Sunday, July 31, 2005

I posted about an A.C.O.R.N. job ad yesterday


Today I decided to see just what kind of community activist they wanted to hire.
I went to their website and found that their concerns include:

National ACORN Campaigns:
> Predatory Lending
> Living Wage
> Better Schools
> Health Care
> Social Security Protection
> Affordable Housing
> Community Reinvestment
> Utilities
> Fair Tax Fees
> Other Campaigns


Sure, unless you're a completely uncaring and greedy person everyone should want that for the community. The problem is that this urban group doesn't want that community to help itself, it wants the government to do it.

I just glanced at some of their causes, and it comes right out of the Dem. playbook. Amuse me by letting me give my take on their causes, please.
  • Predatory Lending: Loan sharks always have been illegal- do they want a Gov't handout to repay them?
  • Living Wage- McDonald's starts kids off at $6+/hr. Kids- you shouldn't be working at a "dead end" job when you're in your 30's. Get some training, look for a different kind of work.
  • Better Schools- Talk to the Dems(and unions) who've been lowering standards for the last 40 years- AND installing "situational ethics" instead of right and wrong.
  • Health Care- Two points: John Edwards and mandated illegal healthcare.
  • Social Security Protection- At least the Republicans are TRYING something ( I wish they'd let me invest ALL of mine).
  • Affordable Housing- Well, the price on everything is going up, except in the "inner city"; but then that crime problem goes back to no guiding morals, doesn't it?
  • Community Reinvestment- If it were worth the cost, the greedy capitalists would put money into it.
  • Utilities- Ummmm, , , See "Affordable Housing".
  • Fair Tax Fees- Income Tax? The only people who REALLY pay income tax are the evil rich, most pay a very low rate (remember the tax rebate in April?) As for property tax, see "Utilities" above.


I'm sorry, I can't feel the "compassion" that I should for these "poor" people. The same "poor" that have A/C, cable TV, two TV's on average, at least one decent car, the kids in school getting fat on Gov't food, Food Stamps, AFDC, SSI, and whatever else they can suck from the DC teat.

Getting a good education and working your way up isn't a "white" thing- it's an AMERICAN thing.

Saturday, July 30, 2005

But on the other hand, I guess it helps at the *icky* gas station restroom

Compliments to CUG

And yes it looks like a Japanese animation.
And here I was, just thinking these "activists" were just concerned volunteers

Not according to the S.A. Express Classifieds.

Community Organizer/ Activist Work for Justice! Build a movement for social change. ACORN, National grassroots organization, seeks dedicated individuals for activist/organizer position. Focus on community issues (i.e. living wage, better housing, child safety & education) and make a difference. Call 226-2584 or email resume to txacornsaro@acorn.org


Location: SAN ANTONIO, Texas 78205
Document ID: 9F300-0542
Ad Number: 27105072405


Job Type: Regular

Job Schedule: Full-time


Published in: San Antonio Express-News
Published on: 07/24/2005


Imagine my shock when I saw that they're paid- yes PAID to do something that should be a work of "compassion" "from the HEART". That almost sounds , , , capitalistic, or "mercenary".
Oh, look who's got a new CD out

"The final judgement is with the record buying public and they have made their verdict clear."

Jackson has sold more than 135 million albums during his career, including 60 million copies of Thriller.

His last original album, Invincible, sold two million copies when it came out in 2001.

The Essential Michael Jackson is the latest in a string of greatest hits packages that has also included HIStory, Number Ones and The Ultimate Collection. "


His current one sold 8,000 in the U.S. last week.

So, does he have anything new- besides bedtime lulabys- or is he just re-repackaging the old stuff?
You can skip this if you don't like "Dogblogging"


HOW MANY DOGS DOES IT TAKE TO CHANGE A LIGHT BULB?
  • Golden Retriever: The sun is shining, the day is young, we've got our whole lives ahead of us, and you're inside worrying about a stupid burned out bulb?
  • Border Collie: Just one. And then I'll replace any wiring that's not up to code.
  • Dachshund: Now, you know I can't reach that stupid lamp!
  • Rottweiler: Make me!
  • Boxer: Who cares? I can still play with my squeaky toys in the dark.
  • Lab: Oh, pick me, pick me!! Pleeeeeeeeeze let me change the light bulb Can I? Can I? Huh? Huh? Huh? Pleeeeeeeeeze, please!
  • German Shepherd: I'll change it as soon as I've led these people from the dark, check to make sure I haven't missed any, and make just one more perimeter patrol to see that no one has tried to take advantage of the situation.
  • Jack Russell Terrier: I'll just pop it in while I'm bouncing off the walls and furniture.
  • Old English Sheep Dog: Light bulb? I'm sorry, but I don't see a light bulb?
  • Cocker Spaniel: Why change it? I can still pee on the carpet in the dark.
  • Chihuahua: Yo no quiero Taco Bulb. Or "We don't need no stinking light bulb"
  • Greyhound: It isn't moving! Who cares?
  • Australian Cattle Dog: First, I'll put all the light bulbs in a little circle...
  • Bichon: I'll just blow in the Border Collie's ear and he'll do it. By the time he finishes rewiring the house, my nails will be dry.

The Cat's Answer:

Dogs do not change light bulbs. People change light bulbs. So, the real question is:
"How long will it be before I can expect some light, some dinner, and a massage?"

Friday, July 29, 2005

What kind of a pirate do I beeeeee?

I thought this would work for ZiPpo and El Capitan

What kind of pirate am I? You decide!

Yarr. The scurvy sea dog has been a pirate for an extraordinary length of time - so long that they have forgotten what it's like to be yon ordinary individual. Work behind a desk? The scurvy sea dog would sooner slit your throat! Which he may do anyway. Now hand over ye gold. Yarrr.


You can also view a breakdown of results or put one of these on your own page!

Via Ms Jenni

Brought to you by Rum and Monkey

WOW, the old boss really ment it

I'd already told my (old) boss that I was looking for another job, since I wasn't happy with the working environment (petty politics, favoritism and micro-managing) (no I didn't tell him exactly that), and that because of the attitude of one of my crew (the favoritism part) that I just couldn't care enough to be an effective foreman.
He knew I wasn't happy, and told me that since I'm still on probation that there was no notice. I told him that I was starting my new job Mon, but since he was shorthanded I'd finish the day.

He told me to turn in my keys, pager (yeah!) and phone- NOW!

Ok, here ya go. Enjoy the thunderstorm with only one qualified lineman :-)

I can use the break, I won't be getting any paid holidays for a while with the new job.


Now I can go price the materials for Jennis' new desk.

Thursday, July 28, 2005

It's nice to have an ace in the hole

I just found another e-mail that dammned Outlook had hijacked. I have been offered a job with a highway electirfication company(they do streetlights, signs and signals).
The problem is problems are- I am almost signed with another company, the only hold-up is my price. AND I still haven't decided when to give formal notice to my present employer- as I'm on probation, as soon as I tell him I've got another job- I NEED the other job. No notice.

I think I'll call the other company, and get an idea about what I'm worth to them- that way I can say that Abc company is willing to pay $Xxx do you want to match it? I'm not going to be unreasonable, just the high end of the usual wage.

I have to admit that after seeing nothing I want to do (as little as possible for as much as possible), these two Equipment operating jobs together have me kinda jazzed right now- HEY people want to pay me(well) to sit on my butt and dig trenches.

Wednesday, July 27, 2005

Just curious about blogrolls

If any one (exept my 3 main viewers) has me on their blogroll, and I don't have you on mine- please let me know.
I'll be glad to add you.


I went to a new blog the other night, he was aking for some help- I posted with my _nospam_ addition to my mail- and it didn't go through.

Anyway, I thought I'd kinda talk him through adding Blogrolling to his Blogger blog- if he's reading this.


Step 1- Get an account at Blogrolling, or another blogroll- I use Blogrolling because what I put out isn't worth paying for IMHO.

Step 2- Copy and save the template from the "autoload" (or whatever they call it).

Step 3- The easiest way to get to your template in Blogger is to go to your "create new post" page and open the "template" tab.

Step 4- Scroll down the hypertext untill you come to the sidebar section- it'll look something like this:


< !-- Begin #sidebar -- >
< id="sidebar">



< !-- Begin #profile-container -- >

< $BlogMemberProfile$ >

< !-- End #profile -- >

<>
< language="javascript" type="text/javascript" src="http://rpc.blogrolling.com/display.php?r=89f01cc6f8c7662720645c1bc958cdab">
< href="javascript:void(rollpop=window.open('http://www.blogrolling.com/add_links_pop.phtml?u=http://atrainwreckinmaxwell.blogspot.com/&t=A Trainwreck in Maxwell','rollit','scrollbars=no,width=475,height=350,left=75,top=175,status=yes,resizable=yes'));rollpop.focus();">Blogroll Me! *NOTE* This is my blorolling script- yours will look alot like it.


< /ul >

<>

< /mainorarchivepage>
Reference


<>

<>Drudge

<>Washington Times

<>Fox News

<>Snopes Urban legends

This is from my blog, so you'll have to experiment where to paste it.

Step 5- On the bottom is a blue button"Preview" to see how the blog looks with the change. If you like it, hit "Save Template Changes"

step 6- Be sure to republish your blog, or you won't see the changes.


Hope this helped someone.

Tuesday, July 26, 2005

How's this for a teaser?


From a REAL, factual news article.
But when the agent began touching her breasts, enough was enough, she said.
“I said, ‘What are you doing? No one’s done that to me before,’” Dintenfass said. “And she kept going … for what felt like an interminably long time. It seemed to go on and on in my mind.

“She was feeling me up.”

Dintenfass testified that she reacted out of instinct.
“I said, ‘I don’t like you feeling me up.’” Dintenfass testified. “She said, ‘I’m not feeling you up.’ I told her, ‘My husband’s been feeling me up for 40 years. I know what that feels like when someone’s feeling me up.’


Andit IS sfw, actually
I took today off

I had some errands to run, trucks to register and jobs to apply for.

I got a bit of a surprise at the Medina Co. Tax Office when I was waiting to give them my $62 registration fee for the Dodge Ram.
Apparently Rick Perry (R.I.N.O.) and the rest of the tax greedy pols up in Austin decided to jack the title fee by more than double. It went from $13 to $28.
This is under House Bill 1365 of the 79th Legislature for the 'Texas emissions reduction plan.'
I'm not a lawyer, but it sounds like they want to rob title transfers to 'entice' people (more likely their buddies in business) to swap prime movers to alternative fuel motors.
Gee, how silly of me to automatically think "Yep, they want to jack the title cost, so somehow people will drive less vehicles. Yep, that'll work as well as the statewide mandatory insurance does."


I went to San Antonio, and I start my new job Monday.
As far as I can see, the big drawback (besides the years worth of no vacation or paid holidays) is the 7AM start time. I'd have to leave the house at 6AM. The job is trenching for parking lot power, and installing the lighting. A little better pay, and best of all NO pagers going off after 3:30PM. Unless I decide to work overtime.
I was in the middle of a post when the pager went off- again

That was about 9:15PM, we got done with the water main break at 11:30PM- and Mrs Trainwreck had the computer off.
No sooner had come in and put the leftover lazagnia in the microwave and powered up the computer, when I got another f*cking page about the power being out in town- all over town. I called San Antonio CPS (our electric supplier) and they said it was a hard ground. They're sending someone out, BUT my guy also has to come in and show that we care (he lives IN Hondo- even farther away).

I told him to take a look at our fault indicators and just see if we can isolate that nagging transitory blackout we're getting off of one feed.

Monday, July 25, 2005

I just LOVE the way Aelfheld turns a phrase

Now enjoy read his take on Liberals sparked by two Dems. in charge of PA.

For all their fecklessness, spinelessness, and incompetence, the Republicans are giants compared to the moral and intellectual midgets that make up the Democratic party and make it hospitable to every drooling lack-wit that thinks hating Western Civilisation is a mark of superiority. Catherine Baker Knoll is just the poster child du jour of the true caring and compassion of the Left.
Ummmm, Ok- so I guess looking before you sat down wouldn't have helped

The title of the article says "Woman Bitten By Poisonous Snake Hiding In Toilet"
The subtitle is: "Family Afraid Of Toilet"
They have a slideshow, too- but that "Water Moccasin" looks an awful lot like a Cottonmouth from where I'm sitting.

So how can you not start reading by thinking about what moron would sit on a Water Moccasin?- right?
Well the story's not that unrealistic. She had the lights on and got hit when she lifted the lid.

What I find curious is that they live in FLORIDA, and can't figure out how the WATER MOCCASIN got into the toilet- and where it went.

Ummm, folks ;Water Moccasins live, sleep and feed under water, a toilets pee-trap is maybe a gallon of water, then it's a fairly dry 3"-4" pipe- until it gets to the main, , , or the hole it found in the pipe.
I didn't know Red Lobster sold Harp Seal meat


I don't really want to give this link out, but it's got pics of the picket line in front of Red Lobster.

The reason is that I really don't want to help the San Francisco, Ca. Branch of Indimedia out in any way.

I just thought y'all might be interested in seeing protesters at a place that has absolutely NO connection with what they're doing trying to do (except ruin an economy of a foreign country)

Sunday, July 24, 2005

R.I.P. Private Timothy Hines -I'm sorry it happened to your family

Apparently, some members of the peaceful and loving reality biased community thought that Pvt. Hines family didn't go through enough pain, so they vandalized their property after the funeral.

I believe (don't like it, but...) that there is a right to burn flags as a protest, but don't go sneeking around at night and try to start a car fire with the ones you stole from the front yard- of a family that had just buried their son.

All I can say is that my opinion of Libs just took yet ANOTHER dive.


Via Confederte Yankee
There is NO effing way!!!



You Are a Glam Rocker!

You put the "show" in rock show with your larger than life self.
No doubt, you are all about making good music...
But what really gets you going is having an over the top show.
Glitter, costumes, and wild hair are your thing - with some rock thrown in!
Well, the recriminations are starting

From the London shooting. I'm kinda surprised that it's taken this long.
In case you haven't heard, the guy they shot who was running from them was an unconnected Brazilian.

I KNOW things are different across the pond, but as Leftist as most of the news is, I'm pleasantly suppressed that there's not more of a stink. My English wife's first comment -when we heard- was "well, in light of the bombings, he should have stopped. It's his fault." I think the Brits have a better handle on this terrorist chit than we do- historically. They've been through the IRA and their bombs, this is just a different verse- same as the first. So I guess their equivalent of the ACLU isn't getting much traction right now.

The only difference between the IRA and the Islamo-fascists is that the Irish have always been there, and the moslems decided to move over to that "oppressive" country.

I hope the British police will stand fast in their convictions. It(the shooting) may be the best thing that's happened to law enforcement since their judges said that criminals had more rights than their citizens.

Saturday, July 23, 2005

I just found out that I got an Acidman launch

Thank you Rob it's appreciated.

Welcome to all linkees(?) from there. Hope you find something you like.
Someone needs to call Animal Cops-Hondo







They are so full of brisket trimmings that I had to force them to pre-clean the cutting board. All that pre-cooked fat! I was slicing a brisket to marinate it for jerky and fajitas, and they were so full they ignored the last of the trimmings.
Why does THIS remind me of other daycare scandals?

If you remember, back in the late 80's/early 90's there was a rash of prosecutions on daycare centers on sexual abuse charges(mostly on the left coast). These prosecutions were the result of "investigators" 'un'intentionally leading their pre-school accusers in what to say.
If I remember croorectly something like 95% were later exonerated.

But then again, this is Fla. where the art of political persecution prosecution is well underway.
As requested, desk pictures






These requests were from a post I threw up and e-mails I got about wanting an excuse to build a workshop.

Just for reference, the desk-top is a 3-0 hollow core door.
And, untill now, I didn't realize just how tall it looks.

Friday, July 22, 2005

Speaking of records, Sen Kerry- have you made your Navy records public- YET?

Apparently John F. Kerry (D- Viet Nam War Hero) wants ALL of John Roberts records to be made public.
I guess what's sauce for the Consrevative isn't good enough for the Liberal.
Sorry for the light blogging

It's just that after dragging myself to work, and just enduring the time there- I just can't get myself motivated to be moved enough by much of anything to post.
That and the fact that the transformer mishap we had back in the first part of June.
I thought I posted about it, but can't find it. I TRY not to job-blog too much, but we put the wrong transformer up and fried 3 houses. Actually the wiring was ok, but everything that had a motor, silicone chip, or transformer was cooked from the 480V we sent through the wiring.

Anyway, it was my First FUBAR there, and I saw the way they cover there @ss- I'm still working, but the guy that had two previous ones isn't after this last Thurs. Currently, I'm activly looking at at finding a different job; and untill then, I probably won't be moved enough to comment much for a while.

Thursday, July 21, 2005

I'm only going to highlight one part of this Gitmo hunger strike


Because I'm tired of all the leftist appologists crying about mistreatment.

Guantanamo detainees refuse food

Fifty-two detainees at the US prison camp at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba are staging a hunger strike in protest at their detention and treatment.
So far, the men have refused nine consecutive meals over three days, the US military said in a statement.
The detainees are being monitored by medical professionals and their vital signs are being checked daily.
More than 500 inmates are currently being held at Guantanamo. Only four have been charged.

'Inhumane conditions'

"Indications are that this is a temporary effort by some detainees to protest their continued detention," the statement said.
On Wednesday, an Afghan man released from the camp after three years said that more than 100 prisoners had been on hunger strike for two weeks.
The former Taleban soldier said the protest was aimed at highlighting "inhuman" conditions at the camp.
However, a lawyer who represents a number of detainees held in Guantanamo Bay told BBC Pentagon correspondent Adam Brookes that protests in the prison facilities were already under way by late June.

The lawyer said that they had been prompted by detainees' anger over the
quality of their drinking water.
Hawaii- the NEW example of the socialist paradise

I guess they just somehow know better than even California in letting bureaucrats dictate private business.

Hawaii- in case you haven't heard is thinking of capping the price of gasoline.
Yep, it worked so well for the electric problems that Cali had, that naturally the island socialists just HAVE to show how well it works for them.

Anybody want to make a wager on when the gas lines will start over there?
How about rationing?
Ok, I've got the 'puter almost back to normal

Not sure if that's good or bad- I've had a comment about Macs. Anyway, I think I'm back. The thing is running about as fast as one could expect on a 26k connection. The annoying thing is that I just CAN'T turn off messenger. XP needs messenger to run (that's the warning I get, anyway). I tried taking it out of the boot menue, but still get old contacts poping up. WTF????? I had it disabled before, why won't it work this time?

Wednesday, July 20, 2005

Ok, I don't know how to title this about the rain forrest


I was thinking along the lines of cutting off your nose to spite your face masochism or hitting your hand with a hammer to be sure it hurts stupidity, but you make up your mind.

Ok, picture yourself in Woods Hole Research Center. Now you're hearing from your ecofreaks researchers about the irepairable damage to the Amozon rainforest. Now, being the concientious, benevolent, thoughtful researchers of an ecofriendly bend; how do you think you'd study the problem?

Being the evil, greedy, anti-Gaia, right-wing nature-haterI am, you'd think it was MY idea to just start rainforest fires to study them, you'd be wrong. I believe in conserving rescorces, why not study a fire already set?

BUT:

Fire is an important agent of transformation in the Amazon landscape. Every year, low intensity fires burn thousands of square miles of Amazon forest. To study the effects of these fires on the forest, and the forests' ability to recover from repeated burning, Woods Hole Research Center scientists will burn two and a half square kilometers of forest in the transition forest of northern Mato Grosso state, at Fazenda Tanguro in Querencia, from late August into early September.

The goal of this research is to better understand what is the impact of fire on the transition forests, which lies between the tall dense rainforests at the core of the Amazon and the "Cerrado" savannas of central Brazil. According to Daniel Nepstad, a senior scientist with the Center, "By studying the characteristics of fires in this transitional forest on the edge of the Amazon rainforest, Center researchers hope to learn how these accidental fires may affect the vigor, health, biodiversity, and animal habitat in these forests, and in the end, to learn whether recurring fire may threaten the very existence of the forest." Repeated burning of transition forests in the Amazon could cause their eventual replacement by fire-prone scrub vegetation through a process call "savannization."


Ok, it's SCIENCE,

The planned burn provides information that cannot be obtained by studying an accidental or escaped fire. The experiment is being conducted in an area in which researchers have taken many measurements prior to the burning – inventories of thousands of trees to catalogue their species, size, and number, surveys of seedlings, measurements of fuel on the forest floor, censuses of mammals, amphibians, and birds, and monthly measurements of canopy closure at 400 points within each square kilometer of forest. After the burn, a census will be taken of the trees to see how many have survived or how they may be reacting or recovering from the burn; and canopy density will be measured immediately after the fire and at monthly intervals, to monitor the impact of the fire and rate of recovery. Temperature and humidity will be monitored at multiple spots in each forest pre- and post- burn, to detect changes in the microclimate of the forest; and soil moisture will be measured at set points in the parcels at regular intervals, to see how the changes in canopy may effect the water available in the soil. According to Nepstad, "This experiment allows us to measure the impacts of recurring fire on the forest by comparing the trees, the animals, the leaf canopy, and the soil before vs. after the fire."


Couldn't they do the "census" on a place that's already going to be burned?


Sorry, I tried posting about the redudndant, inadvertant, , ,whatever it is about about Libs ruining something instead of using what's already there.

I'm still burnt-out from the RRC inspection- maybe tomorrow will be better.

Tuesday, July 19, 2005

Oh, yeh, I'm still here

Just been busy at work, we're going through a Railroad Commission safety audit.
I've come home with a headache the last two days from lying explaining our paperwork. She used to be an office mouse, so we have to explain why we're not dotting the "I's" and crossing all "T's"; and explaining how what we do in the feild is represented on our forms. Now we have to totally redo our leak survey maps, because she "can't tell how much was done" by reading the locations in a written report and looking at a map of a 750 meter gas system.

The last inspector we had worked in the field, and KNEW how a gas supplier worked, and was more interested in the pipeline integrity, , , siggghhhh.

Monday, July 18, 2005

Sorry y'all, computer probs.


I found out just how FUBAR'D my computer was when I tried to reinstall my cam to show MsJenny a computer desk. I am now reinstalling all the windows upgrades, and all the rest of the cr@p I lost.

Have I mentioned that we live between Hondo and Casrtoville? Yep out in the sticks with a 26K connection. Yeh, that slow.