Bag of Randomness

  • WifeGeeding and I ate at Cici’s Pizza yesterday for lunch.  I was at the buffet line and saw some pizza that was on the buffet line, but a little behind all the other pizza, but well within reach – it looked like it was just extra pizza for a lunchtime crowd and it couldn’t fit on the buffet line.  As soon as I took a slice and put it on my plate, a manager came by and told me that he would need that  pizza slice back, that it was reserved, and that was why the pizza was placed ‘back there.’  I didn’t think it was much of a big deal, although I wondered why he just didn’t place the pizza in another location so it wouldn’t be confused with ‘public’ pizza . . . but then he walks over, and with a utensil takes the pizza slice off my plate.  I’m usually a pretty nice guy, especially to people in the food service industry since I’ve been there and done that, but that really urked me and I let him know about it.
  • I read that my middle school P.E. teacher died, who seemed kind of old when I was a student.  She use to stress to us that when we stood up from a seating position from the ground not to use our hands, because we are young and strong and using hands are for older people who are weak.
  • From conversations with a lot of other folks, middle school isn’t a real popular term, so let me explain.  When I was a ‘yoot’ (that’s a movie reference I hope all of you get) kids attended kindergarten through fourth-grade in elementary school, then fifth-and-sixth grade in middle school, seventh-and-eighth-grade at junior high, and the the rest of our public education was of course spent at high school.
  • For the first time in a long time I bought some graham crackers.  It turns out they now package them differently, they use to seal them in rectangles, but now they are in squares.
  • My dad use to like to dip his graham crackers in his coffee, I like dipping them in hot tea.
  • There’s a lot of talk about what Vice President Biden had to say about the Taliban not being our enemy.  I’m not going to defend what he had to say, but I think it’s a bit unfair (but hey, that’s politics) that he isn’t being quoted fully.  He actually said, “Look, the Taliban per se is not our enemy.”  I think that “per se” is important.  But I also think that leads to another issue, just how under-educated most of us are about foreign affairs.  Not many Americans can rattle off the difference between the Taliban and Al Qaeda.  Heck, there’s even an opinion piece on Fox News that says Biden isn’t necessarily wrong.
  • Biden certainly isn’t the sharpest tool in the shed.
  • An 11-year-old boy was alone in his house and was told to stay put, but he saw a segment on the news about a wake for a local firefighter, so he decided to put on a suit (he learned how to tie a tie from a book) and ride his bike to the wake. Once it was discovered he was alone, the firemen allowed him to ride on the firetruck to the cemetery, and he got a police escort home.  Read about it here.
  • The NFL’s Widest Necks
  • Fox News has their own holiday Christmas cards take poke fun at their competition, and they are pretty cleaver and funny.  Card1 and Card2
Posted in Personal | 3 Comments

Perry getting both salary and pension

AUSTIN — Unbeknownst to most Texans, Gov. Rick Perry officially retired in January so he could draw early pension benefits worth $7,699 a month, in addition to his annual governor’s salary of $150,000.

Perry’s January retirement — on paper, at least — was revealed Friday when the Federal Elections Commission released the financial disclosure statement the governor was required to file as a candidate for the Republican nomination for president. The annuity brings Perry’s total state government-related income to $242,388 a year.

Reaction to news of the unusual arrangement, in which Perry retired as a state employee but remains Texas’ elected governor, was swift and negative.
“If there’s a Hall of Fame for hypocrites, he’s in it,” said Democratic consultant Paul Begala. “It must be part of Perry’s plan to starve the government by taking as much money from it as he can.”

Mike Gross, head of the 12,000-member Texas State Employees Union, said Perry’s pension deal “will sit badly” with other public employees.
“Perry, 61, and his staff brushed off the criticism, with the governor telling ABC News, “I think it’d be rather foolish to not access what you’ve earned.”

Campaign spokesman Ray Sullivan said the governor decided to take his state employee retirement annuity “as part of his standard financial planning.” He began drawing the annuity Jan. 31, and the package, Sullivan said, is consistent with Texas state law and Employee Retirement System rules. Perry continues to pay into the Employees Retirement System with a 6.5 percent withholding.

The combination of his U.S. military service, state service and age exceeded the state-required 80 years and qualified Perry for the annuity, Sullivan said. Perry has been on Texas’ public payroll since 1985.

Full Article

Posted in Political, Texas | 1 Comment