Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays

Hope everyone had a great Christmas! It was raining and gross here in the Atl, but it wasn't cold. It's cold now.

More Ranting
On Christmas Eve, several customers attempted to buy adult beverages, but we couldn't sell them the drinks. 'Welcome to the progressive state of Georgia' I said to all of them. 'Write your congressman.' Some were from Florida, some were just caught up in the holiday and forgot. We will have the same issue on New Year's Eve, not able to purchase alcohol. What a stupid idea! I was ranting to other customers about this (my store chain supports rescinding the law) and one lady said she works for Sonny Purdue (the governor). She said Sonny doesn't drink, and doesn't care, so the law probably won't pass. I then reminded her that WE put him back in office and WE pay his salary, so he has to listen to US.
And all you Republicans out there, this is an opportunity to vote for Less Government. Let the counties decide to sell wine and beer on weekends. Let the decision go to the local governements, not the state government. Remember you guys used to be for Less Government, but it seems like you all are more for governing Personal Choice.

The legislature met just recently in a short session and they were able to pass legislation to make sure Sonny gets his $100,000 savings on his land deal, but they did nothing about an appeal from a now 18-year-old boy in jail for having sex with his 15-year-old girlfriend. He got 10 years. He was a football star, had a college scholarship and was a decent student, but now he's in jail. They've recently attempted to fix the child molestation laws to exclude consensual sex among teenagers, but this one they didn't touch. Could it be because he's black and his girlfriend is white??? Makes you wonder, doesn't it?
IMHO, a 15-year-old shouldn't be having sex and her parents need to be dealt with. And I'm not excusing a star football player because these guys think they own the world, but this guy had a chance to do something with himself, and the Law took that opportunity away. He's now a convicted felon and that can't be expunged from your record. There's all this screaming about keeping the black poor down, and this looks like a good example of that.

Speaking of Athletes
With all these thugs and convicts in professional sports, why don't they put a rider in their contracts that states if they break the law they lose their contract? None of this pansy slap on the wrist and suspension from some games, if they break the law, kick them out. They don't deserve $1 million + contracts and children idolizing them. Yeah, I know, a loosing franchise doesn't make money, but guess what? There are many other athletes out there that could carry the ball or shoot baskets that don't get a chance. There will be other 'Superstars'.

Goodbye
Gosh, it really does come in 3's. First James Brown, then Gerald Ford and Phyllis Brown. Phyllis Brown is a local figure who made news when her husband, sheriff-elect Derwin Brown was gunned down in their driveway a few weeks before he was to take office in Dekalb County (and a few weeks before Christmas). Turns out it was a hit taken out by the outgoing sheriff, Sidney Dorsey, and he's now in prison serving a life term. A few years after the trial, Ms Brown had a serious stroke that took away her speech and mobility. She tried to sue Dekalb county and lost, but she passed on Christmas Eve of complications from the stroke. She was only 52. What sadness and trouble she experienced her last few years.
Next to pass on everyone's list is always Keith Richards. Voted 'Mostly Likely to Die' yearly for the last 30 years.

On A Happier Note
I'm looking into taking some classes to help me get that 'real job' and most seem to start in February. I have always chuckled at some of these 'certification' classes as the software designers way to make more money (Certified MicroSoft Engineer? what's that all about??), but now that they seem to be more generalized, I'm finding I need to get one. Even though I have a management degree and have been a software designer for lo-these-many-years, I have to get a certification in Project Management or Business Analysis. I remember PERT charts form Comparative Management classes Back In The Day, but admittedly we didn't have Object Oriented Business Analysis, Data Modeling or UML or even .NET! (We didn't even have MicroSoft back in Dinosaur Days!)

Update
I looked in to qualifying for Food Stamps, and it seems I own too much stuff. I have a car, house and some investments. I can't pay my mortgage on my salary, but I have to lose my house, my car and all my retirement savings, before I get any government aide. Somehow that doesn't seem right....

More to come...
As things happen, I'll be posting. Thanks for taking the time to read. You're opinions are welcome but if you have to start calling me names, don't bother, I won't read them. As my Dad says 'Opinions are like a**holes, everyone has one.'