Things that piss me off…

I am going to start this post with a short warning. I use “ugly” words in here, so if you don’t like cursing, please feel free to close this out and not read it. Oh, there are probably spelling, grammar and punctuation errors. I really don’t care, so it’s kind of pointless to make these errors known. I am now, and always have been, a very opinionated person. Anyone who has ever met me, can verify this.

Anyway, I have been reading up on various news stories lately, and there are a few subjects that seem to keep pissing me off. I am not trying to change anyone’s mind about their own beliefs, but I am sure there will be something in this rant that you agree with. If not, tough shit, these are my opinions and I want to get it off my chest.

1. This “GOD” issue has to stop

I don’t care if you are Catholic, Muslim, or atheist; this issue has nothing to do with your own personal religious beliefs. The problem is, our men and women fight for a country that was founded on the Christian belief of ONE GOD above all else, and because of this, you are free to practice whatever you want; christianity or not. I don’t care who or what you worship, as long as you don’t try to force it on the rest of us. We have the right to choose, same as you. This is what gives you the right to NOT practice Christianity.

Last I checked it said: “In God we trust” not “Only in the Christian God we trust”. That means it includes your GOD, no matter what you call him/her. So see, your beliefs ARE included, shut the fuck up already. We shouldn’t have to change something that was here before you.

I am not asking you to believe in or practice Christianity, nor am I asking you not to. If you don’t like the fact that our great nation, in which you have moved to; the same place you have chosen to raise your children, has laws based on a higher power that simply asks you to act right, be compassionate, and be a decent HUMAN BEING, then you are free to pack your shit, and get the fuck out.. We surely don’t need you to rock the boat when it’s already filling with water.

A short note to politicians: would you please quit letting idiots ruin this NATION!! If you continue to remove GOD from everything, do not complain when YOU are FORCED to believe in something YOU don’t like. You are bringing the house down on all of us.

2. Breed Specific Legislation – aka: pit bull haters

I own 2 beautiful, fairly well-mannered PIT BULLS. I have raised them both from puppies. Although they have gotten into some trouble with our neighbor, neither of my dogs have or will EVER hurt a child. I cannot say with certainty that they will not latch on to an adult should one enter my property. That’s one reason we have for owning dogs: protection.

I ran across this post on facebook today, though it was posted about a month ago:

“Yesterday, I posted about my neighbors letting their pit bull & bull mastif run wild around the neighborhood, to the point that the pit has come at my son and chased the mailman. This has been a chronic problem. Just now, both dogs cornered a young boy selling candy. Luckily, my husband saw and chased the dogs off with a golf club. Again, I reported it to animal control. We’ll see if they show up. Is it seriously going to take a child being mauled by these dogs before anything is done?!

Another poster replied: shoot it, maybe they’ll stop. I know its drastic but them dogs are dangerous!!”

 

The part that irked me the most was “them dogs are dangerous”. After reading, and re-reading this post, I cannot see how any human was ever actually in DANGER. If those so-called “dangerous dogs” were HALF as mean/vicious as YOU see them, your husband would be in the hospital for dog bites. I would attack in a heartbeat, if someone came at ME with a golf club, however, “them dogs” did NOT. Seems you and your hubby are both lucky these breeds have simply been misunderstood.

As a part-time optimist, I personally believe that the two dogs in the post just wanted to be loved on or perhaps wanted some of that candy, which is one thing that makes this breed such amazing family pets. In my opinion, pit bulls are the most loyal dogs on the planet, and all they ask in return is for some positive attention. They are larger, and so yes you will have to watch and make sure your kid doesn’t get scratched or beat half silly with those mini baseball bat tails that pits have. Other than that, MOST pits are good, and would graciously DIE for you and your kids.

Now, that does not necessarily apply to the ones who were bred to fight. Those dogs have the POTENTIAL to be dangerous, however this generally does not mean dangerous to people. Animal aggression is completely different from human aggression. The fault then lies with whoever trained them to eat people. Pull your heads out of your asses, and put the blame where it lies: the dumbass who owns the dog. Fear drives people to hate, which is all that has happened with these breeds. You fear them, so you hate them.

The second part that pissed me off was: “Is it seriously going to take a child being mauled by these dogs before anything is done?!”. Ok, first and foremost, if you HONESTLY fear for the safety of your child – PROTECT HIM. If these dogs were to get ahold of your boy out of spite or anger, he would be seriously hurt. Quit being a sissy bitch hounding animal control, and take the matter into your own hands – GO TALK TO THE OWNER or SHOOT THE FUCKING DOG.

Just quit being a cry baby and for the love of all things free, QUIT bringing the damn government in to settle simple disputes. We don’t need any more laws telling us what we can or cannot own, say or do! It’s whiny ass, chicken shit, tattle tales like this, who are causing us to lose our freedoms now. Geico nailed it when they did the commercial with R. Lee Ermey where he says: “Maybe we should chug on over to mamby pamby land to find some self-confidence for you, ya jack wagon!” Suck it up and fucking grow a pair!

As for the insurance thing: making insurance mandatory to own a “vicious breed”, is so pointless and stupid. It will not stop the Michael Vick type of shit. They will just charge more at these dog fights to cover the cost of that bullshit insurance, and they will STILL FIGHT THE DOGS.. So, exactly what problem does this insurance fix?

3. Anything the government has put their noses in

Our government and nation alike, is being packed full of people who cannot stand up for anything, which is making this entire nation a big cluster fuck of pansy ass twits. (Recall the Geico quote above.) Why have we, as Americans, with all of our rights and freedoms, allowed a small group of people to determine what we can or cannot do?

** No smoking in public – ‘Your miniscule amount of second-hand smoke might hurt my lungs 30, 40 or 50 years down the line, when I have Alzheimer’s and cannot remember my own name.’ Who gives a shit? I seriously doubt your family is gonna be as concerned with how much toxic crap entered your body over the years, than they will be as to where the hell you wandered off to this time.

Besides that, the emissions coming our vehicles are doing the same thing, if not WORSE. Should we ban driving also? No, we find a way to make it “safer” for everyone. Hence the electric car, and the….. ELECTRIC CIGARETTE.. Take that! I can still “smoke” inside bitches!

** Guns kill people – I’m sure my shotgun is just gonna jump out of the gun closet and come chasing you down the street. PEOPLE kill people WITH guns, which still seems to me, to be the fault of the PERSON rather than the gun. Not to mention, this mentality kind of (in a round about way) gives our children the ok to kill, because it makes them believe it wasn’t their fault. It was the GUN! Same goes with video games. Games do not make kids violent, parents who don’t discipline the kids make kids violent. Take responsibility for your own actions or lack thereof.

Banning firearms is setting us all up for one hell of a disappointment when shit does hit the fan, and it WILL. What happens when zombies attack? You can feel free to fight them off with that pepper spray, I’m gonna shoot first, ask questions later. Ok, so zombies may not happen, but if it does, us gun-toting rednecks are not going to protect your citified candy ass. Consider that a warning.

** Texting/Talking while driving – It doesn’t matter if you are talking on the phone or painting your fucking toenails while you are behind the wheel. This one is so simple to fix.. PAY ATTENTION TO THE FUCKING ROAD YOU MORON!!!!!!

We don’t need laws for this. This is common sense. That yield sign in front of that on/off ramp has been there for YEARS, has not moved or changed in any way, and it means YOU need to make sure nobody is getting on/off the damn highway! No need to change the entire road to one way. Just open your eyes and pay attention. Don’t hit the gas trying to make it through when someone clearly has a turn signal going to let you know what their intentions are.

You (or a loved one) died in a wreck because you were (or your loved one was) STUPID, so forgive me when I don’t sympathize. I do however get pissed when people die because of YOUR stupidity. That teen you hit and killed because of your impatience will never get the chance to get married and have a family or backpack in Europe if that’s what they wanted. Why? Because, you didn’t have time to YIELD THE RIGHT OF WAY.. Nice going asshole! I’m sure your schedule meant more than the life you took.

** Spanking your child is abuse – swats on the BUTT is punishment. Anywhere else (with the exception of slapping the face of that snot nosed 17 year old brat that told you to go fuck yourself) is abuse.

Now, we as Americans are smarter than this right? Can we not see that lack of consequences is the main reason our prisons and jails are packed? The Bible (which aside from anything religious, provides a fairly solid example of how to raise decent people) says: spare the rod, spoil the child. I think it needs an addendum: Spare the rod, spoil the child, visit his dumb ass in prison. Ok, maybe not worded quite like that, but you get the jest.

I have and will continue to bust my kids’ butts when they screw up, on the hopes that they grow to be good people, who understand that there are nasty consequences when they are less than good.

Who are you to tell me what form of punishment is right for me and mine? Especially you, you nosy, old, bat at Walmart who got all bent out of shape because a lady told her son to “quit being an ass”. He WAS being an ass, and he DESERVED to be told so, and if I had more guts, I would have told his screaming, fit throwing ass to escort me to the restroom. Oh yeah, that’s where my own mom took us when we acted up in public. That meant ass whoopin time. The sooner you realize it’s not your place, the better off we will all be.

At least I am attempting to raise decent people and doing so the best I know how. Try to remember this when you are sitting there at that metal table staring at the person you used to hold in your lap, failed to discipline, and whom you are not allowed to touch now. I cannot guarantee that my own kids will not end up in jail/prison at some point, and if/when that happens, I will eat my words, but I do hope that what I have taught them over the years is enough to prevent it.

*Our military – We accept that big bucks are paid to actors, musicians and other celebrity figures, but we cannot pay our MILITARY enough to make ends meet. I heard yesterday that one of the popular shows on TV right now is paying $75,000 per EPISODE to one of the celebrities on the show, possibly more for the other celebrities. For all of my soldier buddies and families: how many of you make that in a YEAR?

Our military is full of the most dedicated people on the planet, who are more than willing to VOLUNTARILY DIE FOR YOU!!! When did a rich movie star or your favorite singer lay down his/her life so that you can go out and do whatever the fuck you want? I am sorry that so many people think that those who get up and read from a script in front of cameras deserve more money than the ones that have given their lives.

Our military men, women and their families deserve more than this! Celebrities will entertain our enemies, our troops will wipe them out, and I will take dead terrorists over happy ones any day. Celebrity wages for all troops, it’s really the very least we can do for these men and women, though I know this will never happen.

*The war on drugs – Like we need another fucking war. This is simply another way for the government to tell you that even though you live in the country with the most freedom in the world, they will still tell you what you can or cannot ingest into your own body.

Meth labs are dangerous, I get that, but did you fail to see the reason that they started that lab? Maybe they lost their job due to this failing economy, and just to keep food on the table, they turned to manufacturing drugs because all of that money goes into their pocket, not to the government.

Or, perhaps they use cocaine when they need that extra boost of energy to allow them to work 20 hours per day at 2 or 3 different jobs, because heaven forbid they gather government benefits (aka: food stamps) that you perfect people bitch about funding. Would you rather the kids starve due to no food stamps when their dad fails the drug test you wanted to make mandatory because he was doing lines in order to get through his second or third job which brings in money to support his family?

What about those parents who smoke a joint to calm down after a hard day at work dealing with a nitpicky or flat-out unorganized boss/coworkers? Would you prefer that they have so much pent-up stress that they finally lose it and kill their kids? Oh wait, that’s been done. You got your legal glass of wine, so why should you give a shit?

There are many who do not have a reason for doing drugs, maybe they simply like the feeling. Whatever their reasons, they still deserve the RIGHT to make that decision for themselves. And besides, who are you to judge them? Remember that bible verse: Judge not, else you will be judged (not quoted verbatim). Oh, here we are back to #1 again. It’s not just christianity that tells you not to pass judgment.. Other religions say it too, albeit a bit differently but, here: http://www.unification.net/ws/theme143.htm

Legalize it ALL: weed, speed, coke, acid etc. It doesn’t matter because people are gonna do it anyway, whether it’s legal or not. Oh, but it’s not good for their body. Neither is that burger you have been stuffing your face with, but last time I checked, it was still THEIR BODY, not yours, and they should be able to make the decisions as to what they do with it.

Also, as an added bonus, once it’s legal, you can put a tax on it (though I am not a big fan of incurring more taxes) and bring us all out of this damn hole we are in financially. Seems pretty simple to me.

So I guess this whole post revolves around the fact that people are going to do what they want, when they want, regardless of how many laws are passed to prevent trivial shit, and if people would use their damn brains, and think for themselves, things might change for the better. Focus on the REAL problems and everything else will fall into place. You can agree, disagree, or just get pissed, but thankfully, this is America, and we still have those rights (for now).

The moral(s) of this story: suck it up, pay attention, think for yourself and use common sense, take responsibility for your own actions, mind your own business, stand up for yourself and others, live a good life and be fucking happy.

Crazy Coincidence?

Listening to The Baby by Blake Shelton always makes my mother in law (Debbie) tear up and cry. Not just because its a kick ass song, but because of one specific verse. You see my mother in law has 4 children - 1 girl and 3 boys..

Now, I know that’s not enough for a coincidence, just keep reading.

Debbie’s oldest son is a well driller. He eats, sleeps and breathes this profession. Honest to GOD that’s all you hear from him. The family says drilling is in his veins. I believe it. What’s his name you ask? GREG

Still not coincidental enough?

My husband (Debbie’s middle son) and I have 2 beautiful kids together. My hubby’s name? RONNIE

Not enough yet? ok….

Then we have Randell. He is the youngest (22 yrs old I think) and in mama’s eyes, he can do no wrong.  He has done some really dumb shit (as have we all), but she says “he’s just a kid”.. I swear to you those are her exact words. He is kinda crazy, but he’s her baby..

These boys were named 20+ years ago.. Long before this song made it’s debut.

Would you shed a tear if a song came out with your children’s names?

And what if this same song was an accurate representation of their lives?

Lemme know whatcha think!

Here’s a link to the song for those of you who wanna listen to it real quick: “The Baby – Blake Shelton“

Warning to freelancers.. Clients from HELL..

 

 This story is incredibly long, but should be shared with all designers, writers or anyone else for that matter. I apologize for the length in advance.

This is my personal experience, in my own words, being my sole opinion only. You are free to make your own judgement, but I cannot be held accountable for your thought process, or actions.)  When otherwise stated, the original author is linked. I do not necessarily agree with any of the opinions expressed in webpages I have linked to in this article.

I am by no means new to the graphic design world. However, I am a newbie when it comes to my own clients. I am a believer that this world is for the most part, good. I believe that most people are honest, as I am, and wouldn’t take advantage of people. How wrong I turned out to be.

Around late November, early December 2009, I was approached online, by a young man to be his full time designer. He had recently decided to start an online health and fitness type business which sells weight loss products, hair loss treatment, skin care products, etc. He was to need roughly 30-40 websites for his products. I was to make constant revisions, which was perfectly acceptable since I was to be paid generously for this.

I was terribly excited as he had managed to convince me that this was going to be a lucrative and prosperous business opportunity. If only you knew how many times he mentioned the phrase “getting in at ground level”. I now know that that phrase is a dead giveaway that the client will most likely try to swindle you. However, I believed him due to his savvy talk and Harvard education.

He was the “go to guy” so I thought. He had told me that the company was owned by someone else, and investors were applying large amounts of money to this project. He had to run everything by these investors, which is quite understandable when you think about the money involved. I would be able to work from home, with the occasional business trip to Philadelphia, (where he resides) or to affiliate programs to speak with investors, etc.

I wrote up a contract (as I have no attorney to do so for me) using online contracts as examples. It was not a bad contract per se, it simply did not cover every issue that would soon arise with this client. Payment was set as follows: 1.) down payment prior to work starting on website 2.) 90 days after down payment – full payment due 3.) 180 days after down payment – large bonus. He and his partner both physically signed the contract and emailed it back to me. In hindsight maybe this payment schedule was not the greatest idea, but I was confident that with a signed contract, no issues would arise with payments. He made his payments (generally late) but he had made them when he said he would. I had no reason at the time to be skeptical.

He was a very demanding client. I had specifically stated in the contract: Business hours are specified as Monday-Friday 9am-5pm CST. Keep in mind that I was not designing one site start to finish, then moving on to the next one, I was however designing 3 websites simultaneously, and making revisions to each website almost daily. He would send emails that said “It is paramount that we make those changes and have them uploaded tonight.” I would receive text messages around 9pm saying that updates need to be made before morning. Here is a direct quote from an email I received at 11:06 pm “Here are even more updates. See how far you can get tonight and finish off the remainder in the morning. Thank you.” I should have put a stop to this in the beginning, but I didn’t want to lose him as a client, as he had previously threatened to do. So yes, you could say that I allowed him to take advantage of me unintentionally. Emails such as this came on a regular basis: Will you please link the “Affiliate Section” to a pop up… Please text me after the update is completed. (Received 12/15/09 at 11:41PM).

Eventually, the late schedule took its toll on me and my family. On December 17^th, around 10am, after working half of the night on yet another set of critical updates, I realized that I had completely neglected my 5 year old daughter. She had just started her first year of school, and was having a Christmas program. Working with this client had consumed me, and I forgot about the program. I felt like a total ass! I sent him the following email:

I was up all night working on the site, and I realized too late that my daughter had her very first Christmas program today, and I missed it. I am neglecting my family responsibilities due to the late nights and work. I have no problem working on the sites at all, but will no longer be available after 5pm CST or on weekends. I have to put my family first, and I know you will understand. I can work throughout most of the daytime hours though, so it shouldn’t pose any problems as far as the work is concerned. I am simply rearranging my schedule. Let me know if this is going to be a problem.

His response: That works out fine so long as we work hard during the week. That was our big problem before, no time to work during the day because of the kids I’d prefer to work during regular business hours.

I sent this to him:

Whenever you get to work each morning, send me a detailed list of updates/to do items for the entire day. Make sure that it is clear enough that I won’t have to call and clarify everything. This will help me to manage my time better since I do have to be away from the house during business hrs sometimes.

Here is his reply:

As you know, much of the work we’re doing is flying by the seat of our pants. We can work with your schedule however much of the design work we need to discuss with you. Just expect that we will pass a lot of work your way…you will get paid well with us. OK?

We will set it up on a 1, 2, 3 basis. After you complete, include the original task 1,2,3 and place under what you did with the task so we can follow up and stay on the same page. This texting and calling was creating a lot of disorder, thank you for your input, it means a lot with us.

OK, so he is getting to the point of nit-picky, but whatever.. I will compromise and send him the list when I have completed them. I put the word “done” in red underneath each one to ensure that I had finished, and sent him the checklist.

His response:

Please resend this to me in the original format with your notations in italics. That way we can organize it better and save time: I.E.

1. Please upload files as you go ….

finished

2. All pages must be .asp when you save them.

Not complete, the reason why…..

Are you serious??? This is blatantly a disregard for any professional relationship, and instead is an undermining way of maintaining control. I complied with a little bit of sarcasm in the “not complete” sections.

I had spoken to the “boss” on a few occasions (via telephone and email), mainly to discuss details of the packaging for one of the products. He seemed to be a very nice guy, and wasn’t near as difficult to deal with as the client himself had been.

All was going OK for awhile (almost a month) and we were rocking right along with the websites. He was happy with my work at this point as per an email from him: “We are on the right track now.. This website is looking great!!!”

I was talking to him via yahoo messenger (which had become our primary method of contact) one night about revisions to the site that “is looking great”. I had completed the layout and some of the coding for the website at this point. After about 3 hours or so of “change this, change that, no I liked it better before”, he drops a bomb on me:

him: it’s coming along (link) looks way better though

At this point I am pissed…

me: OK so what now?

him: well, there’s a way to do something RIGHT and there’s a way to do something somewhat-right and i went with your model on (this site) but it is looking about half right. i am not getting excited about it either are my colleagues so here it is we have the content and boxes and logo what i think we are going to need to do is start from scratch because this is not a site worthy of our network (site 1) and (site 2) are and you need to slow down and get more realistic you are dealing with savvy business men that know exactly what they are doing

After this conversation, I get started on the new design. I huff and puff at my computer, and I cannot imagine the nerve of this man. On January 8^th, I spoke with him on the phone and told him that this was considered a new website, and would be charged as such. I also sent him and his “boss” an email:

Unfortunately I must make a few revisions/clarifications to the contract. We have hit a speed bump that I personally do not wish to cross again during this process..

I was told to create a site similar to: http://www.dermologystretchmark.com/ (This was the link HE provided to me.)

At your request, I created a striped background instead of following the example site. All of the graphics were made as per your specifications. I then get chewed out because the investors are not happy with the design. That was not my fault, and I will not be held responsible for that. I then had to completely start from scratch and scrap a site which was 90% complete. I do not mind creating a different design, but will not do it for free again. We discussed this on the phone.

Our schedules are far too different to work out the entire site, a piece at a time, like we have been. Your time is valuable, as is mine. I have spent countless hours trying to figure out what it is that you want each graphic to look like, where it should be placed etc. I then have to send u one graphic at a time and wait until you have time to check it. This is just as much a waste of your time as it is mine. Please take the necessary time to gather content and images and an example site. This will save us both much time and frustrations.. I cannot begin the project until this is received.

We have tried this “flying by the seat of our pants” deal, and it is not working. If we can stick close to this schedule, we should have no further complications. I have proven in the last 24 hours that this will work. I expect your cooperation in this matter so that we can get the job at hand completed in a timely manner and with as few headaches as humanly possible. We must also set a time each day in which we meet up on yahoo to discuss any and all details prior to going to the next step. Without some sort of game plan or structure, we end up with the cluster **** we have had this week. (No, I didn’t spell out the word, it was sent in asterisks just as it is here).

Sat-Sun: You gather all text, images and other content needed for the site. This includes logo, pricing, terms, links, number of pages with names, and an example site for me to replicate as you did with (site 1) and (site 3) and anything else you need on the site. I will not start the design until this is received nor will I spend hours scouring the Internet for images for you. Make a detailed account of where each image/text is supposed to go so that there is no room for error. I do not want to have to call and clarify every detail.

Mon-Tues: I will create the template including all images and graphics. Once complete I will send you the preview. You will then send back ONE list of changes. I do not need 5 emails to search through. This makes a huge mess, and some updates/revisions may well be forgotten. I will make the changes and send you the preview. This process continues until the design is satisfactory for you, (boss man) AND investors. I will not code and put it on the server until this step has been approved. Once approved there will be no further design changes.

Wed-Thurs: I will start coding the site. I must reiterate: There will be no more design changes made after this. This means the layout of the site and color scheme. However, graphics may be added or removed, if (and only if) the current design/layout allows for it. If you (or anyone with claims to the site) find that you do not like the design after all, I will be happy to create another design, but it will be charged as a new site as per the contract.

Friday: all additional revisions will be made prior to going to the programmers and/or flash guy. The site should be 99.99% finished at this point. Once all changes have been made, I will place the updated files onto the server so that the programmers will be able to get their codes into place.

Sat-Sun: Gather content for next site as per above.

This is a basic time line. I’m sure this may all be completed before Friday. I will be sticking to not working weekends, as I have a family, and they come first. There has to be some time for them. I know you will understand, and we can have a more pleasant, and less stressful working relationship. Not to mention keep everyone else involved happy.

I heard nothing from him for 5 days. On January 13^th, he sends me another “critical update” email, and it was back to business as usual with no mention of the new charge of the new website. January 26^th comes along and I send him a revised contract. Keep in mind in the original contract, I had specified in the contract that I had the right to refuse service at any time, which I exercised at this point. I was not going to create another website for him for nothing.

The next day I sent an email to the “boss” asking if he was going to be sending me a 1099 for tax purposes. He sent a reply saying that he needed my social security number. I think not buddy. I gave him my EIN instead. Never did get the 1099, but claimed the income on my taxes anyway so that I wouldn’t get in trouble with the govt.

January 26^th I asked him (the client) what the game plan was for working on the websites. He told me that his investors had put a halt on working with me until their attorneys had reviewed the new contract, and he was prohibited from speaking to me until they got back with him. In the original contract, I had specifically prohibited the use of 3^rd party persuasion unless agreed upon, which had never been mentioned previously.  I had asked him if we were going to work, or if we were done. Conversaton we had via text message when I asked him where we stood on the contract.

him:jeez we’ll discuss a new contract, the ole one didn’t work

me: How bout I draw up a new one and email it your way? We can negotiate from there.

him: OK, but understand that u are on the verge of getting dumped by my bosses so it better be much more favorable or else there is nothing that i can do. not my money or my business.

him: my final words to u are that the way I’ve won at this game is to take losses.

Are you kidding me? Take losses?? As if this business relationship was working for me… I sent him a breech of contract notice on January 30^th 2010. I had specified exact instances when he had breeched the contract. I had also sent a copy to his “boss”. It outlined, that due to the breech, payment for 3 websites was due and payable immediately.

Total Due Immediately: $9,325.00

The story does not end here… I will post the rest very soon!

Boy nearly suspended over LEGO toy…

I heard on the news today that a boy was nearly suspended over a LEGO toy gun.  This is one of the most outrageous things I have heard in a while.  

Here’s the scoop: http://www.bostonherald.com/news/national/northeast/view/20100204nyc_boy_nearly_suspended_over_2-inch_toy_gun/srvc=home&position=recent

I wonder if the principal thought he was going to somehow manage to hurt another child with it.   How in the world is a 2 inch piece of plastic supposed to threaten to ANYONE??  I suppose he could have poked someone’s eye out but come on..  This principal must not have children or she would have simply confiscated the toy and told him not to bring it again.  It’s not like it was a functioning weapon.  It’s solid plastic for heaven’s sake!!  (Unless LEGO is making 2 inch plastic bb guns now, and I am simply not aware of this change.)  This lack of common sense is one of the things (amongst many) that is ruining our great country.

I would love to hear your feedback.