St. Louis Cops

Well it appears that St. Louis cops are a bit out of control. It seems that the power granted to them by the people, they have taken now as a right. It appears that some corruption is getting national attention. Good! Like the saying goes, power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. LINK

This month, however, scandals within the Saint Louis Police Department which otherwise would have been a local story, gathered national attention and fueled additional resentment. Some $40,000 in cash turned up "missing" from the police evidence room on September 17. The city of St. George was forced to fire Sergeant James Kuehnlein for his threat to "come up with reasons" to "lock up" Darrow. An investigation into whether Kuehnlein's actions merit criminal charges is under way. Darrow met on Monday with a Saint Louis County Police Department detective.

Missouri Police on Power Trip

Sergeant James Kuehnlein did have the right to pull 20 year old Brett Darrow over. He was well within his rights to ask for ID. Yet when the kid asked a few too many questions, Officer Kuehnlein went off on the kid.

Watch and listen to the video. Officer Kuehnlein threatened to make up charges, impound the kids car and send him to jail.

Sergeant James Kuehnlein is suppose to serve and protect. Not harass, and make the law up. It's ashame that he gives Missouri a bad name.

Fox News: Trees cause global warming

Further proof that Fox News has no editors, no fact checking, and no common sense. Ok, Fox news really aint a news station. It's really just a video tabloid. Sheesh!

Note: their next story is said to be on how not having children will allow the rest of us to have more oxygen, food and gasoline.

Southwest Airlines - Can't seem to get it together.

Great post at BoingBoing (& almost everywhere) regarding a woman, asked by a Southwest Airlines man to come with him. He then says her dress is offensive and that she will need to adjust it. WTF? ... and Southwest backs up the man's story.

Kyla Ebbert, 23, was recently escorted off a Southwest Airlines flight by a male customer service supervisor for wearing the outfit shown in this photograph. The college student and Hooters waitress was later permitted to return to the plane and take her flight, but only after she put up a fuss and adjusted her outfit.

So really, What is appropriate dress for flying? Who should decide what is appropriate? Should airlines have a dress code? And without a dress code, can an airline block someone from flying? The next step, ugly people.... should they be allowed to fly, or have to bring their own sack to cover their heads.

Kerr Mansion and Conference Center

Over the Labor Day weekend, my wife and I stayed at the Kerr Mansion. It was wonderful! I highly recommend this bed and breakfast to anyone who needs a relaxing place to stay (or a large place to hold a party).

though this is tucked away in the foothills of Oklahoma, don't let that lead you astray. The Kerr Center has many amenities that compete with the larger (and pricier) 4 star resorts:

• Stay in the uniquely decorated President rooms in the main house, or take a more secluded room in the nearby cabins (just a short walk from the main house).
• Fantastic views of the Poteau River Valley. I can't seem to stress this enough. It seems like almost every outdoor area has wonderful vistas. This really is a great place to sit and let your mind relax.
  
• Breakfast in the large dining room.
• Several Seminar rooms
  
• 24 hour WiFi in the seminar and dining areas, and great cell reception over the entire center.
  
• Nicely kept grounds with plenty of space to be with friend. It also has many places to sit, relax and escape the hustle and bussel.
• Beautiful Architecture and landscaping.
• They have everything else a nice hotel would have; Pool, AC, good parking, cable, etc.
  
• Next to the mansion is a museum, which depicts the history and development of Eastern Oklahoma.
• Just 15 minute drive away is the town of Poteau with a variety of stores, food, and friendly people.
• And don't forget the great room rates.
  

Visit the Kerr Mansion webpage

Robert S. Kerr Conference Center & Museum, the home of the first native born Governor of Oklahoma and long-time U.S. Senator, the late Robert S. Kerr. The Kerr family donated the 11,000 square foot home to the State of Oklahoma in 1978 and it was eventually opened as a Bed-n-Breakfast. The home was started in 1957 and completed in 1960.

The home is now a romantic hide-a-way with meeting facilities for business travelers or seclusion for pleasure travelers. Amenities include 20 lodging rooms and more than 40 beds, three meeting rooms, a large dining area, plus a swimming pool.

Scion dumpster / Hearse Design

So I have noticed more and more Scions on the road lately. I have to say, as a professional in the design field*, that these are NOT the best looking vehicles on the road.

Apparently, the same design team who brought us the Pacer, the Pinto, and the Vega, must have got together for a reunion and decided to give it just one more go.

Now I don't mean to be unfair, but really.... take a good look at it and tell me what it reminds you of. Go on.... ok, for me It looks like a fricken dumpster.... on wheels... with affluent people inside... who look happy the paid $20K for a dumpster. sheesh.

So why are people wanting to drive around in something like this?!? God only knows. Its not the price. It's not the name recognition. I just think some people got board with the standard shape of cars and said to themselves, "I want something different." And that is where the thought process stopped. I'll grant them this, a dumpster IS different.

So I guess the top brass at Scion decided to round off the corners with the latest model. You know, make it look less dumpster like. Make it look more approachable. Make it look like something people would die to get into. So....


They have not improved the look. But again, that is just my professional opinion.*


* So I call myself a design professional as I studied Art and Architecture and achieved my Bachelors of Architecture, and have been working in the design field for 10+ years. I know good design when I see it. I also know bad design when I see it.... and boy do I see it.

Get your Bacn over here and buy Bacn Stuff

Buy Bacn Stuff...... (LINK)

Man my email is full of Bacn

While listening to Cnet's Buzz-Out-Loud today, I heard a new word used. The word is Bacn (pronounced Bacon).

It’s any email you receive that isn’t spam, but isn’t exactly a personal message either.

I would think of Bacn as all those weekly e-newsletters you had to subscribe to in order to gain membership to some lousy site. Now your stuck receiving email that is not really junk, not really spam, but not really email from say... your mom.

Bacn would be a: newsletter, a bill, email you want but it's not that important, or the joke forwarded 30 times around the office.

1984 all over again.

A fantastic article over at Dvorak.com and Creators.

Love or Hate Bush, you can't deny that he has changed the constitution to his favor. It's a slap in the face to all those who died in the Civil War, WWI, WWII and the other previous wars. All of them fought for freedom. All of them fought for a government for the people. All of them died for us, their children, so we can have liberty.

Unfortunately, it was all in vein. All hail king bush.

George W. Bush is the imperial president that James Madison and other founders of this great republic warned us about. He lied the nation into precisely the "foreign entanglements" that George Washington feared would destroy our experiment in representative government, and he has championed a spurious notion of security over individual liberty, thus eschewing the alarms of Thomas Jefferson as to the deprivation of the inalienable rights of free citizens. But most important, he has used the sledgehammer of war to obliterate the separation of powers that James Madison enshrined in the U.S. Constitution.

ScanCard Organizer

I've been using the ScanCard Organizer system for over 6 years now and have found this to be the easiest and most effective 'to do list' system around.

The system is really quite simple. Just right one action item (task, to-do, etc.) onto one card and slide it into the organizer. Repeat for every item you have to do. Now with all those items laid out infront of you, just move the 'hot items' up in the slot and move the 'cooler' items lower. Now your priority list for that day are easily seen. When a task is finished, just remove the card, flip it around and slide it back into the sleeve. The card is now ready for you to write your next item.

What this system really does, is eliminate things falling through the cracks. If something is not done, it is still there in the organizer. Just like in real life, the to-do has not gone away. If every action item is recorded in this system, then you eliminate forgetting, eliminate over looking something, eliminate lists that have to be rewritten, and eliminate notes written/scattered all over the place.

• The system has a very low price for entry. (A+)
• Has organizer sheets that can go into an existing day-planner. (A)
• Note that this system does not work well as a scheduler for events. It can't replace your calendar, but is does beat all the other task/to-do list managers out there.
  

All in all its a great system and gets an solid 'A' from me. It misses an A+ because the companies website is not updated like it should be (in one place they are still trying to sell 2005 calendars).

ScanCard System's website: www.executivegallery.com (This Link now appears to be selling a 9-11 music CD.)

UPDATE: It appears the business has gone under as their online presence has disappeared. I'll keep looking and post up anything I find. If you know if they got bought out, or renamed their company, please post a reply to this message. Thank you. Here is a link to patant #4571867

The Daily Dump

The Daily Dump: A life blog about marketing, customer service, animals, life, and well a brain dump about stuff that happens to her.

You've got to know that she is a marketing genius, and when mis-marketing or poor business practice happens, its going to get her attention, and her review.

Bose In Ear Headphones:

Bose In Ear Headphones:

I decided to upgrade my white earbuds that came with my ipod. The Apple store geniuses, happily recommended these, and they even had a tester set available for use (which they sanitized of course). Wow! It was night and day!

• Sound: Very rich sound with good base and more.... well... Kapow! (A+)
  
• Feel: Light weight and comfortable though the rubber (silicon) buds can get uncountable if worn when its hot and humid. (A-)
  
• Buds: Again, the rubber buds... they come in 3 sizes, though its very easy for the buds to pop off and get lost. I wish there was a better 'locking' feature. (C+)
• Wire: The wire is quite long enough for running, and general use. You wont roll back in your office chair and have your ipod flung to the floor. (A+)
• Design: Well.... I don't think its really that nice. The buds look like you have a boom-box hanging out of your ears, and the white and black 'barber pole' twisting effect of the wire draws far more attention than its worth and kind of looks a bit toyish. (D+)
• Price: Well all of Bose products are a bit pricy, but this is a very good product. I think that the buds should have sold for a bit less. (B)
  
• Customer service: Outstanding! I just lost one of the rubber earbuds. I could not find replacements online and called customer service. I was greeted by a friendly ENGLISH SPEAKING person who took my info and ordered replacement buds at no cost. Let me recap... Quick, Friendly, English Speaking, Human. (Damn, that gets an A++)

So overall, if you wish for a good set of earbuds, these are fantastic. I give these earbuds an overall score of B+

Legends Phoenix Theater.

Yesterday we went to the Legends Phoenix Theater.

This was a very nice theater with an extremely large screen. They also have a VIP area with leather(ish) chairs, finger food, and liquor.

The staff was friendly, the picture was nice, the sound was fantastic & the chairs were comfy. That said, I would caution anyone wanting to go and make an evening of the VIP room. It truly is finger food so eat before you go, and ask for your hard drinks to NOT have any ice in them. It could have just been a bad day, but our drinks were so watered down that we both swore they were virgins. Oh well.

Just outside of the VIP room is a bar which anyone can go to. Thats right, you don't have to have a VIP ticket to go to the bar.* So if your ever early to a show, go up to the 3rd level and grab a chair and enjoy the wait.

*Yep, ya got to be an adult to go to the bar.

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