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Halloween 2008
Sunday, November 02, 2008 ::
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The Rexroad family has transitioned from a Princess dominated household to a 101 Dalmatians dominated household. I used to be a King or a Prince --now I don't really have a role except that dogs lick my face and climb on me.
So when Halloween came around Abbie wanted to be a dalmatian. Adam of course wanted to be whatever Abbie was.
So this is what they dressed up as....by choice.
When Adam went to the Lambert's house on Halloween he gave her his whole bag of candy and just walked away. He still does not quite get it.
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Board Meeting for Tuesday
Saturday, November 01, 2008 ::
1 Comments
After leaving the gym tonight (something like 16 days in a row) I swung by the County Admin Building and picked up my packet for Tuesday. Seems pretty basic.
I am going to present a resolution for National Child Adoption Month.
The real action will come with the talk about the budget reductions, the lobbying contract, and the issue regarding the Cortina Landfill.
I still want someone to tell me why this Cortina Landfill is something Yolo County should worry about. It is going to be hard to convince me.
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What the ?
Saturday, November 01, 2008 ::
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The call I just finished was interesting.....
The accusation was that I don't do anything. "In your time on the City Council and on the Board of Sups, what have you really done? You don't really have an impact."
See, now this is where I disagree. People may not like me for the things I do or say. I get that. Fair enough. I can accept that.
But to say I don't do anything or have an impact? That is where I just can't agree. I am tired right now and not thinking 100% straight but I certainly think I am having an impact on Woodland.
Interesting that a person would say that. I will have to think about that after Tuesday night -- now I have stuff to do.
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Sad state of affairs
Thursday, October 30, 2008 ::
2 Comments
A few days ago I had someone rear end my car. The woman behind me got hit by the car behind her. She then got pushed into me.
I pulled over with the two women and exchanged information. I barely got tapped and could not identify anything on my car that was wrong. I gave my information and went on about my day.
Later that day the insurance company for the driver at fault called. They wanted to know about my claim. I said that I did not have one. She asked again. I told her again that I did not have one. She did not believe me.
It is a sad state of affairs when everyone wants to take advantage of a situation when they did not suffer any damages. She hit me. Nothing was wrong. I don't deserve anything. I have no damages. I blame this on trial lawyers.
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Trvia Honor Roll
Wednesday, October 29, 2008 ::
7 Comments
YoloCal Vet makes the honor roll for the first time.
Art Pimentel knows all the answers but can't seem to press the bubble next to Dr. Fairchilds as President of WCC. He keeps pressing the bubble next to his name while yelling "NO."
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Helvetia Park - Historical
Wednesday, October 29, 2008 ::
1 Comments
Mel over at Archives sent me some information on Helvetia Park.
It is located along the River Road -- I drove right by there this morning. I will try to find a good map to post that will show you where it it.
Here is some historical information that might force you to jump around a little but it is good stuff.
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More on community college race and race
Monday, October 27, 2008 ::
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So in the past two hours I have had one call, a text, and an e-mail on my post below about the role of race in the election of our Community College Trustee.
1) I think Rick Kirkwood is great. I love the guy. He did a great job as City Manager. The reality is that the electorate doesn't know this. The people that read this blog may know it but the family that lives across the street from me doesn't know it. They don't know who Rick is and they don't know who the City Manager is.
2) See this link here for the election results from last November. Calmes won a precinct and almost won a couple more. That is crazy. See link here.
She got more than 41% of the vote. No campaign. No ballot statement. No community service.
3) Despite how hard Xavier, Cirenio, and Rick work they will still have very low name ID.
4) I think Rick is a great guy with a tremendous background but that is not why he is going to win.
I would love to be wrong but this is just the way I see it.
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Work at the Gibson House
Monday, October 27, 2008 ::
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The Gibson House is getting some new lighting installed.
Here is a picture of some of the work being done.
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Community College Trustee
Monday, October 27, 2008 ::
1 Comments
I put a post on this site a year ago expressing my disappointment that Dr. Rodriguez would lose a single vote for the County Board of Education. It simply should not have been close at all. If you had the chance to meet both candidates like I did there is no reasonable person that could have voted for his opponent.
So now we have another election with Dr. Cirenio Rodriguez, Rick Kirkwood, and current Trustee Xavier Tafoya. I voted for and endorsed Cirenio but I think Rick Kirkwood is going to win.
The Daily Democrat said all three candidates are capable and qualified. Xavier has held office in Woodland before and lived here his entire life. Cirenio is a professional educator and has been in the Woodland School Board as well as the County Board of Education. Kirkwood is a retired professional City Manager.
In terms of a campaign Xavier and Cirenio are out walking and working hard. They have signs and are doing their thing. Kirkwood is getting a late start.
I will bet Kirkwood is going to get 40% or more of the vote and win. Why? He is the only non-Latino on the ballot. It is that easy. Lots of people will vote for Rick. I know many. The reality is that lots of people are going to vote for or against candidates based on their surnames.
It is wrong but I believe that the part of Woodland that voted against Cirenio last time will all vote for Kirkwood this time. If they vote against a "Cirenio" then they are not going to decide to vote for "Xavier" over "Richard".
I am not saying this it right. I am just saying that it is true.
It would be great to be wrong on this issue but I fear that I will be right again. We will find out this time next week.
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College Trustee Debate
Monday, October 27, 2008 ::
0 Comments
Dotty took this picture the other night at the debate.
I think Xavier is praying. Praying that people in the audience don't find out that he hangs out with the Realist.
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Kid stories -- one Adam and one Abbie
Monday, October 27, 2008 ::
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Adam
Last week we had quite a moment in the Rexroad home. I was getting out of the shower when I heard Jenn scream -- and it was not because I was getting out of the shower.
She was screaming with terror at Adam.
Adam had been left to play alone for about 10 minutes. Uh-oh. At some point while I was in the shower Adam had managed to make his way into the bathroom and grab the brush for the toilet bowl. He then was running around the house waving it in the air and rubbing it on the walls, furniture, and floor. Jenn was beside herself.
If you saw a cloud of steam coming from my house this weekend it was the sanitation procedures being done by my wife. Adam may get acid dipped.
Abbie
Saturday night I'm about to watch USC v. Arizona at home. Adam is upstairs with Jenn getting a head start on bath time while I'm downstairs sitting with Abbie as we finish our dinner.
Abbie starts asking me about college. She is 4.5 years old. I tell her that she will go to Kindergarten, elementary school, middle school, and high school prior to going to college. Then I tell her that when she starts college she may move out of the house. Due to her wide eyes I told her that it was ok. She would come home for weekends, vacations, holidays..anytime she wanted.
Her response broke my heart -- "What if I would rather just be with my friends?"
Ugh. This little girl is killing me.
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Nov 15 - Green Day in Woodland
Monday, October 27, 2008 ::
0 Comments
Press Release: For Immediate Release
Contact: Debra Chase
530-350-2599
dchase@tuleyome.org
ALL ARE INVITED TO ATTEND REGIONAL GREEN SUMMIT
An Environmental Action Plan for the Future
(Woodland, October 24, 2008) Looking to connect with environmental organizations in Sacramento and Yolo Counties? You're in luck. Over 15 organizations are co-hosting a day-long GREEN SUMMIT in Woodland to discuss the state of our environment and how we can attain a healthy environment and sustainable lifestyle for the future.
Local environmental organizations including Tuleyome, Yolo Audubon Society, Sierra Club, California Native Plant Society, the Burrowing Owl Preservation Society, Environmental Council of Sacramento, Planning and Conservation League, Habitat 2020, Putah Creek Council, and Sacramento Tree Foundation are gathering on November 15 at the Woodland Community and Senior Center to enjoy a day packed great speakers, panels and workshops.
“The Green Summit is a chance for us all to engage in a discussion about the environment and what to do about it locally--for people and wildlife,” states Alison Kent, Yolo Audubon Society President. “Loss of habitat -- whether by urban and rural development and population growth, climate change, water and energy use -- will have profound implications for the future of our region."
There are workshops on habitat loss and preservation, climate change and energy, environmental justice, how to communicate in the 21st century, land use planning and transportation, water quality and quantity, and youth and the outdoors. For our friends that don’t reside in the Yolo/Sacramento County: While this Green Summit is focused on the Sacramento Valley, there will be much information, and strategies and tools that can help you in your home community to improve our environment
Martha Guzman-Aceves, will be the key-note luncheon speaker. She is the Legislative Advocate for the California Rural Legal Assistance Foundation, Sacramento, California.
Ms. Guzman-Aceves advocacy work has concentrated on occupational and environmental hazards. She is currently an active member of the Environmental Justice Coalition for Water, which concentrates on attaining safe and affordable drinking water for rural communities. She holds a M. S. in Agricultural and Resource Economics and a B. S. in International Economics.
Join us to identify the key goals and strategies that we need to achieve our objectives for the future on Saturday, November 15th from 9 am - 5 pm at the Woodland Community and Senior Center, 2001 East Street Woodland, CA The Green Summit will be offering scholarships for 18 and under and discounts for students and seniors. To register and get a copy of the full program go to www.tuleyome.org or call 530-350-2599.
Download Poster (144 KB - pdf)
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Bibliofile Alert
Monday, October 27, 2008 ::
0 Comments
Woodland does the library thing a little differently. However, this is a cool announcement from the Yolo Count Library for those of you in book clubs. Jenn is in two different book clubs....I just never got into the whole book club thing.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Beth Gabor, Public Information Officer
October 27, 2008
(530) 666-8042 [w] ▪ (530) 219-8464 [c]
Read Around Yolo (R.A.Y.) Unveiled
(Woodland, CA) – On November 1, Yolo County Library will unveil “Read Around Yolo” (R.A.Y.), a new program designed to support existing book clubs as well as to encourage the formation of new book clubs, throughout Yolo County.
Thanks to generous start-up funding from the Friends of the Davis Public Library, and donations from the West Sacramento Friends of the Library and the Winters Friends of the Library, the Yolo County Library will be loaning R.A.Y. book club bags to any Yolo County Library cardholder for use with his or her book club. Each R.A.Y. book club bag will consist of ten paperback book copies of one title, as well as discussion leader materials. R.A.Y. book club bags can be reserved up to one year in advance and will be available from any of the seven Yolo County branch library locations for an extended loan period of sixty days.
“Read Around Yolo is an example of a great collaboration between the Library and our Friends groups to share the joy of reading with many communities throughout the county,” said Yolo County Librarian Patty Wong.
Currently, titles include a broad selection of fiction and non-fiction adult materials. Additional information, including a title list and other book club support materials, along with branch locations can all be found on the Yolo County Library Web site at: www.yolocountylibrary.org <http://www.yolocountylibrary.org/> .
To find out more about the program or to reserve a R.A.Y. book club bag, visit your local branch location or contact the Davis Branch Library’s Reference Desk at (530) 757-5593 ext. 3.
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Board Meeting on Tuesday -- October 28th part 2
Sunday, October 26, 2008 ::
2 Comments
After reading the agenda are supporting material a little more closely we do have some other very important items.
The Esparto Downtown Mixed Use Zoning Ordinance is on the agenda in the afternoon. We will see how Duane wants to play this. Some of the sign restrictions and things seem to be inconsistent with what he advocates for on a regular basis. If he supports this ordinance in his district then it would be kind of difficult to argue against the enforcement of this stuff later on.
This is the rub that I have too. For someone that values private property rights to a high degree I often become troubled by the imposition of use limitations. However, clearly I would not support someone building a skyscaper on West El Dorado Drive. That would be unreasonable in my mind.
The question of what is reasonable is a tough one.
The other item of interest to me is the last one. Item 8.01. This is potentially good stuff. It is also potentially harmful stuff. The creation of habitat in Yolo County can come at a cost to farmers.
The ides of having mitigation banks for habitat is a good one. The funny thing is that this si the idea I proposed with the agricultural land mitigation and I could not even get a second. The ag part of it is even easier to understand. This could be a good and important discussion.
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Yolo County Property Tax
Sunday, October 26, 2008 ::
0 Comments
This week's edition of the Sacramento Business Journal has lists of the entities that pay the most property tax in El Dorado, Sacramento, Placer, and Yolo Counties.
PG&E has the biggest number with $2.3 million and that makes sense to me. I would have guessed that we had some landowners that would have totaled more than that is property tax. Just to make 15th on the list you would have had to pay $455k in property tax.
I think we have some large land owners with holdings under different names that did not make the list because they were not consolidated.
Check out the Business Journal this week.
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USC Today
Saturday, October 25, 2008 ::
0 Comments
USC plays Arizona tonight at 7:15 in the desert. USC is favored by 16. Take the points. USC will win but not by 16.
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Board Meeting on Tuesday -- October 28th
Saturday, October 25, 2008 ::
0 Comments
This meeting on Tuesday is not too complicated. I have not read my entire packet yet but the highlights are ---
Item 3.01 -- Anything with flooding is important
Item 4.03 -- Rent Control Task Force Report. I read every word of this. It appears that we have no justification for rent control. Chalk one up for property rights.
Item 4.05 -- Davis Communications Site. I was able to play a small role in this.
Should be pretty basic although Item 7.02 on the Sugar Mill could be fun.
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Election Challenge 2008 -- again
Saturday, October 25, 2008 ::
0 Comments
I have only two entries so far in the election challenge. Two. Here are the questions again ---
Sen. Obama --- more than 350 electoral votes? Y/N (2 points)
Does Lois Wolk break 56% of the vote? Y/N (1 point)
Does Mariko Yamada break 58% of the vote? Y/N (2 points)
Does Jim Nielsen break 59% of the vote? Y/N (1 point)
Kirkwood/Rodriguez/Tafoya -- who wins? Circle one (3 points)
Kirkwood/Rodriguez/Tafoya -- who gets second? Circle One (2 points)
Prop 1A (High Speed Rail) Pass/Fail (1 point)
Prop 4 (Parental Consent) Pass/Fail (1 point)
Prop 8 (Same Sex Marriage) Pass/Fail (1 point)
Prop 11 (Redistricting) Pass/Fail (1 point)
Tie Breaker -- Percentage of the vote McCain gets in California.
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NRA- Woodland Style
Saturday, October 25, 2008 ::
0 Comments
Two years ago I was out walking precincts by Tafoya Elementary. When a lady opened her door I introduced myself and told her I was running for Supervisor.
Her first question was "Where do you stand on guns?". My experience with this is when guys ask they are NRA types and when women ask they tend to be gun control types I answered the question like I do for anyone by letting them know that I am a life member of the National Rifle Association and then I firmly believe that people have the right to own weapons for personal safety, hunting, and even just because they want to.
I watched her body tense up with my answer. She then told me I was dead wrong and that on the Board of Supervisors I would be making decisions on guns that would risk the safety of her and her children. It did not make much policy sense but I listened to her. I had gotten this sort of thing before.
Then she said something that really stuck out. She said that we needed more leaders in out area like Congressman Mike Thompson. Ok. That was her opinion. I thanked her for her time and went to the next house.
So last night I got home from the gym and looked in the drawer Jenn allows me to keep my mail in. My November issue of American Rifleman was in there but I was not going to have time to read it. Then I saw it. The 2008 Pro-Gun Ballot. John McCain/Sarah Palin for President/Vice-President and MIKE THOMPSON for the US House.
Inside it gives Thompson a B+ for his performance in Congress. Good for him. He is on the honor roll and has talent. I think his grades can get better if he applies himself.
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10 Worst Political Ads of the Season
Saturday, October 25, 2008 ::
1 Comments
I am happy to report that none of the spots I produced this year made Politico's List of the ten worst ads.
This is a great story by Politico. I will bet they are getting more spots sent to them each day.
Story is here.
My (least) favorite is the first one with the lady and her dogs. My second (least) favorite is the one where the women talks about Arab Sheiks.
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9 days in a row
Friday, October 24, 2008 ::
0 Comments
45 minutes of exercise today.
One of you got me on some e-mail list for weight loss powder, stomach stapling, and a fat farm in Palm Springs....thank you for that.
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Abuse of Taxpayer Dollars
Friday, October 24, 2008 ::
0 Comments
The issue covered in this article in the LA Times is something that I am always going to draw attention to. The abuse of taxpayer dollars for political campaigns happens all the time - and is wrong each and every time.
Read article here.
When I was Mayor of Woodland I fought this fight on the City Council and could not even get a second to my motion. I feel Woodland crossed the line on this with the fire assessment district when I was gone in 2003.
We need a black out period that does not allow the government to "communicate with the voters" on a topic for the six months prior to an election on that same topic.
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Woodland Missionary
Friday, October 24, 2008 ::
0 Comments
Several months ago I posted something here about missionaries that Jenn and I support.
I asked for people to send me some ideas of people from Woodland that were doing missionary work. I didn't get any response.
As a result of a group on Facebook I got back in touch with Brad Crawford. Well, he is doing missionary work in Uganda. So cool.
He has a blog that he writes on his experiences there. Read it here.
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Daily Show -- Woodland Style
Thursday, October 23, 2008 ::
0 Comments
Yesterday I came up with the idea that I wanted to do a Daily Show -- Woodland style.
Certainly I could never be as funny as Jon Stewart but with Pimentel, Davies, recall elections, Monroe, Wolk, Dote, Xavier, Chamerlain, Cirenio, Yamada, Gary Sandy, the folks at the Daily Democrat, former Democrat reporters might be better yet, Frank Glover, Kirkwood, Warren Berg, Karl in a dress, Reisig, some nut case named McLovin, Woodland Journal, Doug Paul Davis, Tom Stallard, Marble, Peart, Flory, Bobby Harris, -- I could have a field day. Heck, I could do a whole show just on McGowan.
What is a floating foam?
I could do a whole freaking month on the Hubers. Good grief no....two months. I would have three months of material just with Duane Chamberlain.
Clearly, one person without a sense of humor would complain to high heaven but what do I care?
Interesting......this will have to wait until after the election but it has great potential.
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7 is better than 6
Wednesday, October 22, 2008 ::
0 Comments
I got an e-mail from someone telling me they were starting to work out again because of this blog. Good deal.
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Water in California
Wednesday, October 22, 2008 ::
0 Comments
I have not read it yet but the Legislative Analyst has just produced a 77 page report on California's Water. It is surely worth the time to read. Link is here.
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Board Meeting Today
Tuesday, October 21, 2008 ::
0 Comments
Nothing too exciting today at the Board of Supervisors today. I got to present an integrity award today to a very deserving county employee.
We dealt with the golf course issue today in a way that made sense. We basically have a marker down to consider options on December 16th.
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Reality Check
Tuesday, October 21, 2008 ::
1 Comments
So I went to the gym tonight to continue my quest to stop being a fat slob.
I stretched but really worked on nothing more than sit-ups and pull-ups. The Marine Corps Physical Fitness Test (PFT) perfect score is 20 dead hang pull ups, 100 crunches in 2 minutes, and a 3 mile run in 18 minutes. Each event is worth 100 points for a perfect score you need 300.
In my time in the Marines Corps I have several scores in the 350 range where I picked up an extra 5 points for each pull up above 20, 1 point for each crunch over 100, and 1 point for every 6 seconds under 18 minutes. You only get extra points on one event if you get more than 100 on each of the others.
For me the crunches will be the easy. That will take a couple weeks.
The pull-ups will take time but last year I was doing 15 without working hard. It can happen.
The run is totally different. I have not run that fast in a long time. I will need to take some weight off in addition to improving my endurance and speed -- especially when I am so pathetic now. I am actually not sure I can do this but we will see.
Six days in a row. Better than 5.
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Yolo Land and Cattle Jerky
Tuesday, October 21, 2008 ::
0 Comments
When I was in Iraq Casey Stone sent my unit some beef jerky. It was a huge hit. We had lots of it from all over the place but the jerky that Casey sent was the best stuff by far.
Last week I sent out a couple gift packs of Yolo Land and Cattle beef jerky to friends and business partners....and I got yelled at. I got yelled at because I sent it to a couple people but it did not go to others. The ones that didn't get it were hacked off. So today I had to order more jerky.
If you are looking for some really good stuff -- check out the General Store.
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5 Days
Monday, October 20, 2008 ::
0 Comments
I did not get home until 11:15 pm but I still went out walking. 5 days in a row. That is better than 4.
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Even the refs are after him
Monday, October 20, 2008 ::
0 Comments
So you are a young man playing QB for Steve Spurrier at the University of South Carolina (the other USC). Heck, your coach even won the Heisman Trophy.
You are playing LSU in the middle of great SEC match up on Saturday night. As you run toward the line of scrimmage even the refs are throwing shots at you.
Stephen Garcia has to play against 11 crazy guys in yellow and one wild man wearing stripes.
Check this out.
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Prop 2 -- great Skelton article
Monday, October 20, 2008 ::
0 Comments
Los Angeles Time columnist George Skelton has an excellent column on the Proposition 2 here.
The reality is that is will probably pass because the urban areas will support it and the rural areas will oppose it -- and we count votes in California by people not acres.
Thanks to Andre for pointing this out today.
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Sidewalks Cracking
Sunday, October 19, 2008 ::
6 Comments
The City of Woodland is probably going to send me a bill for cracking every sidewalk between my house and the Douglass track. I went walking/jogging tonight. What a pathetic performance.
That burning sensation you get in your lungs after running wind sprints ten or twelve times on the field....I got that after 1/4 mile waddle around the track. I am a big fat slob.
4 days in a row. That is better than 3.
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Wild Wings CSA
Sunday, October 19, 2008 ::
0 Comments
I belive this is the first time since I have been on the Board of Supervisors we have convened as the Wild Wings County Service Area Governing Board. It is certainly the first time with a real issue of substance.
You can check out the staff report for the meeting on Tuesday here.
I will be interested to see what the people out at Wild Wings along with Supervisor Chamberlain have come up with.
This is the kind of issue that I actually enjoy about the Board of Supervisors. It is a new area of the law and public policy for me to think about. This is the part of the job I like.
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Update
Saturday, October 18, 2008 ::
0 Comments
Cal blew it tonight against Arizona. Shoot.
USC did something to Washington State that just was not right. Ugh. USC beat them 69-0 and it could have been 100-0 if they would have pressed it. I think Lee Middle School would be favored against them.
I went to the gym for the third day in the row. I am still a fat slob but working on it. Three is better than none.
Now I get to watch Governor Palin on SNL. Someone go find McLovin'. It is not right that it is missing all the opportunities to gloat. What would we actually look for if we needed to find it?
Go Sarah! Go Sarah!
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Football Stats
Saturday, October 18, 2008 ::
0 Comments
In baseball we keep different stats for wild pitch and passed ball. A wild pitch is a pitcher problem and a passed ball is a catcher problem. At times it is hard to decide but generally their is a distinction.
So how come in football all we have is interceptions. When you have a ball hit a receiver in the helmet and bounce into the air for an interception it makes the QB look bad. What more can you ask the QB to do. Ball was on the money .....
I propose that football make a distinction between an interception caused by the QB and those caused by the receiver. To make it easy it could even be considered a fumble on the receiver.
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