Wednesday, January 23, 2013

Beyonce lips syncs, Manti Te'O fakes girlfriend, WHO CARES???

There is something fundamentally wrong with us. Why is this crap news? Why do we waste time and energy on this, when we have REAL issues to deal with? So frustrating. If either of these things is true or not, does it have any impact on ANYONE???? None whatsoever. Not that I am comparing this to something so trivial, but why is congress wasting time on the Benghazi witch hunt? 4 people died. Again, not to belittle those who lost their lives, there have been countless incidents that have resulted in many more deaths that nothing has been done about. Don't we have more important urgent matters? Grandstanding that the American people demand answers.... Yes, we demand answers on what you are doing CONSTRUCTIVELY to address social security shortfalls, medicare shortfalls, growing debt, and government waste and fraud. So get your priorities straight and get to work. I hope there won't be any congressional inquiry on whether or not Beyonce really sang or not.

Saturday, January 05, 2013

What if it was YOUR kid

That's all I can say to the gun crazed people out there. Spouting left and right about 2nd amendment rights.... What if your child was one of those lost at Sandy Hook.

Sunday, December 16, 2012

I Can't Stop Crying

The events this week in Newtown Connecticut have left me a weeping pile of despair. I have no children of my own, and cannot fathom what it is like for the parents of those children whose lives were taken. I don't think I have felt like this since 9/11. While I want to try and shut it out, so I will stop crying, I know that is exactly the wrong thing to do. Every time a mass shooting like this happens, it stays in the news cycle for a week or so, then falls into background out of our focus. At some point, and if NOW isn't it, I don't know when it will ever be, we need to keep it in focus. Change is required to minimize the ability for these things to happen. I am a realist, so I believe we can never eliminate the possibility of things like this occurring.

So what can we do? The first thing we can do is stop ignoring the problem. It took almost no time at all for the NRA proponents to come out with their "guns don't kill people, people kill people" bullshit. The republican lawmakers are already deflecting the fact that our gun control laws are insufficient by focusing solely on the mental health of the perpetrator(s)(of course they fail to mention that they are also in favor of cutting funding for mental health services). I personally believe that people with no mental health history at all are capable of snapping and doing something with a gun.

The fact of the matter remains that these is no legitimate reason for a person to own automatic and semiautomatic weapons. Does anyone need a Bushmaster to hunt deer or small game? Obviously not. So this is a nobrainer - reinstate the ban on "assault weapons".

Why are concealed weapons legal? Other than law enforcement, I see no reason for this. Stop issuing concealed weapon permits. And Yes, I believe the government should come and take away handguns. They are not legitimate weapons used for hunting, and have no use other than for people to kill people.

Background checks are insufficient. State laws vary, and at places like gun shows or private sales of guns, there is no background check at all. This most certainly need to be fixed. Why is it that we are able do this more effectively with automobiles, but yet we cannot do it with guns? Since guns do not recognize state lines, this in my opinion is not something that should be regulated by states, but rather should be subject to federal laws. Every state should have the same stringent laws that are enforced.

Technology. I recall seeing something on 60 minutes a few years ago that a gun manufacturer had a technology that wouldn't allow a gun to be fired except by it's owner - using some bio-metric (finger print I think?). I'm sure there are other things that can be done using technology to help prevent these things from happening.

Bottom line is this: We need to do SOMETHING. I don't want to cry anymore.

Tuesday, December 11, 2012

McConnell Filibusters Himself (almost sounds dirty, doesn't it?)

I really wish someone in the democratic party would start to speak up and tell the truth from the mountain.... The purpose of the debt ceiling is to pay for what we have already spent, not a blank checkbook as the republicans would have you believe. Any future spending has to approved BY CONGRESS, so what exactly is it they are afraid of? And why is it that this is not front page news, or even reported on by the so called "liberal media"? I watched a story about dogs driving cars this morning... yet the crap the countries so-called "leaders" are doing is nowhere to be found. Alright, off my soapbox.

From kentucky.com
http://www.kentucky.com/2012/12/11/2439140/urgent-case-for-senate-reform.html

Herald-Leader Editorial Urgent case for Senate reform;
McConnell even filibustered himself
Published: December 11, 2012
McConnell even filibustered himself

Sen. Mitch McConnell has only himself to blame for the growing sentiment to tame, if not kill, the filibuster.

In his four years as minority leader, McConnell and his fellow Republicans have made a mockery of the Senate by overusing and abusing the maneuver. They attained a historic level of absurdity last week when McConnell filibustered his own proposal.

No wonder Congress's public approval rating reached an all-time low this year.

A filibuster once required a senator to hold the floor for hours on end, such as when Sen. Strom Thurmond spoke for 24 hours and 18 minutes against the Civil Rights Act of 1957.

Once the Senate eased the talk-a-thon rule, the filibuster became more common. Democrats used it to block judicial appointments during the George W. Bush administration. But not until Republicans lost control of the Senate in 2006 did the filibuster become part of the Senate's daily routine.

In the 60 years from 1840 until 1900, there were 16 filibusters. In the first two years of Barack Obama's presidency there were 130.

To end a filibuster, 60 of the 100 senators must vote to invoke cloture. (In the House a simple majority may end debate and force an up or down vote.) Accomplishing almost anything in the Senate now requires 60 votes; just the threat of filibuster stops legislation dead in its tracks.

This is not what the founders intended. Alexander Hamilton and James Madison warned against a supermajority requirement. Hamilton said it would cause "tedious delays; continual negotiation and intrigue; contemptible compromise of the public good." Madison said "the power would be transferred to the minority."

McConnell last week provided vivid evidence of Hamilton's and Madison's prescience.

Kentucky's senior senator called for a vote on giving the president unilateral authority to raise the federal debt ceiling. This was not the first time McConnell had tried to embarrass Obama by calling for a vote on something he knew Democrats had reservations about. But this time the Democrats called his bluff and agreed to the vote.

At that point, McConnell invoked the 60-vote requirement, apparently giving him the distinction of being the first in history to filibuster his own motion.

While this sounds comical, it's classic McConnell. He has been single-minded in his strategy to tie up the Senate with partisan tactics and procedural maneuvering, to the exclusion of almost any substantive debate.

As a result, the Democratic leader, Sen. Harry Reid, is proposing a rule change to restore the talk-a-thon requirement and prohibit filibusters in a few cases.

The filibuster as perfected by McConnell also is being challenged in federal court by the non-partisan political reform group Common Cause, four House Democrats and three individuals who say they have been denied a path to citizenship by filibusters of the House-passed DREAM Act.

Senate lawyers say it would be extraordinary for the courts to intervene in Senate rule-making. But the filibuster has been taken to extraordinarily undemocratic lengths.

In only eight of the past 27 congresses has a party held 60 or more seats in the Senate.

If the filibuster as practiced by McConnell continues, we essentially will lose the Senate as a functioning part of our government.

Monday, November 05, 2012

Disaster Relief

Hi again, forgot one other thing - if you haven't already, please donate to the Red Cross. Donate what you can, and if you can't donate cash, consider donating blood. P.S. The Red Cross site has been overwhelmed at times recently. One place you can still donate is through their store (I ended up doing this the other night when the concert was on). You can do this here. Just click on "Add a Donation". You don't have to purchase anything else to donate.

I still exist

Holy crap, this blog is still out here? I guess google never deletes them.... Anyway, guess what? Pretty much nothing has changed. I still live in Syracuse, NY. I still work for the same company (21 years now). My dog is now 10, and rules my life more than ever. I decided to post only because I happened to type into google "Fuck you republicans" and came across a really good post on a blog. States the facts extremely well, couldn't have done it better. While I am still not affiliated with any party, I will, and suggest you vote DEMOCRAT tomorrow. The republican party has gone off the deep end, and are no longer worthy of consideration as a legitimate choice.

Saturday, October 02, 2010

Hi

Haven't posted anything in a very long time now. Guess I got bored with it. I think I realized that nobody was really reading it except me anyway... well with a few exceptions.

So to update anyone who might stumble on this blog and read it, I'll give a brief update.

I am indeed still working at the same company. Somehow survived the death march project. Of course I am involved in another one now, but am not quite as bothered this time. They haven't forced any overtime yet, so it isn't quite as bothersome. I had my private office taken away from me a year ago, so as a compromise, I work from home part of the time. It really has saved my sanity. I think if they hadn't agreed to that, I would be working somewhere else now.

Lets see, what else is new... basically nothing.

I paid off the mortgage early - I figured since I was making half a percent on my savings, and paying out four and a half on the mortgage, it was the thing to do. I waited a year longer to do it than I wanted to, hoping interest rates would come back, but that isn't happening anytime soon.

Still single. Still have the occassional day where I regret being alone, but for the most part am still happy with this decision. I no longer put myself in any sort of position - ever - to possibly meet someone that I think I could be with. So unless fate REALLY intervenes, I think it is what it is.

Been having some health related problems - chest and back pain for months now. Have lost all faith in modern medicine. The insurance companies are in control of everything. Doctor's are not issuing the necessary diagnostic tests to diagnose anybody anymore, as insurance won't approve. So I have been dispatched with NSAIDS 2 or 3 times now, with no real explanation or treatment. I feel as if I am just masking the problem at this point.

My dog is still around and doing well. He is 8 now. I can't believe his is 8 already.

I guess the last thing I want to say here is that I am truly thankful for everything I have. I know there are a lot of people out there who are struggling day after day to survive. Some of them might have put themselves in the position they are in (living beyond their means, bad decisions), but there are many who did not. I hope that things get better soon for them. Our leaders need to do the right things. I don't just mean government leaders, either. I beleive corporate leaders can do more to fix the state of things than the government can. The unforntunate thing is most of them don't. They are ruled by corruption and greed, instead of empathy and compassion. I think so many people have lost their way. They have hardended their hearts, and become totally self-serving. Somehow, someway, these folks need to remember what it was like to help others, and how it made them feel. All of us know that there is no greater feeling, deep down inside. Pay it forward.

Saturday, January 17, 2009

Jim Rice

I would be remiss if I didn't post on this topic. I am happy to say that Rice was selected for induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame this year. I am hoping right now to go to the induction ceremony in July. Cooperstown is a little under a 2 hour drive. As much as I don't like crowds, right now I am thinking this is a once in a lifetime thing for me. Jim Rice was my childhood hero, and childhood heroes never go away in our hearts. Sort of a funny thing actually, yet still I want to be there.

Saturday, November 15, 2008

Total Apathy

I have come to realize I am truly an apathetic person. No, that's an understatement. I might be the most apathetic person in the world. Ok, that's an overstatement.... but I do feel that way these days.

I think I might have lost the one friend I have left in the world. We used to talk at least 3 times a week, but I think I have talked to her twice in the last 3 weeks. I'm sure I said or did something stupid, but I don't know what it is.... I am sure it has to do with my apathy. My apathy prevents me from being as good of a friend as I should be. For this, I am truly sorry.

I have lost almost 70,000 in my retirement accounts. Seems like it should be something to get upset about. Like really upset.... but I just shrug and say, Oh well, maybe I'll make it back eventually....

I realize this is most likely nothing but a defense mechanism to prevent me from getting hurt in some way. Pretty pathetic. But how do you make yourself care? I just don't feel like I have it in me anymore. I feel like I am 90 years old. Very very sad.

Thursday, October 09, 2008

We are getting closer to Mad Max....

This is absolute bullshit. I have now lost over 1/3 of my retirement savings. Find me a window to jump out of.

and I just want to say:

Neither candidate for President can fix this colossal fucking mess that BUSH has created. I don't want to hear any bullshit about this going back to Clinton. This has happened on BUSH's watch. He is a fucking moron. He has blown all of our money because of his fucking vendetta against Sadam Hussein. Because Sadam tried to kill his A-hole daddy.

A couple other thoughts:

Sarah Palin is a retard.

If you vote for McCain/Palin, you are a retard.

Lou Dobbs is a retard.

People that bought McMansions with ARMs are HUGE retards.

Tuesday, September 23, 2008

We are all screwed.

Financial system failing, energy prices skyrocketing, social security and medicare facing inevitable insolvency. I am thinking it will be anarchy soon. WWIII at the least. Mad Max type stuff. Complete societal breakdown. All sounds far fetched, doesn't it?? But remember, nobody would have thought it would come to what it has already...

Friday, May 16, 2008

I feel sorry for kids

They most likely won't know the joy of a ride in the country. It's too expensive a pleasure now.

I remember spending a lot of time riding around in my youth. Getting out to see stuff. Now I hardly drive anywhere other than work, the grocery stores, and the golf course on the weekends.

I was thinking the other day I would love to just go for a ride. Maybe to look at houses for sale, or just to see what is new around town. Nope, can't do it. Unless I want to go broke...

I have to laugh, a Chrysler commercial is on TV - "Chyrsler is PROTECTING you from high gas prices". Really? Protecting? Wow....

Which brings up another thing that I've been hearing regarding their 2.99 promo. Economists don't think it is a good deal, and you would actually do better with cash back.... Well, based on economists records as of late (how many predicted oil this high this soon?), it certainly could be a good deal. A year from now everyone else is paying 7 bucks a gallon, while you pay 3? Sounds pretty good to me.

"Addiction" to oil

I am so freaking sick and tired of hearing that phrase. America's "Addiction" to oil. They make it sound as if we are on drugs or alcoholics or something. Moron President was the first one to use this phrase I think.

Give me a break. No, better yet, give me an alternative. This is what makes our economy work. What do you think would happen if we quit our "addiction" cold turkey? Gee, let's try it, and see how the government deals with that. You'd have NO economy. You'd have chaos. Screw you Moron President. You offer no leadership. You offer no vision. You suck.

Can you tell I am a little irate today? I am so sick of this crap. The oil companies are raping us. Sure they have every right to make money and be successful, but at what cost? How much of a profit do they really need? Greed. Pure greed.

I can only hope somebody comes up with an alternative. I bet they already have alternatives, and have for years. But there is too much money to be made now to let those cats out of the bag.

Wednesday, May 07, 2008

You can't tell me something strange isn't going on here

I am not an economist, or an expert on anything. But there is no way that the price of oil is increasing at the same rate as the demand for it. It seems utterly impossible that all of a sudden over the course of 5 years the demand has quadrupled.

I was going to buy a new car. I am not sure I am now. I can't help but feel that it will be too expensive to drive cars in the not too distant future.

We Are Screwed

Oil up to $125 a barrel. No end in sight. You can't tell me this country can adjust to this quickly enough to avoid a catastrophe. I am wondering if this is the beginning of the end. I am talking THE END. I can see anarchy and chaos on the horizon. Followed by WWIII. The financial crisis that is going to occur will ultimately result in the war for oil fields.

Dumb question, why are we not EMPTYING Iraq's oil fields? Frankly, we never should have been there in the first place, but now that we are, having paid a King's ransom in both dollars and lives, we should just continue to be the plunderers we are, and rape the land. Might be the only thing that saves us.

Man I sound like a crackpot. I really hope I am wrong, but part of me really does believe this is the beginning of the end of the world as we know it. And I don't feel fine.

Wednesday, April 30, 2008

American Idol

OK, I never watched this show all that much until this year. A few years ago I got interested in watching the train wreck contestants, but quit watching once they were all weeded out. This time around I didn't start watching until they got down to the last 15 - 20 or so.

It is now down to 5, with one to go tonight. Much to my shock, Jason Castro has survived another week. I just don't get it. He has so little talent compared to the others. I thought he should have gone before Carly Smithson last week.... and yet, here he is again tonight voted safe. That means it is either Brooke or Syesha going tonight. My gut says Brooke. Too bad, she was pretty good eye candy.... but anyway, how the hell has Jason Castro made it this far???? His voice sucks, he hasn't the originality of a David Cook, and he seems like a freaking air-head....

I guess nothing should surprise me in terms of how America votes for things, after all, they DID elect George Bush twice.... Well, technically, I guess they didn't. They elected him once, and the Supreme Court elected him the second time, but that is a whole other rant....

Anyway, guess we have to put up with the mophead again one more week.... but it will ultimately come down to the 2 Davids me thinks.

We shall see

GM posted a loss of $3.3 Billion for the first quarter. Apparently most of this was due to GMAC, which interestingly, used to be the strongest part of their financial stable. They sold of 51% of it last year, and took a $1.45 billion charge as a result....

GM also has laid off 3500 workers that produce the gas guzzling trucks and large SUVs. Gee, who didn't see this one coming. Do we have a case of pure greed going on here? Those are the vehicles they make good profits on.... But their lack of foresight regarding producing smaller more fuel economical vehicles is now going to put them through some serious hard times....

So, ok, with all that said, I still want to buy a new Vibe. I can only assume with the fed cutting rates again today, the economy in the tank, and slow sales domestically, that we WILL see some good incentives soon. If not, I won't budge. I refuse to pay anything more than $2000 - $1500 below sticker... However, part of me wonders if they won't discount small vehicles like the Vibe as demand will be on the rise...

Tuesday, April 29, 2008

Transportation

In late January I started to get the itch. New Car Fever is what I call it. I found out an all new Pontiac Vibe was going to be out soon. I currently drive a 2003 AWD Vibe. This has been the best car I have ever owned. I attribute this to the fact it is really, as I call it, a Toyota in Pontiac's clothing. I have owned it 5 years in March, and other than throwing new tires on it, and having a buzzy speaker replaced, it has been absolutely trouble free. Not even requiring brake work - a miracle for anything with a GM badge on it....

So why get rid of a car that has been this good? Good question. Still don't have a good answer, other than upgrading, or moving on before I start to put $$ into it. The new Vibe has a lot of great standard safety features - 6 airbags, 4 wheel ABS disc brakes, stability control, traction control, and active head restraints. Before gas prices really started to skyrocket again recently, I was certain I wanted to get a new Vibe with the larger 2.4 engine in it (One of my few complaints about my existing Vibe is it is a bit underpowered).... but gas mileage is becoming a premium. So I am on the fence. I am guessing that the 2.4 will do about the same as my current AWD, but I would like to upgrade the mileage too. Guess I will need to choose between power and efficiency. They rate the 2.4 with an automatic (I wish I could drive a stick, but never did learn) at 21/29. My AWD is 22/29 with the new ratings. Most of my driving is city, so I would be closer to the 21.... which makes me cringe....

So I have considered a few other cars - the Corolla for one (27/35 on mileage I think), but my brother test drove one and he said it felt cramped and was noisy... A little disturbing as the Vibe is based on the Corolla....

I also spent quite a bit of time looking at motor scooters (I don't mean the skateboards with handles that kids use, I mean things like Vespas). Besides the fact I would probably kill myself on it, the biggest obstacle is it requires a motorcycle license if it can go over 30. A few manufacturers have models with some type of restriction on the exhaust to prevent speeds over 30, but they are few, and expensive.... but the prospect of 80+ MPG is very alluring....

In doing all this research I found out that electric bicycles are not legal in NYS. There is legislation stalled in the state senate to legalize these vehicles and classify them as bicycles, not motor vehicles. Why they haven't passed this, I have no idea. I think a lot of people would potentially use these for short commutes as the price of gas skyrockets.....

Anyway, this is sort of a ramble, but the other thing I was thinking is that it seems that 80% of the cars on the road at any given time have only 1 occupant. So why aren't we driving 1 seater cars? Why aren't these produced? Well, you could say they are called motorcycles, but I am thinking of something enclosed with 4 wheels. They would certainly get greater mileage than any 4 seater on the road. Safety is the biggest obstacle. As long as semi-trucks and huge SUVs are on the same roads, I don't suppose we would see something like this.... We would need to radically change our roadway infrastructure to support this, but I can't help but think this is a worthy undertaking....

Saturday, March 08, 2008

So what do we do?

I am to the point where I am beyond laughing at our MORON president. To see him with that smug look on his face (I think he is incapable of saying anything with a straight face) say "I know this is a difficult time for our economy" and "But we recognized the problem early and we provided the economy with a booster shot" should have been laughable. He went on to say the effects of the stimulus package are "just starting to kick in". HUH? The checks haven't even been mailed yet. (As an aside, the government is sending out a letter to explain the rebates at cost of 42 million dollars.... and yes, that is just a letter to explain it.)

Do they seriously believe that an extra $600 per person is really gonna do anything? Somehow I bet that extra $600 is going to go to pay for $4 a gallon gas. So other than stimulating Bush's oil company cronies pockets, this is useless.

I still believe oil is the key for our immediate well being. It either needs to be eliminated as the main source of energy (and definitely MUST be long term), or something has to be done to make it more affordable. The problem is that the people in power are profiting so much off of it, nothing is being done. Eventually, I think it will come back to bite them in the ass. I may sound like a crackpot here, but I think with the way things are going, we could see anarchy within our lifetimes, as the poor become poorer and the middle class is no more.

P.S. - MORON President also said he had not heard that gas might go to $4 a gallon. WOW..... all I can say is WOW..... What color is the sky on your planet????

I Forgot One Other Thing

I believe one other thing that is going to have a major impact on the looming Depression (yes I said DEPRESSION, not RECESSION) is the fact that the baby boomers are all leaving the workforce.

There are at least 3 elements to this that I can think of:

1. Less workers = less tax revenue for the government. This as we know is a huge problem for future workers in terms of social security. But beyond that, the income tax stream is also going to be choked off. Just a couple days ago, they said there were more job losses for the month of January than any month in the previous 5 years. Yet the actual unemployment rate did not drop. They said this is because there were less people looking for jobs. You can interpert this 2 ways - unemployed people have given up looking for jobs, OR (and nobody seems to be mentioning this), this is due to workers LEAVING the workforce - i.e. RETIRING.

2. Because they are retiring, they are going to start drawing on their retirement savings. Most people's nest eggs are in the stock market. When they retire, typically they move some or all of it to more stable, less risky investment choices. By this many people taking their money out of the market, selling pressure will increase, when comined with other instability in the economy, possibly causing a market crash.

3. Healthcare crisis. As these baby boomers age, the strain on the healthcare system will be to the point of breaking. If something were to occur on a national scale (Bird Flu? or some other variant of the flu), we'd be seriously screwed. There aren't enough hospital beds to go around in many areas of the country as it is now, not enough nurses, surgeons and other healthcare professionals.

Throw all this in with the items I previously mentioned, and we are definitely heading for something bad. Very bad.

Thursday, March 06, 2008

OIL

Oil is at its all-time inflation-adjusted high, gas prices soon to follow. I think we are on the verge of a serious economic crisis, and I think the main culprit is the price of energy, specifically oil.

We could be looking at a late 70s situation again, with record inflation as well. Stir that up with the current sub-prime crisis (and the Fed cutting rates to try and bail it out)
, consumer debt in general, throw in the fact that we are spending billions on useless wars overseas, and I think we might have the perfect formula for another depression. Unemployment will undoubtedly go up soon. It may only be a matter of time before overseas investors start pulling out of the U.S.

I don't mean to sound all doom and gloom, but I really think we are in trouble here. It seems that no one cares either. The American auto manufacturers are going to be in for a rude awakening, since they continue to manufacture gas-guzzling vehicles that soon few will be able to afford to drive. Why are hybrids not the only thing being manufactured now? Aside from the fact we know that green house gases are depleting the ozone, causing global warming, the fact that we are contributing to killing our own economy by our driving habits/vehicle choices boggles the mind.

The government better wake up soon, and I can only hope it isn't too late.

P.S. - check out the current price of a barrel of oil on the right side of the page. I remember a few years ago when it was like $30 a barrel and if it got over $40 people freaked....

One last note - wheat prices are now at a record high too.
Double whammy here, as farmer's are growing grains for things like ethanol (which I personally don't believe is doing much for our energy crisis - I mean, I am not aware of a single gas station locally that sells E85, and most cars can't run on it) to add to food inflation, along with energy costs.....

Saturday, February 16, 2008

The Flu

Yup, I have the flu. I was sick in bed all day yesterday with a fever of 102.5, completely achy all over. Although part of me wonders if this is the leftovers from my battle with the demon the other night..... :)

Guess I am now a believer in the flu shot anyway.

Thursday, February 14, 2008

Freak Out.

Have you ever woke up in the middle of the night and feel totally absolutely freaked out? To the point where you are wretching and dry heaving like you just saw a horrible murder scene in person? I cannot even put into words the feeling I woke up to last night. Pure terror? Total loss of reality? Those might start to describe it.

This has happened before. Seems like once every year or 2 I wake up feeling like this. And each time it seems worse. I can only assume I had a nightmare, but I recall absolutely nothing. I turned on the TV and hugged my dog just to try to get a grip on reality. It took at least a good 10 minutes before I felt like I wasn't in some sort of mental hell. It is roughly 19 hours later that I write this, and I still don't feel right. It was freaking disturbing!

I think the last time this happened I thought I remembered thinking I accidentally killed somebody.... but I have no recollection of any dream this time. I was actually wondering earlier today if I was possibly being attacked by a demon trying to take me over or something. Yes, I am definitely freaked out.

I haven't been sleeping well at all lately, and am very run down. I also have a cold or flu. I can only assume this had something to do with it.... I am sort of scared to go to sleep tonight. I really felt like I could have done something totally insane when I awoke in that state last night. Like run and jumped through a window or something (Thankfully, I live in a ranch home!). I felt like I had no ability to reasonably think about anything. I just couldn't settle myself. Weird. I guess unless you have experienced something similar, you wouldn't understand what I am talking about, how truly disturbing it was.

McCain is More Of The Same

Read This!

Saturday, February 02, 2008

Wow.

Insanity

Politics

I am so tired of this stuff.... and we have another 9 months of it....

John McCain appears to be the front runner for the nomination for the republican party. I used to think that McCain was actually a some what reasonable human being (which is saying a lot since he is affiliated with the republican party). Then I saw him on "The Daily Show" last year. That's when I realized he is more of the same brainwashed neo-conservative nonsense we have endured for the past 7 years. This was the first glimpse we had of him believing that the word "timetable" was a dirty word.

I found it comical to listen to him sit there for an hour the other night saying timetable over and over again when debating Romney. Not that I like Romney either, and think it is ridiculous that he denied saying he supported time tables. Think about it this way (which I am sure Romney did, since he has been a successful businessman). When a CEO of a company, or even a good middle manager of a company, has a project to do, aren't there generally time tables for completion of the project? What is wrong with a time table????? Just another tactic to avoid talking about REAL ISSUES. That is what I detest most about this process. They rarely talk about the issues that matter. And when they do, it is so glossed over with no details on how they will fix anything. They all claim they will fix healthcare, dependence on oil, etc. without ever saying in detail how they plan to do it! Drives me crazy!

It seems this is almost becoming reality-TV-like. I expect in a few years it will be: "Survivor: The Republican Primary", and that's how the candidate will get selected.... or maybe "Dancing with the Democrats"....

Wednesday, January 09, 2008

Jim Rice

Oh, and by the way, the idiot sportswriters failed to elect Rice again this year. 16 votes short I believe I heard. I think it has be 14 years now they have managed to screw this up. Even the one guy who did manage to get elected this year after his own wait to get in - Rich "Goose" Gossage - says Rice belongs in the hall. Gossage said something to the effect of how he feared no hitter when he pitched, but Rice came the closest. I bet if you ask any of the other pitchers that pitched to him back in the 70's and early 80's, they would tell you they were afraid of him!

I think I heard Rice has 1 more chance to get in. After that, he can still get in through the veterans committee I believe. It never should have come to this.

Kelly Tilghman

Ok, I feel like ranting about this.

Kelly Tilghman is a broadcaster for the Golf Channel. She does "play-by-play" (I quote it because it just doesn't seem right for golf...) of PGA tour events on the network. While I did not see or hear her comments during last weeks Mercedes Championship coverage, I have read about them several times. The comments in question were something to the effect of that today's young players on the tour should "lynch Tiger Woods in a back alley".

These were obviously very poorly chosen words, but her intent was hardly malicious. It was meant to say that the only way the other players would stand a chance for great success would be to have Tiger out of the way, and was meant to be some sort of a joke I assume.

Now the Al Sharptons of the world are being heard again, demanding she be fired. While I certainly understand the sensitivity regarding the word "lynch" in relationship to a person of color, my guess is that it was more of a comment made out of ignorance, not malice. I am willing to give her the benefit of the doubt on this... Let's put it another way, if Tiger Woods were 100% Asian, or had no African American heritage at all, would anyone have batted an eye at this? I think not. I sometimes think that people who do not think in terms of race can easily say something like that. The fact that some people out there are equating this to Don Imus' comments about the Rutger's womens basketball team is outrageous. Those comments were insulting and insensitive. Ms. Tilghman's comments may have been insensitive but were hardly meant to be insulting, and obviously were meant in jest.

So really if you think about it, it was a poorly chosen word - "lynch". (By the way, the dictionary definition of the word is: to put to death, esp. by hanging, by mob action and without legal authority - so you notice there is no reference at all to race). It just grinds my gears to hear everyone being so ridiculously PC about something like this. Lets not deal with the real problems in society, let's waste out time and energy on something like this. Some how I think Mr. Sharpton and people of like minds would be better served trying to improve the lives of the people they claim to represent then trying to LYNCH Ms. Tillman. (Funny how my use of "lynch" doesn't offend there, now does it!)

Thursday, August 16, 2007

Return of Rut Man

Yup, that's me. Stuck in a rut. Even my buddy from work, who has been there 20 years has bought a new house in the country, and is now taking a new job, is moving on. Why am I this way? I should learn something from his example. Although truthfully the new job was a fluke - word of mouth type of thing..... I dunno, I need a shake up. I am just afraid it will be something awful that shakes up my life, not something good.....

Sunday, August 05, 2007

What to do....

Strange thing happened last week. My Dad had saved a section of the local newspaper for me. He pointed to an article about a fire at an apartment complex. He said, the story isn't why I saved it. He said, Look at the picture. I did, and read the caption below. It read "Police investigator *** ****** talks to .....". The police investigator was an old friend of mine. From when I was 14-16 years old. She was probably the first girl I ever had a real thing for. My recollections of her are very vague at this point, but I think she was a super nice person, and had a great smile. That smile is what I remember most.

So now I have that melancholy feeling again. I ask myself, what ever happened? I believe we somehow grew apart before high school was even over. I looked back at my old yearbooks and confirmed this - I don't see any signature from her in my senior year. I don't know what happened. I think she really had a crush on me too, especially now that I read the stuff she wrote in the yearbook. But I guess when you are 15 you can write things like "Love Always", and "I Love You" and it is really just "puppy love" or something..... I was an idiot back then. I probably never knew what I could have had. Now 20-25 years later, I see her in the paper. She still uses her maiden name. Does that mean she isn't married? Who knows. So I start to think about her. I look for information on the internet about her. I find nothing, other than a few other references to her job. It lasts a few days, and then I am able to put it out of my head......

Then tonight, I find myself driving by her street. Honestly, I was just cutting through that area while going to the mall. But I realize when I stop at the stop sign, this is the street she lived on. I Google earthed it the other night when I was looking up info on her. So I turn. And who do I see out in the driveway? Yup, there she is. I look, but I keep driving. She looked at me, but I am sure she had no idea who I was. The unfortunate thing about this is her street is a dead end, so I have to turn around and drive back by. I look again, but she doesn't seem to look this time. I continue on my way to the mall. I wonder, should I have stopped? How would I explain myself? Probably look like a psycho stalker. I mean, do I say, I was just driving by on your dead end street, and thought I would stop? PSYCHO STALKER....

So I am thinking about writing her a letter. What the heck would I say? This is just so weird. I wonder if she still lives in her parents house? I know her Dad is still around, he is the commissioner of public safety for a local town... I just wonder what she thinks of me. Heck, I wonder if she ever thinks of me. I am pretty sure I saw her a year or 2 ago coming out of a restaurant. I wanted to say something then, but I didn't. I mean, what do I have to lose by writing a letter? Other than what little self esteem I have left at this point in my life. Why do I want to do this? Why do I have this idealized picture of what kind of person she is now? I picture her being the nicest sweetest person in the world. Maybe I should just leave it that way.

I guess the bigger question is why do I never seem to maintain friendships? I have very few people that I would call friends. All of them are from work. Only 1 of them is someone who doesn't work with me anymore. Somehow we have managed to keep in touch, but we don't talk nearly as much as we used to. I guess I just don't believe that the effort required to put into a friendship is worth it. That is so sad. I know that is part of it. But the even greater part is not wanting to get hurt. I refuse to try and even get close to anyone, because if it somehow turns into any kind of relationship, I believe it will eventually end with me getting hurt.

I'm not sure how to get out of this funk I have put my life in. I have myself so convinced if I get out and socialize, I will be inviting trouble into my life. I still have the tiniest bit of hope that an angel of mercy will come into my life and show my I am wrong, but it is fleeting. Fast.

Tuesday, July 31, 2007

Casinos are for suckers

I had to remind myself why I don't frequent them. It had probably been 3 years at least since I had gone, but yesterday I wasted a perfectly good vacation day by going to the nearest casino - Turning Stone - and blew $70. I don't know why I feel the need to do that every few years, but I do.... This could be the last time though. Not that I am that upset about losing the $70, it's just that I guess I don't get any enjoyment out of it. It used to be the prospect of winning money there was somehow exciting, or the whole risk taking that is gambling was exciting, or .... I dunno. All I can say is there was nothing enjoyable about going there. Maybe I am just getting old, and the prospect of winning a few bucks doesn't do much for me, or the fear of losing a few doesn't either.

A Fun Show

ABC has a new show on called Just For Laughs which is the latest hidden camera show. What makes this one especially unique is there is absolutely no dialogue, just music and sound effects. Just very well done. It WILL make you smile and chuckle no matter how bad a day you have had....

Thursday, July 26, 2007

Ok, one last post for today

I get an online calendar emailed to me daily from Page-A-Day Calendar. It is from the National Public Radio news quiz show Wait wait... don't tell me. Today's calendar page really made me laugh, so I thougt I would share:

Question:

The winner of the 2003 International Frank X. Tolbert-Wick Fowler Memorial Championship Chili Cook-Off in Terlingua, Texas, was disqualified when he revealed that his secret ingredient was what?

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Answer:

The other contestants’ chili. Don Eastep entered the cook-off on a whim; in fact, he hadn’t even made any chili. So, as a joke, he wandered around, took a sample of everybody else’s entry, stirred it up, and won. He immediately copped to the fraud, and has been banned from the competition for life.

The Older I Get, the Dumber I Get

I think that is true. I feel like I have an IQ of a wet sponge (for reference, that is probably the approximate IQ of the current resident of 1600 Pennsylvania Ave, Washington D.C.). I think my brain cells are dying off. I watch too much TV. That must be it. That damn DVR doesn't help either. Although I wouldn't get to watch 'The Daily Show' daily without it. So for that alone, I love it. But it is turning my brain to mush. Computers are evil too. I am not sure I can even do long division anymore. Fractions are almost out of the question. Technology makes us dumb..... but in retrospect, I still think I am smarter than a wet sponge (our commander in chief).... that is not saying much, is it.... I'll save my political rant for another day.

Strange Dreams

Historically speaking, I never dream. Or at least I certainly never remember them AT ALL. Maybe have a vague recollection of having had (does "having had" really sound right?) a dream when I wake up. Recently, however, I have had dreams, and actually remembered them. Weird ones too. They all seem to have very literal meanings though.

Take for example the one where I am in the backseat of a car trying to drive up a hill in the winter time. We can't get up the hill, and eventually start sliding backwards faster and faster, and eventually slide right off a cliff...... pretty easy to figure out, right? The driver and other passenger in the front seat were from work. So I interpret this as meaning I am never going to get any further ahead at work, and eventually things will get so bad that I will have to leave. That is my interpretation anyway.

The funny thing about it is, that I have no real desire to "get ahead" at work. I think most managers (at least in my 16 years at this company) that have come and gone over the years were absolute dysfunctional morons. They are managers based on the fact they have no actual skills of any value to perform real tangible tasks. The thought of becoming one of them, and having to deal with them on a more regular basis gives me the hee-bee-gee-bees! I am just not a bullshit artist, so therefore could never really last in that world.

Anyway, I wonder what I will dream of tonight.... hopefully not work related.

He's Back and He's Pi$$ed!!!!!

Yup, lots of time has passed, and I haven't put a damn thing out here. Guess what? Nothing has changed! Well, ok, some stuff has changed, but it mostly it is the same old same old. Still working at the same damn place, and just got an email today telling me I am required to work Saturdays for the foreseeable future. What a bunch of crap. Push is coming to shove. I already traded emails with my boss saying that I refuse, and if that is unacceptable, he can "do whatever he needs to do". After 16+ years of loyal service to this company, I could care less if they fire me. Ok, that's not totally true, but we are getting closer to that being a truth all the time.

I really need to do something here. Like win the lottery. Or rob a bank. I keep asking my dog to do it. I tell him that I want to come home and find him sitting on a big pile of money. :)

I think I need to investigate a personal business venture. I need to come up with an idea for a business that will have a high percentage of being successful. Easy right?..... I have saved a decent chunk of cash to get started with, but I haven't a clue what to do. I'm not sure I really have the energy for this.... That's why if I got fired, maybe it would not be the worst thing in the world, maybe it would be just the spark I need! (I sound like I am trying to convince myself, don't I?)

Anyway, I felt like bitching again, so I came back here..... don't get me wrong, I have felt like bitching several times since I last posted, but either didn't have the energy or time....

P.S. - a note to Zita Ranics-Wisson - Sorry, I hope you still check back once and again. I had a random thought about you the other day, and was just on your blogsite(s).... I guess that is why I came back here. Took me forever to remember my login info, then I had to switch to google... yea, it's been a while. I guess I got bored with blogging (bitching), or really was too busy to do it.... I am sure I could have found the time, but oh well.

Saturday, October 21, 2006

I didn't explode

I just went on hiatus. Well, guess what? NOTHING HAS CHANGED. I am still single, still work for the same company, still have no life. The only thing of significance that changed is I fenced in my dinky yard for my dog - which is all whole other story that I could have posted about.... (synopsis: my neighbor is a psychopath).
I made a couple of eagles on the golf course this year (finally getting rid of the moniker my friends gave me of "best player never to have gotten an eagle")...
um... what else? Not much.... My life is dull, what can I tell ya?
Otherwise, life is the same as it ever was.... same as it ever was.

Thursday, March 16, 2006

Everything and Everybody Sucks.

I am about as miserable as a human being can be. I don't really know why. I really don't like people. They are mean. I don't like mean people. I feel like I am going to explode soon. KA-BOOM!!!!!!!

Sunday, March 12, 2006

SU Basketball

Been a cool 4 days watching the SU basketball team. I must admit, I really didn't watch too many of their regular season games. I found them very frustrating to watch earlier in the year. I happened to go to lunch late on Wednesday, turned on the tube, and they were playing. I had no idea. Caught most of the second half including Gerry McNamara's running 3 pointer to win it against Cincinnati. This was a must win to even have a shot to get into the NCAA tournament. They followed it up with a stunning victory over #1 UConn in another noon game on Thursday. Again, I was fortunate enough to see the second half and overtime on lunch (although the overtime did cause me to take an extended lunch). Another huge performance by McNamara. Friday night another clutch performance by G-Mac gave the 'Cuse a win over Georgetown. This team just will not be denied. Saturday night, I was REALLY tired and fell asleep watching the championship game against Pitt. I woke up when it was over, just in time to see SU celebrating. This is a team NOBODY gave any chance of winning the tournament, but they did it. As much as I disliked watching them earlier in the year, these guys are the guttiest, grittiest bunch I think we have had at Syracuse, led by McNamara. I can only hope they continue this into the NCAA tournament, and that someone will step up next year to replace McNamara. For a little guy, they will be HUGE shoes to fill next year.

Monday, March 06, 2006

Hi.

Again, not really much going on, not much to talk about. Work sucks. My life is dull. I could write about my fantasy of driving around the country in a new class-B motorhome. But I don't feel like it.
(For those of you who do not know what a class B motorhome is, it is basically a van.... but they manage to cram toilets and showers in them - it is amazing)....

Sunday, February 26, 2006

I Love Wikipedia

An example why. Would you ever find this in a traditional encyclopedia? I think not.

Saturday, February 25, 2006

Just for fun

I started looking up famous people on US search. Amazingly enough, I got hits. I guess even celebrities can not hide from public records. I have to see if I can find the website I was surfing about 6 years ago at work to waste time. You could look up social security numbers of deceased people. I recall looking up all kinds of celebrities social security numbers. It was pretty weird.....

Rut Man

I have wasted countless hours the last few days trying to find anyone I can think of on the US Search website. I am amazed at how many people I used to know that do NOT live around here anymore. Pretty much most of them have moved out of town. One guy that I was friends with in high school who talked about going to Alaska someday has apparently done just that. A lot of others have gone on to live in warmer climates. I get sort of a sad feeling seeing that everyone has gone, and I have never left. I feel like I have missed out on something. I feel somewhat jealous. I don't know why I feel this way, but I do. I in many ways feel like I have never grown up. Sure I live on my own. But not having married, never relocated, being in the same job for 12 years (same company for 15), I really am pretty stagnant.

I guess I fear change. A friend of mine once called me "Rut Man", based on a comic strip character who was an average guy who was always stuck in a rut. I guess that is true. My life is sort of a big rut.

I don't want to seem ungrateful for what I have. I really do have a great life. I have a good job, a good house, family, a few good friends. I am fairly content. I still hold true to the belief that if I could find the right person to share everyday life with, I would have everything I need.... but I have yet to find her, or she is otherwise already spoken for (the good ones are already taken). Or she doesn't live here. Or maybe she doesn't exist....

ALRIGHT. ENOUGH OF THIS. I AM FEELING SORRY FOR MYSELF. I NEED TO STOP IT.

Friday, February 24, 2006

Here comes that same old feeling again....

It is like somebody flipped a switch. I was really busy today at work, but pretty much as soon as I got home and sat down I started thinking about her again. Yes, her. From 18 years ago. I used to do this all the time. I thought I had gotten over it. I guess not.

I used to look for her number in the phone book when I got the new one every year. She wasn't the only one, but she was usually the first. I never did see it.

Now I know she is on the other side of the country. If I were rich, I would just pop in and visit. Or maybe if I were terminally ill, and had nothing else to do.... What would I say? I'm not really sure.

I hope this passes. I am sure it will.

Thursday, February 23, 2006

The Past.

I hate it when I get like this. I have so much angst right now. Whenever I start to think about the past, specifically the people of my past, I start feeling this way. I feel like I would love to be rich or famous or something so I could confront them and rub their noses in it. I would seek them out, just for that purpose. This is a sad statement about my life. I guess I just feel rejected by the past. I am where I am now due to the people in my past rejecting me. That is what I believe.

Regrets. I have many. They have left their scars.

Internet Stalking

It amazes me how easy it is to stalk someone on the internet. The girl I was talking about a couple posts ago, that I dated about 18 years ago, has been found. Sort of. Online. In sites like Intelius and US Search, you can find anyone. I typed in her name (probably her maiden name now), her age, the address she lived at 18 YEARS AGO, and got a hit. Based on the data they show for free, I can tell she has lived in Georgia and California since then. For $40 I could get a full report, including marriages, divorces, roommates, bankruptcies, property owned, tax liens, small claims judgments.... pretty much anything and everything that is of public record. Frightening when you think about it. And they wonder why identity theft is so easy..... Anyway, as I suspected, she doesn't live here anymore. I wonder why she moved. Probably for a guy.... but wait, a brainstorm! She had an older sister. I look her up, and BAM, all the same city addresses!?!?! So I look up her Dad. What do you know, the same city addresses, except the last one. So they all packed up and moved, first to Georgia, then to California, a town called Newhall, just north of Los Angeles.... Still without paying for the report, not many details.... What purpose would it serve to buy it? Other than satisfying my curiosity, nothing. It wouldn't tell me if she ever day dreams of me, or thinks of me fondly.... Anyway, just amazed how easy it is to find someone, get all kinds of info on them. Scary, really.

When is enough enough?

I have been talking recently with a friend of mine about the culture of America(specifically corporate America). We both agree it pretty much sucks. It is a culture of greed. People are never satisfied. Always want more. Gotta grow the business. More More More. I think this culture (along with misguided technology) has ruined the fabric of our society, family values, etc.

The one thing that I do remember from my ISO training was the guy saying "Companies that stay the same are doomed to fail" or something of the sort. I actually have a contrarian view to this. I call it "Leave well enough alone" or "If it ain't broke, don't fix it". While I do agree that people and companies sometimes have to adapt and change to survive, I think that those who change for the sake of change, or those who change out of pure greed are ultimately doomed to fail.

A message to you out there who I might be describing (and you know who you are):

Stop and smell the roses.
As human beings, we are all equal in the end.
He who dies with the most toys does NOT win!
Think about what is really important in life.

Living in the Past

I had a opportunity to do something today that I haven't done in a long time. While I wish I could say it was..... well..... sex, it was not. I attended training for ISO 900? (I can't honestly say whether it was 9000, 9001, or 9002 - that is how little I paid attention) today, and took the opportunity to day dream. So as the instructor rambled on about the requirements for ISO, I took a mental trip down memory lane.

A fairly new employee at my company had mentioned to me the other day that they remembered me from my days playing little league baseball. That must have been in my subconscious, because that is where the day dreams started. Technically, I guess it wasn't really a "dream" as it was really just replaying memories. The good old days those were. My biggest concern was whether or not I could hit a good curve ball, or make the long throw from behind third base over to first.....

But as always in the past when I day dream my thoughts usually go to a certain girl I dated when I was 17, so we are getting close to this being 20 years ago. A lot of the general facts are a blur now, I think we went together for a year and 9 months, or maybe it was 2 years... but I think she was my first true love. I remember a lot of details of times spent with her, which filled a good half hour of my hour long meeting today. I was amazed I could let myself drift off like that for that long a time. I really enjoyed it, but afterwards I felt sort of empty. Melancholy I guess it would be. I always think back and wish I had done things differently..... but I was so young and foolish..... sigh. If I had a second chance with her today, I would do so many things differently.... I wonder where she is now. Probably married with 3 kids living in another state. Sigh.

Reality has returned. I know I have probably exaggeratedly romanticized these memories, the way I felt about her. And that is ok. They don't have to be 100% accurate, they just have to feel right to me, and give me a nice trip down memory lane.

Wednesday, February 22, 2006

I have nothing to say

I feel I need to post. I have nothing to say. I am miserable, and I could bitch about stuff, but I don't feel like it. So there.

Friday, February 17, 2006

The Insanity Continues

From the CNN website:
"Eleven people were killed and an Italian consulate burned in Libya on Friday during protests to denounce the publication of cartoons depicting the Muslim prophet Mohammed, sources in Libya said. Italians were evacuated from the consulate in Benghazi, Italian officials told CNN. Libyan television showed ambulances taking casualties from the scene. Demonstrations have occurred across the Muslim world in recent weeks over 12 cartoons of Mohammed that first appeared in a Danish newspaper and were then republished in some other European newspapers."

So here we are, and now people are dying over a freaking cartoon. These people are truly insane.

Tuesday, February 14, 2006

Old Dudes. What will we do when they are gone?

I've been told or stumbled across news of a couple of old Rock n' Rollers putting out new CDs in the near future.

Donald Fagen of Steely Dan is putting out "Morph the Cat" in March. This guy is definitely a weird dude, but I really like his stuff. The jazz-rock sound of Steely Dan and Fagen is still fresh and original today. I am really looking forward to this. I heard the first pre-release single H-Gang on one of the XM stations the other day. You can hear it on Donald's new (still under construction) website.

David Gilmour of Pink Floyd is putting out "On an Island" also in March. I think I am even looking forward to this one even more, considering we haven't had anything new from him since Floyd's 1994 Division Bell.

As much as I really don't like shelling out $ for CDs anymore, especially now that I have XM, I will probably still pick up both of these. Good music is so hard to find these days, gotta snatch up what you can when you can. When these 60 year old guys are gone, the pickings will get even slimmer

I'm on a roll. Getting Crazy with the Cheese-Whiz.

Just had to share this.

From the Lateshow with David Letterman:
Top 10 excuses VP DICK Cheney used for shooting his 78 year old hunting partner in the face:

Top Ten Dick Cheney Excuses


10. "Heart palpitation caused trigger finger to spasm"

9. "Wanted to get the Iraq mess off the front page"

8. "Not enough Jim Beam"

7. "Trying to stop the spread of bird flu"

6. "I love to shoot people"

5. "Guy was making cracks about my lesbian daughter"

4. "I thought the guy was trying to go 'gay cowboy' on me"

3. "Excuse? I hit him, didn't I?"

2. "Until Democrats approve medicare reform, we have to make some tough choices for the elderly"

1. "Made a bet with Gretzky's wife"

WOAH, Curling just got a lot more interesting!!!!

On a news break on CNBC they talked about the new fundraising calendar being sold to benefit the women curlers who pose NAKED (or nearly naked) in the calendar. The women of curling. YEAH BABY! The calendar is called the Ana Arce Team Sponsorship Calendar 2006. Here are a few samples:

http://www.teamtoth.at/foto/original/0000000053.jpg

http://www.teamtoth.at/foto/original/0000000054.jpg

http://www.teamtoth.at/foto/original/0000000055.jpg


I have decided I like curling. A lot.

The calendar is available for sale here.

The Clip XT

I forgot to post the results of my first Clip XT antenna testing. I guess I would give it a B. Not perfect by any stretch of the imagination, but it does make the MyFi usable in portable mode. If figure if the weather breaks again and I go for a walk around the block, that will give me a better indication of how well it works. But indoors I can actually get reception now, provided I am facing south and not moving around too much. I expect outdoors it will work well.

Ok, I am actually watching curling

I have tuned in the Olympic games on CNBC, and yes, I am watching curling. Such a bizarre game. Hey, at least it is WOMEN's curling. If it were ice skating, I would probably have to kill myself. But alas, it is curling, so I shall live. For those of you who don't know what curling is, I guess the best description I could give it is "shuffleboard on ice". This is a completely inaccurate description, but it is the best I can do.... I remember watching this as a kid when we used to get the Canadian TV station on cable. I must have been easily amused as a child, because this is pretty dull.... I bet it would be ok to watch if I were drinking or could place bets on it. :)

Friday, February 10, 2006

I'm a Loser Baby, So Why Don't You Kill Me

I have decided that I pretty much suck at everything. Even keeping this blog up to date. I am stumbling and bumbling my way through life. I wonder if I will ever get a clue. I doubt it.

Sunday, February 05, 2006

Insanity.

Let me first say, I do not claim to have any expertise in the Islamic cultures around the world. I have no idea what it is like to walk in their shoes. That said, I still cannot understand how they do what they do.

The latest events involve the Danish newspaper's printing of cartoon depicting the "Prophet Mohammed" as, well, basically a terrorist suicide bomber - wearing a turban shaped like a bomb with a lit fuse. So while this is totally insensitive and inflammatory, the reaction in places like Beirut where they torched the Danish embassy is unbelievable. Gee, they wonder why someone would draw and print something like this, and then they turn around and do that. I have no sympathy whatsoever for the plight of their people. They have brought this on themselves. I realize this goes back to biblical times, and they probably did get a raw deal centuries ago, but the recent (really the last 30 to 40 years) crimes they have perpetrated against the rest of the world is only hurting them more. Why would anyone have any sympathy for them at this point? Whenever we see them burning an American flag, we don't strap on explosives and walk into mosques... After 9/11 I bet many Americans would just have assumed we drop a nuke on the whole middle east and turn it into a parking lot. But we didn't. (Instead we took over Afghanistan and Iraq - spending millions of taxpayer dollars in the process, but that is another topic).

Bottom line is, I just don't understand how they think they will make anything better for themselves by blowing stuff up (especially themselves).

I ordered my ClipXT antenna

Gonna end up costing $26 and change after shipping. All I can say is this thing better work. I went for a short walk the other day outside with my previously mentioned XM radio and the reception was abysmal. Unless I was walking south, I got ZERO reception, even out in the middle of the road, not obstructed by anything. Even when walking south, the reception was spotty. So I decided to spring for the dorky, wearable, third party antenna that supposedly works. Should get it on Wednesday according to UPS. Of course the weather is supposed to turn to crap by then, so I don't know if I will be able to take a good walk to test it out....

Friday, February 03, 2006

Winter Sucks.

Even thought this has been an extremely mild winder for the last month and a half, I still hate it. Just the lack of daylight is really depressing. This morning I was lying in bed around 7 am and it was still pitch black out. This was because it was very overcast. It freaked me out to the point that I got online and found some webcams in London and Miami just to make sure the sun hadn't burned out....

Monday, January 30, 2006

Greed Greed Greed.

Just read this on money.cnn.com:

The most profit in a year. Ever.
10:17am
Nation's No. 1 oil company reports larger than expected jump in 4Q income to cap record year, quarter for a U.S. company.

This headline is talking about ExxonMobil. So as Americans pay more and more for gasoline, the rich get richer. GW is taking care of his oil barron buddies, isn't he.....

Saturday, January 28, 2006

I am a prisoner to money

I am becoming more and more cognizant that I am a prisoner to money. We all are to a point. But I won't go find another job, and continue to be somewhat miserable in my current one because it pays well. I had to work another Saturday today. I almost thought my head was going to explode as I watched other people were dismissed early. My head did explode when my boss announced he was leaving to go pick up an item for his daughter. Yet, I was stuck there. This is BS. We were told we would get comp time for all this, but they aren't giving it now. This is crap. But I continue to put up with it because the job pays well.

I do know one thing, and that is if they EVER fire me, there will be hell to pay. I will want to be compensated for all this time. If they don't, then things will get really ugly. I have worked for this company for a LONG time, and know A LOT of things.... I'll just leave it at that.

Friday, January 27, 2006

I am an enormous putz.

Ok, so I got an email. I now know her full name. I googled her. I found more pictures. She looks big. Big as in heavy. I am so incredibly shallow. She seems really nice. Admittedly, this could be an act (doesn't everybody put on an act when trying to meet someone?), but assuming she really is, that should be enough, right??? And it isn't like I am thin either, so what right do I have to judge?!?! But I do.....

Sigh. I give. I throw in the towel. I am better off alone anyway. No hassles. Nobody to answer to about anything but myself (and of course the ruler of my life, my dog). I am sure somewhere down the road I will regret this decision to be a loner, but right now it just seems like the best thing to do. Keep it simple stupid.

On I will go. Work, home, couch, bed, repeat.
The story of my life in a song:

Ticking away the moments that make up a dull day
You fritter and waste the hours in an off hand way
Kicking around on a piece of ground in your home town
Waiting for someone or something to show you the way

Tired of lying in the sunshine staying home to watch the rain
You are young and life is long and there is time to kill today
And then one day you find ten years have got behind you
No one told you when to run, you missed the starting gun

And you run and you run to catch up with the sun, but it’s sinking
And racing around to come up behind you again
The sun is the same in the relative way, but you’re older
Shorter of breath and one day closer to death....

(Time - Pink Floyd)

Thursday, January 26, 2006

I am a putz.

I feel like a bit of a jerk. One of the women I emailed on match did respond to me yesterday. Turns out her grandmother passed on. I am so impatient sometimes.... anyway, the test now will be to see if she emails me outside of match. I quit the service so I didn't have to pay for subscription - the trial period had ended.

I had a really good idea for the subject for a post yesterday. I never got around to writing it (since I worked until 8 last night), and was busy with other stuff. Since I am so scatter-brained, I now cannot remember what it was..... ugh.

It is snowing here again. What a surprise. Guess I should take the golf clubs back out of the car....

Monday, January 23, 2006

What am I doing?

I am sitting here, the TV is on, and yes, "Skating With the Stars" is on again. I am not changing the channel.... Why? Help me..... ok, I can't deal with this. I am changing the channel. Whew. That was close. I flipped over to ESPN, and of course the SU basketball team is losing. I really don't enjoy watching this team this year, not sure exactly why.... Guess I will turn off the TV for a while. Gonna flip on the XM radio, one of the comedy channels, I think....

I still didn't get any replies from any of the chicks I emailed on match. I sent one of them a second email, just to see if I can even elicit a reply. I let my dog type part of it. Just because.

I played golf yesterday, which in Syracuse NY in the middle of January is quite a feat. I would have rather played Saturday, but of course was stuck working. It was in the 50s in the AM Saturday before the front came through. It was in the 30s yesterday, but I wanted to get out. Played a course in Lafayette, NY called Orchard Valley. Not a great track, but hey, beggars can't be choosers. It was great to get out and get some fresh air and exercise. Played fairly well too. Probably put the clubs away for another 3 months.....

One weird thing was that the guy I was golfing with who lives not too far from the course was giving me some information about the area that I didn't know. I was asking about some of the local hamlets and villages in the area, as I am not familiar with it. I live in the northern half of the county, and don't get down to the southern half too much. He brought up a town a couple miles down the road named Cardiff. He said it was home of the Cardiff Giant. I had no clue what he was talking about. He couldn't believe I hadn't heard of it. He gave me a little info, and said to look it up on the net. So I did. Quite interesting. Called by some the greatest hoax of all time. You can find more info here. It amazes me how little I know about the local history of the area. I bet I am not alone in this, I am sure many people know surprisingly little about the history of the area in which they live. Maybe I'll have to do some research.....

Friday, January 20, 2006

Sub-Par Products Redux

I am following up on this topic for a couple reasons.

First, the original post was regarding the Delphi MyFi. I can see why Delphi is in financial trouble. There was a recall for the original battery that came with the MyFi, Pioneer AirWare, and Tao XM2GO. They were apparently melting.

My radio that I received as a Christmas gift has the new white battery in it. They (Delphi) must not have had any idea which units had shipped with the old black battery that melts, or new white one that doesn't. Why do I say this? Because I got a little present in the mail today, another battery.

So I think, COOL, now I have a spare. But then I remember that since I can't get any reception in "portable" mode, I will probably never use it on battery power anyway.... unless I spring for that other antenna, which is sounding more and more plausible...

I also bring this up because my brother's 36" TV that can't be more than 3 years old died a few days ago. It is a JVC, which consumer reports rated as excellent, go figure.

I also had my compact RCA stereo apart the other night, as one channel wasn't coming through when listening to CDs. Really weird, the radio and cassette were fine. So I took it apart, expecting to find something fried, but I didn't. I wiggled some wires around, put it back together, and VOILA!, it works again..... weird.

Stranger in a Strange Land....

I actually received a comment/feedback from a complete stranger a few days ago. I am pretty much amazed that someone read my rambling rants. Well, anyway, thank you. She did ask if I had a picture of my previously mentioned dog. Well, here he is, in his favorite pose.

The Treadmill of Life

It doesn't seem to matter what I do, I end up in the same spot. I really think my destiny is precalculated. I have signed up on Match.com again. I figure I will quit at the end of the 7 day free trial. I have emailed a couple women, but I am already thinking this was a bad idea. I am sure this will go nowhere. I will invent reasons why these women who are most likely perfectly nice, normal women, are un-dateable. If that doesn't happen, I will most certainly never actually ask them to meet. Or they will just never return my emails. Sigh. What was I thinking?

Wednesday, January 18, 2006

This is what it has come to

I am sitting here watching "Skating with the Stars". Prior to this, I was watching American Idol - well most of it anyway, I didn't get home from work until 8:20. This is freaking pathetic.

I'll go to bed at 10, get up at 7 most likely, and go back to work. There has got to be more to life than this.

Sunday, January 15, 2006

I wish it was acceptable for people to hibernate

I think I would love to just sleep all winter. I hate winter. It doesn't help that I think I am getting sick. My back and hips are killing me too, thanks to a general lack of exercise. I really need help.....

Saturday, January 14, 2006

My dog rules my life

I have a 3 1/2 year old miniature schnauzer. I love him to death. But the truth is, he is the master of my domain, not me.

I won't look for a new job because I live so close to my current one, and it allows me to come home daily on lunch to let him out. I don't go out much at night because I want to be home with him. Part of this is out of guilt - he is home alone all day, part of this is because I truly like hanging out with him more than most people. But unless I can find a woman (see previous post) who most likely will already have a dog or dogs, I think I would probably be viewed as insane....

How do other people that own dogs do it? Especially ones that require a lot, I mean A LOT of attention? I mean, I am even having difficulty writing this post without having to entertain him!

I don't even think about going on vacation anymore. Putting him in a kennel is something I would never do, unless I had no other choice, and impositioning friends and relatives is not something I like to do. I could take him camping or something, but I have the feeling neither of us would really like that too much....

Don't get me wrong, I wouldn't have it any other way. Anyone who has a dog knows what I am talking about. But sometimes being a responsible dog owner is a pain in the butt!!!!

Friday, January 13, 2006

So what do I want?

I have myself convinced that I could truly be happy if I could find the right available woman.

This in itself, is a sad statement - that my happiness is dependent on someone else.

But aside from that, assuming it is true, I doubt it will ever happen. I generally believe that at least 50% of the female population is a pain in the ass. So based on the fact that most of the good ones are already taken, that leaves me with basically 3% to choose from. So with those odds, I decided it just isn't worth it. So I remain unhappy, unfulfilled. I think what prevents me from doing anything is truly this: I am afraid I won't find the happiness I was so sure I would feel when finding the right partner. So it paralyzes me, and I do nothing.... a vicious cycle.

Why is nobody ever content?

Everybody I know is miserable. Why? We all have nice homes, nice things, live in the wealthiest country in the world.... but yet we are miserable.

I have some theories on this. People fall into different classes.

The greedy. These are the people who will never be happy no matter what they have. Things are never good enough, and they must get more. This person is typically a manager or executive in a company. They are hell bent on higher profits, owning a nicer house, expensive cars, etc. They are consumed with more, no matter what it is, they want more... and while they may seem happy, I cannot believe they truly are. I cannot relate to this group of people at all.

The downtrodden. These are the individuals that are tyrannized by the greedy. If the greedy didn't demand more and more from these people, they might have a chance to be happy. But the greedy will not allow it, as they must get more for less from the downtrodden. My latest example of this is all the free forced overtime I am working. Part of me falls into this category.

The apathetic. Nothing in life matters all that much. These people are not necessarily miserable, but are rarely happy, because not much matters to them. These people are almost the polar opposite of the greedy. I find myself increasingly feeling this way.

The chronically miserable. No matter what happens, there is no happiness here. It is almost like these folks look for things to be unhappy about. The most insignificant thing can put them in a spiral of misery where nothing can make them happy. This group scares me.

I know people in all these groups. I fall into a few of them myself. The question is why, and how do we get out of our ruts? These are really, unfortunately, personality traits more than anything else. Do people really have the ability to change? I don't know. I guess if I have to be in any of these groups, apathy is the way to go... You get too upset being downtrodden, so apathy is a good alternative, the least of all evils. So that is where I am and will stay, unless someone can show me the way to happiness....

But I just don't trust anybody to do it. Least of all myself.

Thursday, January 12, 2006

Fiscal insanity

The White House projected a 2006 budget deficit of more than $400 billion Thursday...... Sigh.

Wednesday, January 11, 2006

I am tired.

Worked a 12 hour day today. Well, I use the term "work" liberally. I feel like I was involved in a lot of stuff today, but nothing got done. Oh well. I have pretty much given in to the fact that I am stuck working overtime. Eventually, I will probably get fired, or the company will go out of business. It is pretty sad when you get to that point where you WANT something like that to happen. Common sense says it is time to move on. The issue is I don't think I can find a job that pays as well very easily. I think I am ready to take a substantial pay cut. I dunno.

Tuesday, January 10, 2006

Baseball Hall of Fame

The idiots have done it again. They have failed to elect Jim Rice to the HOF.

It amazes me that a guy who was arguably the most feared hitter in the game during much of the time he played cannot get the nod into Cooperstown. This is the guy who the great Hank Aaron himself thought would break his homerun record. The baseball writers of America must not be the sharpest tools in the shed, as they are ignoring the facts.

Rice's ability to hit for average (.298 career) and power (382 HR in a non-steriod, juiced ball era) is only paralleled by a few. The other retired players to hit as many HR and have as high a career average are Aaron, Foxx, Gerhig, Mays, Musial, Ott, Ruth, Mantle, and Ted Williams. All of these men are Hall of Famers.

Rice hit more home runs (46) in 1978 then anybody did in the period between 1969 (Harmon Killebrew) and 1987 (Mark "I don't want to talk about the past" McGwire).

From 1977 to 1979 Rice was the most dominant hitter in baseball history for any 3 year period. He had 35+ homers each year, and 200+ hits each year. Nobody else has EVER done this.

I can guarantee if you ask ANY of Rice's peers from his playing days, they will tell you he is most certainly worthy of induction. Unfortunately, it is the writers call at this point.

While he was reportedly surly with the writers (probably a big reason why he doesn't garner enough votes), Rice certainly had a compassionate side. I still recall him jumping into the stands and carrying an injured young boy who had been struck in the head by a Dave Stapleton foul ball to receive medical attention. The stars of today jump into the stands to start fights with spectators. Not Rice. He did the right thing. Someday I hope the writers do the same.

Nervous Breakdown.

I was teetering on the brink of a nervous breakdown today.

I don't think I can last much longer. I really wanted to quit my job today. I am on a HUGE death march project, and the more time I spend on it, the more my brain turns to mush. I will be in a full time care facility by the time this is over with.

I would like to get a job stocking canned goods on the shelves in the local grocery store, preferably in the middle of the night. I think that would be a good way to recover from this current nightmare.

I can't even write anything intelligent or witty out here. I am brain-dead.

Somebody please help me.....

Monday, January 09, 2006

Sub-Par products made in the USA (well sort of)

I received an XM satellite radio as a gift over the holidays. The radio is a MyFi, which is produced by Delphi. Really a neat little toy, and a nice service from XM. The radio comes with everything to use it at home, in the car, or as a "portable" radio, like a walkman.

This product being advertised as "portable" is where the problem comes in. It is also advertised as coming with a "wearable antenna" to improve reception when using it in a "portable" fashion. It did NOT come with this wearable antenna (which based on all reports out on the internet is useless anyway), and basically does not get any signal indoors with the internal antenna. So looks like the options are return it and cancel subscription, shell out another $20+ for the apparent third party ClipXT (which sounds promising), or live without using it in "portable" mode.... Just out of curiousity, why hasn't anyone sued over this? This seems to scream for a class action lawsuit.... Lots of false advertising going on here.... of course with Delphi being bankrupt and all, I guess it is pointless at this juncture.

Delphi is an American based company, but the radio was of course, made overseas - Malaysia I believe. The box it came in might have been made in the US though.... :)

I Hate Mondays

Back to work today. Feel like I was just there.... oh wait, I was. Can't wait to hear what forced uncompensated overtime awaits me this week. Is it just me, or do many companies have no idea how to motivate their employees? Do they really think forcing employees to work overtime will result in things getting done faster? For some of you clueless managers and executive types out there, let me shed some light.

If you make me work overtime and are not going to pay me, the following things are going to occur:

I am going to do less work ALL DAY, EVERY DAY, until the overtime goes away.
I am going to come in late and take long lunches to help make up for the extra time you are making me spend.
I am going to do as many things to make your life difficult as I can get away with.

Overall, it is a losing proposition for you. In the long run, I will be a less effective, resentful employee. I will think of every way possible to get even.

Bottom line, think twice before you try and tap into this "Free" resource, because it has a hidden price that you wouldn't believe.

Sunday, January 08, 2006

I like Blogging

It's funny, I heard about "Blogging" a long time ago. As a matter of fact, I think I even started one a year ago on this site, just to check it out. Must not have interested me at the time, because I never did much with it.

I have recently, however, decided this is a great outlet for VENTING. Even if nobody ever reads any of my rants, there is something therapeutic about this. I hope that maybe this will enable me to be a happier person in general and not burden my friends and family with things that trouble me, unless I really need their help.

So if for some reason you do read this, and decide to visit on occasion, I am going to guess that if I am not posting much, it means things are going pretty well.... if I AM posting a lot, it means I have a lot to complain about.... I dunno, maybe it will take on a different life.

My Second Blog - Labor Law Talk

I want to talk about labor laws. The labor laws in this country need help. Let me paint this picture for you.... An employee has worked for a company for 15 years, being a model citizen, doing whatever needed to be done, including occasional overtime. This particular employee is classified as "exempt". What does that mean? It means he is not paid for overtime. So a new boss arrives, and says "You are expected to work 60+ hours a week if you want to work in my department", and "You have to work starting this Saturday". Employee says "No Way". New boss fires employee. Employee is denied unemployment insurance compensation.

Don't think this can happen? Think again. The labor laws that govern many white-collar workers in the US are extremely skewed towards the employer, not the employee. Based on what I can interpret, the only part of the laws that favor the exempt employee is that an employer may not deduct from their pay for missed time if they work any part of a pay week. So basically if you go to work on Monday, stop to pick up a quart of milk on the way home and get run over by a beer truck while walking to your car, end up in the hospital the rest of the week, you will get paid for the entire week.

There is one caveat, however.

If you happen to have vacation time available, or "personal time", as my company calls it, the employer can use it to offset your time out. How can they do this? They can do this because your "personal time" or vacation time is not viewed as compensation. So basically, there goes your trip to Aruba you were planning in 4 months.

To put it simply, if I understand the laws correctly, if you are an exempt employee, you are basically an indentured servant the rest of the time. Employers that want to get rid of you can tell you to work around the clock without pay beyond your normal shift, and if you refuse they can fire you and you are not eligible for unemployment.

So with corporate greed being as widespread as it is, more and more Americans are working longer and longer days, largely uncompensated. Spending less time with their families, and enjoying life.... just another reason why the divorce rate is so high, our kids are out of control, and generally, America is becoming less of a nice place.

My First Blog

Welcome to the common sense dribble blog. I have not entirely decided what the specific theme of this is going to be, but I think it will mostly be rants about the lack of common sense in society, specifically the United States. I figure there is so much material out there when it comes to lack of common sense I will always have something to talk about.

I'll try to keep the links on the right appropriate to the subject matter in the latest posts.