Is that a shrub in your pocket...
Friday, September 14, 2007
Didja watch Chimpy’s speech last night? Me neither. I can’t stand watching the lying bastard. I’ll catch the reviews later on, I guess.
So, we went to get glasses the other day, and I guess I’m officially an old fart, ‘cuz I got talked into bifocals, which I’d been resisting. I don’t actually have short-arm disease the way other people (who shall remain nameless, so they don’t hit me) do. You know, where they have to hold something out at arm’s length (plus a foot) to actually see it. I just have to take my goddamn glasses off to see what’s up close, which makes it a pain to surf the web and watch the teevee at the same time. And my insurance (my wife’s insurance, actually) is great, so they pay for progressive lenses and all that good stuff (the guy who talked me into them fairly creamed his jeans over how great the insurance is; I felt like telling him “jeezus, dude, I said OK already).
But, anyway, back to glasses. I got the superdie-duperdie glasses, and only had to pay extra for the “transitions” lenses (the ones that get darker the more stoned you are brighter the light is), and I got the extra scratch resistant/smudge resistant coating, since I’m pretty tough on glasses, seeing as I never wear them, and always take them off and leave them somewhere where the goddamn cats can knock them on the floor. Supposedly, these goddamn things (the goddamn glasses, not the goddamn cats) would’ve cost me $500, but I only had to pony up $89 (as I told the guy, if I had to pay $500, I wouldn’t be getting them; not to mention that I wouldn’t even pay $89 for a cat).
I was gonna get my standard pair, but the guy took one look and said, “you don’t want a pair like that.”
What? I don’t? Well, what the fuck do I know? As my wife can tell you, like Doug Berman I’m not exactly a “slave to fashion.” I suppose I ought to get my hair cut, too, since I’m sure it’s not “up to date” (it’s gettin’ pretty gray, too). But, I have an employer to break in.
I always feel it’s important to let new (or relatively new) employers know that, you know what? All that shit I said at the interview? Well, that was just bullshit. You asked the questions, and I bullshitted you pretty good. Better than anybody else, apparently (plus, you academic and “licensed” types seem to be pretty impressed by a degree - especially a masters).
So, anyway, you’re stuck with me now, and we both know what a pain in the ass it is to hire a new person, so you don’t wanna shitcan me as long as I’m at least competent (and, after all, I am nothing if not competent). You let me be me, and I’ll do some good shit (sooner or later; just don’t push me - you can’t rush genius, you know). Just don’t make me wear a tie, and let me have my ponytail again. Not that I think a ponytail is so great, but then I can cut my hair myself (just to keep it out of my face), and tie it back. I used to have it down to the middle of my back (and only just three or so months ago - prior to June; how time flies). It’s amazing, how easily we get absorbed back into the collective. So, anyway, that’s why I feel it’s important to assert your individuality right away. Otherwise, you’ll just get swallowed up (and not in a good way).
Now, where were we? Oh yeah. Glasses.
I always get the “aviator” style, because, at heart (though I’ve never flown anything, unless you count MS flight simulator, or Jane’s Apache Longbow), I’m a fighter pilot (also a rock star). But, apparently, aviator style glasses are no longer cool. This guy said I needed something more “up to date.” I think he was calling me old (or at least calling my glasses old). Which is funny, since he was older than me (at least, I hope he was) - and about twice my circumference (and I’m not exactly svelte these days).
So, I got these “Harley” frames. Not that they especially evoke “biker dude” (another one of my Walter Mitty - you young folks can go look that one up - personæ) to me, but they’re “Harley Davidson” branded. So, we’ll see what happens. No doubt I’ll be fighting the babes off like the guys in the Hai Karate (another one for you whipper-snappers to look up) commercials used to. They’re supposed to be ready on Saturday. I’ll keep you posted as to how they work (whether you give a shit or not).
Tuesday, September 11, 2007
Six years ago. Amazing, isn’t it? I dunno about you, but it seems like a hell of a lot longer ago to me. It’s at least three lifetimes ago. There are things that happen in life, where you realize how fortunate and lucky you were to have the right person in the right place at the right time. Needless to say, September 11, 2001 was not one of those time. In fact, you could pretty easily argue that we had the absolute worst person (people) running the show on that day. And it’s gotten nothing but worse since.
And, really, all due respect to the victims (those that died, and those rescue workers and others that continue to suffer and die to this day) and their families, but how can this country continue to play the martyr, after all the needless death and destruction we’ve wrought?
Yes, the attacks and the loss of 3,000 American lives was a tragedy, but isn’t it rather pompous to continue on about “poor us” (particularly those of us who were nowhere near the towers or the Pentagon, who didn’t have our lives directly affected by the attacks - except for having to take our shoes off at the airport - and haven’t lost any loved ones; sorry, watching the planes hit the towers over and over again on the teevee doesn't count), while some 600,000 (give or take; if you have numbers you like better, use them) Iraqi civilians have died thanks to the US invasion and occupation, and hundreds of thousands more have had their lives shattered, and continue to suffer, with no hope in sight, as US corporations scurry to make huge profits?
And that doesn’t even take into account our own self-inflicted losses approaching 4,000 killed, and tens of thousands wounded.
Instead of crying over how awful the attacks were, and how scary the terrorists are, it would be nice if we had a leader in this country determined to make sure it would never happen again. Instead, we have a bunch of arrogant, ignorant, immoral cowards poking a hornet’s nest with a stick, and bragging that they haven’t been stung yet.
I caught a little of the Petraeus dog and pony show on the radio while I was in the car yesterday. I just can’t be bothered with his bullshit, or the bullshit niceties of our elected “representatives.” The Republicans don’t give a flying fuck about anything but protecting themselves and what’s left of their preznit. The Democrats, well, I don’t know what they give a shit about. Some are more weaselly than others, I guess. But even those that talk a good game aren’t willing to do what it takes to put an end to this shit. In the end, they’ll just cave in to whatever Bush wants. I’ll be damned if I know why, but, well, that seems to be the way it is. I hate to be a buzzkill, but, frankly, I’m kinda thinking this whole Iran thing is what’s gonna be the end of everything. I just don’t see anything but the worst coming out of all this, and I don't see anybody - not in our government, and not amongst "we the people" - with guts enough to stand up and stop it.
Wednesday, September 05, 2007
So, a couple weeks ago, I bought this flash drive. Well, partly it's a 2-gig flash drive, but it's also got an SD slot built into it. So, it's expandable to whatever you want it to be, depending on how big an SD card you have for it. Works great for the camera. I have roboform2go installed on the flash drive part, as well as the portable apps suite (kind of addicted to the Sudoku) and I download my podcasts every morning onto a directory on a 1-gig sd card that's in it. This has the added advantage of being able to pop the SD card out, and stick it in my little Lyra mp3 player, or in my Nuvi GPS in the car.Can't put it in my phone, though. For that, I have a 1-gig micro sd card in the phone, and another 2-gig sd card that's in a little USB reader that's about the size of my ring fingernail. The micro sd cards are so small, it's ridiculous. You really couldn't get any smaller, and have it actually be usable. Not with my big fat fingers, anyway. The USB drive is on a little lanyard that I have on my keys. I Was a little leery of it, because it's just tiny thread, but it's pretty tough shit. It's amazing to me that I can have 2 gigs of storage on my keychain, and another three in my pocket. You can load an entire, bootable operating system on something you could hold under your tongue (if, for some reason you wanted to). All for next to no money. It's amazing how cheap things have gotten.
I'm lately coveting an XBOX 360 Elite (though, it aint exactly cheap). I'm trying to justify buying it, but I'm not quite there yet. I've gone so far as to put it, and Rainbow Six: Vegas in my Amazon shopping cart ('cuz I got a $25 certificate, and they have free very slow shipping). So, it sounds pretty cool, and from what I hear it's got the better game selection. Which is how M$ always gets you into their clutches. You can tell me Apple is the just the bestest thing there is going all you want, but I can get just about anything I need for free for Windows. Everything for free with Linux.
I had Sedition Radio running on Linux until the old junk hardware crapped out on me. When I built a new box for it I put Windows on it, and ShoutCast (though not all that hard to set up on Linux), is just way, way easier on Windows. The Linux transcoder is kinda fussy about everything being the same bitrate, whereas in Windows, it doesn't care; you can mix and match all you want.
Oh, wait. I started out talking about my USB/SD drive. Like I said, it's pretty cool, except for a couple of things. First (and, I don't really give much of a shit about this), it had a nice shiny black finish when I bought it. But, being in my pocket, it's all fucked up and scratched now. Minor blems don't affect performance, as they say. But, it came with a lanyard, just like the other one. Really tiny. And that's the second problem: the goddamn thing didn't come pre-attached, and I'm supposed to tie it on. It's designed to hold the end cap on w/o losing it, so you have to thread it through the cap, and then though this little tiny hole on the drive. And then tie it.
What're they fucking kiddin' me? I'm lucky if I can tie my shoes (that's why I try never to untie them). So, I've given myself a goddamn headache trying to tie this thing on, 'cuz it'd be nice to have it; the cap is designed to only fit on one way, so having the lanyard would not only keep me from losing the cap, but would make it easier to stick back on again. But it just aint worth the aggravation.
Not that anybody gives a crap, I'm sure.
Tuesday, September 04, 2007
Damn, back to work today. That sucks, especially after such a nice weekend. So, dubya went to visit Iraq yesterday. Well, isn't that nice. Not that our guys and gals (and the Iraqis) weren't thrilled to see him, I'm sure, but it might have been nice if he'd gone elsewhere. He might have gone to, oh, I dunno, maybe a Pennsylvania coal mine, to sing the praises of the men (and women, I reckon) who make a living breathing in coal dust while busting their asses thousands of feet below ground, listening for the rumble presaging a murderous cave-in. He could have told UMW workers how valuable they are to our society, and how he was creating a new mine safety initiative to make mines in this country as safe as possible. And he could have apologized for the way his administration has made mines less safe, and put all of their lives at risk, vowing to atone for his greedy policies.Or he could have gone to a US factory somewhere, and expressed his appreciation to all working Americans, who are reportedly the most productive workers in the world. He could have said that the least this country owes its workers is universal healthcare, which he would make his top priority for the balance of his administration.
Maybe he could have met with workers from the construction and building trades in the gulf region, vowing to put them to work rebuilding New Orleans, whose citizens have waited far too long to return home, while the Federal government has handed over billions of dollars to Bush's corrupt cronies.
There are a lot of places George Bush could have gone yesterday. Instead, he went to Iraq for an empty photo-op, to reiterate the fact that he doesn't give a shit how many Iraqis and Americans have to suffer and die; he'll see every man, woman, and child dead or mutilated before he'll give up on his disgraceful failed occupation.
George, why not just stay out of the United States? Resign now, and go on permanent vacation someplace (and take Cheney with you). You know this job has been way too much work, and it really hasn't been much fun for you, now that the shine is off your codpiece. Just go off wherever it is that rich, spoiled brats go, make lots of money, and leave us all alone, while there's still a chance we can undo everything you and your people have done.
Sunday, September 02, 2007
I was driving behind a car yesterday afternoon that had a bumper sticker that read, "Don't sweat it, God's in charge." For some reason, that thought truly terrified me. I mean, if there is no God, then, well, we're on our own, and we have to make the world the best we can with what we have to work with, and that's OK. Or, if there's a rather uninterested and apathetic God (kind of the "hands off" type), it kinda means pretty much the same thing; we're on our own to fuck things up (or not).But if there's a God that's actually on top of things, and is running the show, then that means he (or she) actually wants this fucked up world with all its death, greed, and evil to be the way it is. In other words, he's not only OK with how things are, but he's actually up there in charge, pulling the strings and actively working to make things this way. That's kinda scary. Especially since things can always get lots worse. Makes you wanna go huddle in a public restroom, looking for a little companionship.
But anyway, it's the booblehead day before Labor Day, so I'm sure all the talking head shows will be about the contribution that Labor has had in making this a better country. Let's see...
Hmm. Well, it doesn't look like any labor type of stuff on Press the Meat. In fact, this looks like an even tougher episode to watch than usual. In a show all about the 2008 elections, Timmy Potatohead will host "strategists" from "both sides." Unfortunately, that means we have to look at one of the oddest couples known to mankind. Yes, you guessed it, James "Cupie Doll" Carville and Mary "not the deaf one" Matalin. Oy. Still trying to figure out who got the worst part of that deal. The kids, I guess. Then there's Bob "I never won a fucking election, so why am I considered a 'strategist?'" Shrum, and former Newt Gingrich minion, Mike Murphy.
Over on CBS, the topics for Faze the Nation this week are Iraq, Gonzo and Politics (not labor; what a surprise), as Bush Buddy Bobby Schieffer hosts Senator MBNA, Joe Biden, little Lindsey Graham (fresh from a mens room somewhere), Katie Couric (to talk about her brave upcoming trip to Iraq, no doubt; I wonder if she'll be asked what kind of a mother that makes her, to abandon her children for her career - such as it is), and that weaselly little freak from the ever-incorrect Politico.com, John Harris.
Speaking of weasels, over at Fux News Sunday, Weaselface Wallace hosts Pat Leahy (who is very seriously contemplating writing a stern letter to the White House, if they continue to ignore his subpoenas) and his partner in impotence, Arlen Specter, both on for much harrumphing and serious discussion. Plus, Weaselface will be yanking Ed Gillespie out of whatever mens room he normally hangs out at on Sundays. And there's the creepy, freaky Fux News panel, consisting of the ever-disgusting Brit Hume, Nina "not Sheena" Easton, Fux's token black guy, Juan Williams, and the increasingly demented Bill Kristol. Well, you didn't really expect Fux to sing the praises of labor now, did you?
No labor talk over at the Goebbels network, either, as Chuck Schumer and John Ensign will talk about the best mens rooms to find a little action on those long layovers, and then Mike "Huckleberry" Huckabee tells George Snufalufagus how his presidential campaign's going. This Weak's roundtable has friend of Morning Sedition, little Robbie Reich, pompous prick from the NY Times, Matt Bai, and the one member of the axis of drivel who apparently never has anyplace else to go, George :jerk: Will. And then Gretchen Wilson (who is apparently a Country singer or something) will be on to tell us she's going back to hight school. Whoopie.
It doesn't look as if labor gets a mention on Wolf Blitzer's Late Emission, either. In fact, the only thing that looks watchable there is another friend of Morning Sedition. Crikey! Look out, it's Mick Ware, swimming amidst a cesspool, of CNN hacks and corrupt politicians.
Later, on 60 Minutes, it's a rerun of Scott Pelley's piece on Staff Sgt. Frank Wuterich, who was involved in
Well, it doesn't look like anybody really gives a shit about labor on this labor day weekend. I guess it's just an excuse for a three-day weekend for most people. For me, I believe that working people are what made this country great (back when it was great), and it's no coincidence that the downward spiral this country is on has been accompanied by the continuing erosion of labor, and the destruction of the working middle class. The things that most of us take for granted in this country are a direct result of Organized Labor. Whether you're in a union or not, things like a 40 hour work week, safe working conditions (or, at least a helluva lot safer than they would be without it), child labor laws, and a host of other rights and benefits are all a result of men and women willing to stand up and get their heads cracked open, struggling to get what's right for themselves, their families, and future generations. There may be problems with unions, but we'd all be even more screwed without them.
Enjoy your Sunday, and don't sweat it. God's in charge.
Saturday, September 01, 2007
So, another hypocrite Republican supposedly bites the dust today. See ya around the airport, Larry. It's one thing to be a hypocrite, but to be so self-loathing and opportunistic to not just turn your back on who and what you are, but to go out of your way to make life miserable for your fellow, um, fellows, is just so twisted and disgusting. In other words, typically Republican.No doubt, some wealthy thug made Larry an offer he couldn't refuse. I'm sure he'll be making bug bucks working for a major corporation as soon as this all blows over (so to speak). He might even get the key to the executive washroom. Hopefully it has floor to ceiling partitions between the stalls.
That's what's so annoying about all these bastards - Craig, Rove, Snow, Gonzo, and their ilk. Sure, they may resign with, at best, a modicum of shame, but they'll be back out there in no time, making more money in a week than I'll see in a lifetime. And they'll still have their grubby little fingers into everything - probably to be reborn ala Cheney, Rummy, and Negroponte into another corrupt administration a few years down the line. If we actually have a few more years left. The way they've fucked this world up so far, who knows?
