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Greetings, Quotaholics:
I’m sure most of us would agree that there are many children who are out
of control.
The
cause of their behavior is debatable. Some have mental problems, some
are the product of parents who may be too strict in some areas and too
lenient in others. The result of this can be children who harbor an enormous
amount of rage.
One example of this can be seen in this video
from the Dr. Phil show where the child slaps his mother.
The mother showed much more restraint than I would have been capable of.
Of course my reaction, knocking the little shit to the floor, probably
wouldn’t have been correct either.
Many parents, due to anger or fear or both, find it necessary to call
the police for help.
One such incident happened recently in the small town of Ozark, Arkansas.
A 10 year old girl had gone into a fit of rage when her mother tried to
get her to take a shower before bed. After the child became violent the
mother called police for help.
In his report the officer who responded to the call, Dustin Bradshaw,
said that when he arrived,
the girl was curled up on the floor, screaming.
According to an article at the Fox10
website, "The child was ‘violently kicking and verbally combative’
when Bradshaw tried to take her into custody, and she kicked him in the
groin."
"’Her mother told me to tase her if I needed to,’ Bradshaw said.
So he delivered ‘a very brief drive stun to her back,’ the report said."
"Ozark Mayor Vernon McDaniel said Wednesday that the girl wasn’t
injured and is now at the Western Arkansas Youth Shelter in Cecil. But
McDaniel said he wants Arkansas State Police - and if they decline, the
FBI - to investigate the incident."
"’People here feel like that he made a mistake in using a Taser,
and maybe he did, but we will not know until we get an impartial investigation,’
McDaniel said."
"If the officer tried to forcefully put the girl in handcuffs, he
could have accidentally broken her arm or leg, (Police Chief Jim) Noggle
said. He said a touch of the stun gun - ‘less than a second’ - stopped
the girl from being unruly, and she was handcuffed, he said. ‘She got
up immediately and they put her in the patrol car,’ McDaniel said."
"Noggle said the girl will face disorderly conduct charges as a juvenile
in the incident. The girl’s father, Anthony Medlock, told the Arkansas
Democrat-Gazette that his daughter has emotional problems, but that she
didn’t have a weapon and shouldn’t have been Tasered. ‘My daughter does
not deserve to be tased and be treated like an animal,’ said Medlock,
who is divorced from the girl’s mother and does not have custody."
A spokesman for Taser said, "…a Taser ‘presents the safer response
to resistance compared with the alternatives such as fists, kicks, baton
strikes, bean bag guns, chemical agents, or canine response.’"
We’ve all seen shows such as Cops, where adults resist arrest and are
sprayed with mace or beaten with fists or batons until they stop resisting.
Obviously with a 10 year old these methods would have been considered
too violent, so was a jolt from a Taser the best option?
Since the mother gave permission to use it, should the officer be condemned
for doing so? Could it be that the mother, having dealt with this before,
knew that the Taser would be the quickest way to subdue the child?
What about the father’s objections? Can he really make a judgement on
what force was called for since he wasn’t there and doesn’t live with
the child so may not be fully aware of how violent she can be?
Do you think that the fact that nobody was injured proves that the officer
took the correct action?
Joltingly,
Comment
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“All the president is is a glorified public relations man who spends
his time flattering, kissing, and kicking people to get them to do what
they are supposed to do anyway.” – Harry S Truman
Referring to James Buchanan – “The Constitution provides for every accidental
contingency in the Executive, except for a vacancy in the mind of the
president.” – Senator Sherman of Ohio
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Engagement
[Thanks Bonnie]
Upon her engagement,
the exuberant young woman went to her mother and said, “I’ve found
a man just like father!”
Her mother replied, “So what do you want from me, sympathy?”
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“A man lives by believing something: not by debating and arguing about
many things.”
“A man willing to work, and unable to find work, is perhaps the saddest
sight that fortune’s inequality exhibits under this sun.”
“All that mankind has done, thought or been: it is lying as in magic
preservation in the pages of books.” - All from Scottish writer and
historian Thomas Carlyle born on this date in 1795
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Christmas
Is Getting Close
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BJ in Guthrie wanted to share his shopping tips. Take it away BJ
and remind me never to shop in Guthrie!
The
Alarm went off at three am Friday. I fell out of bed trying to turn it
off. I staggered into the kitchen to make myself a super jolt of high
octane cut of mega-caffeine coffee, black, the kind you could float a
horseshoe in. The day was black Friday. It was war. I put on my socks,
the ones I played football in twenty years ago, no I never washed them.
I put on my tennis shoes, I would need all the speed I could muster today.
Slacks, the kind with thirty seven pockets and my t-shirt that said "Death
to Those that Get in My Way" bespoke my manner on this day that changed
me from a normal decent man to a caveman hunter on the hunt for my bargains.
I did not shower, I needed that extra BO edge, nor did I shave. I looked
in the mirror and noticed with satisfaction my eyes were bloodshot, giving
me the look of a fanatic. Good! I put on my Viking helmet with horns and
had my empty van ready for the haul.
With tires spinning I headed for the mall. There are basically three different
types of people who shop Black Friday. The first group are the zombies.
They are the ones who have stayed up all night and are dead on their feet.
They walk stiff legged and are no real threat. They speak in grunts.
The second group is very dangerous. They are the seventy year old grandmothers
and they are only about eighty pounds but are unmatched in speed and strength,
let them go. They will knock you aside and walk over you without a thought.
They will rip the last purchase from your grip without breaking stride
or breaking a sweat. They are demons from hell.
The last group are the abnormals normals, that is where I fall in. We
are mostly normal except for black Friday. We lose a nights sleep so we
can save five dollars on an item. It makes no sense, but if you do it,
you can brag about it. It is in our genes as hunters.
I am in line at the first store. I am there only an hour early, but am
about four hundred back from the door. The lone security guard is trying
to hold everyone back, he is five feet two and one hundred and twenty
pounds…. he is being pushed back into the store and the store opens
about an hour early…. the rush is on. Nobody walks…. it is a race!
Do not fall down or you will die. Everyone in line is wearing depends
because there is no time to go to the bathroom. Baskets are gone in a
flash. There is yelling and screaming…maybe a gunshot or two, but nobody
cares, it is black Friday.
I grab my items and keep one hand over the top of my basket to protect
my items and hurry to the cashier.
Cashier: Cash, Check or Credit Card?
Me: Whichever is fastest, I have three more stores to go.
Cashier: Paper or plastic?
Me: Just grab one, I am in a hurry.
Meanwhile another customer says, "Hey buddy that Gizmo was mine"
Me: Oh yeah.
I pull out my Uzi
I pay for my stuff and with one hand on my cart and another hand on my
Uzi, I make it to the Van. I quickly load my "Kill" into the
van and off I go to the second store.
The second store is more sedate…the madness not so intense. I even take
off my bulletproof vest. I only have to push two people down in that store,
one being a handicapped person. I made my purchases with little problem
and left.
I did find three people trying to get into my van and I had to ram my
cart into their backsides. I think mostly they are okay. I only saw a
little blood when I left the parking lot.
The last stop turned out to be a little harry when the cops wanted to
know why I had blood on my shirt. I simply said black Friday. They smiled
and let me go. Being an offensive tackle in college helped train me for
black Friday. I just pushed my way into the store and created a hole that
a good running back could follow. I quickly got my stuff from this store,
checked out and when I got to the van, noticed I was missing a finger.
Oh well, you can’t go through black Friday perfect.
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Predators
As I’ve mentioned a time or two before, I’ve been the unwitting witness
of life in action. I’ve seen a sizable hawk swoop down and collect his
next meal from a branch near me. The squirrel I had just fed had become
the center link of the food chain.
Coyotes have returned to the area. Going from an occasional sighting
to daily reminders, they have become a problem. Recently, a neighbor’s
chihuahua survived becoming a coyote’s meal only because the invisible
fence unit shocked prey & predator when the coyote began to carry
it off and crossed the line.
Until recently, the only predator in the area was man. Planting houses,
businesses, and parking lots where trees and habitat had been reduced
the indigenous population permanently. Although there is still a wide
array of animals, the influx of predatory animals created an imbalance
that made domesticated pets targets for the next meal. Small dogs and
cats have been disappearing when allowed to roam alone in back yards.
Hawks, owls, and other birds of prey have found them rather tasty. Now,
with the return of the coyotes, even medium-sized pets are endangered.
Some areas are reporting that bears are returning to the region. Mauled
pets and strewn refuse are testaments to the conservational techniques
that successfully prevented the extinction of animals common to the
region. Coyotes, bears, raccoons, and other animals that once had a
pristine forest to roam now find their dining choices to be neighborhood
pets and/or trash cans.
Here’s your quiz:
Have you seen any unusual animals in your neighborhood?
("Bob of the North" need not reply. *grin*)
Have you lost a pet to a resurgence of once rare predators?
What would you do to protect your pets & property?
Predators - Not Just The Scroungy Guy With Binoculars Down The Street
Cliff (the High-Tech Redneck who doesn’t rate a fancy ’signature pic’)
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Email Kirsten
“Smile.”
~ The Eglinton Smile Guy ~
In the last issue, I shamefully neglected to include an important message
to the readers. As announced a few issues ago, there was a death in
my family recently. Chris, the young man with cancer who I wrote about
a couple of weeks ago, died peacefully at home, surrounded by friends
and family. The messages of support and condolence that readers sent
via email, comments, and Facebook have been nothing short of amazing.
I have not met most of you, and yet you feel like family. Thank you
for your kind thoughts. Knowing that there are people out there with
caring hearts and generous spirits makes the grieving process easier
to bear.
Now, onto tonight’s issue. I don’t really have anything concrete to
write about tonight. Well, actually I do - I just haven’t had a chance
to formulate it into an actual article that wouldn’t make readers want
to throw things at me. In fact, Cliff will be delighted to hear that
I have enough material for several articles.
Anyway, instead of an article tonight, I will share a story about someone
who I refer to as “The Eglinton Smile Guy”. I would refer to him by
his name, but since I don’t actually know it, the nickname will have
to do. Here’s the story: I recently started carpooling with a co-worker
in order to avoid the rising costs and declining standards of mass public
transit. As we are driving down Eglinton Avenue on the way home from
work, we usually have to stop at a busy intersection. And there, we
see a homeless man walking around holding up a cardboard sign. The sign
does not ask for money or describe how many mouths he has to feed. It
does not ask for a job or for help of any kind.
The sign consists of just one word: SMILE. The Eglinton Smile Guy will
walk up to cars, hold up the sign, and pull funny faces at the occupants
until they smile. At which point the guy will give them the thumbs-up
and beam back at them before moving onto the next car.
Someone asked him what he was doing a few days ago, and he replied that
he just wants to do his bit to help in these troubled times. He only
wants to make people smile and feel better about themselves and the
world around them.
I am officially a fan of the Eglinton Smile Guy. And I do believe he
makes a difference.
Kaleidoscopically yours,
Kirsten
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A couple of weeks ago I told you about a meeting I had with our Academic
Computing department to discuss how we could improve account creation
for new students. We decided that I would run a report at noon on
each day, and the accounts would be created by noon the next day.
This would allow us to schedule time for making accounts instead of
getting 4 or 5 e-mails a day interrupting what we were doing. While
we would still respond to emergencies like a student showing up on
campus unannounced, things would run smoother for everyone involved
if time was put aside for account creation. All they had to do was
supply us with a name, a SSN number, and a date of birth, and everything
would work. There were a couple of things they would need to do in
order to enable students to register, but there would be fewer emergencies.
So let’s see how things went. On Monday, the first day of implementing
this new system, I had to leave early. I notified everyone involved
that I would be running the report and starting the account creation
process at 11:00 instead of noon. Nobody had a problem with that.
So at 11:00 I ran the report, and there were no new students. I went
home, and returned the next day to an e-mail sent at 11:17 Monday
about a student that needed an account. I then had somebody stop by
and tell me it was an emergency, they would be on campus at 2:00.
Okay, well, I left early Monday so I accepted the emergency and we
got the account created on time.
Well, day two was sure to go smoothly. At noon, I ran the report.
There were 12 students that needed accounts. I had 12 names, I had
12 SSNs, but I only had 11 birth dates. While I could create accounts
for my web site, one student wouldn’t be able to look up their e-mail
password. That means Academic Computing would get a call, something
our new system was designed to eliminate. I called our Admissions
department and reminded them that a birth date was a required piece
of data, and a student would not get an account without one. They
got the birth date, and things went smoothly from there.
Wednesday was sure to go smoothly after Tuesday’s reminder. So I
ran the report at noon, and had nine names. I had 9 dates of birth.
But I only had 8 SSNs. The SSN is more important than the date of
birth as it affects several other databases, including our health
services reporting. I called Admissions again and informed them of
this. Without a SSN, students couldn’t get to my web page. Under no
circumstances should someone become a student without a SSN, but alas,
it happened. In fact, every single problem we had hoped to avoid appeared
in the first 3 days of running this new system.
I think there’s going to be another meeting. I think this time I’ll
bring a gun.
Tim a’Musing
Having a Ball with Yarns
E-mail Dear Tim
Comment
on this article
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Miscellaneous Tips
Instead of the water your recipe calls for, try juices, bouillon,
or water you’ve cooked vegetables in. Instead of milk, try buttermilk,
yogurt or sour cream. It can add a whole new flavor and improve nutrition.
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Wow, if Anne hadn’t found some make-up limericks
I’d only have one from Bonnie! I’ve got to get better lines.
Next opening line…
I’m marking the names off my list…
Hints:
Here’s a great new rhyming/composition tool. http://www.writerhymes.com/
There’s also a great rhyming dictionary at http://www.rhymezone.com/
Limerick rules. http://freespace.virgin.net/merrick.sheldon/limerickrules.htm
Submit
Opening Line
Submit
Limerick
This
year I hope Santa brings me
Something I don’t usually see
Like a new car or house
Though I’d settle for a new mouse
You can put it there under the tree. - Bonnie |
My
wife just flew in on a broom
But ahead of her a wall does loom
None can hold a candle
She flies off the handle
Then crashes and then goes boom-boom. - Anne Onimous |
I’ve had
too much candy this week
Now my outlook does look bleak
I feel put upon
For my candy’s all gone
After my sugar crash, I feel weak. - Anne Onimous |
I’ve had
too much candy this week
I ate all of it by the creek
But now I’m so fat
You’ll see me in Landsat
And nobody now wants to see me streak. - Anne Onimous |
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Re: Shopping
I also was not out shopping–no
bargain is worth that hassle to me! We will be spending about the
same amount. We have had a budget for years and we tend to stick to
it–not that we are really cheap or that we don’t have more money
at times–but people just have TOO DAMN MUCH STUFF!!! - Bonnie
In Canada, Thanksgiving
is in mid-October, because that’s when the harvest is in. It is now
common to see Christmas displays in stores before Haloween, although
I do razz the clerks putting them up.
When I do give away more than a card or two for the holiday season,
I make the stuff or pass on something I have enjoyed. For instance,
there’s some firewood that’s just too pretty to burn, but turns into
art with ease. - Bob of the North
Re: Books
Hi, I’m Marian and I’m a
bookaholic, too. In respnse to feedback on book reviews, it sounds
like a great idea. I belonged to ChemoAngels for a few years and they
had an online book review club kind of thingy and I loved it. So I
vote YES. Marian in Ellicott City
NO. No
book reviews. Or maybe, five words max.
I’m a reader too, but if you can’t say Great! Or Junk!
you’re wasting my time…
I will submit the first book review for you, though – any Discworld
book. Wonderful, and fascinating.
See? Easy! J - Lyn in FL (temporarily in the Deep South of the Dark
Continent)
I sometimes get
in a rut as to what I want to read next. I find an author and read
all I can of their work and when I have read everything they have
to offer I oft times find myself stuck as to what to next read. Wouldn’t
mind writing reviews either but don’t know if anyone would be interested
in reading them. My taste in books can be a bit esoteric. I read a
lot of science fiction but at the present time I am reading a lot
of war books, or rather books about people that were involved in wars.
I just finished a book about Winston Churchill called Warlord: The
Life and Times of Churchill at War. At the present time I am reading
a book about FDR called A Traitor to His Class. The next book on my
list is about General Sherman and his march to Atlanta. If I had any
extra money tho I’d buy a bunch more books by Orson Scott Card, an
award winning sci-fi writer who just happens to be a devout Mormon.
I fell in love with his books before I knew his religion. (Still hard
for me to wrap my mind around that.) I am still working my way through
Plato’s Republic and The Properties of Tungsten, but I do find Louis
Lamour and Zane Grey eminently enjoyable but for different reasons.I
have even read a couple of books by Danielle Steel.
Anyway, don’t know that I really know how to go about writing a book
review. But if it sounds like people want to read them I’d be willing
to give it a try. - GrammieSammie
P.S. SELL YOUR BOOKS? ARE YOU NUTS? You can’t properly call yourself
a bookaholic if you do that.Shame on you.
Hi, my
name is Kat, and I am a bookaholic.
(Isn’t amazing how many of us know the standard AA intro, even if
we haven’t been to a meeting in our lives? But I digress…)
I have finally mustered up the courage to sell some of my books on
Amazon. I make back a little of the money I’ve spent, and it makes
me happy to know they are going to good homes. Like kittens or something.
When we built our loft in the family room, my husband put up long
rows of bookshelves for me. They aren’t full yet, but that’s not for
lack of trying. The office shelves ARE full, so it’s time to transfer
a few books out of there. I guess I figured if I move them around
enough, the actual number I have won’t be as noticeable. Deny, deny,
deny.
At any rate, I will buy (and yes, I do eventually read every book
I own) books til I die, and frankly, I don’t really care a lot what
happens to them after that. I’ll have much more interesting things
going on. My men can do with them as they choose. I would like it
if my friends who are still around have first pick, especially the
one with the bookstore-running fantasies (we have had wonderful conversations
about that; it’s nice to share a dream with someone).
I can’t remember offhand who said this (it’ll come to me 15 minutes
from now), but I wholeheartedly agree: So many books, so little time.
- OhioKat
Another closet
book collector. my oldest does not have a date, but the company that
published it, I have dated to 1830, Ivanhoe. I have most of H Rider
Haggard’s first Editions and most of them look like they are new and
they are circa 1880’s. I had several thousand books, but have been
trimming my collection down. I had every Louis L’Amour book, every
Zane Grey, every Edgar Rice Burrough book written. I carry a book
with me often, I write four books a year, and read about 150 books
a year. I have donated about 60 boxes of books to the library this
year,,, with much pain. - BJ in Guthrie
I LOVE
books too! I’ve always LOVED books and moreso now that we have yucky
cable TV in Bolivar. I refuse to pay for dish or satellite and if
I did, my husband would just have that many more channels to flip
through.
My bookshelves have been moved to the basement (lucky it’s dry) because
they were taking up too much room in our house. If it were up to me,
I’d have wall-to-wall bookshelves filled with books and probably piles
on the floor too. Books give me warm fuzzies. The warmest fuzzies
come from the old children’s series books. I go bananas when I see
the old Grosset & Dunlap tweed or the Whitman picture cover.
Like Mike I too sell my books on eBay - I LOVE paying 10 cents for
a book and selling it for $3 or $4 or more. Probably my favorite sell
was a large-size paperbook on building domes I got at a library book
sale. It was $1 a bag day and the bag wouldn’t really hold any more.
They let me lay the book across the top. That "freebie"
sold for $12. I read somewhere that one should never pay more than
$1 per book that you want to resell unless you absolutely know what
you’re doing. After two years, I still am learning.
It all started with when my Dad died. He too loved books, but we had
different tastes. I started selling a lot of his books at garage sales.
They were mostly old, yucky-looking ragged hardbacks. One of the customers
told me I had some valuable books there and that I should try selling
them on eBay. So I pulled out all the old yucky-looking books and
was very pleasantly surprised to find that they’d bring $5 or $6 a
book or more on eBay.
Then I found out that I could buy my favorite children’s series books
on eBay. In effect, I turned all of Dad’s old Westerns into a collection
of Judy Boltons and Trixie Beldens. Along the way, I’ve rediscovered
Kay Tracey, Nancy Drew and Penny Nichols and have been introduced
to Cherry Ames and other series. I have several books on my shelves
to sell, but they beg to be read first.
The joy is in the hunt. I love digging through garage sales, flea
markets and antique stores. If I’m ONLY looking for books, I can get
through an antique store in 15-20 minutes. And every so often somebody
will call me and tell me they’ve got a garage full of books, do I
want to go through them - that’s like Christmas!
So if any of you have any of the last 8 Judy Boltons you want to get
rid of, let me know. - Noella
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Disclaimer- All quotes printed in this publication are believed to be
accurately attributed, but no guarantees are made that some incorrectly
attributed, or even outright false quotes won’t get in here from time
to time. I assure readers that I will do my best to weed out incorrect
quotes, and will print a retraction as soon as I become aware of any errors.
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