Just a quick follow up to my "Decrepit Old Has-Been" entry:

Drivers Jimmy Spencer and Kurt Busch were issued penalties for their roles in a post-race altercation that occurred in the garage area of Sunday's NASCAR Winston Cup Series race at Michigan International Speedway, NASCAR officials announced today.

Although we all know that Busch and Spencer have had this ongoing feud, I would like to know why Kurt got penalized for this action? If you were attacked by someone, beating you through the window of your own car, should you be penalized for the assualt? Should you be charged with any crime? Even if you provoked it, you should not be charged.

Spencer is suspended from any NASCAR-sanctioned competition until Aug. 26. He also received a $25,000 fine and was placed on probation until Dec. 31.

Spencer was in violation of Sections 12-4-A (Actions detrimental to stock car racing: Involved in an altercation with another competitor in the garage area after the completion of the event) and 12-4-F (Fighting) of the NASCAR Winston Cup Series rule book.

Nice.

Busch has been placed on probation until Dec. 31 for his actions. He was in violation of Section 12-4-A (Actions detrimental to stock car racing: Involved in an altercation with another competitor in the garage area after the completion of the event) of the NASCAR Winston Cup Series rule book.

Stupid.

Leave it to Mike Helton to totally screw things up… again…

I can't help but wonder if there is more to this story than they are stating?

Just a quick update.

So far no problems with MozillaFirebird 0.6.1 or Trillian Pro 2.0 Beta 2.

I am having an issue with NewzCrawler 1.5.1 build 1621. It seems certain feeds (including my own) are returning "unknown format" or "an invalid character was found in tex content". When I roll back to 1.4.1 build 1415, the errors do not occur. (My feeds do validate too, so its not my feeds). Someone else has pointed this out in the forums, so I will wait patiently for a fix.

I wonder what other trouble I can find today. (smirk)

UPDATE [14:00]: It seems the error is only with my index.xml feed (the full feed). The excerpt feed (index.rdf) does not return that error.

What a day it has been (so far) today.

Let's see. I have been seeking out two creepy little bugs in my code, which to my dismay have kept aggravating me for the past 6 days or so. They must be very simple fixes, since they are hiding so well.

Today I:

1. Called the newspaper and placed the ads for the bus and the garage sale.

2. Ordered phone service for the new house. (If I know you, and you know I would give you my phone number, let me know, and I will make sure you know it.) You know?

3. Checked the prices of U-Hauls for the move.

4. Called the insurance agent about home owners insurance for the new house.

5. Scheduled a service call tomorrow for the new truck. The air conditioner (either the compressor or the switch that operates it) is going out, so I gotta get it fixed asap.

6. Called about DSL (since cable is not yet available at the new house). I cannot order the DSL until the phone line is IN. Grrrrrr.

I still have to call DirecTV about getting service. Anyone out there got connections on a good deal?

Today was also a big day for upgrades. I have been so busy lately that I did not notice there was a new release of Mozilla Firebird. I grabbed it of course. Then I got a message from NewzCrawler that there was a new one for that. I grabbed that too. Trillian Pro has a new beta out, and I always love to be on the cutting edge, so I installed that too.

The only problem with three new programs all in the same day, is if I have problems, will I know where they came from? haha.

What else can I do this afternoon?

You may have noticed that I rarely, if ever, refer to another blogger unless I am linking to something directly on their site or giving them credit for a link I have decided to use.

I was not going to comment on this issue, but I had to vent.

An incident involving two bloggers happened over the weekend; it never should have happened. It started as a simple argument and escalated until Child Protective Services was called on one of the bloggers. There was no call for that, there was no need. To threaten someones family over an online fight, is childish, idotic, and moronic.

I personally do not know either of the people involved, although I do keep up with one of them, through comments, more often than the other, so I am not in a position to "take sides", and even if I was, I would not. This was a situation that got totally out of hand, got worse by the minute, and appears to be festering still.

To the parties in question: We all know the truth, and the fact that CPS found no need for action speaks volumes for the character of both of you.

Next time, follow your conscious and stay out of it.

Congratulations to Ryan Newman, who won the GFS Marketplace 400.

Of course, if you know me, you know my favorites are Kurt Busch, Ryan Newman, and Michael Waltrip. So today was a good day, even if Kurt needed to pit with one lap to go.

Anyway, tonight, I am sitting here watching the neighbors "sneaking" out next door (they rent, and I think they are slinking away in the night), and I decide to check NASCAR's site for any interesting tidbits. Guess what I find?

The feud between Jimmy Spencer and Kurt Busch flared up again in the garage area at Michigan International Speedway after Sunday's GFS Marketplace 400, with Spencer allegedly punching Busch while Busch sat in his race car.

So what happened you say?

Busch's car ran out of fuel, crew chief Jimmy Fennig said, as he tried to drive it back to his hauler after the race.

Spencer then rammed Busch's rear bumper, causing the bumper to buckle. Spencer got out of his car and approached Busch, reaching through the window and allegedly punching Busch.

Of course, we all know the story about their "feud", but come on.. Hittin' a guy while he is still in his car?

Roush told Speed TV that Spencer broke Busch's nose.

Hmm… Some might ask how Spencer (the decrepit old has-been) could do such damage, but those of us who watch know that Kurt has a pretty good sized honker and any old-fart could hit it, even if trying to miss.

"There's an ongoing investigation into the alleged assault," Lenawee County Deputy Jeff Patterson said. "It will be investigated thoroughly (and) we'll attempt to get ahold of some witnesses.

"We've already spoken with both parties and we'll submit it to the prosecutor."

Poor Mongo. (smirk)

"Of course, it's primarily in Mike Helton's hands to decide what he needs to do with Jimmy after these repeated assaults that he's had, either on the race track or the rest of them."

How much you wanna bet nothing happens (from within NASCAR)? Arguing, gesturing, bumping, and tapping are one thing. Assault is another.

Is it just me or does the "decrepit old has-been" have a case of poor sportsmanship?