I'm usually a very optimistic fellow and I am somewhat concerned about something that has been cropping up in my mind on an almost daily basis for the past two weeks. It is a vile thought to be sure, but it can't be denied that homo sapiens' future on our wondrous planet will come to a terrible end if he doesn't find an alternative for using carbon based fuels for his energy requirements. Not only is he dependent upon carbon based fuels but within the next 50 years, he will find himself competing with the rest of the world's population for an ever shrinking supply of fossil fuel. The only way that this can be avoided is if the number of people on earth were radically reduced.

I have a beef with San Diego Gas & Electric and I'm going to withhold paying my closing bill until I'm given some sort of satisfaction. My complaint emanates from the fact that I am no longer a customer since my new digs come with gas, electric, water and sewer services included and so I called SDG&E to have them come out and read the meters on September 1st. I talked to the man who read the meters and he assured me that the gas & electric would not be shut off. It seems that SDG&E has a policy that keeps the service on until a new tenant changes the billing information. Due to the fact that my move had to be delayed because my new place wasn't ready on the 1st, it has taken me until today, September 14th, to complete my move. Since I wasn't preparing any meals at my new place, I had kept my perishable groceries in the refrigerator at the old place. Everything was fine when I left my old place last Friday afternoon, however when I arrived there this morning I was met with the pungent smell of spoiled food in the refrigerator. Not only did I lose about $20.00 worth of groceries but I was also faced with having to clean the refrigerator and sanitize it which I'm in the process of doing as I write this. I think that SDG&E should have given me a call to let me know that they were shutting down the electricity without my knowledge in order to avoid having something like this from happening. I think that SDG&E showed no concern whatsoever for me and their actions have caused me to have to clean a nasty smelling refrigerator that could have been avoided had they called! All they care about is being paid!

Hey! I put a google map photo of my blue Miata parked in front of my house!

View Larger Map

Fair Night at Sycuan Casino

I went to the Sycuan Casino last night and joined a game of Texas Hold 'Em. It was $3-$6 No Limit game and I must have had at least ten hands dealt that resulted in folding after seeing my hole cards. I folded an A ♠, 4 ♥ that would have won the pot when another two aces were turned over as community cards. After seeing that I resolved to bet my hand the next time that I was dealt an A. I opened for $2.00 when I was dealt an A ♥, 9 ♥ which was raised to $5.00. I called and the next three cards were a 10, 7, 6 (off suit) which I checked to the guy who had raised. He bet $10.00, which I called. The next card was a 3 and he bet $20.00. I called and the final card was flipped. It was an 8 and he bet all the chips that I had left, which was $12.00. He turned over a pair of 10s, giving him three 10s and was ready to rake the pot. I turned over my A ♥, 9 ♥ giving me a straight (10, 9, 8, 7, 6), and he about fainted. I played one more hand and then picked up my chips and walked away from the table. When I cashed in I had exactly $135.00. Considering that I had bought in with $60.00 I made 125% profit! This was the first time that I have ever played Hold 'Em at an Indian casino and I am very pleased with the results!

I'm Fast Becoming A CraigsListaholic!

Last June I decided that it was time that I splurge a little and buy a new LCD HDTV. I checked out all the models at Frye's, CostCo, Best Buy, Circuit City, Wal-Mart and Target. There were plenty of 26" sized ones for less that $400 (which is what I wanted to spend), however, all the 32" sized ones were all above $500. I pondered my dilemma, "How to get a 32" LCD HDTV for less than $400," for a few days and then I remembered that a number of friends had highly recommended looking through the ads on CraigsList (San Diego). I am very happy that I did because I bought a 32" Envision LCD HDTV that had been purchased in March for $375!

The Sunday before last I decided to check out the "Free" stuff and found an Ikea butcher block cart that had been posted only half an hour before. The ad said that it could be picked up in Hillcrest which is only a few miles from Sherman Heights, where I live. I responded to the email link for the ad giving my name and phone number and within half an hour I got a call from the lady who was giving it away. It turned out that she lives in Golden Hills which is a few blocks away from my house. When I saw the cart standing at the location that she said that she would leave it I couldn't believe that if was free! Once I got it home I oiled it down with vegetable cooking oil and it is a valuable addition to my kitchen which has zero counter space!

Today, I was trying to locate a battery for a female friend of mine's car. Kragan didn't have that particular style, AutoZone had one for $90.00, and before I went to CostCo to see if they had one, I decided to check CraigsList (San Diego), once again. Wow! There was a brand new Energizer bought from Pep Boys which was for a Ford LTD. The pictures with the ad verified that it was the correct size. I quickly called Joe, the seller, got his address in Chula Vista and within 20 minutes the battery was mine for $50.00! He gave me the receipt along with it showing that he had paid $92.00 for it on August 29, 2008.

I'm seriously considering shelving Google and making CraigsList (San Diego) my home page!

Is the Torture of Prisoners Moral or Immoral?

I think that torture is a perverse form of cruelty whether it be used on human beings or animals. Our courts are filled with laws making cruelty to animals or persons a crime! Therefore, it stands to reason that Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld, et.al., are guilty of "Crimes Against Humanity" because they approved the torture of prisoners held at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba!

Once Bush has left office I hope that International Criminal Court in The Hague brings charges against him and his cronies. Not only has Bush, single-handedly bankrupted our country far into the future, he has brought deep shame to our country!

When Bush took off he made made the following oath, "I do solemnly swear that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my Ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States." Bush violated the following amendments when he approved the torture of prisoners at Guantanamo!

1. * Sixth Amendment: guarantees a speedy public trial for criminal offenses. It requires trial by a jury, guarantees the right to legal counsel for the accused, and guarantees that the accused may require witnesses to attend the trial and testify in the presence of the accused.
2. * Eighth Amendment: forbids excessive bail or fines, and cruel and unusual punishment.

WOW!!! I was able to purchase two tickets from Ticketbastard for the TOM WAITS concert on JUNE 18th at 8:00PM at the ORPHEUM THEATER in PHOENIX today! I've got an extra ticket and would like to take a female (over 35-yrs) to the gig! Anyone interested can email me at champayne@cox.net (include a recent pic) and I'll do likewise!