Texas mails (un)dead people

Texas tried to purge its voter rolls by sending mail to potentially dead people. A judge temporarily blocked the effort after 4 voters filed a lawsuit. How do you suppose those letters went?

Dear Sir or Madam,

We think you might be dead. If you're not, please give us a holler and thank goodness we haven't lost a taxpayer. If we don't hear from you in 30 days, whether you receive this letter or not, and whether we receive your reply or not, or whether we decide to "lose" your reply, then you won't be able to vote anymore.

If you really are dead, so sorry for disturbing you. We will forward all tax inquiries to your surviving relatives. And you still won't be able to vote anymore.

Regards,
Your friendly neighborhood government agency

Hey Texas, don't you have bigger problems like drought and stuff?

For more on the whole debacle, try reading here.

Random Ravings on Ice Cream or How I Scream For Ice Cream

Mmm...caramel

OK, I admit it: I sometimes try to eat the very bottom of the ice cream cone first. I know, I know, it's really stupid because the melting ice cream drips out and I end up with a big mess. But I'll think, if I can just get to it quick enough, I can leave more of the good part -- the ice cream -- for the end! It's the same reason I eat the pizza crust first; which usually works out better unless you're trying to eat all of the crust first, including the stuff from under the toppings (in which case you might as well just dump cheese, sauce and the works in a pot to cook, no pesky crust to get in the way).

But back to the ice cream. You know those ready made ice cream cones you can buy like Nestle Drumsticks and Blue Bunny cones? The ones with the chocolate-lined cones, the peanut-studded chocolate shells, and and the solid chocolate plug at the bottom to protect against leaks? I'm not a big fan of chocolate. No, really, I prefer vanilla. And caramel, and mint, and fruit, and plenty of other stuff. Yeah, I know, blasphemy! That whole feel-good chemical thing, I don't really get it, or notice it, or whatever. Maybe I'm on too many drugs (allergy pills only, the strong stuff which is the only kind that work for me). And the taste of chocolate: if you ever tasted the purer stuff, it's very bitter like black coffee, and as with coffee, I'm OK with it -- if flavored correctly -- but not head over heels. It takes tons of sugar to make it really palatable and then you can end up with something so sweet it feels like your teeth are rotting every time you take a bite (the feeling I usually get when biting into chocolate cake or brownies, but curiously not Snickers which I actually do like). So I could take chocolate or leave it, or better yet, let YOU take it.

Catch those yummy bunnies!

Anyway, the chocolate plug at the tip of the ice cream cone, that's why I like to chomp off the bottom first. I keep hoping that I'll get just enough to leave a thin layer of plug intact, but the blasted things are always different sizes, damn it. Blue Bunny actually has a strawberry version with a strawberry shell on top, but still has that chocolate lining and plug at the bottom. And a Caramel Lovers with chocolate shell, cone lining, and plug. Just make solid strawberry and caramel plugs already! Then maybe I'll eat my eat down for once.

I tried to look up the origins of the Moose Tracks flavor, but could never find the why of it. Why is it called that? Blue Bunny has a flavor called Bunny Tracks which is very much the same. "This creamy vanilla ice cream comes loaded with your favorite goodies - chocolate-covered peanuts, peanut butter-filled chocolate bunnies, a thick chocolate fudge ribbon and a peanut butter caramel ribbon for a delicious ice cream treat!" The way I figure it: the peanut butter-filled chocolate bunnies are hopping through a winter landscape of creamy vanilla ice cream, laying chocolate-covered peanuts and leaving smears of a thick chocolate fudge ribbon and peanut butter caramel ribbon. But no, this stuff really is delish. Please try it. And the chocolate stuff too if you must.

I'm am not a lazy procrastinator

OK, I tried blogging once before several years ago and never made it past a handful of posts. For this attempt number two, I sort of meant it to be a weekly blog, and I've already missed a week! Not a good sign.

Of course, there was Labor Day weekend. And 9/11. And Neil Armstrong's demise. *moment of silence* And a bunch of other stuff. I so wasn't levelling up my agent in Marvel's Avengers Alliance (BTW, if you play, friend me). Or reading LJ Smith books. Or searching for banana oatmeal cookie recipes.

Um, yeah. I've been all about respectful and mourning and diligently removing crapware from my new PC.