Tease

I'm a news junkie, which often clashes with my lack of patience.  (ADD?)  I'll read a headline, and if the topic interests me I'll read more.  Then if the first couple of paragraphs still interests me I'll read the whole thing.  I hate it when the headline reads, "10 Best Places to...." or "10 Money Saving Tips", then when you try to read more they bury the list of "10 Best" deep in the article.   Really?  Why do they tempt me like that then hold back?   What a cruel tease.


I've got it figured that the authors are women, probably the very same women who teased me as an adolescent.  Starting in about the 7th or 8th grade I had a tough time "concentrating", if you know what I mean.  (Is that you Sue?  Melody?)  I don't think its gotten any easier with a few more candles on the cake, either.  I wonder if I have a note taped to the back of my shirt that says "Tease Me"?


Changing tack, today K and I both took the day off to go to the Foat Wuth Music Festival.  K gave me (us) 2 VIP tickets for my birthday.  Lots of jazz/blues artists including one of my faves, Marcia Ball, will be there along with artists showing off their arts & crafts as well as some food trucks.  I hope I'm not disappointed by the food trucks.  I have visions of some really unique cuisines served up by the kind of trucks featured on the Food Network.   I hope it's not something like "Manuel's Maggot Wagon".  I see those every day on construction sites.  Yuck!  Surely not.


I'll have pictures to share tomorrow.


Adios,


S

Easy day ahead

Today will be a blow-off day if there ever was one.  Today from 9am to 1pm I'm attending a class explaining the new IRC (International Residential Code) that goes into effect soon.  Every few years the deadwood engineers at the building code writing board update things, which is just an exercise they go through to show their bosses they actually DO something that's worth a paycheck.  


If you read the code you'd wonder if they had personally ever built even so much as a dog house.  Their college textbooks might have said XX, but no one ever tried to sync the world of academia with the real world we live in.  It's a farce!  Building inspectors will tell you their inspections are based on their interpretation of the code, and that's what causes problems for builders.   One inspector's interpretation will often not match another inspector's interpretation.  One inspector requires something, another prohibits it.  They're pretty much making it up as they go along.  (Another reason houses cost so much.)


Oh well.  I'll sit through their class, nod and smile, and eat the lunch provided.  It's supposed to be 99 degrees again today, and I'll be in a cool classroom.  Could be worse.  ;)


S

The root of all evil....

....is money*, and who has all the money?  The BANKS!  


Funny how bank shenanigans were in the news multiple times today.  First was a report that banks were rapidly piling on more fees, putting the screws to us deeper than ever.  Free checking will soon go the way of the dinosaur, and fees to use bank debit cards are becoming more widespread, too.  Remember when banks used to be satisfied making the spread between what they charged us on loans and what they paid us on deposits?  Hahahaha!  There's another one for the history books.


The second mention concerned how Europe's rapidly deepening debt crisis is coming ever closer to engulfing us here on this side of the pond, too.  Seems the origin of the problem there was....ta da....the BANKS! Always looking to make a fast buck (or couple 'o BILLION bucks), they offered cheap money to the second tier European countries, knowing that the first tier European countries would ride to the rescue if it ever hit the fan.  And now it has, and they probably will.  


So the banks / bankers made BILLIONS, will probably ultimately write off some of it, pay a few hundred million in fines, and escape Scott free with the rest, unscathed.  No jail time for the scoundrels (who no doubt knew exactly what they were doing but didn't care), no public lynchings, nothing.  They can just ride off into the sunset and enjoy their happy, posh retirement.


Boy are we taxpayers (around the world) saps.


S


*It's in the Bible.  Look it up.

Social dysfunction

What is it with people these days?  They seem to have a difficult time looking you in the eye, shaking your hand, or speaking real words in your general direction.  A friend's daughter is beginning her Masters program at Penn State....except she lives in Dallas.  It's all online.  No face-to-face interaction required. 


I read recently about the all-out war taking place between the airlines who covet their full-fare business travelers and the teleconferencing movement where people can hold meetings via big screen TV's a world apart and dispense with travel all-together.  Does this count as face-to-face interaction?  (I'm inclined to give it a thumbs down.) 


I called a vendor today to say I had a set of blueprints for him to come pick up for a bid.  He said, "Can't you just send me the pdf file?"  Ummm...NO!  I want you to drag your fat ass to my office and sit down in front of me where I can point out several peculiarities of the plan and explain how I want it handled.  Dammit, I want some face-to-face interaction.


Today I sent my stonemason to my daughter and SIL's house to reface their den fireplace.  Donnie kept sending me questions via text message, and after a few text replies I just said to hell with it and called him.  It would have taken 15 minutes to text all we said back and forth, but 30 seconds to just say it over the phone.  I fail to see anything "efficient" about text messaging.  I see it as an excuse to NOT have any face-to-face interaction.  I don't get it.


The idea of the computer geek with the pasty complexion living, going to school, and later working out of Mama's basement might be more real than imaginary.  A "friend" is just a thumbnail photo and a 25 word bio.  If it wasn't for online dating services I suspect the birth rate would drop to zero.  (They do require them to eventually meet face-to-face, don't they?  As in a real "date"?)  Seems like a pretty dismal way to live.


S

Mother Nature is just jerkin' my chain

After a few days of cool weather last week and even a little rain, and after officially ushering in autumn last Friday, I allowed myself to be lulled into thinking summer was over.  Ummm....not quite.  Today it was up to 95 degrees.  Not 107 thank God, but come on.  Enough already!

I have a new GoreTex light parka that really needs to be tried out.  A short backpacking trip later this year when it's cooler might be nice, but as K doesn't have a good sleeping bag (yet), timing is touchy.  I've stayed toasty warm in mine when it was in single digits outside, but K doesn't have as much natural "insulation" as I do.  And I don't think her comfort range is as wide as mine.  I'll need to get her toughened up for our eventual move to the mountains.  I wish I could say that would be next year, but honestly I don't think it can happen that soon.  I wish I was a patient person, but I'm not.  Grrrrrr....

S

It's a sweet gig if you can get it!

The headline on the USAToday story read, "Gov't paid $600 million to dead employees".  My question:  How can you tell a dead government employee from a live one?


It was a story about how retired or disabled government employees received benefits even after they were dead if their demise wasn't reported to "the system".  In one case benefits were paid for 37 years after the guy went stiff.  (Oh....so that's how you can tell the difference!)  The Feds discovered this flaw in their system in a 2005 audit report, but didn't want to be bothered with fixing it until now.   Too much effort, and besides, it's just money.


I'm not making this up.  ;)


S

Don't vote....It'll just encourage the bastards!

So lemme get this straight....we have a HUGE deficit which needs to be addressed before our economy can begin growing and new jobs can be created.  At least that's what the Republicans are trying to tell us. We can cut spending, but that won't cut the deficit enough.  We could at the same time raise taxes on those with lottsa money, but the Republicans tell us NO, NO, NO, that would be a job killer.  The rich need to keep their money so they can use it to CREATE NEW JOBS. 


But in reality what's happening?  The rich, and the companies they have major investments in / control over, are buying up everything in sight.  Texas Instruments is buying National Semiconductor, AT&T is trying to buy T Mobile, Google bought Motorola Mobility, United Airlines bought Continental, Delta Airlines bought Northwest, Southwest Airlines bought Airtran, United Technologies bought Goodrich, Kraft bought Cadbury, and in turn sold off part of itself to Nestle.  The list of mergers and acquisitions goes on and on.  I'm now waiting for troubled Bank of America to be gobbled up by....who knows?


Have any of these consolidations CREATED any new jobs?  NO!  They just lead to MORE LAYOFFS.  It's called "synergy".  Less payroll going to employees, more profits going to THEM.  Many companies are even reporting RECORD profits.  I guess it could be said that some of the laid-off employees who had shares in their own company (former company?) might benefit a bit on paper, but at what cost?  


WE'RE GOING BACKWARDS!


Methinks the Republicans are feeding us a line of Grade A Prime BULLSHIT.  And the Democrats aren't even creative enough to do that!


S