It's time for the 5th annual edition of my Thanksgiving-time list of things for which I am not thankful. You can get to the trail of prior lists here.
As usual, this list is in no particular order:
Sub-zero weather in November.
Iowa allowing smoking in its casinos, when it's banned everywhere else.
Government shutdowns.
Parents who don't hold their children accountable.
The botched heathcare.gov website.
Humble-braggers.
Bad football played by the teams for which I am a fan.
Ted Cruz.
Twerking.
Those still in denial about social movements that are irreversible (e.g. gay marriage, marijuana legalization).
Anyone who cares more about what I do, than they care about what they do.
Sunday, November 24, 2013
Sunday, November 17, 2013
Brutal Vikings - The Video Version
The better part of four years ago, I posted a blog entry about the misery of being a long-time Minnesota Vikings football fan, in which I gave my list of the top five most brutal losses. (The #3 spot on my list had just been recorded a few days earlier.)
The Vikings suck again this year, so it's hard to imagine there will be anything busting into the top five or even top twenty this year. But the other day on YouTube, I found a tremendous video montage that included four of my top five. You can find it here - all Vikings fans should remove sharp objects from the room if they watch it.
Since it inexplicably doesn't include my #2 pick (maybe because it's from 1975), I include it here for a full accounting. [NOTE: This is the entire game but all you need to do is start at the 1:59:30 mark for the actual misery.]
One of the things that strikes me in most of these football games is how the ultimate heartbreaking play is preceded by a crazy penultimate play, where a bad call or bounce or penalty retained the ultimate play's destiny.
Just to make mostly myself feel better, I'll include video of what might be the greatest moment in Vikings history. When you have to go back to a regular season game in 1980, that isn't good.
The Vikings suck again this year, so it's hard to imagine there will be anything busting into the top five or even top twenty this year. But the other day on YouTube, I found a tremendous video montage that included four of my top five. You can find it here - all Vikings fans should remove sharp objects from the room if they watch it.
Since it inexplicably doesn't include my #2 pick (maybe because it's from 1975), I include it here for a full accounting. [NOTE: This is the entire game but all you need to do is start at the 1:59:30 mark for the actual misery.]
One of the things that strikes me in most of these football games is how the ultimate heartbreaking play is preceded by a crazy penultimate play, where a bad call or bounce or penalty retained the ultimate play's destiny.
Just to make mostly myself feel better, I'll include video of what might be the greatest moment in Vikings history. When you have to go back to a regular season game in 1980, that isn't good.
Saturday, November 9, 2013
Getting School-ed Again
This week, the local Community Section of the Des Moines Register reported that my school district, the Johnston School District, ended its most recent fiscal year with a $2.1 million budget deficit. A huge screw up by administration, right? Heads are going to roll, right? I mean.....um.....hold on.....I'm being told in my earpiece that apparently the school board thinks it's.....OK?
But in the not-for-profit, governmental world, backed by the unlimited deep pockets of taxpayers, there is no panic. According to the article, the soon-to-be retired school superintendent offered no specific action. The district finance director said that, other than deferring the purchase of new social study textbooks, perhaps next year they'd have to maintain current staffing levels without increases.
Gosh, don't sacrifice too much.
As a taxpayer, I'm on the hook for this spending and mismanagement, but unfortunately, I have no choice nor power to invest my money elsewhere. Sure, I can vote for new school board members, but the problem is the governmental model, not the people running it.
Unless school districts, or other government entities, face consequences for overspending, it's just going to continue.
Said the school board president, "I think my takeaway would be these (numbers) look OK. But we wouldn't want them to go any lower. We'd really like to turn the direction around."
Now you might be thinking, give them a break, there are understandable one-offs now and then. After all, the article said the shortfall is partly the result of having to pay over $800,000 to implement and purchase textbooks for a new math program. If you're wondering, there was no word on whether giving everyone an iPad made a difference.
The thing of it is, besides the unanswered question of why that math stuff wasn't already budgeted for in the prior year, this is no one-off. This is the second time in the last 4 years the school district has exceeded its budget. And this is the group that's going to be in charge of building a brand new, multi-million dollar high school.
I guarantee that if something like this happened in the for-profit world, there would be VERY serious consequences. Budgets would be immediately slashed, as would jobs. Who knows, there might even be a going-out-of-business outcome.
But in the not-for-profit, governmental world, backed by the unlimited deep pockets of taxpayers, there is no panic. According to the article, the soon-to-be retired school superintendent offered no specific action. The district finance director said that, other than deferring the purchase of new social study textbooks, perhaps next year they'd have to maintain current staffing levels without increases.
Gosh, don't sacrifice too much.
As a taxpayer, I'm on the hook for this spending and mismanagement, but unfortunately, I have no choice nor power to invest my money elsewhere. Sure, I can vote for new school board members, but the problem is the governmental model, not the people running it.
Unless school districts, or other government entities, face consequences for overspending, it's just going to continue.
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