Long Time No Post

I'd love to say that I've been too busy at work to post, but I'm still out of work. I've had a few good leads and a few good disappointments. Overall though, I'm trusting God has a place for me and I'm still excited about where that may be. Lately I've been out of routine, spending more time with my family and loving every minute of it.

Last week we went to Gatlinburg for a few days. It was great. The hotel/timeshare place was an experience. We booked this place on Hotels.com, but when we got there figured out it was a timeshare. Well, first they didn't have our reservation, even though I called before I left to confirm everything. Then after calling Hotels.com and waiting 10-15 minutes with an increasingly hungrier and angrier family, the reservation clerk slowly takes us through the check in process. She then picks up the phone to call Guest Relations, who were 20 feet away. Seeing everything unfold would be more hilarious, but the scene reminded me of an 80s comedy.

After guest relations was summoned, they made their way over and were introduced. We were then escorted to their desk and introduced to Shorty. We were instructed to get in our car and follow Shorty in his golf cart up to our room. Directions to the room would have been more appropriate in my mind, but pointing to the building 100 feet away must not be timeshare style.
Upon arriving at our "home away from home" Shorty came up the 3 flights of stairs with us to show us how the key worked. And then he showed us the refrigerator, the contents of every cabinet, the bed, the sheets, the bathroom. I'm not sure there was anything that Shorty didn't show us. We're about 45 minutes into our adventure now, having carried the boys up three flights of steps and the family increasingly hungry and angry. By this point, I was very ready for Shorty to leave.

But leave he did not. He began to open a packet entitled, "Welcome Home." I expected a speech about timeshares now, nope. Just a bunch of information about Gatlinburg, rules for the pool, tv channels, etc. And Shorty thoroughly read in detail everything in that thick envelope. Not taking my obvious cues that he was not Welcome in our "Home", he continued on. The highlight was when he told us that the refreshments stand had Pepsi products for drinking purposes. Lucky for Shorty that made me laugh and I didn't throw him down the 3 flights of steps back to his golf cart.

Shorty did finally leave. He asked if I needed help with the bags, and although I did, I exclaimed, "NO!" I was afraid to let him stay any longer. So, once I lugged our car full of goods up to the room, me and the hungry, angry family went out to eat. We were saluted at the guard station on the way out and the vacation progressively recovered. Though it started bad, it ended well. We had a great time.

Racism Alive and Well at Planned Parenthood

My stance : America was wrong about slavery in the same way we're wrong about abortion today. Abortion should be outlawed. If you don't agree, you're either ignorant, or you're so cold that the innocent bloodshed of babies does not shake you. More to come . . .

Taken from : http://www.frc.org/get.cfm?i=WU08B14

Racism Alive and Well at Planned Parenthood

A shocking set of recordings was released this week that could prove disastrous for Planned Parenthood's ties with the African-American community. Lila Rose, a pro-life student and reporter at UCLA, launched an undercover investigation aimed at exposing the racism of the nation's largest abortion merchant. With the help of an actor, she contacted Planned Parenthood clinics in seven states, inquiring if they would be willing to accept a donation earmarked for the abortion of black babies. The results were jaw-dropping.

Rose was appalled to discover that every last clinic agreed. Not one employee objected or questioned the request, even when the actor insisted that the purpose was to "lower the number of black people" in America. When the caller phoned an Ohio branch, he was told that Planned Parenthood "will accept the money for whatever reason." Read the outrageous transcript from the Idaho clinic, which is also available with Rose's other recordings in a montage at http://www.frc.org/get.cfm?i=LK08B57&f=WA08B46.

Actor: ...I really faced trouble with affirmative action, and I don't want my kids to be disadvantaged against black kids.
Planned Parenthood: Yes, absolutely.
Actor: And we don't, you know, we just think the less black kids out there the better.
Planned Parenthood: (Laughs) Understandable, understandable... This is the first time I've had a donor call and make this kind of request, so I'm excited and want to make sure I don't leave anything out.

Students at UCLA are so infuriated by the investigation that they are petitioning the university to cut all affiliation with Planned Parenthood. What few people realize is that the organization has a history of racism that has been ingrained since Planned Parenthood's earliest days, when founder Margaret Sanger advocated negative eugenics and spoke to a woman's branch of the KKK (Margaret Sanger, An Autobiography, 1938, p. 336-367). However, as is customary for Planned Parenthood, the organization has managed for decades to cover its tracks--and the facts. That task has just been made monumentally more difficult. Abortion has taken the innocent lives of over 14 million black children--a national tragedy that has begun uniting and mobilizing African-Americans across party, state, and financial lines.

Today, FRC hosted a press conference to kick off the National Black Pro-Life Gathering in Washington, D.C. which drew pastors, parents, leaders, and activists from across America to commemorate Black History Month by calling on abortion merchants like Planned Parenthood to stop preying on their community. As these abortion clinics continue to demonstrate that blood money is not colorblind, we call on Congress to de-fund and disavow Planned Parenthood. Taxpayers should not be forced to spend over $300 million on an organization whose scruples are for sale, even to those who seek racial genocide.

IRobot

From the makers of Roomba, comes another room cleaning robot . . .

GM exec stands by calling global warming a 'crock'

Well, finally someone has spoken my mind for me. Lutz, a drunken lemer, speaks his mind like a real sailor. His opinion may be somewhat slighted being that he works in Detroit, nonetheless he's right. Global Warming will go down in history like Y2K, and people will echo Lutz's words in the blizzard of 2021.http://www.reuters.com/article/latestCrisis/idUSN22372976?rpc=64DETROIT, Feb 22 (Reuters) - General Motors Corp (GM.N: Quote, Profile, Research) Vice Chairman Bob Lutz has defended remarks he made dismissing global warming as a "total crock of sh**," saying his views had no bearing on GM's commitment to build environmentally friendly vehicle.

read more | digg story

Man Fired by a Bunch of Drunken Lemers

I had several Dilbert comics placed on my desk before I was let go. Maybe that's why I'm unemployed now. It was a setup . . .

taken from Fox News

DES MOINES, Iowa — A seven-year casino employee fired after posting in his office a "Dilbert" comic comparing managers to "drunken lemurs" has become the subject of the strip.

Stewart retells the story after he posted the Dilbert comic on a company bulletin board. "I was told that I’m not a team player. 'We’re going to let you go."

David Steward was fired from the Catfish Bend Casino because management found the cartoon "very offensive," human resources director Steve Morley had testified during a hearing on unemployment benefits in December 2007. The casino had challenged his claim for the financial assistance.

"Basically, he was accusing the decision-makers of being drunken lemurs," Morley testified at the time. "We consider that misconduct when you insult your employer."

According to Stewart,

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Living Sacrifice back together?

Well, it looks like my all time 2^nd favorite band (next to Hubrisdebris of course), is back together. Touring, & writing, this should be a good year. I anticipate the locusts looking like horses are preparing for battle and the antichrist will soon desecrate the temple. Oh wait, that will be when the Saviour Machine, Legend III:2 album is released. Anyway, I think LS should figure out a way to bring Brian “Head” Welch into the lineup – just a thought. Speaking of which, check out his book Save me From Myself – one of my favorites.

From zambooie.com

Living Sacrifice 2008

02/06/2008

LIVING SACRIFICE has returned. Founding members Bruce Fitzhugh (Vocals / Guitar) and Lance Garvin (Drums) have reunited with Rocky Gray (lead guitar) and Arthur Green (bass). The band will be on tour this summer and we are already writing material for a brand new album, which will be released in 2008. Check myspace.com/livingsacrifice for info.

I'm most like Jim

Just took The Office personality quiz and I’m most like Jim. Odd, I thought I was more like Kevin. I’m glad the writers’ strike is over. It got scary for awhile too. I thought I was going to have to do something other than watch TV, like exercise or spend time with my family. Discovery Channel helped me through though – nothing like “educational” TV to make you feel less guilty about being a louse.

Well, I’m back at Portland Brew today. Got a latte, aka bowl of hot milk. I think the barista was mocking me internally for it too. Well, maybe it had nothing to do with my coffee order, but I’m quite certain he was laughing at me on the inside. I’m very confident of this because he was laughing at me on the outside as he kept pointing at me and calling me a looser. So, I believe he was jesting me on the inside too. I didn’t tip him though, so who’s laughing now, well actually he is. He is still laughing, I can hear it over my music.

Ok, enough of the madness, I’m in a much more chipper mood today. I believe the “snow” has perked me up. We got at least a foot in Springfield, TN. I mean, there was at least a cumulative square foot of coverage on my grass. It was a snowflake deep, but I’ll take it. Got a chance to take Aidan out to play in it, good times. He was so excited. Kept jumping on the ice and falling on his tail. That’s my boy. Tristan on the other hand wasn’t much for going out in the snow – something about being 6 months old and more interested in eating his fists.

Netflix picks Blu-ray, good luck renting an HD DVD soon

Well, looks like I might be wrong on this HD-DVD vs Blu-ray war. I expected Blu-ray to be another BETA in the world of VHS. Or ATRAC in the world of MP3, AAC, & WMA. Typically Sony produces a superior product at an outrageous price. In this case, they were inferior in functionality yet maintained their typical pricing strategy. I camped with HD-DVD on price and functionality, but it looks like Sony got with some other talented people and came up with better marketing strategies. Good for them. Glad I didn’t buy an HD-DVD player, and based on the price of BD players, looks like I’ll have to stick to my HDMI upconverting DVD player for awhile. But the format war isn't over, HD-DVD has about the same chance of winning as Mike Huckabee winning the GOP nomination - hope they believe in miracles too.

From Engadget:Posted Feb 11th 2008 8:50AM by Evan Blass
Filed under: HDTV, Home Entertainment In what can only be classified as yet another crushing blow to the embattled HD DVD camp, rent-by-mail giant Netflix has just announced its intention to only stock Blu-ray titles in the future. Netflix justified its decision by pointing out the fact that most Hollywood studios seem to be converging solely around the Sony-backed format -- a fact that's all too familiar to Toshiba and friends. With both Blockbuster and now the 'Flix having eschewed HD DVD for BD, it's gonna get harder and harder to even find a place to rent those former discs in the first place, let alone one that has a decent selection.

Update: It looks like all hope is not lost for HD DVD renters. Not only does Blockbuster Online still carry titles in the endangered format, but Netflix should continue offering a limited selection of discs until current stock is phased out around the end of the year.

First E-mail Post

I’ve been meaning to setup the e-mail post function for this blog.  Looks like I’ve got it up and running now.  Whoo-hoo!  That reminds me, I love woot.com.  Just bought a 1GB player for my audiobooks today - $15 after tax and shipping.  Not bad, eh?  I think I may load my podcasts on it too.  Since I sold my Zune, I’m feeling a little tethered to my ol’ compy for any source of audio.  Anyway, go to woot.com and buy something, it’s lots of fun. 

Less than upbeat

Well, today is the first day that I've felt less than upbeat. Typical Monday I guess. I'm hanging out at Pantera Bread today. Some lady just brought me some food I didn't order. I turned it down, didn't sound like something I'd want to eat. Oh well, maybe another lost employee will deliver me something better.

I'm not feeling particularly bloggish today. Maybe my creative juices will flow soon. I've tried to work on my business, but nadda. Tried to look for jobs, no inspiration. So, I'll drink my cup of joe, listen to some tunes, and try to enjoy the break.

Been over a week

I've been out of work over a week now and still going strong. I had a pretty good interview today and developed a few more leads. Feeling pretty tired at the moment, so I'm taking it a little easy and started surfing the net. That said, do you realize how much money is spent on elections? I mean, I know it's a lot, but it's crazy. Here's the breakdown of the money raised by the major contenders:

Democrats
Hillary	$ 115,652,361
Obama	$ 102,170,668
Republicans
Huckabee	$ 8,986,532
McCain	$ 41,102,178
Romney	$ 88,499,686

Now one thing I've always found humorous about these breakdowns is that Democrats constantly criticize Republicans of being friends of the rich. I'd say the friends of Democrats have deep pockets too. Anyway, it's interesting stuff. I could think of other ways that $350 mil could go to better use, but I guess people enjoy the ads. :-)

6 days out

Slept in today. Good times. Got up and made my way over to the local sandwich shop with free wifi. I came here last week too, but they seemed more inviting then. Not sure that they like loitering. Oh well, I'm patronizing and I gave them business over the weekend.

It's a rainy day today, and I love it. Got more job leads today too. A former co-worker's wife informed me about a statistician position with the state. When I searched for the job, I was surprised at the pay rate, and not in a good way. Maybe I was looking at the wrong job - hopefully. :-)

My former co-worker in India reached out to me via IM last week. We had very good conversation and are going to keep in contact. He and his wife were very concerned for me being out of work. I'm grateful that I've been able to interact with so many people internationally and get out this American / Western mindset that the world revolves around us.

So many people hear that my job went to India and are disgusted that America is losing jobs. Again, I go back to this tangent, but I want to get across that those people have a lot harder time finding jobs than we do. My friend in El Salvador had the same regards. Here's the thing, we should be supportive of any person, people group, who want to work for food, shelter, and life essentials. We should be disgusted with the millions of people in the world who expect handouts.

We had a guest speaker at my church Sunday, and he spoke a lot of what I've been feeling. Did you know that each day 35,000 people die of starvation? 35,000! And yet today I was complaining that my HD channels aren't coming in clear enough. That gas costs too much. That milk is nearly $5 a gallon. What is wrong with our world??? I guess I'll catalog this tragedy in the back of my mind with the millions of aborted babies and the 200 million unwanted orphans while I go on living the American dream.

3 days Unemployeed

As I'm sitting at the local McDonald's on my $2.95 for 2 hours wifi connection, I thought I must catalog this new adventure. So, I'm blogging.

A little background. Last Tuesday my employment, with a major computer company to remain nameless, was severed. I have no hard feelings toward my former employer and would rehire there if the opportunity arrived. Those of us who got "the package" are the lucky ones. We get a paid vacation to look for jobs. I mean, I'm blogging while some of my former co-workers are suffering on the wheel of pain.

So, now that I have all this time, I'm going to get my thoughts, feelings, emotions out there. So, this entry I'd like to talk about this e-mail I just got. I've seen it before, and you likely have too. It's called outsourcing (attached below). Now I find this whole chain cleverly funny, and in my current situation even more so. Essentially, my job went to India.

But really, how many of the jobs listed below are "good paying" jobs? And even so, how many of the products listed would Americans want to pay premium prices for? Americans need to learn how to compete in the world market rather than complain that they don't make enough money sitting on their assets all day.

I imagine that I made a lot more money than my India partners did to do the same job. Is it fair to pay them less to do the same job? Is it fair to pay me more simply because I happened to be born and raised in the geographic location of America? Now it becomes problematic because our economy will likely implode soon as a result of increased outsourcing, over indulgence , and an incessant need for cheap toys. But that's a different post all together.


Joe Smith started the day early having set his alarm clock (MADE IN JAPAN) for 6am. While his coffeepot ( MADE IN CHINA) was perking, he shaved with his electric razor (MADE IN HONG KONG). He put on a dress shirt (MADE IN SRI LANKA ) , designer jeans (MADE IN SINGAPORE) and tennis shoes (MADE IN KOREA). After cooking his breakfast in his new electric skillet( MADE IN INDIA) he sat down with his calculator (MADE IN MEXICO ) to see how much he could spend today. After setting his watch (MADE IN TAIWAN) to the radio (MADE IN INDIA) he got in his car ( MADE IN GERMANY) filled it with GAS from Saudi Arabia and continued his search for a good paying AMERICAN JO B. At the end of yet another discouraging and fruitless day checking his Computer (Made In Malaysia)(with tech support in INDIA) , Joe decided to relax for a while. He put on his sandals (MADE! IN BRAZIL ) poured himself a glass of wine (MADE IN France!!) and turned on his TV (MADE IN INDONESIA), and then wondered why he can't find a good paying job in

AM E R I C A.....