Archive for February 2010
OAKLAND, California-
In every one of my previous posts I have written about stories that have occurred in the past. I like time to pass between the event actually occurring and my version of it. That way when you read about it on my blog hopefully it’s new and fresh to you. So for the first time I am going to write about a story that is now a viral video sensation on the internet. It is all over YouTube and many other places on the internet. This is an event that will make any MMA (mixed martial art) fighter proud.
It is a fantastic story that I just couldn’t resist telling. But before I begin, I must make something very clear: The video (linked below) is very racially motivated. But I am going to honestly say it has absolutely nothing to do with race for me. I do not see black and white, all I see is a young thug and older (67 year old) man.
There is no mystery about what happens here. When I saw the video for the first time on YouTube I couldn’t help but laugh. Somehow a verbal argument broke out between an older man and a younger man about ‘spit shining’ the older man’s Stacy Adams (dress shoes). I really don’t know if any racism was intended by the older man, he claims there was not. When the much taller, older man walked away the younger man followed him and persisted in mocking him, trying to intimidate him, and start a fight. The younger man followed the older to the front of the bus then returned to the back. They bantered back and forth until the younger man made a second approach to the older man and clearly put a hand on him. And all that needs to be said is the older man defended himself (see for yourself below, but please note there is violence and vulgarity).
What else is there to say? Someone talked a lot and got their ass handed to them. Rumor has it there may be a rematch in a real MMA cage with a real referee…….NO JOKE. From what I saw it would be over in about 5 seconds, probably not worth pay per view.
The Moral of the story: NOTICE to all bullies out there: You better watch yourself, you never know when that unexpected guy will kick your ass.
© 2010 StrangeRush.com
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SAN DIEGO, California-
The day a high school student gets accepted to a prestigious college is likely the biggest day in the entire life of that young person. I remember waiting anxiously for my acceptance letter to arrive from my Alma Mater. Although, when I was waiting to get accepted I was waiting for a snail-mail letter (this was a few years ago;). Nowadays, it’s much easier and far cheaper for schools to send out that desired letter via email.
So imagine the sure delight 46,377 ‘to-be’ UC San Diego students felt when they received that anticipated letter in their inbox. I’m sure the text messages and phone calls that followed went something like this…….“Yeah Baby, I Got Accepted to UC San Diego!!!” And who knows how much money and time was spent by proud parents and family members on gifts and dinner tabs right after the huge announcement. After all, getting into such a well respected university is no simple task, and not everyone gets in.
Houston, we have a problem. And it’s a BIG one. The 46,377 acceptance letters sent out actually went out to EVERYONE who had applied to UCSD. In reality, only 17,488 of those receiving acceptance letters were actually accepted to the university. The other 28,889 were supposed to have received rejection letters. Oh, I’m sure that went over really well. I guess I could say I would understand how that could accidentally happen to 10 to 20 applicants, ‘accidentally’. But screwing up that bad and breaking the hearts of nearly 29,000 young adults? That’s a little much.
There was no saying whether it was human error or computer error that caused the problem. But I would argue that if it WAS written off as computer error, it’s the same as human error. After all, computers don’t make other computers (at least not yet), humans make computers and the programs that run on them. So UCSD administration, ‘You have some ‘splainin to do!’
Do I smell a lawsuit?
The moral of the story: No matter how high tech your system is mistakes can and will happen. It’s always better to double check it.
© 2010 StrangeRush.com
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Quincy, Massachusetts-
Forty-four year old Mike Bowes had heard this sort of call hundreds, if not thousands, of times before. He was good at his job and knew exactly what to do each and every time the phone rang. Mike was a 911 dispatcher in Quincy, Massachusetts, a suburb of Boston in which 90,000 people resided.
At the time of the incident, Mike was a seasoned veteran. He had heard just about every sort of call known to man, ten times over, and prided himself in always staying calm, and always knowing how to handle each and every situation. He would effectively notify police and/or fire and simultaneously talk the caller through what they needed do, whether it be perform CPR, get out of the house due to fire, or run and hide from a home intruder. Mike was always prepared and nothing really shook him.
That was until 10:45 one Monday evening. Mike sat at his desk and received a call he was very familiar with. The caller said, “My neighbor’s house just blew up!”
Just as he had been trained to do, and had practiced religiously, over his 11 year career as a dispatcher, Mike calmly asked, “What’s the address?”
The caller’s response both shocked and surprised Mike. What were the odds in a city of 90K people that he personally would receive the 911 call when his own home was on fire? Mike had lived in the home for 20 years and was immediately worried about his parents, who he knew were both in the house at the time. Within five minutes of the call police were escorting Mike to his burning home.
In the end, both parents and a third person escaped the fire unharmed. And with another twist of irony, one of the first firefighters on the scene was Tom Bowes, Mike’s cousin. Tom rushed into the house and was able to salvage some old albums with wedding and baby photos, but sadly everything else was destroyed. Obviously very upset, Mike handled his personal disaster with a lot of maturity by saying, “My parents are alive; my neighbors are alive, it’s an inconvenience, but we’ll get through it.”
The moral of the story: Irony aside, all that really matters are the people you love. Everything else is replaceable.
© 2010 StrangeRush.com
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(Congratulations to the New Orleans Saints on a GREAT season and their first Super Bowl Championship.)
VIENNA, Austria-
It doesn’t really matter where in the world you live, if it’s even somewhat civilized, there will be bureaucratic bullshit. Sometimes things I hear about here in the Untied States really anger me, and I know they anger you too. But I guess the reality is that bureaucratic bullshit is here to stay.
And here is a perfect example of how ridiculous a bureaucracy can really be. Bills are bills and without the risk of destroying ones credit, the bills must be paid. It’s a part of life that everyone over the age of 18 must deal with. In Vienna, Kronen Zeitung actually did pay his trash collection bill on time, however, he misread the amount due and underpaid it by 36 euros cents, about 50 U.S. cents. But instead of tacking the underpayment on to his next bill, the trash company took it to the courts, who sent a debt collector to the man’s house to collect it.
I wonder how much it cost in gas and salary to send a debt collector to Kronen Zeitung’s house, all in the hopes of collecting the measly 50 cents? This is not the first time I have heard of something this ridiculous. It seems to happen all too often, someone or some company spends a small fortune in the attempt to collect a small amount back.
The moral of the story: All too often people and companies get caught up in bureaucratic bullshit and don’t take the time to really look at a situation and ask if it’s really being handled in the correct and most efficient manner. After all, isn’t that what a bureaucracy is really supposed to be about?
© 2010 StrangeRush.com
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(In honor of Super Bowl XLIV (44) being played tomorrow here is a re post of 10/17/09. This is a strange Super Bowl story that occurred just over a year ago. I will follow today’s Super Bowl with new material.)
TUCSON, Arizona-
This is one of those things that is hard to believe could ever happen. But it did and was nothing less than shocking!
On February 1st, 2009, Super Bowl XLIII (aka-Super Bowl 43) was being played between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Arizona Cardinals. It was a good game throughout the first half and the second half only got better. Pittsburgh had led throughout, but with 2:37 remaining in the game, Cardinals’ fans erupted in delight as they watched their star receiver, Larry Fitzgerald, catch a pass across the middle from Kurt Warner, split four Steelers’ defenders and take it 64 yards into the end zone. It was the Cardinals’ first lead of the game, giving them and their fans high hopes that they could pull off the huge upset and win their first Super Bowl title in franchise history. As Fitzgerald celebrated with teammates and looked up at the JumboTron to watch himself sprint into the end zone on replay, Cardinals’ fans watching the game on their televisions in the Tucson, Arizona market got a lot more for their money than they had expected when waking up that morning.
Viewers in certain areas of Arizona got a 30 second clip of a pornographic movie that was somehow fed into the live Comcast feed of the game. Let’s put it this way, if your child saw this, they KNOW what an erection is. My question is: after the Janet Jackson incident during the Super Bowl 38 halftime show, how could this have happened?
Incidentally, the Cardinals lost the game.
The Moral of the story: Since Super Bowls are now routinely X rated, it is wise to watch the entire game with your children. You never know when that one thing you don’t want them to see will pop up and you will have some explaining to do.
© 2010 StrangeRush.com
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