Swipe, swipe

Do you do anything without swiping a piece of plastic?  Are you a 'cash' person?  Not me- I like just swiping my card, and punching some numbers in.  Couldn't be any easier.  No change to count, no clutter in your pockets.  Then go make an entry in your check register.  There are a few things I do in my life that do require me to physically send in a paper check.  These places I don't understand.  They need to drag themselves out of the stone age, wake up, and have a look around.  Everyone has a computer nowadays, and pretty much everyone can get on-line.  (on-line, not open-line).  Should be able to pay electronically. 

I didn't have a bank account for a period of about six years because I owed everyone under the sun some money and wasn't sure who was going to seize my account when I least expected it.  My paycheck would get cashed, money orders would get made up to send out for the bills, and life was happy.  When I was the proud new owner of a fresh bank account a few years ago, I had a debit card in my hands in a few days.  I had to try it out at an atm machine to make sure it was going to work.  I didn't want to go get in a line with 10 people in back of me and the card be declined.  Once I saw that it really worked, there was no looking back.  My card goes with me everywhere now. 

So what happens when you swipe your card?  I don't know.  Something magical, because the machine will tell you if your card was approved or declined.  I don't care what happens, as long as everything works out snappy.  Swipe, swipe.

Shoot To Kill, No Questions Asked, Period

Man, sure seems like a lot of police standoffs happening lately with someone dying as a result in our part of the world.  Every time I see something in the news about an armed suspect being killed by some officers, I think- damn can't they just shoot his leg off?  Or an arm?  Two or three officers spraying 10-15 bullets?  Seems a little excessive to me.

Not anymore.  Seeing other peoples opinions sure shed a different ray of sunshine on the matter for me.  While people argue that using deadly force isn't necessary, others are arguing that it is.  Why is it necessary?  Because maybe shooting someones leg off doesn't mean that the the person is going to drop his gun and put some hands up for the cuffs to be slapped on.  Guns can still be aimed at someone.  Which means guns can still be fired at someone.  Guess what?  That means that someone can still get shot. 

Why is the suspect packing/aiming guns in the first place?  Bad day?  If someone is having a bad enough day to start swinging guns around, I say they are having a bad enough day to start riddling people with bullets.  Whether intentional, or unintentional (someone innocent caught in the middle of stray fire, maybe) the potential for death is getting extremely high when a suspect comes strolling out with a gun in hand.

Now when an officer says to "drop your weapon", they are looking to stop the situation before it gets out of hand.  Seconds are precious, because seconds can mean lives saved or lost.  How would you like to be living next door and some stray bullets come flying through the window and hit you, or a loved one?  I wouldn't.  I would want the situation under control ASAP.

Like others have said- if you aim a gun at an officer, you can pretty much expect to die.  If I'm a cop and someone points a gun at me, in my head that means they are going to shoot me.  I'm gonna start pulling the trigger on my gun as fast as I can to prevent that.  That's all there is to it.  No second guessing.  I'm not gonna aim at their feet, either- I'm gonna aim where it matters most.  People that don't think deadly force is a must don't have vivid enough imaginations to place themselves in the middle of these situations for a second to think about how they might react.  

I think officers have the right to think "Kill, or be killed."   Because not only are their lives at risk, but the lives of anyone who happens to be nearby.  Shoot to kill, no questions asked, period

W2s, W4s, 1099s, 1040s, and Illudium PU-36 Explosive Space Modulators

How do you make sense of them all?  What's what?  Form- this, form- that.  Schedule-this, schedule- that.  Form 13598345 dash epdgirswsx.  If checked yes, then form 5637657456 dash diofpoifhg.  If no on 45efs, then skip 79kles through 90tifg.  With tax time here and deadlines just around the corner, everyone's going to be scrambling to get their taxes done. 

It's just like a punch in the stomach to think about the possibility of having to toss a handful of money their way.  Oh well- life goes on.  A little over ten years ago, I owed about a grand.  Didn't feel like paying it, so I didn't.  Some years later, I got a wonderful surprise- my Alaska PFD was garnished.  At least my bill got paid.  I guess.  With some awesome interest tacked on.  

So go get your taxes prepared.  Or don't.  Then pay.  Or don't.  It's a headache either way.  Does anyone know what the Illudium PU-36 Explosive Space Modulator is?  Hint- it's from a cartoon you may have watched about 20+ years ago.

Me and my double standards

I was cleaning tons of receipts out of my wallet, and came across one from the "Smokers Choice" in Anchorage.  I love buying cheap smokes.  But sore memories poofed in my head as I looked at the receipt.

I remember being asked for ID, which is all fine and dandy.  Wanna smoke, you gotta be of age.  The pretty little cashier girl handed my ID back, and I forked over my credit card.  Just as soon as she grabbed the credit card, she said "Wait, can I look at your ID again?  I just need to match up the names"

Being asked for ID frustrates the hell out of me, only because I read something in my favorite paper many years ago saying that the only ID one should ever need is a signature when using a VISA card.  It's very convenient for users.  That's part of the beauty of using one of their cards.

So why was I asked again?  Suspicious card using activities going on here?  I mean what the hell, I showed the ID to her once already.  I'm sure part of it is the fact that they don't want any part of stolen cards being used in their little store.  Supposedly when someone asks to see your ID to use your credit card, and they refuse the purchase without ID, they are violating their agreement with VISA.  Maybe Alaska has its own laws on the matter.  Who knows.

I hate being asked to show ID to use my credit card, because it makes me feel like they think I stole the damn thing.  But if my card was stolen and someone else used it, I would be fuming because they didn't ask for ID.

Something for you to try the next time you make eggs

It's better to crack an egg on a hard, flat surface- like your counter top than it is to crack it on an edge (like a pan lip).  Try it- the shell almost breaks perfectly in half.

Save it for the gumball machine

For the first time in about a year and a half, I shelled out some money for a "hard copy" of the Anchorage Daily News.  My first thought was 'man, I got jipped- it's missing some sections'  Not even close.  Counting front/back as one page, there's a whopping 11 pages today.  I remember when the comics section was that big.

In today's electronic age, your favorite books, magazines and papers are just a mouse click or two away.  People turning to the world-wide-web for their info make "hard copy" sales plummet, I guess.  They get skimpy and high-priced.

So who wants to clutter their home with something that immediately becomes useless and won't even get recycled?  After today, I'm reminded- not me.

Save those quarters for the gumball machine, that way you get your moneys worth.

Did you know...

...that South Korea has some of the fastest internet download speeds in the world, but they are not allowed to use an operating system other than Microsoft's Windows on their computer?  Which also means Microsoft's Internet Explorer is the only browser allowed.  What a shame.

Beaver Round Up

Today, I'm going to just say that with all of the activities going on around here- have fun.  It's a great time of the year to get reacquainted with old friends and family that you don't see very often.  Take your kids or wife out for a day of fun.  There's a lot to do, and a lot to see.  It only happens once a year, so enjoy.

Have fun and be safe.

Slimeballs

Well, my winning $500,000 lotto ticket is just going to have to wait to be pulled out of the barrel until March 31st.  What the hell is up with that?  I checked the news sites last night after 8 pm, February 28th, the supposed date for the drawing.

The original drawing date was January 1st.  After finding out they needed to rake in some more money from ticket sales, it was postponed until the end of February.  Not getting my winning phone call, and not seeing the winning ticket number anywhere, I decided to call the number on the back of my ticket stub to see who won or where I can see the winning ticket.  I was greeted with a recording.  Turns out they still need to raise 40 grand.  They say the 40 grand is for STAR.  We'll see about that.

With struggling ticket sales, and regular postponing of the drawings, this is extremely bad advertising for future $500,000 lottos in my opinion.  Who wants to buy a ticket for a drawing when they never know if it's going to happen?  When do they decide "We better just draw the damn ticket and get it over with.  I think we're making a lot of people upset."

Man, I sure would hate to be the lady who had the task of making the answering machine greeting at Lucky Times Pull Tabs.

You can hear it at (907) 677-2133

My Girlfriend's Phone Number:

842-5513 or 842-2233
Her message #: call open line