Superior Court of California, County of Solano responds to my letter

 Posted by at 11:03  Plain 'ol Cantankerous
Feb 232015
 
A motor officer writes a traffic ticket for a ...

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Think back to August.

You may remember that way back in August I got a speeding ticket.  Six weeks later I received a Courtesy Notice from the friendly folks at Superior Court in Solano County.  Although it was helpful in terms of what to do, the notice was inexplicably vauge on the details of the services that I was paying for.  At first I was perplexed and annoyed.  But then I told myself.  This is California the greatest states in the USA.  They will be happy to explain.  So, like any red blooded American I asked for an explanation.  Living in a democracy where public employees are supposed to serve the public, I sent back my ‘bail’ with a letter requesting more information and questioning how speeding on I-80 should incur charges for medical airlifts and court security among other things. Well, the wait is over. I got my reply from the Court.

I have to admit being disappointed.

As you can see, it’s not even a form letter. There are 9 check box responses under a heading that promises that response to my inquiry will be found in the statements below. None are checked and when I read them, I don’t find anything resembling an answer to any of my questions. I appreciate Marilyn taking the time to type my docket information and her name in the memorandum. I know she must be busy.  Still it would have so much more satisfying if she had responded to any of my points. How could she possible believe that a meaningless piece of paper satisfies her obligation as a public employee to answer the questions of a taxpayer? What about response is so hard for her to understand?

I have been on the other side. 

What makes this more dismaying for me is that for nearly 35 years, I worked for the public myself at the municipal level. In those days, any letter received by my agency received a reply tailored to the issues raised in the letter. It was usually a nuisance, even a pain in the butt,  but we were careful to reply to each point even when the issues were ridiculous because the authors were voters. We might not be able to make them happy, but if they took the trouble to write us a letter, they were damn well going to get a letter back from us. These days, maybe they do it with emails but I bet they still make a response and anyway the court only gave me a mailing address.

It could be worse, I guess. 

I have to admit that the Court does seem to get part of the program. They sent me a written reply to my email. It just failed to provide any response to my questions. Since I still don’t have answers to my questions, I have to decide what to do next.

Up with Cantankerous Old Coots Lessons

 Posted by at 11:03  Coots Lessons, rants, Up With
Feb 232015
 

Newer readers may not have noticed that there is an instructive dimension to Cantankerous Old Coots. Early on Justin and I created a series of Cantankerous Old Coots Lessons designed to help fledgling Coots perfect their cantankerosity. Starting with Lesson 1 “Let it out” up to Lesson 21 “Cantankerosity lasts” we provided direction to COC wannabees. We even established Cantankerous Old Coots University with an ebook containing augmented versions of lessons 1 through 5. It was a glorious vision. We would help create a more perfect world by communicating the COC vision as stated in our manifesto and help spread the COC message to the initiated..

Coots in action

We imagined that COC would wake up hundreds of sleepwalkers from the boring tedium that is 21st century life. We were certain that slowly- over time- our readership would grow and more Coots would join with us to spread the spirit of cantankerosity. We were wrong.

COC gets read but as far as we can tell, no one wants to join the ranks, take the lessons seriously and move into serious cantankerosity. Our most popular post continues to be Coots Lesson 13 “Same to you.” a thoughtful and timeless lesson from Justin about standing up for yourself. It isn’t clear to us why this lesson resonates so well with our readers but as we struggle to understand our reader’s thinking we wonder why their pleasure with Lesson 13 doesn’t cause them to check out Lesson 12 or even Lesson 14.

Then I get it. Our readers are indeed Cantankerous Old Coots. They can’t be bothered with the effort required to locate those other lessons just like Justin and I can’t be bothered with creating a web page with links to all the lessons. This is the most encouraging news we’ve had in months because it means that we are finding Coots and Coot wannabees out in the blogosphere. They have found COC and appreciate the message and like good Coots, they are not willing to waste any time or effort to make us feel better. They have a mission to improve their quality of their lives. Improving the quality of our lives here at COC, not so much.

We clearly didn’t connect all the dots when we developed our business model here at COC. We talked a cantankerous game but measured our results using ordinary standards. What this suggests is that more people might enjoy the COC Lessons if we got off our double-wide asses and created an index of those lessons with convenient links. Being user friendly and customer service focused is not generally the prime directive here at COC This is going to take some time to sort out. Stay tuned.

 

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More evidence to the old….

 Posted by at 11:03  Down with, Plain 'ol Cantankerous, principles, Problems and solutions, rants
Feb 232015
 

 

English: Evidence of Logging. The photograph s...

English: Evidence of Logging. The photograph shows the main track through the woods on Houghton Moor (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I know I should channel my annoyances at my aging body into wonderfully articulate and cantankerous rants, but I am not sure I am ready for that.  As if I need any more of this getting old stuff.  We went camping this weekend for my 12 year olds birthday.  Man oh man, I felt old.

Let’s just say that this trip I was glad to have a mattress to sleep on in the tent trailer.

I was glad to sleep in until 9 AM on 2 of the 3 days.

I went to bed before midnight.

I couldn’t get up the hill without falling and messing up my knee.  Well, I probably would have done that anyway.

So here I sit.  I feel like an old man when I move.  I am slow to get going and tired all of the time.  My body is betraying me.

But then, in my mind, I feel like a 14 year old kid who is going to be in trouble all of the time.  There is not the place where I feel like the 38 year old man that I should be, well am in reality.

When do you actually start to feel the age you are?  Where do you feel like the adult you should feel like?

Hell I have 4 kids, the oldest just turned 12.  I shouldn’t feel like I am barely older than her.  But I do.

Maybe I am just tired and the constant stream of caffeine is eroding my psyche, maybe I need a therapist.  Maybe I need a big jug of rum.

Whatever shall I do…..I want to end up similar to Ralph, retired and cantankerous, living life how it comes, but right now, I am going to lose my mind and be running around the nursing home in a loincloth, waving my cane and flashing the old ladies.  Ahhh Dementia….you minx you.  When will you visit?

Anyway, what think you all?  I want some constructive information on what to do, or you can just go and jump off the short pier.

 

 

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Up with Columbus Day!

 Posted by at 11:03  Up With
Feb 232015
 
First landing of Columbus on the shores of the...
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Did you celebrate Columbus Day this year?  Columbus Day along with the country that thought up the idea has been demonized so harshley that hardly anyone celebrates the holiday anymore. Sure New York City still holds a Columbus Day Parade but more often you get rags like the Huffington Post telling us that Columbus is not worth our respect:

Called everything from a “rapist” to an “idiot,” Columbus Day now occupies the position of a bona fide controversy in the annals of America.

Amazingly no one ever seems to notice that when they tear down the giants from the past, there is no one left to look up to. I’m sick of all this negativity. They say that our founding fathers were nothing more than miscegenating slaveholders who created our deeply flawed country in their own self interest, ignoring it’s greatness through the centuries. There is too much here to get into. I am going to stick with Columbus today. It is very simple. I don’t know much about his ethics or morals. I don’t actually care because IT DOESN’T MATTER. Christopher Columbus discovered America and made our country possible and without America, I’d probably be a worthless Swedish welfare suckup today. The man did good by me.

The Huffington Posters and the other hate America folks like to point out that discovering America wasn’t so good for the Indians. I don’t know about that. Those hypothetical s always bother me. Who knows what might have happened if the Aztecs decided to develop an empire. Who’s to know how well that would work out for the Indians. What if the Vikings came back? You just never know.   This just might be the best of all possible worlds. They never like to credit America for fighting to end slavery, saving the world twice from the Germans who seem to have an unstoppable stream of bad ideas to foist on the world or taking in immigrants from every country in the world and making American’s out of them. America has been good for Americans, the world and it has made a place where Huffingrton Posters can safely snivel about some better world. If things are so bad. why are they still here?

So I say Up with Columbus Day and let’s celebrate the bravery and hutzpa of our man Chris. He may not have been the perfect human being. He might have had a flaw or two but he had the balls to talk the Spanish into fronting his expedition to reach India and sail to the edge of the earth. Along the way he discovered a new world. Whatever the cost, the result, as they say in the credit card ads, is priceless. Give the man his due. He is the kind of man we need more of today instead of the self-serving timid and pansified leaders we seem unable to kick out these days and rags like the Huffington Post seem to find flawless. Let’s hear it for flawed people like Chris who took a chance, risked everything and made the world a different and better place. Then lets kick some pansified ass next month.

Down With Mother Nature!

 Posted by at 11:03  Down with, rants
Feb 232015
 
Salt Lake City
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Ahhh Ralph has been eloquent the past few days with tales of airline travel and LA.  While I believe there is a place for such things, Sometimes there need to be comment on things that we can do nothing about.

I am talking about how &*^%ing hot it has been the last few days here in Utah.  Check your local listings, but it seems like September is not being the crisp fall month that I remember from my youth.  Days where you actually needed a jacket in the morning and may be able to do without it by the afternoon.

This past week it has seemed like late summer here.  All temps in the mid 90’s.  This week is scheduled for more of the same.  The air conditioner is still running and the kids are still wearing shorts.  So today, I saying Down with Mother Nature and Down with the Heat!

Now there are going to be those people who say “What’s the big f’ing deal?  It’s hot here too.”  Same statement applies.  I am not sure of Ralph’s climate but whenever I think of California it is nothing but sun and heat.

There may also be those who will give me the business about living in a basic desert state.  It gets hot in the desert.  My Grandpa used to live in the extreme southern Utah town of St George where the summer temps routinely hit over 110 and cool off to the low 90’s at midnight.  That climate sucks.

Up here in Northern Utah we have seasons.  Or we used to.  Now it seems like it is just warm all of the time.  Last December a flannel shirt and a Levi jacket were warm enough.  “So Move.” Some of you will say.  That is not an option.  I would rather just bitch and hone some more cantankerousness.  There is nothing to be done about Mother Nature and whatever PMS is causing this heat wave.

Is it global warming?  I hope not, it will last too damn long for me.  I can only hope that the thermometer bottoms out and we end up having to leave a faucet on at night so the pipes don’t freeze this winter.

All in all there is a climate for every one and you just have to deal with where you are.  If you don’t like it, move.  If you don’t want to move, bitch about it, no one will really care.

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