Don’t bring a gun to a snowball fight

This weekend’s blizzard dumped over a foot of snow on Washington, D.C. and folks were out Saturday having a good-natured snowball fight. Suddenly a Hummer gets hit with a snowball rolls to a stop. A plainsclothes police officer pulls out his weapon and goes after the crowd. Later the D.C. police claim the officer, Detective Baylor, never unholstered his weapon, in spite of what the video and pictures clearly show.

What’s worse, ABC affiliate WJLA’s horrible reporting pins the blame on “antiwar protesters” dressed in “archist” garb, which from the video appears completely baseless. I suppose anyone who covers his face during a bone-chilling blizzard must be an anti-war anarchist.

I respect the work that police officers do, but Det. Baylor is in obvious need of a long vacation. No one should pull a gun on a snowball fight. Get real.

I feel for the uniformed cop that responded to this call. You can see him pleading with the crowd at 2:28 in the video to just shake it off and keep playing, all but admitting the detective has lost his cool. The guy is stuck between a rock and a hard place.

Winter solstice

Today is the winter solstice: the first day of winter and the start of the sun’s long climb back up the sky. Not only that, it’s a beautiful, sunny (if cold), peaceful day. It’s the kind of day that makes me glad to be alive.

Hey man watch this!

After going a year without wearing my watch, on Friday I finally got the band fixed. I took it to a jeweler right outside of my neighborhood. Not only did I get my best watch fixed, I dropped a bag of watches needing batteries on him, too. Those will take longer for him to fix, as he’s slammed with holiday business at the moment.

It’s weird having a watch after not having one for so long. It sure looks nice, though!

(The title comes from a redneck’s last words, of course).

Parson Brown

So exactly who is this Parson Brown? Does he really look like a snowman? Where does he spend all of his time if he’s never in town?

Also, is it really appropriate to say “no, man” to a man of the cloth? And why is he so nosy, asking couples if they’re married? Is this really any of his business? I mean, these people are just going for a walk: it’s not like there’s too much PDA or anything.

I just don’t understand all of this “winter wonderland” stuff.

NCDOT cleans up

I was concerned last Monday when I drove past a huge pile of garbage scattered near the Davis Drive exit of NC 540. Multiple bags of trash were now all over the road and shoulder. It was a real mess.

Fortunately I have the number for the Wake County division of the North Carolina Department of Transportation and brought it to their attention. By the next afternoon there were a dozen bright orange garbage bags where the scattered trash had been. Not only that, but other parts of NC 540 were cleaned as well.

Kudos to the NCDOT for its prompt response!

“Premium” doctors

I’ve been thinking more about the MDVIP program that my former doctor ran off and joined. The program is pitched as a way to be seen by your doctor much easier than in a traditional medical practice: for the annual fee of $1500 over and above your other healthcare charges.

What’s been bothering me is the ridiculousness of it all. Why should a patient pay extra for something that the doctor should be doing all along: being responsive to his patients (otherwise known as “customers”)? Why don’t doctors already accept only enough patients that they can comfortably deal with? If you load up on thousands of patients where you can only spend 10 minutes with each, you’re doing it wrong!
Continue reading →