Shrinks have had their theories on this, none of which help me cope with civilization. I'm at my very best, or have been in the past, when something like a hurricane hits.
I am good at preparing with minimal materials, and when the traffic lights go blowing down, streets are largely impassible, power is out, and all that, I am at my sharpest. Not sure why.
Maybe it is the leveling effect when everyone is having to work things out without the usual outside resources. It all gets down to the basics. The powerful and wealthy can't travel that road any more than anyone else. Problems that need solving arise, and I never felt so much energy as the last time I was in that circumstance. It puts most people into a sort of shock, but it makes me clear headed, energetic, and, I suppose, helpful.
After all, the City of Miami did give me a certificate of appreciation. I still don't know why. I have made up stories like how I saved babies who were drowning in the bay in the middle of the storm, and stuff like that. I was too busy to remember.
My car was blocked in by a downed tree which just barely touched the bumper, so I got on a bicycle and made my way around to deal with problems of friends and relatives. I guess I felt in control. In immediate storm aftermath the only rule is shoot looters and dump the body down the street. I soon had the tree out of the way, but I accomplished plenty on the bike. It was better than trying it by car for a day or two. Roads were bad. I got medicine for people, gave a cop the real story of what happened in a traffic dispute I witnessed. Cut a tree up so emergency vehicle could get through. Gave the national guard some 2 cycle gas mix, just a peddling fool back and forth.
So, for awhile, I lived by my wits and my rules, and had no confusion. As soon as things go back to normal, I am again less confident and far less enthused about my purpose and life on this planet. Too bad I can't see man-made societal structures and institutions as forces of nature like a storm, or as things that just are, like trees in the road--deal with it accordingly--but I can't seem to do it.
I wish I was up in Bobbyland or on the Outer Banks to help prepare, and help in the aftermath.
People with front loaders and stuff will show up from Georgia and all over. Many will be ripping people off, charging a fortune to remove a stump and doing bad work. People in aftershock feel compelled to say yes to the first charlatan who offers to fix something. I hope the storm people will be patient and resist the temptation.
The big ass storms take a long time to clean up. One place can take a month. You figure an acre full of tropical trees like mango, plus oak and all these other large tropical things I can't name, can be a hell of a task. Especially since you have the house in the way of any easy path. All that stuff gets cut into smaller stackable pieces and you make a ten foot high by hundred foot long stack at the road's edge. Maybe 15 feet deep. And you try not to wreck what survives of the sprinkler system while you are at it.
The saddest aftermath thing is to watch, like I did, a lady pull a perfectly good couch out the front door and hose it down and throw dirt on it, put it back in the house and break a window pane so she could get insurance money.
Thursday, August 25, 2011
If a Hurricane Is Headed Your Way
Number one, do NOT hole up with a bunch of people and throw a drunken hurricane party. That only works when no one decides to drive drunk in the storm, climb a tree to experience the full ambiance of the occasion, or use fire as a means of illumination if the power goes out. It only works if you aren't getting that much of the brunt of the thing.
A powerful hurricane blowing through the 'hood is not reason for celebration. Being on top of things is, but not drunken celebration. Of course I have little tolerance for drunks anyway. Reminds me of dark days in the past, and I hate the flow of conversations and emotional dynamics.
The last thing you want if trees come through the roof or sticks break windows is to be in the middle of a bunch of drunks. If you've done your best to batten down the hatches, taken measures to secure the property, planned for power outage and possible flooding by having ample light sources, exit plans, easy food, plenty of water and all that, then just relax and slow your system down. You can't change it by constantly expecting some earth shattering info from the weather channel in the middle of the fray. They said the hurricane was here 30 secs ago, and it still is--look outside.
Don't expect light trailers, flower pots and anything with significant surface area to stay put on its own. Stow those things inside that will fit, and tie those other babies down. If you have trees that could go onto the house, depending on size and such you can tie them off to one another in order to influence the trajectory of their fall. I've done it and it works, but you have to think and look at it for awhile. It usually takes tying up high in one and down low in the other.
I can't stress the tying down of things like camper trailers enough. When Hurricane Andrew was about to hit southwest Miami I helped a guy tie a camper down. He was more in a hurry than I was and it was his so I did it his way. The early gales were blowing in and it started to work on me. I went back and tied it the way I thought would work--overkill in his mind. I finished when things were getting way to dicey to hang outdoors. Within the hour the first tree in their yard blew down. I was trying to sleep. My girlfriend comes in all aghast, "John, a tree blew down!!"
Did it come through the roof or in the house?
"No"
So, do you want me to go outside and put it back up? This is not a thing I need to know right now. By morning there will be more trees down.
By the time it was all over it was clearly evident that the only thing that kept that camper from blowing into the house were the extra lines I added. Do not think in terms of the least in such cases. You never regret over engineering such things.
Having experienced many major hurricanes growing up, and being responsible for major cleanup since age 9, and because I like to give advice, I thought I'd offer this public service announcement. It is certainly of more value than telling you that taking the stairs rather than the elevator burns more calories. Seriously, if you have to be told that you are probably a burden on society and everyone around you. Why would I want to prolong your life? Boy I am mean.
Oh, and do not assume government agencies will take care of you and that they are there to think for you. Use your own head and if the water is getting high, start figuring ways to get out of it. And for God's sake don't claim you wanted to evacuate but no one (meaning government agency) showed up to give you a ride. In other words, do the opposite of almost everything the press showed people doing during Hurricane Katrina.
Unless I lived in a really flimsy house, about the only reason I'd evacuate is if there was strong change of a serious storm surge which would put me under water. Or if I had a helicopter. If you do have a helicoptor and it is not parked in a very solid hangar, I suggest flying it out of there asap.
I'm hoping for the best for all areas in the path. Bizarre that I was just out there on that side view window of North Carolina, Ocracoke Island, and my buddy Joel was saying that the way they've built up some of the outer banks they are fried if the big one hits. So, there we are.
People will be in shock that three story stick houses on tiny islands in the Atlantic suffer greatly when hurricanes hit. They are shocked every time it happens, and it happens a lot. They'll probably come back with four story stick houses.
A powerful hurricane blowing through the 'hood is not reason for celebration. Being on top of things is, but not drunken celebration. Of course I have little tolerance for drunks anyway. Reminds me of dark days in the past, and I hate the flow of conversations and emotional dynamics.
The last thing you want if trees come through the roof or sticks break windows is to be in the middle of a bunch of drunks. If you've done your best to batten down the hatches, taken measures to secure the property, planned for power outage and possible flooding by having ample light sources, exit plans, easy food, plenty of water and all that, then just relax and slow your system down. You can't change it by constantly expecting some earth shattering info from the weather channel in the middle of the fray. They said the hurricane was here 30 secs ago, and it still is--look outside.
Don't expect light trailers, flower pots and anything with significant surface area to stay put on its own. Stow those things inside that will fit, and tie those other babies down. If you have trees that could go onto the house, depending on size and such you can tie them off to one another in order to influence the trajectory of their fall. I've done it and it works, but you have to think and look at it for awhile. It usually takes tying up high in one and down low in the other.
I can't stress the tying down of things like camper trailers enough. When Hurricane Andrew was about to hit southwest Miami I helped a guy tie a camper down. He was more in a hurry than I was and it was his so I did it his way. The early gales were blowing in and it started to work on me. I went back and tied it the way I thought would work--overkill in his mind. I finished when things were getting way to dicey to hang outdoors. Within the hour the first tree in their yard blew down. I was trying to sleep. My girlfriend comes in all aghast, "John, a tree blew down!!"
Did it come through the roof or in the house?
"No"
So, do you want me to go outside and put it back up? This is not a thing I need to know right now. By morning there will be more trees down.
By the time it was all over it was clearly evident that the only thing that kept that camper from blowing into the house were the extra lines I added. Do not think in terms of the least in such cases. You never regret over engineering such things.
Having experienced many major hurricanes growing up, and being responsible for major cleanup since age 9, and because I like to give advice, I thought I'd offer this public service announcement. It is certainly of more value than telling you that taking the stairs rather than the elevator burns more calories. Seriously, if you have to be told that you are probably a burden on society and everyone around you. Why would I want to prolong your life? Boy I am mean.
Oh, and do not assume government agencies will take care of you and that they are there to think for you. Use your own head and if the water is getting high, start figuring ways to get out of it. And for God's sake don't claim you wanted to evacuate but no one (meaning government agency) showed up to give you a ride. In other words, do the opposite of almost everything the press showed people doing during Hurricane Katrina.
Unless I lived in a really flimsy house, about the only reason I'd evacuate is if there was strong change of a serious storm surge which would put me under water. Or if I had a helicopter. If you do have a helicoptor and it is not parked in a very solid hangar, I suggest flying it out of there asap.
I'm hoping for the best for all areas in the path. Bizarre that I was just out there on that side view window of North Carolina, Ocracoke Island, and my buddy Joel was saying that the way they've built up some of the outer banks they are fried if the big one hits. So, there we are.
People will be in shock that three story stick houses on tiny islands in the Atlantic suffer greatly when hurricanes hit. They are shocked every time it happens, and it happens a lot. They'll probably come back with four story stick houses.
Once Upon a Time in Tallahassee
I went to FSU for two reasons; they accepted me by about Halloween of my senior year of high school and I was too lazy to jump through the hoops where I should have gone, and if I did not go right into college I would have no student deferment from the DRAFT (truly a dirty word in this context). Could have been 1 2 3 what are we fightin 4, don't know, don't give a damn, next stop is Viet Nam. Many of my friends and acquaintances went. Many got injured and a few never came back alive. I wasn't a protestor. For one thing I never hated the military just because they had short hair.
The period of time in question was the hippie era. Contrary to what you hear, the seeds may have been planted in the earlier 60's but it did not catch on big time until late 60's through early 70's.
No free country should have a draft, and no free country should enter a "limited police action" in which people can get hurt, go crazy, and lots of money is wasted. Thank you to all those who made Korea, Vietnam, Bosinia/Kosovo, Iraq, and all the others possible and a way of life. IDIOT BASTARDS.
If we conducted personal home security the way we conduct our "defense", people would be raiding other neighborhoods on the grounds that they are likely thieves and home invaders and if we wait they'll get strong and kick our ass.
Or we might go there because they just don't do things right and it isn't fair to their residents. Who knows
Sorry. This was supposed to be about a stout little Mr Potato Head of a man who was my first engineering professor. He covered the basics to get everyone up to speed on reading engineering drawings and drafting techniques; finding true angles and lengths from drawings of parts and such.
I think his name was E F Kumpe. Dr. Kumpe. Like most of my favorite teachers, he was so distant from pop culture or any thought of being cool, he had no clue what people were talking about if they made reference to even themost well known of things.
Dr Kumpe had a cheerful aspect but it wasn't like a smile in which he was smiling at anyone, but more just an expression of pleasure that most of mechanical engineering fits very neatly into Newtonian physics. He would get an extra twinkle in his eye after explaining something like the concept of a point in space. It is there but takes up no room.
The coolest thing he did--professors could smoke while teaching back then--was to take a huge, prolonged drag off of his Benson and Hedges 100 menthol cigarette, and never visibly exhale any smoke. He hit that thing like it was a big joint. His one drag would burn the cigarette halfway down. Then he'd commence to talking while using a wooden calipers that had chalk in both ends.
He'd walk that sucker all over the board which contained the plan in question, and with increasing rapidness saying, "this distance equals this distance, this distance equals this distance...", and pretty soon it just sounded like he was whistling--sss, ssss, sss, sss.
Oddly, what I learned form him was directly applied to a job I had later on. No one else in that place could find true angles and such on blueprints of exhaust systems for yachts. Well the prints showed the exhaust in the yacht.
The whole last half of this got lost due to connection issues. Here on ballistic mountain, it is no simple matter if you don't have satellite tv.
I'm not going to re-write it, but it was the best entry I've ever done and would have radically changed the world for the better, saving mankind at least 300 years of heartache, trial and error, uncertainty and over-use of helmets.
The period of time in question was the hippie era. Contrary to what you hear, the seeds may have been planted in the earlier 60's but it did not catch on big time until late 60's through early 70's.
No free country should have a draft, and no free country should enter a "limited police action" in which people can get hurt, go crazy, and lots of money is wasted. Thank you to all those who made Korea, Vietnam, Bosinia/Kosovo, Iraq, and all the others possible and a way of life. IDIOT BASTARDS.
If we conducted personal home security the way we conduct our "defense", people would be raiding other neighborhoods on the grounds that they are likely thieves and home invaders and if we wait they'll get strong and kick our ass.
Or we might go there because they just don't do things right and it isn't fair to their residents. Who knows
Sorry. This was supposed to be about a stout little Mr Potato Head of a man who was my first engineering professor. He covered the basics to get everyone up to speed on reading engineering drawings and drafting techniques; finding true angles and lengths from drawings of parts and such.
I think his name was E F Kumpe. Dr. Kumpe. Like most of my favorite teachers, he was so distant from pop culture or any thought of being cool, he had no clue what people were talking about if they made reference to even themost well known of things.
Dr Kumpe had a cheerful aspect but it wasn't like a smile in which he was smiling at anyone, but more just an expression of pleasure that most of mechanical engineering fits very neatly into Newtonian physics. He would get an extra twinkle in his eye after explaining something like the concept of a point in space. It is there but takes up no room.
The coolest thing he did--professors could smoke while teaching back then--was to take a huge, prolonged drag off of his Benson and Hedges 100 menthol cigarette, and never visibly exhale any smoke. He hit that thing like it was a big joint. His one drag would burn the cigarette halfway down. Then he'd commence to talking while using a wooden calipers that had chalk in both ends.
He'd walk that sucker all over the board which contained the plan in question, and with increasing rapidness saying, "this distance equals this distance, this distance equals this distance...", and pretty soon it just sounded like he was whistling--sss, ssss, sss, sss.
Oddly, what I learned form him was directly applied to a job I had later on. No one else in that place could find true angles and such on blueprints of exhaust systems for yachts. Well the prints showed the exhaust in the yacht.
The whole last half of this got lost due to connection issues. Here on ballistic mountain, it is no simple matter if you don't have satellite tv.
I'm not going to re-write it, but it was the best entry I've ever done and would have radically changed the world for the better, saving mankind at least 300 years of heartache, trial and error, uncertainty and over-use of helmets.
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
Ocracoke in Danger Due to Mirror-like Qualities
That's the island on the outer banks which is accessible only by ferry, boat or other means which need no road or bridge.
Now that a hurricane is looming in the distance they are evacuating. No surprise there. What is a surprise is that the Associated Press never ceases to outdo itself in its endless quest to confuse, dumb-down and generally bring incompetence to new levels.
How do AP writers manage to get a job? News language has long been a little different and rife with bizarre and inapplicable metaphor, not to mention that if you were ever close to a story personally, you were aware that the reporting mangled fact and quote---it never fails. It is almost as if they purposely do that, like it is a compulsion.
Anyway, according to AP, here is why Ocracoke and the Outer Banks are particularly vulnerable to hurricanes:
All the barrier islands have the geographic weakness of jutting out into the Atlantic like the side-view mirror of a car, a location that's frequently been in the path of destructive storms over the decades. emphasis mine. Does that mean that the side view mirror of a car is a location "that's frequently been in the path of destructive storms over the decades" ? Well, I suppose that is true if the car was outside or you drive in hurricanes. (I'm not Shakespeare, but this writer really sucks)
Jee Suss H Keeryst!!! The side view mirror of a car? Stick to talking about Florida, Champ. Even you might get that one halfway right.
Yep. I drove over bridges and then took a ferry to the side view mirror of North Carolina.
View Larger Map
See Ocracoke out there to the right of the mainland? (bottom center of map)
Do you see anything that just smacks of side view mirror on a car?
This is the trouble when people live their entire lives in NYC or some such place, and never actually draw the connections between nature and life; like cow=steak, tree=wooden chair, etc. They yearn to be colorful artistic writers of newslike fiction, but they have little reference with which to compare things like islands in the sea. Now they could compare restaurants, subway lines, and things like that.
I'll bet the writer doesn't even drive. He or she probably got nailed by a side view mirror one night, while walking on a crowded sidewalk trying to catch a cab home from Club Spankme. I've bumped into side view mirrors myself, in less urban settings. That was what the writer termed, "an aha! moment". Ever since he/she heard the phrase, aha moment, he/she had been dying to have one so he/she could then say, "and that was my aha moment!". So the old side view mirror had been boiling in that pot on the back burner of it/he/she's mind ever since, just waiting fora chance to come to the fore to clarify a news story. And boy, did it!.
I really want a job with AP. Fact doesn't matter, logic is irrelevant and I can compare anything to anything. It is like sleeping with a dust pan in a gold mine, while stalking the wild grizzly with a grain of salt.
Now that a hurricane is looming in the distance they are evacuating. No surprise there. What is a surprise is that the Associated Press never ceases to outdo itself in its endless quest to confuse, dumb-down and generally bring incompetence to new levels.
How do AP writers manage to get a job? News language has long been a little different and rife with bizarre and inapplicable metaphor, not to mention that if you were ever close to a story personally, you were aware that the reporting mangled fact and quote---it never fails. It is almost as if they purposely do that, like it is a compulsion.
Anyway, according to AP, here is why Ocracoke and the Outer Banks are particularly vulnerable to hurricanes:
All the barrier islands have the geographic weakness of jutting out into the Atlantic like the side-view mirror of a car, a location that's frequently been in the path of destructive storms over the decades. emphasis mine. Does that mean that the side view mirror of a car is a location "that's frequently been in the path of destructive storms over the decades" ? Well, I suppose that is true if the car was outside or you drive in hurricanes. (I'm not Shakespeare, but this writer really sucks)
Jee Suss H Keeryst!!! The side view mirror of a car? Stick to talking about Florida, Champ. Even you might get that one halfway right.
Yep. I drove over bridges and then took a ferry to the side view mirror of North Carolina.
View Larger Map
See Ocracoke out there to the right of the mainland? (bottom center of map)
Do you see anything that just smacks of side view mirror on a car?
This is the trouble when people live their entire lives in NYC or some such place, and never actually draw the connections between nature and life; like cow=steak, tree=wooden chair, etc. They yearn to be colorful artistic writers of newslike fiction, but they have little reference with which to compare things like islands in the sea. Now they could compare restaurants, subway lines, and things like that.
I'll bet the writer doesn't even drive. He or she probably got nailed by a side view mirror one night, while walking on a crowded sidewalk trying to catch a cab home from Club Spankme. I've bumped into side view mirrors myself, in less urban settings. That was what the writer termed, "an aha! moment". Ever since he/she heard the phrase, aha moment, he/she had been dying to have one so he/she could then say, "and that was my aha moment!". So the old side view mirror had been boiling in that pot on the back burner of it/he/she's mind ever since, just waiting fora chance to come to the fore to clarify a news story. And boy, did it!.
I really want a job with AP. Fact doesn't matter, logic is irrelevant and I can compare anything to anything. It is like sleeping with a dust pan in a gold mine, while stalking the wild grizzly with a grain of salt.
Tuesday, August 23, 2011
Econ 01 by Professor Ballistic
Hello class! Sit down, shut up and put your smart and dumb phones on silent. I do not care if you attend class, text or draw, just don't annoy me or I'll have to use the TASER (air quotes) on you.
Today we'll explore the bizarre topic of Job Creation.
So, just how are jobs created?
Put your hands down. It was a rhetorical question, as almost all questions I ask in this class will be. I hate audience participation events.
OK. Some think jobs are created by LEADERS (air quotes)
I suppose this depends on how you define the word leader (air quotes). Most define it as a charismatic preacher who extracts his salary and much more from you at the point of a gun. ie; politician. I will discount this method of job creation.
My beloved students.
Now I have their rapt attention
...as they pore over the ledger accounts of last night's drug transactions and prostitution proceeds...
In the world of nature in which humans dwell, surprise, surprise, a job is created when someone comes up with a good and/or service which others want and will trade for. Because not everyone needs a house built and who would give you a house for that shirt you made, we have money, which ideally represents a fairly universal unit of value, or effort combined with skill, need, etc. Brain surgeons used to be paid more than electricians due to skill level, need, and scarcity of talent in that field.
OK. So, someone figures out how to make your house cool in summer. That is worth a bundle to many sweltering souls. This person finds that more people want what he has to offer and will pay an amount that covers costs plus affords him a decent standard of living. He or she then reasons that people could be paid to help do the work, distribute the magic machines, etc.
It's easy, right? Oh maybe not so easy. Now he has to satisfy a dozen government agencies, buy a license, get bonded, be inspected purchase insurance and pay various agencies an amount equal to at least 40% of his employee's salary. Better not hire too many. Looks like we'll let part of the demand go unsatisfied. Competitors will take up the slack once they figure out how to make these things.
Oh, by the way, if you are wondering what the difference is between macro and micro economics, think of it like this:
micro economics is a dollar bill, or a gold piece.
Macro economics is a roll of toilet paper with pictures of dollar bills stamped on it. That's all you need on that.
In short, when someone or some group makes things or does things that people will give up something to have, jobs are created. I'm not sure I really count census workers in the mainstream of that. Especially if they gather information which is not useful or voluntary.
This applies whether you talk public sector or private sector. The only difference between the two is that it is legal for the public sector to demand wealth from the private sector at gun point. That door don't swing both ways.
The real trouble comes from elements cloaked as private getting in bed with elements of the public sector. Then you have preffered members of the private sector getting theirs at gunpoint through a convoluted legal process. This presently makes up 81.5% of our commerce. Many of the others would salivate at the thought of a cushy, unneeded government contract. People are mostly thieves, as long as no one knows or it is given some other name.
Anyway, the public sector does not produce much of anything. They provide services, some of which the population at large want, need, and find it best to accomplish in that sort of collective fashion. Defense of the country and border was once one of those functions---not sure what it is now. Protecting people from force and fraud perpetrated by riffraff was another. Presently it is impossible to discern the private riffraff from those who allegedly protect against it.
All that said, a job is still created when someone is willing to make or do something for someone who is willing to pay more than it costs that person to do or make it. (anything less and they can't cover cost of production or eat so they cannot keep operating) The only way the public sector can aid in job creation is to make it easier for someone to do these things. One way is by refraining from taking too much of a cut off the top. And another is by making rules and regulations streamlined. When dealing with government, complicated tax codes, city codes, state codes and the goddammed united nations requires hiring full time employees, in even a small firm, job creation suffers.
There are many culprits in the mix on this job thing. A huge portion is attributable to the "partnerships" between government entities and business. That is mostly due to the lack of constraints on government function. They are into the charity business, research, giving money to other countries for totally unknown purposes, negotiating contracts overseas for corporations, deciding how and who regarding marriage, the list goes on and on. It all costs money and the only producer of wealth is everyone but government.
Many have come to see "profit" (air quotes optional) as a dirty word. Were it not for the tax structure, the issue would rarely arise. Profit is what is left after you pay your bills. Since it costs more to take your money and put it away for whatever, or use it to buy a bunch of stuff, they have it set up so the owners pay themselves a salary and then put the rest back into the company or otherwise juggle it around without it appearing to go into their own pockets. If it were in their pockets they'd probably spend more and that might mean some hapless company gets to hire more and that means there is more to do for those willing to do it.
Like I said, there are certain things that are best left to government to do--it is a necessary evil. Veteran's hospitals and police, for example--although I think tactics and scope ought to be drastically changed in the latter realm. Some might argue for private veteran's hospitals, but it would still have to be paid collectively.
But we are talking economics. Neither George Bush nor Barrack Obama held/hold a position which actually has the right or the authority or the wit to create jobs. They did/do have the opportunity to remove stumbling blocks and get out of the way. Putting the private sector and everyone else in debt to pretend to make work is ludicrous and short sighted. As we've seen, only a few of their private sector bedfellows benefit and it leaves the rest of us poorer.
I'd get into unions but I doubt you'd understand. The only reason unions were ever even marginally justified is because some companies were in bed with government to the point that they violated the code against force and fraud in various ways, with the aid of the body sworn to protect against it. Now the unions themselves have become big corporations who live by the creed "might makes right" and do it with the help and blessing of government and many corporate interests which would surprise some.
So, you want to create a job? Just try franchising lemonade stands or starting a home window washing enterprise and see how much it costs or if it is even legal.
Alright, get the hell out of here. The test will be on the economic and spiritual implications of Shakespeare's Hamlet, or the movie Artois the Goat, or the movie Boondock Saints--your choice. If you can adequately impersonate Wilem Defoe in his role in Boondock Saints, you get an automatic A..
And if you want to bitch to someone about "creating"(air quotes) jobs, don't go asking would-be kings, dictators and charlatans who've never had a regular job to do it for you. Just tell them to back off, to quit funding crazy ass things all over the world, and to shut up unless they are suggesting laws and agencies to be repealed or abolished. If they utter the phrase "new program", wash their mouths out with soap.
Hold it!!! Sit down. Just want to quickly add that forcing you to pay more so I can hire more people to be sure you pay, and more people to make you safe from enemies I enriched with your money and my clever people skills, is not really creating(air quotes) Jobs(air quotes). You might just decide to quit your enterprise and do something simple like work for CALTran holding a sign that says Slow on one side and Stop on the other.
It's fun. You can hold it edgewise to traffic so they don't know whether they're coming or going. And you can avoid all those new hires paid by money I intended to take from you, But if you do that, I'll just borrow the money in your name and call it job creation.
OK. Let's flee this scene. Go away.
ps: I secretly envy G1 for managing to be a college/university professor. I would so love that opportunity--captive audience on a daily basis and you don't have to take the crap a high school teacher deals with from students with no recourse.
You just cope with the usual phony pressures of academia---I have a tweed coat with elbow patches and a pipe picked out just in case. The beard part is easy. Once you've got tenure, you have a license to be nuts and they'll call you eccentric and brilliant
Today we'll explore the bizarre topic of Job Creation.
So, just how are jobs created?
Put your hands down. It was a rhetorical question, as almost all questions I ask in this class will be. I hate audience participation events.
OK. Some think jobs are created by LEADERS (air quotes)
I suppose this depends on how you define the word leader (air quotes). Most define it as a charismatic preacher who extracts his salary and much more from you at the point of a gun. ie; politician. I will discount this method of job creation.
My beloved students.
Now I have their rapt attention
...as they pore over the ledger accounts of last night's drug transactions and prostitution proceeds...
In the world of nature in which humans dwell, surprise, surprise, a job is created when someone comes up with a good and/or service which others want and will trade for. Because not everyone needs a house built and who would give you a house for that shirt you made, we have money, which ideally represents a fairly universal unit of value, or effort combined with skill, need, etc. Brain surgeons used to be paid more than electricians due to skill level, need, and scarcity of talent in that field.
OK. So, someone figures out how to make your house cool in summer. That is worth a bundle to many sweltering souls. This person finds that more people want what he has to offer and will pay an amount that covers costs plus affords him a decent standard of living. He or she then reasons that people could be paid to help do the work, distribute the magic machines, etc.
It's easy, right? Oh maybe not so easy. Now he has to satisfy a dozen government agencies, buy a license, get bonded, be inspected purchase insurance and pay various agencies an amount equal to at least 40% of his employee's salary. Better not hire too many. Looks like we'll let part of the demand go unsatisfied. Competitors will take up the slack once they figure out how to make these things.
Oh, by the way, if you are wondering what the difference is between macro and micro economics, think of it like this:
micro economics is a dollar bill, or a gold piece.
Macro economics is a roll of toilet paper with pictures of dollar bills stamped on it. That's all you need on that.
In short, when someone or some group makes things or does things that people will give up something to have, jobs are created. I'm not sure I really count census workers in the mainstream of that. Especially if they gather information which is not useful or voluntary.
This applies whether you talk public sector or private sector. The only difference between the two is that it is legal for the public sector to demand wealth from the private sector at gun point. That door don't swing both ways.
The real trouble comes from elements cloaked as private getting in bed with elements of the public sector. Then you have preffered members of the private sector getting theirs at gunpoint through a convoluted legal process. This presently makes up 81.5% of our commerce. Many of the others would salivate at the thought of a cushy, unneeded government contract. People are mostly thieves, as long as no one knows or it is given some other name.
Anyway, the public sector does not produce much of anything. They provide services, some of which the population at large want, need, and find it best to accomplish in that sort of collective fashion. Defense of the country and border was once one of those functions---not sure what it is now. Protecting people from force and fraud perpetrated by riffraff was another. Presently it is impossible to discern the private riffraff from those who allegedly protect against it.
All that said, a job is still created when someone is willing to make or do something for someone who is willing to pay more than it costs that person to do or make it. (anything less and they can't cover cost of production or eat so they cannot keep operating) The only way the public sector can aid in job creation is to make it easier for someone to do these things. One way is by refraining from taking too much of a cut off the top. And another is by making rules and regulations streamlined. When dealing with government, complicated tax codes, city codes, state codes and the goddammed united nations requires hiring full time employees, in even a small firm, job creation suffers.
There are many culprits in the mix on this job thing. A huge portion is attributable to the "partnerships" between government entities and business. That is mostly due to the lack of constraints on government function. They are into the charity business, research, giving money to other countries for totally unknown purposes, negotiating contracts overseas for corporations, deciding how and who regarding marriage, the list goes on and on. It all costs money and the only producer of wealth is everyone but government.
Many have come to see "profit" (air quotes optional) as a dirty word. Were it not for the tax structure, the issue would rarely arise. Profit is what is left after you pay your bills. Since it costs more to take your money and put it away for whatever, or use it to buy a bunch of stuff, they have it set up so the owners pay themselves a salary and then put the rest back into the company or otherwise juggle it around without it appearing to go into their own pockets. If it were in their pockets they'd probably spend more and that might mean some hapless company gets to hire more and that means there is more to do for those willing to do it.
Like I said, there are certain things that are best left to government to do--it is a necessary evil. Veteran's hospitals and police, for example--although I think tactics and scope ought to be drastically changed in the latter realm. Some might argue for private veteran's hospitals, but it would still have to be paid collectively.
But we are talking economics. Neither George Bush nor Barrack Obama held/hold a position which actually has the right or the authority or the wit to create jobs. They did/do have the opportunity to remove stumbling blocks and get out of the way. Putting the private sector and everyone else in debt to pretend to make work is ludicrous and short sighted. As we've seen, only a few of their private sector bedfellows benefit and it leaves the rest of us poorer.
I'd get into unions but I doubt you'd understand. The only reason unions were ever even marginally justified is because some companies were in bed with government to the point that they violated the code against force and fraud in various ways, with the aid of the body sworn to protect against it. Now the unions themselves have become big corporations who live by the creed "might makes right" and do it with the help and blessing of government and many corporate interests which would surprise some.
So, you want to create a job? Just try franchising lemonade stands or starting a home window washing enterprise and see how much it costs or if it is even legal.
Alright, get the hell out of here. The test will be on the economic and spiritual implications of Shakespeare's Hamlet, or the movie Artois the Goat, or the movie Boondock Saints--your choice. If you can adequately impersonate Wilem Defoe in his role in Boondock Saints, you get an automatic A..
And if you want to bitch to someone about "creating"(air quotes) jobs, don't go asking would-be kings, dictators and charlatans who've never had a regular job to do it for you. Just tell them to back off, to quit funding crazy ass things all over the world, and to shut up unless they are suggesting laws and agencies to be repealed or abolished. If they utter the phrase "new program", wash their mouths out with soap.
Hold it!!! Sit down. Just want to quickly add that forcing you to pay more so I can hire more people to be sure you pay, and more people to make you safe from enemies I enriched with your money and my clever people skills, is not really creating(air quotes) Jobs(air quotes). You might just decide to quit your enterprise and do something simple like work for CALTran holding a sign that says Slow on one side and Stop on the other.
It's fun. You can hold it edgewise to traffic so they don't know whether they're coming or going. And you can avoid all those new hires paid by money I intended to take from you, But if you do that, I'll just borrow the money in your name and call it job creation.
OK. Let's flee this scene. Go away.
ps: I secretly envy G1 for managing to be a college/university professor. I would so love that opportunity--captive audience on a daily basis and you don't have to take the crap a high school teacher deals with from students with no recourse.
You just cope with the usual phony pressures of academia---I have a tweed coat with elbow patches and a pipe picked out just in case. The beard part is easy. Once you've got tenure, you have a license to be nuts and they'll call you eccentric and brilliant
Too Good to Ignore
Photo of DC Earthquake damage
That showed up in my email. It came from http://jmckinley.posterous.com/dc-earthquake-devastation# . The picture did, not the email. The message was from the usual suspects. Subject line: Pray for DC earthquake victims. I'll say a prayer of gratitude that I do not live in that wasteland of skulduggery and fuquittedness.
Really, it is such a big deal if something happens in DC or New York but places like Memphis have had earthquakes. I know my old apartment house rattled more than once.
I wonder who will get blamed; George Bush? Exxon? The DC transit system? Racism? Got to blame someone or some thing, and the usual blamers are unlikely to blame Obama. Global warming and evil industrialists. God, I hope the usual demagogues and charlatans don't have nerve enough to weigh in on this one.
I know, blame The Rich!! He's a guy who lives there, not unlike how The Donald lives in NYC.
Best title for a movie and best explanation for most things: The Gods Must Be Crazy
California Dreamin; part VIII-XXIII-MMXI
Since you asked, I will discuss traffic slow-downs, jams, and snafus. Some of these issues are unavoidable when you have too many people traveling on too few roads...
HOWEVER
Under normal conditions with no massive roadwork, suicide jumper teetering on a bridge, etc., a huge part of the slowdown is due to either ignorance of or blatant disregard for a few simple principles of the highway.
First--lane usage. When you are on a highway, the left lane is for passing. If you aren't going faster than the cars to your right, get the hell out of that lane. What happens is one or more drivers decide to hang in the left lane, not passing anyone. Other cars come up behind them hoping to pass the people on their right. They get backed up and start going into right hand lanes to pass.
That screws up the flow. If you have more than two lanes, the right lane is generally for ultra slow drivers or those who plan to exit soon. Driving in that lane when you see an entrance ramp which merges into the lane up ahead, if you have a choice, is NOT the thing to do.
If you can't move left from the right-most lane, then do not speed up in hopes of blocking people from merging. Let up a little and let them in. In the long run this promotes the flow.
It should go without saying that if you follow too closely to the car in front of you, and worry that someone will move into your lane ahead of you if you leave adequate space, you need driver therapy and a sharp slap to the face.
On the other hand, if you are merging, don't gun it and cut in two inches in front of the other car.
If only 50% of the drivers on CA highways, and elsewhere no doubt, observed these practices, traffic congestion would be relieved by a good 43.5%, minimum. People would get where they are going quicker and there would be fewer accidents.
In the interest of political correctness I will not break down the offenders by ethnic origin and the like. We only do that when trying to prove certain groups are being victimized by others, or the universe in general. I will say that it is clear that none of these concepts are standard procedure in some nearby countries and the third world. Or in places far, far away, for that matter.
About 29% of typical legal US citizens get it, and that is the largest group who does.
What do I conclude from all this?
I conclude that driver's licenses have little to do with ensuring or promoting highway sanity and safety, and that the curriculum for driver's ed must be severely lacking in matters of real use and substance. And I conclude from observation that in some circles one is considered a sell out and a sissy if he/she in any way contributes to the safe and sane flow of traffic. First to go would be the turn signals--guess they traded 'em in for rims.
Also, in SoCal, a large portion of the twenty something women in the Honda Civics seem an angry and ignorant breed--driving wise. They appear to have the idea that being aggressive without cause is somehow an act of liberation.
I sense that the word "empowerment", or variations thereof come up in most conversations one might have with them. Just a hunch. Their boyfriends most likely ramble on about tipping points, play bad ass in internet chatrooms and such, and have been trained to pee sitting down. They also appear to believe that they know what they are doing, yet a huge percentage really don't get it. Maybe they dated too many bad boys from the circle of society mentioned above and they learned their ways.
I guess I did not do well with the PC aspect of my tirade. oops Hey, if they can drive without creating a battleground or a parking lot out of the highways then tip that point all to hell and more empowerment to them.
I'll leave trophy wives and trophy children out of the equation for now. They are so pretty, why say something mean?
Oh yea, if you plan to change lanes, use your damn blinker, even if you don't understand why.
HOWEVER
Under normal conditions with no massive roadwork, suicide jumper teetering on a bridge, etc., a huge part of the slowdown is due to either ignorance of or blatant disregard for a few simple principles of the highway.
First--lane usage. When you are on a highway, the left lane is for passing. If you aren't going faster than the cars to your right, get the hell out of that lane. What happens is one or more drivers decide to hang in the left lane, not passing anyone. Other cars come up behind them hoping to pass the people on their right. They get backed up and start going into right hand lanes to pass.
That screws up the flow. If you have more than two lanes, the right lane is generally for ultra slow drivers or those who plan to exit soon. Driving in that lane when you see an entrance ramp which merges into the lane up ahead, if you have a choice, is NOT the thing to do.
If you can't move left from the right-most lane, then do not speed up in hopes of blocking people from merging. Let up a little and let them in. In the long run this promotes the flow.
It should go without saying that if you follow too closely to the car in front of you, and worry that someone will move into your lane ahead of you if you leave adequate space, you need driver therapy and a sharp slap to the face.
On the other hand, if you are merging, don't gun it and cut in two inches in front of the other car.
If only 50% of the drivers on CA highways, and elsewhere no doubt, observed these practices, traffic congestion would be relieved by a good 43.5%, minimum. People would get where they are going quicker and there would be fewer accidents.
In the interest of political correctness I will not break down the offenders by ethnic origin and the like. We only do that when trying to prove certain groups are being victimized by others, or the universe in general. I will say that it is clear that none of these concepts are standard procedure in some nearby countries and the third world. Or in places far, far away, for that matter.
About 29% of typical legal US citizens get it, and that is the largest group who does.
What do I conclude from all this?
I conclude that driver's licenses have little to do with ensuring or promoting highway sanity and safety, and that the curriculum for driver's ed must be severely lacking in matters of real use and substance. And I conclude from observation that in some circles one is considered a sell out and a sissy if he/she in any way contributes to the safe and sane flow of traffic. First to go would be the turn signals--guess they traded 'em in for rims.
Also, in SoCal, a large portion of the twenty something women in the Honda Civics seem an angry and ignorant breed--driving wise. They appear to have the idea that being aggressive without cause is somehow an act of liberation.
I sense that the word "empowerment", or variations thereof come up in most conversations one might have with them. Just a hunch. Their boyfriends most likely ramble on about tipping points, play bad ass in internet chatrooms and such, and have been trained to pee sitting down. They also appear to believe that they know what they are doing, yet a huge percentage really don't get it. Maybe they dated too many bad boys from the circle of society mentioned above and they learned their ways.
I guess I did not do well with the PC aspect of my tirade. oops Hey, if they can drive without creating a battleground or a parking lot out of the highways then tip that point all to hell and more empowerment to them.
I'll leave trophy wives and trophy children out of the equation for now. They are so pretty, why say something mean?
Oh yea, if you plan to change lanes, use your damn blinker, even if you don't understand why.
Walk or Run?
My brother told me, about the time I left on my wandering drive, that all the remnants of my nuclear family and his offspring, etc. were hitting the Keys for Christmas at his place. I figured, OK, well they usually don't book cheap flights that far in advance so I'll wait awhile. Both nephews reiterated that this was the year everyone was heading south for the holidays. I hate to commit money far in advance of the service sought.
Holy smoke!! I checked flights and they are not the super bargains I had hoped. The cheapest one has me returning at 3 A.M. from Fort Lauderdale airport. All the cheapest flights go to Ft Lauderdale rather than MIA. We are used to that from years past, and I am not the only one who flew in there.
I guess I'll bite the bullet, pull yet more of my dwindling savings out and arrange to get there. Part of me starts feeling quite separate from my brother and my nephews, and certainly their wives and may-as-well-be wives. It doesn't take much because I feel like a failure and a fraud.
The odd thing is that the fraud part is because I pretty much threw the fight. I did not have to lose. It goes back a long way when that started, but it was mostly because I felt bad and guilty for the shortcomings and difficulties of those around me and didn't want them to hate me for winning. So, I learned how to lose in style. It became a habit that I can't change. Doom is always the imperative and dark goal.
The discomfort and feeling of being an outsider, misguided as that may be, causes me to feel like I have to show up just because one should face the fear head on. The worst it could do is kill me, and that would not be a big deal.
The cost of flying is almost as much as driving. It is still cheaper to fly, I guess. The thing I hate is having to book so far out and having no refund. Southwest is not the cheapest way at this point. At least they don't just pocket your money and forget it. You can get full credit of what you paid toward any other flight, whenever. They are so much better to deal with than anyone else.
I'm still not sure about booking. I guess I'll work every angle tonight and do something, even if it is wrong. You'd think this constant state of moroseness would kill a person by now or age the hell out of him. Maybe it is and I just don't know it.
At least I wrote a little more in my book. It probably sucks, but that is too bad. Lots of books in the library, on the book shelves and in Kindle suck big time. And many f them sell. Someone got them out on the market. I'm assuming that the books which suck but aren't in-your-face ripoffs which took little effort and involved no real talent are the ones most easily lost in the rejection world.
Ever see those books that try to be funny but really seem to be saying, between the lines, "You are paying for total tripe here because I'm an allegedly cool celebrity"? When you compare the effort and work involved in one of those with a good novel, or even a friggin romance novel, you wonder how they charge even half the price.
My book will get written, and that may be the end of it. It may not be as good as the worst pandering semi-funny piece of tripe but it will be mine and between the lines it will be telling lots of people to screw off, and lots of people to hold their heads high and take no prisoners.
Holy smoke!! I checked flights and they are not the super bargains I had hoped. The cheapest one has me returning at 3 A.M. from Fort Lauderdale airport. All the cheapest flights go to Ft Lauderdale rather than MIA. We are used to that from years past, and I am not the only one who flew in there.
I guess I'll bite the bullet, pull yet more of my dwindling savings out and arrange to get there. Part of me starts feeling quite separate from my brother and my nephews, and certainly their wives and may-as-well-be wives. It doesn't take much because I feel like a failure and a fraud.
The odd thing is that the fraud part is because I pretty much threw the fight. I did not have to lose. It goes back a long way when that started, but it was mostly because I felt bad and guilty for the shortcomings and difficulties of those around me and didn't want them to hate me for winning. So, I learned how to lose in style. It became a habit that I can't change. Doom is always the imperative and dark goal.
The discomfort and feeling of being an outsider, misguided as that may be, causes me to feel like I have to show up just because one should face the fear head on. The worst it could do is kill me, and that would not be a big deal.
The cost of flying is almost as much as driving. It is still cheaper to fly, I guess. The thing I hate is having to book so far out and having no refund. Southwest is not the cheapest way at this point. At least they don't just pocket your money and forget it. You can get full credit of what you paid toward any other flight, whenever. They are so much better to deal with than anyone else.
I'm still not sure about booking. I guess I'll work every angle tonight and do something, even if it is wrong. You'd think this constant state of moroseness would kill a person by now or age the hell out of him. Maybe it is and I just don't know it.
At least I wrote a little more in my book. It probably sucks, but that is too bad. Lots of books in the library, on the book shelves and in Kindle suck big time. And many f them sell. Someone got them out on the market. I'm assuming that the books which suck but aren't in-your-face ripoffs which took little effort and involved no real talent are the ones most easily lost in the rejection world.
Ever see those books that try to be funny but really seem to be saying, between the lines, "You are paying for total tripe here because I'm an allegedly cool celebrity"? When you compare the effort and work involved in one of those with a good novel, or even a friggin romance novel, you wonder how they charge even half the price.
My book will get written, and that may be the end of it. It may not be as good as the worst pandering semi-funny piece of tripe but it will be mine and between the lines it will be telling lots of people to screw off, and lots of people to hold their heads high and take no prisoners.
Sunday, August 21, 2011
When Opportunity, He Knock
Found this exciting offer in my email. How lucky that they chose me. I'm going to be rich!!
Chugai JP edmonds@gvtc.com
show details 6:01 PM (3 hours ago)
Chugai pharmaceutical, Japan Based company seek for an international payment receiving agent in your region. We shall you an acceptance message and also your monthly salary details.
Please send details if you are interested;
Name:
Address:
Country:
Telephone:
Chugai pharmaceutical
Wowsers! you bet. You go ahead and shall me an acceptance message. I'll be learning Japanese. Sigh o narra. Nissan. Mothra. Godzilla--or is it Godzirra?
Chugai JP edmonds@gvtc.com
show details 6:01 PM (3 hours ago)
Chugai pharmaceutical, Japan Based company seek for an international payment receiving agent in your region. We shall you an acceptance message and also your monthly salary details.
Please send details if you are interested;
Name:
Address:
Country:
Telephone:
Chugai pharmaceutical
Wowsers! you bet. You go ahead and shall me an acceptance message. I'll be learning Japanese. Sigh o narra. Nissan. Mothra. Godzilla--or is it Godzirra?
I Read The News Today, Oh Boy
Many weren't born when that line debuted in a Beatle's tune. It is a fairly timeless sentiment, I think.
I'm trying to remember the phrase I heard recently that hit a nerve. t was one of those phrases that has been done to death in the realm of trying to mold behavior.
I'll probably think of it. Two words; that is my only recalled clue. It was a two word phrase.**** Oh well. When I read the news my attention was quickly drawn to another word that leaves me cold, and in a context involving a public figure who leaves me icy.
So, direct from the files of Machiavelli, Hugo Chavez manages to stage typical tyrant theater by being in a big photo op with sycophants who shaved their heads in SOLIDARITY with their leader who is undergoing chemo--therefore dealing with the hair loss issue.
Now, I wonder if this will somehow become a mark of support which leaves those unshaven standing out like dissident sore thumbs.
In any case, the tendency to use the word "solidarity" any time it remotely can be used, and the context in which purely communist dictators, who by definition believe the state is a better judge of how you use your time, talent, resources, etc., makes me want to throw red paint on them and remove them all from my Christmas card list. The wealthy idiots from the USA who promote such bastards must really hate "common" people. They have no clue what honest self sufficient types deal with under such a system---or even under our bastardized setup.
But why should they? It is easy to go back home on the private jet while bitching about how the rest of us need to pull together, get our solidarinosc on and defeat the evil people who build their planes and facilitate their cushy lives. IDIOTS.
No use even commenting on the rest of the news. I believe very little of it gives enough true information to form a reasonable view, and most of it is the sort of thing that should not even be connected to my life or any shred of this country or its government. The news is one big shadow picture show born of the tales of mass manipulation.
****Might have been "tipping point". Tip this point you unoriginal parrots of the world. Why not go back to using the word "gravitas" every third sentence?
I'm trying to remember the phrase I heard recently that hit a nerve. t was one of those phrases that has been done to death in the realm of trying to mold behavior.
I'll probably think of it. Two words; that is my only recalled clue. It was a two word phrase.**** Oh well. When I read the news my attention was quickly drawn to another word that leaves me cold, and in a context involving a public figure who leaves me icy.
So, direct from the files of Machiavelli, Hugo Chavez manages to stage typical tyrant theater by being in a big photo op with sycophants who shaved their heads in SOLIDARITY with their leader who is undergoing chemo--therefore dealing with the hair loss issue.
Now, I wonder if this will somehow become a mark of support which leaves those unshaven standing out like dissident sore thumbs.
In any case, the tendency to use the word "solidarity" any time it remotely can be used, and the context in which purely communist dictators, who by definition believe the state is a better judge of how you use your time, talent, resources, etc., makes me want to throw red paint on them and remove them all from my Christmas card list. The wealthy idiots from the USA who promote such bastards must really hate "common" people. They have no clue what honest self sufficient types deal with under such a system---or even under our bastardized setup.
But why should they? It is easy to go back home on the private jet while bitching about how the rest of us need to pull together, get our solidarinosc on and defeat the evil people who build their planes and facilitate their cushy lives. IDIOTS.
No use even commenting on the rest of the news. I believe very little of it gives enough true information to form a reasonable view, and most of it is the sort of thing that should not even be connected to my life or any shred of this country or its government. The news is one big shadow picture show born of the tales of mass manipulation.
****Might have been "tipping point". Tip this point you unoriginal parrots of the world. Why not go back to using the word "gravitas" every third sentence?
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About Me
- John0 Juanderlust
- Ballistic Mountain, CA, United States
- Like spring on a summer's day
