This is half rant, half seriousness. The world, and particularly the company I work for need to catch up on the times and learn how to deal with technology professionals. I’m going to be making some generalizations here but don’t be offended. The first rule for management is this, understand your employees. IT professionals took charisma as a dump stat, we are not salesmen, and in general don’t communicate with non-tech people so well, one minor exception is those of us who chose tech support as a trade. We have the patience (most of the time) to deal w/ the computer illiterate and can usually come up with some easier to understand lingo. That being said, we still are not sales people and we don’t give a shit who you are or how important your term paper is or how much money you’re losing because your internet doesn’t work. IT people’s thinking is based on logic. We will take the path of least resistance and go to whomever we know will get the job done and beaurocracy be damned. Respect is earned, not based on your position in the company.
Now what can you learn from those generalizations? First, to keep us happy all you have to do is have some simple recognition, a sincere pat on the back or some token pizza party can go a long way. Treat us like adults, don’t micromanage and restrict this and overrule that, just let us do our job unhindered and we will do it. Last, if you want to be respected and if you want us to come to you for help and whatnot you have to establish yourself as a person who will actually get things done. Just because you are a lead or a supervisor doesn’t mean you know shit about anything. If people are not coming up to you to ask questions, chances are this means that those people either know, or think, that you do not have the answers. If you don’t have the answers, you shouldn’t be in the position you are in.
Now with respect to hiring IT, and I’m going to get specific to the company I work for. The art of the interview is outdated for IT. Once again we don’t have charisma, generally speaking, so we are not going to do well in your traditional view of an interview. Generic questions like “where do you think you’ll be in 5 years” or “what would you do in this hypothetical situation that would never happen” are bullshit and you know it. Stick to technical questions, weed out the posers and keep the knowledgeable. Not the other way around. Tech support and logic is something that an IT person just knows in the core of their being, it can’t be learned on the job to extent that we have. In other words, don’t hire someone just because they have a flashy smile and a sliver tongue and believe they will just learn as they go. If they don’t already know, then they will end up being mediocre at best. Don’t hire tech support reps, then treat them like customer service reps. Yes, we do talk to customers; but they are calling us to fix their shit, not sell them new services and doing so is annoying to the caller at best and insulting at worst. I understand the need to make sales, but you already have several sales-related departments that do specifically that, let them do their job and let us do ours.
Now back to the interview process, specifically for internal positions. Stop the bullshit! You already hired us based on our original interview, so stop it with the bullshit hypothetical’s and generic “if you were a part of a bicycle what would it be” questions. We know its all a game, and the answers are made up anyway. You know it, I know it, everybody does it, so just get rid of it. Stick to tech-based questions, and given by other IT personnel who actually understand the lingo. The questions themselves should be directly related to the job, don’t make it a game or a big secret. Its not a quiz show people, it’s a career. If a person doesn’t get the position, then asks later what they could have done better, answer them so they can work on whatever it is they did wrong for the next time. Don’t make it some big secret, because that is going to lead to mistrust (and long blog posts, heh). When someone gets promoted who has been with the company for less than a year, over someone who has been here for years and is also fully qualified….one starts to wonder what exactly is going on behind the scenes. Rumors start, conspiracies fly and you add one more straw to the camels back, maybe the last one that causes your seasoned veteran to bail and go to another company. In the end, the customer is going to suffer.
Anyway, that’s my rant. I know I’m preaching to the choir, but I needed to get it out of my system. Also, if anybody reads this and has recently been promoted *wink* its not directed at you or anybody else.
Friday, November 20, 2009
Thursday, August 20, 2009
15 minutes of idiocy
First read this.
Once again for those too lazy to read, Google is being forced to release the IP and email addy for an anonymous blogger because they said some nasty things about some random ageing model, who once their true identity is revealed will, I’m sure, get sued by said models lawyers for whatever trumped up charges they can think of.
First of all, this is bullshit. The things that were said were nasty but ultimately harmless especially since the blogger was just some random anonymous blogger (like myself). If this was a mainstream blogger with a modicum of influence on the market, maybe I could be convinced that the things said could be damaging, but its not. The only reason this is an issue is because, I’m sure the model’s handlers simply want some limelight, stretch out that 15 mins and feed off what’s left of her popularity.
Here is what is going to happen. They find out who the blogger is, then open a defamation lawsuit and throw the book at them. The blogger will then have to pay exorbitant lawyer fees to fight this frivolous lawsuit which the prosecutor has no hope of winning in an actual court. They can’t win because, in order to win a defamation case the prosecutor has to prove that some damage was done, they have to prove it was intentionally done and if they try to throw libel in the case, they have to prove the things said were lies. Can’t be done. However, the defendant still has to go to court, pay all their lawyer fees just to fight the stupidity and end up paying either way. So the blogger will get screwed over financially either way.
This is an attack on free speech, an attack on common sense and an example of how truly greedy people really are. Also I think this is a prime example of how we need to change the tort laws of our nation. In my opinion the only thing we need to do to prevent frivolous lawsuits is institute a ‘loser pays’ policy. Meaning whoever loses a given case must pay the other’s court and lawyer fees.
Once again for those too lazy to read, Google is being forced to release the IP and email addy for an anonymous blogger because they said some nasty things about some random ageing model, who once their true identity is revealed will, I’m sure, get sued by said models lawyers for whatever trumped up charges they can think of.
First of all, this is bullshit. The things that were said were nasty but ultimately harmless especially since the blogger was just some random anonymous blogger (like myself). If this was a mainstream blogger with a modicum of influence on the market, maybe I could be convinced that the things said could be damaging, but its not. The only reason this is an issue is because, I’m sure the model’s handlers simply want some limelight, stretch out that 15 mins and feed off what’s left of her popularity.
Here is what is going to happen. They find out who the blogger is, then open a defamation lawsuit and throw the book at them. The blogger will then have to pay exorbitant lawyer fees to fight this frivolous lawsuit which the prosecutor has no hope of winning in an actual court. They can’t win because, in order to win a defamation case the prosecutor has to prove that some damage was done, they have to prove it was intentionally done and if they try to throw libel in the case, they have to prove the things said were lies. Can’t be done. However, the defendant still has to go to court, pay all their lawyer fees just to fight the stupidity and end up paying either way. So the blogger will get screwed over financially either way.
This is an attack on free speech, an attack on common sense and an example of how truly greedy people really are. Also I think this is a prime example of how we need to change the tort laws of our nation. In my opinion the only thing we need to do to prevent frivolous lawsuits is institute a ‘loser pays’ policy. Meaning whoever loses a given case must pay the other’s court and lawyer fees.
Saturday, July 11, 2009
Warning Politics ahead
The Economy
Double blog post today, lucky you! However its going to be about politics, sorry.
The economy. It sucks. Why does it suck? Well there were many factors, but here it is in a nutshell, Subprime mortgage lending fiasco + greedy execs + greedy politicians + MASSIVE government spending plans + public paranoia = bad economy.
Let me ask you this, are you happy with your elected officials? Do you trust them to make the hard decisions facing our state, our nation, even if it means they might not get elected the next time around? If not, why not? The answer I hear all the time is, well nobody good ever runs for office. Why is this? I think its because we have let our political system get out of control. Why should we let these guys, who have never run a business outside of a law firm, who don’t have a clue how an economy works other than what they may have learned in a classroom, run our country. They are running it into the ground if you ask me. And now the president is considering another ‘stimulus’ package.
I call shenanigans. Given Obama’s current projected budget deficit for 2009, it breaks down into the government spending something like $53,609 a second. That’s right, per second. By the time it takes you to read this blog, the government will have spent more than any of us will make in several years of gross pay! Common sense tells us that when we get into debt, the only way to get out of it is to stop spending, cut the fat and start paying it down. But the government seems to think that spending more is somehow a solution to all of its problems. And the sad fact is the American public is buying it, they’re drinking the Obama flavored cool-aid. Now I’m not saying the American public is all stupid, but its just the mass marketing of it all. People in general just want to stay in their own comfort bubbles, worry about themselves and their families and just accept what the government does is good because they don’t know any other way.
Another problem. Its called tyranny of the majority. I don’t want to Godwin the blog, but this is exactly what happened in Nazi Germany. Remember Hitler was loved by the public, he was in the majority and the Germans believed in him and followed him. Some Germans knew what he was doing was wrong but they were in the minority, so they were ridiculed; beat up or worse so they kept quiet for the most part. I’m not saying we are exactly the same, I don’t belive Obama is going to be invadeing Poland anytime soon, but what I am seeing is him promising the world and the people buying into it. Destroying the very things our country was founded upon, namely limited government. Take this healthcare program he is proposing. In his ideal bill, it will include a ‘public option’ namely something like Medicare, for the masses. I think we can all agree that our current healthcare system is broken, but is this really the way to ‘fix’ it? Who’s going to pay for this program? What is it going to mean for the thousands of people currently employed by insurance companies? This issue hits very close to home, since Des Moines has such a huge stake in the insurance business. I don’t have a solution for the current system though, but I do know the federal government was never meant to provide that service. If any government was involved it should be a state issue, not a federal issue.
People these days are used to getting a handout. We are now a generation or several generations that now have the belief that the government should provide everything, we shouldn’t have to do anything ourselves because its too hard and inconvenient. I admit I slipped into this trap for awhile. But no more, my eyes are open. In my opinion, and our founding father’s collective opinions, government should have a very, very limited role. I can’t stress this enough. But again, getting this form of government means we as a people need to make some hard choices, we need to step out of our comfort bubbles. We need to stop putting 100” plasma TV’s on a credit card, we need to stop buying McMansions, we need to take control of our own lives, and most importantly take back control of our government.
What can we do? Well it’s true, a single person can’t do a whole lot, but if this movement gets going, one person can become two, two can become four and so on until we win. I’ve talked about a revolution before in a previous blog, and I think its coming sooner rather than later. What we need to do is vote, not for the congressperson who can bring us the most pork, but maybe for the underdog. We need to find our own leaders, and get them to run for office. I wish I could be one of those, but I’m sadly under edumacated for that and would be no better than who we have currently, heh. But I am willing to follow and promote for one who could fill those shoes. Another thing you can do is pay attention to the issues of the day, of what’s important to you and important to the nation. I’m not saying become an expert or read the papers religiously everyday but at least know what’s going on so you can make informed decisions, and most importantly get out and vote in every election. It’s the only way we can make our voices heard. Lastly, I would recommend reading at least a little of what our founding fathers wrote about the nation. I know that’s quite boring, but ya never know, you might actually find it interesting and take a sense of pride in knowing things for yourself rather than relying on the news or someone else telling you.
Double blog post today, lucky you! However its going to be about politics, sorry.
The economy. It sucks. Why does it suck? Well there were many factors, but here it is in a nutshell, Subprime mortgage lending fiasco + greedy execs + greedy politicians + MASSIVE government spending plans + public paranoia = bad economy.
Let me ask you this, are you happy with your elected officials? Do you trust them to make the hard decisions facing our state, our nation, even if it means they might not get elected the next time around? If not, why not? The answer I hear all the time is, well nobody good ever runs for office. Why is this? I think its because we have let our political system get out of control. Why should we let these guys, who have never run a business outside of a law firm, who don’t have a clue how an economy works other than what they may have learned in a classroom, run our country. They are running it into the ground if you ask me. And now the president is considering another ‘stimulus’ package.
I call shenanigans. Given Obama’s current projected budget deficit for 2009, it breaks down into the government spending something like $53,609 a second. That’s right, per second. By the time it takes you to read this blog, the government will have spent more than any of us will make in several years of gross pay! Common sense tells us that when we get into debt, the only way to get out of it is to stop spending, cut the fat and start paying it down. But the government seems to think that spending more is somehow a solution to all of its problems. And the sad fact is the American public is buying it, they’re drinking the Obama flavored cool-aid. Now I’m not saying the American public is all stupid, but its just the mass marketing of it all. People in general just want to stay in their own comfort bubbles, worry about themselves and their families and just accept what the government does is good because they don’t know any other way.
Another problem. Its called tyranny of the majority. I don’t want to Godwin the blog, but this is exactly what happened in Nazi Germany. Remember Hitler was loved by the public, he was in the majority and the Germans believed in him and followed him. Some Germans knew what he was doing was wrong but they were in the minority, so they were ridiculed; beat up or worse so they kept quiet for the most part. I’m not saying we are exactly the same, I don’t belive Obama is going to be invadeing Poland anytime soon, but what I am seeing is him promising the world and the people buying into it. Destroying the very things our country was founded upon, namely limited government. Take this healthcare program he is proposing. In his ideal bill, it will include a ‘public option’ namely something like Medicare, for the masses. I think we can all agree that our current healthcare system is broken, but is this really the way to ‘fix’ it? Who’s going to pay for this program? What is it going to mean for the thousands of people currently employed by insurance companies? This issue hits very close to home, since Des Moines has such a huge stake in the insurance business. I don’t have a solution for the current system though, but I do know the federal government was never meant to provide that service. If any government was involved it should be a state issue, not a federal issue.
People these days are used to getting a handout. We are now a generation or several generations that now have the belief that the government should provide everything, we shouldn’t have to do anything ourselves because its too hard and inconvenient. I admit I slipped into this trap for awhile. But no more, my eyes are open. In my opinion, and our founding father’s collective opinions, government should have a very, very limited role. I can’t stress this enough. But again, getting this form of government means we as a people need to make some hard choices, we need to step out of our comfort bubbles. We need to stop putting 100” plasma TV’s on a credit card, we need to stop buying McMansions, we need to take control of our own lives, and most importantly take back control of our government.
What can we do? Well it’s true, a single person can’t do a whole lot, but if this movement gets going, one person can become two, two can become four and so on until we win. I’ve talked about a revolution before in a previous blog, and I think its coming sooner rather than later. What we need to do is vote, not for the congressperson who can bring us the most pork, but maybe for the underdog. We need to find our own leaders, and get them to run for office. I wish I could be one of those, but I’m sadly under edumacated for that and would be no better than who we have currently, heh. But I am willing to follow and promote for one who could fill those shoes. Another thing you can do is pay attention to the issues of the day, of what’s important to you and important to the nation. I’m not saying become an expert or read the papers religiously everyday but at least know what’s going on so you can make informed decisions, and most importantly get out and vote in every election. It’s the only way we can make our voices heard. Lastly, I would recommend reading at least a little of what our founding fathers wrote about the nation. I know that’s quite boring, but ya never know, you might actually find it interesting and take a sense of pride in knowing things for yourself rather than relying on the news or someone else telling you.
State of the Onion
I haven’t blogged in a long time. A lot of it has to do with my last blog post about Rusty. I still miss the big guy and some days its just too hard to wrap my mind around the fact I won’t be able to do anything with him anymore. But I know he wouldn’t want me to get stuck, but to move on and so I shall. But Rusty will always be alive in my heart.
So this is mainly an intermediary blog to get me back into the grove before I go ranting about politics or society or whatever happens to be grinding my gears for the day. Getting back on the proverbial horse.
In my life everything is going relatively well. Mrs. Kimpak and I are doing great. The garden is growing. Some of the house work is being a pain in the ass, but it will be great when we are finished. Drama factor is low, which is good. So, IDK why the heck I’ve been somewhat depressed lately. Well I guess I really do know but cant’ really find a solution for it. As retarded as it sounds it all stems from events that took place in 1999 to 2001ish. Yes, that was my senior year of high school and some of my college freshman years. Those were the three years that would define who I am for the rest of my life really, and all the complications that went along with it. The whole story is too boring to tell here but suffice it to say they left their mark, probably more than anyone knows. So how do I fix that? I can’t go back to 1999 in my Delorean and fix everything (mostly because I don’t think you can really get a Delorean up to 88mph). So what to do. I’ve had counseling, I’ve read books, I’ve heard motivational speakers and its helped somewhat. I have a great wife who doesn’t completely understand I’m sure but is very supportive. All of that has helped, but I still have relapses. Maybe it’s a curse of having a photographic long term memory. I can still remember and see events that have happened long ago. So all that is as fresh today as it was many years ago.
I don’t know maybe I’m just being emo and QQing in the corner or whatever. I’m sure I’ll snap out of it till the next time it happens.
So this is mainly an intermediary blog to get me back into the grove before I go ranting about politics or society or whatever happens to be grinding my gears for the day. Getting back on the proverbial horse.
In my life everything is going relatively well. Mrs. Kimpak and I are doing great. The garden is growing. Some of the house work is being a pain in the ass, but it will be great when we are finished. Drama factor is low, which is good. So, IDK why the heck I’ve been somewhat depressed lately. Well I guess I really do know but cant’ really find a solution for it. As retarded as it sounds it all stems from events that took place in 1999 to 2001ish. Yes, that was my senior year of high school and some of my college freshman years. Those were the three years that would define who I am for the rest of my life really, and all the complications that went along with it. The whole story is too boring to tell here but suffice it to say they left their mark, probably more than anyone knows. So how do I fix that? I can’t go back to 1999 in my Delorean and fix everything (mostly because I don’t think you can really get a Delorean up to 88mph). So what to do. I’ve had counseling, I’ve read books, I’ve heard motivational speakers and its helped somewhat. I have a great wife who doesn’t completely understand I’m sure but is very supportive. All of that has helped, but I still have relapses. Maybe it’s a curse of having a photographic long term memory. I can still remember and see events that have happened long ago. So all that is as fresh today as it was many years ago.
I don’t know maybe I’m just being emo and QQing in the corner or whatever. I’m sure I’ll snap out of it till the next time it happens.
Saturday, April 25, 2009
..update
I forgot to add this in my last post. For any of you who didn't know already or are interested in more info about the visitation and what happened. Here is a link to Rusty's blog, Rachel has posted more information on it.
Rusty's Blog
Rusty's Blog
My friend, you will be missed.
Yesterday was one of the hardest days of my life. My good friend Rusty, died in a motorcycle accident, late Thursday night.
When I had first met Rusty, it was of course at work. I had seen him around a lot, he was a very tall impressive man so he would be hard to miss. Anyway, I was getting some water from the cooler which was right by his desk at the time. I saw he was reading a Rifts campaign sourcebook. I was very impressed, previous to that I thought I was the only one in the company that had even heard of the game, much less played it. So I had to stop and say Hi and let him know how cool it was that someone else enjoyed the game I had so much fun with in highschool.
From there we became friends. I think we became real good friends the day a tornado hit his Mother’s house in a teeny town in Iowa. He wanted to ride his motorcycle down to help her, I just happened to be spending the night over there after a game night. Well there was no way I was going to let him ride his motorcycle through a tornado producing thunderstorm so I took the day off work as well and gave him a ride down and helped out all that day.
Rusty was a good guy, he cared for his friends, he touched a lot of lives. Our office damn, near had to shut down yesterday because of all the people who loved him. So I know he is going to the right place. But he will certainly be missed by all of us who knew him.
I’ve often had the feeling in the past, what would happen if I just suddenly disappeared. I’d be able to escape my pains, my responsibilities, everything. Now, now I know the answer to that question. And all the lives it would affect. No longer will I question.
This is a hard blog to write. The hardest one I have ever written. I know most of the people reading this knew Rusty and are just as distraught as I am. I know this though, Rusty would be happy knowing that we are all here for each other, and care for each other in this time of great need.
God speed Rusty, we’re going to miss you.
When I had first met Rusty, it was of course at work. I had seen him around a lot, he was a very tall impressive man so he would be hard to miss. Anyway, I was getting some water from the cooler which was right by his desk at the time. I saw he was reading a Rifts campaign sourcebook. I was very impressed, previous to that I thought I was the only one in the company that had even heard of the game, much less played it. So I had to stop and say Hi and let him know how cool it was that someone else enjoyed the game I had so much fun with in highschool.
From there we became friends. I think we became real good friends the day a tornado hit his Mother’s house in a teeny town in Iowa. He wanted to ride his motorcycle down to help her, I just happened to be spending the night over there after a game night. Well there was no way I was going to let him ride his motorcycle through a tornado producing thunderstorm so I took the day off work as well and gave him a ride down and helped out all that day.
Rusty was a good guy, he cared for his friends, he touched a lot of lives. Our office damn, near had to shut down yesterday because of all the people who loved him. So I know he is going to the right place. But he will certainly be missed by all of us who knew him.
I’ve often had the feeling in the past, what would happen if I just suddenly disappeared. I’d be able to escape my pains, my responsibilities, everything. Now, now I know the answer to that question. And all the lives it would affect. No longer will I question.
This is a hard blog to write. The hardest one I have ever written. I know most of the people reading this knew Rusty and are just as distraught as I am. I know this though, Rusty would be happy knowing that we are all here for each other, and care for each other in this time of great need.
God speed Rusty, we’re going to miss you.
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
Bull Shit!
First of all please read this article. When I first heard this story I envisioned some crowd yelling and screaming and thowing things. When I dug a little deeper (and I think this is the best article of the ones I read) I found that this "unruly crowd" was simply cheering for what they liked and booing what they did not like. This is a public hearing, yet the public was thrown out because they (and I) vehemetly disagree with this new tax law.
Once again my friends, right here on your very doorstep. The government is blatently and visably ignoring you. I bet if you got one of those muckity mucks to talk off the reccord they would tell their side of the story as something similar to "Those peasants, don't have any respect. They are obviously too stupid to understand what we are trying to do. We are better than them!"
Cheering and booing people. That is enough to get hundreds kicked from a public hearing. A publc hearing! What is a public hearing, without a public to hear anything?
Let me back up for a bit. The hearing was about House File 807, a new tax bill which would take a way your ability to deduct your federal witholding from your state tax, umung other things; but that is the meat and potatos of it. What that means is if you make over 40k/year (if you do the math, but for some situations it would be over 125k/year) you would see a tax increase. Yay, just what we need in an economy going down the crap shoot.
Wether you are for or against the tax bill (that is for you to decide on your own), you have to agree this incident is just a slap in the face of the voting public. But you will see, the media is either going to downplay the event or it will exaggerate or twist the story to make those in the crowd seem like they were crazed crack heads who shouldn't be taken seriously. Remember, all they were doing, up untill they were all thrown out, was cheering and booing.
If the governmet thinks cheering is disruptive enough to eject an entire crowd from a public hearing, just wait till people really protest. If they keep this up, that is exactly what is going to happen. I'm not talking about the usual hippies that turn up to try to legalize pot, in numbers of a hundred or less, but masses of people organized by proper leaders.
Remember this event when its time to vote for your local officals again.
Once again my friends, right here on your very doorstep. The government is blatently and visably ignoring you. I bet if you got one of those muckity mucks to talk off the reccord they would tell their side of the story as something similar to "Those peasants, don't have any respect. They are obviously too stupid to understand what we are trying to do. We are better than them!"
Cheering and booing people. That is enough to get hundreds kicked from a public hearing. A publc hearing! What is a public hearing, without a public to hear anything?
Let me back up for a bit. The hearing was about House File 807, a new tax bill which would take a way your ability to deduct your federal witholding from your state tax, umung other things; but that is the meat and potatos of it. What that means is if you make over 40k/year (if you do the math, but for some situations it would be over 125k/year) you would see a tax increase. Yay, just what we need in an economy going down the crap shoot.
Wether you are for or against the tax bill (that is for you to decide on your own), you have to agree this incident is just a slap in the face of the voting public. But you will see, the media is either going to downplay the event or it will exaggerate or twist the story to make those in the crowd seem like they were crazed crack heads who shouldn't be taken seriously. Remember, all they were doing, up untill they were all thrown out, was cheering and booing.
If the governmet thinks cheering is disruptive enough to eject an entire crowd from a public hearing, just wait till people really protest. If they keep this up, that is exactly what is going to happen. I'm not talking about the usual hippies that turn up to try to legalize pot, in numbers of a hundred or less, but masses of people organized by proper leaders.
Remember this event when its time to vote for your local officals again.
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Update to the revolution.
I know it isn't election time, but I still urge you to keep tabs on your elected officals from time to time. For a nice easy website go HERE.
Put your zip code in the search bar at the upper left and it will retreive a list of all your elected officials and if you click on their names it gives you a summery of who they are and what things they've voted on.
Now you know
And knowing is half the battle.
Yo Joe!
Put your zip code in the search bar at the upper left and it will retreive a list of all your elected officials and if you click on their names it gives you a summery of who they are and what things they've voted on.
Now you know
And knowing is half the battle.
Yo Joe!
Friday, March 20, 2009
The Revolution
The Revolution
Unless you have been living off the grid, or are a hippie, you know the current state of affairs in the U.S. government is a tad wonky to put it lightly. Several things became clear to me the other day. Why have we, as a people, allowed this to happen? How can we stand by and let the government walk all over us like we were nothing but a mere annoyance, someone who is only important at election time easily won over by promises and bribes.
Not only our founding fathers, but the founding people of the United States as a whole would be more than ashamed if they saw what we allow to happen in these times. The sad part is I know the truth. I know why. Our people have their ears glued to their cell phones, they have their fingers tapping out five-hundred words a minute on an iPhone text messaging their bff Jill. Most people would fail a simple civics quiz such as “who is your congressmen” and “What is the second amendment”. This saddens me, because the people in office know this and use our collective short term memories to play their little game of power with each other, scrambling over the backs of their so-called constituents. It’s so sad, that I have to laugh. But that laugh comes out more like the maniacal laugh of a madman. Let me illustrate.
As a people:
We asked for more security on our borders.
Government said ‘no’
We asked for enforcement of immigration laws.
Government said ‘no’
We fight for our 2nd amendment rights.
Government tries to pass a weapons ban
We said no to a massive government bailout of failing companies.
Government ignored us and passed it anyway.
We said no to a massive spending ‘stimulus’ package.
Government ignored us and passed it anyway.
The list continues on from there. Yet we keep voting these people into congress because they basically bring us blood money into the state, via their pork barrel projects or in the case of Iowa they keep re-upping the farm bill, but that’s a whole ‘nother blog. Should congress have term limits? Our president does, yet our congressmen can theoretically run for life. Should they be allowed to vote on their own raises? Did you even know they voted for their own raises? I don’t know about you but if I was able to vote for my own raise you better believe I would be for it every single time, lol. Or the biggest slap in the face, should congress people get to vote on bills they haven’t even read. Oh, yes this is a regular practice. Can’t blame them though, have you ever tried to read one of those things? Hundreds, sometimes thousands of pages written in legaleze, politicseze, ancient sumarian, there’s no way any sane person could read them and understand them. This needs to change.
So what am I asking for? I’m not saying you have to read every bill that goes through congress, or start campaigning for someone. What I do ask is this: Be aware. Be aware of what is going on with your government, local, state and national. When election time rolls around, at least browse the webpage of each of the candidates and find out what they actually stand for. And finally, don’t let the government placate you with baubles, silver tongues and bribes. Make them make the hard choices, and when a bill comes up that hits the news and you disagree with, for the love of God let them know! Believe it or not your emails and letters and phone calls are not ignored when we do it en masse. We need to act as a people, and make the government work for us as the framers intended.
I feel there is a revolution coming. Not in the immediate future but soon. If things continue the way they are going I see the public finally tearing themselves away from their text messaging long enough to rise up and let it be known they will not be taken advantage anymore. The only question is, will it be a peaceful revolution or a bloody one. Hopefully it’s the former, because look at the French revolution. That did not end so well. The revolution that I hope happens, is widespread protests at all of our injustices. Widespread voting rallies where instead of a paltry 20 some odd percent of people vote, we see 60% or 80%. I would like to see mass pressure for campaign reform, lobby reform and more transparency in the government. I’d like to see a big push to place government back in the hands of the states rather than the fed. Who knows, maybe things will end badly, maybe too many will choose the route of the French revolution where fighting and bloodshed will be unleashed. I think that would end very badly for us.
The question I pose to you is; if the revolution comes will you take action? Search your soul and ask yourself whether you would become active and awake from your slumber or will you be happy to remain complacent and keep your head in the sand. The world of tomorrow is going to look a lot different than what it does today. Lets just hope that its better. Lets hope that one day we can look up at our flag and be proud of our country and proud of our leadership. We shouldn’t have to apologize for our leaders anymore. (George Dubya anyone?)
Unless you have been living off the grid, or are a hippie, you know the current state of affairs in the U.S. government is a tad wonky to put it lightly. Several things became clear to me the other day. Why have we, as a people, allowed this to happen? How can we stand by and let the government walk all over us like we were nothing but a mere annoyance, someone who is only important at election time easily won over by promises and bribes.
Not only our founding fathers, but the founding people of the United States as a whole would be more than ashamed if they saw what we allow to happen in these times. The sad part is I know the truth. I know why. Our people have their ears glued to their cell phones, they have their fingers tapping out five-hundred words a minute on an iPhone text messaging their bff Jill. Most people would fail a simple civics quiz such as “who is your congressmen” and “What is the second amendment”. This saddens me, because the people in office know this and use our collective short term memories to play their little game of power with each other, scrambling over the backs of their so-called constituents. It’s so sad, that I have to laugh. But that laugh comes out more like the maniacal laugh of a madman. Let me illustrate.
As a people:
We asked for more security on our borders.
Government said ‘no’
We asked for enforcement of immigration laws.
Government said ‘no’
We fight for our 2nd amendment rights.
Government tries to pass a weapons ban
We said no to a massive government bailout of failing companies.
Government ignored us and passed it anyway.
We said no to a massive spending ‘stimulus’ package.
Government ignored us and passed it anyway.
The list continues on from there. Yet we keep voting these people into congress because they basically bring us blood money into the state, via their pork barrel projects or in the case of Iowa they keep re-upping the farm bill, but that’s a whole ‘nother blog. Should congress have term limits? Our president does, yet our congressmen can theoretically run for life. Should they be allowed to vote on their own raises? Did you even know they voted for their own raises? I don’t know about you but if I was able to vote for my own raise you better believe I would be for it every single time, lol. Or the biggest slap in the face, should congress people get to vote on bills they haven’t even read. Oh, yes this is a regular practice. Can’t blame them though, have you ever tried to read one of those things? Hundreds, sometimes thousands of pages written in legaleze, politicseze, ancient sumarian, there’s no way any sane person could read them and understand them. This needs to change.
So what am I asking for? I’m not saying you have to read every bill that goes through congress, or start campaigning for someone. What I do ask is this: Be aware. Be aware of what is going on with your government, local, state and national. When election time rolls around, at least browse the webpage of each of the candidates and find out what they actually stand for. And finally, don’t let the government placate you with baubles, silver tongues and bribes. Make them make the hard choices, and when a bill comes up that hits the news and you disagree with, for the love of God let them know! Believe it or not your emails and letters and phone calls are not ignored when we do it en masse. We need to act as a people, and make the government work for us as the framers intended.
I feel there is a revolution coming. Not in the immediate future but soon. If things continue the way they are going I see the public finally tearing themselves away from their text messaging long enough to rise up and let it be known they will not be taken advantage anymore. The only question is, will it be a peaceful revolution or a bloody one. Hopefully it’s the former, because look at the French revolution. That did not end so well. The revolution that I hope happens, is widespread protests at all of our injustices. Widespread voting rallies where instead of a paltry 20 some odd percent of people vote, we see 60% or 80%. I would like to see mass pressure for campaign reform, lobby reform and more transparency in the government. I’d like to see a big push to place government back in the hands of the states rather than the fed. Who knows, maybe things will end badly, maybe too many will choose the route of the French revolution where fighting and bloodshed will be unleashed. I think that would end very badly for us.
The question I pose to you is; if the revolution comes will you take action? Search your soul and ask yourself whether you would become active and awake from your slumber or will you be happy to remain complacent and keep your head in the sand. The world of tomorrow is going to look a lot different than what it does today. Lets just hope that its better. Lets hope that one day we can look up at our flag and be proud of our country and proud of our leadership. We shouldn’t have to apologize for our leaders anymore. (George Dubya anyone?)
Sunday, March 15, 2009
A loss...
Today I am more sad than I have been for a very long time. My dog Haplo got loose yesterday and was hit by a car.
I'm sure it may be silly for some of you reading. But loosing Haplo is like loosing a best friend. Mrs. Kimpak and I are still reeling from the shock of it and I'm not sure if its fully sunk in yet. I do know that things will be different now.
Maya, our other dog is doing ok. She knows there's something wrong but doesn't understand of course.
Dealing with loss is something I've traditionally been good with. This time though its really effected me. In time, I'm sure I'll get over it. But right now its just too fresh. So if I seem a bit distant to any of you don't take it personally.
I'm sure it may be silly for some of you reading. But loosing Haplo is like loosing a best friend. Mrs. Kimpak and I are still reeling from the shock of it and I'm not sure if its fully sunk in yet. I do know that things will be different now.
Maya, our other dog is doing ok. She knows there's something wrong but doesn't understand of course.
Dealing with loss is something I've traditionally been good with. This time though its really effected me. In time, I'm sure I'll get over it. But right now its just too fresh. So if I seem a bit distant to any of you don't take it personally.
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Watchmen
First of all, I haven’t read the graphic novel, so everything in this blog is related to the movie. I do plan on getting it now though. Anyway here we go.
Watchmen Review:
7.5 out of 10
Watchmen is a movie closely based on the graphic novel of the same name. The movie follows the lives of two generations of super hero teams, in an alternate world to our own. In the world of Watchmen, Nixon is still president after passing a bill which repeals term limits so he can continuously run for president, its also during the cold war with Russia. However in this universe both nations literally have their fingers on the proverbial button, nuclear war isn’t just a threat, it’s a certainty.
So in the 40’s a group of people in peak physical condition (I.E. no supernatural powers, except for Dr. Manhattan), decide to costume up and fight crime as a team of vigilantes. In time they are enlisted by the government to help with WWII and eventually Viet Nam. Most of them, most notably The Commedian, get messed up by the war and become crazy in some fasion. A new group forms later, and is successful until congress passes a law outlawing the super heros. They then go into retirement/hiding all except for Rorschach who continues to fight crime. At the beginning of the movie we see The Commedian get murdered, and chaos ensues.
The movie was good, the imagery was amazing. Its very dark and disturbing at some parts though, so this is definitely not a movie for kids. The story takes on a lot of issues that are relavent to today; Liberalism, humanity’s vanity, Love, justice, the graying of the line between good/evil. It causes us to take a look at our own values, and wonder what we would do if we were in their shoes. The movie is long, just shy of three hours, but it uses that time wisely to develop all the characters in the story. The movie is really about the characters themselves, and the story of the murder and the war serve as a driving force for the characters rather than the plot itself. There was too much to take in though in one sitting. I’m going to have to buy the DVD when it comes out to catch anything I may have missed.
Why didn’t it get a 10/10….well it’s just my opinion of course, but I think it could have been better. I can’t quite put my finger on it but it just seemed to be missing something, maybe it was just my A.D.D and the slowly developing story. I guess I was expecting some more action, but I understand that it isn’t about that. I’m conflicted. Anyway, its just my opinion.
P.S. There’s also a big blue penis.
Watchmen Review:
7.5 out of 10
Watchmen is a movie closely based on the graphic novel of the same name. The movie follows the lives of two generations of super hero teams, in an alternate world to our own. In the world of Watchmen, Nixon is still president after passing a bill which repeals term limits so he can continuously run for president, its also during the cold war with Russia. However in this universe both nations literally have their fingers on the proverbial button, nuclear war isn’t just a threat, it’s a certainty.
So in the 40’s a group of people in peak physical condition (I.E. no supernatural powers, except for Dr. Manhattan), decide to costume up and fight crime as a team of vigilantes. In time they are enlisted by the government to help with WWII and eventually Viet Nam. Most of them, most notably The Commedian, get messed up by the war and become crazy in some fasion. A new group forms later, and is successful until congress passes a law outlawing the super heros. They then go into retirement/hiding all except for Rorschach who continues to fight crime. At the beginning of the movie we see The Commedian get murdered, and chaos ensues.
The movie was good, the imagery was amazing. Its very dark and disturbing at some parts though, so this is definitely not a movie for kids. The story takes on a lot of issues that are relavent to today; Liberalism, humanity’s vanity, Love, justice, the graying of the line between good/evil. It causes us to take a look at our own values, and wonder what we would do if we were in their shoes. The movie is long, just shy of three hours, but it uses that time wisely to develop all the characters in the story. The movie is really about the characters themselves, and the story of the murder and the war serve as a driving force for the characters rather than the plot itself. There was too much to take in though in one sitting. I’m going to have to buy the DVD when it comes out to catch anything I may have missed.
Why didn’t it get a 10/10….well it’s just my opinion of course, but I think it could have been better. I can’t quite put my finger on it but it just seemed to be missing something, maybe it was just my A.D.D and the slowly developing story. I guess I was expecting some more action, but I understand that it isn’t about that. I’m conflicted. Anyway, its just my opinion.
P.S. There’s also a big blue penis.
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
Gamer Shave
Marketing has hit an all time low. I submit to you this: The gamer razor. Yes, now there is a Gillette Fusion for gamers. What is different about it, you might ask? As far as I can tell, nothing, other than the fact they slapped the surname ‘gamer’ on the packaging. Don’t get me wrong, I love the Fusion line of razors, but this is a bit silly.
Although it does bring to light a certain paradigm shift in our culture. Not so long ago, gamers and geeks alike were seen as pasty faced zombies in their Mother’s basements twitching their thumbs to the latest incarnation of Mario, or rolling a handful of D6’s with a certain glee as they calculated the damage from a fireball. Now, being a geek is chic. With the advent of more powerful consoles and superb marketing, we now have gaming in the mainstream media. Heck, with the creation of the Wii, we even have senior citizens playing video games. I’ve even read news articles about schools purchasing Wii’s for classroom use, for games like Wii fit and Wii Music. Dungeons and Dragons has even gotten over some of the social stigmas it had back in the 70’s and early 80’s. Let us not forget we even have a professional gaming league, which is what the razors are actually designed to promote.
I never dreamed, back in the days of playing Intellevision games, there would be a professional league, a serious one where the pro’s can make a serious living off playing games. I should have practiced more, heh.
So, get your game on and buy a gamer razor because Gillette says your not complete without one.
Although it does bring to light a certain paradigm shift in our culture. Not so long ago, gamers and geeks alike were seen as pasty faced zombies in their Mother’s basements twitching their thumbs to the latest incarnation of Mario, or rolling a handful of D6’s with a certain glee as they calculated the damage from a fireball. Now, being a geek is chic. With the advent of more powerful consoles and superb marketing, we now have gaming in the mainstream media. Heck, with the creation of the Wii, we even have senior citizens playing video games. I’ve even read news articles about schools purchasing Wii’s for classroom use, for games like Wii fit and Wii Music. Dungeons and Dragons has even gotten over some of the social stigmas it had back in the 70’s and early 80’s. Let us not forget we even have a professional gaming league, which is what the razors are actually designed to promote.
I never dreamed, back in the days of playing Intellevision games, there would be a professional league, a serious one where the pro’s can make a serious living off playing games. I should have practiced more, heh.
So, get your game on and buy a gamer razor because Gillette says your not complete without one.
Thursday, February 5, 2009
Life as a Bald Man
So the other day I was in Home Depot buying some diamonds and was at the self checkout when a random employee complemented me on having a nice looking bald head. Awesome. So I thought that would be a good subject to blog about this week.
First of all to anyone who doesn’t already know, the decision to go bald was pretty much necessary, I was losing my hair and it wouldn’t be too long before I’d either have a mullet or have to do some type of comb-over or use some hair growing potion. I decided of course to just shave it off and not have to worry about any of that. I had made the decision long ago but had been too chicken to do it. One summer day I just decided finally that today was the day, I’ll just do it. I tried to get Mrs. Kimpak to do the first buzz to get the ball rolling, but she wouldn’t do it. She wanted it to be my decision not hers, for which I love her very much. Anyway I bobbled for like an hour till I finally did it. After the first swipe of the clippers it became much easier.
So now I’m bald. Inevitably when anybody I knew saw me for the first time I would get the question on what happened to my hair. It was getting a bit tiresome after awhile but I still tried to come up with something funny each time, followed by the real explanation. Now people are pretty much used to it. The cool thing though is now I find myself somewhat unique, or at least separate from the pack. When I had my crappy hair nobody noticed but now people notice and usually I get compliments. Not that I’m fishing for compliments or anything but it does make me more confident in myself now.
Something I have always struggled with in my life was my appearance. Since middle school I’ve always felt like people are staring at me and thinking I’m ugly etc…Because I didn’t have the right shoes, or wear the popular clothes or whatever. Also my hair was a constant bane to me, IDK why but it was just always messy and I was very self conscious about it. In fact, from about 8th grade to sometime in college I pretty much wore a St. Louis Cardinals baseball cap whenever I was out in public. So I have found, now that I don’t have hair, I don’t have to worry about bad hair days, windy days, wet hair, bad haircuts, receding hairline, mullets. I also no longer have to worry about combing my hair or going to bed with my hair wet or even having to use shampoo/conditioner. In short it’s a lot of new freedom for me, thus making me a lot more confident in my appearance.
I’ve also found a whole new world of products. There is a brand name called Headblade, they make an awesome razor that’s curved for achieving the perfect angle for shaving your head. They also make different finishes you can put on your head, like shiny or matte finish. They make sunscreen that you can spray on your head, which I find highly useful.
In short, live is a lot easier being bald!
First of all to anyone who doesn’t already know, the decision to go bald was pretty much necessary, I was losing my hair and it wouldn’t be too long before I’d either have a mullet or have to do some type of comb-over or use some hair growing potion. I decided of course to just shave it off and not have to worry about any of that. I had made the decision long ago but had been too chicken to do it. One summer day I just decided finally that today was the day, I’ll just do it. I tried to get Mrs. Kimpak to do the first buzz to get the ball rolling, but she wouldn’t do it. She wanted it to be my decision not hers, for which I love her very much. Anyway I bobbled for like an hour till I finally did it. After the first swipe of the clippers it became much easier.
So now I’m bald. Inevitably when anybody I knew saw me for the first time I would get the question on what happened to my hair. It was getting a bit tiresome after awhile but I still tried to come up with something funny each time, followed by the real explanation. Now people are pretty much used to it. The cool thing though is now I find myself somewhat unique, or at least separate from the pack. When I had my crappy hair nobody noticed but now people notice and usually I get compliments. Not that I’m fishing for compliments or anything but it does make me more confident in myself now.
Something I have always struggled with in my life was my appearance. Since middle school I’ve always felt like people are staring at me and thinking I’m ugly etc…Because I didn’t have the right shoes, or wear the popular clothes or whatever. Also my hair was a constant bane to me, IDK why but it was just always messy and I was very self conscious about it. In fact, from about 8th grade to sometime in college I pretty much wore a St. Louis Cardinals baseball cap whenever I was out in public. So I have found, now that I don’t have hair, I don’t have to worry about bad hair days, windy days, wet hair, bad haircuts, receding hairline, mullets. I also no longer have to worry about combing my hair or going to bed with my hair wet or even having to use shampoo/conditioner. In short it’s a lot of new freedom for me, thus making me a lot more confident in my appearance.
I’ve also found a whole new world of products. There is a brand name called Headblade, they make an awesome razor that’s curved for achieving the perfect angle for shaving your head. They also make different finishes you can put on your head, like shiny or matte finish. They make sunscreen that you can spray on your head, which I find highly useful.
In short, live is a lot easier being bald!
Thursday, January 29, 2009
He Wishes for the Cloths of Heaven
He Wishes for the Cloths of Heaven
Had I the heaven’s embroidered cloths,
Enwrought with golden and silver light,
The blue and the dim and the dark cloths
Of night and light and the half-light
I would spread the cloths under your feet:
But I, being poor, have only my dreams;
I have spread my dreams under your feet;
Tread softly because you tread on my dreams.
-W.B. Yeats
I first heard this particular poem in a movie (Equilibrium, it’s a good movie you should see it). I didn’t think much about it at first, after searching for the DVD one night so a friend could borrow it, the poem came back to me. I only remembered the last line, so I went online to get the full poem and also to read more of Yeats’ poems since I’m on a classical literature binge at the moment.
This poem still stuck out in my head. I kept thinking about it and what it meant. I find a drawback to poetry for me is most of the time it sounds good but just doesn’t make any sense. So I was thinking about the poem and let my mind drift and found what it means to me. Basically Adeh who is the narrator of this poem wishes for they had the cloths of heaven and if they had it they would give it to you. But being poor all Adeh has is his dreams which he offers.
Now to translate that into what it actually means to me, I wish I had the world to give, especially to Mrs. Kimpak. But all I have are my hopes and dreams to share. Tread softly because to spurn this gift would be a grievous blow. The poem may mean other things to other people though, this is just my interpretation.
Mrs. Kimpak as most of you know makes quite a bit more than I do at her job; most of the time this does not bother me. I admit though, sometimes it does, only because sometimes I feel I’m not pulling my own weight, monetarily speaking. In reality I am, I know, but sometimes I just feel I’m not. Maybe I should go back to school and get my actual batcher’s degree? I’ve thought about it, but it’s a big commitment and I don’t know if I’d be able to pass the math classes, I’m terrible at it because I never really learned it in school, partially due to dyslexia and partially due to my own lack of careing.
But I digress, the blog is about the poem. What does it mean to you?
Had I the heaven’s embroidered cloths,
Enwrought with golden and silver light,
The blue and the dim and the dark cloths
Of night and light and the half-light
I would spread the cloths under your feet:
But I, being poor, have only my dreams;
I have spread my dreams under your feet;
Tread softly because you tread on my dreams.
-W.B. Yeats
I first heard this particular poem in a movie (Equilibrium, it’s a good movie you should see it). I didn’t think much about it at first, after searching for the DVD one night so a friend could borrow it, the poem came back to me. I only remembered the last line, so I went online to get the full poem and also to read more of Yeats’ poems since I’m on a classical literature binge at the moment.
This poem still stuck out in my head. I kept thinking about it and what it meant. I find a drawback to poetry for me is most of the time it sounds good but just doesn’t make any sense. So I was thinking about the poem and let my mind drift and found what it means to me. Basically Adeh who is the narrator of this poem wishes for they had the cloths of heaven and if they had it they would give it to you. But being poor all Adeh has is his dreams which he offers.
Now to translate that into what it actually means to me, I wish I had the world to give, especially to Mrs. Kimpak. But all I have are my hopes and dreams to share. Tread softly because to spurn this gift would be a grievous blow. The poem may mean other things to other people though, this is just my interpretation.
Mrs. Kimpak as most of you know makes quite a bit more than I do at her job; most of the time this does not bother me. I admit though, sometimes it does, only because sometimes I feel I’m not pulling my own weight, monetarily speaking. In reality I am, I know, but sometimes I just feel I’m not. Maybe I should go back to school and get my actual batcher’s degree? I’ve thought about it, but it’s a big commitment and I don’t know if I’d be able to pass the math classes, I’m terrible at it because I never really learned it in school, partially due to dyslexia and partially due to my own lack of careing.
But I digress, the blog is about the poem. What does it mean to you?
Friday, January 23, 2009
Someplace I’ll never be
I finally got cable TV. First thing I noticed is legitimately thinking we have way too many channels. Granted a lot of them are PPV channels or Spanish language channels, but it still takes a good five or ten mins to flip through the guide to see what’s on. My favorite channels are still Discovery, History, Natl. Geographic, etc.. So I was watching them and seeing all these marvelous places in the world that I wish I could go to but I know I never will.
To add to that I had a fit of depression and thought I’d look up a few people online and look at their MySpace pictures. Of course I see them having fun, in wonderful places about the U.S. and around the world, again places I’ll most likely never be.
I’m a nomad by nature, I like to go places. I like travel, especially to new places. Double that for wilderness places that I can explore on my own at my own pace. I have been fortunate enough to visit some of the places I’ve always wanted to go. I’ve been hiking through Mt. Ranier, Lake Itasca, and places all over Iowa. I’ve spent the night on a beach in Florida. All were great adventures I suppose, but I don’t know I still feel like I’m trapped sometimes. Everywhere is so far away from here it seems, so expensive to travel. I know some of the places I would ideally like to go would be places those who are likely to travel with me might not enjoy, or the fact that I am American might even make those places dangerous.
I want to see what its like in the rain forests of south America. I want to visit ruins of ancient cultures in central America. I want to scuba dive through a shipwreck, heck I just want to scuba dive anywhere. I want to fly a plane, I want to fly an ultralight and hang glide. I want to climb a mountain, then base jump off of it. I want to explore huge caverns and caves, deep into the earth. I want to sail a boat. I want to see Alaska. I want to travel through Europe, touring old castles and finding little towns and sampling their food/beverages. I want to stand on the beaches of Normandy, stand in the field at Thermopylae, touch the stones at Stonehenge. Have a cup of coffee in Columbia and watch a game show in Japan. All of these things, I’ll never do. Some of them perhaps, but not all and that makes me sad still.
Maybe its just wanderlust, maybe somewhere in my family’s history we were a part of some nomadic tribe of some sort. I love Iowa, but I’ve been here for so long its starting to run out of adventures. I often wonder what it would be like if I just dropped everything and left. Just dropped off the grid so to speak, leave all my stuff behind except for one thing, I’d either spend whatever money I had or sold enough stuff to get a rugged laptop and a few bits of durable travel gear to document my travels. Just go out and walk, hitch or buy crappy cars with cash and drive them till they died (then donate them to the kidney foundation so they don’t just sit where I leave ‘em). I’d take whatever jobs I can get to eat/sleep. I’d join up w/ fishing crews or somesuch near the coasts. When I want to leave the country I’d try to get hired on a merchant vessel of some sort that makes trans-Atlantic trips. I know I’m romanticizing it a lot, but hey its just a thought experiment. I know there are many hardships with that lifestyle, and who knows if I’d be able to overcome them.
It doesn’t matter anyway, I’d never leave like that. I wouldn’t be able to leave Mrs. Kimpak, ever, for any reason. She could of course come along though *wink*. Maybe I just have cabin fever too, I hate winter because I can’t be outside as much. And this time of year is the worst, its when we’re past the middle and getting closer to spring that I start wishing I could go camping. The woods is where I feel the most comfortable, I’m fortunate to be able to live out in the country as I do.
To add to that I had a fit of depression and thought I’d look up a few people online and look at their MySpace pictures. Of course I see them having fun, in wonderful places about the U.S. and around the world, again places I’ll most likely never be.
I’m a nomad by nature, I like to go places. I like travel, especially to new places. Double that for wilderness places that I can explore on my own at my own pace. I have been fortunate enough to visit some of the places I’ve always wanted to go. I’ve been hiking through Mt. Ranier, Lake Itasca, and places all over Iowa. I’ve spent the night on a beach in Florida. All were great adventures I suppose, but I don’t know I still feel like I’m trapped sometimes. Everywhere is so far away from here it seems, so expensive to travel. I know some of the places I would ideally like to go would be places those who are likely to travel with me might not enjoy, or the fact that I am American might even make those places dangerous.
I want to see what its like in the rain forests of south America. I want to visit ruins of ancient cultures in central America. I want to scuba dive through a shipwreck, heck I just want to scuba dive anywhere. I want to fly a plane, I want to fly an ultralight and hang glide. I want to climb a mountain, then base jump off of it. I want to explore huge caverns and caves, deep into the earth. I want to sail a boat. I want to see Alaska. I want to travel through Europe, touring old castles and finding little towns and sampling their food/beverages. I want to stand on the beaches of Normandy, stand in the field at Thermopylae, touch the stones at Stonehenge. Have a cup of coffee in Columbia and watch a game show in Japan. All of these things, I’ll never do. Some of them perhaps, but not all and that makes me sad still.
Maybe its just wanderlust, maybe somewhere in my family’s history we were a part of some nomadic tribe of some sort. I love Iowa, but I’ve been here for so long its starting to run out of adventures. I often wonder what it would be like if I just dropped everything and left. Just dropped off the grid so to speak, leave all my stuff behind except for one thing, I’d either spend whatever money I had or sold enough stuff to get a rugged laptop and a few bits of durable travel gear to document my travels. Just go out and walk, hitch or buy crappy cars with cash and drive them till they died (then donate them to the kidney foundation so they don’t just sit where I leave ‘em). I’d take whatever jobs I can get to eat/sleep. I’d join up w/ fishing crews or somesuch near the coasts. When I want to leave the country I’d try to get hired on a merchant vessel of some sort that makes trans-Atlantic trips. I know I’m romanticizing it a lot, but hey its just a thought experiment. I know there are many hardships with that lifestyle, and who knows if I’d be able to overcome them.
It doesn’t matter anyway, I’d never leave like that. I wouldn’t be able to leave Mrs. Kimpak, ever, for any reason. She could of course come along though *wink*. Maybe I just have cabin fever too, I hate winter because I can’t be outside as much. And this time of year is the worst, its when we’re past the middle and getting closer to spring that I start wishing I could go camping. The woods is where I feel the most comfortable, I’m fortunate to be able to live out in the country as I do.
Thursday, January 22, 2009
Windows version stupid
Windows 7
Well I just read a review of it and it does seem to be exactly what I thought it would be, Windows Vista w/ a new label. What I mean by that is, its basically Vista, but with a new name, better pr and enough changes to make it feel ‘different’. Its going to absolutely work spectacularly for Microsoft because people, in general, are stupid. There was nothing wrong with Vista to begin with except for a short list of annoyances, most of which can be disabled if you bother to take the 5 seconds to do it. But I’ve blogged about that before. Anyways, windows 7 is going to look like Vista, its going to have the same system requirements as Vista, I have a sneaking suspicion that the vast majority of its code is Vista’s. What I’m trying to say is, if it looks like an orange and smells like an orange and tastes like an orange….its an orange. But, people being people, are going to see it as something completely different, they will look at the orange and because the media says it’s a pineapple and pineapples are awesome, they will think it’s a pineapple.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not bashing Win7, aside from being miffed about having to buy a new OS so soon I’m sure its going to be a good OS. I thought Vista was a good OS though. Some things about 7 I like is faster boot and shutdown times. I’ve compensated for that in Vista by hibernating my computer rather than shutting it down, and restarting every few days. Its also a little easier on how much RAM it uses, which wasn’t a problem for my 8gb DDR2 but its still nice. They nerfed UAC so it doesn’t pop up with as many “are you sure” style warnings but its not eliminated. I’m sure I’ll just disable the whole thing like I do in Vista. Some things I don’t like though are the fact that it doesn’t come bundled with a basic email browser or address book, you have to download those. So those of you who are reading this and work where I do, good luck explaining that to our customers when they just bought a new computer and can’t figure out how to check their email. Another potential point of concern is the fact that the ‘My pictures’, ‘My Music’ etc, are being redone so clicking on that folder will show all pictures, or all music across the whole network no matter what folder or computer its actually on. For some people this can be very confusing if they don’t know where exactly they are saving their files and want to back them up.
So at the end of the day, again its just Vista with enough differences to make it feel different, coupled with the fact that the media is already raving about it, I’m sure its going to make tons of money for Microsoft who barely has to lift a finger to rehash its current OS. Another factor in its success is three more years have elapsed so there are more, newer, computers out there that actually have decent enough specs to be able to run a new OS. My gripe is not with Microsoft, but with the people who blindly follow whatever the media tells them instead of learning for themselves. I think the Mojave experiment put a fine point on that.
Well I just read a review of it and it does seem to be exactly what I thought it would be, Windows Vista w/ a new label. What I mean by that is, its basically Vista, but with a new name, better pr and enough changes to make it feel ‘different’. Its going to absolutely work spectacularly for Microsoft because people, in general, are stupid. There was nothing wrong with Vista to begin with except for a short list of annoyances, most of which can be disabled if you bother to take the 5 seconds to do it. But I’ve blogged about that before. Anyways, windows 7 is going to look like Vista, its going to have the same system requirements as Vista, I have a sneaking suspicion that the vast majority of its code is Vista’s. What I’m trying to say is, if it looks like an orange and smells like an orange and tastes like an orange….its an orange. But, people being people, are going to see it as something completely different, they will look at the orange and because the media says it’s a pineapple and pineapples are awesome, they will think it’s a pineapple.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not bashing Win7, aside from being miffed about having to buy a new OS so soon I’m sure its going to be a good OS. I thought Vista was a good OS though. Some things about 7 I like is faster boot and shutdown times. I’ve compensated for that in Vista by hibernating my computer rather than shutting it down, and restarting every few days. Its also a little easier on how much RAM it uses, which wasn’t a problem for my 8gb DDR2 but its still nice. They nerfed UAC so it doesn’t pop up with as many “are you sure” style warnings but its not eliminated. I’m sure I’ll just disable the whole thing like I do in Vista. Some things I don’t like though are the fact that it doesn’t come bundled with a basic email browser or address book, you have to download those. So those of you who are reading this and work where I do, good luck explaining that to our customers when they just bought a new computer and can’t figure out how to check their email. Another potential point of concern is the fact that the ‘My pictures’, ‘My Music’ etc, are being redone so clicking on that folder will show all pictures, or all music across the whole network no matter what folder or computer its actually on. For some people this can be very confusing if they don’t know where exactly they are saving their files and want to back them up.
So at the end of the day, again its just Vista with enough differences to make it feel different, coupled with the fact that the media is already raving about it, I’m sure its going to make tons of money for Microsoft who barely has to lift a finger to rehash its current OS. Another factor in its success is three more years have elapsed so there are more, newer, computers out there that actually have decent enough specs to be able to run a new OS. My gripe is not with Microsoft, but with the people who blindly follow whatever the media tells them instead of learning for themselves. I think the Mojave experiment put a fine point on that.
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
The Art of War
Bonus blog today, since my last one is an emo whine. Of course for some of you this might be just as boreing, sorry. Israel and Palestine. In case you have been living with your head stuck in the sand, they have been fighting over a tiny patch of land (among other things) called the Gaza Strip. This 493 square kilometer patch of land is surrounded on two sides by Israel and Egypt to the south, has been the center of contention every since the boarders were established in 1947 after the war. Israel occupied the land from 1967 – 1994. Israel still controls its airspace, most of its boarders and its ports. So in other words Israel controls what can legitimately come in and out of the country.
You can see where this might be a bit of a problem for those who live in Gaza. They democratically elected a régime called Hamas. Hamas, are not nice people, they resent Israel for pretty much everything, and thus begin lobbing rockets into Israel, pretty much at random. Israel struck back at one point with bombing runs carried out by their elite air force. The international community of course disagreed with Israel’s actions and called for a cease fire, which Israel complied with. Hamas, however only used this time as a lull in the action to re-arm and resume lobbing rockets.
Now here we are again, Israel says enough is enough and proceeds to bomb the shit out of Gaza Strip. This time when cries for a cease fire come, Israel says “No, tough cookies. We’re not going to fall for that one again”, and continues its assault today, now with ground troops as well as air.
So, now that we’re all on the same page, is Israel in the right? At first I was all for Israel kicking ass. If it was my country I would do much the same, especially when diplomacy has failed before. One other thing I’d like to set straight here, what the media reports is hundreds of civilian deaths, or “Gasp, Israel bombed a school”. Well they fail to mention that Hamas was firing rockets from that school, or hospital or wherever. How do you fight an enemy like that? One who would use human shields as not only protection but for PR and propaganda?
Anyway, now I’m conflicted. The casualties for Gaza are stacking up, and it appears that Israel is once again going to occupy the land again. Also, I heard an interview with a Palestinian on a local talk show here in DM and heard her side of the story. Its compelling, and chilling. Hamas was voted in because in part the populace wanted a change…they wanted hope. Sound familiar? It sounds a lot like a certain president elect, I have a feeling a lot of people voted for the guy just because they thought he would be different, not because they actually bothered to check into his policies or political views. But that’s for another blog. The point is, I now feel Israel is close or even crossing the line of reasonable retaliation. I do feel for the people of the Gaza strip, most of which are people like you and I that just want to get up and go to work and not have to worry about an air raid. But Hamas is just as defiant, even with tanks on their doorstep they refuse to negotiate. To make matters worse rockets are now being fired into Israel from Libya, possibly opening up another front.
What a clusterfark. Israel is our ally too, if they go to all out war we are bound to do something to help. If you thought Iraq was bad, this would be worse. I’m convinced there can be no peace in the Middle East. There is a high enough percentage of so-called radicals who fanatically believe in their religion and thus there is nothing short of genocide we can do to quell that. So, what does one do when there is no way to win?
You can see where this might be a bit of a problem for those who live in Gaza. They democratically elected a régime called Hamas. Hamas, are not nice people, they resent Israel for pretty much everything, and thus begin lobbing rockets into Israel, pretty much at random. Israel struck back at one point with bombing runs carried out by their elite air force. The international community of course disagreed with Israel’s actions and called for a cease fire, which Israel complied with. Hamas, however only used this time as a lull in the action to re-arm and resume lobbing rockets.
Now here we are again, Israel says enough is enough and proceeds to bomb the shit out of Gaza Strip. This time when cries for a cease fire come, Israel says “No, tough cookies. We’re not going to fall for that one again”, and continues its assault today, now with ground troops as well as air.
So, now that we’re all on the same page, is Israel in the right? At first I was all for Israel kicking ass. If it was my country I would do much the same, especially when diplomacy has failed before. One other thing I’d like to set straight here, what the media reports is hundreds of civilian deaths, or “Gasp, Israel bombed a school”. Well they fail to mention that Hamas was firing rockets from that school, or hospital or wherever. How do you fight an enemy like that? One who would use human shields as not only protection but for PR and propaganda?
Anyway, now I’m conflicted. The casualties for Gaza are stacking up, and it appears that Israel is once again going to occupy the land again. Also, I heard an interview with a Palestinian on a local talk show here in DM and heard her side of the story. Its compelling, and chilling. Hamas was voted in because in part the populace wanted a change…they wanted hope. Sound familiar? It sounds a lot like a certain president elect, I have a feeling a lot of people voted for the guy just because they thought he would be different, not because they actually bothered to check into his policies or political views. But that’s for another blog. The point is, I now feel Israel is close or even crossing the line of reasonable retaliation. I do feel for the people of the Gaza strip, most of which are people like you and I that just want to get up and go to work and not have to worry about an air raid. But Hamas is just as defiant, even with tanks on their doorstep they refuse to negotiate. To make matters worse rockets are now being fired into Israel from Libya, possibly opening up another front.
What a clusterfark. Israel is our ally too, if they go to all out war we are bound to do something to help. If you thought Iraq was bad, this would be worse. I’m convinced there can be no peace in the Middle East. There is a high enough percentage of so-called radicals who fanatically believe in their religion and thus there is nothing short of genocide we can do to quell that. So, what does one do when there is no way to win?
Dwelling on the past…
I know I shouldn’t, and I don’t know why I do. But, have you ever had that one thing in your past that you keep going back to, maybe even a whole chapter in your life? Well I do. Most of the time I don’t think about it, most of the time its just there in the back of my mind; but every once in awhile it jumps out and the feelings are as fresh as if it happened yesterday.
Forgive me for being vague, but this is after all the interwebz and I don’t want to hurt any parties involved but those who know me, I’m sure can guess. Anyway, what does one do when this happens? Especially for one such as me who has such a vivid imagination and 100% memory recall for things that happened in the distant past (just don’t ask me what happened yesterday, lol). I keep telling myself that life is good right now, I have everything a person could hope for in life…so why can’t I forget. Why can’t I let things go that happened so long ago?
Mrs. Kimpak may not understand what is going on, but I know she knows that there is something wrong when I get into one of these moods. That makes me feel even worse sometimes. I know she is always there for me though, even when I’m acting like an idiot.
When you ask the question, “If you could change something that happened in your past, would you do it”? Most people say no, they’d leave it exactly the same. I think differently, I think there are some things in my past I would certainly change if I knew then what I know now. It may change how I am today, but it might be for the better. But since time travel isn’t available to the general public yet, it looks like I’ll have to make do with who I am currently.
Well, I apologize for this being mostly an emo whine blog, but its been somewhat thereputic.
Forgive me for being vague, but this is after all the interwebz and I don’t want to hurt any parties involved but those who know me, I’m sure can guess. Anyway, what does one do when this happens? Especially for one such as me who has such a vivid imagination and 100% memory recall for things that happened in the distant past (just don’t ask me what happened yesterday, lol). I keep telling myself that life is good right now, I have everything a person could hope for in life…so why can’t I forget. Why can’t I let things go that happened so long ago?
Mrs. Kimpak may not understand what is going on, but I know she knows that there is something wrong when I get into one of these moods. That makes me feel even worse sometimes. I know she is always there for me though, even when I’m acting like an idiot.
When you ask the question, “If you could change something that happened in your past, would you do it”? Most people say no, they’d leave it exactly the same. I think differently, I think there are some things in my past I would certainly change if I knew then what I know now. It may change how I am today, but it might be for the better. But since time travel isn’t available to the general public yet, it looks like I’ll have to make do with who I am currently.
Well, I apologize for this being mostly an emo whine blog, but its been somewhat thereputic.
Friday, January 9, 2009
DTV Conversion Idiocy
Obama is calling for a postponement of the February deadline for the DTV conversion. In my opinion this is retarded. The reason being is that the government ran out of money to hand out the $40 coupons for people to buy a converter box.
I say tough luck, go buy one on your own or go read a book. I mean come on people, we’ve only been hearing about it every commercial break for over a year and now that its getting down to the wire people are applying in droves. A lot of people are getting them even if they don’t need one…just in case. And why shouldn’t they? If the gov wants to give me something free I’m going to take it. So we got 2 of the coupons and two boxes even though we only really needed one.
I think its funney how the media and the government is so concerned that people might miss the deadline and not be able to watch their tv. They make it sound like TV is as important as eating and sleeping. The boxes are not that expensive $40 for a cheap one that is still fairly decent. So I say go out and buy your own if its that goddamned important. The antenna to receive the channels in the first place had to of cost more, should the gov start handing out coupons for antennas or rabbit ears?
So in short, if you were too lazy to get a discount government coupon then buy your own box or STFU.
P.S. Get off my lawn
I say tough luck, go buy one on your own or go read a book. I mean come on people, we’ve only been hearing about it every commercial break for over a year and now that its getting down to the wire people are applying in droves. A lot of people are getting them even if they don’t need one…just in case. And why shouldn’t they? If the gov wants to give me something free I’m going to take it. So we got 2 of the coupons and two boxes even though we only really needed one.
I think its funney how the media and the government is so concerned that people might miss the deadline and not be able to watch their tv. They make it sound like TV is as important as eating and sleeping. The boxes are not that expensive $40 for a cheap one that is still fairly decent. So I say go out and buy your own if its that goddamned important. The antenna to receive the channels in the first place had to of cost more, should the gov start handing out coupons for antennas or rabbit ears?
So in short, if you were too lazy to get a discount government coupon then buy your own box or STFU.
P.S. Get off my lawn
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
I <3 you!
Well I haven’t had an update for awhile; I know I've been lazy.
Anywhoo now I have a plethora of things to blog about so let’s get
started.
Relationships. I'm no expert but I've been around the block a
few times and have been through a whole heap of poo. I'm not
talking about just boy meets girl relationships but all
relationships including friendships. They're harder than you
think. Here’s some of the wisdom I've collected thus far.
With regards to friendships. First, they are hard. One of my
favorite quotes is "An enemy proves himself once but a friend
must prove himself time and time again". Which basically means its
much harder to be a friend than an enemy. Its hard because when
it comes to times of stress a friend needs to put his own affairs
aside to come to the aid of his friend in need. But here’s the
rub, what happens if the friend doesn't reciprocate? Or what
happens if you're own worries cloud your ability to help others
with theirs? That’s where a friendship can break down, when one is
blinded by their own cares and cannot see beyond them to help.
That can lead to a breakdown in communication, especially if both
sides fail to see the others needs. That’s true also of a romantic
relationship. Sometimes we get too hung up in our own world and
cannot see that which is happening around us.
Don't get me wrong though, I'm not trying to say you should give
all to others and forget about yourself. This is where a true
friendship can be the strongest. You have to be able to trust
that your friend will, in turn, help you out in your time of
need. We can't take the world on our shoulders no matter how
strong we think we might be. Coming from personal experience,
once upon a time I tried to take the world on my shoulders and
ended up being destroyed by it. A balance must be achieved.
I hesitate somewhat to write on this particular point because I
know its somewhat targeted at two of my greatest friends. You
know who you are, and if you are reading this please don't take
it the wrong way, but feel free to punch me in the face if I've
overstepped my bounds.
Anyway, my next point is on the specific relationship that is the
roommate. The position of roommate first of all, in my opinion, is
a very honored position. It means the others you live with trust
you enough to share a living space with you, they entrust you to
protect and maintain it; and you in turn trust them with the
same. That being said, living with someone is always hard
because everyone lives their lives differently. Its the little
details of life that can become a huge point of contention, a
seemingly little thing such as washing dishes can become
magnified overtime to be a huge issue. This is where compromise
comes into play. One must accept, within reason, how the other
lives their live and not try to change that. Its important that
all parties recognize all the others in turn and their
lifestyles, however different or alien it may be to the way you
like to live your own. I'm a big fan of establishing a chore
list as well as an unwritten agreement to do general things that
need to be done. The biggest thing though is communication.
Take the dishes for example. Bob doesn't do the dishes because
he doesn't care if they stack for awhile, so Bill does them. No
big deal. Another couple of days goes by and Bob slacks off
again and Bill does them again, a little irritated but no big
deal. Rinse and repeat (pun intended) and suddenly Bill is
pissed off about, what is essentially a small thing. If the
situation was address when it was first encountered or at least
in the stage of minor irritation, the whole situation can be
avoided assuming that Bob is a good person, bites the bullet and
completes his end of the deal. Also, don't be afraid to accept
criticism, whether you feel you deserve it or not. The point is,
open dialog w/o fear of a huge fight is very important, so the
fires can be put out before they burn the friendships down.
Well, if I still have any friends left after reading that whole
paragraph we can move on to romantic relationships and pick off
the survivors of the last paragraph.
Romantic relationships are the hardest of all because you stand
to lose the most if one fails. At least that’s how it is to me.
They are potentially the hardest to maintain because of the
deeper involvement in each others lives. I'll start with how I
see relationships between people, and you're going to think I'm
weird or have been watching too much sci fi but I tell you the
honest truth. I see, lines or tendrils that sort of emanate from
a person, their different colors for different people, but I'm
not sure what that means yet. Anyway, these lines intersect with
those they come in contact with, and when in some kind of
relationship they touch and entwine with the lines of the other.
When I look at a couple standing near each other I can see these
tendrils deeply entwined. What that means is, if that particular
relationship fails, the violence of ripping those lines out is
going to hurt a lot because they run so deep. All of the things
I said of roommates and friendships also obviously apply to a
relationship with a loved one, but are even more important. In
addition to them you also have to deal w/ the differences in how
a man and a woman perceives the world differently. I don't
truly understand women, lol but I'll take a stab at attempting.
You're going to have to give me a bit of leeway here because I'm
going to make some generalizations, these obviously do not apply
to each individual but does hold true on average (at least in my
observations). Guys, generally assume all is well unless
otherwise noted. So, any girls who are reading this if there is
some problem you see that is so obvious to you no matter how many
little hints you drop, your guy isn't going to get it. Just tell
him what’s wrong, its not going to necisicarily start a fight, and
even if it does you're still going to be the better for it. This
seems to be the number one discrepancy between men and women that
I have seen in my 27 years here. Now, guys to reciprocate here
you need to actually look for those little hints and hopefully
pick up on that if your S.O. doesn't bite the bullet and just
tell you, you might have to ask what’s going on. Ladies, at this
point don't shut down the conversation, open up and just say
what’s going on.
Ok, now there’s the sticky situation of 'alone time'. In every
relationship this is going to become a problem of varying
degrees. I've been in relationships where my girl wanted to be
with me literally 24/7, when we weren't together she was calling
me 40+ times a day. This drove me batshit crazy, that’s way too
much. On the other hand, I've seen relationships that the couple barely wanted to be together, this is also unacceptable. A medium must be reached, and this is going to be different with everybody. Everybody is going to have their hobbies and
distractions they had before they were in a relationship and are
going to want to continue that, and it may be something that
their S.O. can't participate in. Be it playing single player
video games, or a game that you just don't like or perhaps
knitting or artwork or whatever it is you have to set aside time,
perhaps a whole day or more where you can go and do your own
thing. Now, on the flipside, you can't do those things too much
or it will hurt the relationship. Remember friends, World of
Warcrack destroys lives!
Ok, if you haven’t gotten pissed off at me in one of the paragraphs, you're now likely to die of old age from reading all
the way through, so I should quit now while I can. To sum up
this whole blog post though, communication is the most precious
and essential thing to any relationship, be it a simple
friendship all the way up to a loving relationship its the
single most important thing you can master. With any luck,
you'll be able to spend your lifetime improving that
communication with them.
Anywhoo now I have a plethora of things to blog about so let’s get
started.
Relationships. I'm no expert but I've been around the block a
few times and have been through a whole heap of poo. I'm not
talking about just boy meets girl relationships but all
relationships including friendships. They're harder than you
think. Here’s some of the wisdom I've collected thus far.
With regards to friendships. First, they are hard. One of my
favorite quotes is "An enemy proves himself once but a friend
must prove himself time and time again". Which basically means its
much harder to be a friend than an enemy. Its hard because when
it comes to times of stress a friend needs to put his own affairs
aside to come to the aid of his friend in need. But here’s the
rub, what happens if the friend doesn't reciprocate? Or what
happens if you're own worries cloud your ability to help others
with theirs? That’s where a friendship can break down, when one is
blinded by their own cares and cannot see beyond them to help.
That can lead to a breakdown in communication, especially if both
sides fail to see the others needs. That’s true also of a romantic
relationship. Sometimes we get too hung up in our own world and
cannot see that which is happening around us.
Don't get me wrong though, I'm not trying to say you should give
all to others and forget about yourself. This is where a true
friendship can be the strongest. You have to be able to trust
that your friend will, in turn, help you out in your time of
need. We can't take the world on our shoulders no matter how
strong we think we might be. Coming from personal experience,
once upon a time I tried to take the world on my shoulders and
ended up being destroyed by it. A balance must be achieved.
I hesitate somewhat to write on this particular point because I
know its somewhat targeted at two of my greatest friends. You
know who you are, and if you are reading this please don't take
it the wrong way, but feel free to punch me in the face if I've
overstepped my bounds.
Anyway, my next point is on the specific relationship that is the
roommate. The position of roommate first of all, in my opinion, is
a very honored position. It means the others you live with trust
you enough to share a living space with you, they entrust you to
protect and maintain it; and you in turn trust them with the
same. That being said, living with someone is always hard
because everyone lives their lives differently. Its the little
details of life that can become a huge point of contention, a
seemingly little thing such as washing dishes can become
magnified overtime to be a huge issue. This is where compromise
comes into play. One must accept, within reason, how the other
lives their live and not try to change that. Its important that
all parties recognize all the others in turn and their
lifestyles, however different or alien it may be to the way you
like to live your own. I'm a big fan of establishing a chore
list as well as an unwritten agreement to do general things that
need to be done. The biggest thing though is communication.
Take the dishes for example. Bob doesn't do the dishes because
he doesn't care if they stack for awhile, so Bill does them. No
big deal. Another couple of days goes by and Bob slacks off
again and Bill does them again, a little irritated but no big
deal. Rinse and repeat (pun intended) and suddenly Bill is
pissed off about, what is essentially a small thing. If the
situation was address when it was first encountered or at least
in the stage of minor irritation, the whole situation can be
avoided assuming that Bob is a good person, bites the bullet and
completes his end of the deal. Also, don't be afraid to accept
criticism, whether you feel you deserve it or not. The point is,
open dialog w/o fear of a huge fight is very important, so the
fires can be put out before they burn the friendships down.
Well, if I still have any friends left after reading that whole
paragraph we can move on to romantic relationships and pick off
the survivors of the last paragraph.
Romantic relationships are the hardest of all because you stand
to lose the most if one fails. At least that’s how it is to me.
They are potentially the hardest to maintain because of the
deeper involvement in each others lives. I'll start with how I
see relationships between people, and you're going to think I'm
weird or have been watching too much sci fi but I tell you the
honest truth. I see, lines or tendrils that sort of emanate from
a person, their different colors for different people, but I'm
not sure what that means yet. Anyway, these lines intersect with
those they come in contact with, and when in some kind of
relationship they touch and entwine with the lines of the other.
When I look at a couple standing near each other I can see these
tendrils deeply entwined. What that means is, if that particular
relationship fails, the violence of ripping those lines out is
going to hurt a lot because they run so deep. All of the things
I said of roommates and friendships also obviously apply to a
relationship with a loved one, but are even more important. In
addition to them you also have to deal w/ the differences in how
a man and a woman perceives the world differently. I don't
truly understand women, lol but I'll take a stab at attempting.
You're going to have to give me a bit of leeway here because I'm
going to make some generalizations, these obviously do not apply
to each individual but does hold true on average (at least in my
observations). Guys, generally assume all is well unless
otherwise noted. So, any girls who are reading this if there is
some problem you see that is so obvious to you no matter how many
little hints you drop, your guy isn't going to get it. Just tell
him what’s wrong, its not going to necisicarily start a fight, and
even if it does you're still going to be the better for it. This
seems to be the number one discrepancy between men and women that
I have seen in my 27 years here. Now, guys to reciprocate here
you need to actually look for those little hints and hopefully
pick up on that if your S.O. doesn't bite the bullet and just
tell you, you might have to ask what’s going on. Ladies, at this
point don't shut down the conversation, open up and just say
what’s going on.
Ok, now there’s the sticky situation of 'alone time'. In every
relationship this is going to become a problem of varying
degrees. I've been in relationships where my girl wanted to be
with me literally 24/7, when we weren't together she was calling
me 40+ times a day. This drove me batshit crazy, that’s way too
much. On the other hand, I've seen relationships that the couple barely wanted to be together, this is also unacceptable. A medium must be reached, and this is going to be different with everybody. Everybody is going to have their hobbies and
distractions they had before they were in a relationship and are
going to want to continue that, and it may be something that
their S.O. can't participate in. Be it playing single player
video games, or a game that you just don't like or perhaps
knitting or artwork or whatever it is you have to set aside time,
perhaps a whole day or more where you can go and do your own
thing. Now, on the flipside, you can't do those things too much
or it will hurt the relationship. Remember friends, World of
Warcrack destroys lives!
Ok, if you haven’t gotten pissed off at me in one of the paragraphs, you're now likely to die of old age from reading all
the way through, so I should quit now while I can. To sum up
this whole blog post though, communication is the most precious
and essential thing to any relationship, be it a simple
friendship all the way up to a loving relationship its the
single most important thing you can master. With any luck,
you'll be able to spend your lifetime improving that
communication with them.
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