Author: CoolDMZ

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

When illegal activity is outlawed…

…only outlaws will commit illegal activity. In the last week or so I’ve seen two major news stories evolve into the passage of new laws, and in each case I’m confused. (This happens a lot, as you’ve guessed.)

First, a new law sparked by the HP leak investigation that outlaws “pretexting,” or the use of fraud to obtain phone records. Isn’t “fraud” already illegal? Does this mean that it is currently legal to use fraud to obtain, say, a jelly donut? Isn’t the whole point of fraud that you are utilizing it to obtain something that you don’t have a right to? What’s next, a law outlawing obtaining phone records by moving your fists in a fast motion into contact with another person’s face?

Second, the new “hazing” law, sparked by hazing deaths in recent years at Chico State, primarily a death in which the victim was forced to drink gallons of water and died from water poisoning. Shouldn’t there already be a law that covers that, too? If you convince your “friend” to run along a ledge on a tall building and he falls to his death, aren’t you guilty of some sort of crime? Or do we need to rush a “ledge-running” law out there.
Continue reading “When illegal activity is outlawed…”

Sample Ballot confusion

Well the sample ballots arrived in the mail Friday, and with them the final language on Measures Q and R (p 13). I don’t know if I just never bothered to know which was which but I was surprised that the first one, Q, is the non-binding “quality of life” measure and R is the actual tax hike. The effect of this, for anyone out there who may have been in suspended animation for the last few months, is that you read along your ballot and get to Measure Q: “shall 50% of a new voter-approved sales tax be used for a sports and entertainment facility?” Just any old voter-approved sales tax, they’re not picky. And then when you reach your patience threshhold reading that one, you skip to the next and just get hit with “shall the board levy a 1/4 percent sales tax for general purposes?” I had always assumed that they’d hit you with the money first and then with the arena. It seems like if you’re asking for a billion dollars you should strive for as few chances as possible to confuse the frakk out of everybody.
Continue reading “Sample Ballot confusion”

Maloof’s “Feast” is old news

Sacramento media are all of a dither about the Maloof family’s $700,000 investment in a low-budget horror movie called “Feast,” but fans of Bravo’s series “Project Greenlight,” which created the movie–including Mrs Cool and myself and DB of The Barnesyard, have known this for like 2 years, ever since episode 3 of that series where the Maloofs were called on to provide financing for the project.

So if you were not aware of this, and you are filing this away as evidence that the Maloofs are giving up on the arena and moving on to greener pastures, think again. If, however, you live in Sacramento and have a pulse, one thing you don’t lack right now is evidence that the Maloofs are giving up on the arena and moving on to greener pastures.

Moving Sale

All squirty tips must go, half off. I’m taking The Sac Rag to the WordPress platform this weekend, which will take care of that nasty timeout problem on the comment script that we’re experiencing with Movable Type. This is pretty big for me, as I’ve been a Movable Type customer since 2000.

What this means for you is that I’m going to universally turn off comments before I leave work today, and move all content up to that point to the new system. The design will be the same for now, but there will be neat WordPress enhancements, especially “Subscriber” level registration for readers which will mean you can create a login that will follow you as you browse and post comments (no more typing your name and email, it’ll say “You’re logged in as so and so.” Somebody should signup for an account as “so and so.”)

UPDATE: Comments are now off. Check back soon for your new WordPress version.

Top Model fever, round two

A buddy of mine scored awesome seats to last night’s outstanding A’s game, so I missed the opening night of The CW and with it the premiere of “America’s Next Top Model.” My wife informs me that, building on the success of Sara from Davis in the last cycle, Norcal is going for 2 consecutive finalists with A.J. from right here in Sacramento. Right awn Sactown! (Where did that guy go, by the way. Let me know if you’ve seen him.)

So how ’bout it, peanut gallery… anybody do A.J.’s hair or go to high school with her? Let’s get the scoop.

Near where it intersects with Frito’s Lane

Via KCRA, the pot house crackdown is still turning out results:

Police in Elk Grove raided several homes overnight and discovered more indoor marijuana-growing operations.

The homes are on Snowy Egret Way, Oreo Ranch Way and Haflinger Way

Oreo Ranch Way? No wonder they were growing pot. “Dude, I heard this street was like named after this real place, this real ranch where they grow giant Oreos.” My wife gets the credit for that one.

I don’t feel savvy…

If you missed today’s Scene section, yours truly got a mention by Sam McManis in his “Media Savvy” column on declining air time for sports in local news.

Viewers are noticing, too. Don Zacharias, a sports fan and avid TV watcher, recently ranted about the “suckification” of local TV sports coverage on his local blog, Sacrag.com.

“It’s the way the new guys are being used,” he wrote in a posting, “… doing stupid on-the-spot reporting from behind the wheel of a race car, stuff like that which smacks of media contracts and PR.”

I thought that was a terrible sentence when I wrote it and I still think it. But there I am. His reporting on the airtime breakdown between Crandell’s Fox40 sportscast and whatever Keith Norton is doing at KOVR is clutch.