O’DonnellWeb

This is absolutely not news to any reader here, but apparently it is possible to get into a top college without the AP classes, 99th percentile SAT, president of the honor society, and other cookie cutter accomplishments of the typical high achieving high school student.

That is good news, because my kids are sort of counting on it

95 South was even more of a parking lot than normal today. I heard the traffic report on two local radio station at around 5:15 PM – 5:25 PM. The stations were 93.3 (WFLS) and 104.5. Both traffic reporters reported that all lanes were open on 95 S near Fredericksburg, and the extra slow traffic was just volume mixed with rain. One of the stations also reported that RT 3 was even more of a parking lot than normal.

In reality, there was a broken down semi blocking the left and center lanes about 1 mile north of RT 3 on I-95. Once you got by that, traffic moved at the speed limit. RT 3 was like 10 PM traffic due to the fact that all the cars were stuck on I-95. It took me 20 minutes to go the two miles from RT 17 to the accident, then about 5 minutes to go the other 3 miles home.

Do these guys actually monitor police radio and the DOT cameras. Based on today’s report, I suspect they are sitting in an office doing shots of bourbon while surfing porn on the Internet, pausing every 10 minutes or so to pull a traffic report out of their ass. How exactly do you miss a semi blocking two lanes of traffic? And how do you report extra congestion on RT 3 when there are no cars on RT 3?

Since I mentioned his sister’s birthday last month I should probably point out that he turned 16 yesterday. He spent the day fencing, followed by dinner at Buffalo Wild Wings, and cake and presents at home. He got the board game Axis & Allies (why yes, I did pick it out) and the Angel box set. Nice timing on that as we are close to finishing season 3 of Buffy.

Last night we ran into Petsmart. After I paid (with a check card) I realized that they did not give me the sale price on one of the products that I purchased. I was overcharged by $2. When I pointed this out to the cashier she called for a price check, which confirmed that I was correct. What happened next was astonishing.

She pulled out an old school manual credit card imprinting machine and said it would be 30 days before I saw a refund of the $2 overcharge.

30 days? Did I fall into a hot tub and land in 1978? When I asked why, she claimed that to process the credit electronically she would have to swipe the card on the cash register, and that the connection isn’t encrypted.

So PetSmart bought cash registers with an integrated credit card reader that doesn’t encrypt the data? And because of that, a store error has me out $2 for 30 days. Multiply that by 10 mistakes a day times however many hundreds or thousands of stores they have and you are talking about real money.

Obviously, the $2 is not that big a deal. It’s the principal and sheer audacity of it that bugs me. They see nothing wrong with taking 30 days to correct a store mistake, in fracking 2010?

I should have made a fuss and demanded a cash refund.

I took this picture back in November on our trip to FL. I think it is Dawn Brancheau, the women that was killed by an Orca at Sea World yesterday. My caption is definitely less funny now than it was 3 months ago – but I have this thing about not changing history so I’m not deleting the caption. She died doing what she loved, which probably beats a lot of the alternatives. Well, it doesn’t beat not dying, but you know what I mean. I’d be quite happy for somebody to prove this isn’t Dawn, but it does look like her. For the record, I’m opposed to putting the Orca down or whatever they might want to do to it to protect people in the future. I’m reasonably certain that all the trainers understood that they were working with a wild animal and not a domesticated puppy. These things are going to happen. If anything, maybe this is a good reminder that Shamu is not a fuzzy little stuffed animal, it’s a predator.

From FL

On preview – the caption does not come through when embedded, which maybe is a good thing. Click through if you want to see my funny then, but totally inappropriate today, caption on the photo.

In Texas, you have to pretend you are Christian if you want your neighbors to allow their children to play with your children.

But remember, it’s free thinking liberals that are intolerant.

With a new Republican governor in office the legislative body in VA didn’t waste any time paying back the NRA for all their help getting him into office in the first place. It’s funny how anti-government Republicans get all in favor of government activism when they are in charge.

Let’s take a look at the new laws. Given that the NRA spent $500,000 getting McDonnell elected, it’s probably safe to assume any of these that make it to his desk will be passed.

–Repeal the prohibition on buying more than one handgun a month that was enacted in 1993 because Virginia was the No. 1 supplier of guns used in crimes in other states.

Never let it be said that Virginia doesn’t care about about being the best, even if it’s being the best at supplying guns used in crimes. Hell, somebody has to supply the drug lords and rapists. It might was well be VA gun dealers.

–Allow gun owners without a concealed carry permit to lock handguns in a vehicle or boat. The Senate passed a similar bill.

How exactly is safety promoted by untrained people keeping loaded guns close at hand in their vehicles?

–Allow those with a concealed carry permit to take hidden guns into restaurants that sell alcohol as long as they don’t drink. The Senate also passed this bill.

Guns and alcohol, they go together like Donny and Marie? People so insecure that they feel like they need a gun on them at Applebees are exactly the sort of people should be kept far away from guns.

–Shield those who shoot intruders in their homes from lawsuits.

Agree with this 100%. You break into my house and I’m erring on the side of caution by assuming the worst.

–Allow concealed handgun permit holders to renew their permit by mail. This also passed the Senate.

Seems reasonable. If I can renew my drivers license by mail I don’t see why a CC permit should be any different.

–Restrict from federal regulation any gun made or sold in Virginia.

Seems like a cheap attempt to encourage gun manufacturers to move to VA.

–Shield from public access information on concealed handgun permit holders.

Nope, no special privacy rights for CC holders. They should be just as screwed by the lack of privacy protections as the rest of us.

–Require localities that hold gun buyback programs to attempt to sell or auction the guns to licensed firearms dealers before destroying them.

Republicans interfering in the markets again. Funny how they are only pro free market when they agree with the outcomes. Gun buy backs are silly in the first place, trying to dictate that the guns go back into the market is even sillier.

–Repeal the requirement that sellers of pistols and revolvers furnish the Circuit Court with the name and address of the buyer and other information, and require existing records to be destroyed.

The 2nd Amendment says we have the right to own guns. It says nothing about the right to own guns without anybody else knowing about it.

–Prohibit any person, property owner, employer or business to block someone from locking a gun in their vehicle, and shield them from liability from anything that may happen with that firearm.

Republicans don’t respect property rights now either? Is there any right other than the right to own a gun that Republicans give a damn about?

–Ban localities from being able to prohibit hunting within a half-mile of a subdivision, but allow them to prohibit hunting within a subdivision.

So I have to remove the deer blind in my back yard? Funny how the party of small local government is so willing to trample on the ability of local government to manage its own affairs.

–Direct Virginia State Police to develop a plan to allow lifetime concealed handgun permits to state residents. Currently, permits are good for five years.

Because people never change.

–Prohibit localities from requiring fingerprints for a concealed carry permit.

Maybe we should just include a handgun in the gift bag the hospitals give to newborns.

–Allow those who are denied a concealed handgun permit to have an appeals hearing. The Senate passed a similar bill.

That seems reasonable, which probably means there is a catch here that I’m missing.

–Allow those with concealed handgun permits to take guns into emergency shelters.

Definitely, those crazy homeless people in the shelters are dangerous. And if they smell too bad somebody can just shoot them. It’ll be a win-win!

–Allow a retired law enforcement officer to carry a concealed handgun without a permit.

Sorry, once retired they are citizens just like the rest of us, and thus should be subject to the same laws. Quite frankly, a retired cop with a file full of unnecessary force complaints should not be carrying anything more dangerous than a water pistol.

–Allow court clerks to issue concealed handgun permits to applicants who meet all requirements without judicial review.

Are court clerks qualified to do that? Again, seems reasonable on the surface, which probably means I shouldn’t trust it.

Virginia is already one of the easier places in the country to get a gun legally. It’s probably also a fairly easy place to get one illegally too. I don’t have any experience with the latter option. This is nothing more than the Republican party of VA paying tribute to their masters in the gun lobby. Other than the protection for home owners defending themselves, they are not solving any actual problems here. They are creating a few though.

I don’t make this stuff up folks.

State Delegate Bob Marshall of Manassas says disabled children are God’s punishment to women who have aborted their first pregnancy

Even if you believe that, how much of an asshole do you have to be to say it out loud?

“The number of children who are born subsequent to a first abortion with handicaps has increased dramatically. Why? Because when you abort the first born of any, nature takes its vengeance on the subsequent children,” said Marshall, a Republican.

I’d love to see his source on that.

McDonnell has publicly supported calls to cut off funding for Planned Parenthood. His predecessor, Democrat Tim Kaine, supported funding for Planned Parenthood.

Welcome to VA. Please set your clock back 40 years.

Nelson suggested that the organization be called “Klan Parenthood,” saying that the group’s founder, Margaret Sanger, made racist comments in the 1930s and that the organization has shown a “willingness to take donations from people who are racist.”

Coming from a Republican, that’s quite rich.

According to Marshall, Planned Parenthood receives “about $500,000 a year” from the state.

But Jessica Honke, director of public policy for Planned Parenthood Advocates of Virginia, said the only state funding Planned Parenthood receives is from Medicaid reimbursements. That amount was about $35,000 in the 2009 fiscal year, according to the Department of Medical Assistance Services.

Who do we believe, the employee, or the the Republican legislator with his head so far up his ass that he can see his own tonsils?

At the press conference, the Rev. Joe Ellison, vice president of the Council on Biblical Principles, said that when he was in college, he paid for girlfriends to get abortions. He said he still feels guilty about that today.

I’d love for one of these girlfriends to come forward and refute this, however I doubt they even exist.

“We’re asking pastors to shut them down in the community. We’re asking pastors to pray them out. And we’re asking Planned Parenthood to leave our children alone,” Ellison said.

How is it exactly that a organization that is allegedly so offensive to God even exists in the first place. It seems like an entity powerful enough to create the Universe in the first place could take care of Planned Parenthood, and could do so without the desperate, pathetic pleas of these idiots.

Really, if Delegate Bob Marshall represents the best Manassas has to offer, it’s a wonder that they can even keep the electricity running and the toilets working in that town.

Yes, the Washington Post really did use that line in the article. Otherwise, the article follows the standard press template for a homeschooling article.

• Picture of kids studying at kitchen table – check. (It’s in the photo gallery that accompanies the article.)
• Discussion of socialization issues – check
• Legos worked into story – check
• Mentioned HSers getting together at library – check.

Hey, they might try it in Utah.

Yes, some brain dead conservative legislator in Utah really suggested that the state reduce its budget deficit by eliminating the 12th grade. He has since back tracked and suggested that 12th grade be optional for kids that have completed the graduation requirements. That actually isn’t such a bad idea. I’d be curious if he has any financial interests in the private school world. Eliminating 12th grade and forcing parents to ante up for a year of private school for college prep would be a financial windfall for the private school industry. However, The Zero Boss points out that he is eliminating the wrong grade. Senior year rocks. We don’t want to eliminate it. Being a freshman usually sucks, so we should ditch 9th grade instead.

I have even a wackier idea. Let’s do away with the whole concept of lockstep advancement based on age. Advance kids based on their individual merits and needs. Just think what it’ll do for high school sports. It’ll be perfectly legal to keep dumb, talented jocks around for 7 or 8 years of high school. I can only imagine the football dynasties that could result.

I’m kidding about the football proposal. Maybe. Seriously though, if the point of school is to learn X, and you have achieved the goal of learning X, what is the point of sticking around? I think a lot of kids would benefit from getting the hell out of school a year or two early and logging some time in the real world before moving on to college.

This is not a totally academic issue for me. My 16 year old could easily pass the GED tomorrow. Granted, he isn’t in school anyway, but I have been wondering if there is any benefit if he takes the test and starts taking some community college courses next year. He’ll probably be taking CC classes next year anyway, just wondering what the pros and cons are of staying a legal high schooler versus getting the GED and stopping the charade.

The VA government can’t seem to figure out how to operate a snow plow, but they have your back should Lucifer show up with ideas of tagging you with The Mark of the Beast.

Del. Mark L. Cole (R-Fredericksburg), the bill’s sponsor, said that privacy issues are the chief concern behind his attempt to criminalize the involuntary implantation of microchips. But he also said he shared concerns that the devices could someday be used as the “mark of the beast” described in the Book of Revelation.

“My understanding — I’m not a theologian — but there’s a prophecy in the Bible that says you’ll have to receive a mark, or you can neither buy nor sell things in end times,” Cole said. “Some people think these computer chips might be that mark.” [...]

[T]he growing use of microchips has collided with the Book of Revelation…. David Neff, editor of the magazine Christianity Today, said that some fundamentalist Christians believe that bar codes and implanted microchips could be used by a totalitarian government to control commerce — a sign of the coming end of the world.

Now generally speaking I’m in favor of a law that forbids any organization (government included) from requiring you to be microchipped. However, making laws based on fantasy is not good government, or even sane behavior. If we are going to go that route, I demand a law banning discrimination against Hobbits. Also, unicorns should be a protected species.

Since he brought up The Number of the Beast.

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I have done my taxes for at least the last 10 years with H&R Block TaxCut software. It was easy to use and I’ve never been audited, so I saw no reason to change. Last month somebody doing PR for TurboTax contacted me and asked if I would like to try TurboTax this year. I don’t have anything against TurboTax, I just used TaxCut out of habit, so why not? So I was pleasantly surprised when TurboTax calculated a $42,000 refund for me, and guaranteed I wouldn’t get audited.

OK, I’m totally making that up. I did get a refund this year, but it’s about 1% of $42,000.

Truthfully, I was damn impressed with TurboTax Online. The interface was much richer than TaxCut. I essentially forgot that I was operating in a browser. Speaking of browsers, when I started I got a warning that my browser (FireFox on Linux) was not supported. I went ahead and everything worked just fine. However, if you are writing an application that will work in Firefox on Windows and Mac, there is no reason you can’t support Linux too. We’ll put browser support in the #Fail column for TurboTax, even though it did work.

The interview process is very straight forward and it seemed like Turbotax did a more thorough job of examining the possible deductions for me. I suspect that is mostly an interface issue though as my itemized deductions were pretty much on par with what I had last year. Still, if I felt better, even though the results were the same, that has to go down as a #win for Turbotax.

H&R Block tries a little too hard to upsell you while you are doing your taxes. Obviously, Intuit has more stuff for you to buy too, but the sales pitches didn’t seem as intrusive as I remember from TaxCut Online last year. So we’ll mark that as a #win for TurboTax also.

One thing that I thought was really cool is that Intuit will let you complete your tax return for free. To actually save and print it or efile you need to pay up, but the ability to trial the service all the way to the end for free is nice. And let’s face it, if you’ve spent two hours doing your taxes online, and the only thing standing between you and a direct deposit of your refund is anteing up $29.95 to TurboTax Online, you’ll pay up and efile on the spot.

The online help options seemed to be deep. I didn’t actually need to use any of it, but there was free community support as well as live paid tax advice available. The UI is elegant and easy to follow. If you can buy a book at Amazon.com you should be able to use TurboTax Online without any problems.

So the bottom line is that both TurboTax Online and TaxCut Online are fine. They both work, and for most of us with a normal tax situation there is no reason to pay somebody to do your taxes. You can do it yourself. TurboTax is more polished, and the ability to complete your tax return before you have to pay for the service makes it very easy to try out. All else being equal, I’ll go with TurboTax in the future, unless somebody from H&R Block makes me an offer I can’t refuse

There were real family values on display at the Super Bowl last night, and it had nothing to do with a bigoted right wing organization writing a $2.5 million dollar check to CBS. The lasting impression from the Super Bowl will not be the ad, it will not be anything that happened during the game, it will be Drew Brees in tears, holding his son on the field after the game.

I measured 16 inches at 3:30 PM. It’s starting to taper off a bit. We’ve shoveled 5 times; 6 PM and 8:30 PM last night, and 9 AM, 12 PM, and 3 PM today. I’m hopeful that the 6 PM shoveling pass will be the final one, at least until the plows deposit 8 metric tons of snow at the end of the driveway on Monday or Tuesday.

I took advantage of being snowed in to finish up a site for my neighborhood home owners association. As usual, if you see the lurking typos that I’m missing please let me know in the comments.