I've noticed a lot of talk lately about the proposed legalization/decriminalization of marijuana. I figured it would be acceptable to voice my opinion.

I am for the legalization/decriminalization of marijuana for controlled, age-restricted medicinal use and/or other approved purposes. Examples include pain relief for cancer patients, helping to control ADD in children when other drugs (Ritalin, Stratera, etc) or treatments have proven ineffective or as an appetite stimulant for those with weight gain problems—among others.

I am against the legalization/decriminalization of marijuana for casual, recreational use. This means 4/20, rollin' a blunt and gettin' high with yer budz and all of that other nonsense.

In the event that somehow, it is legalized for recreational use, I feel I could only be okay with that if some conditions were put in place. Examples include possession only being legal to those 21 years of age or older (unless the person has been prescribed by a doctor—see above), the illegality of being inebriated in a public place or while driving (in any state), et cetera.

To put it simply, my reasoning for wanting an age requirement is that we still need to enforce a "drug-free America" to children, and allowing children (namely teenagers) free access to drugs when they should be focusing on their education and future career is just absurd and unnecessary.

Then again, it's illegal to buy or smoke cigarettes if you're under 18 and buy or consume alcohol if you're under 21, but I encountered peers who did all of those things long before we were of age; some of whose parents didn't seem to care much at all; though that's a different topic entirely.

And there you have it.

PS: A Break In Chaos at Arundel Mills Hot Topic this Friday for an acoustic set, and Penguin's Pub / The Igloo in Arbutus on Saturday.

Okay, you're probably reading this post through some feed aggregator (probably my Facebook) and if that's the case, you should check out my actual blog. Why? Because I just spent a couple hours whipping together a new, snazzy template, and it's freakin' sick. Well, I think so at least. Anyway, you should check it out... I'll even give you a link:

http://www.johnsettino.com/

Click it and tell me what you think. :)

Well, johnsettino.com expired on 1/17/09 and enom.com never reminded me... Thankfully I needed to purchase a domain today for a client and renewed it; boy do I need to turn on auto-renew.

I recently (e.g. today) joined the ranks of Xbox 360ers everywhere and as such, my Xbox Live Gamertag is HXC Nion. Friend me!

I visit the Starbucks on Ritchie Highway in Glen Burnie, right by the Citiback (previously Denny's) in Governor's Plaza, every Monday - Friday on my way to work. They know me there and are always courteous, aside from the one girl who has been there for months but still has no idea what the heck she's doing---irrelevant for this rant.

Anyway, I was out running some errands this evening, near that location, and decided I'd stop in on my way home. I was in Target however, and noticed they had an in-store Starbucks, so I opted to get my drink there because of the convenience. I ordered my drink and found out that the 10% off Gold Card would not work because their "system" wasn't set up to use it, because they weren't a standalone location. I was unhappy about this, because obviously, I paid for the darn thing and would like my 10% off for doing so, whenever I visit a Starbucks. That was the point of getting it, right?

I know you're saying to yourself, "Why get upset about a $0.30~ cent discount, but it was the principle of the thing. I asked to speak to a manager, who very rudely declined my polite request to just take the 10% off as a courtesy, due to not accepting the cards. I figured it was a reasonible request--I was due 10% off $3.87, not 10% off $20 worth of coffee, or something else more expensive. It was thirty-something cents.

I inquired as to why she wouldn't do it, and was first told that she couldn't give discounts. When I mentioned that I had received courtesy discounts at other stores and said, "So you're telling me that for no reason at all you are unable to give any discount on a purchase, not even as a courtesy?". She then very rudely replied "That, yes, we can, for other reasons, not this one."

It was at this point, I informed her attitude was inappropriate, her customer service was horrible and I was appalled she was being so rude about a $0.30 courtesy. I asked for my gift card back, told her she could keep her latte (the one I'd ordered) and left. I went to my regular Starbucks and the employees told me, after I explained the experience, that she was a horrible manager and a bitch.

We shared a laugh, I got my latte (without being charged for the syrup, as well as having the total discounted by 10%) and went home.

Moral of the story? If you work retail or customer service, don't get an attitude about less than a half a dollar, piss off your customer and lose business. You might even get reported to a superior, even if you're a manager.

A Break In Chaos, January 18th and 25th @ Penguin's.

If you are a Twitter user, you should follow me!

My current Twitter status is now displayed at the top of my blog; you can click here or on my status above to visit my Twitter page.

Additionally, I updated the navigation style and added a couple links. I might do a few more tweaks, but not right this second.

Furthermore,
A Break In Chaos, 1/18 @ The Igloo in Arbutus, MD.
We have tickets and they are $5. We'll deliver.

It's December already and man do I hate winter; specifically cold weather. I mean, damn, it was snowing today!

Not much has been going on lately. I've been working weekdays at SAGE and it's awesome. I love my new job. It's a complete 180 from Office Depot. It's funny though; I thought I'd "escape" OD after leaving, but SAGE orders all their office products from them. How ridiculous is that?

Full disclosure of the situation is coming soon, I promise. I just need to clear some things up with my counsel of sorts first. I'll make an announcement when it's all up.

I've been practicing a lot with my band; we're playing shows occasionally and writing some new material. I want us to gear up for recording an EP in a semi-professional studio. No offense to the several friends I have (or others) who run "homebrew" or "basement" operations--I'm just looking for something a little better.

Other than that, not much else is really going on. I'll try to post a little bit more to keep this blog active (only another month before I've been using it for 3 years!), but no guarantees.

I've been fairly softspoken about the 2008 Presidential Election; this is contrary to the 2004 Presidential Election where I clearly supported John Kerry and despise[d] George Bush. What follows is are some thoughts about yesterday's Election.

(For the record, I still have great dislike for our outgoing President, but I digress--this is not about him.)

Friends and family know that I am opposed to both Barack Obama and John McCain, as well as Joe Biden and Sarah Palin (their respective VP Candidates). I freely and proudly admit that I cast my vote for "John Settino" as President in the 2008 Election. My Grandma said to me a vote for anyone but McCain is giving your vote to Obama; I agree--Maryland hasn't voted Republican since Nixon. I, however, feeling that none of the candidates were qualified to head our Nation, typed in the name "John Settino" (myself) on my ballot. As I am not 35, the vote will go to my Uncle who, with no political experience and no military service record, could in my opinion, run our Nation better.

I was told today by an Obama supporter that I had no "choice" but to vote for either Obama or McCain, and subsequently wasn't allowed to "bitch" about Obama winning. I presented the fact that if no other choice existed, there wouldn't have been non-bipartisan candidates nor a write-in option on the ballot.

Regardless of this or any other person's opinions, I felt it was my duty as an American citizen to exercise the freedom granted to me by my nation's Constitution: cast my vote for President of the United States of America. Thus, I did so. I'm not going to talk down to you or insult you for how you voted and I would expect the same from you about my choice.

Continuing on, I must say that it seems to me that this year, I was not the only one softspoken about their views--in some aspects. For the 2004 Election, I saw vehicles of every shape and size displaying signs or stickers for the candidates they supported. The same goes for homes, buildings, businesses, etc--they all showed support for their candidates. In my travels to and from here and there, I personally haven't really seen anything close to 2004's level leading up to this past Election. With such an apparently high voter turnout (estimated 119,101,930 bipartisan votes as of 1:00PM EST 11/5/08) this year, I'm surprised I hadn't seen more displays of support.

In topic closing, I leave you with the following statement, to be taken as you wish: Welcome to the Obamanation.

New topic:

My band (A Break In Chaos) is now a 5-piece strong rock machine, and we have a show in 2 days (Friday, November 7th). Visit the band's page for details.

My journal is now syndicated on LiveJournal, thanks to my friend Kevin (ktm)

The url is here:
http://johnsettino.livejournal.com

Also, if you have Twitter, follow me: http://www.twitter.com/JohnSettino

That is all.

Tropical Storm Hanna passed and everything went okay. It is currently raining as I type this, though radar says this storm should past within an hour.

I started a new job Monday as a Web Developer at SAGE Dining in Towson, MD. I love my new job and I think I've finally found my niche in the Technology world. Where else can I engage in constant nerdery and be paid for it? Shout out to Katherine Sexton for being the only other person I know to use the word "nerdery".

Also, this is the first entry that will automatically update my Twitter.

Well, the rain is here, but not too bad so far. My area is still under a Tropical Storm Warning and a Flash Flood Watch, though. Below are images of the predicted path and current radar as of 1:30pm today. Click either to enlarge.





On a good note, our sump pump is currently bone dry--so no worries there.