Author: RonTopofIt

RonTopofIt is a complex personality, as are most of the small breed of modern day renaissance millionaires. He wishes more people were like him and yet believes that it takes all kinds. You've met RonTopofIt many times, you just don't remember him.

Free kitty!

Not much to this one, guys. You just can’t beat this sort of journalism. The headline on CBS13.com reads “State Prison To Kill More Than 100 Prison Cats” which is funny on its own, but when you click the link…

“Quick, there’s a cat problem at a local prison, do we have any shots of cats on file?”

“Well, we have this Garfield shot”

“No, that won’t do, come on, something darker, these cats are gonna die”

“We do have this shot from that pet store bust a few years ago”

“Perfect! The bars, the prison, it works on so many levels!”

I heart Sacramento.

Takin’ it to the streets

News10.net reports that Sacramento police will have zero tolerance for out-of-control street partying during Mardi Gras festivities in Old Sacramento this year.

Last year police in riot gear had to break up large street crowds in the historic section the weekend before the pseudo-holiday. Approximately 700 party-goers converged on the area for an event that never materialized. Instead, there were fights and vehicles were vandalized.

No wonder they were hostile, how embarrassing. If only the Sac Rag was around back then to warn the public.

Continue reading “Takin’ it to the streets”

iPod, Sacramento, etc.

There’s a lot going these days with the iPod. From lawsuits both good and bad to increases in crime, the portable digital media player has brought Apple the highest revenue and earnings in the company’s history. As a frustrated iPod owner myself (the battery life on the Mini? Come on, last likes 2 hours at best) I thought I’d drop a few “did you know” links for users in the Sacramento area.

There’s an Apple Store at Arden Fair Mall which offers free workshops on using Apple products. And if you sign up here you can reserve a time to meet with someone for a little one on one support (if you’ve ever been to this location you’ll know what a fuster cluck it is, so I’d go this route if I were you).

Apple Sacramento (Elk Grove, really) houses their Operations, Telesales, AppleCare, Service Dist Center groups. Is their outdoor basketball court REALLY that popular? You EG locals might help to shed some light on this.

The real point of this post, however, is to share this site with you…
Continue reading “iPod, Sacramento, etc.”

I want a new drug

News10.net reports of a new psychedelic drug that’s invading our local high schools. It’s called 2C-I and drug enforcement agents say the drug is so new they are just now beginning to track them down.

“It takes 20 minutes to kick in,” the boy said. “You get energy, you want to do something. Things morph and you see colors. Everything seems weird and ironic.”

Sad, isn’t it? The poor youth of today…they still have no idea what the word “ironic” means.

It appears, however, that you need four things in order to obtain this drug. So parents, read closely, Gordon Taylor of the Drug Enforcement Administration provides us with a checklist:

“You need a computer with Internet access, you need a money order or credit card, you need a mail delivery location like a home or post office box, and fourth and most importantly, you need the desire to play Russian Roulette with your brain.”

Get all that? If you can prevent your child from having just ONE of those things you may thwart the onslaught of this horrible drug. Tall task I know. I mean, your kid has to have a computer to do his/her homework, right? And you can’t really get by these days without an address. So that just leaves us with a money order/credit card OR the desire to play Russian Roulette with your brain.
Continue reading “I want a new drug”

Whose default is it?

The Associated Press reports that Sacramento County lenders filed 321 notices of default in December, the highest number in nearly three years.

More homeowners are having trouble making mortgage payments on homes they bought during the Sacramento region’s housing boom, which has cooled over the past several months.

Ruh, roh. Didn’t see this one coming now did ya?

Not sure how this relates to the housing market debate we’ve been having here recently, but my guess is that more people are being forced to sell their homes to escape foreclosure thus creating more supply than there is demand in the housing market? So maybe I do know how this relates to the housing market debate afterall. I just figured that more people were selling their homes to “cash out” on the housing boom when it appears some are selling for other reasons.

More homebuyers could be in for a shock over the next two years as their low introductory interest rates expire or their interest-only payments end. Adding to the problem, some borrowers hurt their credit score or took out loans, eating up what little home equity they built up.

Didn’t 5 years seem like SO far away?

It’s cool to recycle

News10.net reports that “the City of Sacramento will collect e-waste for disposal beginning Thursday. Residents will be able to dispose of computers, computer monitors and televisions on Neighborhood Clean-up Program pick-up days.”

As a recent LCD monitor purchaser I was interested to learn more about this program. Did you know that you’ve been paying a CRT disposal fee since 2003? And have been charged to dispose of these items at your local landfill? Well, with a little know how and some handy links from your friends at the Sac Rag you can recycle those oversized remnants of 90’s computer use for free AND help the environment at the same time.

Your best bet is to start with a company that specializes in recycled computer equipment. Appliance Distribution, Inc. (916-930-5240), for example, offers free pick up within 10 miles of their facility. Cell phones are a real pain, too, and can easily be recycled in several ways. You can print a free mailing label or find a drop-off location near you by visiting this site. Earth911.org has some great information, too, on all things environmentally friendly including where to take your old batteries, both big and small.

Update: Sacramento County has a great page answering the question “How Do I Recycle or Dispose of…“

Super Bowl Wrap-Up

Sure, Sunday’s football game had its share of missed calls and blown plays, but none of that really matters in the long run. What really matters is that Sacramento was subjected to quite possibly the worst commercial in the history of local commercials. Chuck Peterson over at Folsom Lake Ford should really be ashamed of himself. The little intelligence I had left after watching the national spots is still insulted this morning. And try explaining it to your friends from out of town who were watching the game. It can’t be done.

Update: Per CoolDMZ’s request the local spot was a parody of the credit card commercials featuring David Spade who says “No!” to anyone calls. Or something. If you don’t know what I’m talking about consider yourself one lucky m’fer.

Attention Kings fans

Although I have a inexplicable disdain for him, I wanted to let you know that News10 will be airing the new ABC series “NBA Access with Ahmad Rashad” this Saturday at 3 p.m. This week’s episode will focus on the recent Ron Artest trade through the eyes of Kings owners Joe and Gavin Maloof.

NBA.com: What will we learn about you and your brother?

JM (Joe Maloof): Well, we’re not necessarily the jet-setters and the playboys that people think we are and that we have a lot of passion for our team. I think they know that, but we’re committed to trying to bring a title to Sacramento. We live and die with the Kings. We have a lot of other businesses, but we really love the Kings.

Committed you say?

I don’t feel homeless

This story is a few weeks old, but still worth mentioning. It appears two men are suspected of “beating up” (don’t you love it when news agencies use terms like this? this is a crime, right? seems like “assaulted” makes more sense, for the same reason that the Beaver never got assaulted by the school bully, but I digress) at least one homeless person in the downtown area.

What I especially enjoyed about this story was this quote:

“They don’t care about the homeless out here, and we are not going to tolerate it. We are going to hunt them down and take them to jail,” said Sacramento Police Department spokesman Sgt. Terrell Marshall.

Man, that’s rich. Because, you know, being homeless is like being black, or tall, or Republican, right? You are who you are and your local police force is out to protect you. Well, unless you get caught hitting the sauce a little hard and disturbing the peace (because you can’t really get drunk at home, right?) in which case you wind up in a cell with some dudes suspected of beating you up.

The once and future site of…

Site of the new am/pm gas station

Has anyone else noticed that a “new” AM/PM gas station is being constructed at 29th & J Street? You’ll recall that there was a less than inviting AP/PM there before so I was quite pleased when I saw it leveled. Did anyone ever get gas there? If so, did anyone ever get gas there WITHOUT being assaulted by panhandlers?

I sort of just assumed a new Starbucks/Jamba Juice/Flingers combo unit was going to take its place. Not to be. So what’s going on here? Between the .35 ATM surcharge and the $75 pre-authorization thing, I’m thinking we could do without.