Bill Cosby was right

"There's always worse."
I'd love to be optimistic in today's economy but somehow I just can't find any light at the end of the tunnel. It's as if someone turned it off and we're just feeling our way in the dark wondering what we'll trip over next. In the back of one's mind is that nagging feeling that unlike the trapped miners in Chile there's no rescue crew with large drilling machine. And for some reason, maybe fate, like your shoe laces that break at the most inopportune time, things wear out. The crown you had just finished paying off falls out. The sink decides to start leaking and you find an electrical problem that requires an expensive part to fix. Maybe we could find a name for Mr. Worse. Can't think of a good one off hand at the moment.
Anecdotally I look around the neighborhood and see nine cars parked. Nine people that aren't going to work. A convenience store near me put up a sign the other week saying close out sale. They're gone now, empty in just 10 days. Then there's the oil change place that moved in about a month ago. I haven't seen more than one or two customers in there in any given day. The grease monkeys walk around talking to each other and smoking. Like a street musician with a tip jar one of the guys moved his car into the bay to make it look like they had customers. Maybe the owner was due to visit.
I don't know how it could get much worse but I know it will. I've called all the potential leads that I can think of with no luck. Always the same answer, thought we'd have work but it dried up. A neighbor wants me to help her move. I'll take cash for that job. She thinks she can rent her place for enough to get by. I hate to be the one to tell her that Mr. Worse is about to pay her a visit. Rents are going down here because there's so many empty places. People like her are doubling up to make ends meet only Mr. Worse has moved the ends.
Looking through the job ads I find yet more scams (Mr worse at his best). Slipped in to the RN and IT positions are work at home scams that have been out there for years although not in the want ads. It surprises me that the get rich quick real estate scams haven't gotten more attention but then again with home values still falling even the scammers can't fool anyone.

I've got news burnout so...

And it's caturday anyway.

It's Friday, already?

Computer running very slow bank failures later maybe.

That's wierd. There's no bank fails this week or maybe their computers are down.

Leave it to MIT for a better answer

Oil cleaning robot army
This strange looking contraption is what the oil industry should have been working on for the last twenty years or so. It's a robotic oil skimmer that can work for months by itself cleaning up oil spills. Seems we can spend billions of dollars on drones and robots to kill people why not something for the benefit of man. But silly me I know once the military gets it's hands on this they'll try to figure out how to turn it into a weapon.

I think I mention this once before, that I wouldn't be too sad if my profession was turned over to robots.


Keep your drums upright or let a robot right it for you.

U.S. Navy and G4, open mouth insert foot

G4 ANNOUNCES GROUNDBREAKING NEW SERIES "BOMB PATROL: AFGHANISTAN" FOLLOWING REAL-LIFE MILITARY PERSONNEL IN COMBAT OVERSEAS

Cameras to Follow Explosive Ordnance Disposal Combat Platoon From San Diego Training Through Actual Missions in Afghanistan Via Exclusive United States Navy Access Agreement

Los Angeles, CA, August 24, 2010 - Last year, the Academy Award-winning film "The Hurt Locker" introduced audiences around the globe to the high-pressure world of the brave men and women who diffuse and dismantle explosives in some of the most high-pressure terrorist hotbeds. However, when it comes to this specialized and incredibly dangerous military job, make believe is nothing compared to the real thing. Now for the first time, G4 will take viewers to Afghanistan with real members of the United States Navy who have trained extensively to face the specialized challenges that come with this high-risk military position and are honored to wear the Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) badge. This is action, suspense and drama unlike anything captured on film before and failure is never an option. Produced by Big Fish Entertainment, under a special agreement with the United States Navy, "Bomb Patrol: Afghanistan" is slated to premiere spring 2011.
(via Futon Critic)


Let me interject: This is not some latest version of "lost" or "survivor". This is real life folks. The "loser" here can lose his/her life. There was no mention of just how they'd deal with an actual explosion during the course of the program. This is a very bad attempt at a 21st century version of the Colosseum. The troops have their hands full with missions at hand. They don't need to be made a spectacle for some network's ratings.
I encourage all to drop a line to G4 and let them know what you think. I could expect as much from a profit seeking network exec. The Navy should have know better.

The scoop

I've been following the job boards for a couple of years now with no success. One of the first things I noticed were a couple of jobs on the state run boards that had been there for over a year. I know for a fact that they were dead ends because I ran into a guy who got the job. The next thing I noticed was jobs being listed more than once. Having had a small business some years back I know how that works. The paper lists a duplicate listing and charges the business an extra listing fee. But I'm seeing this even more now. If a pizza joint is looking for a delivery guy the online paper lists all of the companies' locations and possible positions making it look like they need a mass of people and that there are a bunch of jobs to be had. Not true. I'm sure when even the slightest word goes out that there may be a position, the company gets flooded with applicants. I know this from when I was a photographer on the road and needed a receptionist. An add was placed in the local paper the day before I got to the town. When I arrived 50 resumes were sitting there waiting.

What are companies doing? They're cutting their staffs to the bare minimum until extra help is needed. Then they'll hire somebody for maybe a week or less to get caught up then lay them off. It's happened to me twice now. They won't keep me because they'd have to pay more for me than a entry level person but they know I'll get the job done without the long training process. So as you can see millions of us can't get ahead. Even working one day a week makes you employed (has to be reported) but isn't enough to survive.

Busy

Busy shoveling out the rat hole here before fall and winter weather hits. We should have a few more nice days before the rain comes.

So Glen Beck thinks 99ers are a bunch of foreigners does he? Don't get me started. That weasel would tell you his grandmother was an axe murderer if he thought he could make a nickle off of it. I truely wish progressive radio and TV would stop focusing on these guys because you know what happens when you ignore somebody? They go away. I'm beginning to think that a good chunk of Fox viewers are just progressives looking for the topic d jour. As if we don't have enough problems without having to listen to a bunch of undereducated monkeys spout lies.

Jobs
I'll go into that topic later as I've found out what's really going on. Really need to get going as somehow my posessions have magically cloned themselves since the last time I cleaned out the storage.

An old fashioned kind of guy

Got to thinking about all this new technology and have to ask is it really bettering our lives? With the cell phones, the twitters, the face book, GPS and all that are we slowly loosing our true identities as human beings? I'm sorry but I need more than the allowed 140 characters having given up passing notes in grade school. In communications I'd rather see somebody face to face followed by a phone conversation followed by maybe an email even though it's considered passe. As technology goes I remember the first pocket calculators that came out in the 70s. Math is not my forte so I was first in line to buy one. At first I thought they were great in fact after a while I got to memorize many of the calculations to the point where I didn't even need the calculator. They were after all far faster then my brain but after a while they become a crutch and you find yourself unable to do the simplest of math without one. Now it's just a matter of speed. Do I want to sit there with scratch paper doing the math or have the answers magically appear on the LCD? But then there's the issue of not having access to a calculator. Having grown up before their very existence is an advantage as long as you remember the formulas.

Then there's the issues with today's cars. There once was a time when I did nearly all the maintenance and repairs. But in the last 15 years or so the engineers have taken it upon themselves to stuff a computer or electronic sensor in every crack and cranny. Now I can understand some of it as wanting to enhance fuel consumption but overall the technology has sailed past my understanding even with a repair manual. My displeasure of this stems from the fact that now even those well trained high tech grease monkeys can't always fix your car and as I see it that only gives them yet another opportunity to inflate the bill. Used to be Mike the mechanic would tell you your exhaust bushings were going bad but you could check a repair manual to see he was lying. Now you'd be lucky to have a clue as to what he was talking about even with the manual. And of course they'll have to put your car on the diagnostic meter to find out what's wrong. Gad I think I've paid for about a dozen of those meters for what they charge to use it. Then there's the specialty tools that only dealers or repair shops have to remove a widget. You could buy one but the tool is one that you would only use once during the life of the car. And once you move to your next model the tools change as well.

What happens when there's a major technology fail?
Our technology may be the botox and face lifts of present day life making things look pretty but the infrastructure has arthritis. We live in a very thin veneer of civilization. Our power grid is 50+ years old and I see no great push to replace it. Yes we keep adding solar panels and wind turbines to the system but the backbone is pushing 60 and as we all know everything has a life span. Like our very nature we'll use it until it fails then wonder how we'll pay to replace it.

I can only hope that moving forward that technology would get simpler and not more complex. Well I said hope.

It's Friday

My resident computer expert discovered that there was some bad memory (kind of like me) in this little computer that was making it near impossible to move around the net. It now appears to be fixed. The management thanks you for your patience.

Banks fails later.
Update
Eight banks hit the skids this week 2 in FL 1 each in IL and Va and 4 in CA. These all look to be small community banks. Not a good sign.

Due to technical difficulties

The Friday beaver will be delayed today. The management is sorry for any inconvenience. Tune in later for further updates.

Eggs anyone?

I happened to pick up a dozen eggs last week only to find out that they were on the recall list. Some 380 million eggs! Finding out that they're not safe to eat after you've already eaten eight of them is not heartening news. I'm usually up on my recalls but this one seemed to come late. I think I'll hard boil the rest of them just to be safe. Or should I live dangerously and cook them over easy? In the last three years there's been recall after recall and it seems to be getting worse. There was fish, chicken, ground beef, beef with mad cow, tomatoes, peppers, spinach, salads and peanuts. Not to mention underprocessed canned foods like chili, spaghettos, and cereals. I know you must assume meats can be loaded with e-coli or salmonella and cook them properly but there isn't much you can do about veggies. So like that wonderful Russian game we take a gamble and eat dinner and hope it wasn't on the recall list. Only had food poisoning once as a kid from some bad milk that was undetectable.

You can go to the CDC website to see which ones are bad.

End of an Error

Last of the combat troops coming home from Iraq. Good their mission was done years ago. We don't need to be in the nation building business. We need to rebuild this country. Bush used the country credit card and we get stuck with the bill. I say we send the bill to the Bush family and the republican party who let him get away with it.
Had a bunch of other ideas for a post when this came on as a news alert. They have a couple of weeks to go through all the paperwork and other military BS before they get back here. Wait till they get home and find out there are no jobs to fill. They'll wonder what the hell they were fighting for. I give it a couple of weeks and we'll see the effects of PTSD. No job no challenges and no future prospects.
I see the convience store up the street is giving up. It's been there since I moved here some 30 years ago. A new oil change place moved in nearby. I see them standing there throwing a football around because they have no customers just like the last place. I give them a few more months and they'll be gone.
I called the boss yesterday because he said there'd be work soon. He lied. He's laying everybody off because there's no work yet. So I looked through all the job search engines only to find stuff that I'm not qualified for like systems anaylist, electrical engineer or production supervisor with 5 years experience. Even looked through Craig's list. There's a lot of scams there. Wanted worker with own box truck and tools. If I had a box truck and tools why would I need them expecially when they were only going to pay minimum wage? I've seen too many scams like that over the years. I should have sold lemonade when the weather was hot.

Hell no you can't!

Today was primary day here and as republicans have asked for my vote I can say with great glee "No"!
No you can't have my vote because you've conditioned me to say "No". I say no to tax breaks for the rich. I say no to corporate loopholes that make CEO wealthier while the rest of us suffer. I say no to slashing budgets that cause layoffs of our teachers fire and police. I say no to banks that won't refinance mortgages while we bailed them out. I say no to republicans who made health care an issue of killing grandma when they knew that was a lie. I say no to torture. I say no to illegal wire taps. I say no to treating us all like criminals when we board a plane. I say no to stereotyping races and religions for some sick political gain. I say no to not passing a jobs bill and getting the economy going again. So it's no to teabaggers and their fake outrage when most of the time they don't even understand the issue. I say no to republicans who parrot the BS of Fox News which isn't a news organization and shouldn't be part of the white house press corps. I say no to the idiots who think that it was Obama who got us into this mess. And I say no to the idiots who keep blocking everything he's tried to do. Got any better ideas other than tax cuts for the uber wealthy then let's hear it or just shut the hell up and get out of the way.

Mosques? Mosques? That's not the important issue

With no actual plan to turn this country around republicans have little choice but to throw up a smoke screen. Find the most minuscule issue that shouldn't be given even a second look and blow it as far out of proportion as possible because after all you'll be facing those folks back in your home district and they'll want to know exactly what you've been doing or not doing for the last umpteen days of the congressional session. You'd be hard pressed to say that you voted against every bill and got absolutely nothing done for the benefit of the home folk. So we have a constituency desperate for jobs, they're loosing their homes, they don't have health care yet and watch as states are cutting Medicaid and most other safety nets that they'll need soon. But like the five year old with hands over ears saying la la la la I can't hear you, we get yet more fear mongering. First it was those evil Mexicans who want to steal your jobs. Now it's those evil Muslims that will set up a training camp right at ground zero. It seems to me that that's all they have left. When all else fails instill fear. But what the republicans fail to realize had they bothered to pay attention in their Psyche 101 class is that negative reinforcement only works when it actually happens. When the shocks stop coming and the rat realizes that then the response is lost. But that's their problem and most have awakened to realize this.
America is waking up to the fact that we have no plan to go back to the failed policies of Bush no matter how hard they'd like to cram that down our throats. So all that will come out of their mouths will be tax cuts. No not for the little guys like you and me but for them and their wealthy friends. And when that doesn't work it will be be afraid of the brown skinned or the none English speaking or any religion that isn't like 'ours' (what ever that is?). What they fail to realize is that we are at present fighting for the freedoms of Muslims in Iraq with the sacrifice of of over 4000 of our men and women in the military. We have done so in other countries such as Bosnia and I'm sure helped Shri Lanka when they fought against the Tamil tigers who were for the ethnic cleansing of Muslims. We've also helped in African nations when they too wanted to rid their populace of Muslims although not on the scale as seen with Iraq and Afghanistan. Yet they'd rather have the freedoms of a minority group restricted in this country. The irony of it all.

But as I said this is about the real problems we face and not some smoke screen. There are the jobs that haven't materialized no thanks to the "No party". There is the capital that isn't flowing into the system because big banks are flush with cash and continue to make massive profits by playing the same games that got us into this mess in the first place. Yes they are still selling that worthless paper world wide. It's just a matter of repackaging it throwing another name to it and nobody will know the difference. I only need to look at foreclosures to say that rather than being put up for auction and having the banks write off the losses these homes are just sitting there rotting. Their once owners have moved to an apartment, in with family or are on the streets. And rather than get even a small cash flow by renting out a home they sit empty waiting for a wrecking ball.
Mainly though it's about the jobs. The jobs that will keep people in their homes. Jobs that put food on the table. Jobs that will help send kids to college. Jobs that will pay the taxes to pay down the debt and prevent states from declaring bankruptcy. Jobs that will give hope to older workers that they might see the finish line of retirement.
But no we're spoon fed real baloney that like a thunderstorm we should fear being hit by lightning even though the odds are something like 300,000 to 1. They continue to dehumanize any group to try and leverage fear for political advantage but I think America is finally catching on to their game. We may be slow but we're not as stupid as they may think. At least I hope not.

It's too hot!

Haven't posted today or commented because it's too hot here. Remember it usually doesn't get much over 80 F here most of the time. Today it was 90 here and even higher near the coast and in Seattle. So it's out to run through the sprinkler. Later...

It's not Friday unless there's a beaver around here

And this one looks like he's a three pack a day smoker from the color of those teeth.

As usual bank failures later...

For all those with friggatriskaidekaphobia there were 13 banks that.... no wait I lie there was only one bank to hit the skids in IL.
And a Happy Birthday to a big brother who hit 71 today. Makes me feel old for sure.

More random things

Taxes
They want to put a state income tax in place on those making $200K or more. And the rate goes up on higher incomes. They expect to get over $11 billion in tax revenues. I've got a better idea. Let's find all those bank CEOs and take away about 2/3s of their investments like they did to our retirement plans. But seriously I know this won't pass because it has an increase in the bussiness and occupation tax (that's a % bussiness pays on sales). Plus as we all know when the tax man gets his foot in the door the $200K figure lands up going down while loopholes for the rich somehow make it into the tax codes.
The taxman

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A Flaming Radioactive Russian?
Vladimir Putin sure knows how to take advantage of a photo op. Today he was seen copiloting a plane putting out the fires in Russia. You'd never see a U.S. president doing that. There has been great concern that the fires have reached the area around Chernobyl creating radioactive smoke. When I first heard that I was alarmed until I did a little research. In a comparison of fallout from a nuclear bomb and the Chernobyl accident scientists have determined that there is very little in the way of radiation.
Here's a comparison of the radiation of a Hiroshima type A bomb compaired to Chernobyl accident.


This was from a study done by Russian, Japanese, and South Korean scientists. They've been studying this accident since it happened in 1986. (Note on the graph that it's just over 10 cSv. By comparison a chest xray is 50 cSv. At 300 cSv 50% exposed die. At 750 Csv death is certain). Let's just hope the fires don't burn up to and inside the containment dome of the plant.

--------------------------------
Superbugs
First there was MRSA then SARS, West Nile, and Swine Flu and now there's NDM (New Delhi metallo-ß-lactamase) a wonderful drug resistant bacteria. Only a few cases have been found in the UK but this could spread with international travel. I've been waiting for the next Black Plague and this could be it. We'll see how this works out. I also think they're fighting all these bacteria the wrong way. Rather than using antibiotics they should be developing other bacteria to fight it. That's how our bodies work. We have over 1000 different types of bacteria living on and in our bodies. Some are good and fight off the badies while others are the badies. Now doesn't that just make you want to itch?

Random rants

Who would vote Republican?
Let me see who are they against and who have they pissed off or offended?
1.Blacks
2.Hispanics
3.Gays
4.The unemployed (we're just lazy slackers even thought we've done most of the work the last 30 years)
5.Unions
6.Teachers
7.Police
8.Small business
9.Scientists unless you support their non scientific ideals
10.Fishermen
11.The poor
12.Middle class
13.Anyone wealthy who disagrees with their positions.



-------------------------------------------------------------------------
So Robert Gibbs the White House press secretary was railing on progressives who got Obama his job. Saying that they wouldn't be happy even with Dennis Kucinich were in office. Somewhere in the comments was no promise of a public option in health care. I beg to differ had Mr. Gibbs bothered to read the Democratic platform set during the election. (And they think we have short memories) On page 10 of the democratic document it reads as follows:
Covering All Americans and Providing Real Choices
of Affordable Health Insurance Options. Families and
individuals should have the option of keeping the coverage they have or choosing from a wide
array of health insurance plans, including many private health insurance options and a public
plan. (emphasis mine)

And in order to get the additional funding to keep state medicaid programs going the white house pandered once again to the right and cut funding for food stamps. A family of four will have it's benefits cut by $59 per month even while food prices have and will continue to go up.

So does this make me part of the professional left?

Ran into these idiots today

Dropping off a bill at the Post Office I ran into these idiots. They had a sign with "Save NASA" with a photo of Obama with Hitler mustache and "Impeach Obama". I told them that, " You're f***ing idiots." "You need to take a civics class". They looked at me like your dog looks at you when you scold them, cocked heads and blank stares. Come to find out they're part of that Lyndon LaRouche group of nut jobs. But I forgot they don't teach civics anymore in school.
What a lot of these groups fail to realize is that it's so easy to fact check and get the backgrounds on just about any subject in less than a second. Also that there is a record somewhere on the inertubes of what they said in the past. As for LaRouche I won't go there because he's so strange you couldn't make up his life and presidential runs if you took Xanax and drank a bottle of Jack.

A Personnal note

It just hit me yesterday that today marks one of those benchmarks you tend to forget as you get older. It was 30 years ago today that I started the paperwork on the place I now live having packed up my van, said my goodbyes, and never looked back on the rustbelt from where I came two weeks earlier. When I heard that many of the mills were set to close I knew it was an end of an era. No more big steel providing those family wage jobs which in turn supported the rest of the area. From what I hear what's left are the scraps and some small specialty steel. Strangely I never set foot in a mill until I came out here and started in Haz Mat work. Yes we do have a few very tiny mills here making mostly rebar for the roads and buildings. That nasty sulfur smell brought back memories as a kid from the east. I remembered the street lights coming on during the day and black snow in winter. Yes it was that bad back then. But that was a different time and a different life. When I saw that Seattle was to be the premier area for technology I knew there would be better prospects here. It was a hard start here but I wouldn't trade it for anything.

Must be Friday and time for the Beav but first...

Our wonderful government says that most of the oil in the Gulf is gone. That somehow a magical oil fairy came down when we were all sleeping waved her wand and "poof" everything is back to normal and we can all live happily ever after.


And now for the reality of the situation from a couple of scientists who've been studying spills for a couple of years:

Independent scientists scoffed at the report's findings. Several pointed out that the report estimates that a quarter of the oil is still floating in the gulf or contaminating beaches and marshes, while another quarter was dispersed, either with chemicals or naturally.


In other words, half of it, or about 2.5 million barrels, is still unrecovered.

"I don't think that's real good news," said James "Rip" Kirby, a University of South Florida coastal geologist who has been studying the spill's effects on Panhandle beaches. "That to me is like saying, 'Yee-haw, the Chicago Cubs are only 10 games out of first place!' "

Rick Steiner, a retired University of Alaska professor who worked on the Exxon Valdez disaster, questioned the validity of the estimates in the report, explaining, "These are just what we call WAGs — wild- a-- guesses."

Even if the report's numbers were dead-on, Steiner said, that would not mean the oil spill disaster is over, as some pundits are claiming. The impact is likely to linger for a decade or more.

For instance, in the Exxon Valdez spill, four years passed before the herring population in Prince William Sound collapsed. The toxic contamination had apparently hurt the herrings' immune system.


Personnaly I'd like to see some more of the university's findings. They had sent their research boat out to take samples back in June. Wonder if they did any follow up?

Bank fails later as usual.

Update: Only one bank failed this week in IL.

A momentary break in the daily news

Maybe I need to find some of those strange sites that Crum (Lost in the Bozone) goes to.

Surprise surprise Pelosi grows a set

The senate passed the financial aid package to get aid to the states for FMAP along with funding for a whole bunch of teachers who were scheduled to be laid off just before the school year started. If I didn't know better I'd have thought hell just froze over.
Pelosi is calling the house back in session after they had just gone on summer break an unprecedented move. About time you grew a set Nancy!
In addition I hear senator Stabenow is putting together a jobs bill to help the 99ers.
All I can say is why oh why have they waited so long? People don't want handouts they want jobs. What republicans fail to realize is that we could pay off the national debt and there'd still be massive unemployment because there would be no demand. You can't have demand without money to spend and you can't have money to spend without a job. In recessions past things turned around when the corporate coffers were stuffed. They had no choice but to spend to expand. Not so this time around. They're satisfied with sitting on the cash and making workers they didn't lay off do the work of three people.

Nothing like kicking people when they're down

Who would if they saw somebody down and needing medical care would tell them to just go away? We treat stray cats and injured birds with better respect. A dog stuck in a drain pipe gets more help than we're willing to give a neighbor.
For several weeks the Democrats in the senate have been trying to get funding for FMAP. That's the Federal Medical Assistance Percentages or Medicaid. The republicans have blocked this measure time and time again. With only a few days left before the August break some 30 states will be forced to come up with the money. This after slashing budgets to the bone and still facing shortfalls. Even if an amendment is passed in the senate covering this it still must go through the house which is already on vacation. It would mean calling back the house or waiting until September to get something done. Imagine being on a medication that needs monitoring or needing a desperate surgery only to have to wait until the political parties reach some agreement or the Dems do it by forcing it through. If that isn't the definition of a disease then I don't know what is.

I knew it I spoke too soon

I worked three days last week and got laid off. And no I didn't shoot or piss off the boss or anything like that. As you may know federal money has been put out there to weatherize low and moderate income homes. The idea is good. It will get some people working, provide warmer houses come this winter and save the homeowner some cash on energy. But since this worker classification have never existed it's become a political mess. You see a weatherization technician does many jobs. It involves not just slapping some insulation in the attic and calling it good but the removal of siding, drilling holes for the pump hose, and repairs of all kinds. We can also install vent fans and replace ductwork. I think you see where this is going. There are other trades that do this kind of work and since many of them are out of work they're looking for anything they can find to get their people working. With the first scraps of money coming down the pipe everybody's drooling over what's there. Now it's turning to fighting or turf wars. They seem to want all the trades doing each of their jobs on one site. It won't work. There really isn't enough work to have six guys doing the work of two or three. I was working with three other guys and even that was way too many. I'd love to do this on my own with one other guy but the equipment isn't cheap and the politics in dealing with government agencies is a nightmare. Oh well they said they'd call back in a week or two after the fighting is over.

I knew it there's a pill for everything

6 cities to train mail carriers to dispense anti-terror drugs.

See we don't need to send troops to the middle east just pop a pill and everything will be fine.