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.

Emptied out pockets!

Where to begin, where to begin. News10.net “reports” that gunmen robbed moviegoers at the Century Theaters at Ethan Way and Arden Way early this morning.

They were talking all kinds of crap, and pretty much robbed us and took our money and scared the living daylights out of everybody.

The following is a game I like to play called “Choose your own snark” which is “pretty much” self explanatory…here goes:

Pretty much robbed? You mean like how the Century Theater “pretty much robbed” you of $6.50 to see another Reese Witherspoon movie?

Pretty much robbed? Like the way the local job market “pretty much robbed” you of the opportunity to work on a weekday morning rather than go see a movie?

Turns out the robbers fled in a vehicle, but none of the victims got a good look at it or the direction in which it turned once it left the parking lot which is totally understandable considering where this theater is.

They are most likely just looping back around to the front of CompUSA by now cursing themselves wondering why they didn’t just rob the theater off Greenback.

UPDATE: Leave it to News10.net to leave out important facts about this crime. Over at KCRA.com I learned that the crime “…happened about 12:45 a.m. as the last showing was letting out…” which makes more sense than an early morning crime (I’ve always considered midnight to 4am as “late last night” and 4:01am to 7:00am as “early this morning” but that’s just me).

Putting the cart before the…

News10.net is reporting that Sacramento County wants to bar shopping carts from the American River Parkway in an effort to curb illegal camping and cut the expense of cleaning out the campsites each week.

Under the terms of the ban, rangers would hand out plastic bags to those pushing shopping carts. They would be allowed to transfer their belonging to the bag, then the cart would be taken from them.

Hmmm, who wants in on an office pool? I’m selling squares for $5 a piece to benefit local homeless shelters. The person closest to the exact day News10.net reports that Sacramento County wants to bar plastic bags from the American River Parkway wins.

Walgreens makes it easy

There are many online digital photo printing shops available these days. First there was ofoto.com (later became kodakgallery or something) then snapfish.com and shutterfly.com I could go on and on. For me, however, I’ve been using walgreens.com a lot mainly because I’m cheap and they offer in store pick up (no shipping costs!) and the one hour pick up aspect is very reliable and still 19 cents a pop.

What has kept me coming back though is the great customer service I’ve received so far. When you place your order and select in store pick up you usually have the option to choose the Walgreens store closest to you, but sometimes you have to select another location based on high volume, etc. Totally understandable. As such, I’ve been to locations on Howe and Arden (I refuse to say that other phrase for this area), Fair Oaks and Marconi, and Arden & Eastern.
Continue reading “Walgreens makes it easy”

Oversized sunglasses catch a break

Go Girl! Energy Drink

Ok, kissmekate, you’re officially off the hook. That is, my latest “enough already” thing is with energy drinks. It’s bad enough that you can’t find a picture of Demi Moore or Britney Spears NOT holding a can of this stuff, but now there are so many wannabe energy drinks hitting the market I just can’t take it. I thought Kabbalah Energy Drink was the worst of the worst (the link has a great review, btw, check it out) but today at Rite Aid on Alhambra I found a display of the all new Go Girl! energy drink.

Although Go Girlâ„¢ is not marketed as a mixer, many women enjoy it with vodka and other fun mixers. Go Girlâ„¢ is a functional drink that enhances the body and mind. If you have over indulged the night before try a Go Girlâ„¢.

Ugh.

UPDATE: As runnergirl1971 noticed, Go Girl is distributed by Nor-Cal Beverage Co. of West Sacramento. Apparently the drink is being well received. I guess there really is no accounting for lightly carbonated with a fruit-punch flavor, a natural herbal appetite suppressant, vitamins geared toward women, and about the same amount of caffeine as a cup of coffee, taste.

Casino Gunman Finds Loophole

So it turns out the gunman that injured two sheriff’s deputies at a Lake Tahoe casino on Saturday showed suicidal tendencies and bought firearms at a local dealer just hours before the shooting.

A 1993 gun control law known as the Brady Bill prohibits the sale of handguns to felons and requires a waiting period and licensing on their purchase. But the law does not apply to antiques.

I guess that proves the old saying: “Guns don’t kill people, antique guns purchased through loopholes in gun control laws kill people.”

Macaroni Mayhem

Had some friends over for dinner this weekend. It was sort of a busy day leading up to dinner that we decided to use a gift card we had for the Macaroni Grill (yeah, yeah, I know). So we call up the place with our order. Decide to use the “curbside pick-up” feature which apparently is better than driving to the restaurant and going in and picking up the food and leaving. No, no, they understand you are in a hurry and so after describing your car to them they will meet you out front with your order and you’re all set. Yep, all set.

Before I continue, would someone please explain how to navigate the Alta Arden, Ethan Way, Arden Mall layout? You know what I mean, if not, let Google help you out. Try making sense of those arrows. I came in on Arden, exited on Alta Arden and within 2 minutes was leaving town on Business 80 toward San Francisco…
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Holiday Touring

For those of you long time Sacramento (down/mid town, east sac-ish) residents you’re sure to know Christmas is right around the corner when Sacred Heart Parish School holds its “most ambitious fundraiser of the year.” That’s right, going on today through Sunday is the 2005 Holiday Home Tour:

Join us for the 32nd year of our self-guided tour of six magnificent homes decorated for the holidays by top interior designers and florists. View the wonderful architecture and experience the creative design ideas of some of the region’s most talented designers.

Remember, ticket organizers are predicting another sellout so get your tickets now! Oh, and “children over the age of 1 must have their own ticket“, it’s a fundraiser for goodness sake! And another thing, leave those Doc Marten’s at home, too…

To protect the homes’ floors and carpets, we respectfully ask tourgoers to remove their shoes or wear booties provided at the door. Tour organizers strongly advise tourgoers to wear shoes that are easy to slip on and off.

And lastly, I’m sure those Jesuit Marauders CoolDMZ wrote about earlier will just be getting back from their “experiment” when you arrive in time to greet you at the door!

Support your local post office

With the holiday season fast approaching (yes, I refuse to admit that it is upon us already) I wanted to provide you with a recommendation (a new Sac Rag category you’ll notice) on where to go to ship those presents and returns.

We all know we have many options when it comes to shipping. You have your Fed Ex, your UPS, your DHL, but what if you don’t want to pay a premium price AND be treated like you’re a bother? Give the new United States Postal Service a shot. Specifically, give your local USPS branch at 1618 Alhambra Blvd a looksee. I’ve been finding myself needing to send packages a lot recently so I stopped by this branch a while back on my lunch break. I’ve been back 3 or 4 times since and I’ll be damned if the folks there aren’t the nicest, if not a little odd, guys in town. And if Norris serves you, you’re really in luck. Plus, they employ the feeder line system with grace and efficiency.

It used to be that going to the Post Office was a death wish. You avoided it like Wal Mart (waa waa waa). But they’ve stepped it up and really provide some great prices and great service. And if your package is of normal size and weight you can even use their self service machine which is a real plus when you’re in a hurry. Easy to use, easy to pay, the works. And the delivery times are impressive.

Please form a line

The Feeder Line in Action
The “Feeder Line” in
Action at Del Taco

You know when you’re in the checkout line at the grocery store and it starts to back up the cashier will call for assistance on the PA system and a new cashier will appear and walk up to the next person in line and basically escort them to the newly opened register? I wish they had this process everywhere as I’ve been noticing a trend lately from coffee shops to drug stores: The Feeder Line.
Continue reading “Please form a line”