Pettus Pie Poll

A great suggestion was made over the weekend. I'm going to start a monthly poll of your favorite Pettus Pie Nonsense Posts.

Feel free to vote (the poll will be up for a week), or leave comments on this post.

For a refresher on all of the insanity offered during the month of July, click here.

(I mislabeled one of the posts and can't go back and change it without deleting the whole thing... Like Rusty's New Do should be Lily Jealous of Rusty's New Do)

Freakonomics

After reading my previous post on baby names, my mom showed me a chapter from her book, Freakonomics by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner.

Chapter Six: Perfect Parenting, Part II; or: Would a Roshanda by Any Other Name Smell as Sweet?

This chapter talks about the statistics of people's names.

One story given is about a NYC man named Robert Lane. After having several children, all with normal names, he and his wife had another child, a son, that he named Winner. Three years later, he had a seventh child and named him Loser. While Loser went to prep school and college on scholarships to later become a successful sergeant with NYPD (his mother's dream), Winner racked up a lengthy criminal record (including arrests for burglary, domestic violence, trespassing, etc.).

The chapter goes on to give the statistics of the most common baby names according to the parents' race, social and economic status, as well as education levels.

Some examples showed how the different spellings of the same name often reflected specific characteristics of the parents. Here is an example for the mother's education level:

Ten "Jasmines" in Ascending Order of Maternal Education
(Years of mother's education in parenthesis)
1. Jazmine (11.94)
2. Jazmyne (12.08)
3. Jazzmin (12.14)
4. Jazzmine (12.16)
5. Jasmyne (12.18)
6. Jasmina (12.50)
7. Jazmyn (12.77)
8. Jasmine (12.88)
9. Jasmin (13.12)
10. Jasmyn (13.23)

There were some much neater (and entertaining statistics) listed, but my mother insisted that I refrain from posting any of the less-than-p.c. stats (even if this blog only has about 12 readers). :)

Spit Free Food

Ever wondered if your waiter has just done something to your food? It's generally a good idea to not tick off the person in charge of feeding you. Steve Dublanica is a waiter who admits to getting back at rude customers in his book Waiter Rant: Thanks for the Tip--Confessions of a Cynical Waiter.

His top suggestion for staying saliva-free: stay off of the cell phone (this irks me too, it's extremely rude to have a full conversation in the middle of dinner; my parents always told us we weren't even allowed to answer the home phone during dinner. Ever.)



Obviously you don't want to be rude to a waiter, but I've had my fair share of worthless servers. I've gotten up and refilled my own drink before, and Matt regularly goes to get extra silverware whenever we need it. One waiter at a restaurant in Auburn that I went to fairly regularly with my girlfriends was especially awful. The bus boy spent more time helping us on one occasion than the waiter did, so we asked management if we could leave the bus boy part of the tip.

Even when we're ignored or treated badly, we try to make a point not to be rude back, especially after hearing some of the horror stores about Amanda's experiences waiting tables. I understand it's a tough job, so I try to cut them some slack. However, repeat offenders will be taken note of. Instead of refusing to leave a tip at all (I try to always at least leave 15%), we just don't come back again.

Why You Should Spay and Neuter Your Pet

I'm a firm believer in fixing your pets. There are so many pets that go without homes, and there is really no reason for the average pet owner to contribute to the already growing population. I also think that not everyone should be allowed to own pets.

Apparently, with the recent spike in home foreclosures, the country's humane societies are packed solid. People are dropping off pets that they can no longer afford to care for. What's worse is that others are leaving their pets abandoned in their foreclosed homes, often without food or water.

The foreclosure agents have been finding abandoned pets locked in homes and tied up to trees. People have been leaving their pets in rising numbers as they vacate their property, and they don't come back to take care of them. How could anyone just leave their family pet behind to slowly starve to death like that?!

The shelters report seeing increases of drop offs up 60% from last year. The Metro Animal Control Shelter in Nashville has been forced to euthanize 30-50 animals a day, six days a week!!

This kind of stuff makes me mad.

I know plenty of people who have gotten pets only to get bored with them once they're out of the cute puppy/kitten phase. Some return them to the shelters, others abandon them. (Ace was dropped into the middle of 6th Avenue in Decatur during rush hour before we got him; Rusty's original owners "didn't have time to house break him" and got rid of him once he was about 6 months old). I even once had a co-worker in college who (after not having her dog fixed), said her husband wanted to just drown the puppies so that they wouldn't have to take care of them.

At our old rental house, there was a yard a block or two away with completely matted, malnourished and neglected pets. I considered going and stealing them from the yard one day. I had a co-worker who did just that a few times after finding skeleton dogs chained up in the yard with no food or water.

I know that sometimes things come up unexpectedly. However, if you sign an interest-only mortgage with a flexible interest rate, you knew ahead of time that the payments were going to go up at the end of the fixed term! You also knew - or should have known - that pet food, getting your pet fixed, and rabies shots are generally not free!

I don't know why people get pets when they're not willing to take care of them for the entire life of the pet. They're a commitment, but they should also become part of the family. Would you give your kids to the kill shelter once they got out of their infant stage?

I know dogs aren't people, and shouldn't be put on the same level. However, I also know that we're supposed to take care of ALL of God's creation. Adopting a pet and then getting bored with them, allowing them to reproduce when there aren't available homes for them, or worse - neglecting and starving them to death, is not taking care of that creation.

Pets ownership is a big responsibility, but its also extremely rewarding - as long as (like anything else) you're willing to put in the time and effort to make it work!

Old Enough to Know Better

In high school, we spent many a night (and allowance) on toilet paper usage. And I don't mean in the bathroom. We had a friendly competition among the youth group as to who could perfect the white lawn application of their peers' front yard and trees. The night after we got back from our family vacation to Europe one summer, the youth (lead by our fearless youth group leader) blanketed our yard and trees with somewhere around 250 rolls of toilet paper.

We all participated in the rolling (but not necessarily the clean up). I think we got one family about three times in one week, others were just too far of a drive to paper regularly.

It was a lot of fun. No one ever got hurt or caught in the act. We weren't being hateful to one another, and we weren't doing anything that would cause permanent damage.

This couple, however, can not make the same claim.

Phillip Fleck and Heather Darcy damaged the property of over 400 of their neighbors. What did they do, you might ask. They went on an 18-month egging spree, throwing eggs at peoples homes, vehicles, and property. Apparently they wanted to get revenge on some of their so-called friends and then egged other people to "throw off suspicion."

One neighbor had his home and driveway pelted several times. He had to go get a pressure washer to clean off all of the eggs from his driveway and take his cars to get washed and waxed.

I couldn't find a single article that stated how old these two are, but as you can tell from the photo, they're definitely old enough to know better!

Anybody Else Feel This Way?

I like reading the news and keeping up with current events. Sometimes I choose the stories based on the link or article title; sometimes the title alone gives me enough information when I don't have much time to spare.

However, there are LOTS of stories that do not need to be posted or linked to from major national news sites. I do NOT want to read about a humane society taking in dogs trained to do disgusting things, or about some couple arrested for desecrating a war memorial.

I think Fox News is one of the worst about this. They've also got some weekly and daily columns that just don't seem to be family-friendly enough to post in big letters at the top of their website. In one of my history/government classes in high school, our teacher used the big screen computer/tv to check the current news headlines. It was a really good way to keep everyone interested in current events. Can you imagine how much trouble my teacher would've been if some of these disgusting news article titles were plastered in large print across the screen in front of a class full of minors?

I don't meant to sound like a prude, but I just think some current events are too disgusting to be broadcasted on a national forum. Summing it all up in the title doesn't help either - I still get that gross visual that I would like to avoid.

Needing Some Fresh Air

My mom was telling me about this story today at lunch.

Two women were on a flight from Greece to England when the stewardess denied serving the visibly intoxicated pair any alcohol. One of the women took a swipe at the stewardess with a bottle of vodka and then tried to open one of the airplane doors to "catch some fresh air." The plane had to be stopped in Frankfurt where they were arrested.

What were they thinking? Drinking and flying has ZERO appeal to me. First of all, I can barely survive a flight without getting sick (I'm getting better... about a 4-1 survival odds now). I can't imagine compounding that with alcohol. Second of all, everyone is so darn touchy when it comes to the airline industry. You can't say or do anything even remotely, possibly, or even somehow just a little bit threatening. You'll get tased, arrested, and put on the no-fly list.

Just ask this guy:


Seriously though, it's like thinking that it's okay to walk into a bank with a brandished weapon and slap around a teller or the security guard and get away with it. (I would highly recommend you stay away from Big Jen at "Gringotts" though --- I hear she takes kick boxing!).

Matt's favorite saying is: "People are stupid." It applies to SO many situations...

Ballerina Body Attack

If you ever wonder what we learn to do in Amanda's Body Attack classes, here you go:



I especially like dancing on pointe on top of Matt's head at home (skip to around 4:18 in the video).

(Compliments of my mother-in-law)

Talula Does the What?!

After reading about a judge who made an 8 year-old girl a ward of the state so that he could change her name from Talula Does the Hula a couple of days ago, I had to laugh at some of the names that were brought up at the baby shower I attended last night.

Cara told me that reading through the baby name books was a lot of wasted time because there are so many "nonsense names" that are included in the books. Anna suggested that she and Craig should have named their child "Bazooka B." after reading it in one of their books.

I had no idea. I thought those baby name books were full of great biblical and historical names, names of various cultures and backgrounds, and especially names with very deep and significant meanings.

A former co-worker of mine was very interested in the meanings of different names. He informed me that my name was often associated with the translation of a "snare or trap", just like how the biblical Rebekah tricked her own husband. That sure cheered me up!

When my baby cousin died at birth, I was struck by the name that my aunt and uncle chose for her. Her first and middle names meant "a crown of glory" and "(bitter?) sorrow". What an example they set for me in choosing her name - reminding us all that even in their sorrow, they were able to rejoice that she was now with our King!

I think names can often define a person in a certain way. Some names make a person sound distinguished, others relay heritage or ethnicity.

I've personally always been drawn to a few names in my (and Matt's) own family. I love the idea of passing down something as important as a name to another generation.

Amanda often teases my mother saying she's going to name her kids little Sayid or something, but even she is just joking. She's told me some of the names that she and Wade are considering, and they're all very thoughtful.

All I know is, I think that a child's name is a serious decision and not an excuse to humiliate them right from the beginning. You won't be catching me with a stroller full of "Apple", "Talula Does the Hula", or "Matt 2.0"s!

The Lost City

My dad lent me this movie last weekend and we got to watch it a couple of days ago. It was pretty good. It is a fictional story (I think) based on the events surrounding the communist takeover in Cuba.

The basic plot is about a fairly wealthy family who owns a large farm and other businesses. One of the three sons, Fico Fellove (Andy Garcia), runs a nightclub in Havanna. The cruel dictator, Battista, is eventually run out of the country (only after one of Fico's brothers is killed by the secret police for his involvement in an assassination attempt) . The other brother joins the communist opposition party and becomes part of a band of rebels lead by Che Guevara.

As we all know, Fidel Castro then took control of the country. He didn't hold an election because he said that the people "had already chosen." The communists slowly choked out the way of life for everyone in Havanna. They seized private family properties, closed down businesses, murdered anyone they believed to have been a supporter of the former dictator, and limited the exit visas allowed to their own citizens.

What do you do when the farm that has been in your family for generations is seized by an (unelected) government "for the greater good"? What about when you're no longer able to operate your own business because of a government-controlled union or a false pretext used to close the business down? Fico eventually fled to New York City to begin a new life.

I think the story is really sad and probably rings very true for many dislocated Cubans. Just another reason why (even with all of our own problems), I'm so thankful to be an American!

Dear Mr. Buckley, Part I

A great friend lent me this book, Cancel Your Own (Expletive) Subscription. It's a compilation of some of the more unique letters that the late Bill Buckley received while editor of the National Review. Some of the letters are rather amusing.

August 26, 1969
Dear Mr. Buckley:

In this writing -- that I bring to your attention -- I introduce myself to my readers saying: I am the Second Coming of Jesus of Nazareth. When I addressed a group at Times Square on August 6, proposing a new way to end war, I introduced myself to them also in the same way.

Now a person of your intelligence, your erudition, and refusal to accept surface appearance -- your refusal to be mentally flim-flammed or deceived -- your desire to search for the truth -- should obtain great satisfaction in proving that an individual making such a claim is in fact an impostor -- if that be the case.

Or -- if despite the odds against it of billions to one -- if I am, in truth, who I say I am -- and I repeat again: I am the second coming of Jesus of Nazareth -- what more fantastic guest could you have on your program?

You stand to win - either way.

Norman Bloom
New York, N.Y.

Dear Mr. Bloom: Beware. I am the second coming of Pontius Pilate. -WFB



September 23, 1969
Dear Mr. Buckley:

Your syntax is horrible.

Ron Kelly
Mattoon, Ill.

Dear Mr. Kelly: If you had my syntax, you'd be rich. Cordially, WFB

The Phonebooks Are In

Being new at a fairly large company has been an adjustment. I've been used to working in smaller 20-person groups where everyone knew me. Last week, no one knew who I was or (in most cases) that I even existed.

However, that's all going to change. Today I checked the intra-office pictorial directory and low and behold: MY photo. I do exist! I'm even listed in the company phone list now too. Hooray for me!

This is a big step. Now, I have 1100 co-workers who I know will just be dying to meet me (not). At least - on the rare chance that they know who I am and need to talk to me - they can now find me. :)

Raising Arizona

Raising Arizona is one of my favorite movies. Here is the original trailer and further below is another good scene from the movie.




This is the diaper robbery scene. Warning: graphic language.




Classic!

Small Groups!

Since we're in transition right now and don't have a church building of our own, we're starting a bunch of small group studies.

Matt and I jumped on the chance to host one of these bi-weekly studies in our homes (which means we have to keep it decently clean, but we don't have to drive to someone else's house). :)

We love hosting things but find that our house is really too small to be able to have big parties or baby showers. We also love having people over for dinner, but our dining room table only seats 6 (we've got a whole list of things we want for our next house - entertaining space is one of them). This sounded like the perfect situation to allow us to invite people into our home and also get to know some other members of our church better.

Charlie will be leading a discussion starting at 7pm twice a month on the book, The Reason for God, by Tim Keller. This is open to everyone (not just the 20/30's age group) so if you're interested, we'd love to have you!

First Week

One down, only 1773 left to go (assuming I work until I turn 60)!

It was a pretty good first week. I've been itching to get back there, so it's been a pleasure to finally start my new job. There are a lot of things that are different from my old job, though, so I can tell it's going to be a little bit of an adjustment.

My new group is really young. I'd probably estimate that 70-80% of the people have been out of college less than five years. THERE ARE PEOPLE YOUNGER THAN ME! I've always been the youngest engineer - by at least eight years, so this is exciting to me.

They're all also really smart. Every other week, my division has a pizza lunch and a topical discussion forum about something technical (either someone's graduate study topics or something neat they're doing at work). I lucked out and they were having the pizza lunch on my first day. I felt a little overwhelmed once the questions portion came up - I had a sudden realization that I am now completely surrounded by incredibly intelligent people. They're all technical too. It's intimidating and exciting all at the same time. As Lynne put it, "being around smart people will make you smarter."

I do have a great reason to get my honey to take me shopping now... I need some new clothes. Now that I'm in an office that is next to the board room, I don't think I can get away with my blue jean capris and flip flops. At my last office, I dressed up compared to a lot of the rest of the group (we were in a small office and didn't interact with the customer on a daily basis), but now I definitely need to look even more professional. They told me that some people wear jeans (especially on Fridays), but I didn't see it - and I definitely don't want to be the only one sporting "casual Fridays".

I'm also adjusting to sharing an office. Most of the junior engineers in my building are set up in two-man offices. It really works out pretty well since the offices are much bigger and both people aren't in there at the same time the majority of the time. But, it is an adjustment to sharing a big office with someone else after having my own office for the last four years, even if he's only in there with me for about two hours out of the day.

The best part about my new job is that there is some *really* cool work going on not only in just my division, but the whole company. I'm still trying to figure out what I want to concentrate on, but for now I'd just like to learn as many new things as possible!

I'm glad it's the weekend, but I'm definitely looking forward to going back to work on Monday. :)

Slow Down

I loved this story by the Associated Press today. Landon Wilborn, an 11-year-old from Louisville, Kentucky, was sick of the traffic speeding through his neighborhood. When yelling at the cars didn't work, he brought out his Hot Wheels radar gun and flashlight with a built-in siren. Cars lock up their brakes when they see him recording their speed in his bicycle helmet and safety vest.

Haha! I wish we had a kid like this on our street growing up. We lived on a quiet residential street. It was really nice for riding your bike or walking the dog except for the fact that it connected two busy roads and people liked to speed down it to "cut the corner". It was really annoying. When I go over to my parents' house, it still makes me mad when cars go racing past. I should get my mom to go out there with her floppy hat and a radar gun to yell in Japanese at them. Or, maybe I could pay my cousins to shoot the speeding cars with their soft air guns. Heh Heh.

The Man Who Got the 2nd Amendment Confirmed

This is an interesting piece on the man, Robert Levy, who filed the lawsuit that resulted in the Supreme Court's recent ruling that the Second Amendment is an individual right. Levy, a lawyer who never owned a handgun, handpicked the plaintiff, a security guard, for the case.

100 Years of the FBI

100 years ago, during Theodore Roosevelt's presidency, the Federal Bureau of Investigation started as a small investigative unit of the justice department. It took off in 1924 when J. Edgar Hoover took over as the first formal director.

In the early days, the FBI focused a lot on the capture of gangsters and members of organized crime. That evolved towards pursuing communists, and the primary focus today is preventing acts of terrorism. It's kind of neat how the Bureau has evolved from capturing criminals who have already committed crimes to concentrating on finding out about and preventing acts before they happen.

The FBI pioneered fingerprinting and forensic evidence technology, but it has lagged behind with its computer systems. Right now, it's spending a lot of money on updating the computer systems and working to share information with the CIA and other justice departments.

Like any part of our government, it's not perfect, but it sure does have a neat history.

Tony Snow

I'm a little late putting this up, but wanted to do it anyway - even if it's belated.

Tony Snow died on Saturday of colon cancer at Georgetown University Hospital. I always liked him. I especially liked him as the White House Press Secretary. He seemed to actually enjoy his job (one I would not) and made it look like he was always having a good time, even when surrounded by the aggressive press junket.

Reacting to Snow's death, President Bush said that he thought Snow was able to bring "a certain civility to this very contentious job."

Runoff Tomorrow

If you're registered to vote in North Alabama, there is a runoff between two Congressional candidates tomorrow, July 15th.

I know there are probably other races on the ballot, but I wasn't able to find a sample ballot online.