I sure as hell wouldn’t be trying to bribe the shooting victims father. If your son was shot, would you want to help make sure the person responsible doesn’t have to pay for what he did? Of course not!

You can protect you children from a lot of things. But, when your children become adults, they’re responsible for their own stupidity. Find a good lawyer and hope for the best. I’m sorry, but that is about the extent of what a parent can do.

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