Kirk's Ad
Kirk Humphreys ads have hit the air bigtime. It goes by pretty fast but my memory of the ad is that he doesn't say he is a Republican running for Senate but a "conservative" running for Senate. That's probably as true a statement you'll hear in this upcoming election. But Humphreys is way beyond conservative on the spectrum - he's almost Inhofian. The other interesting aspect of this first TV ad is Kirk's use of the Billy Graham Crusade in Oklahoma City as a reason to vote for him. Presumably Kirk takes credit for getting Graham to come to OKC and presumably religious crusades are now right up there with attracting a $1 billion semiconductor plant to the city (which he didn't). Oklahoma City also got a new Buddhist Temple last year but Kirk didn't mention that.
Wednesday, June 02, 2004
Thunderstorm Wind Event hits Oklahoma
A windy, stormy day in Oklahoma. Winds of up to 100 mph hit parts of East and Southeast Oklahoma this afternoon and trees were knocked down across the state. I heard a new word today, a very Oklahoma word - "gustnado". What's a "gustnado" you say? Well, it's not quite a tornado but more than a "dust devil". The NOAA calls it a "Thunderstorm Wind Event".
A windy, stormy day in Oklahoma. Winds of up to 100 mph hit parts of East and Southeast Oklahoma this afternoon and trees were knocked down across the state. I heard a new word today, a very Oklahoma word - "gustnado". What's a "gustnado" you say? Well, it's not quite a tornado but more than a "dust devil". The NOAA calls it a "Thunderstorm Wind Event".
Tuesday, June 01, 2004
The Old Man and the Turkey Baster
I was talking to a 40-ish single mom today about an interesting senior citizen she became acquainted with recently while trying to lead him to the Gospel. The octogenarian is living in a retirement center in Oklahoma City - all but abandoned by his children. His children sold his house to pay for his rent and care at the retirement center and then disappeared. He told my friend he had no idea where his children were - he hadn't heard from them in five years. His only pleasure these days is growing vegetables for his own use and to give away to others at the Center. He's also apparently lonely for other forms of companionship as she described how he had made inappropriate proposals to her during her last proselytizing visit to him.
My friend was afraid to go back to visit him and had heard nothing of him for several weeks. Until today that is - when the police called to ask her if she knew the man. Seems he had been in her neighborhood trying to deliver vegetables to my friend but had gone knocking on the wrong door - the door of a very paranoid old lady that had him picked up by the police - after she beat him with a doorstop. Good thing she didn't have a gun.
Closer to home, the mullets next door decided to try to train their German Shepard to do tricks. Several men wearing cut-off t-shirts have been in their backyard all day trying to teach the dog to squirt them with a turkey baster filled with water. They never were successful (the dog is too smart) but they did kill an entire afternoon with the project. The project came to an end when Scrawny Mom came home and saw her well-teethed baster - and hit one of the men with it. This is much better than the Beverly Hillbillies anyday. Just wish there was an Ellie Mae in the family.
I was talking to a 40-ish single mom today about an interesting senior citizen she became acquainted with recently while trying to lead him to the Gospel. The octogenarian is living in a retirement center in Oklahoma City - all but abandoned by his children. His children sold his house to pay for his rent and care at the retirement center and then disappeared. He told my friend he had no idea where his children were - he hadn't heard from them in five years. His only pleasure these days is growing vegetables for his own use and to give away to others at the Center. He's also apparently lonely for other forms of companionship as she described how he had made inappropriate proposals to her during her last proselytizing visit to him.
My friend was afraid to go back to visit him and had heard nothing of him for several weeks. Until today that is - when the police called to ask her if she knew the man. Seems he had been in her neighborhood trying to deliver vegetables to my friend but had gone knocking on the wrong door - the door of a very paranoid old lady that had him picked up by the police - after she beat him with a doorstop. Good thing she didn't have a gun.
Closer to home, the mullets next door decided to try to train their German Shepard to do tricks. Several men wearing cut-off t-shirts have been in their backyard all day trying to teach the dog to squirt them with a turkey baster filled with water. They never were successful (the dog is too smart) but they did kill an entire afternoon with the project. The project came to an end when Scrawny Mom came home and saw her well-teethed baster - and hit one of the men with it. This is much better than the Beverly Hillbillies anyday. Just wish there was an Ellie Mae in the family.
Monday, May 31, 2004
Important Junk Mail
A fact of life in America today is that the clueless are targets for increasingly sophisticated ways to rip them off. Even the educated have a hard time avoiding scams these days but it is true that a healthy dose of skepticism and a good education are essential to stay out of debt today. One trap that has become very common is the Important Junk Mail phenomenon.
Have you been the recipient of junk mail masquerading as important express mail, telegrams, or notifications that you've won a bundle of cash? The junk mail companies, er, direct mail professionals became tired of having their junk mailings recognized for what they were and tossed in the trash unopened. The solution was to start packaging their junk in important-looking envelopes designed to mislead the recipient into thinking he/she had received something they would actually want - cash winnings, urgent news from family, etc. Here's an example I received today:
OkiePundit recognized the fake express mail nature of the mail piece but I opened it to see who was stooping low to deceive. Inside was an advertisement from Lithia Dodge of Broken Arrow, Oklahoma telling me that I qualified for an "invitation-only" sale of Dodge vehicles!! This sale is not open to the general public I was assured. I am given four 30-minute time slots in the coming week during which I can show up for my exclusive sale AND I am promised that I will either receive $5,000 in cash OR a $500 gift certificate. Gee, I wonder which one I would get? The cash or a coupon for $500 off something I don't want? This tactic used by Lithia is a brilliant way to concentrate their sucker traffic into 30-minute blocks of time for efficient shearing of the sheep.
A fact of life in America today is that the clueless are targets for increasingly sophisticated ways to rip them off. Even the educated have a hard time avoiding scams these days but it is true that a healthy dose of skepticism and a good education are essential to stay out of debt today. One trap that has become very common is the Important Junk Mail phenomenon.
Have you been the recipient of junk mail masquerading as important express mail, telegrams, or notifications that you've won a bundle of cash? The junk mail companies, er, direct mail professionals became tired of having their junk mailings recognized for what they were and tossed in the trash unopened. The solution was to start packaging their junk in important-looking envelopes designed to mislead the recipient into thinking he/she had received something they would actually want - cash winnings, urgent news from family, etc. Here's an example I received today:
OkiePundit recognized the fake express mail nature of the mail piece but I opened it to see who was stooping low to deceive. Inside was an advertisement from Lithia Dodge of Broken Arrow, Oklahoma telling me that I qualified for an "invitation-only" sale of Dodge vehicles!! This sale is not open to the general public I was assured. I am given four 30-minute time slots in the coming week during which I can show up for my exclusive sale AND I am promised that I will either receive $5,000 in cash OR a $500 gift certificate. Gee, I wonder which one I would get? The cash or a coupon for $500 off something I don't want? This tactic used by Lithia is a brilliant way to concentrate their sucker traffic into 30-minute blocks of time for efficient shearing of the sheep.