For some time I have harbored a resentment against Dodge commercials and those to whom they appeal. Truth be known, I actually have a minor grudge working against Dodge drivers in general, with a few exceptions.
Even more than BMW motorists, they seem to resist any urge to exercise common courtesy and good sense on highways and in parking lots. Upon purchase the new Dodge owner is brainwashed to believe he is invincible and all powerful, and on a mission to stamp the mark of the Ram into rear view mirrors everywhere.
The BMW owner is usually hypnotized into believing he is superior to all, and that other drivers are inferior and have no right to soil his view of the road, the parking space or the world at large. They certainly rate no common courtesy. Like I said, there are exceptions--not everyone is susceptible to hypnosis or brain washing.
Now I suspect that those who make Dodge commercials which are rife with subliminal messages which appeal to a particular demographic now make Dove-for-men commercials. There are too many similarities for the keen observer to ignore. I shudder to think what may be next. We must find this agency and discover the other mind control plots they may be weaving before it is too late.
Other, less aggressive brain control in advertising exists. Of that I am sure. I, myself, have escaped such mental enslavement. Fortunately, my path to becoming a Subaru owner was through research and need, not advertising.
Otherwise, I would be saying prayers to Mother Earth and seeking a sex change so I could become a lesbian. That would require much saving and sacrifice because I would be giving my monthly tithe to one of Al Gore's carbon offset schemes.
I'd be paying Al to change the weather before paying rent or doctor bills. For one to own a Forester and do otherwise is unthinkable to those who've undergone the usual mind warp these sorcerer run ad agencies cast upon the unsuspecting.
So, I guess I am lucky. Sex changes involve much money time and, I am guessing, pain. First we need to thwart the evil Dove and Dodge advertising masterminds. Later, maybe we hit Subaru, although there are worse fates than the one described above for Forester owners. At least it holds a bit of prurient fascination.
Sunday, September 4, 2011
Not Often One for Quotes, But This is Relevant
"None are more hopelessly enslaved than those who falsely believe they are free" -- Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
This is something worth looking at. I'll not elaborate upon my view of who and what strive to manipulate us to see slavery as freedom.
This is something worth looking at. I'll not elaborate upon my view of who and what strive to manipulate us to see slavery as freedom.
Payback
It was 99 deg F today in some parts of my general area. Maybe a little cooler up on Ballistic Mountain. But hot is hot, and it was hot. I decided to go to the overlook off of I-8 to make a phone call and generally get away from myself.
I'd been there awhile, I guess, and when I tried to start the car, the battery did not have enough energy to do the job. Yikes, I'd been sitting there with radio on, key in accessory position and headlights on. I'm thinking I may have had my foot on the brake as well, which means the brake lights were drawing current.
Good thing I had my trusty booster battery/air compressor. Not such a good thing that it wasn't fully charged and wouldn't do the trick.
As luck would have it, a guy in a Lexus had pulled in nearby and walked over to see what was up. He once had a subaru forester and loved it. OK. We had something in common.
Mr. Lexus seemed to have a fear of bees, though. These little wasps or bees were buzzing all around. He was trying to eat a sandwich and left almost half of it sitting on its wax paper on the wall there because these pests were attracted to it and he was afraid of being stung and eaten alive by bees.
I am unusually NOT afraid of wasps and bees. I have no idea why. Almost all other creatures scare me more than I like to admit. Anyway, I went over and did what I could to terrorize the creatures but Mr L no longer wanted the sandwich. There is no trash there, so I produced a trash bag and dealt with it.
He must have been grateful because he let me charge my booster battery off the 12 volt outlet in his car. After about ten minutes I tried successfully to start the car using the booster battery. His generosity saved me a lot of trouble.
I say payback because I have used that booster to jump maybe two cars and definitely one motorcycle at that very spot. Not sure if I used the pump to inflate anyone's tires there, although I know I have in other places, like Descanso. It was pretty cool that when I was in need, the help was right there with no waiting at all. And I got to explain my theory of how one shows bees who is boss and induces them to spread the word.
He was given the very cryptic abridged version.
I did refrain from sharing the story of my first war with yellow jackets on Morrow Mountain in NC. They were beginning to annoy me and really freaking out others that day, many years ago when I was in my early twenties. Finally I managed to kill a few by hand and with a rock. I managed to secure their dead bodies to the ends of little sticks and posted them between my rightful turf and theirs. I saved one to toss right to the edge of their domain as a warning.
Those yellow jackets did not torment anyone within a 30 foot radius of me for the rest of the afternoon. Of course the witnesses to this were convinced I was out of my mind, so they, too, avoided any conflict or contact, with me and my friends. It wasn't as if I'd snuffed some of them and staked them up. People can be so judgmental and cruel.
I was not one of those mean looking overaged punks, so it hurt my feelings just a bit. Even my friends were a little concerned that I would bring on the wrath of the wasps, and feared for my sanity. Seems like some girl among us was on my side and knew I was king of the bees. Back then I think the support of females was much more evident in my life than it has been in the last far too many years.
Anyway. I have had bee battles since then and have had my way with the bad bees. Good bees I salute and bid them go in peace. Wish I had such confidence with bears, raccoons and other snarly mammals.
At least I got the car started and managed to get home without incident. I have to do something to make it cooler in here while we experience our dry, hot, hot season.
Payback was not a bitch in this instance, but a man in a Lexus, and rather pleasant.
I'd been there awhile, I guess, and when I tried to start the car, the battery did not have enough energy to do the job. Yikes, I'd been sitting there with radio on, key in accessory position and headlights on. I'm thinking I may have had my foot on the brake as well, which means the brake lights were drawing current.
Good thing I had my trusty booster battery/air compressor. Not such a good thing that it wasn't fully charged and wouldn't do the trick.
As luck would have it, a guy in a Lexus had pulled in nearby and walked over to see what was up. He once had a subaru forester and loved it. OK. We had something in common.
Mr. Lexus seemed to have a fear of bees, though. These little wasps or bees were buzzing all around. He was trying to eat a sandwich and left almost half of it sitting on its wax paper on the wall there because these pests were attracted to it and he was afraid of being stung and eaten alive by bees.
I am unusually NOT afraid of wasps and bees. I have no idea why. Almost all other creatures scare me more than I like to admit. Anyway, I went over and did what I could to terrorize the creatures but Mr L no longer wanted the sandwich. There is no trash there, so I produced a trash bag and dealt with it.
He must have been grateful because he let me charge my booster battery off the 12 volt outlet in his car. After about ten minutes I tried successfully to start the car using the booster battery. His generosity saved me a lot of trouble.
I say payback because I have used that booster to jump maybe two cars and definitely one motorcycle at that very spot. Not sure if I used the pump to inflate anyone's tires there, although I know I have in other places, like Descanso. It was pretty cool that when I was in need, the help was right there with no waiting at all. And I got to explain my theory of how one shows bees who is boss and induces them to spread the word.
He was given the very cryptic abridged version.
I did refrain from sharing the story of my first war with yellow jackets on Morrow Mountain in NC. They were beginning to annoy me and really freaking out others that day, many years ago when I was in my early twenties. Finally I managed to kill a few by hand and with a rock. I managed to secure their dead bodies to the ends of little sticks and posted them between my rightful turf and theirs. I saved one to toss right to the edge of their domain as a warning.
Those yellow jackets did not torment anyone within a 30 foot radius of me for the rest of the afternoon. Of course the witnesses to this were convinced I was out of my mind, so they, too, avoided any conflict or contact, with me and my friends. It wasn't as if I'd snuffed some of them and staked them up. People can be so judgmental and cruel.
I was not one of those mean looking overaged punks, so it hurt my feelings just a bit. Even my friends were a little concerned that I would bring on the wrath of the wasps, and feared for my sanity. Seems like some girl among us was on my side and knew I was king of the bees. Back then I think the support of females was much more evident in my life than it has been in the last far too many years.
Anyway. I have had bee battles since then and have had my way with the bad bees. Good bees I salute and bid them go in peace. Wish I had such confidence with bears, raccoons and other snarly mammals.
At least I got the car started and managed to get home without incident. I have to do something to make it cooler in here while we experience our dry, hot, hot season.
Payback was not a bitch in this instance, but a man in a Lexus, and rather pleasant.
Maybe Mexico
The health care situation in this country has changed. Not because of too little government involvement and non-sense, but because of too much. That is my view.
We can thank the trial lawyers and John Edwards for much of the non-sense. Another case in which charlatans who spout drivel about being there to fight for the little guy actually make life more difficult for those very people, and pretty much everyone else.
If I were to go to the doctor, they'd want to do probably three times more tests than are warranted, plus some, just to cover themselves. So, being a cash guy, I won't go. Maybe I should go somewhere in Mexico where cash means something and the rules can be bent toward my own wishes.
Isn't that bizarre? People flock to the third world because they don't have the freedom to do what they want at home.
So, now I have dizziness, a rash which may be unrelated, and just now, for the first time in my life, a nose bleed. That didn't last long, but it was a big surprise. This keeps up and the car may not get signed over. I'll just drive it off into the sea or into the abyss. Oh wait, I can't be starting any fires so no local abyss for the car.
I'll bet there are fewer noisy, pushy third world urchins in Mexican waiting rooms than there are in US clinics and emergency rooms. Yes, I am a bigot and a snob.
I hate pushy people who sneeze, cough and sweat on you. Like it or not, some cultures are way more pushy as far as not allowing an inch of personal space. In fact almost all other cultures, other than the America we've all been taught to hate and despise, and their northern european predecessors who we also despise if we are politically correct. I love it when the wannabes, like Michael Moore, pretend to hate that which they are in an effort to gain favor with others and convince them they are not what they are. Mike and three quarters of famous people in Hollywood fit that bill.
OK. I'm being punished for being so down on California goof balls, and that is why my nose is now the mouth of the Red River.
We can thank the trial lawyers and John Edwards for much of the non-sense. Another case in which charlatans who spout drivel about being there to fight for the little guy actually make life more difficult for those very people, and pretty much everyone else.
If I were to go to the doctor, they'd want to do probably three times more tests than are warranted, plus some, just to cover themselves. So, being a cash guy, I won't go. Maybe I should go somewhere in Mexico where cash means something and the rules can be bent toward my own wishes.
Isn't that bizarre? People flock to the third world because they don't have the freedom to do what they want at home.
So, now I have dizziness, a rash which may be unrelated, and just now, for the first time in my life, a nose bleed. That didn't last long, but it was a big surprise. This keeps up and the car may not get signed over. I'll just drive it off into the sea or into the abyss. Oh wait, I can't be starting any fires so no local abyss for the car.
I'll bet there are fewer noisy, pushy third world urchins in Mexican waiting rooms than there are in US clinics and emergency rooms. Yes, I am a bigot and a snob.
I hate pushy people who sneeze, cough and sweat on you. Like it or not, some cultures are way more pushy as far as not allowing an inch of personal space. In fact almost all other cultures, other than the America we've all been taught to hate and despise, and their northern european predecessors who we also despise if we are politically correct. I love it when the wannabes, like Michael Moore, pretend to hate that which they are in an effort to gain favor with others and convince them they are not what they are. Mike and three quarters of famous people in Hollywood fit that bill.
OK. I'm being punished for being so down on California goof balls, and that is why my nose is now the mouth of the Red River.
Comedians are Haters
It is not hard to notice that comedians convert rage and anger into rants designed to make you laugh. Very few of them are not visibly angry and kind of hostile. The type of people who would be rude and selfish in public.
I'm not even funny, but I see myself lost for things to write other than semi hostile tirades against the character of Californians or who knows what. Why am I so restless?
It may be because I know I am getting older, I'm disappointed in myself on every level, and I have no one right here whose interests I can put above my own. If I see that I am going to become a bitter old man, I'll sign my car over to whoever I think needs it most, take care of a few more items, and go do a swan dive in the Grand Canyon or other fine place.
You think I joke. I do not. Perhaps if I join a commune of some kind I will socialize better and feel less cranky and critical. Maybe not.
At least I have an excuse to try to clean up things a bit since there will be out of towners passing through and I want to put on a good face. Maybe even conduct a tour. We'll see.
I'm not even funny, but I see myself lost for things to write other than semi hostile tirades against the character of Californians or who knows what. Why am I so restless?
It may be because I know I am getting older, I'm disappointed in myself on every level, and I have no one right here whose interests I can put above my own. If I see that I am going to become a bitter old man, I'll sign my car over to whoever I think needs it most, take care of a few more items, and go do a swan dive in the Grand Canyon or other fine place.
You think I joke. I do not. Perhaps if I join a commune of some kind I will socialize better and feel less cranky and critical. Maybe not.
At least I have an excuse to try to clean up things a bit since there will be out of towners passing through and I want to put on a good face. Maybe even conduct a tour. We'll see.
Saturday, September 3, 2011
Watching the Drama of the Road
Where I work is a long way from where I live. Fortunately, even though I take a major highway or two to get to and from, I don't take the route that involves a lot of traffic. My chosen path is the scenic route, and as near as I can tell it is no slower than the way the gps used to want me to go.
My gps lady doesn't realize the traffic issues on some roads. She means well.
Today on the way home I was taking it easy, as I usually do. I noticed people were driving oddly. Slower than usual, then speeding up, generally confused. Then I realized it was because many of them were slightly drunk. The good thing is they were trying to appear like responsible safe drivers.
That is funny because when they aren't drunk, they drop all pretense and become more troublesome. The give aways were things like putting the turn signal on at every curve (and we're talking very curvy roads here), slipping over the line and back, showing indecision as to whether the green light meant go or stop, and then when finally turning off, reaching a hand out the window giving the finger to no one in particular.
I was laying back watching interactions, not on their radar, so I wasn't being flipped off. Maybe it was an expression of victory, "Screw you, THE MAN!! I drove drunk from Poway all the way to the other side of Lakeside, and no one suspected a thing. I pulled one over on you and all the people who don't promote drunk driving."
Obviously, I suspected a thing, and maybe some of the other drivers did. Who knows? Didn't pull one over on me, but I'm not The Man. During the part that goes through Lakeside, I'll bet half the drivers were drunk. It's funny how they all drove slower than normal and showed more patience, like not going ninety in the right hand lane.
No idea where the cops were. Probably getting drunk while harassing the innocent. That is pretty much par for the course when it comes to CA Highway patrol, and beach area cops. At least the last part. Not sure of the drinking, though. I hope they are drunk because it speaks quite badly of them if that is how they behave under influence of nothing.
So, there it is. In CA drunk drivers are more considerate than the typical driver here, but they are definitely not more skilled.
I hope all good people avoid driving drunk or being in the proximity of those who do. How these people keep from going off the many cliffs here is a mystery. Good thing my drinking was done on relatively flat terrain. I'd have been toast out here.
My gps lady doesn't realize the traffic issues on some roads. She means well.
Today on the way home I was taking it easy, as I usually do. I noticed people were driving oddly. Slower than usual, then speeding up, generally confused. Then I realized it was because many of them were slightly drunk. The good thing is they were trying to appear like responsible safe drivers.
That is funny because when they aren't drunk, they drop all pretense and become more troublesome. The give aways were things like putting the turn signal on at every curve (and we're talking very curvy roads here), slipping over the line and back, showing indecision as to whether the green light meant go or stop, and then when finally turning off, reaching a hand out the window giving the finger to no one in particular.
I was laying back watching interactions, not on their radar, so I wasn't being flipped off. Maybe it was an expression of victory, "Screw you, THE MAN!! I drove drunk from Poway all the way to the other side of Lakeside, and no one suspected a thing. I pulled one over on you and all the people who don't promote drunk driving."
Obviously, I suspected a thing, and maybe some of the other drivers did. Who knows? Didn't pull one over on me, but I'm not The Man. During the part that goes through Lakeside, I'll bet half the drivers were drunk. It's funny how they all drove slower than normal and showed more patience, like not going ninety in the right hand lane.
No idea where the cops were. Probably getting drunk while harassing the innocent. That is pretty much par for the course when it comes to CA Highway patrol, and beach area cops. At least the last part. Not sure of the drinking, though. I hope they are drunk because it speaks quite badly of them if that is how they behave under influence of nothing.
So, there it is. In CA drunk drivers are more considerate than the typical driver here, but they are definitely not more skilled.
I hope all good people avoid driving drunk or being in the proximity of those who do. How these people keep from going off the many cliffs here is a mystery. Good thing my drinking was done on relatively flat terrain. I'd have been toast out here.
Friday, September 2, 2011
Labor Day Weekend
What a lovely holiday. Another of those times when people wonder where and how to get drunk and over eat. Boy, am I cynical sometimes.
I guess, since I did not grow up in an area where labor unions were given the same or more mystique, power and worship than the church and all that's holy, I only see how twisted the whole thing became over time, and how totally feudal the mentality. Let us honor the lowly laborers, the serfs, the peasants among us who do the things which make it all go round. To me, such a thing is more an insult than an honor.
I'm all for a little general vacation after a hot summer and all that, but it is another of those crumbs tossed out to the myopic greedy mob. Give them a little feeling of power and make them think it means something. We get their votes, keep them thinking like a herd, and also give them the idea that it would be a betrayal to become something other than one who lives and breathes the world of unions and resentful workers. Either yer with us or you are dead!
Well, someone has to be the iconoclast. It's a house of cards and I believe it will eventually fall down and people will realize that just because they bought into it all their lives and maybe mom and dad did too, that does not make it any more a house of substance.
I will work some of this weekend, and if it were possible I'd work labor day, too. I like to work on labor day. It makes me feel more apart and different from those mobster union bosses I've seen. It makes me feel free, alive, and independent.
Working on labor day is safer than driving and circulating in high traffic situations. I guess a lot of Atlantic coasters will be too busy putting things back together and trying to survive to pay much attention to the picnics and hollow speeches.
Wow. Why am I so cynical and hostile toward the propaganda that has become accepted as fact, and those who promote it? Must be something I ate.
Oh well, you get nutso stuff in all facets of organized business, labor or not. I knew an executive whose boss thought her vocabulary was too sophisticated. Truth is, he was jealous and afraid of her, and wanted to shag her. The place was apparently designed to smash the competent and kill their confidence. So crystal clear from the outside. Labor types who don't worship the idea of labor as a social class can sometimes see these things for what they are.
Manipulation to elevate one's own standing at the expense of others is often a rather sophisticated and clever game. There are those who see life as a game of chess and those who do not. Those who do see people as things to be manipulated and used without conscience. That turns out to be a surprise to the pawns who open their eyes and see what is happening.
In all such cases the real problem is that it is very hard for people not to have something they can believe as truth to hold on to. When that truth turns out to be a lie, who wants to cope with that? Not me. It is what I call having your reality shaken, and I experienced it too many times, and in varying facets of life, not just in the work place. It can be gut wrenching, but I'd rather know the truth of things than be manipulated into a skewed opinion of myself by evil doers.
Yay work tomorrow. Monday, maybe I'll hide in the woods or sell bar bque on the corner without a license. I don't even know for sure what bar b que is. I guess pig, most of the time. But I've heard of bar b que this and that. I almost ran over a wild turkey today. I could have bar b que'd that.
Oh well, beware the obesity crisis. If you eat too much you could affect the balance and spin of the earth, our dear mother.
I guess, since I did not grow up in an area where labor unions were given the same or more mystique, power and worship than the church and all that's holy, I only see how twisted the whole thing became over time, and how totally feudal the mentality. Let us honor the lowly laborers, the serfs, the peasants among us who do the things which make it all go round. To me, such a thing is more an insult than an honor.
I'm all for a little general vacation after a hot summer and all that, but it is another of those crumbs tossed out to the myopic greedy mob. Give them a little feeling of power and make them think it means something. We get their votes, keep them thinking like a herd, and also give them the idea that it would be a betrayal to become something other than one who lives and breathes the world of unions and resentful workers. Either yer with us or you are dead!
Well, someone has to be the iconoclast. It's a house of cards and I believe it will eventually fall down and people will realize that just because they bought into it all their lives and maybe mom and dad did too, that does not make it any more a house of substance.
I will work some of this weekend, and if it were possible I'd work labor day, too. I like to work on labor day. It makes me feel more apart and different from those mobster union bosses I've seen. It makes me feel free, alive, and independent.
Working on labor day is safer than driving and circulating in high traffic situations. I guess a lot of Atlantic coasters will be too busy putting things back together and trying to survive to pay much attention to the picnics and hollow speeches.
Wow. Why am I so cynical and hostile toward the propaganda that has become accepted as fact, and those who promote it? Must be something I ate.
Oh well, you get nutso stuff in all facets of organized business, labor or not. I knew an executive whose boss thought her vocabulary was too sophisticated. Truth is, he was jealous and afraid of her, and wanted to shag her. The place was apparently designed to smash the competent and kill their confidence. So crystal clear from the outside. Labor types who don't worship the idea of labor as a social class can sometimes see these things for what they are.
Manipulation to elevate one's own standing at the expense of others is often a rather sophisticated and clever game. There are those who see life as a game of chess and those who do not. Those who do see people as things to be manipulated and used without conscience. That turns out to be a surprise to the pawns who open their eyes and see what is happening.
In all such cases the real problem is that it is very hard for people not to have something they can believe as truth to hold on to. When that truth turns out to be a lie, who wants to cope with that? Not me. It is what I call having your reality shaken, and I experienced it too many times, and in varying facets of life, not just in the work place. It can be gut wrenching, but I'd rather know the truth of things than be manipulated into a skewed opinion of myself by evil doers.
Yay work tomorrow. Monday, maybe I'll hide in the woods or sell bar bque on the corner without a license. I don't even know for sure what bar b que is. I guess pig, most of the time. But I've heard of bar b que this and that. I almost ran over a wild turkey today. I could have bar b que'd that.
Oh well, beware the obesity crisis. If you eat too much you could affect the balance and spin of the earth, our dear mother.
Stunning Path of Evolution
There are those who regard the concept of evolution with religious-like zeal. The truth is that there is no proof of who we are or how we got here. Some things evolve and some don't.
Whatever the take on all that, the progress of a species, its evolution, is a door that swings both ways. Just take what was, for a short time, the culture and character of the United States. Some things change for the better, yet if you look at the sorts of things going on, it is amply clear that the things which once shone with integrity, intelligence and strength have decayed beond recognition.
Who would have thought that the average body weight of the citizens would be an issue discussed with a straight face and plenty of money ransomed from the fatsoes themselves? Or that there would be big discussions about when the president makes a speech, which is not event related, which conflicts with football broadcasts? Just remember, any time one of those hotshot officials speaks about, or regulates, anything, it is costing you money. Too much and it costs jobs as well.
It is yet another campaign speech. A PR ploy. That is what presidents do now. It is not totally new. I guess the idea of presidents giving speeches about nothing but blame for why things are needlessly difficult got ushered in with the baby boomer group. And the practice has evolved from thinly veiled campaigning to naked opportunism and thinly veiled conditioning for an unashamedly totalitarian state.
But, ever since the Clintons and Obama started claiming they wake up every day thinking how they can make my life better I've been blissfully at peace. Not sure Bush ever made that claim. I'm grateful he didn't.
Truthfully, those who take liberties "for my own good" lose my trust right off the bat. It's like the parent who beats a kid to a pulp, claiming "this hurts me more than you", or that it is being done because the parent cares.
I feel sorry for those who never paid attention when the USSR was running strong, or never knew Cubans first hand as Castro flipped from being a freedom fighter to communist dictator with no mercy. Too bad so many get the self deluded version multi-millionaires who have celebrity and freedom and special treatment spew out of Hollywood. It is easy to like a Castro or Chavez if you are living large in the USA and don't even have to stand in line at the DMV or the airport. Just sport in on your private jet and praise the health care and all that. Don't see them flocking to Havana's hospital when they have life threatening conditions.
Anyway. In the realm of evolving toward the best, most free and life loving creatures we could be, it is as if we took a few steps forward and are now cursing ourselves for that progress. We have people in highly powerful positions behaving like the idiots in cereal commercials. It is bizarre, and I think that is because the evolution street is not one way.
We are doing well if packs of feral dogs or/and herds of sheep represent our ideal society. Or maybe just a big bag of marshmallows.
This is why it is good to have hobbies. Whittling for example. It is fairly rule free, although the knife may need registering, and you should wear eye protection and a helmet, but mostly it is free of all the nonsense which has gripped the world.
I am happiest when I can avoid this stuff altogether. It is hard to do, but probably not as hard for me as some. If you have kids in school you can't escape it. Most jobs can't. Hell, we are edging toward the point when most jobs are government jobs. No running from it in that situation. I'm not too sure many government jobs would be a good fit for me.
Strange that such views are considered radical, and probably dangerous according to Homeland security. Yet, if the majority of people had my views and attitudes back many years in a certain european country, a lot of pain and suffering would have been avoided. It's the ones that go along and cheer the powerful that worry me.
Whatever the take on all that, the progress of a species, its evolution, is a door that swings both ways. Just take what was, for a short time, the culture and character of the United States. Some things change for the better, yet if you look at the sorts of things going on, it is amply clear that the things which once shone with integrity, intelligence and strength have decayed beond recognition.
Who would have thought that the average body weight of the citizens would be an issue discussed with a straight face and plenty of money ransomed from the fatsoes themselves? Or that there would be big discussions about when the president makes a speech, which is not event related, which conflicts with football broadcasts? Just remember, any time one of those hotshot officials speaks about, or regulates, anything, it is costing you money. Too much and it costs jobs as well.
It is yet another campaign speech. A PR ploy. That is what presidents do now. It is not totally new. I guess the idea of presidents giving speeches about nothing but blame for why things are needlessly difficult got ushered in with the baby boomer group. And the practice has evolved from thinly veiled campaigning to naked opportunism and thinly veiled conditioning for an unashamedly totalitarian state.
But, ever since the Clintons and Obama started claiming they wake up every day thinking how they can make my life better I've been blissfully at peace. Not sure Bush ever made that claim. I'm grateful he didn't.
Truthfully, those who take liberties "for my own good" lose my trust right off the bat. It's like the parent who beats a kid to a pulp, claiming "this hurts me more than you", or that it is being done because the parent cares.
I feel sorry for those who never paid attention when the USSR was running strong, or never knew Cubans first hand as Castro flipped from being a freedom fighter to communist dictator with no mercy. Too bad so many get the self deluded version multi-millionaires who have celebrity and freedom and special treatment spew out of Hollywood. It is easy to like a Castro or Chavez if you are living large in the USA and don't even have to stand in line at the DMV or the airport. Just sport in on your private jet and praise the health care and all that. Don't see them flocking to Havana's hospital when they have life threatening conditions.
Anyway. In the realm of evolving toward the best, most free and life loving creatures we could be, it is as if we took a few steps forward and are now cursing ourselves for that progress. We have people in highly powerful positions behaving like the idiots in cereal commercials. It is bizarre, and I think that is because the evolution street is not one way.
We are doing well if packs of feral dogs or/and herds of sheep represent our ideal society. Or maybe just a big bag of marshmallows.
This is why it is good to have hobbies. Whittling for example. It is fairly rule free, although the knife may need registering, and you should wear eye protection and a helmet, but mostly it is free of all the nonsense which has gripped the world.
I am happiest when I can avoid this stuff altogether. It is hard to do, but probably not as hard for me as some. If you have kids in school you can't escape it. Most jobs can't. Hell, we are edging toward the point when most jobs are government jobs. No running from it in that situation. I'm not too sure many government jobs would be a good fit for me.
Strange that such views are considered radical, and probably dangerous according to Homeland security. Yet, if the majority of people had my views and attitudes back many years in a certain european country, a lot of pain and suffering would have been avoided. It's the ones that go along and cheer the powerful that worry me.
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
Califronia Dreamin; Part VIII-XXXI-MMXI
So many things about this state are great. Geographically, there is just about everything except high humidity, although it may seem so in certain places. The real trouble is that it takes more money than I have to live in an acceptable coastal situation. That would be one in which I could afford a relatively quiet place withut a bunch of odd roommates. I cannot imagine roommates at my age. I haven't done that since my early twenties and not for long even then.
That doesn't rule out a sugar momma who can convince me I'm not free-loading. Convincing me would be the hard part.
The fire threats are what really bug me. Earthquakes, not so much. It seems really puzzling that more measures to mitigate the threat are not taken. Down the hill, in my back yard, there are markers indicating where the Cleveland national forest begins. It is mostly weeds with a few scrubby shrubs. They can weed-eat the dry brown weed field up to that point, but can't touch that. All that dry stuff is ultra fire prone. It catches much easier than your average kindling wood.
But, in the name of environmental "stewardship" it is off limits for fire prevention. So, I guess it makes more sense to endanger the whole area and many people, and risk the forest burning out habitats coyotes and whatever than it is to take different measures where people and property stand to lose.
Whatever the rationale, unless you are pretty close to certain coastal areas, you are at risk. If anything could ever send me back east, this is it. I have a bad feeling about this year. There was already a brush fire by the highway west of Alpine. And another couple of larger ones near where the tourmobile number one bit the dust.
The real annoyance is that I have yet to hear of new creative ideas to predispose the forests to limited fire spread. Some areas---where people and property are at risk, should be altered to create built in fire breaks and I think other steps could be taken. They can't so it because of the new religions which treat earth and anything non-human as holier than thou.
It is my belief that preservation of forests and us need not be mutually exclusive plans. All that is wishful thinking. In the mean time, I guess this is one more reminder that I should quit coasting through life and make some money so I can better dodge such threats.
I've even started bringing my computer if I leave home for a day or more, just so I will at least have that if a fire hits my mountain. Only one way on and one way off that hill as far as I know. And even on each side of that dirt road they can only cut the brush back maybe a foot. So, if that part burns there is no way it wouldn't jump that winding dirt road.
It irks me when things aren't built back in a manner to withstand the next storm, and it irks me when measures to prevent a disaster like fire are forbidden. With all the people who sneak into the country on foot and camp in the hills as they go, fires get started a lot. They not ony don't care if they leave trash in their path, they don't follow Smokey's campfire rules. Actually you are not supposed to have a campfire at all in most of these areas. And there's lightning, and careless legal people, not t mention the occasional arsonist.
I'm not enujoying this time of year. From now until maybe November sometime, it is high fire danger time. That is the main thing that sucks about where I live. That and the fact that government tends to work against you. They hate it that everyone isn't living in a city highrise.
That doesn't rule out a sugar momma who can convince me I'm not free-loading. Convincing me would be the hard part.
The fire threats are what really bug me. Earthquakes, not so much. It seems really puzzling that more measures to mitigate the threat are not taken. Down the hill, in my back yard, there are markers indicating where the Cleveland national forest begins. It is mostly weeds with a few scrubby shrubs. They can weed-eat the dry brown weed field up to that point, but can't touch that. All that dry stuff is ultra fire prone. It catches much easier than your average kindling wood.
But, in the name of environmental "stewardship" it is off limits for fire prevention. So, I guess it makes more sense to endanger the whole area and many people, and risk the forest burning out habitats coyotes and whatever than it is to take different measures where people and property stand to lose.
Whatever the rationale, unless you are pretty close to certain coastal areas, you are at risk. If anything could ever send me back east, this is it. I have a bad feeling about this year. There was already a brush fire by the highway west of Alpine. And another couple of larger ones near where the tourmobile number one bit the dust.
The real annoyance is that I have yet to hear of new creative ideas to predispose the forests to limited fire spread. Some areas---where people and property are at risk, should be altered to create built in fire breaks and I think other steps could be taken. They can't so it because of the new religions which treat earth and anything non-human as holier than thou.
It is my belief that preservation of forests and us need not be mutually exclusive plans. All that is wishful thinking. In the mean time, I guess this is one more reminder that I should quit coasting through life and make some money so I can better dodge such threats.
I've even started bringing my computer if I leave home for a day or more, just so I will at least have that if a fire hits my mountain. Only one way on and one way off that hill as far as I know. And even on each side of that dirt road they can only cut the brush back maybe a foot. So, if that part burns there is no way it wouldn't jump that winding dirt road.
It irks me when things aren't built back in a manner to withstand the next storm, and it irks me when measures to prevent a disaster like fire are forbidden. With all the people who sneak into the country on foot and camp in the hills as they go, fires get started a lot. They not ony don't care if they leave trash in their path, they don't follow Smokey's campfire rules. Actually you are not supposed to have a campfire at all in most of these areas. And there's lightning, and careless legal people, not t mention the occasional arsonist.
I'm not enujoying this time of year. From now until maybe November sometime, it is high fire danger time. That is the main thing that sucks about where I live. That and the fact that government tends to work against you. They hate it that everyone isn't living in a city highrise.
Monday, August 29, 2011
Wondering About Law
As we've moved into a hyper litigious society, many people are able to use the system to squash those with less power. Nothing to do with truth, justice, freedom, right or wrong.
Somehow, I have to question the decisions of courts all the way up the chain who've allowed this to develop. It is a great thing for lawyers, and whoever can pay the most and hire the most, and afford to have them file the most motions wins. That cannot be right in a free world.
I guess, since judges are mostly lawyers they help facilitate this kind of thing. It is way too easy for nitwits to sue over nothing, too hard for honest people with legitimate claims to get justice, and much too common for the whole thing to get twisted and molded into a weapon by those with the power to use it.
Oh well. Rather than seriously try to make it right we hear the often jowly voice of reason remind us that, "It isn't perfect, but its the best system there is." And they may be right. Just goes to show that much of the world really sucks when it comes to rules and regulations and how they deal with them.
It just came to mind, and I seriously wonder how anyone can think this is headed toward a more free country where anyone can seek his fortune using whatever resources he has and his wits. I avoided the phrase equal opportunity because some think it isn't equal if you are smarter or richer coming out of the blocks. They don't get what the words opportunity and freedom mean.
Anyway, something like court ought not be anyone's weapon used to harm the innocent.
Somehow, I have to question the decisions of courts all the way up the chain who've allowed this to develop. It is a great thing for lawyers, and whoever can pay the most and hire the most, and afford to have them file the most motions wins. That cannot be right in a free world.
I guess, since judges are mostly lawyers they help facilitate this kind of thing. It is way too easy for nitwits to sue over nothing, too hard for honest people with legitimate claims to get justice, and much too common for the whole thing to get twisted and molded into a weapon by those with the power to use it.
Oh well. Rather than seriously try to make it right we hear the often jowly voice of reason remind us that, "It isn't perfect, but its the best system there is." And they may be right. Just goes to show that much of the world really sucks when it comes to rules and regulations and how they deal with them.
It just came to mind, and I seriously wonder how anyone can think this is headed toward a more free country where anyone can seek his fortune using whatever resources he has and his wits. I avoided the phrase equal opportunity because some think it isn't equal if you are smarter or richer coming out of the blocks. They don't get what the words opportunity and freedom mean.
Anyway, something like court ought not be anyone's weapon used to harm the innocent.
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About Me
- John0 Juanderlust
- Ballistic Mountain, CA, United States
- Like spring on a summer's day
