If anybody were to ask me what's wrong with the democratic republic system of government in the United States of America, which nobody will because I work at a Burrito Gong, I would say: lawyer politicians and professional politicians. These two problems serve to disenfranchise the common man by making the law inaccessible to him.
I mentioned working at a Burrito Gong. Our current store manager is a latina, and she hires mostly latinas and latinos. Many of them speak little English and have even less literacy in English. They often get put into the kitchen making food because they don't speak English well enough to ring up orders. The trouble is, they are often being taught how to make food by native English speakers with little or no Spanish language skills. Also, the electronic screens displaying the orders, once they are rung up by an order taker, so the kitchen crew can see what to make, are in English.
It's not too hard to imaginge that quite often orders get screwed up because the people making food don't understand why +ON ON ON (for add onion three times) means mucho seboya. Here's where I'm going with this: The law is a specialized language. Lawyers learn it well, if they are good at their job. Legislators make laws that apply to everybody, lawyer and lay man alike. Electing a lawyer to legislate ensures that future laws get written in legalese. This means that a lay man can look at a bill that his legislator wrote affecting his life, in possibly drastic ways, and have no idea what it means.
To make laws that will serve lay people, like folks who work at the Burrito Gong, well we need lay people legislating. There are a few barriers to entry though, one of which is professional politicians, that is to say incumbents who win and keep on getting re-elected. I believe that politics should not be a viable long-term career choice.
First we shouldn't need as much government as we get. I really think that law-makers should only need to put in three hour days and not every day, either. Now that we've got the basics down already: murder is against state laws and is either a death penalty or a life sentence, depending on the state; rape is against the law; theft is against the law with size of the theft affecting the severity of the charge which affects the sentence; there's really nothing that law-makers can do except build highways to nowhere in Alaska and allocate funds to the Lawrence Welk museum. And name post offices.
Second, law-making isn't real work, so it shouldn't really pay. Besides salaries, pensions, and health benefits paid for by people who work at the Burrito Gong, politicians have many unofficial streams of revenue available, including book deals, speaking gigs, and gifts from lobbyists.
This brings me to my third point against professional politicians, lobbyists. Lobbyists seek influence with politicians through gifts. Every time someone forces politicians to clean up their act by setting limits on what lobbyists can do for politicians and how, the lobbyists find new loopholes. No politician is aboe the influence. Time in this system is inherently corrupting.
Monday, October 6, 2008
Monday, September 15, 2008
Compassionate Curmudgeon
Compassionate Curmudgeon
First let me state for the record that I am neither a Satanist nor a Buddhist. I find religion to be a fascinating phenomenon and try to find out as much as possible about it. Every religion, epsecially the ones that are more philosophies than religions, says something about the human race.
I started reading two books recently: The Devil's Notebook by Anton Szandor LaVey and The Art of Happiness by His Holiness, The Dalai Lama. Anton LaVey, was the founder of the Church of Satan. The Dalai Lama is the head of the Tibetan sect of Buddhism.
These books and the men who wrote them and the teachings they try to exemplify come from pretty much opposite ends of the spectrum. LaVey's Satanism is all about being a jerk if it suits you. Tibetan Buddhism, on the other hand, espouses loving kindness.
Despite these opposite approaches, I found myself nodding my head and silently agreeing with much of what both books had to say. This has led me to identify my own philosophical position: I am a Compassionate Curmudgeon.
My basic worldview can be summarized as follows:
I wish the human populace of the world well and I wish it well away from me.
First let me state for the record that I am neither a Satanist nor a Buddhist. I find religion to be a fascinating phenomenon and try to find out as much as possible about it. Every religion, epsecially the ones that are more philosophies than religions, says something about the human race.
I started reading two books recently: The Devil's Notebook by Anton Szandor LaVey and The Art of Happiness by His Holiness, The Dalai Lama. Anton LaVey, was the founder of the Church of Satan. The Dalai Lama is the head of the Tibetan sect of Buddhism.
These books and the men who wrote them and the teachings they try to exemplify come from pretty much opposite ends of the spectrum. LaVey's Satanism is all about being a jerk if it suits you. Tibetan Buddhism, on the other hand, espouses loving kindness.
Despite these opposite approaches, I found myself nodding my head and silently agreeing with much of what both books had to say. This has led me to identify my own philosophical position: I am a Compassionate Curmudgeon.
My basic worldview can be summarized as follows:
I wish the human populace of the world well and I wish it well away from me.
Mama Said There'd Be Days Like This Part 3
Mama Said There'd Be Days Like This Part 3: Garage Door Story
A more recent one. I won't say exactly when. I had to go to work at the Burrito Gong by ten in the morning. My dad had parked in the garage the previous night.
We went out to the garage on time, but then the garage door refused to open. After some investigation it is found out that the garage door is eletric and the circuit breaker for the garages had been tripped. The circuit breaker was in the apartment complex's central office which was locked and unmanned.
I did eventually get to the Burrito gong, after calling a relative who had moved to the neighborhood for a ride, and worked my lunch shift. My dad did find the manual over-ride for the garage door opener, which involves turning the key that normally triggers the electric motor really hard until a pull cord comes out, so I got picked up on time.
Then I worked an evening shift at an Italian restaurant where I bus boy. It was my first day to work with a new bus boy and I said it ought to be a slow evening and gave a sensible sounding reason. It was anything but.
A more recent one. I won't say exactly when. I had to go to work at the Burrito Gong by ten in the morning. My dad had parked in the garage the previous night.
We went out to the garage on time, but then the garage door refused to open. After some investigation it is found out that the garage door is eletric and the circuit breaker for the garages had been tripped. The circuit breaker was in the apartment complex's central office which was locked and unmanned.
I did eventually get to the Burrito gong, after calling a relative who had moved to the neighborhood for a ride, and worked my lunch shift. My dad did find the manual over-ride for the garage door opener, which involves turning the key that normally triggers the electric motor really hard until a pull cord comes out, so I got picked up on time.
Then I worked an evening shift at an Italian restaurant where I bus boy. It was my first day to work with a new bus boy and I said it ought to be a slow evening and gave a sensible sounding reason. It was anything but.
Friday, September 12, 2008
Mama Said There'd Be Days Like This Part 2: The Pheasant Story
I really did have to walk five miles through the snow to get to school. Just once, though, not every day.
I was in tenth grade and going to a charter school way out in the boonies, about five miles from my house. I had missed the bus for the third time that week and knew my stepdad would be totally steamed if I came home for a ride. I didn't have my wallet with me, so I had no money to take the city bus. Entirely skipping that day of school simply never occurred to me. So, I started walking.
This was early in December. It wasn't snowing right then, but there was snow on the ground. I mentioned that it was about five miles, but did I mention that most of it was up hill?
Somewhere as you head from the city to out in the boonies, you run out of sidewalk. At about the point that this happens, a bird starts walkling alongside me. I am not an ornithologist, I have no idea what it is. It looks a little like a quail and is brightly colored kinda like a rooster.
It freeks me out to have this bird walking alongside me, so I try to shoo it away with the hardcover book I was carrying under my arm. In response to this, the bird starts pecking at my shoe. I'm kinda frozen, afraid that if I run that will make it go for my face. Eventually someone comes along and distracts the bird long enough for me to get away. I ask him what kind of bird it was and he tells me it's a male pheasant.
I was in tenth grade and going to a charter school way out in the boonies, about five miles from my house. I had missed the bus for the third time that week and knew my stepdad would be totally steamed if I came home for a ride. I didn't have my wallet with me, so I had no money to take the city bus. Entirely skipping that day of school simply never occurred to me. So, I started walking.
This was early in December. It wasn't snowing right then, but there was snow on the ground. I mentioned that it was about five miles, but did I mention that most of it was up hill?
Somewhere as you head from the city to out in the boonies, you run out of sidewalk. At about the point that this happens, a bird starts walkling alongside me. I am not an ornithologist, I have no idea what it is. It looks a little like a quail and is brightly colored kinda like a rooster.
It freeks me out to have this bird walking alongside me, so I try to shoo it away with the hardcover book I was carrying under my arm. In response to this, the bird starts pecking at my shoe. I'm kinda frozen, afraid that if I run that will make it go for my face. Eventually someone comes along and distracts the bird long enough for me to get away. I ask him what kind of bird it was and he tells me it's a male pheasant.
Thursday, September 11, 2008
Mama Said There'd Be Days Like This Part 1: Off To School
Actually I doubt my mama ever said there'd be days like some of these. She is a prophetess and seer of the first order, but some things are so unlikely that they can not be predicted.
Like the first day of eighth grade. I knew where my morning bus stop was because it should be the same as for when I was in seventh grade. I knew what day the first day of school was. Somehow though, I never went through the orientation that should have occured before the first day of school. As far as I know they simply never sent us the information about when orientation was and so on.
So, I'm walking to the bus stop, and suddenly I see, I'm heading towards a giant ravening wolf, or maybe it was a German shephard, but anyways I'm heading towards it, and it's heading towards me, and it's not on a leash, and I'm very phobic about dogs. I duck down a side street and reroute a couple blcoks out of my way and make it to the bus stop on time.
Then when I try to get on the bus, the bus driver quite naturally asks to see my student ID. Now, one of the important things about the orientation process is that at the end, you have a student ID. Since I didn't go to orientation, I had no student ID. The bus driver refused to allow me to board the bus. This was in the pre-Colombine days, but some schools and bus drivers have always been more security minded than others.
I had an aunt living a couple of blocks away from the school bus stop, so I went over there and called home to tell my stepdad the story and get a ride to school. Not an auspicious start to the school year.
Like the first day of eighth grade. I knew where my morning bus stop was because it should be the same as for when I was in seventh grade. I knew what day the first day of school was. Somehow though, I never went through the orientation that should have occured before the first day of school. As far as I know they simply never sent us the information about when orientation was and so on.
So, I'm walking to the bus stop, and suddenly I see, I'm heading towards a giant ravening wolf, or maybe it was a German shephard, but anyways I'm heading towards it, and it's heading towards me, and it's not on a leash, and I'm very phobic about dogs. I duck down a side street and reroute a couple blcoks out of my way and make it to the bus stop on time.
Then when I try to get on the bus, the bus driver quite naturally asks to see my student ID. Now, one of the important things about the orientation process is that at the end, you have a student ID. Since I didn't go to orientation, I had no student ID. The bus driver refused to allow me to board the bus. This was in the pre-Colombine days, but some schools and bus drivers have always been more security minded than others.
I had an aunt living a couple of blocks away from the school bus stop, so I went over there and called home to tell my stepdad the story and get a ride to school. Not an auspicious start to the school year.
Friday, July 4, 2008
A Review of Micah by Laurell K. Hamilton
Well, it's been awhile since the greybeard posted a review.
Judging by the cover artwork, I doubt that Laurell K. Hamilton's Micah has male Science Fiction geeks in mind as a core audience. Quite honestly it looks a bit like a romance novel. Despite the beefcakey cover artwork and romantic aspects of the plot, this male Science Fiction geek did enjoy the book.
Basically, Anita Blake, the vampire hunter and necromancer, has to travel out of state to animate a zombie to testify for the feds. Because of weird complications from being the human servant to a vampire, Anita needs to have sex on a fairly regular basis, so she brings along one of her boyfriends, Micah. Micah is a wereleopard, which is like a werewolf but with the transformation being from human to leopard rather than wolf.
Along the way, more about Micah’s origin is revealed. Lycanthropy, the catch-all term for shape-changing as a condition including among others werewolves, wereleopards, werehyenas, and wererats is transmitted as a disease by bites and scratches from an infected creature. Micah caught his case as result of a violent attack by a serial killer wereleopard who targeted hunters.
After a rather lengthy bit of dialogue and lengthy sex scene that kind of intermingled, we get to the animation that Anita was called out for in the first place. It goes wrong because zombies who were murdered in the first life have an unstoppable drive for vengeance once animated. This zombie died of a heart attack but believes that it was brought on by another person’s actions, so he feels like he’s been murdered. And that’s just about the end of the novel.
Why did I like this book? I think the intermingling of supernatural horror elements with other human feelings and even the sex and romance bits add up to something unique and kind of cool. It’s also interesting that Hamilton seems to have rules in mind for how the supernatural critters work in her novels even if they aren’t necessarily spelled out for us or clear to the characters involved. There’s also the fact that it is quite simply a good supernatural horror novel.
Judging by the cover artwork, I doubt that Laurell K. Hamilton's Micah has male Science Fiction geeks in mind as a core audience. Quite honestly it looks a bit like a romance novel. Despite the beefcakey cover artwork and romantic aspects of the plot, this male Science Fiction geek did enjoy the book.
Basically, Anita Blake, the vampire hunter and necromancer, has to travel out of state to animate a zombie to testify for the feds. Because of weird complications from being the human servant to a vampire, Anita needs to have sex on a fairly regular basis, so she brings along one of her boyfriends, Micah. Micah is a wereleopard, which is like a werewolf but with the transformation being from human to leopard rather than wolf.
Along the way, more about Micah’s origin is revealed. Lycanthropy, the catch-all term for shape-changing as a condition including among others werewolves, wereleopards, werehyenas, and wererats is transmitted as a disease by bites and scratches from an infected creature. Micah caught his case as result of a violent attack by a serial killer wereleopard who targeted hunters.
After a rather lengthy bit of dialogue and lengthy sex scene that kind of intermingled, we get to the animation that Anita was called out for in the first place. It goes wrong because zombies who were murdered in the first life have an unstoppable drive for vengeance once animated. This zombie died of a heart attack but believes that it was brought on by another person’s actions, so he feels like he’s been murdered. And that’s just about the end of the novel.
Why did I like this book? I think the intermingling of supernatural horror elements with other human feelings and even the sex and romance bits add up to something unique and kind of cool. It’s also interesting that Hamilton seems to have rules in mind for how the supernatural critters work in her novels even if they aren’t necessarily spelled out for us or clear to the characters involved. There’s also the fact that it is quite simply a good supernatural horror novel.
Friday, June 13, 2008
News
With a little help from the copy center at Office Despot, I have successfully published the first issue of a zine. It's about 70% recycled material from this blog, though.
There are about fifty copies left of the first print run. A secnd printing and/or a second issue are largely dependent on the response I get to this one.
Anybody who would like a copy can email me or comment on this post or otherwise contact me. There's no charge, but I will glady accept reimbursement for my time, trouble, expenses, and to increase the likelihood of there ever being a second issue. My email is either:
khyron1144@gmail.com
or
khyron89@hotmail.com
I check both fairly often.
There are about fifty copies left of the first print run. A secnd printing and/or a second issue are largely dependent on the response I get to this one.
Anybody who would like a copy can email me or comment on this post or otherwise contact me. There's no charge, but I will glady accept reimbursement for my time, trouble, expenses, and to increase the likelihood of there ever being a second issue. My email is either:
khyron1144@gmail.com
or
khyron89@hotmail.com
I check both fairly often.
Monday, June 2, 2008
Cheerful Idiots
I have figured something out working at the Burrito Gong. Bussiness-like, efficient customers who order, pay, and receive their food with the absolute minimum of interaction with me are the best. I don't like my job, and I'm not there to make friends. They might or might not actually like the food. I'd bet low price point and convenient location/ quick service are at least a part of their reason for going to Burrito Gong.
Second best is actually the angry jerks with complaints. They want the food a particular way, and we failed to deliver. There is justification for their behavior.
The worst customers are the cheerful, friendly ones, especially the ones who think they are funny or clever and try to make jokes. One problem is that there are no new jokes. For instance, if we are using the two window system for drive thru, and one of the cute teenage girls is the order taker at the front window, and I'm working back cash, it is inevitable that some cheerful idiot is going to make a crack about how different my voice sounds over the speaker.
In general the big problem is simply that cheerful people are simply irritating to misanthropic types.
Second best is actually the angry jerks with complaints. They want the food a particular way, and we failed to deliver. There is justification for their behavior.
The worst customers are the cheerful, friendly ones, especially the ones who think they are funny or clever and try to make jokes. One problem is that there are no new jokes. For instance, if we are using the two window system for drive thru, and one of the cute teenage girls is the order taker at the front window, and I'm working back cash, it is inevitable that some cheerful idiot is going to make a crack about how different my voice sounds over the speaker.
In general the big problem is simply that cheerful people are simply irritating to misanthropic types.
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Punctuality
If you work in food service, especially fast food, you are probably what they call unskilled labor. This means that, after an hour of training, an orangutan could do your job as well as or better than you. Since you can be replaced by any warm body of vaguely anthpropoid configuration, the most importatn thing you can offer an employer is work ethic. One aspect of work ethic that seems to get overlooked is punctuality.
If you are scheduled, show up. Show up on time. On time is at least five minutes early. That's all there is to it. If you slide through the door about a minute late, you are a lazy communist who deserves to be fired.
If you are scheduled, show up. Show up on time. On time is at least five minutes early. That's all there is to it. If you slide through the door about a minute late, you are a lazy communist who deserves to be fired.
Monday, May 26, 2008
Lists
Don't ask me why, but I make lists. It doesn't really matter of what. My latest one is characters in superhero comic books with a costumed identity that involves the word Doctor, Captain, or Baron.
Doctors
Dr. Doom (Marvel Villain)
Dr. Strange (Marvel Hero)
Dr. Octopus (Marvel Villain)
Dr. Spectrum (Marvel Hero)
Dr. Druid (Marvel Hero)
Dr. Fate (DC Hero)
Dr. Occult (DC Hero)
Dr. Mist (DC Hero)
Dr. Midnight (DC Hero)
Dr. Thirteen (DC Hero)
Dr. Light (DC Hero)
Dr. Destiny (DC Villain)
Dr. Light (DC Villain)
Dr. Diehard (DC Villain)
Dr. Stratos (DC Villain)
Dr. Sivana (Fawcett/ DC Villain)
Dr. Smashi (Fawcett/ DC Villain)
Dr. Arcane (DC Villain)
Dr. Solar, Man Of The Atom (Gold Key/ Valiant/ Acclaim Hero)
Dr. Eclipse (Valiant/ Acclaim Villain)
Dr. Mirage (Valiant/ Acclaim Hero)
Dr. Strangefate (Amalgym Hero)
Dr. Gade, the Invisible Man (Defunct Golden Age Timely Hero)
Dr. Mystic (Defunct Golden Age Hero)
Doc Noble (Image Hero)
Doc Samson (Marvel Hero)
Dr. Arcane and Dr. Thirteen are both kind of cheats to pad out the list. Dr. Thirteen, the ghost-breaker, is not really a superhero. He was the protagonist of horror book where he went around disproving supposed hauntings. He is legitimately an in-continuity part of the DC Universe of superheros and supervillains, though, having appeared in the original Books of Magic miniseries.
Dr. Arcane is the name used for the Swamp Thing's long-time foe Anton Arcane, a doctor, in the children's cartoon series of Swamp Thing that aired in the 1990s. In the comics, he is mostly referred to as simply Anton Arcane.
Please note that although Robert Bruce Banner (The Hulk), Hank Pym (Ant Man/ Giant Man/ Goliath/ Yellowjacket), and Kurt Connors (The Lizard) have at least one PHD, they are inelligeble because their super-identity does not include the word doctor.
Captains
Captain Marvel (Marvel Hero)
Captain Marvel (Marvel Hero)
Captain America (Marvel Hero)
Captain Britain (Marvel Hero)
Captain Marvel (Fawcett/ DC Hero)
Captain Mary Marvel (Fawcett/ DC Hero)
Captain Marvel Jr. (Fawcett/ DC Hero)
Captain Atom (DC Hero)
Captain Comet (DC Hero)
Captain Speed (DC Hero)
Captain Action (DC Hero)
Captain Action Jr. (DC Hero)
Captain Cold (DC Villain)
Captain Boomerang (DC Villain)
Captain Nazi (Fawcett/ DC Villain)
Captain Truth (Defunct Golden Age Hero)
Captain Combat (Defunct Golden Age Hero)
Captain Fearless (Defunct Golden Age Hero)
Captain Planet (Cartoon Hero)
Barons
Baron Blood (Marvel Villain)
Baron Strucker (Marvel Villain)
Baron Zemo (Marvel Villain)
Baron Winters (DC Hero)
Baron Sunday (DC Villain)
Doctors
Dr. Doom (Marvel Villain)
Dr. Strange (Marvel Hero)
Dr. Octopus (Marvel Villain)
Dr. Spectrum (Marvel Hero)
Dr. Druid (Marvel Hero)
Dr. Fate (DC Hero)
Dr. Occult (DC Hero)
Dr. Mist (DC Hero)
Dr. Midnight (DC Hero)
Dr. Thirteen (DC Hero)
Dr. Light (DC Hero)
Dr. Destiny (DC Villain)
Dr. Light (DC Villain)
Dr. Diehard (DC Villain)
Dr. Stratos (DC Villain)
Dr. Sivana (Fawcett/ DC Villain)
Dr. Smashi (Fawcett/ DC Villain)
Dr. Arcane (DC Villain)
Dr. Solar, Man Of The Atom (Gold Key/ Valiant/ Acclaim Hero)
Dr. Eclipse (Valiant/ Acclaim Villain)
Dr. Mirage (Valiant/ Acclaim Hero)
Dr. Strangefate (Amalgym Hero)
Dr. Gade, the Invisible Man (Defunct Golden Age Timely Hero)
Dr. Mystic (Defunct Golden Age Hero)
Doc Noble (Image Hero)
Doc Samson (Marvel Hero)
Dr. Arcane and Dr. Thirteen are both kind of cheats to pad out the list. Dr. Thirteen, the ghost-breaker, is not really a superhero. He was the protagonist of horror book where he went around disproving supposed hauntings. He is legitimately an in-continuity part of the DC Universe of superheros and supervillains, though, having appeared in the original Books of Magic miniseries.
Dr. Arcane is the name used for the Swamp Thing's long-time foe Anton Arcane, a doctor, in the children's cartoon series of Swamp Thing that aired in the 1990s. In the comics, he is mostly referred to as simply Anton Arcane.
Please note that although Robert Bruce Banner (The Hulk), Hank Pym (Ant Man/ Giant Man/ Goliath/ Yellowjacket), and Kurt Connors (The Lizard) have at least one PHD, they are inelligeble because their super-identity does not include the word doctor.
Captains
Captain Marvel (Marvel Hero)
Captain Marvel (Marvel Hero)
Captain America (Marvel Hero)
Captain Britain (Marvel Hero)
Captain Marvel (Fawcett/ DC Hero)
Captain Mary Marvel (Fawcett/ DC Hero)
Captain Marvel Jr. (Fawcett/ DC Hero)
Captain Atom (DC Hero)
Captain Comet (DC Hero)
Captain Speed (DC Hero)
Captain Action (DC Hero)
Captain Action Jr. (DC Hero)
Captain Cold (DC Villain)
Captain Boomerang (DC Villain)
Captain Nazi (Fawcett/ DC Villain)
Captain Truth (Defunct Golden Age Hero)
Captain Combat (Defunct Golden Age Hero)
Captain Fearless (Defunct Golden Age Hero)
Captain Planet (Cartoon Hero)
Barons
Baron Blood (Marvel Villain)
Baron Strucker (Marvel Villain)
Baron Zemo (Marvel Villain)
Baron Winters (DC Hero)
Baron Sunday (DC Villain)
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
A Disturbing Thought
I work at a fast food place. We serve fake mexican food. Burritos, tacos, etc.
The most common filling for our tacos is ground beef. The ground beef comes to us in plastic bags that are inside cardboard boxes. The outside of those cardboard boxes contains an ingredients list.
Think of it an ingredients list for ground beef taco meat. One of the ingredients is carmel color. Our groundbeef needs help to look like ground beef ought to look like. Tell me that's not a little disturbing.
The most common filling for our tacos is ground beef. The ground beef comes to us in plastic bags that are inside cardboard boxes. The outside of those cardboard boxes contains an ingredients list.
Think of it an ingredients list for ground beef taco meat. One of the ingredients is carmel color. Our groundbeef needs help to look like ground beef ought to look like. Tell me that's not a little disturbing.
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
Another food service rant
Another great truth of life hit me recently. The reason service sucks in the food service industry is because the people working in the food service industry are resentful. What are they resentful of? Being treated as a gopher by anyone who happens to be nearby.
It starts small enough. Somebody requests something that is small and perfectly reasonable on its own. After a while though, there get to be a few too many of these perfectly reasonable requests and the next becomes unreasonable from the food service worker's perspective.
There's an easy way to combat it. Never ask for a favor from anyone working in food service whether you're a customer or a co-worker.
It starts small enough. Somebody requests something that is small and perfectly reasonable on its own. After a while though, there get to be a few too many of these perfectly reasonable requests and the next becomes unreasonable from the food service worker's perspective.
There's an easy way to combat it. Never ask for a favor from anyone working in food service whether you're a customer or a co-worker.
Monday, May 19, 2008
Another Political Rant
I realized something today. I dislike unfairness, injustice, inequality, and inequity. I'm also not a big fan of dishonesty. This may be why I find concepts like anarchism and socialism interesting. They are intended to be a means of making things fair for everyone.
The Democratic Republic with a Capitalist economy is supposed to be the free-est, fairest, best system possible. Yet, unfairness persists. Take the United States of America... please! (rimshot sound effect)
The United States of America is supposed to be founded on the premise that all humanity is created equal, even though it took about a hundred years before the government recognized the created equal status of non-whites and females. Yet certain people within the United states are not equal to others.
Let us assume you have an annoying neighbor. You or I coudln't order a tactical nuclear strike on this annoying neighbor. However, the President of the United States of America, if he found Canada to be an annoynace, could order a tactical nuclear strike against Canada. This is an inequity.
I have never been treated to an expensive dinner by a lobbyist. I hear it happens to congressmen all the time. For me, a fact-finding mission is a trip to the public library using the city's mass transit system, paid for out of my own pocket. For congressmen, fact-finding missions are essentially vacations to five-star resorts on tropical islands, and it's paid for by lobbyists. This is an inequity.
Yeah, I know, we all get a vote to decide who is going to be treated to these privileges. That's a nice idea, but an even nicer idea would be to give them to all of us.
The Democratic Republic with a Capitalist economy is supposed to be the free-est, fairest, best system possible. Yet, unfairness persists. Take the United States of America... please! (rimshot sound effect)
The United States of America is supposed to be founded on the premise that all humanity is created equal, even though it took about a hundred years before the government recognized the created equal status of non-whites and females. Yet certain people within the United states are not equal to others.
Let us assume you have an annoying neighbor. You or I coudln't order a tactical nuclear strike on this annoying neighbor. However, the President of the United States of America, if he found Canada to be an annoynace, could order a tactical nuclear strike against Canada. This is an inequity.
I have never been treated to an expensive dinner by a lobbyist. I hear it happens to congressmen all the time. For me, a fact-finding mission is a trip to the public library using the city's mass transit system, paid for out of my own pocket. For congressmen, fact-finding missions are essentially vacations to five-star resorts on tropical islands, and it's paid for by lobbyists. This is an inequity.
Yeah, I know, we all get a vote to decide who is going to be treated to these privileges. That's a nice idea, but an even nicer idea would be to give them to all of us.
Thursday, May 1, 2008
The Anomalist
Okay, the other day I went to the friendly, but not exactly in the neighborhood, used bookstore. Among other things, I found and purchased the first issue of a publication titled The Anomalist. It says it's the summer 1994 issue, and I have no idea if any others have been published or if it's still a going concern. I'm still working my way through it, but the first article that I read was Martin Kottmeyer's "The First Extraordinary Claim", a sort of debunking of certain myths surrounding the round Earth hypothesis.
The short version is, yes the earliest round-Earthers were the ancient Greeks, particularly the Pythagoreans, but the round Earth hypothesis was advanced more from poetic, aesthetic, mystical, and religious reasons than from any scientific observational data. In fact, Democritus, one of the Earliest scientific thinkers in the modern sense, was a flat-Earther when the round Earth hypothesis began to circulate.
The next article to catch my attention was "The Perils of Erasing Astrology From the Past" by Ingo Swann. It's partly a defense of astrology and partly simply points out that up until the middle Renaisance there was no practical difference between astrology and scientific astronomy. When those ancient Greeks, we so admire for getting the ball rolling on the science thing, looked to the skies, their main interest was in predicting things here on Earth.
So basically, this looks like fun reading, and I might have to start scouring ebay for more back issues.
The short version is, yes the earliest round-Earthers were the ancient Greeks, particularly the Pythagoreans, but the round Earth hypothesis was advanced more from poetic, aesthetic, mystical, and religious reasons than from any scientific observational data. In fact, Democritus, one of the Earliest scientific thinkers in the modern sense, was a flat-Earther when the round Earth hypothesis began to circulate.
The next article to catch my attention was "The Perils of Erasing Astrology From the Past" by Ingo Swann. It's partly a defense of astrology and partly simply points out that up until the middle Renaisance there was no practical difference between astrology and scientific astronomy. When those ancient Greeks, we so admire for getting the ball rolling on the science thing, looked to the skies, their main interest was in predicting things here on Earth.
So basically, this looks like fun reading, and I might have to start scouring ebay for more back issues.
Tuesday, March 4, 2008
Well, It's an Election Year
Okay. I'm going to try an experiment. I'm going to send this letter to the front-runners for the presidential nomination. Results if any will be posted here.
Dear Sir (Or Ma'am in Hillary's case):
I am a registered voter who will be voting in the presidential election. I have concerns:
1. I am a working individual. I work two jobs in food service. What would you do as President of The United States of America to make my life as a working person better or more secure economically?
2. I am uninsured and have not seen a doctor in about five years. Are you going to do anything about health care in this country?
3. I'm a Pagan. The current President and his administration are extremely tight with a segment of Christianity that I feel is hostile to me as a Pagan. Are you going to be any better?
4. Why should I vote for you and not go Socialist this year?
By the way, I am sending a copy of this to the opposition. Any responses will be posted on my blog:
http://greybeardsngrognards.blogspot.com
and the first candidate to respond gets my endorsement.
Sincerely:
JustiN Orion Neal Taylor
I'm pretty much expecting nothing to come of this. Email gets read by staffers. Staffers weed out nut jobs like me.
Dear Sir (Or Ma'am in Hillary's case):
I am a registered voter who will be voting in the presidential election. I have concerns:
1. I am a working individual. I work two jobs in food service. What would you do as President of The United States of America to make my life as a working person better or more secure economically?
2. I am uninsured and have not seen a doctor in about five years. Are you going to do anything about health care in this country?
3. I'm a Pagan. The current President and his administration are extremely tight with a segment of Christianity that I feel is hostile to me as a Pagan. Are you going to be any better?
4. Why should I vote for you and not go Socialist this year?
By the way, I am sending a copy of this to the opposition. Any responses will be posted on my blog:
http://greybeardsngrognards.blogspot.com
and the first candidate to respond gets my endorsement.
Sincerely:
JustiN Orion Neal Taylor
I'm pretty much expecting nothing to come of this. Email gets read by staffers. Staffers weed out nut jobs like me.
Saturday, February 9, 2008
The Disintigration of Western Civilization Part 3: There Are Too Many Worthless Holidays
A holiday is meant to be a time of merriment and/or reverence. It should be spectacular. It should be a day off for more than just letter carriers and bankers. In the United States of America we have too many days marked on our calendars as holdiays that are none of the above.
When was the last time anyone threw an arbor day party? Does anyone other than bankers and postal workers celebrate Martin Luther King Day or President's Day? How many people curse Martin Luther King Day or President's Day because the bank's not open for them to cash a check or because the check that's in the mail is going to be a day later than expected?
Now, President Lincoln, President Washington, and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. are all admirable men who did great things for this country, but maybe we should do something to actually endear their memories to people, like give everyone except banks and the post office the day off. With pay.
There are a lot of saints. From what I understand there are days for all of them. For whatever reason, Patrick and Valentine are the only ones whose days are paid much attention by the American populace. I guess green beer and/or chocolate are popular.
Saint Valentine's Day is a total Hallmark holiday. It exists to prop up the candy industry between Christmas and Easter and the greating card industry after Christmas.
Saint Patrick's Day is something of a mystery to me. In what way did a Saint associated with the Catholic Church endorse green minty milkshakes? Other than that, I've got no problem with it. Any excuse to listen to my Pogues and Dropkick Murphys albums is a good excuse.
Arbor Day and Flag Day are the quintessential worthless holidays. Nobody throws a party for them. I think they don't even bother with closing the banks and not delivering the mail on these days, so really they are totally unmarked.
I have no idea how people react to Secretaries's Day. I work in fast food and as a bus boy. This means I do not have a secretary and I will never have a secretary. I imagine that having to get the obligatory card is an annoyance to those who do, but quite honestly if your position within a company affords you a secretary, I have no sympathy for you.
Super Bowl Sun Day has become a sort of unofficial holiday here in the U.S.A. I don't like football and don't care about wierd advertising that costs a lot of money to air. About the one good thing to come out of the Super Bowl is the Janet Jackson incident.
Independence Day/ The Fourth of July can be fun. When you mix drunken red necks with explosives fun often ensues. American freedom is also a nifty idea. Let me know when it arrives.
I like Halloween. It's an excuse to dress up the way I normally would: cape, skull jewelry, and black nail polish and then go out in public. There's also the free candy. Unfortunately, now that I'm over twenty, people frown on me trick or treating myself . In past years, I've gotten around that by borrowing my younger brother and his friends and claiming that I'm just escorting them.
Christmas is okay by me too. I like giving and receiving gifts. It also falls on Sol Invictus, so it's a holiday on a Holy Day.
All in all, though there are definitely too many worthless holidays.
When was the last time anyone threw an arbor day party? Does anyone other than bankers and postal workers celebrate Martin Luther King Day or President's Day? How many people curse Martin Luther King Day or President's Day because the bank's not open for them to cash a check or because the check that's in the mail is going to be a day later than expected?
Now, President Lincoln, President Washington, and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. are all admirable men who did great things for this country, but maybe we should do something to actually endear their memories to people, like give everyone except banks and the post office the day off. With pay.
There are a lot of saints. From what I understand there are days for all of them. For whatever reason, Patrick and Valentine are the only ones whose days are paid much attention by the American populace. I guess green beer and/or chocolate are popular.
Saint Valentine's Day is a total Hallmark holiday. It exists to prop up the candy industry between Christmas and Easter and the greating card industry after Christmas.
Saint Patrick's Day is something of a mystery to me. In what way did a Saint associated with the Catholic Church endorse green minty milkshakes? Other than that, I've got no problem with it. Any excuse to listen to my Pogues and Dropkick Murphys albums is a good excuse.
Arbor Day and Flag Day are the quintessential worthless holidays. Nobody throws a party for them. I think they don't even bother with closing the banks and not delivering the mail on these days, so really they are totally unmarked.
I have no idea how people react to Secretaries's Day. I work in fast food and as a bus boy. This means I do not have a secretary and I will never have a secretary. I imagine that having to get the obligatory card is an annoyance to those who do, but quite honestly if your position within a company affords you a secretary, I have no sympathy for you.
Super Bowl Sun Day has become a sort of unofficial holiday here in the U.S.A. I don't like football and don't care about wierd advertising that costs a lot of money to air. About the one good thing to come out of the Super Bowl is the Janet Jackson incident.
Independence Day/ The Fourth of July can be fun. When you mix drunken red necks with explosives fun often ensues. American freedom is also a nifty idea. Let me know when it arrives.
I like Halloween. It's an excuse to dress up the way I normally would: cape, skull jewelry, and black nail polish and then go out in public. There's also the free candy. Unfortunately, now that I'm over twenty, people frown on me trick or treating myself . In past years, I've gotten around that by borrowing my younger brother and his friends and claiming that I'm just escorting them.
Christmas is okay by me too. I like giving and receiving gifts. It also falls on Sol Invictus, so it's a holiday on a Holy Day.
All in all, though there are definitely too many worthless holidays.
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
The Disintigration of Western Civilization Part 2: U-Scan Must Die
The Disintigration of Western Civilization Part 2: U-Scan Must Die
I work at a Burrito Gong. I get payed a little over seven dollars an hour (the state minimum wage plus a tiny merit-based raise) to stand behind a cash register and deal with idiots.
When I'm off-duty and buying pita chips and hommus at a grocery store, it is my turn to be someone else's idiot, but the grocery stores want me to be my own idiot. They have gotten rid of express lanes manned by people. Instead, they install U-Scan express lanes.
This leaves me with two unpalatable options. I can do something that somebody should be getting paid around seven dollars an hour to do and do it for free. Or I can stand in line behind three housewives who are buying the month's groceries for their twelve kids.
I usually choose to stand in the long, slow-moving line. If I've got time to go to the grocery store for my pita chips and hommus, I've got time to stand in line.
That's another problem with the U-Scan concept: it doesn't just represent the death of good customer service at a grocery store, it's also yet another symptom of the constant hurry that Americans live in. I never hurry. There's no point. There is no on-time and no late, there is simply when something happens.
Tomorrow, I will go to the grocery store. I'll pick up something cheap like a pack of gum. Then, I'll stand in line to have my pack of gum checked out by a human being. When I reach the cashier I will thank her for being there to deal with idiots like me. I encourage all of you to do the same.
U-Scan must die.
I work at a Burrito Gong. I get payed a little over seven dollars an hour (the state minimum wage plus a tiny merit-based raise) to stand behind a cash register and deal with idiots.
When I'm off-duty and buying pita chips and hommus at a grocery store, it is my turn to be someone else's idiot, but the grocery stores want me to be my own idiot. They have gotten rid of express lanes manned by people. Instead, they install U-Scan express lanes.
This leaves me with two unpalatable options. I can do something that somebody should be getting paid around seven dollars an hour to do and do it for free. Or I can stand in line behind three housewives who are buying the month's groceries for their twelve kids.
I usually choose to stand in the long, slow-moving line. If I've got time to go to the grocery store for my pita chips and hommus, I've got time to stand in line.
That's another problem with the U-Scan concept: it doesn't just represent the death of good customer service at a grocery store, it's also yet another symptom of the constant hurry that Americans live in. I never hurry. There's no point. There is no on-time and no late, there is simply when something happens.
Tomorrow, I will go to the grocery store. I'll pick up something cheap like a pack of gum. Then, I'll stand in line to have my pack of gum checked out by a human being. When I reach the cashier I will thank her for being there to deal with idiots like me. I encourage all of you to do the same.
U-Scan must die.
Sunday, January 13, 2008
The Disintegration of Western Civilization Part 1: Somewhere There's a Starbucks With a Starbucks In It
The Disintegration of Western Civilization Part 1: Somewhere There's a Starbucks With a Starbucks In It
Somewhere there's gotta be a Starbucks with a Starbucks in it. I mean like one of those Starbucks as its own place full-size restaurant things with one of those mini-Starbucks-in-an-alcove-things that they put in other stores in it.
Allow me to explain. I am writing this at the Jimmy John's in a strip mall. In the same strip mall at one end is a Meijer, a groceries and retail shopping in one place store not entirely unlike a Wal-Mart Supercenter; I don't think Meijer has spread much past its home in Michigan and some of the adjoining states. In this Meijer is one of those Starbucks alcoves.
At the other end of the strip mall is a Target. This target has replaced the normal Target snackbar area with a Starbucks alcove.
Two of them. In the same strip mall. There's only one place left to go.
Somewhere there's a Starbucks with a Starbucks in it.
Somewhere there's gotta be a Starbucks with a Starbucks in it. I mean like one of those Starbucks as its own place full-size restaurant things with one of those mini-Starbucks-in-an-alcove-things that they put in other stores in it.
Allow me to explain. I am writing this at the Jimmy John's in a strip mall. In the same strip mall at one end is a Meijer, a groceries and retail shopping in one place store not entirely unlike a Wal-Mart Supercenter; I don't think Meijer has spread much past its home in Michigan and some of the adjoining states. In this Meijer is one of those Starbucks alcoves.
At the other end of the strip mall is a Target. This target has replaced the normal Target snackbar area with a Starbucks alcove.
Two of them. In the same strip mall. There's only one place left to go.
Somewhere there's a Starbucks with a Starbucks in it.
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