A Glimmer of Hope and Meat

I saw a glimmer of hope in my aspiration to be at the top of the Srossi blog alert box. I am third! And in all fairness to the blog gods I have been counting my days blogging since my first blog made last Saturday, this being the 8th day since then. In actuality I have been consistently blogging since last Thursday so this is my 4th day. I feel a rush of adrenlin to stay the course so I can achieve my goal.

If you didn't notice it, In-N-Out Burgers of SoCal recently opened an outlet in Draper. It was all over the news. Meat eficinados gathered the night before outside the establishment so they could be the first to say they had a double/double or monster style burger. I am a huge fan of INO but always had to wait until we traveled to Vegas or St. George to partake.

I did take to the "replacement" burger joint that opened last year in Fort Union; 5 Guys Burgers and Fries. That place was packed for the first six months and then, as the SLC dining out faithful will often do, they find other newer options to lavish their attention on.

Well when INO announced their grand opening less than a 4 hour car ride away I instinctively checked my cash situation and headed for the car. Of course this was Saturday night at 6:30 pm (for those who haven't noticed this is optimum feeding time for the dining out faithful) so I was frustrated by the prospect of waiting 4 hours or being turned away.

I thought of an alternative plan; go to 5 Guys. The line moved quickly and I ordered the Bacon Cheese Burger (2 patties which they call out to let the cook know how many meat slabs to get ready) and their humongous fries. My order was ready in a flash and before I knew it I was swimming in the meat lovers pond. The fries were there only as a diversion.

Long live the guilty pleasure that is two freshly grilled beef patties, slabs of cheese, grilled onions, bacon and a mound of crisp garden vegs. In the immortal words of Doug Hefrenen (King of Queens) "If loving meat is wrong, I don't want to be right".

Legislators in Utah Should Drink Liquor

Well it's day number 7 and I am still not properly represented on the blog alert box on the Srossi home page. I guess I will have to continue my diatribe until I am victorious.

"Liquor Caps Will Stay Put" is the headline. The story goes on to say that no more liquor licenses will be authorized so they can prevent kids from getting ahold of liquor. They site a study that shows that 21% of kids under the age of 21 polled said they got their liquor at a restaurant, bar or nightclub. That all sounds reasonable.

OK one thing I did notice is that restaurant was lumped in with a bar and nightclub. They are way different, but I digress.

On the next page a graph shows the results of the study cited above. The category where the fewest kids reported getting their liquor? You guessed it - at a restaurant, bar or nightclub. A full 60% of the kids reported getting their liquor at home or at someone else's home. More than 35% said they got liquor at a park, beach or other public event location and even those who confessed to getting liquor said more often they got their liquor in a car (30%) than in a restaurant, bar or nightclub.

BTW - I did notice the percentages added up to more than 100%, I assume this wasn't because those administering the study were also drunk, but that the kids could give multiple results.

Now I am not trying to minimize the fact that 21% of kids under the age of 21 polled said they got liquor in a restaurant, bar or nightclub. I just don't like the fact that the legislators are using this as logic to restrict the number of liquor licenses. If they truly were concerned with kids getting ahold of liquor they would work to reduce their ability to get liquor at their home, at someone else's home, at a park, beach or public event location or even in a car before they restrict liquor licenses.

As I have said before it is good to know that someone is watching out for my moral fiber while I drink.

Peru, Oprah and Buttars

I'm still on my quest to get my post at the top of the alert board. It isn't going as well as I had hoped. My post from yesterday is still not acknowledged. Well here goes

This just in from the international section of the SL Trib. "Gangs Kill Folks for Fat?". It appears gangs of houdlims in Peru are killing people and extracting their fat for use in cosmetics. ICKKKKKKKK. It appears a gallon of fat may be worth up to $60,000. So if you are fat don't go to Peru. I think I'll go by the liposuction clinic and see if they have any left overs, maybe I can sell a gallon or two on eBay.

Speaking of Peru - Did you hear the HUGE news? Oprah is quitting!!!! Wow, talk about end of the earth. She is going to concentrate on her new network. I guess Ted Turner can't be the only one who can go weeks without leaving his universe. Oprah won't have all those royalties and endorsements flowing in so she will have to cut back on some things like buying small countries and giving away a major car manufacturer's backlog inventory. Good luck Oprah, write if you get work.

Speaking of their own universe - Chris Buttars, that poor embattered State Senator in Utah who has been critisized for his stand on opposing gay marriage, and who by the way offended every African American by making a racial comment about a bill last year is at it again. Max writes that he gives Buttars credit for following the politically safe trend even if it is against his past statements. You see Buttars came out in favor of legislation prohibiting discrimination based on "sexual choices". This sounds like a huge reversal but not so fast. It appears the Church (of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints) also supported this legislation. Based on my past observations of Chris Buttars, I don't think he did any independent thinking. I don't think he has that much of a grasp on reality. I think someone from the Church (of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints) spoke to dear Chris and convinced him not to make waves for them in their support of the legislation. I think Mr. Buttars is just doing what he is told. If you get a chance look at the interview he conducted after the announcement. It seems he is just saying what he has been told. It truly is nice to live in your own world. I know.

Consistency

I'm going to try and post every day so I can get the top spot on the alert box on srossi.net.

Its not that I am competitive and need to be number 1. Although many have given me the hand gesture that suggests I am.

Its not that I am vain or ego centric, the world really does revolve around me. I am sure that when I leave a place everyone waits around in suspended animation until I return. If a log falls outside of my hearing I'm not sure it makes a sound.

Its just that what I have to say is so truly important that I think everyone should read it and make insightful comments. Also I know that you are all reading this intently awaiting your chance to chime in on what I have to say. I don't want to disappoint you by making you wait. You should have the benefit of my insight as soon as I commit it to my blog. Now isn't that truly humble and giving of me?

Double Dipping

I read this article a few days ago and I thought at first they had a point. I then read the rest of the article and found out the point was on their head.

The article exposed the hideous practice of "double dipping". A state employee retires after the required 20 years with the fire department and as he or she have been paying into the state run pension, they start collecting their retirement checks.

We all know state wages are enough to put anyone into the lap of luxury so there is no need for a second job when the pension (only part of the regular salary) starts rolling in (sarcasim).

These state employees then go back to the state and get jobs as teachers. The article indicated the state legislature was going to stop this practice because the state pension fund didn't have enough money to support the payouts. They also insinuated this was wrong in some way.

I am all for someone not getting paid twice for the same thing, which is what I thought the article was about. Typically double dipping is about, for instance, someone who gets a car allowance from the state and then turns in the gas reciepts for reimbursement (never happened in our state - again with the scarcasim).

First, this example is not double dipping and second the proposed legislative action is stupid for several reasons:

1. The retiree is entitled to the pension. He or she paid into the fund and retired after the required amount of time. No other job should void their pension. If they aren't able to work for the state they will just work elsewhere. They won't give up their pension.

2. They are a trusted state employee. Why would you give up someone you know and trust for an unknown quantity.

3. The pension fund is smaller because it is tied to the stock market, not because these retirees are taking out of it.

Thank goodness we have the legistlature to look after us.

Why Don't They Help

I as getting onto Trax yesterday and I tried to pay for my ticket. Last time I used Trax I put in a $20 for two round trip tickets (cost $8) and got $12 in useless Susan B. Anthony dollars.

This time I was smart and brought dollar bills. The machine wouldn't take them. In fact both machines wouldn't take my dollar bills. The machine kept saying "Bills Not Accepted" as I tried to cram the dollar bill into the slot.

I guess I now know the use for the dollar coins. I had to track down a bus driver who took my dollar bills and gave me a ticket.

My question is if they want us to use Trax and they want us to pay for it, why don't they help?

Happy Square Root Day

Today is 3 3 09, take your favorite number out and find its square root.

Happy Square Root Day