I do not, repeat: do not, swing this way but it has been a long time since I have mentioned the Movies on a Big Screen series (which has moved to West Sac, but still) and since the curator mentioned that he’s been lax in getting the word out I wanted to pitch in. Starting Friday at 10 pm Shiny Object will be screening “Rocky Horror Picture Show” in their new location at 600 4th Street in West Sacramento. I have yet to attend an indie flick screening at Shiny Object but I love knowing it is there.

So if you’re into that whole Rocky Horror thing, check out Shiny Object Friday night. And stay away from me and my family.

The Cool family are early Christmas tree people. We are also heavily into Thanksgiving, so care is taken to not go full-bore until Black Friday. But basically as soon as the dishwasher is loaded on Thanksgiving it is Christmas in my house (not that it was my dishwasher).

We are enjoy slaying our own tree, and this year we set our sights on Apple Hill. We missed peak apple season this year so we were excited to make the drive. While there are plenty of lots and a nice website to help you find them, once we got up there we realized the prices are considerably higher up there. Continue reading “Davis Ranch: the best tree bargain around” »

The Pumpkin Farm

Reviewing pumpkin patches is a hard racket. Unless the pumpkins are visibly rotting or parking costs more than Arco, you’re pretty much dealing with a numbers game, balancing cost versus amenties until the cows come home. (If they actually have cows though, that’s a definite plus.)

The Pumpkin Farm is located in scenic Citrus Heights, California, otherwise known as that big area out there beyond the mall. But seriously, you find yourself “way out there” in what seems to be Kentucky before you know it.

Continue reading “The Pumpkin Farm” »

This controversy over free publications makes me think of ripping down someone else’s “Vote for me!” student council campaign sign and replacing it with your own:

A Natomas media rivalry has turned ugly, with owners of two local publications each claiming the other has stolen stacks of the competitor’s periodicals from the rack.

In one case, Natomas Journal publisher Will Craig was caught on surveillance tape in August picking up a stack of N Magazines from the South Natomas Community Center, replacing them with his own newspaper and dumping the rival publication in an outside recycling bin…

Craig said he simply was sending a message to the people connected with N Magazine because he believes they have been stripping his racks for 21 months.

I understand, only remotely, that it’s important to the publishers to tell advertisers what their circulation is and where their publication is offered; however, doesn’t getting rid of the rival’s rag artificially increase the number of publications being taken?

At least he’s recycling them.

Leatherby’s Family Creamery is celebrating 25 years of iced goodness by offering it’s original menu items at their original menu prices today from 11AM to 11PM.

From the Sac Bee article:

 The price cuts apply to all items that were on the original menu, such as the company’s monster-size banana split, which uses a half-gallon of ice cream. It’s on the menu today for $10.49. On Aug. 14, it’ll cost only $3.80.

The hot fudge sundaes that today are $7.29 will be rung up at $2.50. The shops’ crab sandwiches will go for $3.99, compared to the current $11.99.

Yet another reason Sacramento should be on a Best Places To… list.

There is an interesting article on money.cnn.com about JetBlue’s new fall fare sale. Flights from Sacramento, CA to/from New York/JFK are priced at $149 each way and Sacramento to/from Long Beach are $49 each way. However, the detail that caught my eye was JetBlue’s announcement that they have been named…

“The Official Airline of Springfield” — the hometown city of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie Simpson — to celebrate the summer theatrical release of The Simpsons Movie.

Uh, uh, say what? This is an airline, right? That flies high in the air with hundreds of human beings on board? Oh wait, there’s more you say?

In honor of America’s favorite animated family of comedy, JetBlue also unveiled its first-ever specialty aircraft, christened “Woo-Hoo, JetBlue!” and featuring an image of Homer along with a permanent logo of its new Springfield status. To celebrate Fall travel, the low-fare airline is offering special sale fares for Springfielders and non-Springfielders across the country.

What’s next? Do I get a Bart Simpson Black Box toy with each round trip ticket purchased? Perhaps a Milhouse fuselage complete with air sickness bags?

Need I say more? Probably not but that fact has never stopped me in the past. Tomorrow, 7/11, is one of the best days of the year because it is the day on which 7-11 gives away free slurpees.  Pick one up on your way to a free Regal movie and you’ve got yourself one heck of a day.  Enjoy!

Looking for fun and free stuff to do with the kids on a hot day? Free family movies are back at Regal Cinemas through August. Looks like we missed “Curious George” and “Charlotte’s Web” but there’s still “March of the Penguins” next week and “Wallace & Gromit: The Curse Of The Were-Rabbit” the week after. And a few others I don’t care about. Why is “Happy Feet” rated PG? Don’t get me started…

Seating is first-come-first-served and the shows start at 10 a.m. on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Forecasting the weather in Sacramento during the summer months can seem a touch repetitive. Warm this morning, hot in the afternoon, the evening will remain warm. Tomorrow? See today. However, if you are an Internet junkie like me you have no doubt been frustrated with the poor level of detail provided online. That’s not to say that there aren’t enough resources online or 5 day forecasts with sun icons lined up back to back. But, when I am searching the Internet for weather forecasting I’m basically looking for a “cut to the chase” sentence or two. Well, my friends, I have found such a sentence or two at kcra.com. As always, I must disclaim that I’m never first on the scene with anything technology related so please forgive me if this is old news.

Continue reading “Like the weather…” »

If you are an RT commuter, make sure to check whether your employer belongs to a Transportation Management Association. I inquired with the South Natomas TMA here at the widget factory about purchasing monthly RT passes at a discount and was told that those are not offered. Because free annual passes are offered to anyone who asks. That’s a $1000 perk. It’s definitely worth a call but obviously there are several different commuter groups in town with different agreements so YMMV.