Author: CoolDMZ

"X-ray vision to see in between / Where's my kimono and my time machine?"

Don’t go around in circles for PC repair

Last week I was in need of some specialized computer repair on an out-of-warranty laptop computer. I asked around for recommendations and nothing really turned up, so I took a chance on Circular Systems, also known as that weird little computer shop on 28th and T. I had a great overall experience. Turns out the problem with the laptop’s monitor was fixed by giving the insides a little tuneup, which didn’t cost me much at all. And even though the tech had mentioned the possibility of needing replacement parts and therefore could easily have milked me for those parts and additional labor, he was honest and speedy in telling me he had fixed the problem.

So if you’re in the market for some more advanced PC repair and don’t have a nerdy friend or coworker who can do it for you and you don’t want to take it to Best Buy and can’t use a warranty, Circular Systems is your place.

Circular Systems
455-6888

Schedule mixup at San Juan

How bad is this San Juan scheduling mix-up? Actually, that’s not a rhetorical question, I still have no idea how this actually happened. The CBS13 story is very vague:

Some principals told students they could come for a shorter day while other students were taking the exit exams but in essence they needed to be there the whole day for the state required classroom minutes to count.

And those shortened days off added up to 4 whole school days at Encina? Wow. I can imagine being pretty pissed if I were a San Juan parent right now. After all, as we all know, all the schools really have to do is babysit the kids for a predetermined amount of time. I kid the everybody…

But seriously, the exit exams are not a new thing, and neither is the “required minutes of instruction” thing. How could things get this bad? Could nobody remember what they did during exit testing last year? Anybody else got a question?

“Boil ‘N Fry Day” Saturday

Just found out about “Boil ‘N Fry Day” this Saturday, sponsored by Sac Rag favorite Dad’s Sandwich Shop and Lite Brite Productions.

This event is a blast with bands, crawfish, hotwings, beer gardens and Hill Billy Games! Last year’s net proceeds benefited a terminally ill child through the local chapter of the Make-a-Wish Foundation.

You had me at crawfish. Here are the details on MidtownGrid.com.

KCRA: Literally insane for the whales

“Whale Watch” is getting out of hand. The entire KCRA 6 PM newscast last night was dedicated to “Whale Watch.” At about 10:15 last night Edie Lambert was talking to Toby Ross, the City Manager of West Sacramento, who cautioned would-be whale watchers to stay off of levees that are not meant for car traffic. Would it be cruel to suggest that drivers too stupid to stay off of non-roads in order to watch whales too stupid to stay out of fresh water rivers are a match made in heaven?

However, it does reflect well on the kind of news that KCRA likes to present. Flipping over to CBS13 at 11 is like watching the Great Britain PR spot on “Children of Men.” War. Famine. Dead horses. Only CBS 13 still soldiers on…

Heh heh, you said “Humpback”…

whalesNothing shows our Sacramento like whales accidentally swimming upriver. I can’t quite put my finger on what it is about this occurrence and the news it generates that amuses me so. I think it has much to do with the fact that it is a completely random natural anomaly — like a hermaphroditic sheep or Lindsey Lohan — but since we live on the river and have the news 24/7 we have kind of come to expect it. It is given the sort of seasonal reverence that the cicadas get back east. But it’s really more akin to sap on a maple tree in the shape of a Saint, if you think about it. Anyway it amuses me. I hope these gentle giant idiots get the technical assistance they need to find their way back into the ocean.

(By the way, I kid the whales. I do really hope they’re not in danger and I think I probably would go see them in Rio Vista.)

Makin’ controversies at CBS13

Or is it CBS13.com? Or is it just CBS13.com (the show) or CBS13.com (the website)? I don’t even know anymore…

Yesterday’s news out of Riverbank about an entire family killed in a collision with an Amtrak train is truly frightening. The stuff of nightmares. CBS13’s led with this story all day, with Mike Dello Stritto and Serene Branson on scene.

A fatal accident on the highway in central California. Remind you of anything? I think it reminded CBS13 of the problems Solano residents are having with Highway 12, and they decided to run with that. Dello Stritto continued to report from the scene at the 11:00 newscast, even though it was pitch black outside and so the crossing arm he pointed to could have been anywhere. He tossed back to Sam and Pallas who… tossed back out to Serene Branson, standing seemingly a few feet away from Dello Stritto to report on another angle of the story. Awk-waaard.

And then they call K-Ming. Continue reading “Makin’ controversies at CBS13”

Friday Night Concerts @ Cesar Chavez lineup

Jackpot
Jackpot the band

Looks like the Friday Night Concert series at Cesar Chavez park started last week with Bright Light Fever, Still Life Projector, The Radio Life, and The Dead Celebrities (that lineup has some top-notch wordplay, kudos to the planners).

Highlights include a June 1 CD release show by An Angle and Spider Silk Dress, and of course the Kai Kln reunion show July 13 (backed by Hot Pistol, one of my new favorite local bands) and an August 3 show by Jackpot (which apparently lost its ownership of the best band URL ever, jackpotswebsite.com, and which also has its own CD release for “Moonbreath” coming up on June 2 and Marilyns). See you in the heat!

Maybe they are frightened of a fur-maniac?

I snapped this shot of the Raley Field crowd standing at attention for free hot dogs the other night, and then realized it would make a good Cooky Kaption Kontest. Who knows what is lurking up there in the press box. Have at it.

(P.S. I want to make an “I’M A JJ FUR MANIAC” shirt, even if FFT and his brother and me are the only ones who might wear it.)