Getting Fed Up

I don't know why but recently too many things have been bothering me to the point that I feel I have to vent otherwise my pressure will go sky high. The most recent annoyance has to do with removing my old version of Kapersky Virus Protection program from one of my computer. I have never had this much trouble removing a program and I have removed many programs. It is clear that Kapersky does not want to leave my computer and those that built this program had that in mind. All through the process, Kapersky keeps asking if I really want to remove. Of course I want to remove it but it asks the question at least three times. At the end, after he/she gets the message that I really want out the program freezes. Stops. It makes me reboot the computer and again I go through the same process with the same result. Should we punish the software developers that purposely design it be difficult. I say yes..but where do I find them?

The 24%

Today has not been a good news day despite the fact that President Obama's birth certificate was released. The hope was that this could finally settle the issue. News reports during the day pointed out that 24% of the conservative voter will not change their mind and will continue to believe that President Obama is an illegitimate President. While that is troubling, what is more troubling are allegations that a majority of this 24% will never accept him because he is black. In other words, these are those that will hate you because of your race or ethnicity. This is the core of white America that will never accept you no matter what. During my life I have met them but have never asked them why they hated us. One of them called in to the Sean Hannity radio program today and was noticeably upset and discounted the validity of the President's birth certificate. He was drawn into the spirit of this show to the point that he angrily stated that they were left with only three ways to rid themselves of Obama. Hannity ask for the three ways and he stated that first was to not re-elect him, second was to impeach him and then there was a third way but paused in explaining. Listeners understood what the third method meant. This exchange was broadcasted all over the country as daily fodder for the 24%.

A real deal at Jack’s

Well call me a service critic and I will not argue because that is basically what I have become. Few of you may know that I have no kids and am supposed to be enjoying the golden years after retiring. This may explain why I prefer to eat out rather than try to cook at home and eat by myself.

Today I tried Jack in the Box’s $3.99 Jumbo Deal, which gives you two tacos, a hamburger, fries and all you can drink..drink. To tell you the truth, I expected some catch, like paying more if you wanted lettuce or tomatoes but no. The offer is legit and a terrific deal.

The tacos taste the same way they tasted during my college years. Back then I could handle as many as five tacos from the same place on San Pedro and Hwy 35 in San Antonio. A single taco was about sixty-nine cents back then in 1969.

I would say that if anything needs any improvement in the Jack in the Box Jumbo Deal its their hamburger. Most hamburgers seem to have a distinct taste and you can tell them apart. My favorite is the #2 Sonic, followed by Burger King, then Whataburger and then Wendy’s.

So I must say that Jack’s Jumbo Deal is a real deal especially for a total of $4.31 including tax.

I'm mad as hell and I won't take it anymore..maybe

I am sure that you are much like me and so you understand that as daily consumers of goods and services that things are changing. I call it the revival of our economy. What am I talking about you ask? Well I have stated this over and over about eating out on a daily basis simply because it is convenient at my stage in life. Because of that, I get to see the subtle price increases in what we pay for tacos, toothpaste and meds. By now you probably heard that our economy is slowly improving because profits are up even though hiring is still not happening. But I also notice that some businesses are also gouging the public because they are going to extremes in making money.

Take today for instance. I took my vehicle to the Peppy Boys this morning after they gave me an estimate on the phone of $130.99 to repair a water hose. But once there, they said they had made a mistake on the labor, which would increase my cost to $210. Left with little choice, I said ok but told my wife that I expected them to call me to say that they found something else that needed fixing. Sure enough, in about two hours I get the call. They said that after fixing the hose, they found out that it was not the hose but a "Y" that was leaking and were willing to give me a discount and charge me only $200 more. So my total would be $410.

So you see our economy is improving and capitalism is alive and thriving in SA. Makes me want to come out of retirement and go work for the Boys.

Walmart - Out of Order

Unlike many people, I seldom print the more than thousand photos that I take each month at events. But sometimes I do it as a request. Such was the case about a week ago. It was then that I found out that at least in San Antonio, it could be a flourishing business. I see people lining up for a chance at the print computers. But what I also saw was that most seem to be out of order. I spoke to a frustrated store manager from a chain drugstore and was told that their corporate office does not place much interest in that particular area.

I drove to several outlets including CVS, Walgreen and Walmart and found machines out of order.

One such stop was an eye opener when I ended up at a Walmart Store in the far Southside of San Antonio but found out-of-order signs taped over the screens on two machines. There was no one around. I hated the thought of having to drive more than 18 miles to Ritz Camera on the north side of San Antonio. Just then a Walmart saleslady arrived and I asked when they planned to fix the two machines.

"Oh no, both machines are working. Just take the sign off the screen." she replied. She added that the signs are placed on the screen when they have no one available to work at the photo section.

I placed my Sandisk card in the machine and printed my photos.

I'll Have a Granule Fajita Taco

I know I have said it before. I eat out most of the time and seldom cook at home. So this has taken me into many restaurants which I have enjoyed because of the convenience and adventure. I have no qualms about where I go and often try a new place if I see their parking lot full. This week I have tried fajita tacos on flour tortilla and have found a developing change. At both places I asked for the same thing and although they are on opposite sides of San Antonio, I found that the restaurants are now serving their fajita meat in granules; sort of slightly oversized BBs. Both add lettuce and tomatoes at no extra cost. The result is over-cocked meat, often dry and crumbly (crumbly ?). I hope this is not happening everywhere. I can't imagine the reason for this change but somehow I feel that they will blame the economy. The taco in this picture is not the one I ate.

Family and Friends are very important

Web Posted: Sept 21, 2010 12:10 AM
By Robert Castillo

About three years ago, I experienced a health scare that for a short time affected my vision. I was seen by numerous specialist and all but one was willing to give me a prognosis. I became aware that this condition also had an effect in the way I was living. Without any effort, I became more thoughtful and considerate of friends and family, realizing how significant they all were. This serenity was a welcome feeling. It was better than the fast pace and busy schedule that kept me going day in and day out. I also noticed that I was less likely to get upset over insignificant things and more willing to walk away from any argument or confrontation with others. However, as my vision improved my serenity seemed to diminish and now I find myself getting justifiably upset with rude or discourteous people. So when people ask me if I am better I am not trying to be flippant when I say yes and no.

Stadium, Will it be ready or not?

EPalumni.Com
Web Posted: July 18, 2010 3:PM
By Robert Castillo

The question as to whether the Student Athletic Center stadium will be ready for play on August 27, 2010 has been answered.

Fans were expecting to see the first official football game to be played on the $30 million dollar facility on August 27, 2010 at 7:30 pm when the CC Winn Mavericks football team plays Devine High School. In an official statement, a district official has assured that the facility will be ready for the game. It was also explained that the project had been delayed due to persistent rains in the local area.

Because of the amount of construction that still needs to be completed, some speculated that the new field would not be ready and as a result the game would have to be held at the old Eagle Pass Field.

The parking area and some access construction to the stadium is a major piece of work that is still pending but is expected to be completed before the scheduled date for CC Winn's first game.

It was also mentioned that the Fine Arts building will be delayed for another year. Already funded, the building's cost is estimated to be $6.5 million.

----- Above photo courtesy of Eagle Pass Sports Central.Com

One week vacation - Hawaii

Well its 7:24am and I am hooked up to the airports Wifi waiting for my flight to take off. Let me just say that I have neglected my blog for many months but hope to use it in the coming days.

I will clean it up when I finish by vacation. First thing. Anticipating the long flight and not wanting to pig out before leaving, I decided to get a simple biscuit-sausage and egg from McD at the airport. Wow not the same price as in the neighborhood. But because of the high price it tasted much better.

I packed my Nikon and hope to do plenty of photography and I don't want to do the typical postcard shots. I know that its easy to say but we will see.

One more thing...I don't plan to spell check so be warned.

Tele-Marketers are back again

Years ago I closed my home phone account with AT&T. Despite placeing our phone numbers on the States no call list the calls continued and AT&T could not help us in blocking these calls which increased month after month. For years we have used only cell phones but this week I started getting telemarketing calls. One in particular is so persistent. I got at least five calls from 206-203-2524. I have tried to trace the number and it originates in Seattle, Washington. I called my cell phone provider and they are going to get back to me. I wait.

Retirement...

I don’t know about you but this is the time of the year I start a self-evaluation about myself. I suppose this may be a result of many years of having worked with a state agency that was obsessed with high expectations.

Luckily, I’ve always felt good about myself when I looked back at the year. Being retired concerned me because I did not want to become complacent and idle and so I jumped into a number of activities hoping to still make a difference. So for a while I muddled in community advocacy and area politics but was disillusioned when our issues got lumped into one collective complaint and conveniently labeled a senior citizen’s issue. These were ceremoniously cast aside with promises of more senior recreation, free meals and periodic medical screenings.

Well this led to solitary walks through beautiful parks, contemplating a more meaningful existence.

And so here I am, still walking and thinking.

Embracing technology..please

This is just a short commentary fueled by what I saw at my five-year-old nephew’s elementary school (Kuentz Elementary School). Recently I attended a school performance where my little nephew danced along with other kiddos, all this as part of the school’s opening in Helotes, Texas.

The placed was packed to capacity forcing me to sit at the back of the room. The event went on without a hitch and without any self-aggrandizement on the part of the school administration. The event was simply a recognition of the schools opening and a promise to parents that much would be expected of their 82 teachers assigned to Kuentz. By the way, the district received 1,800 applications for these 82 positions.

Along with the advanced notices sent to parents about the upcoming event, parents were also told that the ceremony would be seen through live streaming on the Internet. And yes it was. Being a high tech junkie, I walked over to the school staff running the live steam and asked questions. I learned that the school like other elementary schools in the area use live steams for school announcements and to communicate with parents in this time of cybertechnics.

Sitting there my thoughts drifted to Eagle Pass and I asked myself why none of that was possible in our own schools. But perhaps it was being done and I just didn’t know it. If its being done, its quite a well kept secret because I have not found any links that give the rest of us access to school events (live-streamed).

So the ever present “what if” question formed and I asked, “What if our schools in Eagle Pass could embrace cybertechnics and match what is being done at my 5 year old nephew’s elementary school?”

Governor's Operation Recon

On September 10, 2009 we heard of the launching of a new joint mission by Governor Rick Perry to deal with what has been characterized as escalating drug trafficking occurring on the Texas-Mexican border. His efforts would consist of sending as many as 200 highly trained personnel from the National Guard. They in turn would join “strike teams” of state police and Texas Rangers. The team operation was referred to as Operation Recon.

It’s been almost a month since this announcement was made and it is not known whether such operation ever materialized. What is known is that the Eagle Pass – Piedras Negras area had seen an increase of law enforcement personnel in months before the announcement. Judging simply from news accounts, it appears that arrests have increased, more so now that in the past.

It’s also known that many more have been arrested in local areas where short term drug warehousing occurred. A large amount of these arrests occurred as a result of calls from the public, especially from those living in those areas.

In the meantime, we wait to hear more about Operation Recon.

Court imposed community service

It’s late at night. Actually, its 1:13am and I have viewed all my networking pages including Facebook, Tweeter, YouTube and my email. I have had plenty of random thoughts today but nothing stuck.

I did give some thought to the final outcome to the student’s case before the municipal judge for minors in possession (of alcohol). I was hoping to make it to Eagle Pass and listen to both sides.

From the prosecutor’s side, I felt that proving possession might be the major obstacle especially arresting 50 people at one time. I wondered if each student was seen with a container in hand or did they admit it to the arresting officers. Was the student advised of his/her right to remain silent thus thwarting an admission of guilt? Then there is that thing called constructive possession, which I don’t understand but kept coming up.

And then what I read about the defense’s argument centered on the legality of officers going onto the property without probable cause. Personally I felt that was a weak point since calls had been made and could they have seen minors with cans and then decided to intervene.

Regardless, the final outcome was a win – win conclusion. These minors got a much lesser charge after the possession charge was dropped and replaced with disorderly conduct. But what was on my mind today was not only all that but the additional court ordered community service imposed on the students. What has been mentioned is that they must go before students (age unknown at this time) and try to convince them of the evil ways of drinking. Will they be able to get their point across? Are they really aware of the total ramifications of what could have happened? More importantly, remorse. Is there any remorse or is it a badge of honor or a rite of passage. And most importantly, does every parent want his or her kids to sit through such a possibility.

Take the butter off the table

I am starting to really notice that restaurants are serving smaller portions while at the same time using smaller plates.

This is the restaurant where I go on Sundays. The place used to be packed but that too has changed. I can see that less people are coming and it could be because they too have noticed the changes.

Today they brought no chips with sauce, which has been a ritual since I can remember.

In a way, I want to thank them for the changes they are making in order to stay afloat and survive as a business.

According to health officials, our nation has become a nation of obese people with the exception of Portland. So I want to thank the owners of this restaurant for helping me come to my senses by lessening my portions. Now if they could bring me two flour tortillas instead of four that would be great. And take the butter off the table too.

For What Its Worth...the song

There's something happening here
What it is ain't exactly clear
There's a man with a gun over there
Telling me I got to beware
I think it's time we stop, children, what's that sound
Everybody look what's going down
There's battle lines being drawn
Nobody's right if everybody's wrong
Young people speaking their minds
Getting so much resistance from behind
I think it's time we stop, hey, what's that sound
Everybody look what's going down
What a field-day for the heat
A thousand people in the street
Singing songs and carrying signs
Mostly say, hooray for our side
It's time we stop, hey, what's that sound
Everybody look what's going down
Paranoia strikes deep
Into your life it will creep
It starts when you're always afraid
You step out of line, the man come and take you away
We better stop, hey, what's that sound
Everybody look what's going down
Stop, hey, what's that sound
Everybody look what's going down
Stop, now, what's that sound
Everybody look what's going down
Stop, children, what's that sound
Everybody look what's going down

The meddling Eagle...

Hectic day today in SA. For those that don't know or have no interest in my personal life, I have been in SA for over 30 years and in the last five I have lived in the Southside. The Southside is a lot like Eagle Pass but without el Chisme. The worse you could have been accused of was stealing somebody's trashcan. But now we all have the same city disposal container, which the trash pickup scans when it is lifted by the mechanical arm and dumped inside the truck. I suppose they can tell if you stole it. So that put a damper on that trade.

The first thing I did today was to meet with a neighborhood activist that was having a fundraiser to pay for flyers and posters. He is going up against the San Antonio Independent School District. SAISD wants to close Burbank High (which is my adopted school being that I am no longer in Eagle Pass). He was selling chicken plates and sales were slow cause everyone is selling something at each corner. At one corner you have the Little Bulldogs Football team and at the other you have mini-cheerleaders going to state competition. Anyway, I hope they don't close Burbank.

Next I hung around with the Dawgs from the Burbank Class of 1969 at their Taco & Hot Dog fundraiser. These guys were very easy going. Maybe cause they move around a little bit slower. I spent most of my time with Mike Rodriguez, the designated DJ for their class. He immediately challenged me to name any oldie and he would play it. That’s when I popped out my MP3 and told him that in my 4G-memory card I had more than 2,000 oldies ranging from Bill Haley and the Comets to Crystal Blue Persuasion.

I asked him if he had noticed that at reunions, most don't play the songs of their high school years but instead they go for the current dance music or that Hot Scoching Boogie. I told him that I grew up with KTSA and Ricci Ware in the sixties. I asked him if they played Mexican/Spanish music in the sixties in San Antonio and he said that it was mostly songs from Sunny, the Royal Jesters, Rene & Rene and Rudy and the Rino-Bobs. And in San Antonio the Malt House on West Commerce and Zarzamora was what the Charcoal was to us in Eagle Pass. I had a good time listening to real oldies and I think the Dawgs of Burbank have finally adopted me as a meddling Eagle.

Nothing...just words

Day two of my liberation from my website that I kept up for 14 years. Its hard to break old habits. I find myself checking my email box from time to time. I don’t get any email anymore and I knew that would happen. But I did read some nasty messages left by someone that is upset that the page is not up anymore. But at the end of his message he accuses me of being bought out by politicians. What I will probably miss more than anything is pursuing stories created by “chismosos”. Those are the ones that would post statements like “is it true that they are closing the bridge?” Now, this poster simply wants to start a rumor and wants to see how far it goes.

Last night I went out to Pico De Gallo (in San Antonio) with a fellow classmate and we talked about others from our class. He suggested that we organize a small reunion; “small” being the operative word. At our last gathering, we had about 14. For about two hours we talked about going to the buck night drive in. We talked about the pep rallies on Main St and the bonfires at the vega before the homecoming game, and the wooden floors at Kress.We all said our goodbyes with hopes and promises that we would meet more often, which did not happen.

For the record, Luis and I had our picture taken at Pico De Gallo and we are calling that our classes reunion for this year. So, we had a good reunion, the food was excellent, we had mariachis and the place was packed. There, that takes care of our 45-year class reunion.

Kids can do wonders...

Recently I got a call from a total stranger, someone I had never met. Someone had given them my name and phone number. Their names were Liz and Paul, both who turned out to be great people. They were planning to get married and wanted a photographer. I told them I would do it and I did.

However during the entire ceremony, I noticed that the bride’s mother would not smile and I pointed this out to Liz, knowing that her wedding album would show this. She wasn’t able to explain why her mother did not smile and left me with the impression that her mother seldom smiled or was uncomfortable in social settings.

I made it a point to catch her smiling so I sort of stalked her hoping to get a candid shot of the illusive smile but to no avail. Finally, after the church ceremony while she sat waiting for her ride to the reception and surrounded by her grandchildren I found the moment and took this shot. I sensed a little annoyance on her part for my intrusion.

Now I had a two-hour break before the reception and decided to develop her photo. I did a little work with the computer and rushed to a nearby drugstore and printed an 8x10 photo.

Two hours later, I arrived at the reception to continue my wedding photography and saw the bride’s mother sitting at a table towards the rear of the hall. I walked towards her with the 8x10 photo in hand and placed it on the table right in front of her. It took a few seconds for the illusive smile to slowing develop. She looked at me and asked, “Is this me?” “Yes,” I replied. For the next hour and a half I saw her walking from table to table showing everyone the photo with a smile that would not go away.

That goes to show that kids can do wonders for us.

Transparency & Accountability

Why is it so difficult to get any information about where our federal stimulus money will be spent? Will the money be used to give teachers a pay raise or will it be used to complete a loop to nowhere or will we be so inept not to apply for additional federal funds aimed at specific environmental projects?

My attempts to get information have not been fruitful and the answers that I have gotten from elected representatives are muddled, unclear, non-specific and total generalizations. I am convinced that the difficulty in getting clear-cut specifics from those that should know is because they don't know either.

What I am asking is simple and not complicated. Let’s suppose that you received a $10,000 bonus from your employer and you informed your spouse. The first question would be "what are you going to spend the money on?” Your answer could be that you will fix the car, buy a new central air conditioner, take a trip to Florida or simply put it in savings. Now that is exactly what citizens want to know. The public wants to know how will the county, city and school district spend the money.

The answer should not be difficult to answer. My assumption is that a needs assessment of sorts has already been done by each entity. So why can't we make that public. Perhaps the submitted preliminary reports did not have such specificity but that doesn't matter.

President Obama made it clear and emphatic that these federal appropriations would have total transparency and accountability. In my opinion we don't have that here nor does it exist across the country.

The public turns to our news media to solicit this information, to analyze it and then present it to the public. That is not happening either. I am lead to believe that our local media chooses not to address this important story because they find it too complicated and time consuming to research.

Perhaps many do not remember Eddie Rodrigues. Eddie served as school board member, city councilman and other positions. Eddie was a good man and a consummate public servant. He would force those with such information to explain it clearly, free of bureaucratic jargon. If any official or administrator tried to gloss over his question, Eddie would not allow it. It was not unusual to see Eddie going over handed material at a coffee shop, in anticipation of that day's board meeting. Eddie always got us answers.