You know what I like about my "Smart Phone"?

Nothing.  Not a damn thing about Smart Phones is worth the hassle.

Yes, you can access the internet, including your email, even while you're miles away from your computer. BFD.

This morning I took my StupidPhone off its charger and discovered that it didn't work.

Just ... Did  Not Work.

What I've learned is that when this happens (which is not an infrequent occurrence), I need NEED to take off the cover, pull the battery, and re-install it.  Then it works just fine.

Well, isn't that special.

My father had a '49 Chevy Pickup and I loved that old truck. But once in a while, the column-mounted gear shift mechanism would lock up.  I had to open the hood and  use a pry bar (kept under the seat, for convenience) to jimmy the linkage back into alignment.  It was inconvenient, and often embarrassing, while I was 'cruising the gut' downtown .. but HEY!  It had character.

I don't like "character" in expensive electronics .. especially when they are priced at more than that old Chevy truck was worth.  I want them to work all the time.

Hasn't technology advanced in America since 1949?

Apparently not.

Almost a half-century of technological advance ... doesn't speak well for American Engineering.  (Okay, so it's Japanese Engineering.  Didn't they lose the war?  Is this their subtly asiatic way of spitting in our face?)

Walk a mile in my shoes

Lagniappe's Lair: Cop-Basher Gets Police Shoot/Don't Shoot Training.: In Missouri City, Texas, police put a local loud-mouthed cop-hating professional protester through some of the same "Shoot/Don't Shoot" training that their officers go through, and it looks like he got a bit of a wake-up call.


I'm VERY impressed with this video essay.

Things look a lot different from the OTHER side of a Violent Confrontation.

The Magic Bullet

I just want to know ... how did the kid manage to shoot his father in the ass and his mother in the shoulder with a single shot?


We're all glad that the sister was unhurt, and wondering whether the brother was revenge oriented or merely morally offended..