I don't know what happened, but if someone can do a 180 degree turn when it comes to something as serious as moving in together, said person was not that serious in the first place. My friend that I wrote about last week that had been asked to move in and possibly get married by the end of the year was unceremoniously dumped Sunday morning. She has been staying with us and she keeps close tabs during the week, but on the weekend, she has been running off to play house, which I guess is fine. There's no fucking way that would happen if she was my daughter, but who am I to stop a grown-up from doing this?
We kind of saw it coming, there were pictures being posted a couple of times throughout the night of a little too much partying, but isn't it what you do when you are in your early 20's and have no children? I would like to say we enjoy living vicariously through her pics, but there was no time in my life or Wife's, for that matter, when we wanted to jump up on a bar and act the fool, but to each his own.
We were enjoying our breakfast at the crack of noon when the door opened and thinking it was Boy getting out early from work we called to him. No, it was Girlie, she had decided to come over because her folks went to Corpus for the weekend for a birthday party, so she headed over to hangout with us as we ate breakfast. I started joking whether she had gotten the engagement ring already, considering she was talking about moving in with him and having kids and stuff. She said that is not going to happen, they are no longer together. She then said "I don't know what happened, I woke up and he had all my stuff packed and asked "is there anything to discuss?""
She left his house confused, but if he is going to back out of so many promises of "they lived happily ever after", I say the sooner the better. Worse case would be to create a life then decide to hit the eject button as so many idiots do nowadays.
I had thought the guy seemed like a good guy, but if he is ready to settle down and she still has some energy to burn, they might not be perfectly matched right now. I had told her when they started dating, "this guy doesn't want to share you, you have to decide and cut out all your extra friends, including us", but she is stubborn and said no. I can see him wanting to get rid of those friends that push her to go out and party like a rock star, even if only once a month, it may be too much for a marrying kind of man.
Tuesday, February 28, 2017
Sunday, February 26, 2017
2/27/17 Lillith, God's First Mistake?
Last night, I was going to crack wise about a thing I saw on Pinterest to my brother's overly religious friend. If we are going to go along with the Bible, then God created the earth and all the stars, yes? Ok, then God created Adam and because Adam needed something to play with, God took a rib and turned it into a woman, Eve. I know y'all women don't see it this way, but the bible also tells you to hush, in Timothy and Corinthians. Boy's other friend's both jumped at this point and tried shaming me for not knowing about Lillith. How many of you had heard about Lillith? Apparently, she was created as an equal to Adam, at the same time, but she was mouthy and had a bit too much attitude for comfort. The story I found online gets murky, either she was turned to dust, or she ran off and had sex with Satan and created some demons. Another version Wife had heard was that Lillith is God's sister which sounds even more out of place from biblical mythology.
Turns out after I went back to yell at Boy's friend's about Lillith not mentioned anywhere in the bible according to Google and the internet. They said "Oh, it's in the Tora." Sorry, but I don't wear a yarmulke (tiny jewish hat) and I don't read other religious books because this is 'merica, fuck yeah! Then I wonder why I am running out of people to argue with. At some point curiosity will get the best of me and I'll go get some other religious book to read, this is still a free country, I think.
But backing it up to my original query, I did get an interesting answer from the religious friend who I wanted to ask the question to. My original question was Adam and Eve had Cain and Abel as sons, where do we get more people from that? They couldn't all be going after mommy, that would be wrong. Boy's religious friend said that Adam and Eve had many children and they in turn populated the planet. Sounds a little wrong to me that God would plan it this way, but I guess this is why we shouldn't question the bible too much.
At one point, I thought of the bible as describing a kingdom like a royal kingdom, it just made more sense to me that way. They lived within the garden of Eden but it was within the confines of a castle and Adam and Eve could exist and have their children and eventually they could go exploring outside the gates for mates and to conquer in the name of God, but nobody has ever really explained it to me that way, I have always said that I am clairvoyant, so I could be right.
Even Chub's has been asking me questions lately, which I like that he is a curious sort. He was asking how was Jesus white and blue eyed if he comes from the middle east and a jew. I told him that I read that Pope Alexander VI, born Roderic Borgia had the image of Christ redone in the image of his son, Cesare. There was a great series on Netflix going through the rise and fall of Borgia's life, it was very interesting. Here was another curiosity I caught while listening to someone on You Tube, the Bible could put a ban on slavery and consider all humans equal or make eating shellfish a sin, guess which one sends you to hell? Things are not weighted correctly. I cannot believe that the Catholic Church is still so dogmatic, that it still won't allow women to serve as priests.
Turns out after I went back to yell at Boy's friend's about Lillith not mentioned anywhere in the bible according to Google and the internet. They said "Oh, it's in the Tora." Sorry, but I don't wear a yarmulke (tiny jewish hat) and I don't read other religious books because this is 'merica, fuck yeah! Then I wonder why I am running out of people to argue with. At some point curiosity will get the best of me and I'll go get some other religious book to read, this is still a free country, I think.
But backing it up to my original query, I did get an interesting answer from the religious friend who I wanted to ask the question to. My original question was Adam and Eve had Cain and Abel as sons, where do we get more people from that? They couldn't all be going after mommy, that would be wrong. Boy's religious friend said that Adam and Eve had many children and they in turn populated the planet. Sounds a little wrong to me that God would plan it this way, but I guess this is why we shouldn't question the bible too much.
At one point, I thought of the bible as describing a kingdom like a royal kingdom, it just made more sense to me that way. They lived within the garden of Eden but it was within the confines of a castle and Adam and Eve could exist and have their children and eventually they could go exploring outside the gates for mates and to conquer in the name of God, but nobody has ever really explained it to me that way, I have always said that I am clairvoyant, so I could be right.
Even Chub's has been asking me questions lately, which I like that he is a curious sort. He was asking how was Jesus white and blue eyed if he comes from the middle east and a jew. I told him that I read that Pope Alexander VI, born Roderic Borgia had the image of Christ redone in the image of his son, Cesare. There was a great series on Netflix going through the rise and fall of Borgia's life, it was very interesting. Here was another curiosity I caught while listening to someone on You Tube, the Bible could put a ban on slavery and consider all humans equal or make eating shellfish a sin, guess which one sends you to hell? Things are not weighted correctly. I cannot believe that the Catholic Church is still so dogmatic, that it still won't allow women to serve as priests.
2/26/17 What Is The Point Of An Automated World?
I know I am probably on the wrong side of this debate, but how could automating most jobs be good for humans? I understand robots already are heavily involved in making the goods we consume, but as I understand it, the robots are not autonomous. What we call robots nowadays are just theoretical pieces of "robots" as compared to what we see in the movies, like Star Wars.
Since I started working in AMD, back in 1995, we have had robot arms to move product into and out of tools, sometimes because the wafers are going into hot furnaces, sometimes because the process needs to be repeated hundreds of times and the wafers (round silicon discs composed of chips, look like old fashion records) cannot be scratched by clumsy human hands. Every generation of newer fab gets more automated, and as I had last heard, the latest fabs (fabrication plants) were going to have few "operators", but because everything is automated, a crew of maintenance experts will always be needed. Preventative Maintenance, or PMs, are done regularly to keep the robot arms moving, the tools, be they etchers, or implanters or whatever new and wonderful technology is created will always need human interaction regularly. These robots aren't climbing off the assembly line like battle soldiers and looking for their own parts to heal themselves. If they break or become misaligned, generally they just stop working.
Anyways, people will always be needed, in that capacity. Maybe the easy "blue collar" positions mostly disappear, but I don't believe factories can be all automated. The more robots, the more breakdowns. The more breakdowns, the more maintenance type people required.
The article then states that a universal salary will be needed to feed and keep the people from turning on themselves. That is a pretty stupid thing to do. I know I was just complaining a couple of blogs ago about wanting time off, but that is more of a vacation. If I was home all the time, what would that be like? I would sleep until I got bored of doing that, I assume kids would still go to school, but what for if there are no jobs to be trained for. There would be a population explosion without some sort of birth control in the air or the water. I imagine the hours of partying would slowly extend and without time commitments during the day, why would people stop and go home. This just screams end of humanity to me.
We would have no choice but to keep pushing our human need to grow and explore and move off to new worlds, maybe with a cadre of experts and the right robots, we could start inhabiting Mars and so on and so forth. Humans were not designed to just sit around and collect a check. I see people that live like that and they are not alpha humans. Leaders and curious people have no choice but to keep pushing the limits of man.
Elon Musk and those type of people are very smart, but they are underestimating the potential of man and his abilities. The beta test in Africa being conducted now will show most of that money squandered either to whores or gambling. I'm not saying that because they are Africans, but they are used to nothing, what is $22 a month going to do in a community with one water well and no grocery stores? HEB isn't going to pop up overnight over there.
Since I started working in AMD, back in 1995, we have had robot arms to move product into and out of tools, sometimes because the wafers are going into hot furnaces, sometimes because the process needs to be repeated hundreds of times and the wafers (round silicon discs composed of chips, look like old fashion records) cannot be scratched by clumsy human hands. Every generation of newer fab gets more automated, and as I had last heard, the latest fabs (fabrication plants) were going to have few "operators", but because everything is automated, a crew of maintenance experts will always be needed. Preventative Maintenance, or PMs, are done regularly to keep the robot arms moving, the tools, be they etchers, or implanters or whatever new and wonderful technology is created will always need human interaction regularly. These robots aren't climbing off the assembly line like battle soldiers and looking for their own parts to heal themselves. If they break or become misaligned, generally they just stop working.
Anyways, people will always be needed, in that capacity. Maybe the easy "blue collar" positions mostly disappear, but I don't believe factories can be all automated. The more robots, the more breakdowns. The more breakdowns, the more maintenance type people required.
The article then states that a universal salary will be needed to feed and keep the people from turning on themselves. That is a pretty stupid thing to do. I know I was just complaining a couple of blogs ago about wanting time off, but that is more of a vacation. If I was home all the time, what would that be like? I would sleep until I got bored of doing that, I assume kids would still go to school, but what for if there are no jobs to be trained for. There would be a population explosion without some sort of birth control in the air or the water. I imagine the hours of partying would slowly extend and without time commitments during the day, why would people stop and go home. This just screams end of humanity to me.
We would have no choice but to keep pushing our human need to grow and explore and move off to new worlds, maybe with a cadre of experts and the right robots, we could start inhabiting Mars and so on and so forth. Humans were not designed to just sit around and collect a check. I see people that live like that and they are not alpha humans. Leaders and curious people have no choice but to keep pushing the limits of man.
Elon Musk and those type of people are very smart, but they are underestimating the potential of man and his abilities. The beta test in Africa being conducted now will show most of that money squandered either to whores or gambling. I'm not saying that because they are Africans, but they are used to nothing, what is $22 a month going to do in a community with one water well and no grocery stores? HEB isn't going to pop up overnight over there.
Friday, February 24, 2017
2/25/16 We Have Enemies?
Life can be a little messed up. We can live our whole lives in solitude in little cities of 10,000 people or less, go through life being friendly with everybody, more or less. I pretty much grew up this way, then you get older and you start listening to the news and realize all along you had enemies you didn't know you had.
When we were growing up, we would hear of the Russians coming from the other side of the world, in their tanks and their nukes destroying us. It never happened, but we got plenty of movies out of it. Red Dawn, Spies Like Us, Rocky 4 and so many more. It almost seems like Hollywood wants us to eat the shit that our leaders spew. I guess there is money to be made, but enforcing the stereotype that the Russians hate us helps who?
Then we go into war with some shitty country like Vietnam, my dad and father in law both go out there, because that is what men do, in those times. My dad has no hate for those people, but his superior officers tell him shoot mortars in that direction and before you know "Sir, yes Sir!" Because it was mortars, my dad can't/won't say that he killed so many people, but if he is showering the sky with flying grenades and using coordinates he is told to use, mathematically, he had to hit "someone". Those old bastards that determine who our enemy is don't sweat the details, they didn't sit with my dad when he got back and re-acclimatized to being a civilian. By the time both my Dad and my Father in Law were back to "normal", we had moved on from that battle and determined we had a new enemy. Bring us a new generation of men to fight our wars.
Fast forward to today, we are told our enemy is the muslim people. An intelligent president, like Obama, would tell us that not all muslims are bad, we cannot condemn a whole religion because of what a few have done. A doofus, like we got today, will take no chances and just attempt to remove all "different" people in the name of security. A friend of mine visits the middle east quite often because he likes the idea of walking where Jesus walked, says the Pakistani people are always the friendliest people over there. I personally think it is crap that we have to have an enemy at all times. Anybody can try and correct my thinking that they did take out the twin towers and 9/11 and all that, but the old men in charge never really got angry at Saudi Arabia, where 15 of the 19 hijackers came from. Instead we went and destroyed Iraq, and for what? To remove Saddam Hussein? We put him in power there in the first place.
I don't know what the point of this was, but I got in a big discussion with a buddy of mine and I spent too much time reading all this crap. Then I heard a line from a song and it struck a nerve.
James Blunt "I Really Want You" has a line like:
When we were growing up, we would hear of the Russians coming from the other side of the world, in their tanks and their nukes destroying us. It never happened, but we got plenty of movies out of it. Red Dawn, Spies Like Us, Rocky 4 and so many more. It almost seems like Hollywood wants us to eat the shit that our leaders spew. I guess there is money to be made, but enforcing the stereotype that the Russians hate us helps who?
Then we go into war with some shitty country like Vietnam, my dad and father in law both go out there, because that is what men do, in those times. My dad has no hate for those people, but his superior officers tell him shoot mortars in that direction and before you know "Sir, yes Sir!" Because it was mortars, my dad can't/won't say that he killed so many people, but if he is showering the sky with flying grenades and using coordinates he is told to use, mathematically, he had to hit "someone". Those old bastards that determine who our enemy is don't sweat the details, they didn't sit with my dad when he got back and re-acclimatized to being a civilian. By the time both my Dad and my Father in Law were back to "normal", we had moved on from that battle and determined we had a new enemy. Bring us a new generation of men to fight our wars.
Fast forward to today, we are told our enemy is the muslim people. An intelligent president, like Obama, would tell us that not all muslims are bad, we cannot condemn a whole religion because of what a few have done. A doofus, like we got today, will take no chances and just attempt to remove all "different" people in the name of security. A friend of mine visits the middle east quite often because he likes the idea of walking where Jesus walked, says the Pakistani people are always the friendliest people over there. I personally think it is crap that we have to have an enemy at all times. Anybody can try and correct my thinking that they did take out the twin towers and 9/11 and all that, but the old men in charge never really got angry at Saudi Arabia, where 15 of the 19 hijackers came from. Instead we went and destroyed Iraq, and for what? To remove Saddam Hussein? We put him in power there in the first place.
I don't know what the point of this was, but I got in a big discussion with a buddy of mine and I spent too much time reading all this crap. Then I heard a line from a song and it struck a nerve.
James Blunt "I Really Want You" has a line like:
Many Prophets preach on bended knees
Many clerics wasted wine,
Do the bloody sheets and those troubled streets mean?
I have wasted time,
Many clerics wasted wine,
Do the bloody sheets and those troubled streets mean?
I have wasted time,
Are there silver shores on paradise?
Can I come in from the cold?
I killed a man in a far away land
My enemy I'm told
Can I come in from the cold?
I killed a man in a far away land
My enemy I'm told
2/24/17 How Long Before You Move In Together?
A friend of mine is dating and although it has only been a few months, like 3, the guy is already bringing up the idea of moving in together and even marriage. I was dating Wife for six years and if not for Boy or Chubs, I would still be happy dating. I don't mean to sound like an ass, Wife is a great person, definitely a better human than me, but who goes around trying to get hitched at 3-4 months? This guy doesn't know how she leaves the bathroom smelling after a hearty Mexican meal and he is willing to say "I do" for the rest of their lives?
By the time Wife and I moved in together, we had known each other for a good six years, I was just about to graduate and even if I didn't have many financial options at the time, I knew I was a hard worker and eventually I would do all right. Wife was also going to school and about halfway done, so we could see a path we could take. I believe rushing into marriage and making babies slowed us down and is a great part of the reason we have not been able to get out from under our financial toils (that and I like shopping), but soon that will change, I got the lucky numbers for the next lottery. If we hadn't had Boy at the time, we also might not have lasted together, and for better or worse, I am hard to live with and Wife handles me pretty well, so I am glad we are married.
Ultimately, as Wife tells me, it is none of my business what these people do. She reminds me that I give advice all the time and she rarely takes it, so let them learn the hard way. I agree. So, given that none of her generation is married and they all seem to be shooting out kids, just look away and let them do what humans are good at, reproducing?
When done correctly, marriage is a fine thing. My brother and sister both married their partners, enjoyed each other for a few years, bought a house, then coughed up some kids. Wife's brother did it that way too. I was a little jealous that they were able to travel as much as they did, but then again, I make decisions with my penis, cause I'm a bit of an idiot.
At this point, at least I am glad Boy has listened to me. He's not even entertaining girls at this point. I brought up all this to him, and he said nah, I'd rather spend my money on myself. It sounds selfish, but really, shacking up means a woman pretty much starts making your decisions for you. Actually, even though most of Boy's childhood buddies don't come around, only one of them has gotten a girl knocked up. Maybe all the purchasing of condoms and constantly telling them that having kids suck helped them out a bit.
By the time Wife and I moved in together, we had known each other for a good six years, I was just about to graduate and even if I didn't have many financial options at the time, I knew I was a hard worker and eventually I would do all right. Wife was also going to school and about halfway done, so we could see a path we could take. I believe rushing into marriage and making babies slowed us down and is a great part of the reason we have not been able to get out from under our financial toils (that and I like shopping), but soon that will change, I got the lucky numbers for the next lottery. If we hadn't had Boy at the time, we also might not have lasted together, and for better or worse, I am hard to live with and Wife handles me pretty well, so I am glad we are married.
Ultimately, as Wife tells me, it is none of my business what these people do. She reminds me that I give advice all the time and she rarely takes it, so let them learn the hard way. I agree. So, given that none of her generation is married and they all seem to be shooting out kids, just look away and let them do what humans are good at, reproducing?
When done correctly, marriage is a fine thing. My brother and sister both married their partners, enjoyed each other for a few years, bought a house, then coughed up some kids. Wife's brother did it that way too. I was a little jealous that they were able to travel as much as they did, but then again, I make decisions with my penis, cause I'm a bit of an idiot.
At this point, at least I am glad Boy has listened to me. He's not even entertaining girls at this point. I brought up all this to him, and he said nah, I'd rather spend my money on myself. It sounds selfish, but really, shacking up means a woman pretty much starts making your decisions for you. Actually, even though most of Boy's childhood buddies don't come around, only one of them has gotten a girl knocked up. Maybe all the purchasing of condoms and constantly telling them that having kids suck helped them out a bit.
Thursday, February 23, 2017
2/23/17 How About Measuring Happiness?
This is something else I was thinking when I was tossing around idea of success. Who gets to be happy? I have thought and believe it is much easier to be a little dense to enjoy life. I think the dim bulb people don't worry about stuff that keeps some of us awake at night, so if they are incapable of worrying about certain things, they are more open to enjoy life as it seems.
Is there a difference between life as it seems and life as it is? In your youth, if you are not worrying about your future and going to school, life can be a ball. I see some knuckleheads going to concerts every weekend, always enjoying things and activities downtown. Essentially, they are the grasshopper in the spring and fall, nothing but a good time, forever, or so they think. I feel like the ant in one of Aesop's Fables, always slaving away, never really getting away from work, especially lately. I have a great job, I guess at this point maybe I could call it a career, but that carries the whole matter of I can't fuck it up. I can't get drunk on a weekday, or decide I am going to stay in bed all day. Shit, I got the opportunity to train in a new department and now I find myself back to working Friday nights. I did that for about fifteen years, I thought I had done that enough, but those that seek opportunities to advance sometimes sacrifice greatly for the future. Should I be happy right about now, 46 and back to working a weekend shift? It is temporary, probably for a month or two, but still, I hate it.
A friend was telling me of his father in law and how he spent all his life making tons of money, when he finally stopped and decided it was time to enjoy life, it was too late. He got sick, became an invalid and passed away before he could enjoy even one boat cruise. I don't want to be that guy, even if he had two houses, and provided well for his family. Is it fair? The flip side of that, is that the people that are partying all the time, enjoying friends and dinners during the week, don't have shit to their name. Grown ass adults shouldn't be renting apartments, or does it matter? I kind of hate that they are making section 8 housing nicer and nicer and in the better parts of the city. Why strive to get out if you got it that good, and you can pay a tiny percentage of the true rent?
Part of the happiness issue of course is having Wife out of town. I was working Friday, so even though she showed up, the evening didn't count for much. I got home and we got down to business and then we stayed up talking until about 10am. It was great, but then I didn't want to get up, even at two in the afternoon. I have to hope for success and happiness will eventually feel like they are supposed to when Wife comes back, hopefully to an even higher paying job than she has right now, and also I'll be of more value to my company, because after twenty years, I doubt I'm going to go looking for a new start. Maybe even come to days or work a more normal schedule so I can enjoy dinners with my family and maybe friends.... someday.... maybe.
Is there a difference between life as it seems and life as it is? In your youth, if you are not worrying about your future and going to school, life can be a ball. I see some knuckleheads going to concerts every weekend, always enjoying things and activities downtown. Essentially, they are the grasshopper in the spring and fall, nothing but a good time, forever, or so they think. I feel like the ant in one of Aesop's Fables, always slaving away, never really getting away from work, especially lately. I have a great job, I guess at this point maybe I could call it a career, but that carries the whole matter of I can't fuck it up. I can't get drunk on a weekday, or decide I am going to stay in bed all day. Shit, I got the opportunity to train in a new department and now I find myself back to working Friday nights. I did that for about fifteen years, I thought I had done that enough, but those that seek opportunities to advance sometimes sacrifice greatly for the future. Should I be happy right about now, 46 and back to working a weekend shift? It is temporary, probably for a month or two, but still, I hate it.
A friend was telling me of his father in law and how he spent all his life making tons of money, when he finally stopped and decided it was time to enjoy life, it was too late. He got sick, became an invalid and passed away before he could enjoy even one boat cruise. I don't want to be that guy, even if he had two houses, and provided well for his family. Is it fair? The flip side of that, is that the people that are partying all the time, enjoying friends and dinners during the week, don't have shit to their name. Grown ass adults shouldn't be renting apartments, or does it matter? I kind of hate that they are making section 8 housing nicer and nicer and in the better parts of the city. Why strive to get out if you got it that good, and you can pay a tiny percentage of the true rent?
Part of the happiness issue of course is having Wife out of town. I was working Friday, so even though she showed up, the evening didn't count for much. I got home and we got down to business and then we stayed up talking until about 10am. It was great, but then I didn't want to get up, even at two in the afternoon. I have to hope for success and happiness will eventually feel like they are supposed to when Wife comes back, hopefully to an even higher paying job than she has right now, and also I'll be of more value to my company, because after twenty years, I doubt I'm going to go looking for a new start. Maybe even come to days or work a more normal schedule so I can enjoy dinners with my family and maybe friends.... someday.... maybe.
Wednesday, February 22, 2017
2/22/17 Chubs Is Learning To Cook?
I don't know where exactly it came from, but Chubs likes the idea of cooking. I, on the other hand, hate it. If I must cook, I usually try to grill whatever outside. The last couple of weeks, Chubs has slowly been getting involved doing different noodles and rice. I especially don't like these foods as they are really just filler to subsidize the meat, to me.
Either way, he started I think Super Bowl Sunday, he made a pan of spiral noodles, complete with a red sauce that gave them just enough kick and flavor. The first time I was with him the whole time, but since then, he has wanted to just take off and do his own thing. I told him he better not try to cook while there is no adult around, and he reluctantly said ok. As long as I am in the kitchen, he has made Kraft Macaroni and cheese, helped me with spaghetti and meatballs, "fideo", and tonight he made Velveeta shells. Wife is slowly explaining each of the noodles, saying that rice is the hardest and why. I would rather not bother with this stuff, but if he is going to make it, I guess, I will eat it.
What scared me was last week as I was leaving for work, I asked him what he was going to eat for dinner, and he very casually said he was going to make some macaroni and cheese. I stopped in my tracks and told him he better not! It is one thing when we are around, but I don't need him having an accident because he thinks he knows better. He does usually enjoy a panini daily at night. I am ok with that because the device works like a toaster. He makes a sandwich, essentially, then throws it in the panini press and voila!, hot sandwich.
I feel bad that since I am at work, most nights he heats up a frozen pizza of some kind, or a hot pocket, or any other thing that can go in the microwave. There are some ok selections, but we just don't buy them often enough, like those frozen meals that have a serving of vegetables, or some of those Lean Cuisine Pasta Bowls. He doesn't really complain, and when we go to the store, I do give him and Boy choices, and I ask them for anything specific. Boy eats like a worm though. I went to the store Monday night (yesterday) and I asked him what do you want for eating, anything? "Get me some salads" was the best he could come up with. It is only for a few days a week, like this week, I work Tuesday through Thursday nights, so I cooked Monday night, and since I made BBQ, I try to make enough that we have leftovers for a couple of nights. I will eat whatever is left Tuesday and Wednesday, they either usually forget or don't like this option, I still say I am providing them with that option.
There was an episode back in the day when King Of The Hill was on TV where Bobby Hill got to eating too many servings of processed meats, like bolognas and stuff at a deli counter, and he developed gout. As a result, he couldn't take his girlfriend Connie to a dance. Wife and I worry that the same thing could happen to Chubs with all his panini sandwiches. We always try to keep Oscar Mayer bologna, ham, and turkey. I don't know if that is good or bad, but this weekend he did put on a shirt we had bought him last year, and even some shorts that said 38, when he has been wearing 40-42 all year. Maybe being without mama's cooking, he has finally lost a little weight.
Either way, he started I think Super Bowl Sunday, he made a pan of spiral noodles, complete with a red sauce that gave them just enough kick and flavor. The first time I was with him the whole time, but since then, he has wanted to just take off and do his own thing. I told him he better not try to cook while there is no adult around, and he reluctantly said ok. As long as I am in the kitchen, he has made Kraft Macaroni and cheese, helped me with spaghetti and meatballs, "fideo", and tonight he made Velveeta shells. Wife is slowly explaining each of the noodles, saying that rice is the hardest and why. I would rather not bother with this stuff, but if he is going to make it, I guess, I will eat it.
What scared me was last week as I was leaving for work, I asked him what he was going to eat for dinner, and he very casually said he was going to make some macaroni and cheese. I stopped in my tracks and told him he better not! It is one thing when we are around, but I don't need him having an accident because he thinks he knows better. He does usually enjoy a panini daily at night. I am ok with that because the device works like a toaster. He makes a sandwich, essentially, then throws it in the panini press and voila!, hot sandwich.
I feel bad that since I am at work, most nights he heats up a frozen pizza of some kind, or a hot pocket, or any other thing that can go in the microwave. There are some ok selections, but we just don't buy them often enough, like those frozen meals that have a serving of vegetables, or some of those Lean Cuisine Pasta Bowls. He doesn't really complain, and when we go to the store, I do give him and Boy choices, and I ask them for anything specific. Boy eats like a worm though. I went to the store Monday night (yesterday) and I asked him what do you want for eating, anything? "Get me some salads" was the best he could come up with. It is only for a few days a week, like this week, I work Tuesday through Thursday nights, so I cooked Monday night, and since I made BBQ, I try to make enough that we have leftovers for a couple of nights. I will eat whatever is left Tuesday and Wednesday, they either usually forget or don't like this option, I still say I am providing them with that option.
There was an episode back in the day when King Of The Hill was on TV where Bobby Hill got to eating too many servings of processed meats, like bolognas and stuff at a deli counter, and he developed gout. As a result, he couldn't take his girlfriend Connie to a dance. Wife and I worry that the same thing could happen to Chubs with all his panini sandwiches. We always try to keep Oscar Mayer bologna, ham, and turkey. I don't know if that is good or bad, but this weekend he did put on a shirt we had bought him last year, and even some shorts that said 38, when he has been wearing 40-42 all year. Maybe being without mama's cooking, he has finally lost a little weight.
Tuesday, February 21, 2017
2/21/17 No Way To Keep Score On Life?
How do we define success if as Wife says material stuff doesn't matter? I have always liked the motto "He with the most toys at the end wins." But most people say I suck when I try to use this in daily conversation. I have always thought that working hard was the way to attain a successful and meaningful life, but then I see people we know who don't try too hard. We see people going through the motions of a semi- attentive life that looks like bullshit to me, but it is a way of life for some. We hear of so and so just got a job, I can almost tell you how many months before they start looking for an out. I don't think most people are interested in working. Some people seem to work only long enough to qualify for unemployment then they hang out for awhile.
Are these people succeeding at life? They have found a flaw in the system and are using it to their advantage. Because I am told that material stuff doesn't matter, I can't help that well then I am the fool who never takes time off from work. I would love and enjoy a nice six months of no work, just to focus on me, but there is no way we could do that and not lose the house and some of the cars. I guess I could extrapolate that thought and figure "how bad would that be?" Would living in an apartment be the end of the world? I say no, I used to love living in an apartment when I was at school. Having a community pool and overlooking it, not to mention being surrounded by other college girlies. Maybe I'm the stupid one, and if I only slowed down, I might too enjoy a carefree life of adventure and mayhem, living as a gypsy, with no place to call my own.
Another way people want to mark success is if you are having a good time and you are happy? No one is having a better time than the drug addict when they are getting their fix. If you ask them if they are having fun, I believe they would say yes, they have everything they need right as they hit that high. Do they even count as human if they are drug addicts? We honestly have been hampered by my leg injury. There is nothing that makes me happier than sitting in my hot tub late at night with or without friends, preferably in my birthday suit, but with my leg still having an open wound, that cannot be done yet. Adding to that, Wife is gone all week and only here on the weekends, it is hard to even plan on getting away, so we haven't done anything really fun in a good while.
So what is a practical way to look at life and determine who is doing it right? Surely, it can't be all based on money. There are too many idiots getting paid millions to play with balls and entertain us on TV. To hear even one of them come out and try to declare the world is flat crushes my soul. I have spent my life believing the scientists before me, thinking the greatest accomplishments in American history was going into space and this chucklehead is going to say the world is flat. Wow!!
It can't be amount of free time to dedicate to yourself because I just said some of the people I know work only for short bursts and then get to hang out for long periods of time. Meanwhile, my dumb ass gets the equivalent of one month off per year, and I better save some of that in case I get sick. Maybe life isn't meant to be fair. I can't be too upset, I do get to live in a big house, but dammit, that mouth breather gets to say the world is flat from a mansion a couple times bigger than my house.
Are these people succeeding at life? They have found a flaw in the system and are using it to their advantage. Because I am told that material stuff doesn't matter, I can't help that well then I am the fool who never takes time off from work. I would love and enjoy a nice six months of no work, just to focus on me, but there is no way we could do that and not lose the house and some of the cars. I guess I could extrapolate that thought and figure "how bad would that be?" Would living in an apartment be the end of the world? I say no, I used to love living in an apartment when I was at school. Having a community pool and overlooking it, not to mention being surrounded by other college girlies. Maybe I'm the stupid one, and if I only slowed down, I might too enjoy a carefree life of adventure and mayhem, living as a gypsy, with no place to call my own.
Another way people want to mark success is if you are having a good time and you are happy? No one is having a better time than the drug addict when they are getting their fix. If you ask them if they are having fun, I believe they would say yes, they have everything they need right as they hit that high. Do they even count as human if they are drug addicts? We honestly have been hampered by my leg injury. There is nothing that makes me happier than sitting in my hot tub late at night with or without friends, preferably in my birthday suit, but with my leg still having an open wound, that cannot be done yet. Adding to that, Wife is gone all week and only here on the weekends, it is hard to even plan on getting away, so we haven't done anything really fun in a good while.
So what is a practical way to look at life and determine who is doing it right? Surely, it can't be all based on money. There are too many idiots getting paid millions to play with balls and entertain us on TV. To hear even one of them come out and try to declare the world is flat crushes my soul. I have spent my life believing the scientists before me, thinking the greatest accomplishments in American history was going into space and this chucklehead is going to say the world is flat. Wow!!
It can't be amount of free time to dedicate to yourself because I just said some of the people I know work only for short bursts and then get to hang out for long periods of time. Meanwhile, my dumb ass gets the equivalent of one month off per year, and I better save some of that in case I get sick. Maybe life isn't meant to be fair. I can't be too upset, I do get to live in a big house, but dammit, that mouth breather gets to say the world is flat from a mansion a couple times bigger than my house.
Monday, February 20, 2017
2/20/17 John Wick: Chapter 2? (Movie)
John Wick is a silent angry killer that just keeps adding to the long list of bad ass characters Keanu Reeves plays. It is a weird thing, most people I talk to like to say he is not a great actor, but I love most of the movies this guy does. He picks characters that just match his style and persona. All the way back from Bill and Ted's Adventures in 1989 to Point Break in 1991 all the way to The Matrix in 1999 that made movies exciting again like Star Wars had done before. He was even great in The Replacements, and The Devil's Advocate.
Chapter 2 picks up after the first movie. The Russian mob still has his car, now it is held by the uncle of the idiot that started everything in the first movie by stealing his car and killing his puppy. He shows up where drugs and all sorts of illegal shenanigans are going on with the aid of taxis in some sort of chop shop. Wick does what he is good at, eliminating bad guys until he gets to his car. He mostly takes it, even though he crashes it against pretty much everything and every one who shows up on screen. After killing most of the henchmen downstairs, he goes into the boss's office and asks for peace. The bad guy forced without a choice and sitting in fear of the Boogeyman as the Wick character has become known, agrees.
Wick is sitting at home and a slick Italian comes knocking on his door. He has a blood oath or something like that and as it goes, Wick cannot refuse the job, and completing the job frees him of his obligation. He balks at first as it seems, he just wants to sit in his fancy house and mourn the loss of his wife. Since he tells the Italian bad guy no, the Italian then blows up his house, as a reminder that you don't say no. He goes and discusses his options with the owner of the hotel where nothing but assassins hang out, and he tells him it is best to complete his obligations, then he can go back to retirement or whatever he wants to.
He talks to the bad guy, he wants his sister killed because she sits at the highest table of mobsters worldwide in place of their dead father. He wants the spot at the highest table but the sister being there won't allow. With her out of the way, he becomes the biggest ranking Italian mobster. Wick goes to kill her, which is the easy part of the job, then all hell breaks loose. Her mobsters come after him, the brother attempted to double cross him and kill him to leave no loose ends, so he sends bad guys who can't shoot for shit after Wick. This new girl Ruby Rose acts like some bad ass girl, she looks sexy and right for the part, along with all her nasty ass tattoos, but she gets killed pretty easy.
In the end, Wick chases down the Italian who has put an open contract on Wick for $7 million dollars, so every assassin is coming after him, yet you cannot stop Wick once he decides he is coming for you. His mistake is that he kills the Italian in the hotel of his confidant and he must now deal with him. In this movie, rules are first and foremost. If we cannot follow simple rules, then we are no better than animals, they tell us at some point. At the end of the movie Wick has been labeled "excommunicado" by his friend for killing the Italian on sacred neutral ground, so it is set up for a third movie with John Wick being given an hour before he can be killed, and he is with his dog running somewhere, but it will be interesting how he gets out of it if they do a third installment.
This movie was great. There is non-stop action, he probably kills 100-150 bad guys. They mention in the first movie how Wick's legend includes him killing three people in a bar with a pencil, while he is running and trying to get to the Italian, he ends up killing two more dudes with a pencil when he runs out of bullets. The killing is bearable because it is not gory, we don't see the guys dying slow deaths, it's just a bullet to the head and move on. I especially liked Laurence Fishburne popping up for a long interaction. They were so great together in the Matrix movies.
Chapter 2 picks up after the first movie. The Russian mob still has his car, now it is held by the uncle of the idiot that started everything in the first movie by stealing his car and killing his puppy. He shows up where drugs and all sorts of illegal shenanigans are going on with the aid of taxis in some sort of chop shop. Wick does what he is good at, eliminating bad guys until he gets to his car. He mostly takes it, even though he crashes it against pretty much everything and every one who shows up on screen. After killing most of the henchmen downstairs, he goes into the boss's office and asks for peace. The bad guy forced without a choice and sitting in fear of the Boogeyman as the Wick character has become known, agrees.
Wick is sitting at home and a slick Italian comes knocking on his door. He has a blood oath or something like that and as it goes, Wick cannot refuse the job, and completing the job frees him of his obligation. He balks at first as it seems, he just wants to sit in his fancy house and mourn the loss of his wife. Since he tells the Italian bad guy no, the Italian then blows up his house, as a reminder that you don't say no. He goes and discusses his options with the owner of the hotel where nothing but assassins hang out, and he tells him it is best to complete his obligations, then he can go back to retirement or whatever he wants to.
He talks to the bad guy, he wants his sister killed because she sits at the highest table of mobsters worldwide in place of their dead father. He wants the spot at the highest table but the sister being there won't allow. With her out of the way, he becomes the biggest ranking Italian mobster. Wick goes to kill her, which is the easy part of the job, then all hell breaks loose. Her mobsters come after him, the brother attempted to double cross him and kill him to leave no loose ends, so he sends bad guys who can't shoot for shit after Wick. This new girl Ruby Rose acts like some bad ass girl, she looks sexy and right for the part, along with all her nasty ass tattoos, but she gets killed pretty easy.
In the end, Wick chases down the Italian who has put an open contract on Wick for $7 million dollars, so every assassin is coming after him, yet you cannot stop Wick once he decides he is coming for you. His mistake is that he kills the Italian in the hotel of his confidant and he must now deal with him. In this movie, rules are first and foremost. If we cannot follow simple rules, then we are no better than animals, they tell us at some point. At the end of the movie Wick has been labeled "excommunicado" by his friend for killing the Italian on sacred neutral ground, so it is set up for a third movie with John Wick being given an hour before he can be killed, and he is with his dog running somewhere, but it will be interesting how he gets out of it if they do a third installment.
This movie was great. There is non-stop action, he probably kills 100-150 bad guys. They mention in the first movie how Wick's legend includes him killing three people in a bar with a pencil, while he is running and trying to get to the Italian, he ends up killing two more dudes with a pencil when he runs out of bullets. The killing is bearable because it is not gory, we don't see the guys dying slow deaths, it's just a bullet to the head and move on. I especially liked Laurence Fishburne popping up for a long interaction. They were so great together in the Matrix movies.
Sunday, February 19, 2017
2/19/17 Garth Brook's Channel 55 Satellite Station Is Genius?
I decided to get XM radio for my truck as a little Christmas present for myself. No big deal, the truck was set up for it as most new cars are, nowadays. We've had XM and Sirius a few times in various vehicles and even in the house for a few years when it first came out. The problem was that the music gets a little stale after awhile. I love the 60's, and even the 70's, but it feels like they play the same songs all the time. Maybe it's the fact that past the first 4 or 5 stations which are the 60's, 70's, 80's, etc., the rest of the stations are kind of hard to find by name. Then also we must turn a knob from one station to the next, unless a station is saved to memory.
Wife suggested I try the Garth Channel, I ignored her at first, because it's what you do with people that know everything. Eventually, I found it on my own and it really is a great channel. They play his music, of course, but they also play stuff that influences him, stuff apparently his dad liked, stuff his mom liked. If you didn't know, he's married to Trisha Yearwood, so plenty of her stuff too. I don't know if it was his way of opening up the music selection or if it is true, but he is interviewed and clips are used between songs all the time. He mentions his dad grew up listening to stuff like Creedence Clearwater Revival, so we hear old rock like that and Lynyrd Skynyrd one minute, then his mom loved listening to the old soul greats like Aretha Franklin, Gladys Knight and the Pips, and other great stuff from the 70's. Then when you think it has a lot of variety, he starts mentioning how he is blown away by the talents of Lady Gaga or even Katy Perry and so it becomes a station with probably 40% country, 20% old rock and roll, 20% 70's soul, and 20% newer pop stuff.
I find myself leaving it on the station for long periods of time, I have range in my music tastes. It is when I am taking Chubs to school in the morning where I think he might not dig some George Jones in some real old school country song that I'll change it, but even then, my other five saved channels are 60's, love station (saved because it was the Christmas channel in December), the Caliente/tropical Spanish station, the Bridge (great station almost always playing a solid song), Margaritaville (love Jimmy Buffett), and the Garth station. I need something to replace the love station, maybe a jazz station, but I need that stupid piece of paper with the stations because I hate fidgeting through looking for what I want. I do have 3 clusters of six stations I could save, but I always seem to be in a rush. Maybe some lazy sunday I'll hang out in my truck and save some more stations and expand my horizons.
Wife suggested I try the Garth Channel, I ignored her at first, because it's what you do with people that know everything. Eventually, I found it on my own and it really is a great channel. They play his music, of course, but they also play stuff that influences him, stuff apparently his dad liked, stuff his mom liked. If you didn't know, he's married to Trisha Yearwood, so plenty of her stuff too. I don't know if it was his way of opening up the music selection or if it is true, but he is interviewed and clips are used between songs all the time. He mentions his dad grew up listening to stuff like Creedence Clearwater Revival, so we hear old rock like that and Lynyrd Skynyrd one minute, then his mom loved listening to the old soul greats like Aretha Franklin, Gladys Knight and the Pips, and other great stuff from the 70's. Then when you think it has a lot of variety, he starts mentioning how he is blown away by the talents of Lady Gaga or even Katy Perry and so it becomes a station with probably 40% country, 20% old rock and roll, 20% 70's soul, and 20% newer pop stuff.
I find myself leaving it on the station for long periods of time, I have range in my music tastes. It is when I am taking Chubs to school in the morning where I think he might not dig some George Jones in some real old school country song that I'll change it, but even then, my other five saved channels are 60's, love station (saved because it was the Christmas channel in December), the Caliente/tropical Spanish station, the Bridge (great station almost always playing a solid song), Margaritaville (love Jimmy Buffett), and the Garth station. I need something to replace the love station, maybe a jazz station, but I need that stupid piece of paper with the stations because I hate fidgeting through looking for what I want. I do have 3 clusters of six stations I could save, but I always seem to be in a rush. Maybe some lazy sunday I'll hang out in my truck and save some more stations and expand my horizons.
Saturday, February 18, 2017
2/18/17 What?
Trump is definitely something. I can't decide yet if he is all about the showmanship, trying to impress us with how smart he thinks he is, or if he can force his will simply by demanding it. Time and again he finds new ways to manipulate and pass down his views to us, the common American. He stated the news outlets were "fake news", and dammit if I don't hear that when talking to people when you tell them something they don't agree with. Now, I am getting conversations like "well, maybe immunizations do cause autism, what do the doctors know?" This stupid notion was started by Jenny McCarthy I guess because she couldn't believe someone as perfect as herself would have a kid with problems. Dr. Drew may be the only doctor I hear from on a regular basis, but between the doc and the model/actress, I'll believe the doc, thank you. I had also read an article that it was one doctor that falsified data in the 1980s that yielded some articles which claimed that immunizations could cause autism. It was traced back to a doctor/author and still we hear this, but hey "Fake news if we don't agree!!" Trump's logic as he has fed it to the masses will now have us questioning like "but what angle does Dr. Drew have for saying what he says?" WTF? He is a doctor, he swore to give the best advice he could.
I feel like we are watching Trump play checkers on a checkerboard with chess pieces. We keep expecting things to work a certain way, like the rook (castle) only moves vertical or horizontal, but to Trump it is a checker piece and it will go over 1 step diagonally.
Our own CIA does not trust him to leak sensitive information, presumably to his trusting BFF Putin. This is from an article from MSNBC, so Trumpeteers are going to say FAKE!!! It is becoming so we are all disconnected from one another, and maybe this is his genius. If we get bogged down because we live in reality and the Trumpeteers only listen to what they like, we won't be able to have real discussions. The man has been in charge one month, and I have already
mentioned him more than all the other presidents before, so again, stupid or not, we can't stop thinking about him.
Well, he's already started losing people he assigned, although with his spin, he didn't really like them. Hell of a way to get the boot, Michael Flynn, 30 years of service and "you're Fired!" I cannot imagine Kellyanne Conway lasting six months, the job is eating her up. She looks confused, contradicts herself in the same conversation, she is a hot mess. According to CNN, king of fake news, Trump regrets hiring Sean Spicer, as press secretary, so maybe he'll be next.
I feel like we are watching Trump play checkers on a checkerboard with chess pieces. We keep expecting things to work a certain way, like the rook (castle) only moves vertical or horizontal, but to Trump it is a checker piece and it will go over 1 step diagonally.
Our own CIA does not trust him to leak sensitive information, presumably to his trusting BFF Putin. This is from an article from MSNBC, so Trumpeteers are going to say FAKE!!! It is becoming so we are all disconnected from one another, and maybe this is his genius. If we get bogged down because we live in reality and the Trumpeteers only listen to what they like, we won't be able to have real discussions. The man has been in charge one month, and I have already
mentioned him more than all the other presidents before, so again, stupid or not, we can't stop thinking about him.
Well, he's already started losing people he assigned, although with his spin, he didn't really like them. Hell of a way to get the boot, Michael Flynn, 30 years of service and "you're Fired!" I cannot imagine Kellyanne Conway lasting six months, the job is eating her up. She looks confused, contradicts herself in the same conversation, she is a hot mess. According to CNN, king of fake news, Trump regrets hiring Sean Spicer, as press secretary, so maybe he'll be next.
Friday, February 17, 2017
2/17/17 AMD Stock?
Who knew these stocks might eventually pay back a little bit? I had really given up on their worth, I just didn't know of a way to sell the paper certificates I got from back in 1996-1998 or so.
When I started working here, we were AMD, making microprocessors and flash memory for computers and digital equipment. Things were great, I finally started making decent money, and decided to participate in the stock purchase plan. Every quarter, they would keep a certain percentage, that you agreed to and then they would purchase stock in your name at a 20% discount, and send you the certificate. This was slow and steady money, sometimes I'd get 17 shares, sometimes upwards of 30 shares. I never had a need for this money and just let it build for a few years. There was one time when we were going to go on vacation that I decided to sell 30 shares or something. If I remember correctly, I got around $1000, maybe more maybe less, but it made the trip more enjoyable.
Back then, we were competing with Intel, and our stock price went up and down depending on how we were doing in any given quarter. I believe when they announced the Athlon processor we were at our highest valuation, the stock price went to $98 or so and then split. All of a sudden, I had 400 shares valued at $45 each. There was speculation we were headed to $200-$300 and I stupidly believed this. I think I got visions of actually paying off my house with this stock money, if it wenet above $200. Of course, it tanked within a couple weeks and I held on for no real reason.
For years, the value had been anywhere from less than a dollar to $3-4 dollars. Since I now own about 300 shares, at best, that might be $1000. I haven't been able to sell them, considering at one point the same pieces of paper were worth $18,000. It just turns my stomach that I missed out.
Well, two weeks ago, I got a piece of paper I didn't even bother opening, but Wife did and she said this is about your shares of AMD. I said "yeah, who cares, is it up .50 cents or something?" She said "no, actually, look it's up to around $12." "Shit, I thought, that is not bad. It has gained another $1.30 in the last week. It is not what it once was, but $4000 could be nice, to pay off some credit cards or plan for our next trip to Disney. All I have to do now, is figure out where I can take these paper certificates and get them sold. Fewer and fewer places take them, but I'll figure it out.
When I started working here, we were AMD, making microprocessors and flash memory for computers and digital equipment. Things were great, I finally started making decent money, and decided to participate in the stock purchase plan. Every quarter, they would keep a certain percentage, that you agreed to and then they would purchase stock in your name at a 20% discount, and send you the certificate. This was slow and steady money, sometimes I'd get 17 shares, sometimes upwards of 30 shares. I never had a need for this money and just let it build for a few years. There was one time when we were going to go on vacation that I decided to sell 30 shares or something. If I remember correctly, I got around $1000, maybe more maybe less, but it made the trip more enjoyable.
Back then, we were competing with Intel, and our stock price went up and down depending on how we were doing in any given quarter. I believe when they announced the Athlon processor we were at our highest valuation, the stock price went to $98 or so and then split. All of a sudden, I had 400 shares valued at $45 each. There was speculation we were headed to $200-$300 and I stupidly believed this. I think I got visions of actually paying off my house with this stock money, if it wenet above $200. Of course, it tanked within a couple weeks and I held on for no real reason.
For years, the value had been anywhere from less than a dollar to $3-4 dollars. Since I now own about 300 shares, at best, that might be $1000. I haven't been able to sell them, considering at one point the same pieces of paper were worth $18,000. It just turns my stomach that I missed out.
Well, two weeks ago, I got a piece of paper I didn't even bother opening, but Wife did and she said this is about your shares of AMD. I said "yeah, who cares, is it up .50 cents or something?" She said "no, actually, look it's up to around $12." "Shit, I thought, that is not bad. It has gained another $1.30 in the last week. It is not what it once was, but $4000 could be nice, to pay off some credit cards or plan for our next trip to Disney. All I have to do now, is figure out where I can take these paper certificates and get them sold. Fewer and fewer places take them, but I'll figure it out.
Thursday, February 16, 2017
2/16/17 When In Rome?
What is it in some people that lack common sense, do they act the fool because they want all eyes on them or are they so clueless that they don't realize when they are out of bounds? A friend of mine decided to go out, because it was Valentine's Day, they were going to do it nice. The nicest place I know in town is Estancia Churrascaria, the Brazilian Steakhouse. We've taken her with us, and she loves the place too, so she told the boyfriend about it and they made reservations. I was impressed, you can easily walk out of there paying $60-70 a person. Wife has even said that it is not a meal, it is an experience. The gauchos take care of you, plates are exchanged at will if you are not eating everything. From the salad, which has 4-5 different cheeses and salmon and stuff I had not seen before, to the way they cook the meat and deliver it to the table on jumbo sword-like skewers, everything feels fancy.
Why act like I don't see it, the clientele is well to do and probably 95% white. I know showing up there, we are going to be on our best behavior, and go over behavior with the boys at least once, meaning I will not argue with either of you idiots in there, we will behave like a normal family, meaning I act like I am in charge, while Wife really does all the talking and schmoozing up front.
There are some places where you go to be seen, like the movies, or maybe a concert. Dress obscenely and put eyes on yourself and then wonder why and even get mad when people are staring. This is not one of those places, and dinner being at night, there is no goddamned excuse for your shitty baseball cap. If you insist on wearing a cap, have enough sense to take it off inside, I cannot believe this still has to be said. My friend put up one pic of them in the restaurant and all I could see was the white baseball cap, like a spotlight.
I checked with Boy, to make sure it isn't just that I have gotten old and he said the same thing I did. He even added, when we have gone there in suits, we take off our jackets, and we act like we are fancy. Boy also added, I would let the cap go at say an Olive Garden, that is not really fancy, but if the food costs more than a nice shirt, act with some class. It isn't hard, look around at the other people, and mimic them. That is what "When in Rome, do as the Romans do." I blame my friend, she is the female and really Wife keeps me in line as best she can. She needs to do the same thing. At a certain point, you're considered a grown up, or stick to the Wings and Things kind of places.
Why act like I don't see it, the clientele is well to do and probably 95% white. I know showing up there, we are going to be on our best behavior, and go over behavior with the boys at least once, meaning I will not argue with either of you idiots in there, we will behave like a normal family, meaning I act like I am in charge, while Wife really does all the talking and schmoozing up front.
There are some places where you go to be seen, like the movies, or maybe a concert. Dress obscenely and put eyes on yourself and then wonder why and even get mad when people are staring. This is not one of those places, and dinner being at night, there is no goddamned excuse for your shitty baseball cap. If you insist on wearing a cap, have enough sense to take it off inside, I cannot believe this still has to be said. My friend put up one pic of them in the restaurant and all I could see was the white baseball cap, like a spotlight.
I checked with Boy, to make sure it isn't just that I have gotten old and he said the same thing I did. He even added, when we have gone there in suits, we take off our jackets, and we act like we are fancy. Boy also added, I would let the cap go at say an Olive Garden, that is not really fancy, but if the food costs more than a nice shirt, act with some class. It isn't hard, look around at the other people, and mimic them. That is what "When in Rome, do as the Romans do." I blame my friend, she is the female and really Wife keeps me in line as best she can. She needs to do the same thing. At a certain point, you're considered a grown up, or stick to the Wings and Things kind of places.
Wednesday, February 15, 2017
2/15/17 Playing Defense All The TIme?
Why do some people insist on always defending what their side is? I don't even care what their side is, or that they defend, but in the juvenile way that they do it. This new president specially seems to be bringing out the animal in a lot of us. I have brought up for instance "I don't think it's cool that Trump gets to plug stuff for his daughter on national TV through Kellyanne Conway, that is ridiculous." Yeah but Clinton and Benghazi. These Simpletons are thinking they are winning arguments this way. First of all, Hillary is not president, second, I give two shits what happens in some third world village I can't locate on a map. Third, I finally read the Benghazi incident and all I got out of it is that as Secretary of State Hillary could have assigned more troops to guard the embassy. Benghazi is in Libya, why is anyone surprised and/or shocked the embassy was attacked? That goes so perfectly with "trouble in the middle east." This lovely chant has been jokingly making the rounds since Chevy Chase was doing Saturday Night Live in the late 70s. Whether 3 guards or 100, if they decide they are going to attack, people will die. We can't have an army protecting everyone, that costs money. Why is the count of diplomats different than the count of army personnel? They are all making their living in the same shitty sand pit.
Trump won, we on the left have all accepted it, how about people on the right stop defending by bringing up history of candidates that didn't win. Defend by explaining why they keep doing stupid shit and stay on point. This signing of documents at Mar-A-Lago, his country club where you have to pay $200,000 a year to join, needs a big What The Fuck?!?! Instead of putting his food down and going to another room where it would be more private, Trump and Japan's Prime Minister kept dining amongst the rich elite and the waiters kept coming with salads, then main courses. The talks were concerning North Korea and the use of rockets they are not supposed to be using. Papers were eventually signed by the light of other's cell phones, none of this was a security risk? Defend this, without bringing up Hillary, because I don't care about the past. Just at least agree this guy is kind of a dodo.
On a more local level, Wife gets like this quick. If I hear my Dad is messing around those casinos in Crystal, I usually go off on a little "dammit, Idiot Man is going to get busted one of these days, and then what?" She'll sit there and agree with me that those casinos are a nuisance, at the very least. But, the second I bring up anything negative about her family, even if it is just conversation between us, she goes on the defense. I brought up that I was worried about her sister going down the same path as another family member who is now addicted to pain meds. She hurt her shoulder, at work, and I just don't like people using the opioids, they are too addicting. I got prescribed Vicodin after a surgery, but I chose not to use it, Ibuprofin did the job just fine. Of course, Wife's response is "you don't know the pain she is under, you just sit on your fat ass at work for twelve hours, it's different." I tried one more comparing my shoulder and every time I try lifting above 300 pounds, it feels like I have a tear or something in my shoulder that hurts as I move up and down. Of course, Wife "that is not the same as cutting this and or that for ten hours, and I need to be more understanding, we all feel different amounts of pain...." I finally conceded, fine, whatever, not my problem if she gets addicted. This is what I get for listening and paying attention and then pretending to care. Better to just sit and put headphones on.
Trump won, we on the left have all accepted it, how about people on the right stop defending by bringing up history of candidates that didn't win. Defend by explaining why they keep doing stupid shit and stay on point. This signing of documents at Mar-A-Lago, his country club where you have to pay $200,000 a year to join, needs a big What The Fuck?!?! Instead of putting his food down and going to another room where it would be more private, Trump and Japan's Prime Minister kept dining amongst the rich elite and the waiters kept coming with salads, then main courses. The talks were concerning North Korea and the use of rockets they are not supposed to be using. Papers were eventually signed by the light of other's cell phones, none of this was a security risk? Defend this, without bringing up Hillary, because I don't care about the past. Just at least agree this guy is kind of a dodo.
On a more local level, Wife gets like this quick. If I hear my Dad is messing around those casinos in Crystal, I usually go off on a little "dammit, Idiot Man is going to get busted one of these days, and then what?" She'll sit there and agree with me that those casinos are a nuisance, at the very least. But, the second I bring up anything negative about her family, even if it is just conversation between us, she goes on the defense. I brought up that I was worried about her sister going down the same path as another family member who is now addicted to pain meds. She hurt her shoulder, at work, and I just don't like people using the opioids, they are too addicting. I got prescribed Vicodin after a surgery, but I chose not to use it, Ibuprofin did the job just fine. Of course, Wife's response is "you don't know the pain she is under, you just sit on your fat ass at work for twelve hours, it's different." I tried one more comparing my shoulder and every time I try lifting above 300 pounds, it feels like I have a tear or something in my shoulder that hurts as I move up and down. Of course, Wife "that is not the same as cutting this and or that for ten hours, and I need to be more understanding, we all feel different amounts of pain...." I finally conceded, fine, whatever, not my problem if she gets addicted. This is what I get for listening and paying attention and then pretending to care. Better to just sit and put headphones on.
Tuesday, February 14, 2017
2/14/17 Love Is In The Air? (poem)
Love Is In The Air
February is the month of love
For those of you smart fellas that don't want a baby, don't forget that glove.
I am glad the month is actually rather short
as I get older I don't care as much whether I pork.
But for some with a double life, the celebration begins the previous night
as I am just reading about Mistress day, the other woman wants to be made to feel right.
I am not judging, this works for some
although I like to talk like I do, I don't have enough cum.
Fuck this getting older, I used to be bolder
now, I'd rather laugh at memes on my phone than bring her closer and hold her.
Cheers to y'all men double dipping starting on the thirteen
make sure you can rally with your wife on the real day, none of that old routine.
Wife always says for any holiday, make the boys feel included
a heart shaped box of chocolates works well, I have concluded
The other lady in my life, I mostly send her flowers
but I know my mom, she prefers Godiva chocolates they seem to give her powers.
As for Wife, the lady that has mastered the phrase "I want nothing"
I can never tell if she is just bluffing.
Since she is three hours away during the week
trying to do anything during the week would be bleak.
Instead I'll save me a buck and get her something the day after
it's all the same and spending too much money will only chafe her.
I scoff at the people who are new to dating
choosing restaurant's based solely on their rating
I would surely feel the price of the meal grating
the valet parking downtown is only for hating
But we do it for the beast which is pulsating
as it finally hopes at the end of the night to be mating.
Happy Valentine's Day to all the people in my life
I love you all, specially you, Wife.
Happy Valentine's Day to all the people in my life
I love you all, specially you, Wife.
Monday, February 13, 2017
2/13/17 I Have Never Liked Sundays?
I have never liked Sunday nights. As far back as when I was going to UT and I used to go to Crystal City more often, Sundays meant coming back to Austin and being alone. Fast forward a couple years and Girlfriend has become Wife, but she has to work on Monday mornings. Since I ended up in nightshift over twenty years ago, I used to be off Sunday, Monday and Tuesday, but what was the fun, when your partner works when you are off? Over the years, I finally was able to move my working days to Monday through Friday which is what everybody works, but since my hours are at night, it still meant that I could stay up Sunday nights, and again, I find myself with no companions, so I must still say it sucks, a little bit. With Wife working three hours away, there we are every Sunday afternoon, she does not like driving at night and I don't blame her, but that means she leaves around 3-4 right now to get home as it is getting dark, as the days get longer she may stay later, but eventually she still has to go, even in the summer.
To add insult to injury, as they say, this week I start my training days, so I am off Monday nights, I even forgot that four hours ago, when I came up to my bedroom to try to write this before midnight and go to bed early. I woke up at 2:30am, scared and still not written more than what you see now. Boy woke me around midnight, he had worked a double shift Saturday and Sunday, so he was not around the last two days. Saturday, he went in and stayed at work until 1am, and Sunday he went in at 11am, and worked until midnight. I feel bad that he has to work the shitty weekend hours, but he is off during the week to do whatever for school, and this semester he doesn't have classes Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Plus, he is young, I have worked a twelve hour shift over twenty years, he can do two days and bounce right back.
Getting back to me, I should be fully trained in a month or so, and it can't come soon enough, as the big contract that has me snooping around chemistry is supposed to start sending work this week. The practice run took us over four hours to digest and prep the samples, meaning to take the samples and turn them into liquid form from solid BBs. Thursday was the first time I had done that, and it was intense. Drop a couple drops of acid from measured out vials onto a known mass of BBs and wait on the reaction to settle down. We keep pouring from the acid mixture, until all 30-40ml are poured in, up until the last bit is poured, there will be a very aggressive plume of orange smoke coming from the reaction, thankfully it is done in a vacuum hood, so it sucks all the smoke and smells out. This work only gets you to the analysis part which will then take another 3-4 hours. Five samples does not sound like much, but we double the samples, to repeat the data, add in a baseline every 2-3 samples, so we end up with about 15 samples, which then need another 5 samples for a calibration curve and 4 samples for checks we do on the tool every six samples, plus a blank sample in between each sample, and we double everything because we run it at two different power settings, so 5 samples turns into almost 100 runs in the ICPMS tool, and that can take 5-6 hours to run through the tool.
If the customer promised 5 samples a day, this is work enough for a whole new employee, but we are going to try and just fit the work in with the crew that we have, considering they were almost overwhelmed last year when just their previous customers were sending too much work.
I am hoping to be swimming in so much overtime, that even my boring Sunday nights that I have always hated will be turned into money making evenings. This would be a way to turn my lemons into lemonade.
To add insult to injury, as they say, this week I start my training days, so I am off Monday nights, I even forgot that four hours ago, when I came up to my bedroom to try to write this before midnight and go to bed early. I woke up at 2:30am, scared and still not written more than what you see now. Boy woke me around midnight, he had worked a double shift Saturday and Sunday, so he was not around the last two days. Saturday, he went in and stayed at work until 1am, and Sunday he went in at 11am, and worked until midnight. I feel bad that he has to work the shitty weekend hours, but he is off during the week to do whatever for school, and this semester he doesn't have classes Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Plus, he is young, I have worked a twelve hour shift over twenty years, he can do two days and bounce right back.
Getting back to me, I should be fully trained in a month or so, and it can't come soon enough, as the big contract that has me snooping around chemistry is supposed to start sending work this week. The practice run took us over four hours to digest and prep the samples, meaning to take the samples and turn them into liquid form from solid BBs. Thursday was the first time I had done that, and it was intense. Drop a couple drops of acid from measured out vials onto a known mass of BBs and wait on the reaction to settle down. We keep pouring from the acid mixture, until all 30-40ml are poured in, up until the last bit is poured, there will be a very aggressive plume of orange smoke coming from the reaction, thankfully it is done in a vacuum hood, so it sucks all the smoke and smells out. This work only gets you to the analysis part which will then take another 3-4 hours. Five samples does not sound like much, but we double the samples, to repeat the data, add in a baseline every 2-3 samples, so we end up with about 15 samples, which then need another 5 samples for a calibration curve and 4 samples for checks we do on the tool every six samples, plus a blank sample in between each sample, and we double everything because we run it at two different power settings, so 5 samples turns into almost 100 runs in the ICPMS tool, and that can take 5-6 hours to run through the tool.
If the customer promised 5 samples a day, this is work enough for a whole new employee, but we are going to try and just fit the work in with the crew that we have, considering they were almost overwhelmed last year when just their previous customers were sending too much work.
I am hoping to be swimming in so much overtime, that even my boring Sunday nights that I have always hated will be turned into money making evenings. This would be a way to turn my lemons into lemonade.
Sunday, February 12, 2017
2/12/17 Loose Dogs?
We drove to San Antonio Saturday to celebrate Wife's birthday with her folks who cooked basically a thanksgiving feast with turkey, ham, stuffing, mashed potatoes, and so many other things. I decided I would nap on the way, and I woke just as we were driving into the neighborhood where my in-laws live. I noticed everything looked real clean, like maybe after a rain, but without people jogging or biking like they seem to do non-stop here in Austin, it also seemed a little post apocalyptic. I said to Wife nowadays you don't even see dogs running wild like we used to growing up.
Let me be clear, growing up I absolutely hated everyone who owned a dog and let them run and chase after people. I refused to walk home after school because there was a house two houses in with some sort of mix of greyhound and mutt. He would begin the barking. then on the other side of the street there was an old lady with a fenced yard, but had like four dogs that would bark from one end of the yard to the other if you walked by. Finally, across the street and over one from us was a tiny Chihuahua mutt mix that would bark like it was mad at the world. It was so stressful to get home. On the other side, we were probably three or four blocks from the library but there were a couple of houses with big dogs. They only got out occasionally, but they were big and scary with a low rumble of a RUFF!! I wish I could go and split these dog owners asses with a bootkick. These freaking owners didn't really care about their dogs, they would just let them terrorize the neighborhood.
I am not sure if this is a small town versus big town issue, but we can walk around our neighborhood and not see a dog and I love that. I guess it might still be a problem, my brother had to terminate a great big intimidating dog that had come onto his property and wouldn't leave a couple years ago. He was scared for his kid's safety and he screamed at it and it wouldn't leave so he took care of it.
I still remember breaking up with my first girlfriend in town which was past the library and having to walk home in 8th grade before I was allowed to drive alone, this was before cell phones, and I just remember thinking walk in the middle of the road, quietly and briskly, so as not to be noticed by the dogs. I got by, but my heart races thinking about that night. It was sometimes better during the summer when it was 105-107 degrees in the middle of the day to walk to the library because the dogs were smarter than us and wouldn't come out.
My mom always says we should get a dog for the boys, but really, dogs kind of suck. They pee and shit all over the place. If you have a carpet, your house is going to have the smell of dog pee. Mom has a beautiful and even well behaved dachshund and we almost bought one where she did, but a couple of weeks of Chubs hanging out at my Mom's when the school year started and he got over his want of a dog. Chubs had originally gone with Wife when she started her job three hours away. They were too much work for him.
Let me be clear, growing up I absolutely hated everyone who owned a dog and let them run and chase after people. I refused to walk home after school because there was a house two houses in with some sort of mix of greyhound and mutt. He would begin the barking. then on the other side of the street there was an old lady with a fenced yard, but had like four dogs that would bark from one end of the yard to the other if you walked by. Finally, across the street and over one from us was a tiny Chihuahua mutt mix that would bark like it was mad at the world. It was so stressful to get home. On the other side, we were probably three or four blocks from the library but there were a couple of houses with big dogs. They only got out occasionally, but they were big and scary with a low rumble of a RUFF!! I wish I could go and split these dog owners asses with a bootkick. These freaking owners didn't really care about their dogs, they would just let them terrorize the neighborhood.
I am not sure if this is a small town versus big town issue, but we can walk around our neighborhood and not see a dog and I love that. I guess it might still be a problem, my brother had to terminate a great big intimidating dog that had come onto his property and wouldn't leave a couple years ago. He was scared for his kid's safety and he screamed at it and it wouldn't leave so he took care of it.
I still remember breaking up with my first girlfriend in town which was past the library and having to walk home in 8th grade before I was allowed to drive alone, this was before cell phones, and I just remember thinking walk in the middle of the road, quietly and briskly, so as not to be noticed by the dogs. I got by, but my heart races thinking about that night. It was sometimes better during the summer when it was 105-107 degrees in the middle of the day to walk to the library because the dogs were smarter than us and wouldn't come out.
My mom always says we should get a dog for the boys, but really, dogs kind of suck. They pee and shit all over the place. If you have a carpet, your house is going to have the smell of dog pee. Mom has a beautiful and even well behaved dachshund and we almost bought one where she did, but a couple of weeks of Chubs hanging out at my Mom's when the school year started and he got over his want of a dog. Chubs had originally gone with Wife when she started her job three hours away. They were too much work for him.
Friday, February 10, 2017
2/11/17 Two Kinds Of Bikers In Austin?
We must live close to the Veloway or something. Every day, we get these Lance Armstrong wanna be bikers cruising on our cross street. Not only do they have the expensive looking bikes, but their outfits even match amongst the little pelotons (groups of riders who ride tightly together to draft each other and save energy). What the hell? Somebody is sponsoring these guys to run around on the roads and slow people who actually go to work? By the way, the Veloway is a 3 mile long paved bicycle track that cuts through native terrain, it was built in the early 90's and funded by the Texas Parks and Wildlife. I would recommend these guys stay on the trails, but maybe it gets boring.
There was a time my fat ass was 100 pounds lighter and I used to bike daily, but I never got on the road. I would take my bike to the trail around Lady Bird Lake, which used to be called Town Lake, or to McKinney Falls Park, or on a few other trails, biking on the streets with and against car traffic is suicidal. Sometimes, I get scared by a crazy driver and I am sitting in a 6000 pound truck, 4-5 feet off the ground. These bikers have 4-5 pounds of carbon fiber bike and trust that the people driving around them are all paying attention and not drunk, high, playing on their phones, or beating their kids with a chancla as they drive.
I have noticed that on more and more streets we are cutting lanes for these guys to enjoy their free time. When are we going to smarten up and make them pay a fee, maybe get a license plate for their bikes? If there is one group that can afford a little tax, it's these guys. Those are not $100 bikes from Walmart, those are cycles from high end makers in the $4000-$12,000 range. It was one thing when we just had to drive around them, and it always sucks because they may be going twenty, but we could very easily be going 40, but no, and they have an equal right to the lane, so it goes that they should be licensed and tagged. Why do boats need tags and licenses? For the money that generates. It's the same thing, a leisure activity.
Anyways, the other biker lives on the opposite side of the spectrum. The guy popped for DWI, and now has to get around on a Schwinn. His bike is not state of the art, hell, sometimes it's a kids bike or even a girls bike, this dude does not have many options. I don't see as many of these guys as the other, but why else did the city busses go through the effort of installing bike carriers in front if not for these awesome guys with no self control? I like an alcoholic drink now and then, but I only drink if I am home, there is no need to go out and pay for $10 drinks, I ain't getting laid from that.
Maybe I'm a little jealous, I should just start biking again, it was such a great exercise and I loved being outside with no worries on my mind, other than falling. Some day, I will change my schedule and get my life back in order. I want to be like those hipsters that have time to sit in cafes, sip coffee in the morning, bike in the afternoon, but then again, I am sort of describing an unemployed person... never mind.
There was a time my fat ass was 100 pounds lighter and I used to bike daily, but I never got on the road. I would take my bike to the trail around Lady Bird Lake, which used to be called Town Lake, or to McKinney Falls Park, or on a few other trails, biking on the streets with and against car traffic is suicidal. Sometimes, I get scared by a crazy driver and I am sitting in a 6000 pound truck, 4-5 feet off the ground. These bikers have 4-5 pounds of carbon fiber bike and trust that the people driving around them are all paying attention and not drunk, high, playing on their phones, or beating their kids with a chancla as they drive.
I have noticed that on more and more streets we are cutting lanes for these guys to enjoy their free time. When are we going to smarten up and make them pay a fee, maybe get a license plate for their bikes? If there is one group that can afford a little tax, it's these guys. Those are not $100 bikes from Walmart, those are cycles from high end makers in the $4000-$12,000 range. It was one thing when we just had to drive around them, and it always sucks because they may be going twenty, but we could very easily be going 40, but no, and they have an equal right to the lane, so it goes that they should be licensed and tagged. Why do boats need tags and licenses? For the money that generates. It's the same thing, a leisure activity.
Anyways, the other biker lives on the opposite side of the spectrum. The guy popped for DWI, and now has to get around on a Schwinn. His bike is not state of the art, hell, sometimes it's a kids bike or even a girls bike, this dude does not have many options. I don't see as many of these guys as the other, but why else did the city busses go through the effort of installing bike carriers in front if not for these awesome guys with no self control? I like an alcoholic drink now and then, but I only drink if I am home, there is no need to go out and pay for $10 drinks, I ain't getting laid from that.
Maybe I'm a little jealous, I should just start biking again, it was such a great exercise and I loved being outside with no worries on my mind, other than falling. Some day, I will change my schedule and get my life back in order. I want to be like those hipsters that have time to sit in cafes, sip coffee in the morning, bike in the afternoon, but then again, I am sort of describing an unemployed person... never mind.
2/10/17 Wife Is Turning 39, Again?
Happy Birthday Big Girl, love you. Once again, it is Wife's special day. As she told me a few years ago, she will be 39 again and again and again. We are probably going to have to wait until Saturday night to celebrate since she is living in Crystal City while working in La Pryor and won't be getting home until late in the day. She mentioned meeting in San Antonio, having Chubs and myself ride with Boy and his crew, then Chubs and I can ride with her after we eat somewhere with her family. I don't really like the idea of putting Boy in a position of having to bring his friends with us, although they do seem to get together every Friday, I don't want to commit and then have Boy not bring anyone and then he has to drive back alone.
I told her it would be better to wait until Saturday, so we don't have to rely on Boy's friends, Boy then told me he had booked himself to working double shifts Saturday and Sunday, so he is only available to join us Friday night. We might just end up going to eat Friday night somewhere nice here in Austin, just the four of us. One thing is for sure, I have been told "no purses" for birthday gifts. She actually said don't buy anything, but specifically no more purses. She still has two new ones she got in Disney she hasn't had a chance to break in. I am always at a loss as to what to give her,
I have to say I bit off a bit more than I realized, when we decided it would be a good idea for her to take a job out of town. I figured with my night shift schedule, we only sleep together on the weekends, and she is here on the weekends, but there is so much more she brings to my life than my sleeping partner I didn't take into account. She is our family doctor, I love how she will take over and baby us anytime we feel a little sick. Always quick to make a "caldo" (soup) with cabbage and her other voodoo stuff. We got sick a few weeks ago, and I spent my time leaning against the door jamb not wanting to touch Chubs even though Wife would've gotten in there hugging and kissing him to make him feel better, she is just a better human than me. She is also my perfect companion when we have nothing to do. Sometimes I just want to lay in bed and read on the computer and she sits in the room and watches TV, not really doing the same thing, but I still throw out my smart ass comments when I hear the cheesy dialogue of the crappy shows she watches and even if it's her shows, she'll agree with me, but tells me to shut up anyways.
Even when we have nothing better to do but watch TV, she always lets me choose what to watch first, she records plenty of shows for herself, but she watches that when I am not around. She puts us in front of herself and maybe I didn't realize this so much, she is really pretty great. We may be stuck doing what we are doing and maybe she continues working over there for another year or two, but I will certainly be glad when she is able to come back. I can keep us going here, nobody is going to starve to death, the house will stay clean-ish, but we won't really be living the high life until Miss Bossy Pants gets that big butt back living under her own roof.
Here's hoping you are terrorizing those feeble minds that oppose you at work, you are on the side of right, keep up the good work. Love you.
I told her it would be better to wait until Saturday, so we don't have to rely on Boy's friends, Boy then told me he had booked himself to working double shifts Saturday and Sunday, so he is only available to join us Friday night. We might just end up going to eat Friday night somewhere nice here in Austin, just the four of us. One thing is for sure, I have been told "no purses" for birthday gifts. She actually said don't buy anything, but specifically no more purses. She still has two new ones she got in Disney she hasn't had a chance to break in. I am always at a loss as to what to give her,
I have to say I bit off a bit more than I realized, when we decided it would be a good idea for her to take a job out of town. I figured with my night shift schedule, we only sleep together on the weekends, and she is here on the weekends, but there is so much more she brings to my life than my sleeping partner I didn't take into account. She is our family doctor, I love how she will take over and baby us anytime we feel a little sick. Always quick to make a "caldo" (soup) with cabbage and her other voodoo stuff. We got sick a few weeks ago, and I spent my time leaning against the door jamb not wanting to touch Chubs even though Wife would've gotten in there hugging and kissing him to make him feel better, she is just a better human than me. She is also my perfect companion when we have nothing to do. Sometimes I just want to lay in bed and read on the computer and she sits in the room and watches TV, not really doing the same thing, but I still throw out my smart ass comments when I hear the cheesy dialogue of the crappy shows she watches and even if it's her shows, she'll agree with me, but tells me to shut up anyways.
Even when we have nothing better to do but watch TV, she always lets me choose what to watch first, she records plenty of shows for herself, but she watches that when I am not around. She puts us in front of herself and maybe I didn't realize this so much, she is really pretty great. We may be stuck doing what we are doing and maybe she continues working over there for another year or two, but I will certainly be glad when she is able to come back. I can keep us going here, nobody is going to starve to death, the house will stay clean-ish, but we won't really be living the high life until Miss Bossy Pants gets that big butt back living under her own roof.
Here's hoping you are terrorizing those feeble minds that oppose you at work, you are on the side of right, keep up the good work. Love you.
Thursday, February 9, 2017
2/9/17 I Profess A Process To Success So Suck This?
Last year sucked, financially, there is no way around it. Because we changed companies of who prints our checks and stuff, I did not have a full tally for the year, but dammit, when I finally put the two W-2s together I could barely believe how much less money I made. I was closer to 2008, when I was furloughed and didn't work for the equivalent of three months, than any of the previous sixteen years or so. I had a feeling it was something like that, so a couple months ago I started doing some ground work and I figured that the best place to be is where we are the busiest. That turns out to be the Chemistry group. Three years ago I had started training over there, but then they hired someone and I was sent back to imaging. That person did not end up doing the same thing I was doing, so there was still a void.
I love imaging and I was quite happy back when we had a customer who was drowning us in work, but that just meant we could practically work as much OT as we could handle. The part that sucks is that we haven't been that busy in about two years. We stay busy enough, but not to the point where they are going to ask me to come in on a Friday. So, I threw my hat in the ring and offered myself again to chemistry. I am trying to learn everything I can promptly so if they change their minds, I will have the knowledge and they won't have a choice but to include me.
The best part is that I heard they had won a new contract, which means a regular volume of work from a new customer. My trainer was saying they are going to be sending 5 samples a day, which must be analyzed within three days. Considering they get dumped on all the time and they had a period where they were inundated with work before this contract, it should bode well here pretty soon. My hope is to ride a wave of OT into the summer and fall, hoping it lasts awhile. My shift has been changed for the next few/couple of months, so I can get more 1 on 1 time with my trainer, and I hope that between having me sit at home on Mondays or letting me come in and do some OT, I will be allowed to work OT to keep up with the hectic demands of this new customer.
I might not be able to match the craziness of a couple years ago when I seemed to be working non-stop, but I need some more working hours. The only reason I work a compressed shift and night time is because I am a whore for the almighty dollar.
I love imaging and I was quite happy back when we had a customer who was drowning us in work, but that just meant we could practically work as much OT as we could handle. The part that sucks is that we haven't been that busy in about two years. We stay busy enough, but not to the point where they are going to ask me to come in on a Friday. So, I threw my hat in the ring and offered myself again to chemistry. I am trying to learn everything I can promptly so if they change their minds, I will have the knowledge and they won't have a choice but to include me.
The best part is that I heard they had won a new contract, which means a regular volume of work from a new customer. My trainer was saying they are going to be sending 5 samples a day, which must be analyzed within three days. Considering they get dumped on all the time and they had a period where they were inundated with work before this contract, it should bode well here pretty soon. My hope is to ride a wave of OT into the summer and fall, hoping it lasts awhile. My shift has been changed for the next few/couple of months, so I can get more 1 on 1 time with my trainer, and I hope that between having me sit at home on Mondays or letting me come in and do some OT, I will be allowed to work OT to keep up with the hectic demands of this new customer.
I might not be able to match the craziness of a couple years ago when I seemed to be working non-stop, but I need some more working hours. The only reason I work a compressed shift and night time is because I am a whore for the almighty dollar.
Wednesday, February 8, 2017
2/8/17 Who Dies Him Or Us?
Last week as I was driving Chubs to school, a black guy about danced around some cars to the middle of the road and stopped about a foot away from my truck. All I had time was to say what the F***?! Maybe out of guilt or adrenaline, I started a conversation with Chubs about what would he have done. Do we mow down the idiot on the road or swerve and for sure crash into one of the many cars right next to us? We both came to the conclusion that between him or us, we mow a fool down, specially if that is what he wants to do so early in the morning. This kind of pissed me off, not because I hit him, but if we had, I would have to let Chubs view a disgusting mess.
What do you do when people want to take themselves out this way? How come police officers constantly put themselves at risk when an idiot wants to end himself? Put a hole in the sum bitch and be done with it. As Carolla would say, 5% of the people cause problems for the rest of us to deal with. 95% of us never have a need for a police officer, but because of these few assholes, we get to live in this society where we are constantly monitored.
The same black guy was out there again this morning. He wasn't acting the fool, I could see he was just trying to cross the street, but he certainly is not doing it in a very smart way. First, if anything, he is jaywalking, but I don't blame him, the end of the street is kind of far, on feet. I figure he is crossing to get on one of the bus routes headed into the city. What if he is accidentally run over, traffic is fierce in this location, there is a curve and people are racing to jockey for position before the school zone? Who would be at fault, the walker for taking too many chances, or the driver for running him over. I don't think there is a winner either way. Part of the problem is this need to build high rise apartments in every empty lot. There are just too many people in the city. Whether walking or driving, there are always tons of people moving about.
This very thing actually happened to a family member, driving back home to Crystal, from San Antonio, at night. Some lost soul intent on ending himself, ran out on the freeway naked, in the middle of the night. My family member never had a chance to react, he just braced for the impact and then had to sit around as medical and police officers showed up. He had no fault, and has never mentioned it since, but I am sure it sits in his consciousness and bothers him in some regard.
What do you do when people want to take themselves out this way? How come police officers constantly put themselves at risk when an idiot wants to end himself? Put a hole in the sum bitch and be done with it. As Carolla would say, 5% of the people cause problems for the rest of us to deal with. 95% of us never have a need for a police officer, but because of these few assholes, we get to live in this society where we are constantly monitored.
The same black guy was out there again this morning. He wasn't acting the fool, I could see he was just trying to cross the street, but he certainly is not doing it in a very smart way. First, if anything, he is jaywalking, but I don't blame him, the end of the street is kind of far, on feet. I figure he is crossing to get on one of the bus routes headed into the city. What if he is accidentally run over, traffic is fierce in this location, there is a curve and people are racing to jockey for position before the school zone? Who would be at fault, the walker for taking too many chances, or the driver for running him over. I don't think there is a winner either way. Part of the problem is this need to build high rise apartments in every empty lot. There are just too many people in the city. Whether walking or driving, there are always tons of people moving about.
This very thing actually happened to a family member, driving back home to Crystal, from San Antonio, at night. Some lost soul intent on ending himself, ran out on the freeway naked, in the middle of the night. My family member never had a chance to react, he just braced for the impact and then had to sit around as medical and police officers showed up. He had no fault, and has never mentioned it since, but I am sure it sits in his consciousness and bothers him in some regard.
Monday, February 6, 2017
2/7/17 The House That Loved Too Much?
I am going to tell y'all a secret which no one will believe, but here goes. I gew up in a house that was alive, ALIVE I TELL YA!!! When my parents would look away we could go into secret compartments and pop out in different areas of the property. I never thought it was weird, when you grow up like this, it just seems normal.
I don't think my folks ever even knew about this, and they still wouldn't understand it. The only way a house can stay young and strong is to take the personality of the youngest member of the family. The best times we ever had was when it was just my brother and I and Hous-y. Hous-y never wanted us to get hurt, so if we told him we were going to crash into one of the walls, he would make a portal and let us fall through to the next room. This only worked when no one was looking. Unfortunately, we were rarely left alone, but our sitters never paid that much attention. We could dive head first into the closet and a tunnel would open to where we would pop up in the old storage shed behind the house. That was where we had our best conversations with hous-y. My brother and I would climb up into the rafters and the wood would tell us it had been grown by a cemetary and the trees had somehow absorbed some of the souls through the roots that reached over. When the trees were eventually cut, the souls were stuck in the lumber, and once it was cut and mixed and matched, there was not really a soul left, just enough living energy to conglomerate and form a living shell.
Because Hous-y feared being burned or destroyed if the adults knew of this burdensome secret, it would only occasionally drop its guard if the kids seemed really cool. I have never even mentioned this to Wife or anyone, mostly because they would think I was making it up, but something happened this weekend, and I feel I must speak my mind, if just to calm my mom down. Hous-y is a good guy, he would never hurt any of us, and that is the most important part.
This weekend, when Wife got to my Mom's, Mom told Wife that my brother's boy suddenly disappeared for about twenty to thirty minutes. They looked everywhere and the child was not to be seen. If I can fathom a guess, he went into the tunnel that leads from the closet in the middle room of the house to the shed in the back. Because the kid only weighs 40 pounds, he probably got stuck. You need some heft to fall all the way through. If not, you will be doing some climbing, Hous-y will help, but he can only do so much. After panicking, my Mom thought along the right line, that maybe the house had eaten him, but the reality is my nephew probably just discovered the magic of Hous-y since he is the youngest member of the family. My brother never trusted Hous-y, but I'm sure he knows where his boy was, he just threw a spectacle because we swore we would not let on publicly about Hous-y. Well, his boy will soon discover the cave beneath the house, I am curious if the toothless dragon still lives. I will wait and look into my nephew's eyes and that will tell me how much he has discovered, on his own. If Bro-bro was always too scared of Dragonus, maybe he should get his finger out his butt and watch his son better, for he knows that even when you are alone in Mom's house, we are never Alone.
I don't think my folks ever even knew about this, and they still wouldn't understand it. The only way a house can stay young and strong is to take the personality of the youngest member of the family. The best times we ever had was when it was just my brother and I and Hous-y. Hous-y never wanted us to get hurt, so if we told him we were going to crash into one of the walls, he would make a portal and let us fall through to the next room. This only worked when no one was looking. Unfortunately, we were rarely left alone, but our sitters never paid that much attention. We could dive head first into the closet and a tunnel would open to where we would pop up in the old storage shed behind the house. That was where we had our best conversations with hous-y. My brother and I would climb up into the rafters and the wood would tell us it had been grown by a cemetary and the trees had somehow absorbed some of the souls through the roots that reached over. When the trees were eventually cut, the souls were stuck in the lumber, and once it was cut and mixed and matched, there was not really a soul left, just enough living energy to conglomerate and form a living shell.
Because Hous-y feared being burned or destroyed if the adults knew of this burdensome secret, it would only occasionally drop its guard if the kids seemed really cool. I have never even mentioned this to Wife or anyone, mostly because they would think I was making it up, but something happened this weekend, and I feel I must speak my mind, if just to calm my mom down. Hous-y is a good guy, he would never hurt any of us, and that is the most important part.
This weekend, when Wife got to my Mom's, Mom told Wife that my brother's boy suddenly disappeared for about twenty to thirty minutes. They looked everywhere and the child was not to be seen. If I can fathom a guess, he went into the tunnel that leads from the closet in the middle room of the house to the shed in the back. Because the kid only weighs 40 pounds, he probably got stuck. You need some heft to fall all the way through. If not, you will be doing some climbing, Hous-y will help, but he can only do so much. After panicking, my Mom thought along the right line, that maybe the house had eaten him, but the reality is my nephew probably just discovered the magic of Hous-y since he is the youngest member of the family. My brother never trusted Hous-y, but I'm sure he knows where his boy was, he just threw a spectacle because we swore we would not let on publicly about Hous-y. Well, his boy will soon discover the cave beneath the house, I am curious if the toothless dragon still lives. I will wait and look into my nephew's eyes and that will tell me how much he has discovered, on his own. If Bro-bro was always too scared of Dragonus, maybe he should get his finger out his butt and watch his son better, for he knows that even when you are alone in Mom's house, we are never Alone.
Sunday, February 5, 2017
2/6/17 Dad's Birthday
I don't want to make this a sappy blog, so I'll skip a year or so between mentioning birthdays, but it is my Dad's birthday once again. He is holding up well enough, still has all his organs and limbs attached and gets around with a "chingado" here and a "chingado" there. Sometimes, he can be frustrating in that he'll travel three hours and come to Austin, but won't go another 3-4 miles to go eat at a nice restaurant. He is constantly worried about eating too late and getting a high sugar reading in the morning for his diabetes, but the man will sit there, sermonizing while popping Sneakers and Hershey bars from the candy bowl!!
He is now fully addicted to small time gambling. The feds came to Crystal City, disrupted all the illegal activity and took away the guilty parties, but the assholes left the casinos intact and running. They told the people "stay away, we'll be back." That kind of threat loses its flavor when after a couple weeks nothing happened. As it turns out, Dad socializes there with a good percentage of his family. He mentions he sees two of his surviving brothers there and even some cousins are there daily. He has a need, like a junkie, to go and spend five dollars or so daily. He has that cap out loud, but my mom says he will snag any loose change, other than what his smokes require. That is another vice he will ride into the ground, but a man approaching 70 is not going to change his ways.
The whole family says he is an ornery old man, I only see him about once a month, so I take his complaining as the mumblings of an old man. He did show me some bite a couple weeks ago. I told him I was going to sell the boat at whatever price I could get. We mostly wanted to stop paying the monthly fee of having it in a storage facility. He said he expected his share of the money when I sold it. My first reaction was "what?!" and laughter thinking he was joking. We did buy the boat with a twelve year note and my folks did take over the boat payment for maybe 3 or 4 years, I don't remember more than that, at a certain point when I considered getting rid of it. After a few years, I wanted to try again to get it running and using it. We never have had the time required to justify owning a boat and my Dad is just not strong enough to do many of the things required to use the boat on his own. His logic was he had paid $155 a month for even three years, he was owed something like $5000. I laughed and said I am hoping for $1000, total. My mom just said he's crazy, ignore him. He looked at me with his hand out, like I had already sold the boat and he was in the right. When he realized he wasn't getting anything, he just called me a scammer and a liar. I take it as a little humor on his part, but maybe he is nutty that way.
Oh well, I like a feisty old man. I like that he still sneaks out of the house to go to his casinos and get his human interaction on. As a retired old man, I understand that he needs to get out and see people his age. Just talking to my Mom anytime, day or night, their house is full of grandkids, and that would have me climbing the walls too. I don't agree with gambling even a dollar away in an illegal place, but when the whole city seems involved and participating, what are you going to do? I am happy something keeps him moving on his own two feet and looking forward to something like the great pay out that is around the corner. Happy Birthday Old Fart, love you!
He is now fully addicted to small time gambling. The feds came to Crystal City, disrupted all the illegal activity and took away the guilty parties, but the assholes left the casinos intact and running. They told the people "stay away, we'll be back." That kind of threat loses its flavor when after a couple weeks nothing happened. As it turns out, Dad socializes there with a good percentage of his family. He mentions he sees two of his surviving brothers there and even some cousins are there daily. He has a need, like a junkie, to go and spend five dollars or so daily. He has that cap out loud, but my mom says he will snag any loose change, other than what his smokes require. That is another vice he will ride into the ground, but a man approaching 70 is not going to change his ways.
The whole family says he is an ornery old man, I only see him about once a month, so I take his complaining as the mumblings of an old man. He did show me some bite a couple weeks ago. I told him I was going to sell the boat at whatever price I could get. We mostly wanted to stop paying the monthly fee of having it in a storage facility. He said he expected his share of the money when I sold it. My first reaction was "what?!" and laughter thinking he was joking. We did buy the boat with a twelve year note and my folks did take over the boat payment for maybe 3 or 4 years, I don't remember more than that, at a certain point when I considered getting rid of it. After a few years, I wanted to try again to get it running and using it. We never have had the time required to justify owning a boat and my Dad is just not strong enough to do many of the things required to use the boat on his own. His logic was he had paid $155 a month for even three years, he was owed something like $5000. I laughed and said I am hoping for $1000, total. My mom just said he's crazy, ignore him. He looked at me with his hand out, like I had already sold the boat and he was in the right. When he realized he wasn't getting anything, he just called me a scammer and a liar. I take it as a little humor on his part, but maybe he is nutty that way.
Oh well, I like a feisty old man. I like that he still sneaks out of the house to go to his casinos and get his human interaction on. As a retired old man, I understand that he needs to get out and see people his age. Just talking to my Mom anytime, day or night, their house is full of grandkids, and that would have me climbing the walls too. I don't agree with gambling even a dollar away in an illegal place, but when the whole city seems involved and participating, what are you going to do? I am happy something keeps him moving on his own two feet and looking forward to something like the great pay out that is around the corner. Happy Birthday Old Fart, love you!
Saturday, February 4, 2017
2/5/17 Cat's Cradle (novel 2 for 2017)
Cat's Cradle was written by Kurt Vonnegut, back in 1963. This is the third or fourth book I have read by Vonnegut. He seems to like a little science fiction in his stories, with his inclusion of ice-9. The story begins with the author having the idea of writing a book about what certain people were doing when the first nuclear bomb was detonated. One of the person's he is interested in is Felix Hoenikker, the father of the bomb used to end World War II. In researching him, he ends up in Illium, where Felix used to live and talking to two of his children. The story follows into the research facility where we met Dr. Breed who is giving him a tour. The author, John, ends up having a discussion about ice-9 as he is asking questions about other inventions by Felix.
As it turns out, the third son is on an island and through serendipity, the other two siblings are headed to meet him and they happen to be on the same airplane as John.the author. There are some diplomats and other people on the plane, all end up on the island. While on the plane, John sees an ad for the island with Mona on the cover and he instantly falls in love with her. He starts thinking he wants to marry her. When they get to the island, we meet Papa who is the dictator, we start learning of Bokononism, a religion invented by Bokonon. John reads the books of Bokonon and becomes a believer too,
As it turns out, Papa is dying and even though the third missing son of Felix, Frank, has become his right hand man, he does not want the responsibility of running the island. There is no rhyme or reason, but Felix meets John the writer and offers him the job of Dictator, which happens to come with the privilege of marrying the beautiful Mona. Papa is bedridden and just needs to die, but he makes a mess of it by opening a vial of ice-9 to drink and commit suicide. Although it seems isolated and they have attempted to clean up the mess, a plane that is supposed to perform a ceremonial flyover loses an engine and crashes into Papa's castle and knocks him into the ocean where the ice-9 in Papa's body makes a mess of the ocean and everything freezes and causes mayhem and destruction. John and Mona end up in a bunker where they have baby making love instead of the Boko Maru, which is a form of Bokononism sex where they touch feet instead of sex organs.
The end is a mess as most of the island is covered in ice blue from the ice-9 and most of the inhabitants have committed suicide by taking the ice-9, John meets the elusive Bokonon by the side of the road. Although his words are followed by most of the people, in reality, he is a simple man, clad in only a bedspread from the Casa Mona hotel. He suggests that the best way to die if that is all that is left for the writer is to climb the highest mountain on the island, lay down on his back, grin, and thumb your nose at You Know Who, to remain in that position permanently.
The story was fun and quick to read, I am just not sure I got out of it whatever I should have.
As it turns out, the third son is on an island and through serendipity, the other two siblings are headed to meet him and they happen to be on the same airplane as John.the author. There are some diplomats and other people on the plane, all end up on the island. While on the plane, John sees an ad for the island with Mona on the cover and he instantly falls in love with her. He starts thinking he wants to marry her. When they get to the island, we meet Papa who is the dictator, we start learning of Bokononism, a religion invented by Bokonon. John reads the books of Bokonon and becomes a believer too,
As it turns out, Papa is dying and even though the third missing son of Felix, Frank, has become his right hand man, he does not want the responsibility of running the island. There is no rhyme or reason, but Felix meets John the writer and offers him the job of Dictator, which happens to come with the privilege of marrying the beautiful Mona. Papa is bedridden and just needs to die, but he makes a mess of it by opening a vial of ice-9 to drink and commit suicide. Although it seems isolated and they have attempted to clean up the mess, a plane that is supposed to perform a ceremonial flyover loses an engine and crashes into Papa's castle and knocks him into the ocean where the ice-9 in Papa's body makes a mess of the ocean and everything freezes and causes mayhem and destruction. John and Mona end up in a bunker where they have baby making love instead of the Boko Maru, which is a form of Bokononism sex where they touch feet instead of sex organs.
The end is a mess as most of the island is covered in ice blue from the ice-9 and most of the inhabitants have committed suicide by taking the ice-9, John meets the elusive Bokonon by the side of the road. Although his words are followed by most of the people, in reality, he is a simple man, clad in only a bedspread from the Casa Mona hotel. He suggests that the best way to die if that is all that is left for the writer is to climb the highest mountain on the island, lay down on his back, grin, and thumb your nose at You Know Who, to remain in that position permanently.
The story was fun and quick to read, I am just not sure I got out of it whatever I should have.
2/4/17 Hidden Figures (movie)
As we left, with my mouth a little open, my question was "Why had we never heard of these women?" This movie was beautiful and had everything that makes a movie worthwhile. I think it is an important movie, I have always considered the work done by NASA as one of America's greatest achievements. There is nothing that shows how smart we monkeys are as figuring out how to break free of this round cage and exploring the mysteries of the dark sky. I always assumed it was a bunch of white guys in white shirts who did all the work to get those space cowboys up into the stratosphere and back, not from racism, but it is just the way it seemed.
The story follows three African American women who are part of the NASA team charged with getting us to catch up and beat the Russians into space and beyond. According to the movie, there were about twenty "colored" girls and they would be used sporadically as fill-ins in any department as needed. Katherine G. Johnson is born with a mathematical mind, they show her as a small child where the parents are told that she needs to go to Institute, since where they live, blacks are offered public schooling only into 8th grade. She manages to graduate from high school at 14, and enrolls into West Virginia State College. She is one of the first to desegregate a graduate school but leaves after a year to get married and start a family. Dorothy Vaughn is a little older than the other two girls and has been playing supervisor to the group of "colored girls", but because of the way things were, they refuse to promote her. She notices new IBM mainframe computers being brought in, and starts self teaching herself Fortran, an early computer programming language. Eventually, she figures out some things and makes herself necessary for the computers to be more efficient. She even manages to teach the rest of the pool of girls she supervises Fortran and at least in the movie, we see her being promoted and moving over to the section with the IBM computers. The third lady, Mary Jackson, becomes NASA's first black female engineer, also has many challenges.
In one scene that we really feel is when Katherine just runs back into the room, is soaking wet and the Director played by Kevin Costner comes down hard on her asking where she disappears to for 40 minutes every day. She has a bit of a breakdown as she explains that there are no "colored" bathrooms anywhere in the west side of the campus, so she has to run all the way across campus. And then she continues on how she is told to dress a certain way and the only jewelry she can wear is a simple strand of pearls, which she explains she is paid so poorly, there is no way she could ever afford a strand of pearls. Then to top it off, she has to drink substandard coffee from an old coffee maker because some of the other white engineers don't want to share the coffeemaker with a black girl. The Kevin Costner character very boldly goes and destroys a "colored" sign over a bathroom. He states NASA is no longer segregated, after all "we all pee the same color."
I couldn't help but think as they showed JFK the difference between a great president daring us to explore the unknown and daring us to beat our competition to the frontiers of space, compared to the fool we have today whose lasting legacy might be isolating us from the rest of the world, and a wall.
The story follows three African American women who are part of the NASA team charged with getting us to catch up and beat the Russians into space and beyond. According to the movie, there were about twenty "colored" girls and they would be used sporadically as fill-ins in any department as needed. Katherine G. Johnson is born with a mathematical mind, they show her as a small child where the parents are told that she needs to go to Institute, since where they live, blacks are offered public schooling only into 8th grade. She manages to graduate from high school at 14, and enrolls into West Virginia State College. She is one of the first to desegregate a graduate school but leaves after a year to get married and start a family. Dorothy Vaughn is a little older than the other two girls and has been playing supervisor to the group of "colored girls", but because of the way things were, they refuse to promote her. She notices new IBM mainframe computers being brought in, and starts self teaching herself Fortran, an early computer programming language. Eventually, she figures out some things and makes herself necessary for the computers to be more efficient. She even manages to teach the rest of the pool of girls she supervises Fortran and at least in the movie, we see her being promoted and moving over to the section with the IBM computers. The third lady, Mary Jackson, becomes NASA's first black female engineer, also has many challenges.
In one scene that we really feel is when Katherine just runs back into the room, is soaking wet and the Director played by Kevin Costner comes down hard on her asking where she disappears to for 40 minutes every day. She has a bit of a breakdown as she explains that there are no "colored" bathrooms anywhere in the west side of the campus, so she has to run all the way across campus. And then she continues on how she is told to dress a certain way and the only jewelry she can wear is a simple strand of pearls, which she explains she is paid so poorly, there is no way she could ever afford a strand of pearls. Then to top it off, she has to drink substandard coffee from an old coffee maker because some of the other white engineers don't want to share the coffeemaker with a black girl. The Kevin Costner character very boldly goes and destroys a "colored" sign over a bathroom. He states NASA is no longer segregated, after all "we all pee the same color."
I couldn't help but think as they showed JFK the difference between a great president daring us to explore the unknown and daring us to beat our competition to the frontiers of space, compared to the fool we have today whose lasting legacy might be isolating us from the rest of the world, and a wall.
Friday, February 3, 2017
2/3/17 What Is Up With All These Cops?
Most of the time, I don't really worry about the speed limit driving to and from the house here in Austin. It is rare to see cop cars, well cop SUVs patrolling randomly. Tonight, however, I must have seen about ten just in my short drive to the house. I go home for lunch in south Austin, but with all the construction on I-35, I have started using backroads. So I went past the I-35 exit and used Congress from Ben White. There was a cop parked by the old railroad tracks. I thought hmm, must be waiting on speeders, alright. After getting past him, I noticed there was another one about three or four car lengths in front of me. By the time I got to William Cannon, there was another one. By this time I thought that is not a coincidence, and then there were two by the junkyards, looked like they had a car pulled over. I thought wow, that is what I get for going off the highway. Things should be back to normal on Slaughter, but no. There were two more SUV cop vehicles coming out behind the Walmart area. I figure there must have been something going on, but what?
I looked at a local website and found that tonight Austin is at the center of these "Sanctuary Cities" and there were hundreds of protesters downtown. Say what you want about Trump, he is getting people involved in politics. We didn't used to give a shit what those old white men were doing whether here in the Capital or in Washington DC, but thanks to Trump, we might all get a little more educated and interested in following what our powerful puppet masters are up to.
I guess this was enough energy to allow for a little overtime in the police ranks to make sure nothing spilled over into the neighborhoods, and that is why I saw so many police vehicles driving around. I'm not sure how I feel about this sanctuary city thing? On the one hand, I don't really want people here that don't belong here, working and not paying taxes. On top of that the children then get a free education, and even additional resources have to be used because these kids are being taught in Spanish only classes. I didn't have a thought on that until my last supervisor told me he came from Poland, was thrown into our school system, in Chicago, I believe, and told go, learn the language. There was no coddling in his own language.
I am against the police force being used to round up illegals, when most of them are harmless and have been here for decades doing the shit work, nobody else will do. The police motto is to protect and serve. I would be nervous if we become a police state, of course they would say it's for our safety, but my dad mentions checkpoints used to exist. He always tells me just be cool, show your license and insurance and you'll move along. I've been driving in Austin since 1991 and have never encountered a checkpoint. I would hate if that is what we became. I can't imagine if they start rounding up Mexicans, one of our friends wouldn't eventually run into some sort of confusion and accidental trouble with the law.
I looked at a local website and found that tonight Austin is at the center of these "Sanctuary Cities" and there were hundreds of protesters downtown. Say what you want about Trump, he is getting people involved in politics. We didn't used to give a shit what those old white men were doing whether here in the Capital or in Washington DC, but thanks to Trump, we might all get a little more educated and interested in following what our powerful puppet masters are up to.
I guess this was enough energy to allow for a little overtime in the police ranks to make sure nothing spilled over into the neighborhoods, and that is why I saw so many police vehicles driving around. I'm not sure how I feel about this sanctuary city thing? On the one hand, I don't really want people here that don't belong here, working and not paying taxes. On top of that the children then get a free education, and even additional resources have to be used because these kids are being taught in Spanish only classes. I didn't have a thought on that until my last supervisor told me he came from Poland, was thrown into our school system, in Chicago, I believe, and told go, learn the language. There was no coddling in his own language.
I am against the police force being used to round up illegals, when most of them are harmless and have been here for decades doing the shit work, nobody else will do. The police motto is to protect and serve. I would be nervous if we become a police state, of course they would say it's for our safety, but my dad mentions checkpoints used to exist. He always tells me just be cool, show your license and insurance and you'll move along. I've been driving in Austin since 1991 and have never encountered a checkpoint. I would hate if that is what we became. I can't imagine if they start rounding up Mexicans, one of our friends wouldn't eventually run into some sort of confusion and accidental trouble with the law.
Thursday, February 2, 2017
2/2/17 The More The Merrier?
Over the years, we have had our share of roommates. I have to admit, I like having extra people around. I feel that the more people around to talk to, the better things are. If we go back all the way to Wife's and I first apartment, my brother, the lawyer one, stayed with us for about two years while he was living in Austin going to UT. We had a 2 bedroom, 2 bath unit and we stayed on the UT bus route to help him out. Eventually, we bought our first house and I want to say he stayed with us for a bit, at least until he graduated.
After he moved out, we had Wife's sister and her best friend move in with us. We were in our first house, and at the time it was us and Boy, who was a baby/small guy. Wife's sister and her best friend shared the third bedroom at our first house and it was nice. The best friend would leave every weekend, because she had a daughter who lived in the small town she was from. I believe the daughter stayed with her grandma during the week. At a certain point, Wife's sister was laid off and the best friend remained. It was a little awkward, but she spent all her time at work, and left on the weekends, so we didn't interact much with her.
After she got laid off, at some point, my younger brother moved in with us for the first time. He decided to try Austin living after graduating from UTSA. My sister had just married and her and her husband were living in Austin too, but not with us. They almost bought a house, but never pulled the trigger and then decided it would be easier to raise kids back home.
Because we had people in and out, I wanted a big house, I like having the ability to help people this way. After my brother moved out and tried the oil fields, Boy had a friend move in with us, for their Senior year, it started out good, but we were glad when it ended. Boy had another friend stay with us for a couple months last year. I thought it was going to last awhile, but he got a girlfriend knocked up and is currently playing house somewhere.
The last person living with us is Girlie, she has been with us since about November, but rarely actually stays at the house. She still wants to be with her family, but they are in too small of an apartment. She loves having a walk in closet in our house and the privacy of a room, and usually she comes over a couple nights a week. This week she brought a girlfriend over with her and we discussed the possibility of her staying with us in a similar fashion, where she would be there a few nights during the week. She is doing an internship in Round Rock, and has not quit her job in San Marcos, so she is running back and forth. We've met this other girl a couple times over the last 4 years or so. She graduated from Tx. State in December and is trying to figure out where she is going to make her life.
After he moved out, we had Wife's sister and her best friend move in with us. We were in our first house, and at the time it was us and Boy, who was a baby/small guy. Wife's sister and her best friend shared the third bedroom at our first house and it was nice. The best friend would leave every weekend, because she had a daughter who lived in the small town she was from. I believe the daughter stayed with her grandma during the week. At a certain point, Wife's sister was laid off and the best friend remained. It was a little awkward, but she spent all her time at work, and left on the weekends, so we didn't interact much with her.
After she got laid off, at some point, my younger brother moved in with us for the first time. He decided to try Austin living after graduating from UTSA. My sister had just married and her and her husband were living in Austin too, but not with us. They almost bought a house, but never pulled the trigger and then decided it would be easier to raise kids back home.
Because we had people in and out, I wanted a big house, I like having the ability to help people this way. After my brother moved out and tried the oil fields, Boy had a friend move in with us, for their Senior year, it started out good, but we were glad when it ended. Boy had another friend stay with us for a couple months last year. I thought it was going to last awhile, but he got a girlfriend knocked up and is currently playing house somewhere.
The last person living with us is Girlie, she has been with us since about November, but rarely actually stays at the house. She still wants to be with her family, but they are in too small of an apartment. She loves having a walk in closet in our house and the privacy of a room, and usually she comes over a couple nights a week. This week she brought a girlfriend over with her and we discussed the possibility of her staying with us in a similar fashion, where she would be there a few nights during the week. She is doing an internship in Round Rock, and has not quit her job in San Marcos, so she is running back and forth. We've met this other girl a couple times over the last 4 years or so. She graduated from Tx. State in December and is trying to figure out where she is going to make her life.
Wednesday, February 1, 2017
2/1/17 A Week Of Trump?
It is funny how the usual funny sites and people I go to see all seem to be feeling the same thing. I looked at Bill Maher's opening monologue, Colbert's, The Daily Show, and others on YouTube. It is all really easy and they seem connected one 5-10 min bit feeds into the next one, but the point is they all seem like "man it's only been one week of Trump as POTUS, is it going to be like this for four or eight years?"
He keeps signing executive order after executive order. His first one is the wall. Maybe it'll cost us 25 billion dollars, but it'll make people feel better. There are ladders of any height and there are tunnels of any length, but go on believing a wall will help slow things down. I liked Kellyanne Conway coming out with alternative facts. I thought facts were facts, but whatever. Another new one Trump slid past most normal slow people is that he wants to shut science up saying the EPA has to clear any release of information with them. It benefits his businesses to dig for oil and deny global warming. His new Head of Education Betsy Devoss is a creationist, which will not sit well if she starts forcing another round of teaching that alongside evolution.
I don't know if it is because Trump is allowing the roaches to come see the light, but now without looking for it, I am getting bunches of youtube videos saying the world is flat and of course they do their experiments, such as releasing balloons or small rockets to show "the truth." What the hell is going on?
I don't know if I am more shocked by the stories coming from Georgia and the like with the National Socialists growing in numbers down there. I saw a very interesting piece where a man of mixed black and white parents was out interviewing these people. They did not want to bring hate on him, but they were confused. They invited him out to see a proper burning of the swastika sign but then he wasn't allowed on their territory, so he viewed from across the street. They all insist their hate is with the jewish people. I still don't understand the hate of the jewish people. I won't go so far as to say Trump hates the jews, but his closest buddies seem to be anti-semites and this week while recognizing the holocaust, there was a bit of denial that the whole jewish attack happened. They wanted to make it more widespread, such as that along with the Jewish people, plenty of gypsies, and other "undesirables" were terminated in the death camps. Why attempt to clean this up in any way? It was horrible, and should not have happened, any way you want to slice it.
Even if Trump turns out to be America's hero and keeps all the boogeymen out, look at what has become points of discussion. Even George W. Bush and his warmongering were balanced by his shenanigans, almost choking on a pretzel, or acting all cowboy and attempting to cut mesquite trees out on the farm. Bush was a goofy fuck. Trump might just be a narcissist, but he is scary in that no one is telling him to calm the fuck down.
Even Pablo Escobar who was a scary man in Narcos had a soft beautiful side when talking to his kids. Why can't we see a moment or two of Trump addressing Barron in a fatherly tender moment, hell the only thing he has said about his kids is he'd bang the daughter.
He keeps signing executive order after executive order. His first one is the wall. Maybe it'll cost us 25 billion dollars, but it'll make people feel better. There are ladders of any height and there are tunnels of any length, but go on believing a wall will help slow things down. I liked Kellyanne Conway coming out with alternative facts. I thought facts were facts, but whatever. Another new one Trump slid past most normal slow people is that he wants to shut science up saying the EPA has to clear any release of information with them. It benefits his businesses to dig for oil and deny global warming. His new Head of Education Betsy Devoss is a creationist, which will not sit well if she starts forcing another round of teaching that alongside evolution.
I don't know if it is because Trump is allowing the roaches to come see the light, but now without looking for it, I am getting bunches of youtube videos saying the world is flat and of course they do their experiments, such as releasing balloons or small rockets to show "the truth." What the hell is going on?
I don't know if I am more shocked by the stories coming from Georgia and the like with the National Socialists growing in numbers down there. I saw a very interesting piece where a man of mixed black and white parents was out interviewing these people. They did not want to bring hate on him, but they were confused. They invited him out to see a proper burning of the swastika sign but then he wasn't allowed on their territory, so he viewed from across the street. They all insist their hate is with the jewish people. I still don't understand the hate of the jewish people. I won't go so far as to say Trump hates the jews, but his closest buddies seem to be anti-semites and this week while recognizing the holocaust, there was a bit of denial that the whole jewish attack happened. They wanted to make it more widespread, such as that along with the Jewish people, plenty of gypsies, and other "undesirables" were terminated in the death camps. Why attempt to clean this up in any way? It was horrible, and should not have happened, any way you want to slice it.
Even if Trump turns out to be America's hero and keeps all the boogeymen out, look at what has become points of discussion. Even George W. Bush and his warmongering were balanced by his shenanigans, almost choking on a pretzel, or acting all cowboy and attempting to cut mesquite trees out on the farm. Bush was a goofy fuck. Trump might just be a narcissist, but he is scary in that no one is telling him to calm the fuck down.
Even Pablo Escobar who was a scary man in Narcos had a soft beautiful side when talking to his kids. Why can't we see a moment or two of Trump addressing Barron in a fatherly tender moment, hell the only thing he has said about his kids is he'd bang the daughter.
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