Faith and free shipping

I keep finding myself heading back to this story news10.net reported on last week. Some folks are burying small statues of Saint Joseph in their yards to help sell their homes. It appears that when times get tough and bubbles begin to burst, turning to religion and prayer is just the ticket. It’s just that this ticket has a specially reduced price tag of only $5.95.

From totallycatholic.com (no, I’m not joking):

Don’t be fooled by secular companies selling these! They promote this practice as superstition and ‘good luck’. We developed this St. Joseph House selling kit years ago and have sold thousands to devout Roman Catholics who understand the devotion related to this pious practice…Some secular companies are selling similar kits for $14.00 or more — we have kept our price low through the years to make it affordable for all!

Watch out, those secular companies are out to get you! Because, you know, having a business that is not overtly or specifically religious just screams of capitalism and exploitation. Oh, by the way, tc.com’s tiny bible keychains are on sale for $3.95 (you’ll need a magnifying glass to read it!).

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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.
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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.
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See sea lion in Old Sac

Here’s a good reason to visit Old Sac this weekend:

A visitor from the bay has decided the River City is a tasty place to visit. A sea lion has taken up residence on a Sacramento dock.

The sea lion arrived Wednesday night, deciding this spot on a dock under the Tower Bridge was his.

No word on whether this lion of the sea was the same hungover one that tried to visit Arden Mall last year.   In any case, come on by this weekend. Have a few beers, buy some antiques, eat some candy, and say hello to Mr. Sea Lion. 

You’ll be glad you did.

Right Awn! Friday: Squeaky wheel gets greased

Right Awn!There’s something to be said about trying to improve your community.  When Andrea Balcavage complained to city hall that the sidewalks on her street were unusable, she unfortunately learned that the thing to be said was “damn!” – especially when city hall stuck her with a bill for $1,200 when she tried to make a positive difference in her neighbourhood:

After complaining to the city of an uneven sidewalk in front of her home she was later notified of other repairs she was responsible for; her total bill? About $1,200.

“It’s not fair. They’re extorting residents. It’s their trees, how is that my fault?” said Andrea.

Despite her outrage, the city code’s been around for at least 30 years and it’s based on state law.

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If a car crashes into a building in Sacramento, does anybody hear?

I’ve spent the better part of my career here at Sac Rag HQ trying to bring awareness to one of our most pressing local issues.  Arena? Blah.  Crime? Who cares!

Nay, Ragfolk.  It’s the attraction of our motor vehicles to the front doors of our local buildings.  It’s epidemic.  And, even when I haven’t been making my weekly announcements about the most recent crash, many of you have been sending me your stories and tips of the most recent building-car encounter.  We’re becoming aware and I will say this, Sacramento: good on ya. You’ve been vigilant on my behalf, and I really think we’re in a car careening down a road towards a building called “Something Special”.  Hit the gas, because here’s another one…

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Grab your wait’n hat, chicken lovers or Take that, IKEA!

That’s right, as discussed here last year about this time, Sacramento is now set to open its very own Chick-fil-A restaurant this weekend (September 28, 2006).

A one-year supply of free Chick-fil-A® Combo Meals (52 coupons) will be given away to each of the first 100 adults, age 18 and older with identification, at the new stand-alone restaurant at 2101 Alta Arden Expressway, behind Arden Fair Mall between Howe Avenue and Ethan Way. The line can begin forming up to 24 hours prior to the opening, with the prizes being awarded on Sept. 28 between 6 a.m. and 6:30 a.m. The restaurant will open at 6:30 a.m.

Oh, baby, this one should be a doozy!

UPDATE: Hey, isn’t today the 28th? Why aren’t the news agencies reporting live from scene? Or are they? Oh, and if you don’t think the Unions have juice in this town…think again.

More layoffs announced…sort of

Cbs13.com reports that Intel will lay off 159 workers from its Folsom campus over the next several months. 117 of those workers will come from Intel’s information technology department, which handles the company’s internal network operations.

In a letter to Folsom and Sacramento County officials yesterday, Intel said the company has informed some of the workers, but most of the cuts will come October 26th.

Uh, some of the workers?

If you’re in IT…and work for Intel…in Folsom, CA…I’d suggest not coming in on the 26th of October. Or the 27th, or the 28th…the 29th isn’t look good either. Because, you know, they can’t fire you if they can’t find you. It worked for Peter in Office Space, right?

Also…and you didn’t hear this from me…but doesn’t IT oversee computers? And the network and overall communication tools? I know I’d be very “distracted” if my network experienced some major downtime…