We found a house that we like and made an offer (our offer was the asking price and the seller pays the closing costs). He counter offered. We accepted it and he made another counter offer.
That's NOT the way haggling works. I know that a lot of people don't like to haggle (we don't) so we aren't very good at it but it's all about give and take. Give AND take. In this area it's a sellers market but if someone accepts your offer does that mean you say "Just kidding, would you go for this offer?". Nope.
We're thinking that the market is better than he thinks. Everyday about five houses in our price range and size are listed in the area we're looking at. Five houses. Why should we settle for this house?
From what I hear, in other parts of the world haggling is more fun. Everyone knows what's going on, the haggling is just a game to get to the real price. Not in the US. We don't haggle, so we have no idea how to do it without being insulting. If someone accepts your offer and you say no, you're being insulting or you're dumb. Which is worse?
Me, if the price is right I go for it. If not, I don't. Maybe if more people followed that theory we wouldn't have people trying to haggle even after the sale is made.
Sorry for this post being so simple. It's been a long day and manana will be just as long. Welcome to my reader from South Korea. I bet that a reader from North Korea will be a long ways coming. Maybe someday.
Friday, May 31, 2013
Chickens.
Chickens are neat. Truthfully they are also filthy nasty critters. Good cooking though.
When you have chickens in your backyard your yard will have less bugs. You don't realize it but chickens are predators. I saw something on Facebook saying that T. Rex's are closer to modern birds than to some other dinosaurs like the Stegosaurus. I can believe it. A small snake was in the chicken pen, they found him, no more snake. They went for bugs like you wouldn't believe. They were hell on mice also.
Chickens are dumb. In the Great Slaughter of June, our German Shepherd killed four or five poultry. Every single one of them could see the others being tracked and slaughtered and they still went out one at a time to explore our backyard. One of our chickens was a Polish Crested, had a "puffball" of feathers on her head. She couldn't see a damn thing, we put her crest into a "topknot" and she could see fine. Stupid chicken.
They are so useful though. You can eat the eggs, eat the juveniles and even eat the older chickens. Oddly enough, pretty much the only people that will buy the "spent hens" are the public schools. Once a chicken is old enough to not lay she is also a bit tough. The chicken farms sell them at a discounted price and the only buyer is schools. In addition to cooking, they are great for your garden. They rid it of pests and the chicken guano is great fertilizer.
I miss our chickens.
When you have chickens in your backyard your yard will have less bugs. You don't realize it but chickens are predators. I saw something on Facebook saying that T. Rex's are closer to modern birds than to some other dinosaurs like the Stegosaurus. I can believe it. A small snake was in the chicken pen, they found him, no more snake. They went for bugs like you wouldn't believe. They were hell on mice also.
Chickens are dumb. In the Great Slaughter of June, our German Shepherd killed four or five poultry. Every single one of them could see the others being tracked and slaughtered and they still went out one at a time to explore our backyard. One of our chickens was a Polish Crested, had a "puffball" of feathers on her head. She couldn't see a damn thing, we put her crest into a "topknot" and she could see fine. Stupid chicken.
They are so useful though. You can eat the eggs, eat the juveniles and even eat the older chickens. Oddly enough, pretty much the only people that will buy the "spent hens" are the public schools. Once a chicken is old enough to not lay she is also a bit tough. The chicken farms sell them at a discounted price and the only buyer is schools. In addition to cooking, they are great for your garden. They rid it of pests and the chicken guano is great fertilizer.
I miss our chickens.
Wednesday, May 29, 2013
Open minds.
I read some article today about a cop being ambushed and killed today. That's terrible, anytime a person dies is terrible, this one just hit home because my wife is a cop.
I made the mistake of reading some of the comments. The first one was basically the same sentiment as I had. About 90% of the rest were some variant of "the jack-booted thug deserved it".
WHAT? They were saying that the cop deserved to die because he was a cop and therefore corrupt. I'll be the first to admit that anytime you have a big enough group of people you will get some bad apples in the group. Who knows, maybe if you get a big enough group of scumbags some will run counter to expectations.
If you don't like cops, fine. Nothing wrong with having an opinion. While you're at it, have an open mind also. If every cop is corrupt don't you think someone would have said something about it in the news. Even if you've had a bad experience with a corrupt cop what makes you think that all of them are corrupt?
How about this, you keep an open mind and try to do a ride along with your local police. If you still don't like cops after that, and you've given them a fair shake, fine. Don't like them. Your choice.
What truly pisses me off is the complete disregard for the person behind the badge. This person had a family. Don't you think they cried because he died? No matter how bad a person is their is a mother crying over their child being gone. Or, no matter how bad you think a person is. Think all you want, just keep an open mind.
I made the mistake of reading some of the comments. The first one was basically the same sentiment as I had. About 90% of the rest were some variant of "the jack-booted thug deserved it".
WHAT? They were saying that the cop deserved to die because he was a cop and therefore corrupt. I'll be the first to admit that anytime you have a big enough group of people you will get some bad apples in the group. Who knows, maybe if you get a big enough group of scumbags some will run counter to expectations.
If you don't like cops, fine. Nothing wrong with having an opinion. While you're at it, have an open mind also. If every cop is corrupt don't you think someone would have said something about it in the news. Even if you've had a bad experience with a corrupt cop what makes you think that all of them are corrupt?
How about this, you keep an open mind and try to do a ride along with your local police. If you still don't like cops after that, and you've given them a fair shake, fine. Don't like them. Your choice.
What truly pisses me off is the complete disregard for the person behind the badge. This person had a family. Don't you think they cried because he died? No matter how bad a person is their is a mother crying over their child being gone. Or, no matter how bad you think a person is. Think all you want, just keep an open mind.
Monday, May 27, 2013
Thank You.
Thank you. Is this to my loyal readers? Nope. It's Memorial Day and that thank you is for all of our military that died in service.
I hope that everyone today will remember the fallen. If you're drinking, pour a sip of your beer on the ground in remembrance of them. Set a place for them at the table. Tell your children stories about relatives that died so they won't be forgotten. Go to a cemetery and put out the flags on the the markers or clear away the trash and weeds that seem to infest the smaller and older cemeteries.
Much shorter post than usual for me, I'm going to tell my children about my father.
I hope that everyone today will remember the fallen. If you're drinking, pour a sip of your beer on the ground in remembrance of them. Set a place for them at the table. Tell your children stories about relatives that died so they won't be forgotten. Go to a cemetery and put out the flags on the the markers or clear away the trash and weeds that seem to infest the smaller and older cemeteries.
Much shorter post than usual for me, I'm going to tell my children about my father.
Saturday, May 25, 2013
Being a counselor.
I think I would be a great priest. Except for that whole chaste, celibacy and belief in God parts (more of that later). Like most guys, if you tell me a problem I want to tell you how to solve it. Topless bars broke me of that habit.
Sometimes when someone is telling you a problem they just want someone to hear them. Maybe to agree with them that their significant other is a jerk. Or even just a hug or for someone to say "That sucks". I've learned to listen, even ask the person if they want me to just listen or offer advice.
I've also learned that when you offer advice you have to qualify it. Things like: "Me personally, I would do this because of this" sometimes it might be like "I would do this, but that might not work for you because of...".
You have to judge the situation and react accordingly. I've had many dancers and servers come in to work and complain about their boyfriend. When the boyfriend is hitting and abusing the lady I would tell the lady to leave him. My quote is: "Love doesn't leave bruises". I don't know how many would agree and then not do it. I eventually stopped telling them to leave because they weren't ready to leave yet. The ones that would complain about the abuse I would tell to leave him or stop talking about it. Harsh, but I don't want to hear it if you can't take the first step in your own survival. I learned to change my tactic. When the lady would complain about the guy, we would say leave him and then she wouldn't. I went to the next level and told her the future. I would sit her down in the office (I would always have a witness, partly for legal protection and partly to train managers) and explain what he's doing (driving her to work and telling her that her friends don't like her) and why (she's dependent on him and removing those that might disagree with him or provide a safe haven), what the next step is in the abuse (more hitting, she will get older and not make as much money so he'll push her into prostitution or replace her) or if he's more anger motivated instead of money motivated the final part of the abuse (he'll kill her in a fit of rage). I'll tell her this in a very matter of fact tone and let her know that if she wants out we can help her. If not...
Every lady I had this talk to left the guy and didn't have the bruises anymore. One lady told me that I probably saved her life. Did I? Don't know, she's better off so I'm happy.
Sometimes all we want is someone to listen and sometimes all we need is for someone to tell us what to do. Fine line between the two. You have to know the difference. I was getting really good at that.
The first paragraph comes from a conversation I had with a former employee. She was young and very religious and knew about my atheism and adult nightlife background. We were talking about religion and I mentioned that I think I would be a good priest she laughed and laughed and didn't stop for awhile. When she caught her breath I put the qualifiers at the end, she sputtered and laughed again. Maddie's very mean. If she ever need a couch to crash on I have it covered, but she's mean.
Still think I could do it. Except for those certain things.
Know your limitations. That's what I learned that day, and Maddie is very mean.
Sometimes when someone is telling you a problem they just want someone to hear them. Maybe to agree with them that their significant other is a jerk. Or even just a hug or for someone to say "That sucks". I've learned to listen, even ask the person if they want me to just listen or offer advice.
I've also learned that when you offer advice you have to qualify it. Things like: "Me personally, I would do this because of this" sometimes it might be like "I would do this, but that might not work for you because of...".
You have to judge the situation and react accordingly. I've had many dancers and servers come in to work and complain about their boyfriend. When the boyfriend is hitting and abusing the lady I would tell the lady to leave him. My quote is: "Love doesn't leave bruises". I don't know how many would agree and then not do it. I eventually stopped telling them to leave because they weren't ready to leave yet. The ones that would complain about the abuse I would tell to leave him or stop talking about it. Harsh, but I don't want to hear it if you can't take the first step in your own survival. I learned to change my tactic. When the lady would complain about the guy, we would say leave him and then she wouldn't. I went to the next level and told her the future. I would sit her down in the office (I would always have a witness, partly for legal protection and partly to train managers) and explain what he's doing (driving her to work and telling her that her friends don't like her) and why (she's dependent on him and removing those that might disagree with him or provide a safe haven), what the next step is in the abuse (more hitting, she will get older and not make as much money so he'll push her into prostitution or replace her) or if he's more anger motivated instead of money motivated the final part of the abuse (he'll kill her in a fit of rage). I'll tell her this in a very matter of fact tone and let her know that if she wants out we can help her. If not...
Every lady I had this talk to left the guy and didn't have the bruises anymore. One lady told me that I probably saved her life. Did I? Don't know, she's better off so I'm happy.
Sometimes all we want is someone to listen and sometimes all we need is for someone to tell us what to do. Fine line between the two. You have to know the difference. I was getting really good at that.
The first paragraph comes from a conversation I had with a former employee. She was young and very religious and knew about my atheism and adult nightlife background. We were talking about religion and I mentioned that I think I would be a good priest she laughed and laughed and didn't stop for awhile. When she caught her breath I put the qualifiers at the end, she sputtered and laughed again. Maddie's very mean. If she ever need a couch to crash on I have it covered, but she's mean.
Still think I could do it. Except for those certain things.
Know your limitations. That's what I learned that day, and Maddie is very mean.
Friday, May 24, 2013
A different look at "Nice".
I've said quite a few times that I'm not a nice person, I just try to be nice. Because of that I'm reading a book called "Be Nice and whats in it for you - Or Else!" by Winn Claybaugh. Being an introspective kind of guy I've realized that those things that some people do instinctively, I have to make a conscience decision to do.
Everyone has their gifts and flaws. My flaws involve a bit of callousness. I prefer honesty and I have a tough skin so I naturally treat people the same way. I've learned the hard way that it doesn't always work out that way.
In Mr. Claybaugh's book he talks about eliminating negative influences such as gossip, romance novels, action adventure films, and mystery novels. WHAT? I have problems with this, let me enumerate them for you.
1. Gossip. That is what I miss most about working. Gossip is awesome. Of course some gossip is malicious but some is just inane. While working, gossip was a great way to keep a finger on the pulse of a workforce. It would let me know who was dating whom and therefore might be a problem later on, who is doing drugs and what kind, who is thinking about looking for another job, and other such things like that. The mean gossip on the other hand I don't want to hear, bad for morale.
2. Romance novels. Never read one, can't judge them. I've read some "paranormal romance" (a Marine suggested them also) and thought the romance part was okay, just not my thing.
3. Action Adventure. These films are pure escapism. What is wrong with that? Are they violent? Yepper. So was the Road Runner and Bugs Bunny. Hell, look at Tom and Jerry. Violence in cartoons and movies is a part of them, deal with it. The first Terminator film was an action adventure/horror film. You could say that it was a film about the human spirit being unconquerable.
4. Mystery novels. WHAT! Mystery novels are awesome. If they are well written that is. My favorite author is Donald Westlake, try his "Levine" book, the Dortmunder series, or the Parker books (written under the name of Richard Stark). Don't know Parker? Remember the Mel Gibson film called "Payback"? That was based on a Parker novel, they had to make the character nicer for the movie. Another author I like is Andrew Vachss. He is darker, all of the books deal with child abuse and someone dies that causes the abuse. You could say that it has a happy ending then.
I believe that we need these "negative" influences to make us who we are. These actions give us scars that remind us of who we are and what we've been through. Those scars protect us from some of the more disturbing things in our world. Those scars give our souls depth and dimension. Without those scars we would be as pure and innocent as a baby. With those scars we can protect those that are pure and innocent.
Everyone has their gifts and flaws. My flaws involve a bit of callousness. I prefer honesty and I have a tough skin so I naturally treat people the same way. I've learned the hard way that it doesn't always work out that way.
In Mr. Claybaugh's book he talks about eliminating negative influences such as gossip, romance novels, action adventure films, and mystery novels. WHAT? I have problems with this, let me enumerate them for you.
1. Gossip. That is what I miss most about working. Gossip is awesome. Of course some gossip is malicious but some is just inane. While working, gossip was a great way to keep a finger on the pulse of a workforce. It would let me know who was dating whom and therefore might be a problem later on, who is doing drugs and what kind, who is thinking about looking for another job, and other such things like that. The mean gossip on the other hand I don't want to hear, bad for morale.
2. Romance novels. Never read one, can't judge them. I've read some "paranormal romance" (a Marine suggested them also) and thought the romance part was okay, just not my thing.
3. Action Adventure. These films are pure escapism. What is wrong with that? Are they violent? Yepper. So was the Road Runner and Bugs Bunny. Hell, look at Tom and Jerry. Violence in cartoons and movies is a part of them, deal with it. The first Terminator film was an action adventure/horror film. You could say that it was a film about the human spirit being unconquerable.
4. Mystery novels. WHAT! Mystery novels are awesome. If they are well written that is. My favorite author is Donald Westlake, try his "Levine" book, the Dortmunder series, or the Parker books (written under the name of Richard Stark). Don't know Parker? Remember the Mel Gibson film called "Payback"? That was based on a Parker novel, they had to make the character nicer for the movie. Another author I like is Andrew Vachss. He is darker, all of the books deal with child abuse and someone dies that causes the abuse. You could say that it has a happy ending then.
I believe that we need these "negative" influences to make us who we are. These actions give us scars that remind us of who we are and what we've been through. Those scars protect us from some of the more disturbing things in our world. Those scars give our souls depth and dimension. Without those scars we would be as pure and innocent as a baby. With those scars we can protect those that are pure and innocent.
Wednesday, May 22, 2013
Trapped.
I have readers from the Ukraine now. Welcome. I'll be here all night, tip the waitress and try the veal. (Who recognizes that?)
I have ideas out the wazoo, the discipline and skill to write it all down and polish them up is something else again. Songs, screenplays, games, novels, short stories, and novels for young and old alike. Not much into poetry though, a haiku occasionally is about it.
The song ideas are different. Different for me because music is not a guiding force for me. When I have an idea for a song I try to think what mood it should be in and then what is the genre for that? One song is about hating, I'm thinking punk. Maybe metal. Another idea is a country song. I could easily picture people in a bar singing along with it, a catchy verse to be the refrain. It would double as the title. The same style as "She thinks my tractors sexy". A possibility.
I titled this post "Trapped" because I'm trapped. I'd promised myself to write a post daily. I have and I'm rather proud of myself. I've learned stuff which is what the blog is about. All good. However, a stay at home dad with three children doesn't have a lot of time for writing. What time I do have goes to writing this blog. I've decided that I need to figure out how to manage my time better so I can do both. Not as easy as you might think.
I have ideas out the wazoo, the discipline and skill to write it all down and polish them up is something else again. Songs, screenplays, games, novels, short stories, and novels for young and old alike. Not much into poetry though, a haiku occasionally is about it.
The song ideas are different. Different for me because music is not a guiding force for me. When I have an idea for a song I try to think what mood it should be in and then what is the genre for that? One song is about hating, I'm thinking punk. Maybe metal. Another idea is a country song. I could easily picture people in a bar singing along with it, a catchy verse to be the refrain. It would double as the title. The same style as "She thinks my tractors sexy". A possibility.
I titled this post "Trapped" because I'm trapped. I'd promised myself to write a post daily. I have and I'm rather proud of myself. I've learned stuff which is what the blog is about. All good. However, a stay at home dad with three children doesn't have a lot of time for writing. What time I do have goes to writing this blog. I've decided that I need to figure out how to manage my time better so I can do both. Not as easy as you might think.
A Story of Thailand.
Years ago I didn't know how long my father would be around so when he asked me to go to Thailand with him for a business trip I figured I should go spend time with him while I could.
Thailand is a beautiful country and at the time they were going through a terrible depression. We stayed in a "guest house", no a/c, two beds, private bathroom, no sheets or towels, and $5 a night. While there I saw some Buddhist temples (very tranquil), went to a tulip farm that also had peacocks and ridgeback dogs.
I went to a farm that used elephants to do tricks, move logs around, and give rides to tourists. At the beginning of the ride it started raining. A dog is built with their legs going straight down from their shoulders, an elephant's legs go in at an angle, therefore they leave a very narrow trail going up the muddy hill. When I said up the hill I meant up. The angle was enough that I'm reaching for something to hold onto as I start sliding back in my bench. I was in the front elephant looking at this very narrow trail on a very big elephant. In the rain, sliding. My elephant had a rider on it, he got off the elephant and walked in front of it. He put a leash around the ear of my elephant though, but he still got off this big elephant going up the very narrow trail in the rain. There was a bug bothering the elephant, Mr. Elephant couldn't get the bug with his trunk so he got innovative. Mr. Elephant pulled a tree out of the ground and whacked the bug with his tree. I'm sitting a foot away from this bug as the roots and dirt come flying to end the bugs life. The elephant pulled a tree out of the ground, the root ball was about 18" to 2' in diameter and the tree trunk was five or six inches in diameter. Try and do that yourself. He did it without trying or struggling. Don't piss off the elephant.
I found two bookstores also. One was a big chain kind of place like a Barnes and Nobles, only bigger and two story. It had an English section, German section, Japanese section, and of course the huge Thai section. Then I found the other one. It was owned by an English expat. It was a used book store, the German books were in a room upstairs, Japanese in a different room, French was another room, and the ground floor was English. Picture a Half-Price bookstore in a house filled with about 85% fiction. He obviously catered to tourists, I picked up a few books myself.
Thailand exports massage therapists. I had an hour long deep tissue massage for $5. Of course I tipped 100%. I had this attractive lady bending and pulling on my body and then she says something in broken English and points to her mouth. Say what? She says it again and I understand her this time. Yes, you may practice your English on me.
I went to a Thai topless bar. I'm drinking my Coke and a manager/floor walker/madam comes by with a lady. She grabs one of my hands and puts it on a breast and the other on the ladies thong. I pull them back as she tells me this lady is nice, young and firm. I can take her to the hotel for about 2500 baht. That works out to about $50. At the time I was in a similar business, so I was polite which was the wrong thing to do. I said "Not right now." She thought I was haggling. She left and came back with another lady. The first one was about a 7, this new one was about a 9.5. I'm told that the two ladies would be 4700 baht. The light caught the new lady just right and I realized she was a Thai doppelganger for one of my dancers. I would have killed her. The police would have been pulling my hands from around her throat as I called her Diamond. Diamond was part of the reason why I took a vacation. I slammed that Coke down and left so quick it was scary. Before we went I did research on the nightlife in Thailand. Prostitution is illegal but not bothered with anymore. It used to be different, minors would be turning tricks for tourists until the government decided that they didn't want that kind of tourist trade. They started coming down hard on pimps/madams/tourists that wanted the minors. Those tourists that weren't in a Thai jail started going to other countries after that.
On my way back to the guest house a tall very attractive lady asked me if I wanted any company. I learned to be firm. I said "No thank you". I was about two strides past her when her voice dropped about two octaves and she asked me what I was afraid of. Right now I'm afraid of the "ladyboy" with the Barry White voice. That is also very common in Thailand. So common that Thailand is a world leader in quite a few kinds of surgery. Normally I can see the telltale signs of a crossdresser or a transsexual, big hands and feet compared to the body, little things like that. Not in Thailand, they were good.
I think the greatest compliment I could to the Thai people is that they were so nice. There is more to say about Thailand, the food and drink, the carving and dancing, even the tuk tuks. All of that is for another day.
Thailand is a beautiful country and at the time they were going through a terrible depression. We stayed in a "guest house", no a/c, two beds, private bathroom, no sheets or towels, and $5 a night. While there I saw some Buddhist temples (very tranquil), went to a tulip farm that also had peacocks and ridgeback dogs.
I went to a farm that used elephants to do tricks, move logs around, and give rides to tourists. At the beginning of the ride it started raining. A dog is built with their legs going straight down from their shoulders, an elephant's legs go in at an angle, therefore they leave a very narrow trail going up the muddy hill. When I said up the hill I meant up. The angle was enough that I'm reaching for something to hold onto as I start sliding back in my bench. I was in the front elephant looking at this very narrow trail on a very big elephant. In the rain, sliding. My elephant had a rider on it, he got off the elephant and walked in front of it. He put a leash around the ear of my elephant though, but he still got off this big elephant going up the very narrow trail in the rain. There was a bug bothering the elephant, Mr. Elephant couldn't get the bug with his trunk so he got innovative. Mr. Elephant pulled a tree out of the ground and whacked the bug with his tree. I'm sitting a foot away from this bug as the roots and dirt come flying to end the bugs life. The elephant pulled a tree out of the ground, the root ball was about 18" to 2' in diameter and the tree trunk was five or six inches in diameter. Try and do that yourself. He did it without trying or struggling. Don't piss off the elephant.
I found two bookstores also. One was a big chain kind of place like a Barnes and Nobles, only bigger and two story. It had an English section, German section, Japanese section, and of course the huge Thai section. Then I found the other one. It was owned by an English expat. It was a used book store, the German books were in a room upstairs, Japanese in a different room, French was another room, and the ground floor was English. Picture a Half-Price bookstore in a house filled with about 85% fiction. He obviously catered to tourists, I picked up a few books myself.
Thailand exports massage therapists. I had an hour long deep tissue massage for $5. Of course I tipped 100%. I had this attractive lady bending and pulling on my body and then she says something in broken English and points to her mouth. Say what? She says it again and I understand her this time. Yes, you may practice your English on me.
I went to a Thai topless bar. I'm drinking my Coke and a manager/floor walker/madam comes by with a lady. She grabs one of my hands and puts it on a breast and the other on the ladies thong. I pull them back as she tells me this lady is nice, young and firm. I can take her to the hotel for about 2500 baht. That works out to about $50. At the time I was in a similar business, so I was polite which was the wrong thing to do. I said "Not right now." She thought I was haggling. She left and came back with another lady. The first one was about a 7, this new one was about a 9.5. I'm told that the two ladies would be 4700 baht. The light caught the new lady just right and I realized she was a Thai doppelganger for one of my dancers. I would have killed her. The police would have been pulling my hands from around her throat as I called her Diamond. Diamond was part of the reason why I took a vacation. I slammed that Coke down and left so quick it was scary. Before we went I did research on the nightlife in Thailand. Prostitution is illegal but not bothered with anymore. It used to be different, minors would be turning tricks for tourists until the government decided that they didn't want that kind of tourist trade. They started coming down hard on pimps/madams/tourists that wanted the minors. Those tourists that weren't in a Thai jail started going to other countries after that.
On my way back to the guest house a tall very attractive lady asked me if I wanted any company. I learned to be firm. I said "No thank you". I was about two strides past her when her voice dropped about two octaves and she asked me what I was afraid of. Right now I'm afraid of the "ladyboy" with the Barry White voice. That is also very common in Thailand. So common that Thailand is a world leader in quite a few kinds of surgery. Normally I can see the telltale signs of a crossdresser or a transsexual, big hands and feet compared to the body, little things like that. Not in Thailand, they were good.
I think the greatest compliment I could to the Thai people is that they were so nice. There is more to say about Thailand, the food and drink, the carving and dancing, even the tuk tuks. All of that is for another day.
Monday, May 20, 2013
Weather.
It's hot here in Texas. A friend of mine from Alaska (Hi, you know who you are) was down here in the springtime, she came in and asked us how we handled this heat. We were confused, it was only in the 80's at the time. What heat?
To her 83 is hot. She is from Alaska, she might be dealing with lows in the -50 area sometimes. I cannot conceive of -50, is that instant frostbite or death? Damn hell if I'm going to test it. She couldn't conceive of 110. I think that is just a hot day. You deal with it; drink a lot of water, stay in the shade, park in the shade even if it's farther away, make sure your ac works, and eat chili (it's a Texan thing). If the temp was up in the 120 or even in the 150 range it's the same procedure, just more of it (except the chili part), some slight modifications because the temp is in the 120-150 range, but basically the same.
-50 on the other hand, I have no clue. That's one of those situations that you just think: Oh, shitfuckiamgoingtodie. Hopefully, you can be calm whilst your eyes are freezing in your skull. At that temp exposed flesh will get frostbit in a few minutes. I'm okay with the cold but I'm not okay with flesh freezing. Call me silly.
In Texas the houses aren't built to handle the heat anymore. They used to be designed so that with a few open windows the house stayed fairly comfortable. Not anymore. Idiots. Our thermostat uses batteries to power the activation and programming, batteries died and we didn't have any more of that size. The house got real warm real quick. Picked up some more batteries real quick too.
Who can guess what this post is really about?
To her 83 is hot. She is from Alaska, she might be dealing with lows in the -50 area sometimes. I cannot conceive of -50, is that instant frostbite or death? Damn hell if I'm going to test it. She couldn't conceive of 110. I think that is just a hot day. You deal with it; drink a lot of water, stay in the shade, park in the shade even if it's farther away, make sure your ac works, and eat chili (it's a Texan thing). If the temp was up in the 120 or even in the 150 range it's the same procedure, just more of it (except the chili part), some slight modifications because the temp is in the 120-150 range, but basically the same.
-50 on the other hand, I have no clue. That's one of those situations that you just think: Oh, shitfuckiamgoingtodie. Hopefully, you can be calm whilst your eyes are freezing in your skull. At that temp exposed flesh will get frostbit in a few minutes. I'm okay with the cold but I'm not okay with flesh freezing. Call me silly.
In Texas the houses aren't built to handle the heat anymore. They used to be designed so that with a few open windows the house stayed fairly comfortable. Not anymore. Idiots. Our thermostat uses batteries to power the activation and programming, batteries died and we didn't have any more of that size. The house got real warm real quick. Picked up some more batteries real quick too.
Who can guess what this post is really about?
Just some mindless dithering.
I'm so sorry about all of the substandard writing recently. Here's some thoughts, not quite a stream of consciousness but some pretty random thoughts.
I have a thought for a kids book called Bryan the Bald (or Bold, I haven't decided yet). It's about a bald kid who talks about how people treat him because he's bald. He says that his friends don't care he's bald. The main character is named after my brother that is special needs. I want the reason for his baldness to be ambiguous, it could be some disease, cancer, or who knows what.
When our first child was born I didn't know how long my parents would be alive. So I figured that having our daughter baptized would be a good memory for my mother. Since both of us were atheists we had a little difficulty getting a priest to do the baptismal. The girls godmother has a friend that's a minister and he offered to drive the four hours to do it. He and his partner (they are gay) came up for that and the tamales we paid them with. We bought about four or five dozen tameales for the party. Yes, we made it into a party. We invited about two dozen people and made an event out of it. The minister even mentioned how this was the first time he had an audience and this is the first time the child was expected to live. We asked him what he meant, he said that he worked in a hospital and the only time he was called in to do anything with babies was because the child in question was not expected to live. We all thought that was the worst job we had ever heard of.
I've been watching "How I Met Your Mother" lately. At first I really liked Barney, then the more I watched it the more I realized that Lily, Marshall, and Robin all had hidden sides that I liked. Still don't like Ted though. The more I've watched it though the more it seems like it's a remake of Ally McBeal. Think about it, the main character doesn't really date s/he just auditions for the "The One". Little love triangle with the main character, their love interest and the third person. Ally had fantasies whilst Mother had flashbacks. I know some of it is just the formula to make a sitcom, but the similarities are enough to make me wonder. I didn't watch much of Ally to be a good judge though. Who has seen both and can comment on them? Do it please.
I have a thought for a kids book called Bryan the Bald (or Bold, I haven't decided yet). It's about a bald kid who talks about how people treat him because he's bald. He says that his friends don't care he's bald. The main character is named after my brother that is special needs. I want the reason for his baldness to be ambiguous, it could be some disease, cancer, or who knows what.
When our first child was born I didn't know how long my parents would be alive. So I figured that having our daughter baptized would be a good memory for my mother. Since both of us were atheists we had a little difficulty getting a priest to do the baptismal. The girls godmother has a friend that's a minister and he offered to drive the four hours to do it. He and his partner (they are gay) came up for that and the tamales we paid them with. We bought about four or five dozen tameales for the party. Yes, we made it into a party. We invited about two dozen people and made an event out of it. The minister even mentioned how this was the first time he had an audience and this is the first time the child was expected to live. We asked him what he meant, he said that he worked in a hospital and the only time he was called in to do anything with babies was because the child in question was not expected to live. We all thought that was the worst job we had ever heard of.
I've been watching "How I Met Your Mother" lately. At first I really liked Barney, then the more I watched it the more I realized that Lily, Marshall, and Robin all had hidden sides that I liked. Still don't like Ted though. The more I've watched it though the more it seems like it's a remake of Ally McBeal. Think about it, the main character doesn't really date s/he just auditions for the "The One". Little love triangle with the main character, their love interest and the third person. Ally had fantasies whilst Mother had flashbacks. I know some of it is just the formula to make a sitcom, but the similarities are enough to make me wonder. I didn't watch much of Ally to be a good judge though. Who has seen both and can comment on them? Do it please.
Sunday, May 19, 2013
Friday, May 17, 2013
Thursday, May 16, 2013
Young people have it easy.
Really, the kids have it easy now. When I was a kid if I wanted to stay up all night, I could. Still can but I have children that won't let you crash afterwards. They expect to get fed and taken to school, can you believe it?
I wouldn't be staying up one night, it would be the night, the next day and then hopefully you can crash at night. Of course a child would be screaming throughout the night, wouldn't they? Slackers, stay up all night and crash, piece of cake. Try and stay up all night, go to work, deal with the kids, and go to work again; hopefully you don't get sick. You can't call out of parenthood. Let me rephrase that, you SHOULDN'T call out of parenthood.
When I was a kid, everyone could hit you. You did something wrong at school and the teacher or principal would paddle your butt. Then you would go home with a note from school and your parents would do the same thing. Now, if a kid does something wrong they don't get the "bonus bucks" that they use to buy toys from the school store. They are bribing the kids to do good.
Don't even get me started on nudity. When I was a kid if I wanted to see a naked woman, I had to do it the hard way and seduce a woman (or "acquire" a Playboy). Nowadays they just pop open google and go surfing.
It might be easier now, but I bet I appreciate everything I worked for a hell of a lot more.
I wouldn't be staying up one night, it would be the night, the next day and then hopefully you can crash at night. Of course a child would be screaming throughout the night, wouldn't they? Slackers, stay up all night and crash, piece of cake. Try and stay up all night, go to work, deal with the kids, and go to work again; hopefully you don't get sick. You can't call out of parenthood. Let me rephrase that, you SHOULDN'T call out of parenthood.
When I was a kid, everyone could hit you. You did something wrong at school and the teacher or principal would paddle your butt. Then you would go home with a note from school and your parents would do the same thing. Now, if a kid does something wrong they don't get the "bonus bucks" that they use to buy toys from the school store. They are bribing the kids to do good.
Don't even get me started on nudity. When I was a kid if I wanted to see a naked woman, I had to do it the hard way and seduce a woman (or "acquire" a Playboy). Nowadays they just pop open google and go surfing.
It might be easier now, but I bet I appreciate everything I worked for a hell of a lot more.
Wednesday, May 15, 2013
Rambling about writing. Бессвязное о письменной форме.
I liked having the translation for yesterdays post in Russian, I think I'll continue doing it for a bit. Today's post is about my writing.
In books, films and tv shows I like the character that isn't completely nice. Either the anti-hero or the weird/sleazy/mean supporting character. One book that I'm thinking about writing has a main character who is not nice, he tries to be but really he's a bully. I'm thinking set in a high school, possibly a Catholic high school. His parents are worried that he's evil and have him taking meditation and martial arts lessons to teach him self-control. He thinks he's evil so he tries to only bully the bullies.
Those characters are more fun. Think of Barney from "How I Met Your Mother" or Dan Fielding from "Night Court", without those characters would the show been anywhere near as good? I think not. Supposedly he was going to star in a "Night Court" spinoff, I think that the character would have been too much. Quite possibly why it was never made.
One of my most favorite book series is the "Flashman" series by George MacDonald Fraser. The title character is a complete anti-hero, his only redeeming characteristic is his love for his wife. That doesn't stop him from cheating on her or stop her from cheating on him. A little side note, the author was a historian and his books are packed full of history. I learned more about British history from those books than from my entire education. If he wasn't the Scoundrel of the Cherry Pickers (read the books) then the series wouldn't have been anywhere as good.
Think about Batman, he was (originally) a psychotic, kill crazy detective; he was awesome. Then he wimped out, still a little psychotic but just not the same. Superman; he was a nice guy. How boring. Everyone want the powers of Superman but no one wants to be him, whereas everyone wants to be Batman. What does that say about the human race?
I like the not so nice characters because they are the most human. The other characters are to two dimensional, the fun ones have depth. Don't we all want depth?
Мне понравилось иметь перевод сообщение вчера в России, я думаю, я буду продолжать делать это на некоторое время. Сегодняшний пост о моем письме.
В книгах, фильмах и телевизионных шоу мне нравится персонаж, который не совсем хорошо. Или антигероем или странные / неряшливый / означать поддержку характер. Одна книга, что я думал о написании есть главный персонаж, который не хорош, он старается быть но на самом деле он хулиган. Я думаю, расположен в средней школе, возможно, католической школе. Его родители обеспокоены тем, что он злой и он брал медитации и боевых искусств уроки, чтобы научить его самоконтролю. Он думает, что зло так он пытается запугивать только хулиганов.
Эти символы веселее. Подумайте о Барни из "Как я встретил вашу маму" или Дэна Филдинг из «Ночной суд», без этих символов будет показывать были нигде рядом как хороший? Я думаю, что нет. Предположительно он собирался сниматься в "Ночной суд" дополнительного дохода, я думаю, что характер был бы слишком много. Вполне возможно, почему это не было сделано.
Один из моих самых любимых книг серии "Вышибала" серии Джорджа Макдональда Фрейзера. Главного персонажа является полным анти-героя, его единственный плюс характеристикой является его любовь к жене. Это не помешало ему изменяет ей или помешать ей изменяет ему. Небольшое примечание стороны, автор был историком и его книги упакованы полный истории. Я узнал больше о британской истории от тех книг, чем от всей моей образование. Если он не был негодяем автогидроподъемники (читать книги), то ряд не был бы в любом месте, как хорошо.
Подумайте о Бэтмене, он был (первоначально) психотические, убить сумасшедший детектив, он был удивительным. Затем он ослабил, еще немного психотических но только не то же самое. Супермен, он был хорошим парнем. Как скучно. Все хотят полномочия Супермена, но никто не хочет быть его словам, в то время как каждый хочет быть Бэтменом. Что это говорит о человеческой расе?
Мне нравится не так хорошие символы, поскольку они являются наиболее человеком. Остальные персонажи в двумерном, веселье из них имеют глубину. Не все мы хотим глубину?
In books, films and tv shows I like the character that isn't completely nice. Either the anti-hero or the weird/sleazy/mean supporting character. One book that I'm thinking about writing has a main character who is not nice, he tries to be but really he's a bully. I'm thinking set in a high school, possibly a Catholic high school. His parents are worried that he's evil and have him taking meditation and martial arts lessons to teach him self-control. He thinks he's evil so he tries to only bully the bullies.
Those characters are more fun. Think of Barney from "How I Met Your Mother" or Dan Fielding from "Night Court", without those characters would the show been anywhere near as good? I think not. Supposedly he was going to star in a "Night Court" spinoff, I think that the character would have been too much. Quite possibly why it was never made.
One of my most favorite book series is the "Flashman" series by George MacDonald Fraser. The title character is a complete anti-hero, his only redeeming characteristic is his love for his wife. That doesn't stop him from cheating on her or stop her from cheating on him. A little side note, the author was a historian and his books are packed full of history. I learned more about British history from those books than from my entire education. If he wasn't the Scoundrel of the Cherry Pickers (read the books) then the series wouldn't have been anywhere as good.
Think about Batman, he was (originally) a psychotic, kill crazy detective; he was awesome. Then he wimped out, still a little psychotic but just not the same. Superman; he was a nice guy. How boring. Everyone want the powers of Superman but no one wants to be him, whereas everyone wants to be Batman. What does that say about the human race?
I like the not so nice characters because they are the most human. The other characters are to two dimensional, the fun ones have depth. Don't we all want depth?
Мне понравилось иметь перевод сообщение вчера в России, я думаю, я буду продолжать делать это на некоторое время. Сегодняшний пост о моем письме.
В книгах, фильмах и телевизионных шоу мне нравится персонаж, который не совсем хорошо. Или антигероем или странные / неряшливый / означать поддержку характер. Одна книга, что я думал о написании есть главный персонаж, который не хорош, он старается быть но на самом деле он хулиган. Я думаю, расположен в средней школе, возможно, католической школе. Его родители обеспокоены тем, что он злой и он брал медитации и боевых искусств уроки, чтобы научить его самоконтролю. Он думает, что зло так он пытается запугивать только хулиганов.
Эти символы веселее. Подумайте о Барни из "Как я встретил вашу маму" или Дэна Филдинг из «Ночной суд», без этих символов будет показывать были нигде рядом как хороший? Я думаю, что нет. Предположительно он собирался сниматься в "Ночной суд" дополнительного дохода, я думаю, что характер был бы слишком много. Вполне возможно, почему это не было сделано.
Один из моих самых любимых книг серии "Вышибала" серии Джорджа Макдональда Фрейзера. Главного персонажа является полным анти-героя, его единственный плюс характеристикой является его любовь к жене. Это не помешало ему изменяет ей или помешать ей изменяет ему. Небольшое примечание стороны, автор был историком и его книги упакованы полный истории. Я узнал больше о британской истории от тех книг, чем от всей моей образование. Если он не был негодяем автогидроподъемники (читать книги), то ряд не был бы в любом месте, как хорошо.
Подумайте о Бэтмене, он был (первоначально) психотические, убить сумасшедший детектив, он был удивительным. Затем он ослабил, еще немного психотических но только не то же самое. Супермен, он был хорошим парнем. Как скучно. Все хотят полномочия Супермена, но никто не хочет быть его словам, в то время как каждый хочет быть Бэтменом. Что это говорит о человеческой расе?
Мне нравится не так хорошие символы, поскольку они являются наиболее человеком. Остальные персонажи в двумерном, веселье из них имеют глубину. Не все мы хотим глубину?
Tuesday, May 14, 2013
Expectations.
I'm reading Indulgence Around the World in Search of Chocolate by Paul Richardson, it's a good book if you like chocolate. If not, what the hell is wrong with you? It speaks of the expectations people in the US have towards chocolate compared to in the UK or France.
That set off a chain reaction of thinking about expectations. Chocolate has milk in the US, dark in the UK. The Italian Roman Catholics consider the US Catholics to be basically Protestants, while the US Catholics expect all Catholics to be the same. Most Americans expect the rest of the world to be just like the US.
When I was bartending (in an international hotel) the clients were from all over. Only the Americans would be a problem with why they couldn't do some things (the laws for drinking are different in Texas compared to other states), they expected it to be just like home. What caused this problem with expectations? Lack of communications.
When I went to Thailand I spent a lot of time researching social (and legal) standards. I didn't want to be that ugly American tourist. I think I did well. Once I told a lady "Not right now", she assumed I was haggling so she brought over two prostitutes. I finished my coke in a gulp and left so quick I was out the door before my shadow was out of the chair. Lack of communications again.
So many of our problems in business, social, international, even friendships are due to expectations and a lack of communications. You would think that with our communication devices/methods/styles/technologies we would be better off.
Why aren't we?
I've been getting a lot of readers from Russia lately. So for them I used google translate to do this.
Я читаю Indulgence Вокруг света в поисках шоколада Пол Ричардсон, это хорошая книга, если вы любите шоколад. Если нет, то, черт возьми, с тобой такое? Это говорит о ожиданиями людей в США к сравнению с шоколадом в Великобритании или Франции.
Это цепная реакция думать о ожиданий. Шоколадное молоко имеет в США, темно в Великобритании.Итальянские католики считают США католики, будет в основном протестанты, а католиков США ожидают, что все католики быть одинаковыми. Большинство американцев ожидать остальном мире быть, как в США.
Когда я был барменом (в международном отеле) были клиенты со всего света. Только американцы была бы проблема с тем, почему они не могли сделать некоторые вещи (законы для питья различны в Техасе сравнению с другими государствами), они ожидали, что он будет так же, как дома. Чем это вызвано проблемой с ожиданиями? Отсутствие связи.
Когда я пошел в Таиланде, я потратил много времени на изучение социальной (и правовой) стандартов. Я не хочу быть таким уродливым американский турист. Я думаю, что я сделал хорошо. Однажды я сказал леди "не сейчас", она предположила, что я был так торга она принесла более двух проституток. Я закончил свой кокс одним глотком и уехал так быстро я была из двери, прежде чем моя тень была из кресла. Отсутствие связи снова.
Так что многие из наших проблем в бизнесе, социальной, международной, даже дружеские связи с ожиданиями и отсутствием связи. Можно подумать, что с нашими устройствами связи / методов / стили / технологий, которые мы бы лучше.
Почему не так ли?
That set off a chain reaction of thinking about expectations. Chocolate has milk in the US, dark in the UK. The Italian Roman Catholics consider the US Catholics to be basically Protestants, while the US Catholics expect all Catholics to be the same. Most Americans expect the rest of the world to be just like the US.
When I was bartending (in an international hotel) the clients were from all over. Only the Americans would be a problem with why they couldn't do some things (the laws for drinking are different in Texas compared to other states), they expected it to be just like home. What caused this problem with expectations? Lack of communications.
When I went to Thailand I spent a lot of time researching social (and legal) standards. I didn't want to be that ugly American tourist. I think I did well. Once I told a lady "Not right now", she assumed I was haggling so she brought over two prostitutes. I finished my coke in a gulp and left so quick I was out the door before my shadow was out of the chair. Lack of communications again.
So many of our problems in business, social, international, even friendships are due to expectations and a lack of communications. You would think that with our communication devices/methods/styles/technologies we would be better off.
Why aren't we?
I've been getting a lot of readers from Russia lately. So for them I used google translate to do this.
Я читаю Indulgence Вокруг света в поисках шоколада Пол Ричардсон, это хорошая книга, если вы любите шоколад. Если нет, то, черт возьми, с тобой такое? Это говорит о ожиданиями людей в США к сравнению с шоколадом в Великобритании или Франции.
Это цепная реакция думать о ожиданий. Шоколадное молоко имеет в США, темно в Великобритании.Итальянские католики считают США католики, будет в основном протестанты, а католиков США ожидают, что все католики быть одинаковыми. Большинство американцев ожидать остальном мире быть, как в США.
Когда я был барменом (в международном отеле) были клиенты со всего света. Только американцы была бы проблема с тем, почему они не могли сделать некоторые вещи (законы для питья различны в Техасе сравнению с другими государствами), они ожидали, что он будет так же, как дома. Чем это вызвано проблемой с ожиданиями? Отсутствие связи.
Когда я пошел в Таиланде, я потратил много времени на изучение социальной (и правовой) стандартов. Я не хочу быть таким уродливым американский турист. Я думаю, что я сделал хорошо. Однажды я сказал леди "не сейчас", она предположила, что я был так торга она принесла более двух проституток. Я закончил свой кокс одним глотком и уехал так быстро я была из двери, прежде чем моя тень была из кресла. Отсутствие связи снова.
Так что многие из наших проблем в бизнесе, социальной, международной, даже дружеские связи с ожиданиями и отсутствием связи. Можно подумать, что с нашими устройствами связи / методов / стили / технологий, которые мы бы лучше.
Почему не так ли?
Sunday, May 12, 2013
Scarborough Renaissance Festival
Today we went to Scarborough Renaissance Festival. Go ahead and look it up, I'll wait.
My sister owns a booth out there and we celebrate the birthday of a kid, so we make a party out of it. It's a lot of fun. You can wander around and look at various arts and crafts (available to a good home, for enough cash) and watch assorted performers.
The crafts can be simple like sandals up to blown glass. Pretty much everything in between also. Lots of period clothes, made of modern materials of course. Jewelry out the wazoo, period weapons, stuff marketed towards children like toy weapons and anything faerie or princess related.
The arts part are more temporary like face painters and hair braiders. Both of those are super popular with children and women. Other arts, even some things that could only be called performance art, are out there.
Of course the artists are a bridge between the retail side and the performers. These performers are varied, you have the knife throwers, jousters, jugglers, comedy (some kid safe, some not), acrobatics, and others. Let it be said that the musicians are all over the place and some of them have dancers, comedy or even poetry to go with it.
It is humorous to see the different influences come in to the faire. You'll see some ladies dressed up as faeries with the wings and leggings and combat boots. Sometimes you even get to see some steampunk influences creep in.
I like it quite a bit because of the history and capitalism. The faire is trying to make an authentic (within reason) show and the artists and performers are trying to make a living. Two things I like, history appreciation and capitalism. Plus, a lot of women wear bodices.
What could be better?
My sister owns a booth out there and we celebrate the birthday of a kid, so we make a party out of it. It's a lot of fun. You can wander around and look at various arts and crafts (available to a good home, for enough cash) and watch assorted performers.
The crafts can be simple like sandals up to blown glass. Pretty much everything in between also. Lots of period clothes, made of modern materials of course. Jewelry out the wazoo, period weapons, stuff marketed towards children like toy weapons and anything faerie or princess related.
The arts part are more temporary like face painters and hair braiders. Both of those are super popular with children and women. Other arts, even some things that could only be called performance art, are out there.
Of course the artists are a bridge between the retail side and the performers. These performers are varied, you have the knife throwers, jousters, jugglers, comedy (some kid safe, some not), acrobatics, and others. Let it be said that the musicians are all over the place and some of them have dancers, comedy or even poetry to go with it.
It is humorous to see the different influences come in to the faire. You'll see some ladies dressed up as faeries with the wings and leggings and combat boots. Sometimes you even get to see some steampunk influences creep in.
I like it quite a bit because of the history and capitalism. The faire is trying to make an authentic (within reason) show and the artists and performers are trying to make a living. Two things I like, history appreciation and capitalism. Plus, a lot of women wear bodices.
What could be better?
Saturday, May 11, 2013
Spite.
More house hunting fun. Only two houses today. One house was odd, the floor plan was...unique. The entire ground floor was a very attractive tile but the flow was wrong. When you walked into the front door you were in a living room, that butted up against another living room. That butted up against another living room with a fireplace that flowed into a dining room that opened into the kitchen. The half bath was in the kitchen, that was different. It was just odd. The upstairs had all of the bedrooms, the master bedroom closet had a window, I've never seen that before.
The other house hadn't been listed yet. Our agent knew about it and let us look at it before the repairs were finished.
Apparently the previous owners were getting a divorce and the husband was a little annoyed about that fact. He took out a lot of the fixtures, some standard removals (refrigerator), some not standard (ceiling fans, range, microwave, garbage disposal, dishwasher, sinks and vanities, light switches, and light bulbs). Those non-standard things are very frowned upon and in fact illegal. Most likely he won't be charged but his wife might be able to use this in their divorce proceedings.
He spent all of that time and energy out of spite. He is risking civil (possibly criminal) action due to spite. He is hurting his future (his wife could use his actions against him in the divorce) due to spite. I understand how someone might take a stand despite the consequences, quite a few heroes started that way. This is petty, are all of those problems worth it due to spite?
I think not.
The other house hadn't been listed yet. Our agent knew about it and let us look at it before the repairs were finished.
Apparently the previous owners were getting a divorce and the husband was a little annoyed about that fact. He took out a lot of the fixtures, some standard removals (refrigerator), some not standard (ceiling fans, range, microwave, garbage disposal, dishwasher, sinks and vanities, light switches, and light bulbs). Those non-standard things are very frowned upon and in fact illegal. Most likely he won't be charged but his wife might be able to use this in their divorce proceedings.
He spent all of that time and energy out of spite. He is risking civil (possibly criminal) action due to spite. He is hurting his future (his wife could use his actions against him in the divorce) due to spite. I understand how someone might take a stand despite the consequences, quite a few heroes started that way. This is petty, are all of those problems worth it due to spite?
I think not.
Thursday, May 9, 2013
Complaints about allergies.
Years ago, whenever someone said they had allergy problems I thought they were just whining and complaining about nothing. Then in my middle 20's I had my first allergy attack.
SON.OF.A.BITCH.
That first one threw me for a major loop. I was lucky; I would have three or four attacks a year, take some allergy drugs and 20 minutes later I would be fine.
Then I got older. As you age your body changes. Your tastes change, all of the obvious changes that go with age, and your allergies change. Now my allergies are more common and instead of feeling absolutely miserable I feel blah and not be able to breathe. The allergy drugs don't affect me the same anymore. They used to work perfectly, I was the poster child for the effectiveness with no side effects. Not anymore, now they more or less work and even the non-drowsy type make me tired and delirious.
Today I wanted to write some deeper piece about responsibility and history. Instead you get my fuzzy mental wanderings. Sorry.
SON.OF.A.BITCH.
That first one threw me for a major loop. I was lucky; I would have three or four attacks a year, take some allergy drugs and 20 minutes later I would be fine.
Then I got older. As you age your body changes. Your tastes change, all of the obvious changes that go with age, and your allergies change. Now my allergies are more common and instead of feeling absolutely miserable I feel blah and not be able to breathe. The allergy drugs don't affect me the same anymore. They used to work perfectly, I was the poster child for the effectiveness with no side effects. Not anymore, now they more or less work and even the non-drowsy type make me tired and delirious.
Today I wanted to write some deeper piece about responsibility and history. Instead you get my fuzzy mental wanderings. Sorry.
House hunting.
We went out house hunting today. Again. Two of the properties were too small and oddly enough the exact same floor plan.
One property, the owners hadn't quite figured out how to stage yet. The purpose of staging is to entice the buyers. Put some furniture and knick knacks out so the buyers can get a feel for a home, not just a house. Most people don't know how big their sofa or couch is, if a king bed is fitting perfectly in the master bedroom then they know their queen will fit and give them some room for the night stands. The furniture lets the buyers block out the rooms so they can get a feel for how their stuff will fit. The knick knacks give the home a personal feel. If you sell your house everything you have will work to stage it, with a little difference-pack up most of your stuff. If you priced your home right then it will sell. If it will sell then you need to start packing. If you have bookshelves full of books or "things" pack up about 75% of it. Five books and a knick knack will show off a shelf just fine, you don't need clutter.
This house had big furniture and lots of it. I like wood boxes so when I saw three wood boxes on the dresser I looked closer. Two were glass topped and filled with watches. Did he plan on wearing that many watches so soon that he couldn't pack any of them up? The house won't sell anytime soon, I'm guessing either the sellers agent doesn't know much or the seller subconsciously doesn't want to sell.
The last one was the biggest and an abandoned short sale. When we walked in we were struck by the dirty carpet (fixable) and the clothes. Every room had clothes and shoes in the closets. The garage was full of boxes, it looked like they were on the run. The sad part to me was the certificate on the wall. The owner was a minister, in the same room was an open bible. I scanned it looking for something that might have to do with lenders, money, faith in God, or anything that might have a meaning. Nothing that I could discern. I'm an atheist and I hope that having to put the house on the market and starting over doesn't mean that the minister loses faith.
I have faith, it's just not in a higher being and I think it's sad when someone does lose their faith.
One property, the owners hadn't quite figured out how to stage yet. The purpose of staging is to entice the buyers. Put some furniture and knick knacks out so the buyers can get a feel for a home, not just a house. Most people don't know how big their sofa or couch is, if a king bed is fitting perfectly in the master bedroom then they know their queen will fit and give them some room for the night stands. The furniture lets the buyers block out the rooms so they can get a feel for how their stuff will fit. The knick knacks give the home a personal feel. If you sell your house everything you have will work to stage it, with a little difference-pack up most of your stuff. If you priced your home right then it will sell. If it will sell then you need to start packing. If you have bookshelves full of books or "things" pack up about 75% of it. Five books and a knick knack will show off a shelf just fine, you don't need clutter.
This house had big furniture and lots of it. I like wood boxes so when I saw three wood boxes on the dresser I looked closer. Two were glass topped and filled with watches. Did he plan on wearing that many watches so soon that he couldn't pack any of them up? The house won't sell anytime soon, I'm guessing either the sellers agent doesn't know much or the seller subconsciously doesn't want to sell.
The last one was the biggest and an abandoned short sale. When we walked in we were struck by the dirty carpet (fixable) and the clothes. Every room had clothes and shoes in the closets. The garage was full of boxes, it looked like they were on the run. The sad part to me was the certificate on the wall. The owner was a minister, in the same room was an open bible. I scanned it looking for something that might have to do with lenders, money, faith in God, or anything that might have a meaning. Nothing that I could discern. I'm an atheist and I hope that having to put the house on the market and starting over doesn't mean that the minister loses faith.
I have faith, it's just not in a higher being and I think it's sad when someone does lose their faith.
Tuesday, May 7, 2013
Just some rambling.
I'm tired. I do thank all of my readers, I don't know who ya'll are but I do appreciate your readership. This is just some random rambling to fulfill my commitment to write daily.
I don't like Sesame Street. I never understood it. I would watch this show and not understand why they lived in these weird little apartments with little yards. Why was there some little store in the neighborhood?
Now I know that they lived in brownstones and they are Yankees. I'm a Texan and I just couldn't understand or grok it.
I like cats, they have self-respect. If you kick a dog they tuck their tails between their legs and come back to you wanting to apologize for whatever they did wrong. Cats, on the other hand, will say: Screw you, I'm packing up my Little Friskees and I'm out of here. You can kiss my fuzzy butt goodbye." I definitely have cat like traits, I'm a loner that periodically will accept other people, I've been known to headbutt things that were hanging from the ceiling, and I'm a somewhat picky eater.
Just some random thoughts for you. Sleepy time now.
I don't like Sesame Street. I never understood it. I would watch this show and not understand why they lived in these weird little apartments with little yards. Why was there some little store in the neighborhood?
Now I know that they lived in brownstones and they are Yankees. I'm a Texan and I just couldn't understand or grok it.
I like cats, they have self-respect. If you kick a dog they tuck their tails between their legs and come back to you wanting to apologize for whatever they did wrong. Cats, on the other hand, will say: Screw you, I'm packing up my Little Friskees and I'm out of here. You can kiss my fuzzy butt goodbye." I definitely have cat like traits, I'm a loner that periodically will accept other people, I've been known to headbutt things that were hanging from the ceiling, and I'm a somewhat picky eater.
Just some random thoughts for you. Sleepy time now.
Monday, May 6, 2013
A story of my parents.
I want to go to bed so you get a story about my parents. They are my go to muse for inspiration.
For my parents 50th wedding anniversary we did a big dinner party. I think we had about 200 people or so. My brother that's a cook cooked pretty much all of it. We did it at my mother's church -we won't even discuss the quality of that kitchen- and used family and friends for labor.
Most of the people that my parents knew are craftsmen, artists and salesmen that sold to the others. We are talking woodworkers, upholsters (they are all crazy), drummers, musicians, carvers, and jewelry makers. Some are professionals some are amateurs. I was dressed in my olive green suit with a wood tie (woodworking family) and my wife grabbed a different tie because the brown of the tie do not go with that shade of green. Did I wear the backup? Nope, my father took me around to his woodworking friends to show off my tie.
My sister had a little speech about how our parents are the third generation to have a marriage that lasted 50 years or more. She then looked at me and mentioned, "No pressure". Yes, I know how old I'll need to be to make it four generations. I'm watching my health so it shouldn't be a problem.
Everyone had fun, my wife was my girlfriend at the time and I think she got a little scared at meeting all of us -family and friends- at once. Odd little story about my wife and my family, we had been together for about six months or so and it was Christmas, we went to my parents house for dinner. My parents gave her a Christmas present, a vegetable peeler (we still have it), and told her to use it on the potatoes. She started peeling and didn't stop until the whole bag was done. My parents loved that she didn't complain about working. She was my parents favorite child then. She was even more their favorite when she gave them their first grandchild.
One of the gentlemen at the party brought his girlfriend to the party. Later, he told us that he proposed to her that night because of my parents and their 50 year marriage. She did accept.
I hope that our 50th wedding anniversary party we have someone inspired by us to propose, and we better have grandchildren there.
For my parents 50th wedding anniversary we did a big dinner party. I think we had about 200 people or so. My brother that's a cook cooked pretty much all of it. We did it at my mother's church -we won't even discuss the quality of that kitchen- and used family and friends for labor.
Most of the people that my parents knew are craftsmen, artists and salesmen that sold to the others. We are talking woodworkers, upholsters (they are all crazy), drummers, musicians, carvers, and jewelry makers. Some are professionals some are amateurs. I was dressed in my olive green suit with a wood tie (woodworking family) and my wife grabbed a different tie because the brown of the tie do not go with that shade of green. Did I wear the backup? Nope, my father took me around to his woodworking friends to show off my tie.
My sister had a little speech about how our parents are the third generation to have a marriage that lasted 50 years or more. She then looked at me and mentioned, "No pressure". Yes, I know how old I'll need to be to make it four generations. I'm watching my health so it shouldn't be a problem.
Everyone had fun, my wife was my girlfriend at the time and I think she got a little scared at meeting all of us -family and friends- at once. Odd little story about my wife and my family, we had been together for about six months or so and it was Christmas, we went to my parents house for dinner. My parents gave her a Christmas present, a vegetable peeler (we still have it), and told her to use it on the potatoes. She started peeling and didn't stop until the whole bag was done. My parents loved that she didn't complain about working. She was my parents favorite child then. She was even more their favorite when she gave them their first grandchild.
One of the gentlemen at the party brought his girlfriend to the party. Later, he told us that he proposed to her that night because of my parents and their 50 year marriage. She did accept.
I hope that our 50th wedding anniversary party we have someone inspired by us to propose, and we better have grandchildren there.
Sunday, May 5, 2013
Friday, May 3, 2013
Dreams and what you can learn from Mr. Tubbington.
I've started watching "Glee", I saw about five minutes of an episode and thought it was pretty good. I started watching from the beginning and really enjoyed the show.
In a recent episode Mike Chang wants to be a pro dancer while his father wants him to be a lawyer or surgeon. Typical story arc for a teen artist character. In the show his girlfriend says that she fell in love with him because he loves to dance.
That is a common idea that is pawned off on kids, find out what you love and get a job doing that.
I beg to differ.
I love to read but I could never be a reviewer or an editor. Look at some of the photos of manuscript slushpiles, you know how many of those suck? I could never sit and read for hours at a time when there is a lot of crappy stuff that I have to read. Even with pieces I like I can only read for six or seven hours before I must do something else.
Whenever I was reading a lot I would think. I always think. Then I realized that I need to figure out what I cannot stop myself from doing and find a way to get paid for it.
The title of this post comes from Brittany's pet cat in "Glee". Brittany has some great lines, one of the best is "I think my cat is reading my diary". If Mr. Tubbington is reading her diary then what could we learn from him?
Thursday, May 2, 2013
Kind of a theory and kind of a story of my father.
I learned a lot from my father, an appreciation for my Cherokee heritage, a good work ethic, and building things; to mention a few. A few years before he died he created an aquaponics garden/greenhouse in his backyard. This thing was 20'x25' and half full of plants because he didn't get around to planting the other half. I learned how efficient aquaponics was and simple.
I've had a passion for guns for awhile now. Not just shooting but also the mechanics of the machinery. I've also had a desire to combine these passions of mine.
I talked to my father about wanting to open a gun factory. Where though? The three poorest areas in the nation are the Appalachian mountains, Texas southwest and the Indian reservations that are also in the Southwest. Having a gun manufacturing facility that close to drug cartels would be really bad and the Appalachian mountains are good farming land. The res it is then. Some tribes have major problems with guns so that would also narrow the field down.
What I would do is go in and build a facility, a big tilt wall box basically. Throw some walls in and it's almost done. I know that most of the future employees won't have much machine shop skills but their would be some that had a mechanical aptitude and everything else can be taught.
What does an unemployed person look for in a job? What if they have kids? In the factory would be a daycare for the employees children. Do it as a not for profit business for the tax benefits and so you could just charge enough to keep it from losing money. Of course, this daycare center would have hours conducive to the employees.
What is a major concern if you have children? Feeding the ravenous little kids (I buy milk three gallons at a time). Also in the factory would be a cafeteria, also a separate not for profit business. The same food the employees can get would also be served to the kids. Again, everything would be at cost. Some of the items served in the cafeteria would be traditional tribal food. One must have pride and knowledge in ones past.
So you have employees, they have daycare and food. Your're training them. On to the next step. Build a greenhouse. Use aquaponics so it doesn't take up as much water, use the produce in the cafeteria. Teach people how to do their own system at home. Put rain barrels out to collect the rain, it's a desert but it still gets some hard rains.
It would be a lot of work, but what kind of loyalty would the employees give you? More importantly, how would that help people?
I've had a passion for guns for awhile now. Not just shooting but also the mechanics of the machinery. I've also had a desire to combine these passions of mine.
I talked to my father about wanting to open a gun factory. Where though? The three poorest areas in the nation are the Appalachian mountains, Texas southwest and the Indian reservations that are also in the Southwest. Having a gun manufacturing facility that close to drug cartels would be really bad and the Appalachian mountains are good farming land. The res it is then. Some tribes have major problems with guns so that would also narrow the field down.
What I would do is go in and build a facility, a big tilt wall box basically. Throw some walls in and it's almost done. I know that most of the future employees won't have much machine shop skills but their would be some that had a mechanical aptitude and everything else can be taught.
What does an unemployed person look for in a job? What if they have kids? In the factory would be a daycare for the employees children. Do it as a not for profit business for the tax benefits and so you could just charge enough to keep it from losing money. Of course, this daycare center would have hours conducive to the employees.
What is a major concern if you have children? Feeding the ravenous little kids (I buy milk three gallons at a time). Also in the factory would be a cafeteria, also a separate not for profit business. The same food the employees can get would also be served to the kids. Again, everything would be at cost. Some of the items served in the cafeteria would be traditional tribal food. One must have pride and knowledge in ones past.
So you have employees, they have daycare and food. Your're training them. On to the next step. Build a greenhouse. Use aquaponics so it doesn't take up as much water, use the produce in the cafeteria. Teach people how to do their own system at home. Put rain barrels out to collect the rain, it's a desert but it still gets some hard rains.
It would be a lot of work, but what kind of loyalty would the employees give you? More importantly, how would that help people?
Wednesday, May 1, 2013
A recipe.
I'm running short on time tonight, so I'm going to cheat and give you something I've already written. My mother would do a family cookbook for the family reunions, it was a fundraiser and a way for the generations to know each other. At the time I wrote this I didn't have any children but I worked in topless bars. I wrote three recipes, pizza, bloody Mary and this one.
Dear Mom,
Here's the third,
This isn't really a recipe, more of a rant. I don't have any children but I deal with many people that I don't consider raised properly. Here's my "recipe" for raising children properly. Instill in them responsibility for their actions, stir in some ambition for their future. Fold in some forethought, teach them to think and consider before speaking and acting. Mix in some restraint so they won't react with violence whenever something in their life is less than perfect. Sprinkle in some humour and unselfishness then garnish with a little compassion. Then end won't be perfect but they'll have the ability to be an adult.
Dear Mom,
Here's the third,
This isn't really a recipe, more of a rant. I don't have any children but I deal with many people that I don't consider raised properly. Here's my "recipe" for raising children properly. Instill in them responsibility for their actions, stir in some ambition for their future. Fold in some forethought, teach them to think and consider before speaking and acting. Mix in some restraint so they won't react with violence whenever something in their life is less than perfect. Sprinkle in some humour and unselfishness then garnish with a little compassion. Then end won't be perfect but they'll have the ability to be an adult.
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