My children have long been going to public schools that require uniforms. When we were first told about this, I was a bit outraged because it seemed to me that a public school couldn’t dictate what the kids wore. But after years of wearing them, I’m all for it. My children might disagree, but I think it’s terrific. Makes mornings simple, no fights, no discussions, no thinking… only choices are which colored polos and shorts.

Today, my living on the edge step-son came home from school wearing the latest acquisition from Hot Topic. I didn’t see him leave the house this morning, but listening to his story today… I thought, maybe uniforms are a good idea for his age too.

He wore a band tshirt today (I’m too old to care what the name of the band is) and on the back of his tshirt, it said, “Hit ‘em in the head first”. On the front is a picture of a man standing with a long slender paddle like object with blood dripping from the tip.

He was told today that he can’t wear this tshirt anymore. And I said, RIGHT ON!! He stood in the kitchen voicing his outrage (he’s 16) that he can’t wear this shirts. He had the audacity to say to me and his dad, “this is a cricket stick, and that’s not blood, it’s dirt.”

For the record, under the phrase “hit ‘em in the head first” is a silhouette of one person mid air whacking another person with what looks like a medieval flail — a studded ball on the end of a chain attached to a stick.

I looked at his dad, who was buying his son’s garbage hook line and sinker and I stopped the entire conversation and asked them both who they thought they were kidding??? This t-shirt clearly condoned violence and suggested very aggresive behavior and the principal or whomever reprimanded him should have made him turn his tshirt inside out for the rest of the school day.

It was an unpopular opinion, trust me. But pardon me, when did freedom of speech include filling young minds with violent thoughts and that be considered OK???

I’m all for uniforms…. I hope all schools county wide go to them. Because even in houses where sane, rational people live, there are some who will just not get the message.

This Friday, September 30^th both Sean Hannity and Neil Cavuto from Fox News will be at Barnes & Noble on Colonial and Bumby. Hannity is introducing Cavuto for the signing of his new book and then they are off to some comvention to Republican-like things.

I’ve got my tomatoes ready.

Also in October Dick Morris will be there to sign his new book. Hmm, first Neal Boortz, then Hannity and Cavuto, and then Morris. Gee Orlando, Republican much?

This weekend, we stumbled into Lupita’s Cocina Mexicana, and it’s a miracle we ever left. Not for nothing was this place named the best Mexican restaurant by Orlando Weekly in 2004. It is out-of-this-world delicious.

Though I do love Tex-Mex, this is a Mexican restaurant. The burritos, fajitas and chimichangas are relegated to the back pages of the menu. Lupita’s specialty is gourmet Mexican, including steak, chicken, pork and seafood served with cactus, guajillo peppers and the most amazing sauces ever.

But it isn’t just the food that makes this place special. When we arrived, Lupita’s husband, Sergio, greeted us and gave us a rundown on the history of the restaurant and its vision. Then, he offered us samples of each of their main sauces. One was a green tomatillo. One was a red chipotle. And one was mole. Oh. My. God. Mole…. If you’ve never had mole sauce, you are missing out on a food of the GODS. Mole is a combination of spices and chiles and chocolate that is beyond words.

My spouse chose Tinga de Pollo, which is shredded chicken with onions cooked in chipotle sauce with avocado slices and cilantro. They don’t automatically serve tortillas with the meal. So, when she ordered some, they had to make them. They came out warm and fresh. I got Azteca’s Puddin. It’s “lasagna” Mexican style, made with layers of soft fried corn tortillas, shredded chicken, sour cream and Spanish cheese, all covered with mole sauce. Did I mention how awesome mole is? And we didn’t even sample their 15 different types of tequila… ;)

Anywho, Lupita’s is great. It’s tucked back in the corner of a strip mall in Winter Springs (1425 Tuscawilla Road, to be exact), and has a fantastic, colorful atmosphere. If you want something other than tacos and burritos, Lupita’s is the place.

Looks like Sea World’s going to officially get their new park!

From the article:
“SeaWorld’s plan to build a new water theme park won final approval today from Orange County’s Design Review Committee, after a few changes to the landscaping.

“They were extremely minor” changes, said SeaWorld spokeswoman Becca Bides, and the company is now confident that it should be able to break ground by the end of the year, after final construction documents and paperwork are filed.

The 58-acre tract is adjacent to SeaWorld on the east side of International Drive, south of Sea Harbor Drive.”

Link courtesy of The Disney Blog.

Last year in the Mojave Desert unmanned vehicles attempted to win the $1M grand prize of the DARPA Grand Challenge. Engineering and computer science students from MIT, CalTech, Virginia Tech, and even the University of Florida all entered into the robotic battle. Some teams even sunk more money into their creations than what the prize was worth. It was prestige they were after though, not fiduciary gain. Unfortunately, things didn’t turn out so well. Not a single team finished, in fact the furthest any team made it was seven miles.

This year local students from UCF’s school of engineering are cometing in the competition using a modified Subaru nicknamed Knight Rider. This year’s prize is $2M and will go to team that finishes the 175 mile course the fastest. It will be interesting to see how well they fare against teams that had virtually unlimited budgets and resources that their disposal, some spending upwards of $3M dollars. The UCF team investment, $100K and a lot of faith I imagine. I hope they do well though, it’d be cool to see them beat out the robotic heavyweights like CalTech. If anything, let’s just hope they beat out UF’s NaviGATOR entry.

Team UCF: Knight Rider (their actual team homepage isn’t working for some reason)

Article: Orlando Sentinel

I was dismayed to read the news this morning and see this.

I know we’ve discussed Lake Eola a number of times as a lovely area with the lake, a playground, the nearby library and of course, the swans! Why anyone would want to do such a thing is beyond me and I hope they catch whoever did it and he gets what he deserves.

Jeb Bush’s son arrested for public intoxication, resisting arrest

John Ellis Bush, the youngest son of Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, was arrested early Friday and charged with public intoxication and resisting arrest, law enforcement officials in Texas said.

The 21-year-old nephew of President Bush was arrested by the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission at 2:30 a.m. Friday on a corner of Austin’s Sixth Street bar district, said spokesman Roger Wade. John Ellis Bush was released on $2,500 bond for resisting arrest, and on a personal recognizance bond for the public intoxication charge, officials said.

Alia Faraj, the spokeswoman for Jeb Bush said the incident “is a personal family matter” which the governor and his wife “are dealing with privately.” Gov. Bush and his wife Columba appeared Friday evening at the Historical Museum of Southern Florida for a reception. The governor said it was not an appropriate time to discuss specifics of the incident.

“My son’s doing fine. It’s a private matter. We will support him. We’re sad for him. But I’m not going to discuss it on the public square with 30 cameras,” the governor said at the downtown Miami event.

Capt. David Ferrero of the Texas Alcohol Beverage Commission told Miami television station WSVN that the younger Bush “received a small cut on his chin when he was resisting and he was treated and released from the hospital.” A staffer answering phones at the commission’s offices later Friday evening said he had no information about John Ellis Bush being injured during the incident.

It’s not the first time Florida’s first family has experienced legal problems with one of their children.

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He must have learned it from those crazy cousins of his. You know I bet a Bush family barbeque is one rootin’-tootin’, whiskey drinking, kickass affair. Or better yet, once all of the Bush’s are out of public office I’m thinking reality show entitled ‘Simply Bush: Adventures with the Great American Family‘. Oh yeah, that’s got emmy written all over it, Osbournes each your heart out.

Neighbors Beat Man After Wild ATV Ride With Child

A group of neighbors in a Seminole County, Fla., neighborhood captured and then beat a man who allegedly took a 5-year-old on a drunken ATV ride, according to police.

The Seminole County Sheriff’s Office said a man crashed his ATV near state Road 46 and Upsala Road in Sanford, Fla., Sunday night. Witnesses said the man was allegedly driving the vehicle drunk with the child on board. After the crash, several neighbors held the man and then beat him until police arrived. The man was transported to the Seminole County Jail. It is not known if any of the neighbors involved in the beating will be charged. The child was not injured in the crash.

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No doubt the man is going to try and sue some of those that gave him the beat down. Did two wrongs make a right in this situation?

In looking for a list of 24-hour eateries in Orlando that aren’t one of the big four (IHOP, Denny’s, Steak N Shake, or Waffle House) I stumbled upon this little gem. Not an eatery, but it is mouth related.

Sidaoui, Fouad, DDS - 24 Hour Dentist

Cleanings, crowns, cavity-fills et. al.; and for those dental emergencies that don’t happen between 9am and 5pm, this doc stays open 24/7.

I guess that is handy when you get your teeth knocked out in a late-night bar brawl. See, we’re Orlando, city on the grow.

I was driving through the Vietnam section of Colonial this morning when I saw a little tan object hopping across the street. It stopped in the median and crouched there. As I approached, I realized it was a tiny little kitten! I felt so bad for the poor thing. I can’t stress enough how tiny and skinny this animal was. I wanted to stop and pick it up, but I had a doctor’s appointment and traffic was so thick, I feared I wouldn’t be able to catch it anyway.

I hope the kitty’s all right and has a home, though.