Rant

When do we “call in fed up” or start the march, du… Jeff Roberts - Feb 1, 2009 When do we “call in fed up” or start the march, dude? I’m ready.

I’ve been keeping up with twitter, but no so much on my blog. It just seems like such a futile time to be writing much of anything. The world economy is dying. We have (er…had) a super-optimized consumption machine going, with a supply-line stretching from the third world (where stuff was made) through the first world, where stuff got consumed and thrown away. The consumers bought the stuff with their white-collar paychecks funded by the 100,000+ people per year who became finance majors, because only suckers become engineers or scientists (too hard, involves math, can’t BS your way to the top). ...

Stopping means bringing a moving object or system to a halt. Things naturally get slower as they get colder, down to absolute zero, when all motion (even molecular vibration) ceases. I was talking to Whitney last night before bed about it…it just feels like everything’s stopping–the economy, politics, people’s attitudes. Just grinding to a halt. Yay, we have a new president. Yay, he signals an end to the basic racial divide in American history. So…what now? That seems to be the gut reaction–flowery rhetoric fails when cold reality frosts its dewy petals. I’m sure the last Byzantine emperor made many great speeches before the Turks battered down the walls with a cannon. ...

Chuck’s Responses: “Welcome to capitalism, … HarryC - Jan 1, 2009 Chuck’s Responses: “Welcome to capitalism, baby!” or “The Baby Boomers have had their moment in power. The most spoilt generation in history has handled affairs with its characteristic hedonism. The results are coming in. The blithering idiots.”

You know, I think I finally figured out where my temper comes from: My Mom’s side of the family. I sat here 2 minutes ago and had a full-blown Aunt Norie incredulous rant. At one point, I took a step back and heard myself speaking and it was like, “That sounds an awful lot like Norie at full tilt.” Yep. Dad’s family is placid. Mom’s is a tad more assertive.

Been a hectic couple of weeks around the Combs household. Whitney got a crash assignment from our pastor to develop a devotional handbook from scratch in a week. 50 days of devotional thoughts, on 7 different themes. Joey cut his hand trying to close his pocket knife on Saturday, requiring 3 stitches in the back of his hand (they come out in 8 more days). They turned off our FSA (thank you, Humana), so we’re paying our medical copays out-of-pocket. Honestly, for all the trouble we go through with that frickin’ thing, I’m tempted to set the amount to zero next year and just pay it with after-tax dollars. ...

So, you live in an organization for 10 years, and you acquire a certain rep. A reputation as a maverick, a guy who’s not too wrapped-up in procedure, kowtow’ing, and career. You’ve said some things in meetings that were career-limiting, but damn it, they were the RIGHT THINGS. Sure, you broke into someones computer once to get their hard drive so you could deliver the code she REFUSED TO CHECK IN before going on vacation. Sure, you telnet’d in to a running test server to see if your hack worked and could save everyone working the weekend (it didn’t, you hosed the test run, and you worked round the clock that weekend). Sure, you’ve slapped your head at stupidity (both in others and your own), and welcome anyone who’ll do the same. ...

I totally understand it all. Susan - Jan 5, 2009 I totally understand it all. I totally understand that blog.

linky Given the budget numbers, the United States has already chosen a path of far bigger government. The trap has been set. It’s unlikely America can escape without a VAT. - Replace income tax with a national sales tax? I’m all for it. - AUGMENT the multi-tiered “simple” income tax with a VAT? HUH?!!! If this passes, turn out the lights–we’re a socialist nation. * * *

So, here I sit, amid a meeting with 14 people, trying to achieve a consensus on a topic with two sides… …and no one here can make this decision. And no one will. What remains is for Daddy to berate the misbehaving children back into line. Atop all that, there’s 14 people talking OVER one another, emotionally. ::sigh::

Jeff’s Post Seven-hundred billion dollars. Seven hundred thousand million. (edit: math > me) Give or take, that’s $2333 for every man, woman, and child in America. * * * Per my understanding, absent this package, we’d be heading for breadlines, soup kitchens, and anarchy. Viewed through that lens, it’s a bargain at any price. However, it sets a dangerous precedent for the silent majority who go to work and actually pay their mortgage they signed-up for. ...

Seven HUNDRED thousand million. Jeff Roberts - Sep 1, 2008 Seven HUNDRED thousand million. Yeah well not that I’ve got a fight here but SERIOUSLY!! I mean I get where they’re coming from but…..what if we just reimburse the government in cash…..can we get a foreclosed home in a vacation state that doesnt get hit by hurricanes or mudslides? Can we get a foreclosure in cherry blossom or lake forest? maybe something with a full finished basement and no radon…. ...

10:45 am: Remark that things look like vaporware, and that functionality and scope has been cut enough that HALF THE ROOM questions the usefulness of the thing we’re discussing. But hey, so long as we’re on time and under budget, right? Thank Heaven I only have 1 of these turdly meetings today.

GM Loses $15.5 Billion in 2Q …or “What does it look like to lose about $2000 per second?” Alfred P. Sloan is rolling in his grave somewhere. GM has the financial equivalent of flesh-eating bacteria, cannibalizing its own funds to stay afloat, mortgaging its own brands and capital to operate. The estimates I saw yesterday were in the $7 Billion to $9 Billion range. Wow. We need some moniker besides “The Perfect Storm” for this automotive maelstrom…this is more like that 200 ft Tsunami at the end of Deep Impact

Finally cowboy’d-up and headed to a dealership to sit on some bikes. Went with Joey to Bell’s Honda here in Georgetown, and it was a pretty decent experience. I didn’t have salesmen climbing all over me or pressuring me. I did find out that they do NOT give test-rides until they’re sure you’re capable of buying the bike, and in fact that if you wreck the bike on the test-ride, you’ve bought it automatically. ...

I don’t know of a really good used bike place in t… Jeff Roberts - Jul 4, 2008 I don’t know of a really good used bike place in town, either. Huntsville, AL was better for that - there were several good sources. Yeah, Jeff Kees pointed me at Recycles LLC in Danville. They seem to have a pretty good selection of old and new stuff. ...

How to glorify the self and acquire power… The 48 Laws of Power Though ugly, it’s good to read these in a Defence Against the Dark Arts fashion, just to know when they’re in use against you. I will absolutely agree with Law 39, having been on the wrong end of it so many times. I allow myself to get so worked-up and emotional, ceding control to my opposition. As for the rest…IMHO, most make me want to vomit, and they’re quite possibly a one way ticket to Hell. Practices such as these are lifehacks against the fabric of society–using base human frailty to one’s advantage. Demagogues, Caesars, and Courtiers may practice them, but their power is only for a season. The true way is one of authenticity, truth, virtue, altruism, and love. ...

Feel like I got hit by a truck…no amount of coffee is rousing a single brain cell. I’m an interesting paradox (or collection of paradoxes): I hate stuff, yet I like stuff. I hate stuff in that it’s all just so much future yardsale junk–the shiny gadget of today quickly becomes the Sony Walkman cassette player marked at $0.50 in somebody’s yard. And yet…there’s usually some shiny new something that catches my eye that I want. Something I can’t have, or don’t really need, or that’s somehow lower on the priority list than everything else. And I talk myself out of it. ...

Well, I’m back. Whitney has several excellent Posts on our vacation. I enjoyed it, but I got overtired and fed-up with the whole thing. Sleeping-in doesn’t agree with me. Not working (that is, being aimless) doesn’t agree with me. Had some time away from computers and blogging, as well, and that’s got me thinking. I’m thinking that my blogging these days is full of crap. What I really think and feel and perceive about this world is frankly unfit for the light of day (any day), much less consumption by people I care about. ...

Pretty awesome (if mundane) weekend: Saturday, we went to Sam’s Club and filled two carts in supplies for our new Chest Freezer (thank you, Tax Rebate!) Then, I mowed & trimmed the yard while doing an oil change on the Odyssey. Pretty quiet, stress-free day. Sunday was just…perfect. Church was great–our pastor preached a message on how unbiblical debt is (unless for urgent necessities), complete with a “come forward and shred your credit card” alter call. (only 1 person did). Then, Maria and I cruised down (at 55mph!) to Mom & Dad’s in the Camry. ...