Bend is growing fast, and is making national headlines. How? By the fact that we’re the biggest city in the West that doesn’t have a public transportation system. Here’s the story at the Fresno Bee that appeared over on CNN as well. It’s an Associated Press story that originally appeared in the Oregonian a couple weeks back.
Month: February 2004
Man gets jail time for killing a swan
And while most of the time I’d read a headline like that and say “Swans are vicious, he was probably just defending himself,” this guy deserved to get thrown in jail.
Which is worse?
Being convicted of indecent exposure, or having your wife testify that your erection is not visible from 35 feet away?
Qwest: Brilliant programmers? Nope.
They managed to route 911 phone calls to a private residence. Luckily, the guy used to be a police dispatcher, so he managed until Qwest fixed the problem.
That’s pure genius
The City of Chicago bought parking meters that don’t work in the cold. This and the previous few links from Fark, and I’ve just been meaning to blog them.
They’re begging for a DOS attack
Anti-Virus software maker Network Associations is begging for trouble when they call virus makers “13-year-old kids who couldn’t get a date.” (Granted, they’re talking about virus writers from years ago, but that’s still a great quote)
Angry Homeowners Attacking Snowplows
I know I’ve griped about this happening locally, but those folks in Nebraska really take things personally:
Angry homeowners have been cursing the drivers and even throwing shovels at them. The plows have been clearing more than two feet of snow off the roads. It seems the plows are pushing snow right back onto driveways that have been recently shoveled.
They’re outsourcing everything now
They’re even outsourcing journalists. Granted, the stories they’re writing could probably be written by a monkey and a typewriter, but it makes for interesting discussion.
$3689
$3,689: That’s how much I’ll be getting back in refunds, thanks to Michelle being born last year and a pile of other deductions (educational loan and mortgage interest), and my W4s were adjusted wrong for most of the year.
Sadly, every last frickin’ dime of it will be going towards my medical bills, and will still leave me with about a grand left to pay off. But it sure beats still having four grand to pay off. Hopefully we’ll get a decent amount next year when I can deduct the bills I’m paying off, and then (crossing fingers) we’ll get enough to get rid of my wife’s car that’s about to blow up and is way too small for a family of four.