It’s New Year’s Eve. You know what that means. Time to go get shitfaced! Woohoo. ‘Cause binge drinking is fun, right? Well, I don’t really think so, but hey, whatever floats your boat.

Oh, except, can you do me a favor? I know, I know, you’re a tough guy or a hard-drinkin’ woman. You can handle your booze fine. And you live in the grid or just out at Arden or just over in Natomas, so you can probably make it home, right?

And of course, drunk drivers themselves are usually fine, right? You’re all lose and relaxed. You bounce. You don’t die. They do.

It IS murder though. You know that, right?

So don’t do it. You have options:

Try RT.

Call the Designated Driver’s Association of Sacramento at (916)335-5555. Their volunteers are available on New Year’s Eve to give you AND your vehicle a safe ride home.

Take a cab. The wait might be long, but a protracted vehicular manslaughter case takes longer.

Call AAA, even if you aren’t a member, for a FREE ride and a tow home: 1-800-222-4357

Don’t be a murdering fool.

Happy New Year. (click below for more fun stats and warning signs)
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On Christmas Eve, I found myself inexplicably in the Big Horse Safeway parking lot, climbing over others to grab a few purchases on my way home from my day job (yeah, I worked on 12-24) for the family gathering.

As I was loading a bag or two into the back of my tiny Echo, a green Dodge Caravan careened into the spot next to mine. I always expect a soccer mom or dad to step out of these minivan-things. Instead, out comes a CHP officer in full khaki uniform. I stared, as I am prone to do, and wished him a happy holiday, green minivan and all. I hesitate to call this guy Mr. Mom…but I think Officer Mom might do. Yes I know. CHP officers have lives; some of them even live normal ones. Meanwhile, it struck me as odd–I would have been less surprised if Santa Claus had come out of the green minivan. Ho Ho Ho.

Okay I admit it. I was one of those folks in line for a free Suzie burger cheeseburger today. They’re handing them out until 1 PM, so you might just get in there if you’re lucky.

Cheeseburger, fries, a small beverage, and also included in the bag of free goodies were pickles and a few cut carrots. I’m not sure why the carrots were there, but I ate mine.

Now, about the burger: moderate size, toasted bun, not excessive on veggies. Good flavor…BUT pink in the middle. I don’t usually like my burgers pink, and so I didn’t finish it, but I’ll give them a try when they open for real on January 3rd. We figured they haven’t gotten all the glitches worked out yet. That’s a glitch they’ll need to fix ASAP.

The fries were good and the ketchup was carefully hand-served by an elderly gentleman. The menu and prices seemed reasonable. The kid cheese steak meal is advertised as $2.25 for sandwich, fires and soda. I don’t think you can beat that around here…I hope I didn’t misread it.

The décor of the place is charming–it still looks like the inside of a garage. The floors are concrete and the seating is black indoor picnic tables along with cheery decorations of a Jetson-like character that I imagine must be Suzie. It’ll be worth a visit with the kids just to see how the kids react to Suzie (Jetson).

I’m actually more interested in trying the cheese steak than the burgers but shhh, don’t tell anyone.

Now I know why the sign by the Welfare office on 28th and Q says “CAUTION.”
I was walking by there today on my daily stroll, and noted an unusual grouping of three Deputy Sheriffs who were rapidly approaching in my direction. This made me pause and look. The deputies were advancing on a man in a long-sleeved red shirt who was arguing with them. They yelled at him to put his hands up, and then, after more yelling, body-slammed him to the ground. Another deputy was looking for a weapon under a truck nearby. The security guard from the building across the street told me there had been a fight and someone allegedly had a gun.

I decided to turn and walk in the other direction, especially when guns were mentioned. I’m not one to ignore signs of danger. Nope, the CAUTION sign was right on target.

And my final thoughts on this were at how tough a cop’s job must be–lots of yelling and testosterone and danger. Enough with the donut jokes out there, people–unless those three cops who made the arrest today enjoy eating donuts. In that case the donuts are on me. Thanks, officers.

Enough’s enough. I don’t advocate violence against anyone, but . . . wait, no, let me amend. I don’t advocate killing anyone, but I would strongly advocate snapping the fingers on piece of sh*t taggers.

This morning on my way to work, I looked up at one of my favorite things - the faded Sunbeam bread ad on the side of a building at 21st and L and what did I see? A giant ass tag covering a corner of the ad. Ooooh, I am not happy. Couldn’t dig out my camera or phone fast enough to snap a photo.

Anyone interested in starting some midtown patrols? I’m not talking Minute Men vigilante action, just some flood lights and citizens on patrol watching our prized blank walls. Something has to be done . . . .

Or was anyone else amused by the hazard sign on Q and 28th Streets this morning? It sits just next to the Welfare Office and today there was a large one-word message: “CAUTION.”

I don’t know what the significance of it was, but I was paying attention. Now I’ll be thinking about it all day. Don’t worry I’ll be careful and cautious while pondering the meaning of the sign. After all, that’s what the sign said.

I’ve been patient. I’ve watched as the old Tune-up Masters was tidied and redone and the roofing was updated. I’ve watched as the parking lot was repaved and prettified. Outdoor seating has been added. Just last week the Suzie Burger signage was put up. It’s in lovely eye-catching red and yellow. Not to be confused with another burger purveyor with similar colors.

Last night the lights were on at Suzie Burger, but no one’s home just yet. Can’t wait. I hope the burgers live up to the hype.

You can take the boy out of England but you can’t take the desire for some traditional Brit food out of the boy. To that end I found myself at the ‘Fox & Goose’ English pub down on 10th and R.

Whenever I’m on a road-trip in Britain I usually find myself stopping for breakfast at an ‘American Diner’. Naturally these are always a pale imitation of the genuine article and most often turn out to be a British interpretation of such where the easily available British food is offered in an American style. So it’s always interesting to me to compare the ‘British’ pubs found in America.

There aren’t many pubs in the UK with pictures on the wall of Tower Bridge, the Houses of Parliament or the Queen Mum (bless her) as I’ve seen in some Brit-pubs here. My first impression of the Fox & Goose however, was that they had resisted putting up a plethora of neon-signs which always shouts ‘American bar’ to me and kills any English vibe.
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