My opinion doesn't matter, and neither does yours

It's official as of today:
Republican = Irrelevant

Michelle Bachman (Sweet St. Irrelevant) seems to think that Flu is Judgement of God on Democratic Presidents. While each case she offers up, was under a Republican President. She is officially the clown of the Congress, now! Someone get her a red nose, and giant shoes, IF you haven't done so already.

Meanwhile, Congress still doesn't get it! If you thought there would be Credit Card reform right away, think again, which you know means never, not even next year, when the current bill goes into effect, should it pass- you'll be Grandfathered by then I'll bet! Tear up your credit card, already!!! No really!!! Which is why I warn you all, none of our opinions matter. Bankers rule, and you're a fool! We need to know who took the teeth out of this bill, and HOPEFULLY President Obama will recognize this for what it is, and actually VETO something. But I'm not counting on it, we been sold down the river on day 101- PROVE ME WRONG!

Is it time to talk Socialized Banking?

---

As a footnote: I wrote this before today's news cycle. I would like to think they read me, but I doubt it. There is no doubt that Trickle Down failed, not once, but every time it's been tried. You removed the rules of law, and lawlessness breaks out. They banked on that not happening, and it's still happening, and they just don't get it! Remember this about GOVERNMENT vs Private Sector- the government has an advantage, in that it never needs to make a profit, and business always must.

How is 1/3 of the nation being mad a good thing?

President Obama has the rare privilege to have 60+% approval rating of his first hundred days. That means that a third of America, is pissed off, doesn't it?

Yes, exactly!

Why is that a good thing?

It's not! But it's unavoidable. But it's a figure that is hardened few. I'm one of the hardened few on the other side. It means, I'm all giggly and happy, but more importantly besides that, we are set in our ways, and will toe the party line, is what it's all about. There are people that will always hold the banner high for you, and those people are generally 30%ers!

A quarter of both parties, on both sides, have that independent spirit. We are still a two party system, and they divided in half, except for a small slice of extreme independents, that are really hard right, or really hard left. Most of us are moderates. Moderates are the true majority, which is why until guys like Carl Roe come along, we can work with each other. Mr Roe believes that the FAR RIGHT is RIGHT, and FUCK ANYTHING ELSE! Mr Limbaugh however, will play any side against the other, while spinning RIGHT, and for him it's all about his ego, more than anything else.

I only bring these two up, because they are the extremes, that have the most to gain from that 30% that is pissed off. These two have poisoned the whole well, to the point where the two sides are having EXTREME difficulty working with each other at all. Which is why, I have to encourage ALL YOU moderates (the true majority), not to be salient, but to speak up, and let them know, it's a time to put away petty things, and get on with the business of rebuilding the good old USA! I really don't care if you are a Republican or a Democrat, the moderates have to become vocal, and this is a good medium to do that in.

Facts are that more Republicans march in lock step to the whims of the party. A Democrat's biggest enemy is not Republicans, it's most likely his own party. There is greater diversity of opinions in the Democratic party, than in the Republican party, and their aways has been. Which is why most of us reject the notion, that we are so easy to characterize. Republicans have become like birds- they see the enemy in the window, and attack it. Only the glass is not a window, it's a mirror! But they have no concept of mirrors, so they attack what they see. Which is why I advise them to sit down, and shut up, and think it threw first; But they just don't get it- YET!

Anyway, 60% is SUPER IMPORTANT! Because that means all the moderates have swung your way. Your attracting the right crowd, and have enough of those independents which Mr Roe has no value for, are along for the ride. Mr Roe has the problem of not seeing Gray, in the big picture. He maybe right, that there is only one color of ink, but he forgets there is paper too, and the big picture is not seen just in a microscope!

What I'm annoyed with are all these BLOND ZEALOTS WOMEN being the standard bearers for the party, when they can't make a single argument that is rational, and not laced with racism, hatred, and blame (like it's good TV (hint))! None of that does any good, it just gets people killed, when it gets out of control. I never liked Buckley, but I had to think it through to argue with him- and that's a good thing.

Ironically, I went the opposite direction of many of my friends. I use to be a Republican, that changed party over the blame game of Ronald Reagan blaming poor people for being the problem. What he never told anybody, was that it was only 2% of the budget, and it needed reform, not a hatchet job! Which is what Clinton did. Welfare Moms could not fight back, they didn't have the resources. But I could, and I changed parties right there, and have never looked back. Because they just keep getting worse all the time! And what I mean is that invader in the mirror. They don't get what they are attacking. Rule #1, know your enemy! Think it out!

I do owe "the Right" an article now, about an issue that is showing up, that we should be concerned with, about Government running amok- as they fear most! It's coming, I need to work on it more, to get it right, or it will become a ramble like this folly. Which I could have said in one paragraph, if I had wanted to. Believe me, I don't walk in lock step with President Obama, on all things. I have two issues with him already, but for the most part, he's doing the things I think need to be addressed, to get us back on a sound footing. So there is room for real debate and battle ahead. Which some of you might be surprised by my position on.

The only people that ever get surprised by me, are the people that try to box me in, and think they have me all figured out. I am one super complex dude! Maybe I'm on of those 25%er, that can change sides, in the blink of an eye on you? Don't try to pigeon hole me, I'll screw both sides, just for taking me for granted!

Most (shelf proclaimed) Conservatives don't seem to understand that Conservative and Liberal are not mutually exclusive things, unlike Black and White. Step back and there's a whole bunch of gray. Step back, and you realize that it's not a window, too. Republicans are right in a principle that they need to think through, and get back to. And Taxes, Taxes, Taxes, is not it! Spending is not it! There is an issue we need them for. But right now, 60% in your favor, let's enjoy his honeymoon for at least one day, maybe a day and a half. What annoys me, is that there is a time and a place, and a very big issue ahead, in which to fight back on.

Sorry Democrats, but it's not over for the Republicans, they're just a bit confused at the moment, because their a little bit slow! 60 Senators is not that important at all, yesterdays news was not crushing. 60% is more than a big thing, when you think it through. I remind people about the White Elephant Gift! And that a Democrats worsted enemy is another Democrat's ideas! Now go look up the White Elephant, to understand what I'm hinting at.

But what do I know? I can be dismissed by either side, as just a blogger; And it's true! You know I admire Rush for one thing. He knows he has no responsibility to solve any of the world's problems- so he doesn't even try. He just bitches about whatever you do! I can model myself after that, if you want?

Have we become a nation of twits?

I hate Twitter!
Are we really becoming that %^&* inarticulate?
Katie Couric is right; I don't give shit if she's eating a tuna sandwich, right now.
99% are not tweets, they're just twits! So it seems properly named to me.
CNN and Ashton Kutcher are battling it out over this- really?
What a bunch of twits!

Who saw that coming, the date when a person no longer at all wants to be even half way cool? Go ahead, and circle it on your calendar, the date Randy stopped being cool!

I'm just a grumpy old man; "Go away! Leave me alone! I promise not to tweet you about it."

100 Days

100 Days of Obama.
What? Is the honeymoon suddenly over? Hardly with public approvals in the upper 60s!
I'm not going to GRADE the President, I frankly am not qualified.

What I love about this President, is when he speaks, I actually learn something. That hasn't happened with any other President, that I can recall.

I didn't care for him getting kissy with Chavez, and I'm a bit concerned about Cuba. Ok, maybe I exaggerate a little bit, it was just a joke! I personally think it's encouraging to see Chavez so eager to get his picture taken with our President. Because it doesn't matter how he tries to spin it, the world knows who is the bigger man- to put it in Macho Terms. It is interesting that these oil producing nations think they are the ONLY oil producing nations on earth, like we couldn't survive without them?

CDC and Swine Flu:
I really want to thank the CDC for picking the wrong flu strain again, this year. What, you've picked right once in the last 10 years? As a person who needs flu shots, that's not at all encouraging. I believe in the vaccination, and just can't believe that... I don't have words! I'm hoping once I have had that strain of flu before in a flu shot, and the flu back in the Ford administration, that should I get this one, it will be rather mild for me- I hope! I get a shot each year, so that my mind and body are not so bothered! I've done my share of flus in my life, I'd rather not ever have one again. My question is; Do you really think CDC will be there to protect you from Biological or Chemical Terrorist Attack, with a track record like this?

You know, my Republican readers (it's a good time to address you); That I didn't agree with Pres. Reagan, but I always listened to him. I didn't agree with Pres. (HW) Bush, but I would listen to him. Frankly W was too much for me to stomach, it was actually painful to listen to him speak in public, so I did stop listening, as rude as that might have been. My point is, lower anger rhetoric, and try to listening to this President, because he has a lot of thoughtful things to say, that aren't all party spin, like your use to. We are in a time, when the issues are far too important for gamesmanship, and it's why your loosing ground, and loosing your hold. The only way to avoid ramped corruption is to have a strong two party or better system, so I don't want Republicans to fade away- just get a clue! And you clearly, still don't get it, with your politics of fear and panic. We stop listening to Sky is Falling, and Wolf! My concern is that sometimes you behave like a cult, and that really turns people off.

UPDATE:
I horrified to see, that this is the talking point of Right Wing Media, right now. First of all, I'm not a raciest, who blames others for anything that effects my life. Unlike many of those who want seal the border air tight, so there are no people left, that don't sound or look like us, anymore. Illegal immigration is a problem- but the bigger problem is those employing them. We don't need migrant farm workers, we have teenagers! And not being able to find US citizens willing to dig ditches for $35- oh, come on, you liars! There is no way, that you tried very hard to find people, if that's the case. What makes me mad, you should be able to lie better than that!!!

What's the carrot going to say to ...

...the truck driver, there IBM?
"Hey, think you might try and miss a few of those pot holes, buddy?"
Other than that, I can't think of a thing the driver might care about!
That company is really, really, weird and scary! Sooner or later you will see one of their new commercials, and sooner or later, you will agree with me- creepy, very creepy, served with a smile- very Orwellian!

Will we bounce back?

There is a more important issue floating to the surface this week; What is recovery?
This is not over, not by a long shot. More people are going to become unemployed. Which means one thing to me; More people than EVER, are going to think about SELF EMPLOYMENT, just like me!

See, life doesn't stop coming at you. You still have people to support, bills to pay, health issues to deal with, aging issues to deal with. Life has to move forward!!! Life is non reflective, it doesn't stop, it doesn't get tired, it just keeps happening. A sleep or awake! What you learn at times like these, is that you can't count on anyone. Monster Mega Corp is not friend, or family. Yet THAT network still exists, so what does it like, and want? What makes you unique, and valued to that other network? Because that answer, is most likely your answer to self-fulfillment and a small business.

My answer is that I am the time master, and handy man. So now, I'm back to making of clocks, again. It's a good product, that pragmatic and always in demand! Everybody around me is happy, to see me being productive, and laying out new plans for a new business. But if I couldn't tell you EXACTLY what a clock costs, and what it should sell for- everybody would be VERY angry with me, for being a drop out. These things aren't going to happen on your own, you are going to need your network to support you for like 3 to 6 months. Really!!! It's hard to hold that network together. Investors are not only bankers, but that network. The less assets you have to GAMBLE with, the more you have to count on that other network!

Where Obama is wrong, and everybody is wrong, is that education is a good thing, but it's not a solid thing, that you can bank on, after a point! I see it all the time, the second life is off coarse, even a little bit, there is group that reaches for college catalogs, and starts grumbling about their certifications. The question is, is it necessary? Are you ever going to get pay back, for what your about to shell out, and spend?

Honestly, I don't expect my doctor to be in training forever! There comes a point where he has to have a network around him, to move the next set of FRESH BRAINS through. To stop counting as much on his stills, and more on theirs as fresh air. Experience is enough, but it is a fact that at some point your going to start getting dumber too. Maybe not quite as dumb as me, but still, your going to slip! Are you ready for that day, and how will you deal with it?

I was skilled computer programmer. But what the world needs now, is outside of my skill set in engineering and mathematics. I was a data capture guy, and that's a job completed. And programming has changed. The new stuff is being made almost impossible to use, I think to justify their degrees and training, and for no other productive reason. If anybody with a high school education can do it- it somehow is a bad thing? It's a philosophy that will doom itself- but I'm done, I'm not waiting that long. Life keeps coming at me, and my glass is running out, my brain has been burnt out for years, it's time for something else, something much simpler. I made a lot of money from this, so it's hard to walk away, but it's time- hire a twenty something with fresh brains- that isn't burnt out! But that's not what I get calls at home for today, anyhow, which is what guided my decision to quit.

We have just ended a cycle of business, of faking it! The lie, that we knew we were living, collapsed from under us. The weight of the question, shined a light on the problem, and everybody, even the slowest said; "Ah ha!" And it all came tumbling down, as somebody wanted $5 a gallon for gasoline! Still though, no body is blaming BIG ENERGY, because they were just the final straw. You might not realize this, but $5 a gallon is actually very reasonable unless you don't have it, and it will rise to that again. Which is why Obama is being a hard ass with GM! The Ivory Towers took a hard hit, but still aren't getting it, they weren't completely wiped out.

I look at my valley, and I see the cycle of life, moving forward, and steadily moving on. San Bernardino is dieing, Redlands (White Flight City) is rising. Which is now making Highland more attractive as an alternative to high cost of Redlands. Still, San Bernardino, even being the county seat, lags way behind, and is nearly a ghost town today. But San Bernardino has assets, important assets, that the other communities don't have. Those assets are Air and Rail. BIG ASS airport leftover from the cold war, and Rail spurs (right of ways) all over the place. And the Smart People know what's coming!

For America to be America, and to keep it's economic strength, it must rebuild it's small businesses. To rebuild small businesses, you have to rebuild the supply chains (wholesale). This will be done on the cheap, which means RAIL will be more important than private long haul trucking! Get the picture? Don't buy that big rig, spend that same money on Santa Fe, Fed Ex, and Strip Mall Companies!

The days of outrageous credit are closing slowing. We are back to being a saver society, that doesn't need as much. Which means products have to be of higher quality than ever before. Which means more hand labor. Which means more small business. Which means we need to rebuild our supply chain.

Will we bounce back? No, not even close to these fake levels of the not so distant past. But we will prosper, because life just keeps happening, just maybe not to their script! Obama and Clinton raised up from nothing by being very SMART people, so they think like very smart people. Most of us however... It doesn't start with them, it starts with you, and your determination, and street wisdom. Nobody has to tell you don't borrow money at double digits in interest! That's where they're wrong putting all their eggs in the education basket, and it frankly cheapens the education system- it must dumb down to level it's expected to produce, doesn't it?

Let me sum it up for you, once I think you MIGHT get lost in this ramble; You ARE MAIN ST, maybe you should try shopping there!

5 Wonderful Heartland Texas-s

I watched this week, none other than the infamous Tom Delay- same guy not only stripped of being Speaker of House, but expelled from Congress all together for corruption, and ethics violations. That same crooked Tom, say with impish glee; "Texas is not seceding from the Union." Which is good news, however he went on; "But as part of it's charter, it has the right to break up into being 5 States." Why would he have impish glee over this stupid idea? Because he thinks he can have 10 Republican Texas Senators is why.

The bad news is, that I don't think that is exactly the way it works, Mr Delay. First of all, it would no longer be TEXAS, but 5 new States, assuming the United States of America, accepted all 5 into the Union to begin with. Which would mean, that at least 4 would have to ratify new constitutions, develop state houses, and courts, hold many many special elections. And waste billions of dollars of tax payers money in the process, setting up new governments, which could totally change local governments completely. And most of it would be 5 times poorer than it they were before. And who if any would keep the name Texas?

Democrats are not unhappy with the Federal Government at the moment, and even at their saddest hour, with our anger at Mr Roe, we weren't going any where, we weren't seceding from the Union, we weren't talking crazy about breaking states up, to get more senators on our side. Why? Big RISK!

You've now failed to win two national elections, your party is coming apart at the seams, and then if you broke a state up with your stupid tantrum, you'd be costing yourselves billions and billions of dollars during a global recession. Do you really honestly believe that any Republican could win an election after that? The Obama administration (even if it went two terms) would be history for many years before you'd even be done fighting over content issues of your new charter which you would have to have, to even be ready to rejoin the Union.

Mr Delay is like a man who just bought a lottery ticket. Just imagine how much Power Texas would have if it had 10 Senators! Que harps! But it would loose a bunch of congressmen, because it's population would be reduced. It would loose all Congressional representation and authority for a while, letting those hippy liberals run amuck. It would most likely loose Republican seats, and all seniority in any committees. These god damn harps will not stay in tune for some reason- and why does that one keep playing Metalica? It would be a perfect Texas Republican World- except that one, damn it- stop playing that noise, there are Democrats in Texas as well, even today! The song we're playing is Yellow Rose of Texas! What do you mean, your not Texas anymore?

I'm recommending the fallowing names for the New 5 Texas states; Mickey, Mini, Donald, Pluto, and Goofy, 'cause yer livin' in Fantasyland, blinded by stupidity, lust, and greed. You've got to be joking- but I kinda hope your not! Just because, this is going to be fun to watch. Anyway you spin it, we're talking Civil War- you know? Your not patriots with talk like that, quite the opposite.

Here is small alternative suggestion to Civil War; Why don't you find some good qualified candidates, with good ideas, to run for public office instead of the same old stupid old men that caused all these problems to begin with? They are telling you; "It's not our fault, it's yours!" with their actions, and your going to put up with that? Come on Texas, be men of good character!

What you got cookin? Shaomai!

As much fun as it is to jeer the other guys, it's time for another recipe! And I want it planted right here. The only problem is, that I haven't decided which one yet? Keep watching, I'll figure it out soon enough. But it's definitely time for some good food again. My house stinks of mineral spirits from the clocks, and I have hay fever right now, so I'm all doped up on antihistamines, so I'm having a hard time figuring out my own cravings- but it's gone far too long without a new recipe from my personal collection. I'll find one...

Ok, I've made up my mind. Let go for some Dim Sum, in particular Shu Mai, or Shaomai, there is like 20 different spelling of the same thing (it means "food to sell"). It's one of my favorites, but I've never seen it along with Pot Stickers at the market? If you want this one, most likely your going to have to make it for yourself, or you live in a more ethnically diverse neighborhood than I do?

So what is it? It's an over-stuffed ravioli- it's that thing in the steamer that looks like a unopened flower, normally with square of carrot in the middle. However, I describe it to the old ladies as sausage, once most are made from ground pork. And that's what I've got on my mind;

1 oz of Straw Mushrooms (you can dice up a button mushroom, it doesn't matter much)
2 Green Onions (diced)
6 to 8 slices of Water Chestnuts (diced up into cubes)
1 lb ground pork (I normally use a half a package of Farmer John)
2 slices of sandwich ham (sliced up into tiny squares)
1/4 - 1/2 t Sesame Oil (it's a flavor that you have to learn, so go light to start)
1/2 t salt
1/2 t sugar
pinch or two of cayenne pepper
1 tbl cooking sherry
3 tbl spoons cornstarch

I never buy wanton wrappers, I just quarter a few egg roll wrappers, so I don't end up with lots of rotting leftover noodles in my refrigerator. I just find the size of a wanton inconvenient to me, but you will need about two dozen wanton wrappers for this.

Spray a couple of plates for your bamboo steamers, with some cooking oil, to prevent sticking.
The method used by most restaurants, is to use a cabbage leaf in the steamer- it doesn't matter, either way. (These pictured here, look like they're sitting on a spring roll wrapper- frankly I don't scrubbing my steamer that much, so I like to keep it as clean as possible).
Mix all of the above into a bowl, all that starch will make it sticky in no time!
Spread a thin layer of the mixture over a wanton wrapper, evenly, in the palm of your hand, with a fork. Then just cup your hand up, and shape it into a flower cup. It so sticky it will stay!
Once you have dozen crammed onto a plate, drop it in your steamer for half hour.
Serve hot, strait from the steamer. I don't really care about the garish of a pea or carrot, but it's up to you.

It's a double feature! Once I'm sure your stuck now with a lot of leftover wanton wrappers, here's what to do with them:
Take a glass pie plate, and mash 4 oz cream cheese block out with a fork. Lots of deep grooves is best! Sprinkle with sugar, and a splash or two with soy sauce- NO REALLY, IT'S GREAT- just trust me on this! Work this mix up into a brown paste. Now, your suppose to use like crab or imitation crab meat with it, but I don't bother because it's too strong a flavor for the fish anyhow! Anyway, put a dab in the middle of your wanton wrapper, and with a wet finger, seal that sucker tight, folding it into a triangle. Once you've used up cream cheese mixture, toss a plate full of these wantons into the freezer, to make them quite hard, and stiff, it only takes like a couple of minutes to freeze a wanton.

Now pour a good pool of oil into a wok. And fry the frozen treats in the hot oil for a minute or two. Serve with the Shaomai as sweet fried treat on the side. Who wants some Dim Sum?

It's 9:15 AM, and now I'm ready for dinner! Go get them wrappers, ground pork and sesame oil.

Yeah, I stole the picture from Wikipedia, it was easier and faster than making up a batch just for a photo- forgive me!
-:)

Tea Bag This...

Before this goofy protest started, what the Republicans and Librarians failed to tell you was; that 95% of all tax payers got a $1.5 Billion dollar tax cut from President Obama, just as promised. So then, let me get this right; Your against saving your own money? Or to reduce the deficit you would like to pay more right away, and just delay recovery for a few years? I suggest that maybe you should realize that Fox News, is only propaganda (from one party), and not really much news at all!

I starting to realize that my own snipe of the Great White Party is as cheap a shot as it was intended to be. I was wrong, because I have come to realize that you aren't! You evolved into being the Great Angry Party. Not about EVERYTHING, but rather about ANYTHING at all! There is no argument that can be made that pleases you, you are angry all the time. There is the elephant, and everything else is evil, and stupid! Still, 99% of your spokes persons are blond (hyperactive) women, but I see lately that now you like having a black face out front too, being just as illogical, and bubble headed in their arguments. Good for you, your moving up! But God Damn Affirmative Action, for wrecking out High School experience- right?

Maybe when it's EVERYTHING else that's wrong, it's not the everything else that wrong! Maybe it's just you? Would you like one lump or two, or maybe just bare knuckles?

It has been noted over all my laughter, and maybe inspite of it; That all these protests were in public parks that you think the government should not be supporting, with your tax dollars. lol!

But let's forget which party is to blame for a minute, for anything- they both are! Let's examine why I'm angry; The cost to states! Now, I realize that Huffington Post is way too liberal for many of you, but try realizing that this is not about blame, it's about moving forward, and finding real tax relief, just like these corporations have. There is a magic taboo phrase that cosses my mind; Like Unamerican Activities, that should be an outrage to you! Maybe you would like to know who dropped this tax burden on you (skip to appendix II), by shedding it from themselves? The IRS was given it's authority in order fight organized crime, I think this qualifies under RICO- I really do!

I shouldn't do this, but...

I just found it awfully funny and ironic, that Nixon gave metals to spacemen in their sneakers!
Thank you NASA, for giving me the laugh of the day.
For you kids, let me explain, this is not a fashion statement, it's a pun!

Many of you, may only be aware of the Apollo XIII from Tom Hanks movies and TV. But for us that lived through it, it was frightening and horrible setback in the space race. I was like 9 or 10 years old, and it was the talk of school. We were kind of bracing ourselves for the worsted, and it's a feeling that I will never actually forget. Every day for four days, you wondered and prayed that it wouldn't get worse, as you turned on the morning news. And we were all greatly relieved by the successful outcome, which this scene depicts. Back in that day, astronauts were quarantined after a space mission. I guess, to keep them from bring back Space Pox or something? During that time, Nixon flew out to shake their hands, and present them with metals- I'm sure they would have rather had a successful mission. But getting a metal from the President is pretty good stuff too! I don't think the real heroes back in Houston, got more than a pat on the back- I don't remember?

Argh you scurvy dogs, we be gettin even

I did notice this morning, that both Lockheed Martian, and the Boeing company (didn't they merge?), seems to think I need to buy a half a billion dollar airplanes, to protect myself from threats like pirates, and insurgents? They might be a little disappointed to learn that I've only got like $28 in my checking account for the rest of the month, and that I'm not planning on buying a car or an attack aircraft, anytime this year at all, as tempting at the TV commercials are- Sorry!

Clearly, somebody doesn't seem to understand that the threats in the world, to the National Interests has in fact changed. Nice work guys, I do understand what your trying to do. But didn't you get the memo? We're out of money, in a recession, and helping asshole bankers mostly! You had better figure out how to make up for the change in plans from the private sector, and good luck with that- I'm not buying a car this year, and I'm sure as hell, not buying any advanced weapons systems either- though it would be rather cool conversation about the BBQ! I mean, what? Your going to take Aerospace away from California- YOU ALREADY DID!

This morning I'm ever so impressed with our Navy Seal Sharp Shooters. Good work! I can't even imagine how you made 3 shots like that at sea, into a cork bobbing around, and get the right outcome? Yet, we have our Captain back safe, and 3 less pirates in the world. And we and the French are shaking in our boots over threats of retaliation, aren't we? Everybody knows, you live by the sword, you die by it. Everybody except Somalian Warlords and Pirates! I do think it's time to take treats onto the mainland, where they start, and put an end to it. But what do I know, I'm just a soft squishy liberal, tree hugger?

Of coarse there are those idiots out there, that are willing to throw a tea bag at your ideas, guys! Funny, Mr Gates is a Republican, and a hold over the prior, as are all the things the tea baggers are protesting. It really reminds me of Bugs Bunny; “Would you like one lump or two, with your tea?” You know what coming, and yet... It's ageless, I still shoot milk out my nose just thinking about it! Just look at who your trying to persuade guys, with your slick TV commercials.

Let's see, a brand new Tesla sports car, or an advanced tactical fight aircraft? Oh yeah, I've got $28, and a $20 copay for oncology coming up, so I'm kinda tapped out for both, actually. Thanks, anyway!


One final thought this morning: Is it just me, or is Madonna stealing way too many babies lately? Hey Madonna, I hear there a woman with 8 news ones, that has 6 others, and lives in shoe, and doesn't have a clue what to do, right here at home! Oh wait, what am I thinking, we are talking domestic fruit aren't we, she doesn't adopt anything but exotic Africans.

A bad day, after all!

Today started with horrible news, but I'll start this story the night before.

Television is as horrible as ever, and no Laker game, so even though I'm just not ready for it, I ended up watching the Angels baseball game. The report on rookie pitcher that took the mound for the Angels was less than full of promise and optimism, so we nearly circled the scorecard as a loss anyhow, bases on such glowing reports we heard. 22 year old, Nick Adenhart took the mound as the Angles #3 man this year, and did very well. All went well, until the 5th inning, where he experience some trouble loading up the bases, and then like a seasoned pro, he managed to get out of it, leaving the inning scoreless. So he was left in game for another inning, which he shut the Oakland A's down in order, only to then have bullpen give up a 4 run lead, and loose in classic Angels style. But this kid went out a winner, and we were impressed, and looked forward to watching him pitch again.

Now the bad part of this story, that we've heard all to many times before. We will not get such an opportunity, because later that night, a red light runner, crashed into his Nissan convertible, killing the young pitcher, and two other people in the car with him. Our house could not be sadder today.

It's April, a time the CHP seems to go on a feeding frenzy. I watched two automobile accidents happen in just the last week, so maybe there a very real statistics behind this ticket writing frenzy this time of year. But it's so sad that a young man with such promise, should be lost to a red light runner.

People: Slow the fuck down! Your being really stupid, and deserve that ticket, right now! It's better to get there late, than to not to get there at all. And regardless to say; don't ever drive drunk! And you could even end up killing someone important, who was having a great day.

This is public service reminder in memory of Nick! It's the least, I can do.

Update:
According to LA Times, it was drunk driver, driving on a suspended license- figures! None the less, please slow down, obey the traffic laws. Even sober, it only takes an instant for things to go very very wrong, when your driving too fast!

Open Office Base FUBAR yet!

What can I say? I'm so mad, they could even loose their icon on this blog! OVER, macros! I'm a whizkid from 1980s, our goals were to make software so intuitive, that ANYONE could use them. Mind you, I have 20+ YEARS of EXPERIENCE PROGRAMMING. I not only know what a b-tree is, I can spend hours explaining in detail the horrors of a tree collapse! Yet, the inventors of lowest life form of computer programming (Java), have taken over yet another product that has some promise, and made it completely useless!

The first problem with Open Office Base, is that it doesn't understand how data should be keyed. Unique Strings apparently don't exist in it. So trying to include text of any kind, in your key, will drive you to swearing in 30 seconds. But you will decide that this is minor thing, and will just restrict the keying to an index pivot value field only, and trudge on, maybe getting the job done with secondary indexes.

You design a query or two, and that will work nicely.

You'll then start designing forms. And with the press of a button, most likely will turn off 'the Wizard' helper, and will go through hell, trying to figure out how you did that, so you can reverse it, and get your work done without hours of research on how the whole forms engine system works. After you do figure it out, you find the wizard button, and get it turned back on.

Now that you have a half dozen forms, your ready to apply a macro or two. And at that point you'll be screaming; "What the FUCK? Work you stupid piece of shit, work!"

Oh, did you miss the memo that it's written in Java? And it's driven by a new language called UNO, than even a thousand times worse that fucking Java! And I know, it totally blows your mind to think that could ever be possible, but check this out:

public class FirstUnoContact {
public static void main(String[] args) {
try {
// get the remote office component context
com.sun.star.uno.XComponentContext xContext =
com.sun.star.comp.helper.Bootstrap.bootstrap();
System.out.println("Connected to a running office ...");
com.sun.star.lang.XMultiComponentFactory xMCF =
xContext.getServiceManager();
String available = (xMCF != null ? "available" : "not available");
System.out.println( "remote ServiceManager is " + available );
}
catch (java.lang.Exception e){
e.printStackTrace();
}
finally {
System.exit(0);
}
}
}

Did you get any of that? You'd have to be dyed in the wool Java programmer to. Oh, I didn't make any of that up. It's the first example right out of their own manual.
All I wanted to do was something like this (pseudo code):
macro onclick()
{
db.form.open("Vendors")
}

They just don't get the whole idea of being intuitive at all. To make a long story short; It's still trash! See my posts:
Another Stupid Piece of *^*&
and
Let's do the time warp again

This proves a law of the universe even older than Newton, or Murphy: Nothing in life is truly free!

When is it time, to call Object Oriented a complete failure, and kiss and make up with us old structuralists?

Setting the Evil RC clock?

This is one of those Technical articles, that will bore most non-horologists to death. But I'm going to post it here, because of the popularity of these damn RC clocks on today's market- so I'm sure, I'm not the only person who will ever have this problem.

Now that I've started designing and building clocks again, I included two RC (Atomic) clocks in my order from the supplier. Just because they were relatively cheap and a new toy, and I needed one as a replacement movement for my favorite clock, which just wore out recently.

The first of the movements went right into the clock with little trouble, other than thickness of dial issue, that was fixed with a few layers of leftover cardboard. Anyway, it work just fine. I had to manhandle the correct time onto it, a couple times- but it lock right in, and work super, with little effort on my part.

The second movement was the clockworks from HELL! I set it up, on a spare dial, I ordered on impulse, just because it was on sale when I made the order, and it kind of rounded out the number of dials I needed. And then it turned out to be always about 17 minutes off. It was driving my crazy! If it where half hour wrong, you'd just flip the minute hand, but no! 17 minutes +/-, all the time. I tried to advance the hand, with a manual setting (button), and the second it would sync up Colorado, it would be all wrong again! So it worsted case, time to read instructions.

The instruction were like second stage advance guru level, contortionist maneuvers, to get hand registered to 12:00. You reverse the battery for 10 seconds, set it to ST/DST and then your timezone, with battery in or out (?), or pushing the button as hard as you can(?), or sticking a needle in it(?)- AAaagh! I've been challenged a time or two with bad instructions, but I normally figure them out. But this was one of the worsted, I've ever read. Never got it to zero out.

So I started hunting the Internet for better instructions, and basically found some British ones, but they only have one timezone, so the movements for their market seem very different. Anyway, their instructions made the use of the needle that comes with them, more important, than it was with my instructions- apparently they don't have a tab-button on theirs?

Instruction require a basic knowledge of the device. And on this device, there is a tab-button, and short hatpin style needle. And no one seems to know why? Particularly the writers of these instructions.

That knob:
ST= Standard Time (quartz)
ET= Eastern (atomic +0)
CT= Central (atomic +1)
MT= Mountain (atomic +2)
PT=Pacific (atomic +3)
DST=Daylight Saving (quartz)

Tab-button= distraction to anything meaningful. Ok, ok, if you hold it down long enough it advances the time, for setting in quartz mode. It also had something to do with zero out the clock, but good luck with that.

From the British instructions, I finally figured out the needle. Which has very little to do with setting on of these clocks from hell. What it does, is confirm that the clock rolled correctly to the zero position- 12AM, by sliding all the way down into the movement, leaving just the plastic nob against the plastic back. If the minute hand, is directly on a five minute marker, it slip about 3 quarters of the way into the movement. But getting the movement to actually recalibrate back to zero, was impossible!

I decided, once it's an open face clock- to just manhandle those hands until I got it right. And from spending a few DAYS doing this, I finally figured it out! If you have one of RC clocks from hell, pay attention:

We people run on Minutes. Seconds are a novelty, only important in how fast an animal can run, or how long your film is in the developer. Computers run on milliseconds, because they're much much faster than we are, at just about everything, and because they have little else to do or think about most of the time. So while your thinking about getting minute hand in order (17 minutes off), and your computer is thinking about milliseconds since 1970, these damn RC movements are only concerned with Seconds that passed since midnight! And about every 90 minutes or so, they look for resynchronization. So just about the time, you think you've got it- IT CHANGES! Like the moving target that it is.

To fix it, manhandling it, you've got to observe these facts. If you push the minute hand (17 minutes off), forward or backward, the second hand moves radically. And there's the key! You have to have a second hand on the clock, and a tight fitting one, to re-register that incorporative minute hand to the correct minute (-17 minutes or -1020 seconds). That pin they gave you, was just to drive you crazy, playing with the movement, as was that tab-button on the back! The key is to the second hand, and minute hand in sync with each other. So hold the second hand down, while you move the minute hand with another finger- in 90 minutes, you can make another small tweak until it's set right.

The secret is, seconds since midnight! And that what you need to know, to get an RC clock to set right. And the good news is that you can manhandle it into place on an open face clock! Once that minute hand is working right, you can pull that second hand off, and throw it away. It would only be important if some jerk put these into chiming movements (gad)!

And here ends the entertaining side of the story!

Here, begins real instructions for setting (manhandling) your evil RC clock:
1) Put a good brand new battery in the movement.
2) Put a tight fitting sweep second hand on the clock.
3) Wait one full day, or until you see it synchronize with the atomic clock!
3) Push the hour hand to the correct time.
4) Wait 90 minutes, play with buttons and switches if you like, then set it to your correct timezone, and wait one full day!
5) Use your thumb to stop the second hand, while your index finger changes the minutes. Beware that the second hand can run in both directions, hold it down tight!
6) Repeat step 5 as needed until the clock is in perfect sync.
7) Pull the second hand off, and store it in a very safe place that you'll soon forget about, until you've replaced it with a new one.
8) Ignore all instructions about flipping batteries over backwards, and forwards, and poking needles into things- manhandling works best!

What shuts me up?

What shuts me up? I'm sure there are plenty who want that secret. Here's a clue:

For those of you who don't know, this is what I did once upon many moons ago, when I was happy, and full of life. Before PC's drained my patience and soul out. And now, I've come full circle. I'm back were (maybe) I belong, just building clocks. Free of stress, at last! Just chipping up wood.

This is model 1, the Wine Cellar Clock. Man, I'm so rusty, and to see this close up, it shows too. But I've learned from building this one, and am ready to build a better one. It does need some redesign work. If that goes well with model 2, then you'll be able to buy them soon.

That's your glimpse at what shuts me up. I think they call it, a good days work?

Although these RC (Atomic) Clocks are about as infuriating as Microsoft Windows- no really, they are!