Is Blogging Dead?

I am beginning to think it is.

Frankly, the casual blogger has turned to twitter & facebook et al to post random thoughts where as “blogging” has been taken over by the semi-professional journalist and politico. Those folks that just post when the mood strikes them are dwindling. For many reasons – there just ain’t much to blog about because the above folks have kind of hired folks to scour the web (or just created bots) and do nothing more than collect multiple snippets and smash them together into a blog or blog post.

Dunno – maybe the dead tree empires finally got the message and are now simply collecting dead bits. I swear – I cannot identify a “news” website that can hold my attention for more than . . .OH LOOKIE! IZISMILE UPDATED!!!!!

Seriously – by the time it hits MSNBC it’s all over the TV news. CNN? Seriously? On lines is so 15 minutes ago. Meghan McCain’s blog is May 19th old!!!!

So, how does one attract eye-balls? Oh, it’s easy:

PEREZ PARIS HILTON LINDSAY LOHAN BIRTTANY SPEARS NUDE NAKED MILF SHAVED CLEVAGE SIDE UNDER BOOB CHENEY GITMO TORTURE LOLCAT LOLDOG 2012 SUDAN OBAMA HEALTH CARE CLUNKER PENGUINS OPRAH OZ RACHEL RAY

There – if that doesn’t up my Google hits I don’t know what will.

All I know is that I either have to get edgy, or publish nude photos. I’m going edgy.

So, I’d like to give you a “free safe” that is filled with a “horde of US Coins” all you need to do is forward a “handling and shipping fee” of $15,000 to my PayPal account and I will send you a safe and some coins. Some have increased in value over 400% in the last four years!!! ($.25 x 400% = about $1 unless you compound) Call now! Quantities limited, void where prohibited, you mileage WILL vary, taxes, tags, title and delivery are extra.

The President in blue jeans – this is Pulitzer Prize writing?

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/07/23/AR2009072304042.html




“For the President, A Dilemma Regarding Denim”

Yesterday the Washington Post wasted almost three full columns ( and I, sadly, wasted 10 minutes reading) to this trash. Robin Givhan somehow won a Pulitzer Prize for her fashion commentary. Reread that: FASHION COMMENTARY. How many magazines are there devoted to fashion? Oh, let’s see – Vogue, Fashion, Elle, Bazaar, Jelly, GQ, Best Life and the list goes on. Why the Hell does the Washington Post have a FASHION commentator AND ask why sales are falling????

So, Yesterday she decides to attack the POTUS’ choice of garb at a baseball game. ZOMG – a GUY wore BLUE JEANS to a BASEBALL GAME!!!!! Yes, folks, it is the end of the world as we know it.

Her article Yesterday is so fraught with crap it takes a shovel to get thru it all. At the heart of this drivel is a comparison to Presidents Reagan, G.H.W.Bush and Clinton. She bashes Clinton a bit, but finally lets him off the hook due to his “stocky frame.” However, she goes on to laud President Reagan as showing off his image-making with “his casual clothes, which consisted almost solely of jeans, cowboy hats and denim jackets. His clothes spoke of the swaggering machismo of Hollywood's cowboys.” And she also fawns over GHWB “…with Western style as well, favoring cowboy boots, belt buckles and hats whenever possible, and steering clear of anything that suggested familiarity with a certain Kennebunkport compound.”
Well, yes – good job there Captain Obvious. Presidents Reagan & Bush (both of them, actually) were working ranchers. The clothing they wore on their down time was what they were used to – a return to the comfortable. It was not about showman ship or brand making – that was the real person you saw there. The man was making the clothing – not the other way around.

Mr. Obama’s background (really) is Hawaii. Would Ms. Givahn have been OK with board shorts and a loud print camp shirt? His adopted home is Illinois – probably one of the largest centers of agriculture, manufacturing & energy production in the US as well as being a huge railroad hub. So perhaps a set of engineer’s boots, coveralls & a twill shirt would be acceptable.

Notably absent from her list of comparisons was Jimmy Carter. Why? Because that is where her snippy little tirade falls apart. Mr. Carter appeared regularly in jeans & plaid shirts during his “down time” and no one flinched. Why? Because of his farming background and jeans are what you wear on a farm.

Who cares if his jeans were a bit baggy? A bit short? A bit high in the waist? He was comfy. Would you rather he wear a polyester jacket over a polyester shirt like Ach{plegm}amadidyersister? President Obama was at a BALLGAME!!!! I suppose, dear Robin, that were you to attend such a fete you would be in a Dolche gown? That’ll look great in mustard.

Race will continue to be an issue as long as we make an issue out of race…..

The arrest of Henry Lewis Gates has dominated the press for many weeks, causing folks to ignore other, very important issues like what the President wears to a ball game (oh, wait…that got covered). So – a summary of events: neighbor lady looks over at Gates’ home and sees two black men trying to open the door. She gets nervous and calls the cops. Cops arrive and comic high jinks ensue. Basically the cop determines that Gates is, in fact, in his own home but Gates becomes belligerent and is arrested. NOT on breaking & entering charges but on disorderly conduct. It’s a day or so later that the POTUS decides to step barefoot in this pile of fresh, steaming dog poo and calls the Cambridge cop “stupid.” Oh – so MUCH to comment on!!!

First – let’s revisit the scene. If you’ve followed the news articles it appears to look like this; in front of Gates’ house is a hired car of some sort with a driver and assisting Gates is his secretary (I assume a woman). Gates is dressed in a polo and & khakis while the driver is probably in a dark suit & tie. I assume the secretary is dressed appropriately. So, if neighbor lady sees a group of nicely dressed folks at the front door of a home having trouble with the lock and decides this is a 911 event – what the Hell kind of neighborhood is it? Goodness!!! Those robbers rented a car & dressed in their finest casual clothes to rob a house! Allegedly neighbor lady called because it was “two black men with backpacks” at the door. For the Love of God – a black man OWNS the house!!!!!

Second – Gates and he black community (yes – including Al Sharpton) are decrying his arrest as racist. OK, again with the facts. Officer Crowley asked Gates to step outside to the front porch to which Gates replied (OK – allegedly); "Ya, I'll speak with your mama outside," YOUR MAMA? Gates is reportedly the most scholarly black man in America and he responds to a Police Officer’s request with a “YO MOMMA” line?????? Give me a frakkin’ break. This is a Harvard “intellectual”? No – this is a racist. Plain. Simple. He took advantage of a situation that could have been resolved in moments and raised it to an international level hoping that President Obama would weigh in. Oh, and he did……




Last – The POTUS should never – ever- ever- EVAR comment on “local” events. Riots in LA? Yes. Disaster in New Orleans? Yes. The arrest of a guy in Cambridge, Mass.? NO! Mr. President – YOU BLEW IT. Especially with this comment: "Now, I don't know, not having been there and not seeing all the facts, what role race played in that . . . But I think it's fair to say, number one, any of us would be pretty angry; number two, that the Cambridge police acted stupidly in arresting somebody when there was already proof that they were in their own home." Sir – you were not there. So shut the Hell up and move along. It is BELOW you to comment on this matter. Get it yet?

What this all points out is that race continues to be an issue in America. Why? Because race continues to be an issue! It’s not an issue with the majority either, bit with the “minorities.” Sotomayor cannot be regarded as a qualified judge for the Supreme Court. She has to be regarded as a “Latino woman” in the running for a Supreme Court position. Really? Are we not beyond this? If not, why not? Easy – because it makes for Bad Press if we are beyond this.

Sarah, Jacko, and other Random Stuff

So, Sarah Palin announced she was stepping down as Governor of Alaska. According to whom you listen to she cited personal issues, ongoing probes, a "higher calling" or all of the above. Seriously, who cares what the reason is? It doesn't take a rocket scientist to look at the challenges she facing at home to figure it out. She has to help Bristol raise her child and has a Down's Baby of her own to care for.

Sarah (it's OK - I can call her that - we're buds) has been the object of derision since her introduction by Sen. McCain in his disaster of a Presidential Bid. How much of it was deserved? Here was this obscure Governor, plucked out of the wilderness and dropped in to the public's eye. She got, what, 15 minutes of coaching before her first appearance? How much time did the GOP think about how the public would react to her family situation? What about the reaction the Dems would have? Probably none. They knew the election was lost and wanted something with a big shock factor to try & get back in the race. Instead, they gave the Dems & the comedians a new target.

Sarah deserves more sympathy than hostility. She was a fish out of water - in bear country.

OK folks - he's dead. Get over it. He had great years with the J-5, fell into obscurity and had a shot at a really great second career with Thriller & the emergence of MTV. Then, he blew it. Let me retype that with emphasis -
HE blew it. Not his handlers, not his lawyers, not his yogis - he did - The Man in the Mirror. The stress he put on his body with all the plastic surgery, the odd behavior, Neverland - these were not acts of his "people" - this was him - all him.

But with his death comes the usual circus that surrounds the passing of a person who was larger than life. The usual ring masters have shown up to revalidate themselves. Al Sharpton & Jessie Jackson stading by Pops Jackson, a shout out by Madonna during her gig, and almost every pop concert on the planet turns into a Jacko love-fest - all the while the MJ machine continues to make certain he stays in the headlines - gotta keep those album sales up.

However, a friend made an interesting observation; who's voice have you **not** heared? Here we have a very famous African American who was "cut down" in the prime of life and who is staying silent? Oprah. Why is she not off comforting Michael's mother? Why has Jermain or Janet not been on her show? Well, I share my frind's opinion - she knows the truth.


In the random bit-bukket I just have a few bullet points:

* I am done with the being of overweight. I guess it's time to get serious (or dangerous)

* On July 3rd I learned of the death of buddy. She was a Band Mom with the local high school. Her son & mine graduated together and now go to Va Tech. Evidently she had been battling depression and finally gave up. Another Band Mom called to give me the news. She commented that we were all so close until the kids graduated then those whom we called "friend" suddenly were off in the mist. Dear reader - open your old address book, look up a friend you have not seen a while & call. Make the effort.

* Some folks need to calm the frack down. Seriously.

* How do you know you've cooked damned fine BBQ? You smell it for days afterwards.

* Finally - please leave a comment letting know where your from and if you are a regular reader. Just trying to get a handle on if anyone is really reading this crap.

4.4 million out of work.....

And you want to be granted leave because you have.....

The sniffles?
A headache?
Some emotional problems?
Forgotten to order your meds???

Put on your Big Kid Pants and DEAL WITH IT....

I can see a day . . .

When, like Noah, I will have to choose a VERY select few to save, and allow the sea of unemplyment to swallow the rest.

Do you HAVE to be insane to be a Dicktator? Or is it optional?

First - Lil' Kim

The pint-sized postiol packin' pugilist from Pyongyang has finally had his fill of being largly ignored by those bodacious bad guys in "The West." Ignoring threats of a smack down by his former backers China & Russia, he still wags his finger at the U.S. Promising a "Rain of Fire" should the U.S. attempt to make good on U.N. imposed sanctions by trailing & stopping ships suspected of transporting wepons cargo. He largly ignors the fact that he has exactly TWO missiles at the moment that (if they manage to clear the launch pad) might land somewhere other than the East Sea.







Of course, should the missile LOOK like it's going to get into the upper atmosphere, we got that covered.












More importantly, Lil'Kim continues to ignore the fact that we already have assets in place that, should he decide to launch, will turn Pyongyang into a set for Fallout4.

Then we have Ach{PHLEGM}m'dinnerjacket

Dude, seriously, WTF? Lesson number one of being a tyrannical, dictitorial puppet - never - EVAR hold "elections." You might loose. And when you loose you learn the painful lesson of the Djinn - once he's out of the bottle, he's harder than hell to stuff back in! There's a young lady in our office who is Persian. I had a long talk with her about Phlegm, the Grand Ayatollah and the elections and was shocked to hear her story.

The 1979 "Revolution" against the Shah was NOT intended to install a theocracy. At the time there were no less than six political parties ranging from pure Western Style Democracy, to Soviet Style Communism and everything inbetween (tho' I doubt there was any Kibbutzim in the mix.) In the middle of it all, the Ayatollah Khmeni rallies the Revolutionary Guard, calls a Jihad (or maybe a brunch - my farsi is not that good) and takes over power. Thus - one of the most beautiful, learned, & influential powers of the Middle East was dumped into a new "Dark Ages" of extreme "Islamic Law" and isolationism.

And the Iranian people are tired of it.

Now Phlegm & the Grand Ayatollah have backed themselves into a corner. They have three choices: A true recount and factual reporting of the current ballots. Throw out the current ballots and have a total re-polling overseen by a disinterested third party (like the Swiss?) Or - call in the Republican Guard & the Militia & start shooting.

Sadly - it looks like the Iranian "Holy Man" and Phlegm have chosen door #3.

Mr. Obama, Keep Your Hands Off My Health Care

So, the Democrats are back on the war path to wreck the U.S. Health care system and replace it (or augment it) with "public" health care ala Canada. Many folks are thinking this a good thing. Let me give you some in sight into how the Canadian system work thru a real world example:

I know two young ladies who had the same issue - they were a little too well "blessed" in the front end. The girl in the U.S. was blessed in the FF/G range and the girl in Canada was blessed to the KK size. Re-read that guys - KK. For reference, Salma Hyeck is registered as 36C.

Now, this tends to cause many problems for the ladies - degenerating disks, incurable depressions from the bra-straps and, in KK's case, small fractures in the collar bone. So, both women sought reductions. From the time the woman in the U.S. first spoke to a plastic surgeon, to the time of the surgery was 45 days & her cost was $100. Double K in Canada? 2.5 YEARS and $3,500 out of her pocket.

Also - consider the words of Ryan Sohmer - cartoonist:

"In 2007, documentary director Michael Moore released his latest film, entitled "Sicko". The premise of the doc was to compare the American health care industry to other nations, including Canada.

As a proud Canadian myself (eh?), I was forced to watch in disbelief as Moore painted the Canadian health care system as something other countries should aspire to. At several points during this segment, I kept waiting for a Unicorn to come out into the waiting room to announce that Cancer had been cured, and a free vaccine was now available to all.

At no cost, of course.

I feel the need to set a few things straight, and also to point my fellow countrymen to a site where they may be actually able to help affect some change.

The bottom line to the Canadian Health Care system is this: You get what you pay for.

With that in mind, this is the reality: It is absolutely impossible to get yourself a family doctor. A 5 hour wait in the Emergency Waiting Room is considered a brief stay. Government run means government bureaucracy. You will still pay for certain things, any thing that the government can cut out to trim their budget (Ie, a doctor's note for school to explain why you missed class can cost you 10$). Need any kind of specific test or scan? You'll get it, within 6 months to 2 years.

The reason I bring this all up today, is that the situation in my province of Quebec is ridiculously out of control, and quickly getting worse. Any of our readers who are Canadian, or better yet from Quebec, I would urge you to follow this link, read about the issues and get involved.

Simply because something's always been done a certain way, doesn't mean it's right.

- Because I can.

Quote of the Day

"so, working for the government, you probably have to use public transportation?"
-Michael Moore, Sicko (2007)"

So, please, I have no idea what the administration is trying to cure, but I'm not Canadian - eh?

Adieu, Shalom, Aloha, Qil xin, Wot maber, Ayoo, Salaam, Adios, Ciao, Neemazonok, and Qapla!

Breaking up is hard to do – it matters not if you are talking about an association with a person or with a group. It takes a lot of thought & insight to decide if you are having a little spat that will blow over, or if the relationship has fundamentally changed. This is a process that can take hours, days or even months. In some cases the decision to end the association can be so profound that the decision process can take years.

Over the past several months (since the end of the 2008 elections) I have had to really do some soul searching regarding my political label as a “Republican.” The GOP can trace its roots way back in U.S. history – some say all the way back to the WHIGS, but that is up for debate. The establishment of the party has its roots firmly in the 1850’s as the main opposition to slavery & the opening of the western lands at no charge with the first Republican president being Abe Lincoln.

Over the years the Republican Party has become almost synonymous with words and phrases like; “Conservative,” “small government,” “strong military,” and so on. I was very proud to cast my very first vote for Ronald Reagan and followed up with Mr. G.H.W. Bush and G.W. Bush (the first time). It took a little more thought to flip that lever the second time.

Now, we can debate about whether or not the Republican Party strayed from their ways over the past few years for quite a long time. Did the GOP’s “getting soft” cause them the election to Obama? Uh, no – it was the GOP’s being completely out of touch with the electorate that cost them the election and their response has been so amazingly wrong. The GOP has been acting like the spoiled little brat that didn’t get the pony for his birthday. The rhetoric that has followed the Inauguration has been nothing short of hateful. It has completely undermined the wonderful concession speech that Mr. McCain gave.

No longer is the GOP the party of Eisenhower, Reagan, Nixon, G.H.W. Bush and Abe Lincoln. They are now the party of Gingrich, Limbaugh, Coulter & Cheney. If this isn’t scary – I really do not know what is. The fact that the GOP is embracing a shock radio personality as their de-facto mouth piece is astounding and should be insulting to all true Republicans everywhere. Gingrich’s statement to the effect that he is not interested in being a player on the world stage is astounding given the reaction to G.W.’s policies of isolationism through invasion. The very fact that Sarah Palin is even being considered as a possibility for the Presidential spot in 2012 shows how totally out of touch the GOP has become with all but the extreme right wing.

The people are speaking to this with their most powerful “voice” – their wallet. Donations are to the party are way down. Don’t blame the economy – we’ve been through recessions before and contributions to political parties & religious organizations are the last to feel the pinch. It’s time for someone with some sense and understanding of what the U.S. wants and the place we must occupy on the world stage to come forward and get Newt, Rush, Annie & Dick off the podium. If the GOP is going to be the party of intolerance, isolation and bullying – count me out.

Does this mean I have sold my soul to the Democrats – uh, no. Those fools have their own issues and if they don’t get their grubby paws off my hard earned cash and keep giving it to fat cats and lazy bums, we’re gonna have words. America was built on free enterprise for a reason: it works. If GM is running such a bad business that it loses money on every car it sells, why should it stay in business? The stimulus package and the bailout package were total crocks and put the money in the wrong hands – it shows a complete lack of understanding of macro-economics. I could go on, but I have rambled on enough.

So, no longer a Republican, not going Democrat, and “Independent” was destroyed by folks like Nader, Larouch and McCarthy. Nope, if you want to know how I’ll vote, just put me down as “American” or, better yet, “Patriot.”

"It is the duty of every patriot to protect his country from its government" - Thomas Paine (or some variation thereof)

Like a Frakking Sledgehammer....

So, I downloaded the Windows 7 RC and installed it on an old-assed laptop. I mean like 1.8 GHz and .5 GB RAM - yeah, we're talkin' Ol'skool, dawg! Anyway - I've been fussing with it and given the hardware it's on it's not that bad. The only real annoyance is the "OK" button is gone. As in, you have a pop-up with three choices:

A) Explode
B) Don't Explode
C) Paris Hilton

There's no OK button, you click your choice and BAMF! There you are! The trash can looks like a shot glass - OK - someone's going in the right direction.

But I was still not digging it. There is still something "off" about the whole thing and I couldn't put my finger on it until today. Then the lightbulb went off: the interface is soft & squishy. If you are still running XP and happened to have loaded Office 2007 (which uses the Vista/Win7 interface model) compare the look & feel of the Office App to any other native XP app. The office app is all sorts of pastels and soft corners and nice fade outs and butterflies.

The XP interface is sharp, crisp, clean lines, defined colors and good navigation. It's business where Win7 is all about photos & videos & music.

I guess if I wanted a Mac interface, I'd buy a Mac.

Soooo.... Martinis.....

K folks, let's be perfectly clear. There are exatly FOUR (4) ingredients to a Martini:

Gin
Vermouth
Ice
Olive OR Lemon Peel

That's it!!!!!

Call anything else what you want: Liquid Panty Remover - Bra Lubricant - Zipper Dropper - Shirt Sluffer - Pants Dropper - whatere - it's NOT a Martini!!!!!

Get with the program!

It's better this way - really.

Every night it's the same. Bolt from the office, make any stops I have to, get home, change into comfies, chat up the wife, pour out a strong one and on pop the headphones and it's into the Capital Wasteland. Sweet relief! In the game I am who I Am. Or, who I want to be – long coat, Steam Punk hair style, sleek sunglasses, a slouchy hat and a crack shot with a variety of weapons. I can sneak into a situation, evaluate it and with the squeeze of the trigger on a scoped .44 – resolve the problem.

Most days after work there is a LOT of problem solving. If it’s been a very bad day, I solve problems with a flame thrower. Sometimes, a mini-nuke is the way to go. But usually it’s the sniper rifle followed up by the combat shotty. I swear – you do not know satisfaction until you perfectly place a .308 in a mutant’s head and watch him just explode all over the place. Gooey, bloody relief!

However, I am dismayed to see that the most common things in post nuclear Washington will be shopping carts & tires. Piles of them. Everywhere.

The subject line read: “Codeine for you”

My answer: “Yes, please.”

The other day I went into a local Gun Shoppe. I picked out a Sig Sauer P226 9mm hand gun. I asked the gent behind the counter his opinion of the weapon. His response was that it stabbed very, very well.

I then went to the grocery store. I asked the butcher if the steaks were fresh. He replied they were, he used some this morning to clean his bathroom.


Ridiculous? Of course. But no more ridiculous than the following conversations initiated by successful sales people in a highly technical company.


Them: “Our e-mail is broken.”

Me: “What makes you think that?”

Them: “When I send a message to that one guy it comes back with a ‘delayed’ message. Fix our e-mail.”





Them: “The customer wants to know if they have room for three Dell 2950 servers.”

Me: “No problem, they have at least 10 rack units available above their current install.”

Them: “But, I thought they still had room in the chassis for more blades?”

Actual chat session with AT&T Wireless:


KaosDad: HI! My daughter currently has a Pantech phone which is just not doing hte job. A friend gave me an iPhone as he upgraded - can I just put her SIM card int heiPhone and then actibvate the iPhone? Or do I need to go to a store?

KaosDad: Wow - sorry for the bad typing!

Taureeqah Ruiss: Ms. KaosDad, thank you for your response. We at AT&T appreciate your business and value you as a customer. I will be more than happy to direct you to the department that can assist you with your question concerning switching your daughters phone number over to another phone.

Taureeqah Ruiss: Mr. KaosDad*

Taureeqah Ruiss: Please contact our Customer Care department by calling 1-800-331-0500. You can also reach customer service by dialing 611 from your AT&T wireless phone. Customer service's hours of operation are Monday through Friday 7:00 am to 9:00 pm and Saturday 9:00 am to 6:00 pm and Closed Sunday.

KaosDad: OK then - I'll do that.


Why do you have a chat room?

UPDATE

The weekend after this post I knew I had to get KaosGrrl's phone working, but dreaded the callto AT&T. I would have to do this on a Saturday. I was, undoubtedly, taking a virtual trip to Mumbai to speak with "Sam." KaosGrrl looked at me with those sad eyes that said; "Daddy, I love you and do not want to see you in pain, but you have to do this...." and handed me the gun.....er...phone. Miracles of miracles the call was answered by a sweet young lady in Texas who spoke perfect American, stayed with me for 45 minutes while we trouble shot an iTunes error (note: for the iPhone you must have an APPLE loging - NOT an AOL login).

The WHO, Mass Media & FUD

It is the job of mass media to capture eye-balls. Newspapers must sell paper, TV news must keep people tuned in to buy sponsor's products and web based news need visitors to click on pop-up ads. When one crisis flames out, then teh media has to find something new to excite the masses & generate revenue.

With the finacial meltdown now becoming old news, with the reports on executive pay becoming too disgusting to look at and teh certified death of Pontiac, the media needed a shot in the arm to keep eyeballs. And man did they get one from the World Health Organization.

The WHO sank their teeth into H1N1 Swine Flue Virus and held on like a puppy does to its toy. Spreading as much FUD as they could they kept themselves in the lime light and shoveled bucketloads of coal into the furnace that runs the mass media.

PANDEMIC!!!!!

Screamed the headlines. Thousands to die! World wide death toll expected to climb!

As of today, the worldwide case load just topped 1,000 confirmed cases with 27 confirmed fatalities. Again - that's worldwide. Compare that to 37,000 deaths from seasonal flu in the U.S. alone. This is hardly the image that the word "pandemic" conjures up recalling the mass graves of the Black Plague or the stacks of corpses from the 1918 Spanish Flu outbreaks.

Yet - the media still tries to capture as many eyeballs as they can by spreading as much FUD as they possibly can as fast as they can. Last night, on NBC news, some brave soul finally commented that this outbreak was far, far less leathal than the "normal" flu or even the common cold. The story was buried faster than a croaked goldfish.

Yesterday saw public interest start to falter. H1N1 was not at the top of all the papers and it didn't even headline the 7:00 News. Of course, the WHO and the media are not ready to give up the spot light, not yet. Now they warn us of the second coming - which could kill thousands.

Lemme run out right now & buy a gross of face masks.

I Guess I Shouldn't Be Surprised . . .

but I am.

Today, for the first time that I can recall, I was blatently lied to by a fellow employee. Two, actually. I guess I shouldn't be too amazed as they are both in sales. See, we have an internal IM system and yesterday (Thursday) three of us got a message from these two folks that a new client wanted six servers up & running by Monday AM - fours calendar days. We have some stringent QA standards - the first being we need a build sheet for each server to tell us what we are building. As of this writing I STILL don't have those.

We build ourown servers, so we kind of like to test them & put them under stress for 48 hours - it's this crazy idea that we want to float a quality product. So, as you can see, IF we got the signed contract Tursday (we didn't) and immediatly set to physically building the servers, got them into stress testing at 0000 Thursday/Friday, we could start loading OS at 0000 Sunday. The Linux would be quick but frakin' Windows takes at least nine hours so there we are Monday AM and we still have done NO QA and Oracle needs to be loaded which takes a day to do.

So, you see the problem. Today, our CTO called a phone meeting to discuss the issue. Durign the call the two sales folks flatly denied EVER having asked for a Monday delivery. They said they only "asked if it could be done."

BULLPUCKEY

How do you know when a sales person is lying?

Their lips are moving.

As we sewed, so shall they reap.....

Unless you've been under a rock the past six or so years you will recall that Baby Bush and Dick Cheney decided to go to war with Iraq. For what? Well, I really can't tell you. Supposedly there WMDs there. Supposedly there were the making for nulear weapons there. Supposedly it was a haven for Al Queda & the Taliban. Of course, the only plan they had for our forces was to depose Saddam & his ruling Baath party, which they did.

Of course there was NO plan for what to do after that. What followed was a travesty and a waste of human life. Over 4,000 of America's finest are now dead and tens of thousands wounded or crippled both physically & mentally. Hundreds of thousands of Iraquis are dead and their nation has been bombed out of "emerging world" status to "stone age" status. And for what? Our forces found NONE of the threats that Bush & Cheney said were threatening the world. In fact, their ill conceived and unplanned invasion has left such a void that Iraq IS now a strong hold for terroists.

Yesterday, another by-product of the Bush/Cheney Idiocracy began to make itself visible - because we threw the weight and might of the American Military against Iraq, we could no longer keep an eye on Afghanistan & Pakistan - two KNOWN strongholds of Al Queda & the Taliban. And now the Taliban is moving towards Islamabad in a not at all covert bid to impose Radical Islamic law and establish Pakistan as a Taliban controlled nation.

Yet - this was not the act of just two men. The entire U.S. Congress failed to act properly. They did not review the President's actions as required by the War Powers Act. Instead - Congress voted overwhelingly to authorizr further military action against Iran. And the Taliban rolls on.

Below C Level

I have come to accept the fact that I will never be a "C-Level" executive. Nope - never a CEO, CTO, CIO, CSO, CEIEIO. Why? Several reasons;

1) I refuse to trivialize people. I work in a very technical environment. We have processes & procedures for almost everything. The way to kick off an action is thru our trouble ticket system. It's very easy to open a trouble ticket; you send an e-mail. So, why do my C-Levels, send ME e-mail to open a ticket for them?

2) I am not afraid to spend the cash NOW for expansion in the future. My mother used to say; "Sometimes you need to spend money to make money." So true. If your sellable item is space, and you are running out of space, you need to expand your facility - right?

3) Play hard or go home. Every business type has a list of "must haves" for day one if they are going to be taken seriously. For example - a grocery store wouldn't stay open long with no refrigerators. A gas station would quickly fail with no pumps. The idea that you can start an enterprise by skimping on the essentials and back fill later is rediculous and will bite you in the rear in the long run.

4) Boards of Directors RARELY know what the Hell I am doing. If you opened a hospital, would you populate your BoD with actors? If you were opening a security firm, wouldn't it be nice to have some security professionals on your BoD?

5) No cronyism from failed firms. When a firm fails it's, generanlly, for one of two reasons - bad management or failed sales. So, just because you worked at XYZ does not mean you have to hire the staff FROM XYZ - especially if that staff was the group that failed!!!!! Seriously - would you hire Bernie Ebbers to manage ANYTHING????

6) Suits. My God I hate wearing a suit or necktie. Seriously - what does the suit represent? I've heard fools say it's a show of respect. TO WHOM?? And what does that really say? "I recognize you as a superior being so I am going to dress myself in layers of cotton & wool during June in Washington DC." Seriously - WTF? Do cops on duty wears suits? Fire fighters? Soldiers? Sailors? Airmen? Marines? Hells no! I really MUST question the sensibility of a man that ties a noose around his own neck every morning. Besides, when the Zombies attack - they will be attracted to wool & silk. Good luck running in those shoes, lunchmeat!

But, is the cat really worth that?

Let me just say that if you need to ask that question then I seriously hope you never breed.

I have a couple of wonderful cats; Daphnie & Smokey Joe. Smokie Joe I inhereted from this guy:
http://kelvinmeeks.blogspot.com/

Kelvin landed a dream job taking him away from Virginia to Seattle and couldn't find housing that allowed pets on his short time frame. So, Joey took over my life.

Joey is simply amazing. He has this sense that he knows when something is wrong with his humans. He'll wander into the room, plop down next to you and purr away, making himself very available for much petting & scruffing. He'll roll over on his back and squirm about & purr. When he's stressed, he sneezes. I think he's about 14.

About a year ago I took him in for his very first "senior physical." The vet walked in with the file, looked at this massive (20 POUNDS!) "old" cat and I could tell by the look on her face that she was about to write Joey off.

That's when Joey's cat sense kicked in and stood up, perked his tail up, looked her right in the eyes & purrrrred.


The vet went htrough her whole checkout routine; felt his joints, took his temp, took some blood, x-rays - the works. At the end of it all she was astonished. The only "problem" she could find was a bit of tarter on his teeth. He was proclaimed the healthiest 20 pound cat she had ever seen. But, he had to loose weight.

OK - fine. So, off we went, looking for a "diet food" he'd eat and we settled on some of this new fanlged, crazy, low grain food. More meat, less filler. Little did we know that we had condemned Joey to great pain. It seems that over the six months he was on the diet (lost 6 pounds!) he was also accumulating Struvite crystals in his bladder. This past Friday, his bladder became blocked and it was off to the vet.

For the most part, Veterinarians are good folks. There are Vets that are "bad" just like there are "bad" doctors. Then there are Vet practices that are down right evil, prey on your emotions and run up the bill. Joey is very lucky in that we have a very good vet.

Joey's doc and I had a very serious discussion about treatment & the cost. Crystals are very, very treatable. Usually a simple diet change is all it takes and cats live on very healthy & happy - crystal free. The hard (and expensive part) is getting them unplugged & keeping them unplugged long enough for the diet to work. How expensive? Well, let's jsut say that by the time this is all over I will have run up a bill that is equal to a down payment on a decent auto (no - not like in a BMW, think more like a five year old Datsun).

Which gets me back to the title of this post: IS the cat really worth it? Well, yes. But then, how do you put a value on life of any kind? Especially a life that has been so full of love & devotion. You can't, and, of course, you don't know Joey.

Now, if Joey was 20 years old, half blind, deaf and miserable, we'd be having an entirely different conversation. But he's not, so we are having this one. How deep into debt am I willing to go for this cat? Well, I think $1 invested in Joey will bring a MUCH greater return on investment than $1 in the stock market.

I plan on wakeing up with Joey for many, many more years to come.

Wanna Feel Important?

Wanna act like a Big Cheese? Wanna waste hours & hours of your peoples' precious time? Hold a frakking meeting!!!!

So, click on this, You only need to watch the first 5 seconds.....

DirecTV Ad

OK - see mister "walk in looking pissed and announce 'It's gonna be a late one, people.'"? See him? He needs to be fired, taken out back & given a sock party. Why In The HELL should any of his reports be forced to cancel their plans because Boso the Feces Head can't get a project planned/done/updated/whatever during normal business hours???? Is this guy a moron that can't use a day planner, or just a douchbag that has no life of his own and needs to inflict that misery on others?

The meeting is as old hat & washed up as the suit and power lunch. All of these are vestiges of a bygone time where wearing a suit showed the world that you "had arrived." Give me a frakkin' break. In this day and age of e-mail, PowerPoint & Excel if you need to hold a meeting - you are a really BAD communicator - REALLY BAD.

So, let me tell you about my "perfect meeting room." It's a windowless, concrete box. It has ONE door, next to which is a basket into which are placed all pagers, crackberries, cell phones, etc. Once inside there is a meeting table that is about four feet high. All lighting is halogen and there is NO Internet connection as the room has no CAT5 jacks nor does it have "signal" to any damned thing. There are no chairs, mats or any other comforts - no water, softdrinks or access to restrooms. Can you say "Hello!" to the 30 minute "meeting."

Do meetings just happen at work? No. Tonight I was called to a "mandatory meeting" for a HS band trip (for my girl child) to Boston. Was it necessary? HELLS NO!!!!! It was a frakking recruiting ploy for the Band Boosters!!!!

STOP IT I have NO time for frovel...frivou.. stupid damned meetings. If you have something to tell me - frakking hit "Send."

This is NOT the way to go

Today, the Obama Administration voted to tax AIG bonuses (and other, more than likely) at 90% for the Fed. Add on state & local and it hits 100% real fast. Think this is right? Think this is good? Wait until it bites you in the pocket book. What this legislation really means is that when the Government needs cash - they can jack YOUR tax rate on a whim.

Have fun with that. I'm taking my bonuses in Zimbabwean Agro-Cheques.

Weight, Bailouts, Stimuli, Other News and They Wonder Why Some Folks Think They Are Animals.

So much to comment on......

Weight

It is truly the mark of a small mind when, instead of discussing a person's talent or debating their points of view, one directs their comments to weight. The recent coverage of Jessica Simpson & Meghan McCain's "weight problem" has me almost physically sick. Seriously - is this ALL you can come up with?

Let's start with Jess.



Ummmm... seriously? Fat? I can has a break nao? Any girl you can't play rugby with is not worth a second look.

















I'm finding it hard to find a good full body shot of Meghan. So, I'll steal one from GQ:



Now, keep in mind she was called "fat" by this gunch, Laura Ingraham:



Ingraham may be an intelligent woman. But by degrading her commentary to Meghan's weight, she invalidates herself. Which is fine, she has no clevage.

Anyway - if Jess & Meghan are fat then I am all for fat girls.






Bailouts & Stimulus Packages

Can the Government get it more wrong? Please? There is a basic truth about money - it likes to flow and, like good fertilizer, it does no good unless it's spread around. I am certain that Mr. Prez is listening to his advisers but he needs to learn how to spot a bad idea when it bites him, which is what these bailouts have done (See: AIG Bonus Plan).

Sir, if you want to get this economy rolling again, you have to get copious amounts of cash (or something that acts like cash) into the hands of Joe Consumer. Why? Joe will do one of two things with it; save it or spend it (which is why I like the idea of vouchers - they have to be spent - more on that in a bit). When Joe takes the currency to the retailer, he buys goods & the retailer stays in business. The retailer then buys more stock from distributors who, in turn, order more stuff from manufacturers who then buy raw materials & components from suppliers. At all levels people are employed, draw paychecks & then continue the cycle of spending. You are also employing the shippers & haulers of the world and contributing to the enterprises' bottom lines which encourages investment.

If you simply hand cash to the Wall Street Dorks that got us into this mess the BUCK STOPS THERE. Cash, Sir, does NOT flow "down."

Can you use this idea to further other agenda items? Yes - this is where the whole voucher thing (rather than cash) plays in. Give me three vouchers:

* $18,000 towards the purchase of a NEW vehicle. Heck - even restrict it to a new hybrid vehicle, or one that gets more than 30 MPG. Don't care!

* $50,000 voucher towards alternative energy for my home. Watch me hire a solar energy specialist to get me off the grid and reduce my carbon foot print. Which is closely related to . . .

* $35,000 voucher to replace all of my crappy builder grade windows with better insulated & installed low-e windows.

How many people did those three vouchers keep employed? Come on Barack - you got elected on "Change" - let see some change in the way Government THINKS.

Other News

* Evidently I am getting a dog. My cats and I will be in the basement playing Fallout 3.

* Medications that artificially reduce your heart rate & metabolism are not good for your mid section & over all fitness.

* The New FaceBook Sux.

They Wonder Why Some Folks Think They Are Animals

Lastly, the KaosBlog sadly notes the following stories from various sources, all out of Iraq:

MSNBC which reported that in the last minute of a soccer game, a member of the away team was driving down field and was about to kick the game tying goal when a home fan popped up & shot the player in the head, killing him.

The Mail Online which reports the stoning death of a 17 year old girl for loving the wrong boy. It took eight men a half hour to kill her while Iraq security forces looked on.

The Independent Women's Forum who reports the beheading of Nahla Hussein al-Shaly, a Women's Rights Activist in Iraq.

4,259 of America's finest have died to liberate this?

The Endorphin of Giving

Our neighborhood has a forum. We log on to discuss, berate, belittle, snark on and, occasionally, help out each other. Recently a post was put up about a Mom & three kids who had just made it out of the Battered Woman's Shelter and needed basics. Being the geek-pack rat I am I asked if she needed a PC. The answer was "yes."

So I gathered some spare parts and a couple from other folks on the street and created a PC much like the one I sold for over $1,500 a while back. I loaded Windows XP Home (LEGAL, thank you) and a few other things. Then gave it and a high def flat screen away.

It felt great. Oh, I got great Karma points, but who cares? The act of activly doing something that might help out another person was - euphoric.

Feeling down? Oh, there are so many ways to feel better & do good.

We have forgotten how to "stroll"

Everything we Americans do has to have a pupose. We are conditioned to think that a nice nap on the couch, infront of a fire with o-random-thing on the TV is a waste of time - you're a couch potato. When we go out & use our feet - there had better be a purpose - you had better be running,or "power walking" or going someplace.

What about a nice stroll? The idea is to just slowly walk and take in the sites, sounds & smells of the world around us. Oh - here's a radical idea - go on a stroll with your family and talk, converse, make sounds with your mouth - communicate. OOOOOOOO Scary!!!

I live in a culturally diverse community. I love watching the families from India go out for a stroll in the evening - they know how to do it. Poppa is always in front - he has on his turbin (is that PC? Who cares?), his carefully waxed moustache, his robes, sandals and sports a rather round belly - and he cares not. But he stops to point out the Red Tailed Hawk that lives in the Wild Area. Next comes Daddy & the male children. The kids are allowed to poke, explore & scuffle with wreckless abandon. And finally come the ladies. Usually with a young girl or two and a stroller. The ladies are chatting away about . . . what? Who knows? Who cares? They are STROLLING. And they can take up to 15 minutes to pass by my home.

I envy them. And I am trying to emulate them. A nice stroll after arriving home from work is very relaxing. You concentrate on posture, stride and . . . life.

A nice stroll - no sweat, no elevated heart rate - just a wonderful experience.

Oh - and say "OHAI!!!!" to your neighbor.

Update....

Hello - EU? Yeah - no gas for you - one year.