Why Bother To Work When Being A Bum Is So Easy???
A long time ago, in another life, I sold a big project on the Hilo Coast on the big island of Hawaii.
Nearly a half million dollars worth of stainless steel and other materials including fabrication costs. In the beginning I was the only one in the building that was interested in pursuing the business, but everyone was delighted when the purchase order came in the door.
Problem was, my last name didn't match the name on the front of the building.
Everybody in the upper levels of the company jumped on airplanes to do "vendor sourcing trips" and other made up reasons for their travel, and when it was time for the actual work to be done all of the travel budget had already been spent on beachside hotels and snorkeling trips, so I never made it over across the Pacific to America's 50th state.
I thought it was a bit funny when the job turned into a disaster because of our 5000 mile absence and at best they ended up breaking even on the endeavor--but at least the President and Vice President of the company got nice sunburns in the process.
A few years later, again in the late 1980's, I chased down a job in the little hamlet of Moss Landing, California, on the coast just south of San Francisco and the northern wine country.
Again, my only visit consisted of a mandated OVERNIGHT visit accompanied with my boss to close the deal with a hurried return to Atlanta, then a series of "follow ups" by other executives that were, to quote an old adage "useless as tits on a boar hog." Again, profits suffered with job site problems addressed by Fax and long distance, but hey...who am I to complain...twern't my company...
This week there's a bunch of work going on up in Canada that I sold and originally expected to travel to attend--cold weather aside. Instead, my so called business partner's girlfriend is flying around in first class airliner seating and staying in bed and breakfast Inns and Hotel suites, and yet all I get to hear about is how cold it is up there, endless bitching about the bank currency exchange rates (something he should have understood before HE set the pricing), the fact that all of the Seminar attendees didn't bring personal or company checks with them to the sessions (like average Joes run around with an extra $600 in their bank accounts), and how I'm costing him money (my commission) sitting here on St. Simons doing nothing all day on Thanksgiving (Canadians celebrate their Thanksgiving holiday in October.)
Well EXcuuuuuuuuuusssssssseeeee Meeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee
I quit, in writing, tonight, and told him to keep the change to cover his perceived losses.
Please let me ask you...Why do I torture myself dealing with most other humans?
You know who you are, and your just rewards are coming in eternity....
.
Saturday, November 25, 2006
Friday, November 24, 2006
Turkey Devoured
Belt Loosened
Well, I got through Thanksgiving Day little worse for the wear, and I couldn't have asked for a more appreciative audience than our dinner guests Bruce, Ski, and Walt provided.
I like guests that walk in the door with bottles and bottles of wine, liquor and dessert, then insist on leaving the leftovers.
Likewise, a better kitchen assistant could not be found to have exceeded Pat's efforts. She managed to put together a new baked sweet potato dish and a Hors d'oeuvre tray, all the while avoiding being yelled at or stepped on by my size 13 feet while I spun in circles around her. I'm afraid that I'm a tyrant in the kitchen when I'm cooking.
After a couple of hours of conversation and cocktails had slipped by, we had also made a serious dent in three pounds of spiral sliced ham, a really juicy five pound turkey breast that spent the night brining in the fridge, a pot of smashed red potatoes, a pan of cornbread stuffing, a big boat of turkey gravy, and a fairly mediocre pot of last minute green beans (I have high standards for fresh vegetables).
I made perhaps the best 12" pone of cornbread I've ever made, using bacon grease because of it's low cholesterol properties. It was almost a shame to have to crumble it up in a bowl and soak it with chicken stock to make stufffing with. I don't think that anybody missed the little wedge that I consumed in my quality control efforts.
I also tested out a new baked apple dish to which I have to give mixed reviews. It involved coring the apples, slicing them into thick, thick slices, and then stacking them back up in a baking dish stuffed and layered with a chutney of pitted dates, apricots, and port wine sauce; then baking them in the oven for a while. I used giant Granny Smith apples, and it was good, but not great. I think that they need to bake longer at a lower temperature next time.
Oh well, like I always say, if you can't test out new dishes on close friends and family, who else can you risk poisoning?
Now it's back to the theater again on Friday for a few hours of set construction--It's really tough being me...
Well, I got through Thanksgiving Day little worse for the wear, and I couldn't have asked for a more appreciative audience than our dinner guests Bruce, Ski, and Walt provided.
I like guests that walk in the door with bottles and bottles of wine, liquor and dessert, then insist on leaving the leftovers.
Likewise, a better kitchen assistant could not be found to have exceeded Pat's efforts. She managed to put together a new baked sweet potato dish and a Hors d'oeuvre tray, all the while avoiding being yelled at or stepped on by my size 13 feet while I spun in circles around her. I'm afraid that I'm a tyrant in the kitchen when I'm cooking.
After a couple of hours of conversation and cocktails had slipped by, we had also made a serious dent in three pounds of spiral sliced ham, a really juicy five pound turkey breast that spent the night brining in the fridge, a pot of smashed red potatoes, a pan of cornbread stuffing, a big boat of turkey gravy, and a fairly mediocre pot of last minute green beans (I have high standards for fresh vegetables).
I made perhaps the best 12" pone of cornbread I've ever made, using bacon grease because of it's low cholesterol properties. It was almost a shame to have to crumble it up in a bowl and soak it with chicken stock to make stufffing with. I don't think that anybody missed the little wedge that I consumed in my quality control efforts.
I also tested out a new baked apple dish to which I have to give mixed reviews. It involved coring the apples, slicing them into thick, thick slices, and then stacking them back up in a baking dish stuffed and layered with a chutney of pitted dates, apricots, and port wine sauce; then baking them in the oven for a while. I used giant Granny Smith apples, and it was good, but not great. I think that they need to bake longer at a lower temperature next time.
Oh well, like I always say, if you can't test out new dishes on close friends and family, who else can you risk poisoning?
Now it's back to the theater again on Friday for a few hours of set construction--It's really tough being me...
Thursday, November 23, 2006
Wednesday, November 22, 2006
For Once I Agree With Chucky Rangel
My Thinking Might Surprise You…
Many times in the past I’ve expressed my belief that every US citizen-- male, female, trans-gendered, and gay--should be required to register for the draft upon attaining the age of 18 years and, barring the existence of some significant limiting medical condition, be required to go through basic training and serve at least two years in the armed forces.
Having two left feet wouldn’t get you out of the program, nor would having wealthy parents or being related to important, influential politicians like Robert KKK “pretty pretty” Byrd.
Whether you were required to serve (or were allowed to serve voluntarily) beyond the two years of mandatory conscription would be based on a couple of factors, the first being your actual suitability for military service, and the second being your ability and choice regarding academic pursuits and other employment opportunities if you were allowed to leave the military after your initial 24 months of duty.
There’s a method to my madness here, so bear with me while I explain.
If all you want to do after dropping out of high school is sit around all day playing combat games on your new Playstation III, hanging on the corner with your Homies popping caps in your rival’s asses, and spending your evening squirting out sperm and siring illegitimate babies up and down the block, under my plan you can figure on wearing government issued kaki and camouflage-colored pants until you either get a clue about the meaning of a productive life else you reach something nearing the age of 30.
You might still be looking at a video monitor 24/7, but the primary difference in what you see on your screen in the intervening years would be that the bullets and bombs could be real, and I would expect that you would get very serious and very mature very quickly else risk dieing and removing your defective DNA from the gene pool.
The implementation of this program, which mirrors the requirements made of young Israelis and is the latest idea to come out of NY Congressman Charles Rangel‘s normally stupid racist mouth, would have multiple benefits in addition to serving our society in a number of ways.
The first benefit would be that of producing a wider range of young citizens involvement and engagement in protecting our national security. Quoting part of Thomas Sowell’s essay which I referenced yesterday:
“Two generations of being insulated from the reality of the international jungle, of not having to defend their own survival because they have been living under the protection of the American nuclear umbrella, have allowed too many Europeans to grow soft and indulge themselves in illusions about brutal realities and dangers.”
I have to offer a huge “ditto” in regard to holding this ignorant attitude on behalf of most teenagers and at least half of the adults here in the US.
No one has ever really felt threatened (other than on 9/11), and I think that almost everyone believes that if we just close up shop on the world stage andstick our heads up our butts stick our heads in the sand here in North America that all of the bad guys will just revert back to killing each other and the Jews and leave us alone.
WRONG!!!
This new generation of Turban clad assholes is not satisfied with letting us read Mathew, Mark, Luke, and John and sing the Doxology on Sunday morning a couple of times a month…NOOOOoooooooo SSSiiirrrreeeee
They won’t be satisfied until everyone is on their knees seven times a day on a prayer mat, head facing Mecca, mumbling foreign words in a foreign language. Sorry Abdul, but I speakRedneck a variation of the King’s English, and I also happen to be a pretty good shot with a rifle, so it’s a good thing that I’m 47 rather than 17 or there would be a few more bearded radical Muslim butts in the dirt right now.
And by the way..."Hey Chucky, why not drop all of your partisan racist crap and spend your time working on productive ideas like the draft."
Even though I know that you’re in it for all the wrong reasons, the underlying concept is sound.
Many times in the past I’ve expressed my belief that every US citizen-- male, female, trans-gendered, and gay--should be required to register for the draft upon attaining the age of 18 years and, barring the existence of some significant limiting medical condition, be required to go through basic training and serve at least two years in the armed forces.
Having two left feet wouldn’t get you out of the program, nor would having wealthy parents or being related to important, influential politicians like Robert KKK “pretty pretty” Byrd.
Whether you were required to serve (or were allowed to serve voluntarily) beyond the two years of mandatory conscription would be based on a couple of factors, the first being your actual suitability for military service, and the second being your ability and choice regarding academic pursuits and other employment opportunities if you were allowed to leave the military after your initial 24 months of duty.
There’s a method to my madness here, so bear with me while I explain.
If all you want to do after dropping out of high school is sit around all day playing combat games on your new Playstation III, hanging on the corner with your Homies popping caps in your rival’s asses, and spending your evening squirting out sperm and siring illegitimate babies up and down the block, under my plan you can figure on wearing government issued kaki and camouflage-colored pants until you either get a clue about the meaning of a productive life else you reach something nearing the age of 30.
You might still be looking at a video monitor 24/7, but the primary difference in what you see on your screen in the intervening years would be that the bullets and bombs could be real, and I would expect that you would get very serious and very mature very quickly else risk dieing and removing your defective DNA from the gene pool.
The implementation of this program, which mirrors the requirements made of young Israelis and is the latest idea to come out of NY Congressman Charles Rangel‘s normally stupid racist mouth, would have multiple benefits in addition to serving our society in a number of ways.
The first benefit would be that of producing a wider range of young citizens involvement and engagement in protecting our national security. Quoting part of Thomas Sowell’s essay which I referenced yesterday:
“Two generations of being insulated from the reality of the international jungle, of not having to defend their own survival because they have been living under the protection of the American nuclear umbrella, have allowed too many Europeans to grow soft and indulge themselves in illusions about brutal realities and dangers.”
I have to offer a huge “ditto” in regard to holding this ignorant attitude on behalf of most teenagers and at least half of the adults here in the US.
No one has ever really felt threatened (other than on 9/11), and I think that almost everyone believes that if we just close up shop on the world stage and
WRONG!!!
This new generation of Turban clad assholes is not satisfied with letting us read Mathew, Mark, Luke, and John and sing the Doxology on Sunday morning a couple of times a month…NOOOOoooooooo SSSiiirrrreeeee
They won’t be satisfied until everyone is on their knees seven times a day on a prayer mat, head facing Mecca, mumbling foreign words in a foreign language. Sorry Abdul, but I speak
And by the way..."Hey Chucky, why not drop all of your partisan racist crap and spend your time working on productive ideas like the draft."
Even though I know that you’re in it for all the wrong reasons, the underlying concept is sound.
Tuesday, November 21, 2006
OJ's Off FOX
Sanity Rules...In The End
If you were interested in that story, hit your "back" button and get the hell out of my website...
NOW
.
If you were interested in that story, hit your "back" button and get the hell out of my website...
NOW
.
Where Is The West?
I Couldn't Have Said It Better Myself
Take a look at the words of one of my Idols...Thomas Sowell...
European nations protesting Saddam Hussein's death sentence, as they protested against forcing secrets out of captured terrorists, should tell us all we need to know about the internal degeneration of western society, where so many confuse squeamishness with morality.
Two generations of being insulated from the reality of the international jungle, of not having to defend their own survival because they have been living under the protection of the American nuclear umbrella, have allowed too many Europeans to grow soft and indulge themselves in illusions about brutal realities and dangers.
The very means of their salvation have been demonized for decades in anti-nuclear movements and protesters calling themselves "anti-war." But there is a huge difference between being anti-war in words and being anti-war in deeds.
How many times, in its thousands of years of history, has Europe gone 60 years without a major war, as it has since World War II? That peace has been due to American nuclear weapons, which was all that could deter the Soviet Union's armies from marching right across Europe to the Atlantic Ocean.
Having overwhelming military force on your side, and letting your enemies know that you have the guts to use it, is being genuinely anti-war. Chamberlain's appeasement brought on World War II and Reagan's military buildup ended the Cold War.
The famous Roman peace of ancient times did not come from negotiations, cease-fires, or pretty talk. It came from the Roman Empire's crushing defeat and annihilation of Carthage, which served as a warning to anyone else who might have had any bright ideas about messing with Rome.
Only after the Roman Empire began to lose its own internal cohesion, patriotism and fighting spirit over the centuries did it begin to succumb to its external enemies and finally collapse.
That seems to be where western civilization is heading today.
Internal cohesion?
Not only does much of today's generation in western societies have a "do your own thing" attitude, defying rules and flouting authority are glorified and Balkanization through "multiculturalism" has become dogma.
Patriotism?
Not only is patriotism disdained, the very basis for pride in one's country and culture is systematically undermined in our educational institutions at all levels.
The achievements of western civilization are buried in histories that portray every human sin found here as if they were peculiarities of the west.
The classic example is slavery, which existed all over the world for thousands of years and yet is incessantly depicted as if it was a peculiarity of Europeans enslaving Africans. Barbary pirates alone brought twice as many enslaved Europeans to North Africa as there were Africans brought in bondage to the United States and the American colonies from which it was formed.
How many schools and colleges are going to teach that, going against political correctness and undermining white guilt?
How many people have any inkling that it was precisely western civilization which eventually turned against slavery and began stamping it out when non-western societies still saw nothing wrong with it?
How can a generation be expected to fight for the survival of a culture or a civilization that has been trashed in its own institutions, taught to tolerate even the intolerance of other cultures brought into its own midst, and conditioned to regard any instinct to fight for its own survival as being a "cowboy"?
Western nations that show any signs of standing up for self-preservation are rare exceptions. The United States and Israel are the only western nations which have no choice but to rely on self-defense — and both are demonized, not only by our enemies but also by many in other western nations.
Australia recently told its Muslim population that, if they want to live under Islamic law, then they should leave Australia. That makes three western nations that have not yet completely succumbed to the corrosive and suicidal trends of our times.
If and when we all succumb, will the epitaph of western civilization say that we had the power to annihilate our enemies but were so paralyzed by confusion that we ended up being annihilated ourselves?
Thomas Sowell Archives
© 2006, Creators Syndicate
Take a look at the words of one of my Idols...Thomas Sowell...
European nations protesting Saddam Hussein's death sentence, as they protested against forcing secrets out of captured terrorists, should tell us all we need to know about the internal degeneration of western society, where so many confuse squeamishness with morality.
Two generations of being insulated from the reality of the international jungle, of not having to defend their own survival because they have been living under the protection of the American nuclear umbrella, have allowed too many Europeans to grow soft and indulge themselves in illusions about brutal realities and dangers.
The very means of their salvation have been demonized for decades in anti-nuclear movements and protesters calling themselves "anti-war." But there is a huge difference between being anti-war in words and being anti-war in deeds.
How many times, in its thousands of years of history, has Europe gone 60 years without a major war, as it has since World War II? That peace has been due to American nuclear weapons, which was all that could deter the Soviet Union's armies from marching right across Europe to the Atlantic Ocean.
Having overwhelming military force on your side, and letting your enemies know that you have the guts to use it, is being genuinely anti-war. Chamberlain's appeasement brought on World War II and Reagan's military buildup ended the Cold War.
The famous Roman peace of ancient times did not come from negotiations, cease-fires, or pretty talk. It came from the Roman Empire's crushing defeat and annihilation of Carthage, which served as a warning to anyone else who might have had any bright ideas about messing with Rome.
Only after the Roman Empire began to lose its own internal cohesion, patriotism and fighting spirit over the centuries did it begin to succumb to its external enemies and finally collapse.
That seems to be where western civilization is heading today.
Internal cohesion?
Not only does much of today's generation in western societies have a "do your own thing" attitude, defying rules and flouting authority are glorified and Balkanization through "multiculturalism" has become dogma.
Patriotism?
Not only is patriotism disdained, the very basis for pride in one's country and culture is systematically undermined in our educational institutions at all levels.
The achievements of western civilization are buried in histories that portray every human sin found here as if they were peculiarities of the west.
The classic example is slavery, which existed all over the world for thousands of years and yet is incessantly depicted as if it was a peculiarity of Europeans enslaving Africans. Barbary pirates alone brought twice as many enslaved Europeans to North Africa as there were Africans brought in bondage to the United States and the American colonies from which it was formed.
How many schools and colleges are going to teach that, going against political correctness and undermining white guilt?
How many people have any inkling that it was precisely western civilization which eventually turned against slavery and began stamping it out when non-western societies still saw nothing wrong with it?
How can a generation be expected to fight for the survival of a culture or a civilization that has been trashed in its own institutions, taught to tolerate even the intolerance of other cultures brought into its own midst, and conditioned to regard any instinct to fight for its own survival as being a "cowboy"?
Western nations that show any signs of standing up for self-preservation are rare exceptions. The United States and Israel are the only western nations which have no choice but to rely on self-defense — and both are demonized, not only by our enemies but also by many in other western nations.
Australia recently told its Muslim population that, if they want to live under Islamic law, then they should leave Australia. That makes three western nations that have not yet completely succumbed to the corrosive and suicidal trends of our times.
If and when we all succumb, will the epitaph of western civilization say that we had the power to annihilate our enemies but were so paralyzed by confusion that we ended up being annihilated ourselves?
Thomas Sowell Archives
© 2006, Creators Syndicate
Sunday, November 19, 2006
I’m Back On The Stage Again
Building Things To Tear Down
Sorry about the light posting this weekend, but I’m distracted.
I guess that I haven’t mentioned that I’ve been back in the set design business again this month--this time doing the scenery for another rendition of Charles Dicken’s “A Christmas Carol.”
They’ll have their first performance on December 5th, so I’ve got to get cracking Monday afternoon manhandling a few thousand pounds of plywood, foam, and 2x4’s into something that resembles Scrooge’s bedroom, office and Tiny Tim’s dining room.
I find that the best thing about working for Heather and the GIAHA people over at Brunswick’s Ritz theater is the level of professionalism they put into every show. Even though most of the actors are true amateurs, they always include several professional actors in each performance and the stage crew and lighting/sound people are really on the ball.
This year my friend Bryan Thompson, Mayor of the City of Brunswick, is playing the role of Scrooge, and little Sara (ten years old going on thirty) is the Ghost of Christmas Past. I guess that my biggest challenge this year is to figure out how to make Sara appear to rise ominously out of Scrooge’s bed in her entrance scene without causing her to fall over and crack her cute little skull on the furniture.
Really, I just LOVE doing special effects…
I’ve worked my butt off over the past three seasons, for free, pouring my soul into theater sets that rarely had casts which appreciated and deserved the quality I put into my efforts on their behalf, but the gang at the Ritz always takes good advantage of the fruits of my creative work and each year I’m challenged to raise the bar yet again. This year will be no exception.
I guess that it’s time to get back to the drawing board now… photos to follow shortly…
.
Sorry about the light posting this weekend, but I’m distracted.
I guess that I haven’t mentioned that I’ve been back in the set design business again this month--this time doing the scenery for another rendition of Charles Dicken’s “A Christmas Carol.”
They’ll have their first performance on December 5th, so I’ve got to get cracking Monday afternoon manhandling a few thousand pounds of plywood, foam, and 2x4’s into something that resembles Scrooge’s bedroom, office and Tiny Tim’s dining room.
I find that the best thing about working for Heather and the GIAHA people over at Brunswick’s Ritz theater is the level of professionalism they put into every show. Even though most of the actors are true amateurs, they always include several professional actors in each performance and the stage crew and lighting/sound people are really on the ball.
This year my friend Bryan Thompson, Mayor of the City of Brunswick, is playing the role of Scrooge, and little Sara (ten years old going on thirty) is the Ghost of Christmas Past. I guess that my biggest challenge this year is to figure out how to make Sara appear to rise ominously out of Scrooge’s bed in her entrance scene without causing her to fall over and crack her cute little skull on the furniture.
Really, I just LOVE doing special effects…
I’ve worked my butt off over the past three seasons, for free, pouring my soul into theater sets that rarely had casts which appreciated and deserved the quality I put into my efforts on their behalf, but the gang at the Ritz always takes good advantage of the fruits of my creative work and each year I’m challenged to raise the bar yet again. This year will be no exception.
I guess that it’s time to get back to the drawing board now… photos to follow shortly…
.
