Vancouver-4
Dallas-1

Besides being one of the worst officiated hockey games I have ever seen, it was just sad. Hopefully the Mavs can pull it together and take it all the way…

RIP Dallas Stars 2006/2007

as i am digging through my junk drawer at work, i find a misplaced and forgotten 1099-R form for my retirement plan. crap. crap. crap. now i must fill out form 1040x for federal, and since it was money put in when i lived in kansas, i must fill out a kw-5 form as well. just when i thought my tax filing woes were over. like one can remember every 1099-R she receives…

so, how’s your monday?

Many people are upset and/or think that television and other media outlets have misused their power by showing the videos, photos, and parts of the manifesto from V-Tech killer, Cho Seung-Hui.

I disagree.

You must take into context my background in press, my current dealings in media (print & radio), and my journalistic nature. I have never marched at a free speech rally, but I completely agree with the words of Benjamin Franklin:

He who sacrifices freedom for security deserves neither.

People are upset because they think this media frenzy with the videos, photos, and writings will ignite other psychotic idiots out there to view Seung-Hui as a martyr. That this will envoke supressed feelings of violence. My personal belief is if you are already that screwed up, the concept of this situation is going to set those thoughts and actions in motion. It doesn’t take a video, photo, or manifesto to do that.

All it takes is the situation.

Some argue that Seung-Hui is getting exactly what he wanted - infamy. He got that before any of the NBC packet was released. He got that when he committed the largest mass killing in the history of the United States.

I believe it is the press’ job to report the news, and use their judgment to decide what is encompassed in that. And I believe it is our responsibility to change the channel if you don’t want to see it. And yes, there are sick freaks out there who will be fascinated by this guy, the photos, the videos, and the press gives them exactly what they want.

But that isn’t the press’ fault. That removes personal responsibility from those who choose to view such things. And if somebody out there goes out and copy-cats this guy, it is not the press’ fault. It is that person’s fault.

The media is also doing a great job remembering lives lost, dreams ended. You can’t deny that.

Anyway, there is my rant. I know from previous politically charged postings that the comments here could get ugly, so I ask that you respectfully comment.

And for a different point of view, please check out my dear friend Los’ blog.

Penny for your thoughts?

when i was a kid, i wanted a 1993 teal camaro. when i was 16, i wanted a bright yellow ford ranger pick up (i am texan you know). but when i was 19, i was introduced to the most beautiful car in the world - the 1970 mercedes 280SL roadster convertible. there are several other years that look similar to the 1970, but there is something just lucious about this car.

i saw one (a white one) while chris and i were out in sundance square over the weekend. instant lust. my eyes could not be removed from its hard, flawless body or the way the sun sparkled in its headlamps. my pulse increased just a little bit and i felt my palms getting sweaty.

what’s your dream car?

everyone knows today is tax day. this is the first year in eleven that i have waited until the last minute to file. why? because i know i owe and i was afraid to see how much, as well as i knew it would be a complicated return. both chris and i worked in kansas (which has a state tax), we moved, we both were self-employed, we both worked in texas (which has no state tax), we bought office equipment for our self-employment, we traveled for it and i knew it was just going to be a mess.

this year, i got turbo tax deduction maximizer for our tax woes. i have always done them manually (and kind of enjoyed it) but not this time. i purchased a copy on eBay for $15 (which is a tax-preparation write off, however, you might actually owe tax for things you purchased online…) i found this little piece of software to be a magical charm. with all of the self-employment items, the deduction maximizer walked me through every possible thing we could deduct. it was amazing. it filled in every blank on the 67 page return we are filing. yes. 67 pages. although we still owe on our federal return, it is a very small amount. on the kansas state return, we are getting a pretty hefty refund. they almost balance each other out perfectly.

i did log on to e-file.com to get some information from my taxes last year and saw the ticking clock. now that stressed me out! we decided to mail our return in this year. i’d rather pay $4 for priority mail than the fees they charge you online (which is also a tax-preparation write off).

did you get your taxes done?

at about 7 pm last night, i got a text message from my friend los who lives in riverside, california. it says, “so, are you hunkered down in some hole?” i had no idea what he was talking about, but knowing there was a chance of thunderstorms approaching, i flipped on the television and all our local channels were lit up in reds and yellows (the colors of impending weather doom) as sirens began to blare all around the dallas/fort worth area.

fortunately, nothing too severe came through the small, middle-of-nowhere town where chris and i currently reside (top white house on the map), but as we watched the news, tornado after tornado kept touching down along the interstate 30 corridor…and lake pointe church is right on i-30 (bottom white house on the map).

after assuring los, and his friend brian that we were okay (you know your friends are cool when they sit around watching the weather channel on a friday night and worry about you) we began to get a little nervous as we saw the rotation markers appear literally right over the spot on the map where lake pointe’s rockwall campus nests. soon, they confirm a funnel cloud is spinning right over heath, which is maybe 60 seconds south of the church. fortunately, nothing too crazy went down in rockwall county, despite what the maps and weather guys said.

most of the damage stayed to the west of us. this photo is from haltom city, which is more on the fort worth side of the metro area. two people died from this storm and they are still trying to figure out how much damage was caused. there are tons of photos at WFAA.com.

i’ve always been a big fan of tornadoes and maybe one day i’ll get to chase them down. someone asked how many tornadoes i have seen in my life and i researched some records online today. i’ve experienced first-hand 28 tornado touchdowns since my birth. the most vivid ones are:

1) my first (when i was five)

2) one which hit our house and church when i was twelve (we made the front page of the san angelo standard-times the day after!)

3) the march 2000 tornado that ripped a three-mile path through downtown fort worth (cool video footage of it hitting downtown) and tore up the arlington neighborhood i lived in during my junior year of high school (my parents had moved, so they were safe)

4) the kansas city tornado outbreak of 2003 (only a few miles north of my former church)

5) the last one in kansas which i blogged about that happened only a few weeks before we moved to texas.

what about you? ever been in a twister?