The cheese stands alone.
The cheese stands alone.
Hi ho the dairy-o
The cheese stands alone.
I never got why the cheese stands alone. Who doesn't like cheese? EVERYONE likes cheese!
The woman is out of town while I'm on the pager at work. I miss my wife. It is nice to be able to let the dishes go for a day or two and completely hog the bed... but... I'm lonely :( I can't wait until my honey comes home.
Sunday, September 03, 2006
Friday, July 21, 2006
Shame on you, Squinty McGee
One of the biggest mistakes of my life has been voting for George W. Bush when he ran against Al Gore. I don't claim full responsibility for this decision, since Gore ran the most dull and lifeless campaign and came off like a lifelong Washington politician, while Bush came off as the opposite. The highs and lows of his presidency have been well documented, but one of the things that particularly raised my ire came out a month or two ago when it was revealed that the National Security Agency had been obtaining phone call records of American Citizens for years. Obtaining them without warrant or probable cause, and thus far for no announced reason other than “national security” To put it plainly, the government has been keeping track of who you call, when you call them, and how often they do it. Verizon? BellSouth? AT&T? Sprint? They’ve all been handing over their phone records for years, again, without a warrant. This is illegal, by the way.
So when this came to light, naturally millions of people were understandably pissed off. So an investigation was launched by the Justice Department, trying to find out what, who, and why. In order to investigate who authorized this illegal invasion of American’s privacy (and is a criminal) with regards to “matters of national security”, the lawyers and investigators from the Justice Department have to obtain security clearances, since they might come in contact with sensitive information. This is pretty much standard procedure for any sort of government investigation.
Standard, until President Bush said no.
“Someone in your administration is breaking the law and spying on Americans, may we please investigate who is doing this that we might bring them to justice?”
“No.”
By denying security clearance to federal attorneys from the Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR) seeking to gather evidence in the NSA illegal surveillance scandal, President Bush has effectively blocked the Justice Department’s investigation into the matter of who exactly authorized the illegal actions to take place. The president is apparently able to strictly control who does and does not have security clearance to examine documents regarding the program, citing that giving more people access would endanger national security. His denial is the first of its kind in American history. Last time I checked, when Richard Nixon committed obstruction of justice, he didn't get to keep his job.
Oh well, what’s one more lie, one more obfuscation of the truth to ol’ Squinty McGee? But hey! At least he hasn’t gotten it on with an intern.
So when this came to light, naturally millions of people were understandably pissed off. So an investigation was launched by the Justice Department, trying to find out what, who, and why. In order to investigate who authorized this illegal invasion of American’s privacy (and is a criminal) with regards to “matters of national security”, the lawyers and investigators from the Justice Department have to obtain security clearances, since they might come in contact with sensitive information. This is pretty much standard procedure for any sort of government investigation.
Standard, until President Bush said no.
“Someone in your administration is breaking the law and spying on Americans, may we please investigate who is doing this that we might bring them to justice?”
“No.”
By denying security clearance to federal attorneys from the Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR) seeking to gather evidence in the NSA illegal surveillance scandal, President Bush has effectively blocked the Justice Department’s investigation into the matter of who exactly authorized the illegal actions to take place. The president is apparently able to strictly control who does and does not have security clearance to examine documents regarding the program, citing that giving more people access would endanger national security. His denial is the first of its kind in American history. Last time I checked, when Richard Nixon committed obstruction of justice, he didn't get to keep his job.
Oh well, what’s one more lie, one more obfuscation of the truth to ol’ Squinty McGee? But hey! At least he hasn’t gotten it on with an intern.
Wednesday, July 12, 2006
As most of you know
We got a pet skunk. Named her Lucille. Then found out it was a boy and named it Tobias. It's still an adorable skunk. He likes to run and play, and has made a game of us catching him.
Gage says it's great owning a skunk, you just get the same questions over and over... so with no adieu, I answer them for you:
1) No, it doesn't stink, the stink glands have been removed.
2) They eat veggies, a little bit of dog food, dairy, pretty much anything in moderation.
3) They live to be 10-15.
4) We got it from a breeder in Ohio.
5) No, it's going to be fixed, you really don't want to try and be a skunk breeder.
Gage says it's great owning a skunk, you just get the same questions over and over... so with no adieu, I answer them for you:
1) No, it doesn't stink, the stink glands have been removed.
2) They eat veggies, a little bit of dog food, dairy, pretty much anything in moderation.
3) They live to be 10-15.
4) We got it from a breeder in Ohio.
5) No, it's going to be fixed, you really don't want to try and be a skunk breeder.
Monday, July 03, 2006
Friend of mine grew up with a hot girl next door. The HGND's dad was an avid hunter, with many a long gun. Whenever she would bring home a new guy, the dad would take him aside and introduce himself, and get the kid's name. He would then take a cartridge for his elephant gun, and write the kid's name on it, telling him "I love my daughter very much, and if you ever do anything to hurt her, this bullet has your name on it." Next, he would take the now amused/scared/indiffernt kid into the room where the rifle was stored, show him it, and put the cartridge on a shelf, next to a row of empty casings with names on it.
Apparently, it scared one kid so much he went crying home to dad, who called the sheriff. Sheriff deputy shows up, asks for the story, dad tells it, deputy decides with a grin on his face that there was no threat made, the kid was just being informed that there was a bullet with his name on it.
Apparently, it scared one kid so much he went crying home to dad, who called the sheriff. Sheriff deputy shows up, asks for the story, dad tells it, deputy decides with a grin on his face that there was no threat made, the kid was just being informed that there was a bullet with his name on it.
Friend of mine grew up with a hot girl next door. The HGND's dad was an avid hunter, with many a long gun. Whenever she would bring home a new guy, the dad would take him aside and introduce himself, and get the kid's name. He would then take a cartridge for his elephant gun, and write the kid's name on it, telling him "I love my daughter very much, and if you ever do anything to hurt her, this bullet has your name on it." Next, he would take the now amused/scared/indiffernt kid into the room where the rifle was stored, show him it, and put the cartridge on a shelf, next to a row of empty casings with names on it.
Apparently, it scared one kid so much he went crying home to dad, who called the sheriff. Sheriff deputy shows up, asks for the story, dad tells it, deputy decides with a grin on his face that there was no threat made, the kid was just being informed that there was a bullet with his name on it.
Apparently, it scared one kid so much he went crying home to dad, who called the sheriff. Sheriff deputy shows up, asks for the story, dad tells it, deputy decides with a grin on his face that there was no threat made, the kid was just being informed that there was a bullet with his name on it.
Tuesday, June 20, 2006
On Our Vacation
One of the interesting places we visited was the Sleepy Hollow cemetery.
On the hillside behind where this picture was taken, some of the greatest authors in the history of American Literature are buried. They all lived in the area near here. Walt Whitman lived here too, but he's not interred at this cemetary, so I won't make "Anonymous" fret by referring any more to a poet who might have been gay.
Here is Henry David Thoreau, one of my favorites (for the unaware, he wrote Walden, the book that the boys in Dead Poet's Society read and use)
Right next to him is Louisa May Alcott:
Then Ralph Waldo Emerson:
And lastly a little further along is Nathaniel Hawthorne:
How strange is it that some of the greatest writers in American history are all buried within 20 yards of each other, let alone in the same cemetary?
On the hillside behind where this picture was taken, some of the greatest authors in the history of American Literature are buried. They all lived in the area near here. Walt Whitman lived here too, but he's not interred at this cemetary, so I won't make "Anonymous" fret by referring any more to a poet who might have been gay.
Here is Henry David Thoreau, one of my favorites (for the unaware, he wrote Walden, the book that the boys in Dead Poet's Society read and use)
Right next to him is Louisa May Alcott:
Then Ralph Waldo Emerson:
And lastly a little further along is Nathaniel Hawthorne:
How strange is it that some of the greatest writers in American history are all buried within 20 yards of each other, let alone in the same cemetary?
Friday, June 16, 2006
Cool things that I did on vacation.
Primary Spousal Unit and I have decided to blog about and post pics of whatever we want to, in whatever order we like. I like this approach more than feeling bound to some kind of order.
We flew in to Newark Airport in New Jersey. My first reaction upon exiting the airport: "What stinks? Is that garbage or a dead body?" Deciding to be charitiable, I took another wiff inbetween train transfers on two other occasions on the way to the inlaw's place. As far as I can tell, New Jersey either locates all of their public transportation next to open sewers and landfills, or the state reeks. I have no pic of the horrid smells of New Jersey, but rest assurred that if I did, this is where they'd be:
We flew in to Newark Airport in New Jersey. My first reaction upon exiting the airport: "What stinks? Is that garbage or a dead body?" Deciding to be charitiable, I took another wiff inbetween train transfers on two other occasions on the way to the inlaw's place. As far as I can tell, New Jersey either locates all of their public transportation next to open sewers and landfills, or the state reeks. I have no pic of the horrid smells of New Jersey, but rest assurred that if I did, this is where they'd be:
So I'm home now.
Highlights and pics to be done tomorrow.
I'm thinking of naming the skunk Shiloh.
edit - I think Lucille might be even better.
I'm thinking of naming the skunk Shiloh.
edit - I think Lucille might be even better.
Tuesday, June 13, 2006
Tuesday, June 06, 2006
So Today's My Birthday
And I'm another year older. We're taking off for NYC tomorrow to go visit the inlaws and see the sites. So what did I get for my birthday? It hasn't arrived yet... but we're getting a pet... a skunk! These photos are not pics of the actual skunk in question. She (I think we're getting a she) will be about 6 inches long (and 4 or 5 weeks old) when she comes and will take about 18 months to fully mature into a 20-28" adult skunk. Yes, the stinky part's removed, though we will have to get her spayed (going into heat and not mating can KILL a female skunk, think about that, lonely singles!) I get to pick a name for her. I'm still mulling that one over.
Monday, May 15, 2006
Splurging: The Final Frontier pt II: Electric Boogaloo
So, I get an email from the wife today, and we find out that we're getting a lot more from her student loans than we originally planned. Naturally, we're not going completely buck wild, but certain plots start bubbling to the surface, like paying the new car off if the interest rate is lower on the student loans than the car... maybe buying some business clothes for both of us... other things that never quite find their way into the monthly budget. So, if you found yourself with a couple of extra thousand (or $30,000-50,000 more) than you thought you might have, and you know you have to pay it back, would you get anything? Cheese on your Whopper (tm) perhaps?
Me, I knew exactly what I wanted. Unfortunately, the wife deemed it to be wasteful. I respectfully disagreed, and the negotiations began. We discovered we both looked at splurging somewhat differently. I'm not entirely sure that we even now understand where the other one is coming from. But I toss the thought out to you: what would you do? Be uber-responsible and not spend a penny beyond school and living costs? Go out to dinner? Buy a new pair of shoes? A nice new big computer monitor? What would you do?
Me, I knew exactly what I wanted. Unfortunately, the wife deemed it to be wasteful. I respectfully disagreed, and the negotiations began. We discovered we both looked at splurging somewhat differently. I'm not entirely sure that we even now understand where the other one is coming from. But I toss the thought out to you: what would you do? Be uber-responsible and not spend a penny beyond school and living costs? Go out to dinner? Buy a new pair of shoes? A nice new big computer monitor? What would you do?
Wednesday, May 10, 2006
Tuesday, May 09, 2006
Assertion. Noun. 1: A declaration that is made emphatically. 2: The act of affirming or asserting or stating something.
I think being assertive is commonly taken to be a male trait in our society, as women used to be taught to be demure, which is often taken to the extreme of being passive. I don’t like passive, which is to say I don’t respect it very much. Don’t get me wrong, I like silence a LOT, but there’s a difference between not saying anything because you don’t have anything important to say, and not saying anything because you don’t dare. In my dating history, I tended to enjoy the company of more independent women. My wife is a fairly strong willed lady. But it’s interesting to me how many people allow themselves to be walked on, because they don’t want to be rude, or perhaps feel like they could be wrong.
I have come to the conclusion lately that I am not just going to let people exert their will on me anymore. If that makes me rude because I’m telling some call center slave something they don’t want to hear, that’s fine, I’ll be able to sleep at night with that on my conscience.A couple weeks ago, Comcast called to find out why the check we sent them for our service was $30 short, and mentioned that if the full payment wasn’t received, there would be a LATE FEE! (dum-dum-DUM!). The reason was I gave the installer a $30 check when we had the internet and cable installed, and was told that this would be applied to the first bill. It wasn’t. But I was told that and even had the receipt to that effect. The lady on the phone started to try to pass the buck and told me I’d have to talk to billing and that it wasn’t her department, when I stopped her in mid-sentence and said no. No, I wasn’t going to call billing, I gave her company a check and if they couldn’t find it, that was their problem, and that if they were going to call me up and threaten me with a late fee, it was inappropriate to be then trying to send me on a game of phone tag within their bureaucracy. She tried to say that it wasn’t on her system, but I wasn’t going to let her off the hook. I told her that I had given her company a check and now she was telling me that they didn’t know what happened to it, and that she needed to find out whether it was lost, or stolen, or heaven knows what, and that it was not my responsibility to be doing her company’s work for them. She said she’d forward this issue to her manager, and I told her that I expected a return call to resolve the issue and to make a note of it on the case. Three days later, I got a call, and all was well. I didn’t have to deal with a single robotic phone menu. I can't help but think that if they had called me at another juncture in life, I would have followed their instructions and whined and complained about having to deal with Comcast. Was I rude? maybe a tiny bit, but no less rude than a company making a customer track down a payment that the company itself had misplaced.
Yesterday I went to the parking garage where our treatment team has parking passes, one of those little ratty buildings that's been converted into a parking garage. The guys that run the place overbook the lot, so occasionally they have to operate like a valet service and double and triple park cars (they totaled my manager's car there once, but that's another story). They had double parked a car across from mine making it tough to get out. Now I don't have the nicest car, but it is pretty new and it was just too close a shave to get out, I tried backing out several different ways, and none of them were good. I go downstairs and tell parking garage monkey that I need the silver Sentra across from my car moved. He walks upstairs and and then tells me that he doesn't have the key on him and tries to tell me to back it out again. I looked at him, and said "No. You. Move. That. Car. Right. Now." He again said that he didn't have the key on him, and I said "You should have thought of that before you came upstairs when I told you which car needed to be moved, now you're going to have to go back downstairs and get it." Now, I'm sure he isn't my biggest fan now, but hey, I'm just not going to do other people's jobs for them anymore.
Do you find yourself bending over backwards just to get treated like a human when you're a customer? You might need Assertion, a new fragrance by James. Do you find yourself telling stories that begin or end with "I can't believe he/she/they treated me like that!?!?" You too might need Assertion. Companies, stores, service personel will only treat you like that if you let them. For some people (Samuel L. Jackson, Jack Nicholson, Megan Mullally, Mr. T, Sean Connery), assertion is a part of their character. When in doubt, think about how one of them might handle the situation. Sam Jackson is who I use.
Oh, but if you're my wife, trust me, you probably don't need Assertion.
I have come to the conclusion lately that I am not just going to let people exert their will on me anymore. If that makes me rude because I’m telling some call center slave something they don’t want to hear, that’s fine, I’ll be able to sleep at night with that on my conscience.A couple weeks ago, Comcast called to find out why the check we sent them for our service was $30 short, and mentioned that if the full payment wasn’t received, there would be a LATE FEE! (dum-dum-DUM!). The reason was I gave the installer a $30 check when we had the internet and cable installed, and was told that this would be applied to the first bill. It wasn’t. But I was told that and even had the receipt to that effect. The lady on the phone started to try to pass the buck and told me I’d have to talk to billing and that it wasn’t her department, when I stopped her in mid-sentence and said no. No, I wasn’t going to call billing, I gave her company a check and if they couldn’t find it, that was their problem, and that if they were going to call me up and threaten me with a late fee, it was inappropriate to be then trying to send me on a game of phone tag within their bureaucracy. She tried to say that it wasn’t on her system, but I wasn’t going to let her off the hook. I told her that I had given her company a check and now she was telling me that they didn’t know what happened to it, and that she needed to find out whether it was lost, or stolen, or heaven knows what, and that it was not my responsibility to be doing her company’s work for them. She said she’d forward this issue to her manager, and I told her that I expected a return call to resolve the issue and to make a note of it on the case. Three days later, I got a call, and all was well. I didn’t have to deal with a single robotic phone menu. I can't help but think that if they had called me at another juncture in life, I would have followed their instructions and whined and complained about having to deal with Comcast. Was I rude? maybe a tiny bit, but no less rude than a company making a customer track down a payment that the company itself had misplaced.
Yesterday I went to the parking garage where our treatment team has parking passes, one of those little ratty buildings that's been converted into a parking garage. The guys that run the place overbook the lot, so occasionally they have to operate like a valet service and double and triple park cars (they totaled my manager's car there once, but that's another story). They had double parked a car across from mine making it tough to get out. Now I don't have the nicest car, but it is pretty new and it was just too close a shave to get out, I tried backing out several different ways, and none of them were good. I go downstairs and tell parking garage monkey that I need the silver Sentra across from my car moved. He walks upstairs and and then tells me that he doesn't have the key on him and tries to tell me to back it out again. I looked at him, and said "No. You. Move. That. Car. Right. Now." He again said that he didn't have the key on him, and I said "You should have thought of that before you came upstairs when I told you which car needed to be moved, now you're going to have to go back downstairs and get it." Now, I'm sure he isn't my biggest fan now, but hey, I'm just not going to do other people's jobs for them anymore.
Do you find yourself bending over backwards just to get treated like a human when you're a customer? You might need Assertion, a new fragrance by James. Do you find yourself telling stories that begin or end with "I can't believe he/she/they treated me like that!?!?" You too might need Assertion. Companies, stores, service personel will only treat you like that if you let them. For some people (Samuel L. Jackson, Jack Nicholson, Megan Mullally, Mr. T, Sean Connery), assertion is a part of their character. When in doubt, think about how one of them might handle the situation. Sam Jackson is who I use.
Oh, but if you're my wife, trust me, you probably don't need Assertion.
Monday, May 01, 2006
Well then...
So I come in to work this morning and find out one of my clients jumped off the Burnside bridge. He survived, thankfully enough. Apparently God told him to do it, and he though he was flying across the river Jordan. I hate it when God tells my clients to do crazy wacked out things.
Bad news: he jumped. Good news: makes my job of getting him into the state mental hospital a little bit easier.
ALSO: I have decided to turn off my cell phone. Anyone needing to get ahold of me during the day, email me and I'll spot you my work #, a phone I carry with me almost 24/7. If you need me after work times, call Audrey's phone! I decided two phones for me was too much, and to axe the $30-$40 a month I'm paying for it, since the new job gives me a phone.
Bad news: he jumped. Good news: makes my job of getting him into the state mental hospital a little bit easier.
ALSO: I have decided to turn off my cell phone. Anyone needing to get ahold of me during the day, email me and I'll spot you my work #, a phone I carry with me almost 24/7. If you need me after work times, call Audrey's phone! I decided two phones for me was too much, and to axe the $30-$40 a month I'm paying for it, since the new job gives me a phone.
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