What Would Possess a Woman to Get a "Jeep" Tramp Stamp?

I was in the south Reno Winco Friday afternoon and it was as if I had stumbled onto the set of L.A. Ink, except without Kat Von D to look at.  It was a virtual smorgasbord of tattoos that fit almost every stereotype one could think of for the ink world.  And this was just in the produce section!

First, there was the Ed Hardy tank-wearing guy with a full sleeve on one arm and a hot blonde girlfriend on the other (he was only a sideways flatbill away from appearing here).  Then we came across a rather large young woman with numerous tats, of which the most prominent were what appeared to be deer tracks across her back and over her chest.  What significance could that possibly entail?  Since the accompanying piercings shot down my, albeit weak, "maybe she's an avid blacktail hunter" theory, what's really left?  She thought they looked cool or that she tends to get walked on by others?

There were a few more of the usual suspects (i.e., young college student with smallish star or something on her back shoulder, dude with mystery tribal tat and barb wire on arm, etc.), but then came the crown jewel of questionable tats.  At first she seemed to be the typical forty-something woman trying to look like she was in her twenties, a cougar in gold shades and a thin half-tank.  Naturally, to establish her illusion of twenty-something cred, she had a couple small tattoos on her arm and back.  Nothing out of the ordinary in this small Winco produce section world.

But then she leaned over to reach for some tomatoes and there it was -- a tramp stamp.  But not just any tramp stamp.  It was a "Jeep" tramp stamp -- in the official font.  I've seen Harley tats before and, I think, a Jack Daniels once, but Jeep?  Are you really that dedicated to the Grand Cherokee brand?

Now you know why I'm long on Cynosure (CYNO).

Oh, we also saw KOLO morning anchor Anne Cutler perusing the veggies.  And, apparently bucking the tattoo fad, was refreshingly ink free.  Or at least visibly.

MySilverState Expires,Texex Runs for Governor and a Littering Lawyer

Some Silver State blogging news and a shout out to the Nevada lawyer who apparently thinks they are above the (litter) law.

• MySilverState.com, a liberal blog that focused on Nevada Democrats (but was based in Germany!), has apparently expired.  Either that or Sven forgot to send GoDaddy $10 for another year.  The domain name was up July 7, 2009.
• Blogger Texex has launched a campaign for Nevada Governor.  But has he filled out one of these (.pdf) with his real name yet?
• To the cell-phone chatting woman in the SUV with "MISSLAW" Nevada plates, and a law school license plate frame, tossing your McDonald's receipt out the window as you drove away Sunday afternoon is called littering.  And it's usually against the law.  No wonder people hate lawyers.
  

Death and Taxes 2010 Poster Now Available

The annual Death and Taxes poster was just released and is now available for delivery from Wall Stats.  The 2010 version is $24 plus shipping (about $5 to Reno).  They are a 24" by 36" glossy and pretty damn cool.

Here's creator Jess Bachman's description of the project:

Death and Taxes" is a large representational graph and poster of the federal budget. It contains over 500 programs and departments and almost every program that receives over 200 million dollars annually. The data is straight from the president's 2010 budget request and will be debated, amended, and approved by Congress to begin the fiscal year. All of the item circles are proportional in size to their spending totals and the percentage change from 2009 is included to spot trends and disproportion.

Death and Taxes" is more than just numbers. It is a uniquely revealing look at our national priorities, that fluctuate yearly, according to the wishes of the President, the power of Congress, and the will of the people. Thousands of pages of raw data have been boiled down to one poster that provides the most open and accessible record of our nations' spending than ever before. If you pay taxes, then you have paid for a small part of everything in the poster. "Death and Taxes" is an essential poster for any responsible citizen or information junkie.

Baby Juice and Monkey Kidney Nuts Hound GOP Congressman

Granted, Think Progress is cherry-picking clips from GOP Congressman Mike Castle's recent Delaware town hall meeting, and the left has plenty of loons on their side, but it's nuts like these that are just killing the Republican party.  Just listen to the "baby juice and monkey kidney" guy starting at around 2:30 into the video. Unbelievable.

And it's not just Delaware.  I've listened in on Dean Heller telephone town hall meetings and you inevitably get your share of conspiracy kooks on there too.  It begs the question of whether the more rational voter just doesn't care to participate or are they being run off by the nuts?  As it stands now, you almost get the feeling only extremists take part in this stuff.

USPS Online Hold Mail Service Is a Complete Waste of Time

I've always had this funny feeling that whenever I put a hold on my mail with the USPS it never actually happens.  My Mom used to do this the old-fashioned way, waiting in line at the Post Office and filling out one of those forms saying that she would pick it up in a week or whatever, yet whenever she would return from vacation her mailbox was usually full.  She finally resorted to the even more old-fashioned way -- her neighbor retrieves it.

But I, however, utilized the more high-tech way.  Doing it online.  It's simple, quick and can be done from the comfort of home.  Oh, and it doesn't work. Apparently, at all.

I've had my suspicions in the past, but I had always had the mail resume the day we would return.  So a full mailbox would always greet us.  But then one day we returned in the early afternoon, before the mail usually arrives, and our box was filled.  That seemed a little odd but, perhaps, it was the one day the carrier actually arrived before 1 p.m.  I could, I guess, give them the benefit of the doubt.  But no longer.

On this past trip I placed the online hold for delivery on Tuesday, July 21, knowing we would be returning Monday evening.  I would finally see if the USPS was doing their job.  However, a heat wave in California combined with crappy gold panning sent us home Sunday.  As we were arriving in Reno, I remembered the mail hold and wondered if it would be worth the hassle to go into the branch Monday and see if I could pick up my mail instead of waiting for Tuesday.  I needn't have wasted the thought.

Jammed into our mailbox were three magazines, a couple bills, a AAA renewal, attorney letters, IRA statements and the usual run of Smart & Final ads and other junk mail.  In other words, it was packed with a week's worth of mail.

So why even bother.

Jeff Jarvis Is Looking to Survey Hyperlocal Sites

If you're a blogger who touches on local news, then head on over to Jeff Jarvis' New Business Models for News survey and let them know about your operation.

Although it seems to indicate most all bloggers are welcome to take the survey I would think sites like Scott Schrantz's Around Carson, for instance, would be the ones most helpful.  But give it a look if interested.

Too Much MJ Coverage

Alan Mutter over at Reflections of a Newsosaur has a nice bit about how the media, already suffering a credibility problem, went entirely overboard on coverage of Michael Jackson.  Well, except for those child molestation charges that conveniently seemed to be left out of the story (Why spoil a good narrative, right?).

The funny thing is, or perhaps sad, is it wasn't just the networks, cable channels and big papers churning out the Jacko stories.  My Mom came over to visit and brought her smalltown paper with her and there on the front page, mercifully below the fold, was a glowing first-hand account about the Staples Center memorial.  Why was it in the newspaper?  The woman was a former resident of the town, of course!

Palin Resigns

Sarah Palin just announced she is resigning as Alaska Governor to, as she puts it, avoid lame duck status in the final year.  The timing is curious as Fridays are usually the day politicians drop potentially bad news, as the story cycle tends to fade over the weekend, and with most on holiday today it should be even more quiet than usual. 

Obviously everyone is pointing to this as a sign of her preparing to enter the 2012 GOP presidential race but, considering she is bailing on her one and only term as Governor, I suspect Mitt Romney, Newt Gingrich, Haley Barbour, Mike Huckabee, Tim Pawlenty, etc., are drooling at the chance to paint her as someone who can't finish the job.  Or, in these tough economic times, can't stand the heat.  I can see the 30-second attack spots already,  "She couldn't even finish one term as governor of a small state ... now she wants to run our country?"

Actually, I guess that makes the timing less curious.

Bad move on her part.

How the Heller Twitter Experiment Changed Tweet Congress

Although my email address is apparently still mud with Twitter, the Dean Heller Experiment has had at least one positive result.

Read "How Dean Heller Changed Tweet Congress" to see what happened.

Added bonus:  They aren't mad.