The Sky Is Falling!

My Firefox Weather Thingy (!) flashed a Severe Weather Alert so I checked it out:

RED FLAG WARNING TODAY OVER THE NORTHERN HALF FOR 
STRONG SOUTH WINDS AND LOW HUMIDITIES.  INCREASING 
SOUTHERLY WINDS WILL COMBINE WITH LOW RELATIVE 
HUMIDITIES AND VERY DRY FUEL CONDITIONS TO CREATE
A VERY HIGH FIRE DANGER TODAY.

Hmm .. guess I won't be able to throw my lit cigarettes out the car window until this has past. Why are They interfering with my Rights As An American?

running the gauntlet

One of today's tasks was to take a friend to DFW. That accomplished, I tried the "Olympus Blvd" exit from 635-LBJ and found myself in the Fry's Electronics parking lot; funny how that works. Noting that there were no SABR*s outside, I decided to mosey inside and do some shopping.

* SABR - Salvation Army Bell Ringer

This was different from the Fry's in Plano - I wonder if They track the impact of SABRs on store sales? Presumably, some people will shop only at SABR-equipped stores. I make a point of avoiding the SABRs when possible. Mentally, I must equate passing one of them to crossing a picket line; one of my ancestors must've been a union scab.

I also equate SABR donations to giving spare change to someone at a street intersection - I just don't do it. Some may be truly in need (homeless, etc.) but I think most of them beg because it pays better than working at the McDonalds down the street. Then again, they may have a Criminal Background Check issue which precludes working at The Golden Arches.

Normally, I don't grocery-shop at Albertsons, but I noticed the one near my home is SABR-free so I may go there for the next few weeks (assuming Whole Foods Market doesn't qualify).

30/11/5 update: The Dallas Managed News had an article about SABRs today .. says there are 421 approved locations in the four-county area but only 272 employees (they are not volunteers - they're paid $6+/hour). The 6-week Red Kettle drive nets $1.1M for the local chapter. I have to wonder if this is as cost-effective as Direct Mail?

in or out? make up your mind!

Screen doors were common when I grew up; our home in Louavull never had air conditioning. When it got too hot, I'd retreat to the basement (for Texans: that's a level of the house that's mostly or totally underground). I have never seen a home here with a basement; it just ain't done.

At any rate, as we younguns ran in/out of the house over 100 times per day (easily) we'd let houseflies inside, which wasn't terribly popular with the old folks (parents) ... hence the admonishment: "in or out? make up your mind!" at which time we'd usually decide that Out Was Better.

(flashback:) I remember the Thrill Of Technology we experienced when the No-Pest Strip was introduced: WOW! Wasn't it called the Shell No-Pest Strip then?

With that in mind (!), I spotted a Pizza Hut (WingStreet™) ad a few days ago, offering chicken wings in three (3!) varieties:

1. bone-in;
2. bone-out;
or
3. traditional

Not knowing the difference between bone-in and traditional, I asked. Today, this reply landed in my inbox:

"Thank you for your e-mail and noting that the website does not explain the difference between Bone-In and traditional WingStreet Wings. Bone-In is a breaded wing with a bone and the Traditional is a non-breaded wing with a bone.

Since I already knew that Bone-Out means a breaded wing without a bone, I now understand the difference. Sadly, non-breaded wings without bones are unavailable. This is very, very sad indeed.

Deep Thought #83: why don't Crab Cakes have frosting?

Chile: Texas' sister country?

The Texas "Lone Star" flag (left) was adopted in 1839, and the flag of Chile (right) was adopted in 1817 .. 24 years earlier.

For Texas, the colors represent loyalty (blue); purity (white), and bravery (red). The large white star was first used in the 1830s during the battles between Texas and Mexico.

For Chile, the colors represent the sky (blue), the snow in the Andes Mountains (white) and the blood shed during the revolution (red). The white star represents a guide to progress and honor.

Deep Thought #82: Texans eat Chili, but do Chileans eat Texaco?

Unrelated #7^3: Today is Jenna and NotJenna's 24th birthday. Rumor is it that Their Daddy (President Quagmire) drove them to the US Army Recruiter in Waco, so they could join the Air Force [sic], but the recruiter was closed for Thanksgiving.

use the web, Luke ...

Yesterday I moseyed to a nearby store to fetch some DVDs that have been on my Wish List for many months. After All Was Said And Done, I paid ~2% more than the Best Price I could find on the web, and got immediate delivery of most of the films on my list. Sure, these are "used DVDs" but unless they're scratched I'll never know the difference. It's not like a VHS copy that wasn't rewound at the end of every viewing.

To effect a fair cost comparison, I added sales tax to my local purchase (and deducted their in-store promotional discount) then compared that with shipping charges from the web merchant. I did not add 45¢/mile for travel (or whatever the going rate is for petrol these days).

My local purchase comes with a 30-day guarantee from the merchant (Moving Trading Company at 5907 Beltline - west of Preston). If I ever need to wring their necks, they're in easy range.

The thing that drives me to the web in the first place is that I loathe driving around town looking for what I want. I suppose If I Shopped Like A Woman (walking through stores, day-after-day, aimlessly looking for Random Crap With Which To Fill My Home) I'd have a different attitude. But most of the time, I know exactly what I want, since I've thoroughly researched my purchase in advance.

If I do make the mistake of going to a Brick & Mortar store, odds are that what I want is either:
- not in stock
- located somewhere that only a sociopath would think to hide it*

* stock clerk: I'll put the frozen tater tots in the section marked "videotapes"

unrelated #98.6: Stores should have SABR-free day each week when the Salvation Army Bell Ringer won't be annoying customers needing to shop. I started to grab something at Fry's in Plano yesterday, but made a U-turn when I saw The Bell and decided my purchase can wait until January.

unrelated #867-5309: Rambo's come for a visit .. not sure how many days. He and Beta will probably stay up all night and have a pajama party.

beep boop BUZZ

When UPC (barcode) was introduced to retail, many years ago, customers were wary of discrepancies between the price posted on the shelf, and the one in the computer. I remember that early customers were told they'd get the item free if there was an error.

Over the years, we've become complacent and I rarely see anyone question the prices on a cash register. Today's newspaper has a story saying that an acceptable error rate (US NIST) is 2% while Wal-Mart had an 8% error rate (the company blames bad reporting). The source of that report are the union organizers behind Wakeup Wal-Mart and is subject to an error rate of ±50% (my interpretation).

Deep Thought #81: I wonder how many chocolate fondue fountains will be packed away in our collective attics, beginning about the 2nd week of January? I'm seeing these things advertised at everyplace but vending machines. Related: how many wedding fondue sets are used once (if ever) and then sent into permanent cold storage?

Notable: Dallas is the 9th largest city, yet has the 5th highest crime rate for cities our size (ref: City Crime Rankings by Population Group). How shall I celebrate -- rob a gas station?

Expected later today: Dick Cheney will seize the opportunity to demonize Jack Kennedy for being assassinated in Dallas 42 years ago today. He will claim this to be egregious historical revisionism.

Microsoft Online Crash Analysis

Here's a splendid message I see on my Sony PC about twice a month; it causes the PC to crash without warning. Since it's on a system I use primarily for reading webmail while gazing out the window, it hasn't been a high priority to fix, but it's insightful to read Microsoft's boilerplate response:

Stop error caused by a device driver

Symptoms

You are receiving this message because a device driver installed on your computer caused a stop error message. This error message required a restart of your computer. After the restart your computer should continue to operate normally, however the error may re-occur until the problem is corrected.

Cause

A stop error occurs when your computer encounters an error from which it cannot recover. This is usually caused by a device driver which encounters an unhandled exception or performs an illegal operation. When the operating system detects this situation it is stopped to prevent further problems, such as data loss or further system instability.

Resolution

Your error report has been computer analyzed and is unable to determine the exact cause of the error at this time. Since a cause and resolution has not been found your error report will be analyzed by Microsoft and any associated vendors to determine the cause of the error. After a cause has been found and corrected you will receive an updated message the next time you receive this same error with instructions on resolving the problem. We apologize for any inconvenience this error has caused and are working to resolve it as quickly as possible.

Please note it is important you continue to report errors so analysts will have data to analyze and correct the problem as quickly as possible. We appreciate your patience and assistance while we work to resolve your error. "