Happy Halloween!

It's the day when all the amateurs troll for candy, so enjoy! Tomorrow I will swoop in and grab what's left at a discount.

In the meantime, I've noticed my neighborhood going downhill. You know that's the case when you're at the shopping center down the street from where you live and see three unrelated people who may OR MORE LIKELY MAY NOT be in costume for Halloween dressed as, respectively, a crazy lady, a transvestite and a Michael Jackson impersonator. Guess I'll have to wait until tomorrow to know what I've been looking at.

New puppy mama

After 12 years of wanting, I finally have a dog, and I suspect many of my future posts will involve this new part of my life. You have been warned.

In the first few weeks with the new puppy, I met neighbors and other strangers who never gave me the time of day before I had her. One of them, ironically, helped me land a job that will take me away from her a few times a week. But I digress. The point is, I met so many new people on a daily basis, I gave up on keeping track of them, or even asking their names. Now I only ask their dogs' names. Realized I wouldn't recognize 75 percent of the dog owners without their dogs. Feel free to discuss.

Vocabulary Words for September

ensue - to follow immediately after or as a direct result of (like violence, chaos or hilarity)

intervene - to occur between two times or events OR to interfere with the outcome of a condition or process OR to enter or appear as an irrelevant or extraneous feature or circumstance. (Actually, it has six different usages, according to Merriam Webster, but I think we should limit definitions to those listed above.)

No word should have six different meanings. You might as well throw it in anywhere.

Curmudgeon Consumer - Back to School Edition

Well, it's September. School is back in session, and so is rush-hour traffic. The new fall television shows are finally on the schedule. And my circulars have stopped coming. Uh-what? It seems the start of September has also triggered a discontinuation of the weekly sales ads normally delivered to my U.S. mailbox.

Granted, my Safeway is so close by, it is going to get my business with or without the mailings. But the other circular-producing supermarkets are not. Like most people in this century, I look for sales, but I can't spend all my time doing that; stores are supposed to come and get me.

Raley's/Nob Hill, I really like your stores. But don't punish me for residing a whopping four miles away. Your "redesigned" website makes it impossible to find the specials in a hurry. Don't you want my in-person business?

I know mailers waste paper and cost money, but misguided businesses, believe me: It is costing you more NOT to send me anything. I hope you get the message.

When will they learn?

I believe the viewing audience already knows that "Breaking News" has little to no meaning anymore.
Breaking News does NOT equal News We Just Learned Even Though It's Over a Year Old, nor is it the same as Something That Happened Yesterday but We Have Correct Information Now.

When will the television news outlets realize this?

Story of my life...

No matter how much I eat, I cannot seem to lose any weight. What's up with that?

New use for an old tool, or just an old tool?

I just saw a deal on an ice pick with a wooden handle...

http://www.cautivadora.com/Ice-Pick-Wood-Handle_p_11343.html

I know serial killers and vampires are hot right now, but what use would a normal person in the 21st century have for an ice pick?

P.S. This is not a rhetorical question.