Standard Mischief

What was that again about a fair and speedy trial? Not that it’s any form of excuse but Lauren Canario’s case isn’t even remotely related to teh “war on terror”.

theday.com:

Eminent domain protestor Lauren Canario, imprisoned since Sept. 23, broke her silence today in New London Superior Court and was granted an unconditional discharge.

Canario, 49, had been held on $20,000 bond since she was arrested for refusing to leave a Goshen Street home in the Fort Trumbull neighborhood. Canario, who is from Las Vegas and New Hampshire, had come to New London to protest the city’s taking homes by eminent domain for economic development.

Remember, this is a non-violent protester. From homelandstupidity.us:

On October 23, Canario received a preliminary hearing during which her bond was raised from $5,000 to $20,000 and she was ordered bound over for trial, but no trial date was set. Court officials at the time said it could be as much as a year before she would receive a trial.

Seems like the court was playing games with her right to a public hearing too:

And they had to be shamed into doing the right thing:

The Keen Free Press claims that she had been held without any access to visitors:

If true, this is totally unacceptable. What are the chances Judge Kevin P. McMahon & company will ever face something like a federal lawsuit for depriving Lauren of her civil rights?

(Pretty long video on You Tube, slow at times, added here mostly to test out the pop-up window code.)

YouTube – Lauren Canario Eminent Domain Arrest 9:01 min.

View video in a pop-up window | Direct link

OK, so Uncle is talking about emergency car kits again, (earlier, here too), and Jacqueline Passey is complaining talking about no electricity and nearly running out of gas, and I just can’t take it any more.

I think Katrina and the duct tape and plastic sheet alert changed us as a nation, such that when people notice my two-liter bottles filled with tap water tucked away in the corner and ask about them, I can say “Katrina Kit” and they at least don’t seem to get that weirded out look on their faces anymore.

Really though, nothing has changed. When Andrew hit Florida, they had civil unrest and widespread looting, although it wasn’t as severe, and we didn’t have Flicka pools or MMS feeds from local New Orleans TV stations to tell us how bad it was. Back when people half kiddingly asked me about my Y2K prep, I was able to twist the conversation around by reminding them of the bad ice storm we had around here almost exactly a year before. Many people were out of power for three days. I told them that preparing for a week of no power wasn’t too wacknut paranoid.

But this post isn’t about extensive prep for mammoth disasters, it’s about near zero prep stuff you can do before a big snow or ice storm hits, or bad spring thunderstorms, or when the remnants of a hurricane pass over the area.

1. Fill your gas tank.

Jacqueline blames her brother. But if you have any time at all before the storm hits, go fill your tanks. There’s two reasons. First, twelve gallons of gas equals about 72 extra pounds of weight in a car trying to safely pilot around on slippery roads. Second, if everyones loses mains power, no station can sell gas.

2. Fill up some pots and pans with water.

This is still a good idea during a severe winter storm because you can always get frozen pipes, but mainly this is important when hurricane type weather is due. Inevitably during the big storms, the water treatment plant will pass untreated water into the system, and people will be cautioned to boil their water. That can be hard to do when all you have to cook on is an electric stove. I have those refilled two-liter bottles and a few cases of single serve bottles already, but it only takes a few minute of work to fill up a few pans or stockpots.

3. Shut off your water main.

(Yup, this post is pretty long. more below the fold) (more…)

So I walk into Circuit City looking for this deal, a 1 GB SD flash memory card for only $19.99 (no rebate). I find the guy behind the counter and ask him for the “advertised twenty dollar, one gig SD card”. He opens the locked case and pulls out two SD cards and starts ringing me up.

I say “whoa there, what the heck are you doing”? He says, “It’s a buy one, get one free deal, and it comes up to $29.99.” I said, “I’m pretty sure that that was not the deal, and besides, that’s the one with the rebate.” Indeed, it was 60 bux total with 30 back by snail mail, assuming that you jumped through all the hoops and the stars were aligned properly.

Remember kids, always bring the ad. I spied the flyer on the counter and leafed through it. After I pointed it out to him he said, “Oh, the Polaroid one. Sorry, we’re all out”. I said the magic word “Raincheck”, and he pointed to the customer service counter. As I began to step away, he relented, and quickly said, “Wait, let me see if there’s any in the back” Well wonders of wonder, there actually were some, and he made commission on a $20 sale instead of having me walk out empty-handed.

Once we get the bonfire going pretty good, I’ve been a participant in a strange ritual where we toss empty spray cans into an outdoor fire, then duck behind a woodpile until the aerosol can cooks off. Fun but silly.

I’ve never even thought to cook off live ammo, but now I know what it should look like thanks to this You-Tube video. A 7mm Remington Magnum is on the higher end of the scale, as cartridges go, and it makes a pretty satisfying bang. Please note that all the safety warnings on this video are at the end. The creator took pains to make sure that no one else was around and he also shielded himself with a tree.

Below the video on the You-Tube page, in the comments, you’ll see a few alarmist a-holes whine about safety. Typical. I think things were presented here in a safe, sane manner, but there will always be a few killjoys out there. Maybe they would feel better if it was subtitled “Trained Professional — Do not Attempt!”?

Let’s just hope he sifted those ashes and packed out that trash in the end.