Beware Drano Bottle Bombs

From KPTV Fox 12 in Oregon

Apparently “Works Bombs,” a plastic bottle filled with Drano and tin foil which creates an explosive reaction, have been around for a while but was recently verified on Snopes, with several incidents reported recently.

The amount of force that is generated at the time of the explosion is enough to severe fingers and also deliver 2nd and 3rd degree chemical burns to the victim. The chemicals can possibly cause blindness and the toxic fumes can be harmful.

I am usually completely ignorant of these things, so I’m assuming that “TRUE” on Snopes.com is good enough verification. For some reason Mrs Cool and I felt this was something that we could see happening in Sacramento, though that’s just sort of a vibe more than anything; I can’t think of any recent incidents of this sort of Violent Mayhem.

Questions on plastic bag ban

OK, yeah, I need a basketTonight, the City Council will discuss drafting a city ordinance banning plastic bags at grocery stores. Since I’m too lazy to get to a City Council meeting to ask these questions, I very much hope someone has already asked them:

  • How much money would it cost to make sure that everyone in the City knows that these plastic bags are absolutely 100% recyclable? (Every other week, of course!)

    • Continue reading “Questions on plastic bag ban”

    Halfway house proposal brings Lemon Hill together

    I’m inspired by the community action being undertaken by Lemon Hill residents about the proposed “halfway house” for Federal parolees. From the media coverage I have seen, the residents seem to be taking a direct approach to protecting themselves, while the government at all levels appears to have no concern for doing so. It is disheartening though that the existing problems in that area are taken to be so obvious that they don’t even have to be spelled out for us. Most of the media reports are including simply a mention of this being a high crime area without bothering to recount any recent stats.

    News10’s coverage seems biased in favor of the proposal, featuring specific evidence supporting rehabilitation, but lacking any specific numbers on the crime in the area. KCRA is heavier on specifics but also includes a head-scratcher of an argument from a former halfway house resident. Much of the coverage seems to employ a false dilemma between allowing the parolees to be located near playgrounds and preventing them from becoming functioning members of society again. “Some would say the Roman Empire tortured Christians for sport, but others would say it built lots of necessary infrastructure.”

    Continue reading “Halfway house proposal brings Lemon Hill together”

    A state department is caught wasting time and money

    A game of solitaire
    Remember when this was the preferred method of wasting time by state employees?

    Shocking headline, huh? Can’t believe it, huh? Want to learn more now, don’t you?

    As if California’s Department of Parks and Recreation scandal wasn’t enough to irritate the snot out of us (the Sacramento County district attorney will not pursue criminal charges against California state parks officials because of a “failure to identify any crime”), we learn from CBS13 that more fun and frivolity occurred recently at Capitol Bowl in Sacramento.

    It was the middle of a work week — but that didn’t stop the State Department of Parks and Recreation from having a little fun. On state time, driving state vehicles and transporting state workers flown in from Southern California for “training,” the employees dined, bowled and laughed, a CBS13 On The Money investigation has learned.

    Say what you will about this incident, I found the real issue to be with the ease folks have in lying these days. Continue reading “A state department is caught wasting time and money”

    Sacramento has some of the best “urban forests”

    photo
    From a recent trip to Ancil Hoffman

    According to American Forests, a nonprofit conservation organization dedicated to protecting forests, has named Sacramento on its just released list of Best Urban Forests. It’s nice to remember that we still are the City of Trees despite the fact that anyone outside of Sacramento or who doesn’t particularly care about trees probably knows us as the City Who Formerly Hosted the Kings.

    The organization highlights all the usual points, including the Tower Bridge for some reason. I think my favorite example has to be Ancil Hoffman Park, with its grove of oaks and plentiful wildlife.

    What are your favorite urban forests around town?

    Togo’s Pastrami Challenge: A cost-benefit analysis

    great-outdoors-old-96er-john-candy
    Man, I miss John Candy.

    For you Togo’s fans, I would like to present a brief cost-benefit analysis of the new Pastrami Challenge.

    Togo’s sure knows how to celebrate pastrami. In fact, the west coast-based eatery recently celebrated National Hot Pastrami Day this past Saturday by kicking off a promotion that’s every pastrami-lover’s dream and every Vegan’s worst nightmare. It’s called The Pounder, and rightfully so, considering that this two-foot long behemoth of a sandwich is stacked to the brim with over a pound of hot pastrami.

    Cost

    • The sandwich will run you roughly $23.

    Nutrition

    • The Family size version comes in at 3,020 calories, 143 grams of fat, 9,020 grams of sodium, and 164 grams of protein. The challenge version must be at least three times this size. I couldn’t find the specs online.

    Logistics

    • Buy the sandwich at the regular price and then tell the crew member you are taking the challenge and fill out the paperwork!
    • Devour the Pastrami Pounder in 30 minutes to successfully complete the challenge (one person per sandwich)
    • When you’re done, alert the crew to claim your prize certificate for a free t-shirt (a hat at the Natomas location!)

    Continue reading “Togo’s Pastrami Challenge: A cost-benefit analysis”

    Sacramento makes Seattle’s dreams come true

    Photo of the Seattle SuperSonics logo
    I had the brew, she had the chronic.

    It’s Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. This is a time to reflect; a time to think about dreams. It is also a time to prepare to say goodbye (reportedly, er, sources say, by the time you read this) to the Sacramento Kings. We may want to ease our sorrows by putting ourselves in Seattle’s shoes. That is, let’s hop over to their side of the internet and check out what they have to say.

    You can believe it now: NBA is coming back. This time the deal is done. The Sonics are coming back in the form of the Sacramento Kings. No this isn’t a dream. And it isn’t another one of those here-come-the-Kings teases. This time the deal is done. The Sonics are coming back in the form of the Sacramento Kings…And remember, the Maloofs, who have tried their best to run this team into the ground, no longer are running this show…I just have the feeling, judging by the smart and understated way Hansen and his colleagues have gone about the arena proposal and the acquisition of this team, they will be equally good at finding the right people to make the right personnel decisions. These guys are winners…We may never open our arms to commissioner David Stern, but he wanted this deal to work. He told me four years ago he wanted Ballmer in the league. The league is better with Hansen and Ballmer in it.

    Fascinating. Now, back to the 916… Continue reading “Sacramento makes Seattle’s dreams come true”

    Makeshift homeless shelter cleared out…again

    Photo of the I5 at the Garden Highway
    Where do folks go when they are asked to leave a place like this?

    I noticed the makeshift homeless shelter I wrote about late last year under Interstate 5 and the Garden Highway has been cleared out again. The last noticeable evacuation was in May of 2011 when police lead the charge in the wake of a rape case at Discovery Park.

    Anyone know what prompted this particular relocation?

    Steer clear of California Fresh — at least for now

    I hope they don’t run out of Thai Soup…

    I contemplated not posting this out of sheer embarrassment at actually having paid for the meal, but then I realized I would be doing my fellow Sacramentans a disservice. Fresh Choice was always a family favorite of ours, since our oldest child was a baby. We actually visited Fresh Choice the day after it closed its doors, and were really bummed for a few weeks. Our spirits were lifted this week when Cathie Anderson posted about the new restaurant California Fresh rising from the ashes of Fresh Choice. Tonight we decided to dine there on a whim. And, well, I’d write what happened next but then I found what Ali T. had to say on Yelp and I’ll just let the dude run with it because he said it all very well.

    Did you ever have the chance to prepare your own salad in post-war Soviet Russia? Yeah, me neither, but the “new” California Fresh gives you the chance to feel like you did.

    Read Ali T’s review before you visit California Fresh, and then don’t actually go there at least until Cathie says it’s safe to go back. Or who am I kidding, I won’t remember that I wrote this and I’ll be back in a few months to let you know if they have something besides green beans in the pasta section. THIS IS NOT A JOKE IT WAS LITERALLY JUST MAC N’ CHEESE AND GREEN BEANS OVER THERE. I’m hoping that they’ll get the cash flow going and be able to get back to where they were a few weeks ago.

    Nick Toma surfaces in Illinois

    Nick Toma, television news anchor
    Looks a little Photoshopy, huh?
    To this day, our most popular post has to do with the disappearance of Nick Toma from local television. More than a year later, the post still receives comments.

    Brandy says:
    December 13, 2012 at 8:41 am
    Nick toma got fired! As much as i miss him he shouldnt of done what he did on live tv. Him and marianne are friends. And do u really think that is the REAL don g commenting on this page? Highly dojbtful.

    Well, today I noticed that radio deejay legend, Don Geronimo, shared this link to Nick’s bio at WTVO/WQRF in Rockford, Illinois.

    Nick comes to Eyewitness News with 23 years of reporting and anchoring experience, most recently in Sacramento, California where he co-hosted a five hour morning show…Nick’s hidden talent? He’s a drummer and enjoys filling in for cover bands when he can. Nick has played in tribute bands for The Beatles, Stones and The Who. He’s open to sitting in for Rockford cover bands and his price is right (free!).

    And, by the way, the Nick Toma Fanclub Facebook page is alive and kicking with 523 fans.