Random Thoughts From Marybeth

Stupid Is As Stupid Does

Lisa Carvis calls the tea party protesters "tea baggers". Very classy.

Verbing a Noun

Last Chance to Registration! Collective Intelligence/Alternate Reality G a m e D e s i g n Workshop Friday, February 26, 2010 8:00 AM - 4:00 PM Awesome, Inc. Lexington, KY

Workshop Leaders
Greg Niemeyer and Ozge Samanci
UC Berkeley Center for New Media

Click here to register
Only a few seats remaining.

For details go to www.ideafestival.com and click on New Media Factory.

I'm not planning on registrationing....

Still Waiting...

Ten weeks ago I ordered furniture from Cherry House, Bassett, and Haverty's. I am ready to move into the new house but while I have received the deliveries from Bassett and Haverty's, I am still waiting on Cherry House.

I went to the Cherry House (the site is down now, if you want to see it try the cached page) in LaGrange, KY and ordered an armoire for my daughter and all of the furniture for my bedroom plus some home office furniture. I was told that it would be delivered in six to eight weeks. After nine weeks I called and asked when it would be delivered and was told that there had been a "problem" with shipping but it would be available on the 18th and they would call me then. She also said that because of the delay, they would refund my delivery charge...this is a whole 1% refund!

When I hadn't heard from them by 1:30 today I called and my salesperson seemed surprised that I hadn't heard from them yet. She said she would check on it and call me right back. It's 2:00 now, apparently we have different definitions of "right back".

Update: I got a call just before 3:00 and was told that all but a couple of items were there and ready for delivery. The nightstand and my armoire are somewhere between Los Angeles and here but the transport company hasn't replied to the messages that Cherry House has left them asking when they will arrive. (The stuff left LA on the 14th.) Cherry House will be delivering what they have on Saturday so at least I'll have a bed when I move in. I'm still not very happy with all of this but I'm closer to being satisfied.

Ice and Snow

The ice storm came Monday night. All night long I could hear the sound of branches splitting and crashing to the ground.

We lost power on Tuesday morning. We may have it back within a week to ten days. (According to the news, some places in Kentucky may not have power back fully for months.) It is a lot like last September when we lost power after the remains of Hurricane Ike came through...only much colder.

We were without power for six days that time. It was miserable. No lights, no Xbox or Wii, and no internet but at least we didn't have to dig out of the driveway and the weather then was mild. We kept the windows open and dined by candlelight (mostly on carryout food).

Fortunately this time we had someplace we could go to while we waited for our power to come back on because this time the temperature has been below freezing until this weekend.

Nearly Perfect Park

The park has the regular things you would expect to find: picnic tables and pavilions, playgrounds, walking trails, and an adult softball field.

But a park just isn't complete without a torpedo.

Jeffersontown Veterans Memorial Park where there is also a M60, a Huey, and a couple of anti-aircraft guns "guarding" the entrance.

There are also memorials that speak of honoring the service and sacrifices of those who served God and country. The machinery of war takes my mind away to foreign lands but the memorials make me feel very anchored to the land I'm standing on. And very grateful.

Cave Hill

Autumn (Cave Hill)

Down By the River

FYE: Mall St. Matthews

F.Y.E. manager

I went to the F.Y.E. in the mall this evening and asked the cashier about a DVD that they were playing in the store. She told me that she thought it was the last copy and, if so, I could buy it as a "used" DVD for $14.99 instead of the regular $24.99 price. Another clerk went to check for more copies. He confirmed that it was the last one but that the manager said it had to be sold for 15% off the regular price instead of the price the cashier had quoted. (Even after he was told that she had quoted the other price.) No explanation was given as to why a DVD that was currently being used in the store wasn't going to be sold at the "used" price.

I paid more in sales tax on my purchase (I passed on buying the non-used "used" DVD) than the difference between the first price I was told and the price the manager said it could be sold for but at least I know what this F.Y.E. manager thinks that customers are worth.

Sign of the Times

My only surprise here was that it wasn't in Spanish. The number of Spanish speaking immigrants in Louisville (pdf) is about 6000 (according to the 2000 census so I'm sure it's more now) but the number of Serbo-Croatian speakers is only about 500. (I think that's the language of the sign but I'm not positive.)

After reading the study that I linked to, I'm not sure why the sign is needed. It seems as though immigrants, especially from Europe, are employed at close to the same rates as native Louisvillians and the main barrier to employment is a "lack of English proficiency". It seems that a sign promoting ESL classes would be better. Why do government agencies prefer to promote victimhood than offer solutions?

It's Worked So Well For Sex, Swearing, and Violence

As a resident of a state where tobacco is an important part of the economy, I want to encourage the MPAA (Motion Pictures Association of America) to go ahead and make any depiction of smoking earn a film an automatic "R" rating.

I can think of few things that anyone could do that would work as well to make a bad (and dangerous) habit cool again.

The 133rd Kentucky Derby

And the winner is...Street Sense. Early in the race he was 19th in a field of 20 but jockey Calvin Borel brought him in along the rail and stayed there, passing the other horses, until the final stretch. He moved to the outside to pass Hard Spun who had been leading throughout the race and then back to the rail to finish.

Correction: He moved away from the rail when he was two horses back.

Does This Mean I'm Trendy?

I'm going to be on WHAS TV news Wednesday at 11:00. The piece was taped recently at OpenRange in Crestwood and is about the growing trend of women taking an interest in shooting.

When I took the safety class the gun range offers I wasn't so much afraid of guns as I was uncomfortable with them. My lack of experience (and, I imagine, that of many of the women who take the class) made me a better student. I knew that I didn't know anything so it was important for me to pay attention to make sure I learned how to handle a gun properly. It's easier to learn good habits than to unlearn bad ones.

When I Want Your Opinion, I'll Give It to You

The city of Louisville was founded in 1778. I think discussion of new bridges between Kentucky and Indiana began about a year later. (It's really only been discussed for the past 20 years but it does seem as though it's been going on for centuries.) The plans have been to build two new bridges - one downtown and one in the east end of the county. The choice of designs was narrowed down to three each this past summer. There was a poll where people were asked to vote for which of the designs they preferred.

This week, the selected designs were announced. In both cases, the designs selected were the public's second choices. both of the chosen designs were the least expensive ones for their locations.

I'm not complaining about the choices, I'm just wondering why they bothered with the poll.

Date of Infamy

I found these in my grandmother's attic when I was (much) younger. Unfortunately they had already been folded so there are creases and small tears in them. I thought they were still worth sharing.

The Louisville Courier-Journal

The Louisville Times

Other bits from inside the papers-

Goebbels turned out to be wrong then but his quotation is worth thinking about now.

I would like to see some of the newspapers from the days before the attack on Pearl Harbor. Judging by this letter to the editor, The Louisville Times appears to have been supporting neutrality in the war. What a difference a day makes.

Sunset

Sunbathing On a Hot Day

A polar bear at the Louisville Zoo.

I May Have Seen You There...

The kids had the day off from school for that most important of holidays, Kentucky Oaks Day. (What were you expecting, Cinco de Mayo?) The Oaks is a race for fillies that is run the day before the Run for the Roses. It's like a Derby Day for locals (all of the fun with fewer celebrities and tourists) so everyone should have been at the track or preparing for tomorrow's parties. At least that's what I was hoping. Instead it seemed as if they were all at the Louisville Zoo. I think it was the largest crowd I've seen there other than when they have their annual Halloween Party.

Some of the animals we saw -

Evening Walk

What Does This Teach?

Andrei Chira, a student at Bellarmine University, a private Roman Catholic school in Louisville, has been wearing a white-supremacist armband to classes. Bellarmine's response so far has been to organize a task force.

[University president] McGowan said in his statement yesterday that "most, if not all" members of the Bellarmine community are upset by the views that the armband represents. But McGowan said forcing Chira to remove it would be "denying free speech, which I believe is contrary to being a true university."

Chira says he doesn't support Nazi views or white supremacy, he just likes Blood and Honour's support for musicians who adhere to their views.*

About a dozen students conducted a "Sit in for Free Speech" saying that they disagree with the message but support his right to wear the armband. Erin Ott, 18, a freshman from Cincinnati: "I think a lot of people are missing the point," she said. "The real issue is First Amendment rights and freedom of speech."

My "real issue" is that the students don't understand the protection offered by the First Amendment. This is a private school, not the government, and I believe they should let Chira know that hate speech or paraphenalia that symbolizes or promotes such speech is not welcome on campus.

*Hail The New Dawn

Comrades, the voices of the dead battalions
Of those who fell, that Europe might be great
Join in our song, for they still march in spirit with us
And urge us on that we gain the national state

Hail the new dawn!
Hail the new dawn!
Hail the new dawn!
Hail the new dawn!
Hail!

"Six point master plan", not very subtle, is it?

Fairly Xtreme

From out trip to the Kentucky State Fair last Saturday.