Tonight was Open House at Annie's school. I normally really enjoy it, but I have been emotionally stretched pretty thin lately. At any rate, I received a couple of calls from Annie's mom telling me that she was worried that she was not going to make it in time to get something to eat, and she was hungry. She had a long drive after work, and I understood. So, when the food line was getting close to shutting down, I got in line. She arrived with her baby in her arms right after I picked up her hamburger. I continued collecting her food, and made her burger as she wanted. I helped her get settled on the grass to eat her dinner and went to tell Annie, who was playing with friends, that her mother was there. I didn't mind doing it, but in retrospect, I think I went above and beyond the ex-husband requirements.

At any rate, I went over to the tennis courts where Annie and a bunch of her friends were playing games. As I approached the tennis courts, I noticed something. At this point, I need to digress. I have hung out with the kids of Annie's classes on field trips, school activities, and whatever over a hundred times. There have been multiple... many multiple times where I have found my patience stretched and have used my 'daddy voice' to help a student re-think his or her decisions on what is appropriate behavior. Sometimes the student's parent was present. I always felt bad when that was the case. I apologized to a couple of parents, and the response was always, 'don't apologize. I appreciate him/her hearing it from someone else. Then they don't think it is just mom or dad!' The kids always respond very positively. That is, they seem apologetic, and immediately start behaving better. I always figure it is because they realize someone cares, and I have never met anyone in any of Annie's classes that did not like and respect me. I love these kids. I had one mother ask me if she could borrow my 'daddy voice' because she saw the response.

Ok, so you see where this is going. I take our school very seriously, personally, and compassionately. Returning to our time-line, as I approached the tennis courts, I saw this kid taking small chunks of his hot dog, and throwing them on the ground. At first, I thought he found a bad place in the bun, and was just inappropriately discarding it. But as I continued walking, I saw his face. He was simply wanting to drop crap on the ground. His face had this expression that was disturbing. It was the same expression of psychosis that you see in every movie with a psychopath. You know which one I mean? Not the glee of happiness or joy, but one of sick satisfaction for doing something that one knows they shouldn't do, but are doing. It is more akin to anger than anything else.

Well, after I watched him drop five or six pieces, I stopped and said, "excuse me, please stop doing that." That was all. The kid looked at me with this defiant angry look that I am really unaccustomed to, but he did stop. I walked on. Have I mentioned that this kid could not have been more than seven? We are not talking about a rebellious teenager here. I informed Annie that her mother was there, and she sprinted past me to go see her. I turned and started walking back, wondering how I was going to pass the time until we could go to Annie's classroom. As I approached the location of the 'encounter,' I saw the boy standing next to a woman, and they were both glaring at me with that same stare. I just got of what it reminded me! Children of the Corn! That just came to me...

I was absorbed in thought enough that I almost just walked on, which is what I should have done. They continued glaring for a while, and then turned around. It struck me then that the young angelic boy might have accidentally told someone what I said and twisted it a bit... on accident, of course. I thought to myself that if Annie had behaved like that, I'd want to know. It sounds trivial, but I often believe the devil is in the details. One small bad behavior grows into something bigger. So, I turned around and walked over to the woman. I say 'woman' because calling her a troll would be an insult... to trolls, of course. She glowered at me as I stated as kindly as possible, 'yes, I am the one who saw him dropping stuff on the ground, and asked him to stop.' I actually repeated word for word what I had said to the kid. She snarled and told me that she was sitting there the whole time. My mind was taken aback. Ok, you witnessed it, and didn't care. She snarled again, and told me it was none of my business anyway. As I mentioned earlier, I am a little emotionally frayed. I summoned all of my self-control and kept myself from unleashing a torrent of verbal criticism on her. I would not have cursed, but I definitely would have been heard beyond a small distance around me. Instead, I steadily replied, "this is my school, too, and therefore it IS DEFINITELY my business." She growled back that she was his mother, and she could take care of it. I looked back over my shoulder (wondering if I was going to turn back to her having transformed into a hideous beast coming at me all teeth and claws) to see bits of hotdog strewn all over the ground along a ten foot length of walkway. I turned back and said, "understood, then I leave it to you to make sure this gets cleaned up," and walked away. It never did, of course.

Literally one minute later, I was sitting with Annie and her friends. One of them was eating something and dropped something on the ground. I pointed to it, and she dutifully picked it up and put it in the trash. I was baffled. There are two men who are responsible for the custodial duties for Annie's school. I have known one of them since Kindergarten. I can't imagine the despair these guys see when they look at the school after one of these shin-digs.

As we walked down to see Annie's classroom, I saw the... er... woman again. She was sitting by the big redwood, and had her cellphone out. The way she was handling it looked strange. I asked Annie's mom if it looked like she was trying to take a picture of me. Annie's mom didn't think so, but it sure looked awkward. Another friend said that maybe she will take it to the principal, who will recognize me and say, "I know who that is. What did your son do?"

It seems weird that this would have bothered me at all. It really wasn't the dropping of the food. I have asked many, many kids to pick up their garbage after lunch on field trips. They have all done it without a negative response. Sometimes they take it on with gusto and clean up other kids' areas as well. It was that look. That look that made me realize that if I knew that kid's name, or his mother's, I will see it in the paper sometime. It will in all probability not be for winning the Nobel Prize in Physics...

Judgmental, controlling ass... I know. I am working on it...

As John McCain just did, I concede the the election to Barry Obama. I have sincere hope in him. I believe that he has been very non-committal in his allegiances with so many of his early supporters, and maybe he will leave them all behind and become a great American president. Please, President Obama, hold people responsible... do not expect those who can or have been successful to hold up those who can't or refuse to be. I will not reference Ayn Rand's works, but will simply rely on the words of Rush, which created one of my favorite songs:

The Trees

There is unrest in the forest
There is trouble with the trees
For the maples want more sunlight
And the oaks ignore their pleas

The trouble with the maples
(And they're quite convinced they're right)
They say the oaks are just too lofty
And they grab up all the light
But the oaks can't help their feelings
If they like the way they're made
And they wonder why the maples
Can't be happy in their shade

There is trouble in the forest
And the creatures all have fled
As the maples scream 'Oppression!'
And the oaks just shake their heads

So the maples formed a union
And demanded equal rights
'The oaks are just too greedy
We will make them give us light'
Now there's no more oak oppression
For they passed a noble law
And the trees are all kept equal
By hatchet, axe and saw

Please, do not use the saw. Let the oaks thrive and create life for the whole forest...

Bracing my Self for the Legislative and Executive Branch's Liberal Domination... Next? Judicial, and then Reverend Wright is correct about what will happen to America...

I doubt I will hold on to this thought, but I think I am done being so available to other people. I have taken so many calls from people for many years at all hours of the day and night. Granted, they do not call me during the night much if they are just bored. Those calls are when someone is really concerned, but I take them. I have gotten on the phone at two in the morning to try to help a friend get through a moment of pain or frustration. I really don't mind doing it, but I admit that I expect something: reciprocation. I don't feel like I get that.

The most common scenario is that a 'friend' discovers that I will answer the phone regardless of the time. So, they call. I have talked people through so many things, usually centered around bad relationships. I have listened to 'it is not supposed to be this way' so many times, I am ill. I even talked a friend through hallucinations brought on by prescription medicine. Once they get through the situation at hand, they are suddenly unavailable. They no longer have time or the inclination to talk. If they do talk, they are unwilling to listen to what I have going on. Yes, I am selfish. I figure if I do it for someone, they should do it for me.

As a result, I will be trying to cease my availability for discussions, regardless of the topic. Find someone else to talk to. I am not a doormat.

Just a public service announcement to let those who might read this and be on that list of people who like to call when they have a problem that the door is no longer open. Leave a message. Maybe I'll call you back. Don't count on it.
Disgusted, but I will unfortunately get over it most likely...

Some 230+ years ago, some brilliant people got tired of tyranny. They weren't ticked at having to work. They weren't ticked at having to pay taxes. They weren't ticked at not having enough 'entitlements.' They were ticked at being taxed without representation, and having there needs taxed beyond what was being done in the mother country. They were ticked because they were truly being 'picked on.' Unlike a great many revolutions that have happened since then, they set down and wrote a set of rules for how the post-revolutionary government would be run. In the most revolutionary act in history, shortly after that, very intelligent people got together and overthrew that with a new document that addressed what was lacking in the Articles of Confederation. Those people created one of the most incredible documents in history: the United States Constitution. The writers took other important documents into account, and got creative where they felt those documents fell short. I have read this document. I have read it more than once. Only once does it talk about the entitlement of a citizen of the United States of America: you have the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Life and liberty rights are handled much later with respect to the removal of those rights if behavior so negatively impacts the rights of others to have and pursue those three rights that they can no longer be trusted as citizens.

The liberal movement started with the right philosophy: people are actually being abused. If we band together, we can make things fair in our pursuit of happiness. Then something horrible happened: it became a business. Now people get paid to do it, and they constantly look for ways to make themselves look more necessary. This has grown into the worst thing that the American public has experienced: give me, give me, give me. My liberal friends will probably not speak to me again, but I can not stand down from my Sartean existentialism. We have the right to pursue happiness. It is not given by the government. We make our choices, and we live with them. Some people get lucky. Some people take risks, and make it happen. It can not happen for all of us. We get by as best we can.

When I was 22 years old, I decided to go to graduate school. I needed to learn more. Once I started, I couldn't stop. I needed more. I found something that had never before been considered. It is inconsequential in the grand scheme of things, but it was important enough to allow me to get my Ph. D. For five years I lived on every freakin' penny. Granted, I lived better than most graduate students because I was really good at what I did. When I finished, I moved 2,000 miles from everything I knew to take a job for a salary that was the national average. I had moved to one of the highest cost-of-living areas in the country. I was ok with that. I was confident, and I rose through the ranks very quickly. I was, and hopefully am, good at what I do. However, I pay higher taxes. Why? Because I live in an area that has such a high cost of living that they pay me that much. If I still lived in Missouri with this income, I would be a king. I am concerned that if Obama wins the presidency, he will further raise my taxes. A friend of mine told me that she thought I should pay higher taxes. What the f? I already do, and I worked to get this far. Why should I pay more so that other people get more benefits? I am not asking for those benefits. I do not believe it is the government's responsibility to provide them. They are simply supposed to make sure that I can pursue my quest for happiness. If they are going to be responsible for ensuring my happiness, they freakin' need to find me a girlfriend. Kate Beckinsale would be a great solution...

Current events have spurred this frustration inside me. The mortgage bail-out is one of the irritations. When my ex-wife left, I was worried that I could not stay in this house. The house is far from spectacular, and having a second income taken out of the budget made me scared. However, this is the only home Annie has really ever known. I was determined to keep it. I took an option ARM. Frankly, I didn't know what I was getting into given the information from the broker, who was a lot like a used-car salesman. That said, I read the agreement. I saw what was likely to happen. I did it anyway because it would buy me some time. The rate started adjusting, and when it got bad, I re-financed. I took care of my business. I heard a woman on the news the other day that said that yes, she was looking forward to a 3% mortgage because she had recently gotten married, and she felt she was entitled to buy a home, and it was too difficult the way things were. They had apparently already bought a home, and were struggling. Join the freakin' club! No one said it would be easy, and you certainly are not entitled to a home! I heard another lady on talk radio that was a mortgage broker who said that a couple had called her to ask how many payments they should miss before pursuing the government option. They then proceeded to ask her for a new car loan. Excuse me for a second. I think I need to call God on the Big White Phone...

Another thing that I followed happened over the last week. There is a group called the Minutemen calling for the security of our borders. Recently, a man and his two sons were gunned allegedly by an illegal alien. This individual had been arrested multiple times before, but given that San Francisco is a 'sanctuary city,' he was not turned over to INS. This group assembled at City Hall to demand the resignation of the mayor. Another group assembled to argue with them. They were shouting, 'go home racists.' Frankly, I heard all the points being made. It had nothing to do with the fact that the individual in question was Mexican. He was an illegal immigrant. Apparently, the Minutemen decided that the counter movement was becoming dangerous, and they left. The spokeswoman for the counter organization loudly proclaimed that they 'left like a dog with their tale between their legs.' Granted, that part I don't care about. I don't know why they left if they believed what they were proposing. My frustration has more to do with the woman that they interviewed afterwards...

In my typically long-winded way, I have to start with another story. Vigilantes always start with the best of intentions. However, they eventually make a transition. They stop taking care of business, and start employing violence on people that simply disagree with them. We have moved in the same direction. The woman that was interviewed, and frankly, I am seriously amazed that a San Francisco new agency published this... I admit that I may have the words jumbled a bit, so please forgive the quotes, but I guarantee you that the gist of the comment is not misconstrued: 'They can not come to the City Hall of San Francisco, the City of openness and acceptance and speak these things...' The irony sickens my stomach. She had more to say, but it was essentially the same, actually it was worse.

I am disgusted and trying to figure out how I fight this.

Ick...

Regardless of the outcome of the next election, it looks like we can count on more entitlement programs, and more government control. It sickens me.

I heard about and researched an incident that happened in Michigan this past week. In my opinion it is government involvement gone amok. A professor at a Michigan university took his son to a baseball game. He asked his seven-year old son what he wanted to drink, and the response was 'lemonade.' The gentleman went to the booth selling beverages, and asked for a lemonade. He paid for the bottle of lemonade, which he did not recognize. He gave it to his son. It was Mike's Hard Lemonade (alcoholic). A security guard swept in and took the kid. Based on protocol, the kid was taken to the hospital, and the doctors called Child Services. The result? The child spent the night crying under state custody, and the next day he went into foster care. It took two days to get the child back to his parents, and was only possible then under the requirement that the father left the house. It was almost a week before the father could see his son again.

God bless America, comrade... sieg heil...

Sorry, Annie, this is the world you inherit...

My will is weak. The final installment of the Harry Potter series arrived yesterday around noon. I have to go to Taiwan in a couple/few weeks and thought I'd save it for the plane ride. I had two other books that I had almost finished, and I would force myself to finish them before I started HP. Feeling a bit drained after my work schedule, I picked one of them up yesterday morning. I wasn't as far as I had originally thought... barely half way. I started reading, and kept reading. I finished about three in the afternoon, having taken a short break to get my hair cut.

I stared at the box, and couldn't help it. I'd just read a chapter or two, and get back to work around the house that had been put off for far too long. The laundry is piled on my bed, there are dirty dishes in the sink, the grass (weeds) are way too tall, and the study is a shambles of stacks of paper and books that I haven't put away. Unfortunately, Rowlings is gifted, and this book was her best effort in my opinion. I couldn't stop. I finished it this afternoon... all 759 pages. I am a slow reader, but found myself moving faster and faster through the constant troubles and struggles of Harry, Ron, and Hermione. I realized how unfortunate it has been that our society has left books behind.

I vaguely remember a sermon given at church when I was very young. Charlie was telling a story about how Satan was looking for advice from lesser demons. Three came forward. Like most fairy tales, the first two had nothing useful, but the third said, 'tell them there is plenty of time before Jesus returns.' This was the correct answer for that story. I think there might be a similar tale about today's entertainment and information flow. I have joked with engineering folks that if I could actually read and fathom everything written in the engineering/science books I have, I would not have any questions left. Similarly, in life we have tons of beautiful words available to us about what it is like to experience life and draw strength from them... more so, in fact.

I fine the Potter books enthralling. They are really a fantasy story, but there are parts in there that can be gleamed regarding the way human behavior should be, and the challenges in meeting those goals. That's why the books get darker as Harry ages. We lose the feeling of invincibility and innocence as we get older. We are constantly fraught with challenges that make us re-think our previous beliefs. The books are adventurous and alluring, but what happened to the rest of our literature?

So much insight can be gained in books, if one is looking for it. In the Chronicles of Narnia, there are a couple of times when Aslan answers a question regarding someone's punishment with, 'that is their story, not yours.' Frankly, that was truly altering for me. I have my own story to deal with, and it is unaffected by others. Deal with it. Live it. The emotional struggles detailed in Salinger's 'Catcher in the Rye' have surely been felt by every person. We have all gone through adolescence. The peace that comes from reading 'Walden' as Thoreau details the experience of distancing himself from (then) contemporary society to see what it would be like. Heck, even the Tolkien books are riddled with nuggets about having responsibility thrust on you, and having to do the right thing, regardless of personal consequence (did he read a lot of Jean Paul Sartre?). Maugham's 'The Razor's Edge' is loaded with life altering thoughts about what living is all about, and what we should expect. Incidentally, this is the only book I have ever read where the movie does it justice (the one with Bill Murray, believe it or not).

Have we really left it all up to Hollywood to give us this information? Can we really not engage our imagination anymore? What happened to our ability to create pictures in the mind and pull things out of the written word that might spark things in us that may or not be intentioned by the authors? Our lives have become so complicated, so confused that we have relegated ourselves to justify our behaviors with comments like, 'I don't have time,' or 'that's not my problem.' I do it, too, and hate myself for it. I still try, but recognize that I fall short. I am not loud enough. I am not strong enough. I stop to help someone on the side of the road, or extend myself to help friends in need, knowing full well that they feel no attachment to it, and will quickly forget the helping hand. But it is what I think is the right thing to do.

And so I read. I read for encouragement. I read for enlightenment. I read for support. My story has dealt some blows that I find very debilitating. Maybe I am too weak to deal with it, and that is my failure. Friends, coworkers and even family that abandon me after I have served a purpose makes me wonder why I continue to hit my head against the wall. Some day I will be wise enough to understand. I'll realize why I beat my head against the wall, or maybe I'll stop. I'll have a reason, though, and maybe I'll have the ability to put it down in words so that I might have a chance to help someone else get through the struggles easier, and ultimately exceed me. I hope I can do that for Annie.



Wishing I was more literate...

I know I have griped about this before, but it is so frustrating. I think I should petition the State to be given a license to take potshots at FlatLanders that can't drive Highway 9, and refuse or are too ignorant to use turn-outs. I don't want to hurt anyone, so can't I get a license to pelt them with paintballs? I'd even take a class to get said license. We could go over ways to identify FlatLanders. Aside from poor vehicle control on twisty roads, can you spot the decals and license plate brackets that suggest the driver is from San Jose, San Francisco, Palo Alto, or where ever? I think so. Granted, not all FlatLanders drive that way, so they would be graciously mistaken for Mountain Folk.

The sun has been out today, but there is a chilly wind blowing in from San Francisco that is making it a little unpleasant outside. Nevertheless, the FlatLanders and Crotch Rocket riders were out in droves. As I drove to work, I got behind a string of cars putzing along, and was suddenly in a swarm of motorcycles. It was like being in a herd of cattle that were suddenly beset with a swarm of locusts. Frankly, I am surprised that no one panicked and hit something. I finally got around some of them, and not in the preferred way of them using a turn-out, only to get behind more. I gave up.

After I picked up Annie, it was more of the same. Every turn became a reason to slam on the breaks, and if they did decide to use a turnout, they accelerated. I managed to get by them eventually. Thankfully, there was no one coming in the other lane. That said, it is not always FlatLanders that drive that way. It is amazing how sensitive people are about being passed. I pull over anytime that someone comes up on me and is obviously driving faster. I couldn't care less. I just don't like to be riding the brakes if I don't need to. Several years ago I was going to work and a guy (from the mountains) was putzing. He refused to use a turnout, and accelerated as he went by turn-outs. He didn't pull over, just gassed it when there was one. I was ticked, but was fine with it. I found a place to get by him, and did... even though he gunned it as I moved to pass him. His outrage at being passed suddenly brought him new driving skills. He stayed with me all the way to Saratoga, where he rolled down the window and started railing about me passing him. Strange. If he had just pulled over, or driven with the same purpose that possessed him after I passed him, it would never have happened...

Oh well, at least I am now home Annie. Time for homework...

Road Rage? No, Highway Justice... the Law says to pull over...

Two-hundred thirty-one years ago, a small group of people got together and decided that they were tired of tyranny. They were tired of fear. They were tired of abuse and oppression. They made a decision that effected many more, forcing the others to make a choice. Maybe they would have made it on their own, but probably not. Too many of us choose to wait until decisions are forced on us. It's easier to ignore it and hope it goes away. The decision that those few people made generated a new identity. A new pride was born. A brand new country. Large cities have more people on City Council than were involved in that original decision, but the result was the United States of America. We've been tenacious and aggressive in our growth and progress. We had the French and Indian War, the Mexican War, but until the Civil War we really never had a battle on our own turf. That was long ago, and we've never experienced anything like the rest of the world has.

I am sorry for my ignorance at what it has been like in other countries. I am sorry for not understanding what it was like for my friend Noe to have to leave his home in the face of execution. I am sorry for being so pampered. Please, don't think that this means I don't have concern or respect for what is going on in other places. As long as I've been alive, I've believed in the back of my mind that wars happen in other places... not here. On September 11th, 2001 that all changed.

Our country has risen to a position of influence arguably faster than any other power in recorded history. We might have limited real "inventions" that are really associated with us, but we are the kings and queens of adapting. We learned that part from our West European heritage. We take what is known, and we make something better. As a world influence, a symbol of our impact was attacked. A set of buildings that house over 50,000 people was hit during work hours. I've frankly not lived in a lot of towns that had that many people. That's like wiping out everyone I've ever known or even met. The ripple of impact ran faster and wider than a nuclear strike. This approach was brilliant in its distruction and impact. The entire country shut down. The entire world went into alert. Any friend of the USA found themselves wondering if they would be next by association. We've been arguing in country about sending our people to die on foreign soil for causes we don't understand. I wonder if it would be better received if they were dying on our soil, like all the people associated with 9.11. About 3,000 people died in that attact. They weren't soldiers.

Heroes were created on that day. Real heroes. Not people that were trained or decided to be heroes. Real heroes. The kind of people that who just went about their lives, and then reacted to a horrible situation. They didn't have the opportunity to pick up a stick and hit the bad guy. They were heroes by helping those around them. They made decisions, and helped each other. May whatever higher power there may be in this life bless those wonderful people.

Lawyers often show pictures of a crime scene in an effort to make the jury so angry that they will desire to take vengeance on anyone they see... in hopes that it will be the defendant. Maybe that's what we feel. Then again, maybe we are sick and tired of going places and hearing about how we deserve to die because of whatever we've done. And I know, we've done a lot...


Imagine this: there are two bullies on the playground. They arise as leaders on the playground after ganging together to get rid of another bully. At the time, they both agree that the third bully is horrible. After that one is gone, they turn on each other. Who is going to influence the rest of the playground? They gather their friends around them. They start putting rocks and stones in piles, and they have their followers try to make the rocks and stones into something more powerful to use against the other bully. Unfortunately, they are both doing the same thing. Friends are made during the fight for playground supremecy that aren't real. Words are spoken, promises made, gifts are offered. The rocks aren't thrown, the improved sticks aren't used, but one of the bullies falls. He can't keep going. The other bully goes quiet. There are no other bullies. She forgets the friendships she had made earlier during the struggle. Many of those friends learned what the bully taught them. They were angry at being abandoned when they were no longer considered necessary. The friends rose up. Now they are bullies on their own right. The original Bully has to deal with that now.

We've only been around for a short time with respect to recorded history, but we've had a lot of influence. The Middle East (and I hate that it is so called, given the fact that the entire human civilization was essentially born out of this area) has been around for a long time. Their conflicts have been long and constant. We are just another battle. I know that others (friends of mine) consider this entire action to be internationally illegal. I am not going to put my thoughts and beliefs into that. I can only say that it is too late. We are vested in this. We can't leave with the current state of affairs. We have to make things right. There are people who are counting on us.

I know that I'm not particularly well informed on these things. I just know that I was taught that when you start something, you finish it. Things come up, but you make it right. Whatever it takes...

Yeah, I just watched "World Trade Center"

Clint called me about a half hour ago. You know. Clint Eastwood. Yeah, he and I are pretty tight. He called so we could have a talk about the significant issues that are going to be decided next Tuesday. Ok. It was a recording, and I'm sick and tired of this. I actually found myself reprimanding Clint for joining in this horrible political situation we have found ourselves in. Ten minutes later, the phone rang again, and this time I waited. Apparently, the tools used for these automated calls wait for a voice. I finally said hello, and heard, "Rudy Guilliani says..." I hung up. How have we turned into this? How have we let ourselves be viewed as a society that can be so easily swayed by well designed rhetoric? Are we as a whole so stupid that we can hear crap about people and automatically assume that the other option is better? I'm disgusted with us as a species. How did we get this way?

This time of year has turned into a horrible experience. Voting time should be a period of discussion and substantiated evidence. I heard an add while I was in the shower today that just made me shake my head. Granted, I might not have heard it all over the shower and suds, but it seemed like a teacher had been hired to give support to a senator running for a state position. The 'support' was all about the failings of the incumbent, and how he had failed in delivering California a secure voting procedure. She gave him an 'F' to play on the teacher role. She then indicated her (and supposedly the combined support of all California teachers) to the competition. She made it clear that other groups supported this individual as well. She concluded with saying that person running against the incumbent got an 'A' for security of voting. Maybe I missed it, but I didn't hear anything that showed how this person did something to further the security of the voting process.

The phone solicitation has gotten out of control. The other day I answered a call that began, "this is so-n-so, and I'm calling you regarding..." I stupidly told the recording that no, they weren't calling me, it was a recording, and hung up. Does anyone actually listen to this tripe all the way through? I figure whoever is contracted to deliver these messages simply says that they made x number of calls, and claims victories, regardless of how few people actually listen. I always laugh when people make snide comments about how 'backwards' Missouri is. It's a fairly unassuming state. People don't think much about it, and internationals don't have a clue where it is. Like about half of Californians, I consider somewhere else my homeland. I was born in California, but to date over half of my life was spent in Missouri, and they were my most formative years. Consequently, that is my homeland. I may never return, but I can't lose the accent, so I might as well accept it. Some years ago, I remember smiling while Californians poked fun at Missouri for including the recently deceased governor on the ballet. Missouri may be considered backwards for such a 'progressive' state as California, but everyone that voted knew that they were voting for his wife, who was the new runner under the Democratic ticket. The decision was made to leave the ballots the same given the high cost of making new ones, and distributing them. Perhaps California could step off the pedestal and realize how sensible that was given that as a state receiving more tax income than many countries they continue to spew out concerns that the state is going to go bankrupt. I bring this up because I've learned that Missouri is looking at making it a law that if a call is going to be placed to a 'no-call' number there had better be a freakin' live person there. Hmmm. Imagine that. A phone call that actually came from a person. By the way, Clint, you can call me any time you'd like. After all, we are practically neighbors, give or take fifty miles.

I am so sick of hearing ads that simply point fingers at the other person. I tell my daughter to not tattle. I tell her to spend her time thinking about her own actions, and less on what other people experience and have. I assume that all parents do this. How many times have I heard, "if everyone ate poop, would you do it, too?" Do the consultants that put these ads together actually believe that as adults we buy into this? I long for the person running for office that can ignore what the competition has done and simply tell their story without all that crap. I fear that I'll have to run for office to make it happen. My mind turns up so many analogies that make me wonder about the motive for so many of these ads. If you wanted to hire a contractor to work on your house, and all they did was run down another contractor, but never said what they did, would you hire him/her? Frankly, virtually every religion has a benevolent and malevolent being. Look at the world. The melevolent being could easily say 'the Benevolent being hasn't done what you needed, so you need to turn to me.' How is that different?

Alright. I'll stop with my irritation, now...


Update: 10 minutes later - just got a call from the something-or-other in the state government.

Voting on my own perception, not someone else's.

It probably doesn't suprise anyone that I am sometimes considered arrogant. In my defense, this usually happens at precisely the same time that people find out that I can put those three letters after my name: Ph.D. I hear others make comments around work that are considered 'being open and honest,' but if they came from me would be followed with mutterings of 'arrogant ass.' Whatever. Then there are times like now. Why would people not expect me to come off arrogant when surrounded by so many idiots?

Years ago, every now and then some SPAMmer will latch on to one of our large aliases and send crap to a huge number of people. Intelligent folks just delete it and move on. However, there are the idiot-masses that respond to everyone with a request to be removed from the alias. Every employee has the ability to go into an on-line tool and remove themselves from aliases, although there are some that are necessary for business that prohibit removal. This hasn't been a problem in quite a while since the company's infrastructure has developed and employed fairly robust anti-SPAM software as well as limitations to the alias that keep people outside the internal network from using the alias, and denying replies to the alias. However, recently it appears one large alias was overlooked.

The SPAM came in, and I deleted it. Of course, one idiot responded to everyone with the request to be removed. I shook my head, and deleted that one, too... knowing that the avalanche was about to begin. Sure enough, it turns out idiots are like lemmings. Once one person publicly asked to be removed, a hundred others do the same. One of our senior executives, and a brilliant person, sent out an e-mail in an attempt to stop the tidal wave by indicating that there was no need to reply to everyone, or request removal from the alias. Shortly after he sent that, ten more requests filed into my inbox. To frustrate me further, many of these people claim to be executives of whatever, and one was even claiming to be a 'software specialist.'

As a company that is in the business of making money, I did some quick calculations about what this cost. There are about 10,000 people on this alias (probably more). It takes on average about five seconds for the one to see the e-mail, and delete it. So, for every moronic response to the SPAM, about 50,000 seconds of company time are burned. That's almost 14 hours. Given what Human Resources considers company cost per head, that is a loss of over $1000 each occurrence. One hundred responses? That's $100k freakin' down the tubes.

Freakin' get a clue people...
Hmmmph...