Closet Extremist

There's a Sale!

So I'm hanging out with my Parents, Sister, and Brother -in-Law today, and lo and behold the damned fish stopped biting. Well, Dad and BIL decided that it was nap time, and I wasn't sleepy...then. My Mom mentions the fact that she has the patterns that she wants stencilled onto the screen of the front sliding glass door. (They have a tendency to walk into them when they're closed.) So it's off to Wal-Mart we go for paint and such.

When they (Sis, and Mom) were still at the checkout, I walked the cart out to the collection area, and then proceeded out the front of the store. In the few moments that I was out there, I happenned to look up at the wall, and I saw a sign. (Me being the type of person I am.) I decided that I would make a little joke of it. "Chelle had a camera in her pocket, and here are the results:

See the expression on my face? It's the disappointment in knowing that I'm only worth a buck. I figured that I was worth at least a buck-o-five., but there you go.

Then, a lady who works at the store is walking in the door that I was in front of. She says " Oh. Are you for sale?" I reply "Apparrently." She retorts "Well come on in here, and I'll check you out!"

My mood improved.

What can I say? I like it when somebody tries to buy my sexy body. ;^)

At 5:30 AM in the morning, I'm getting up and heading for Chattanooga, TN to "Stack the rails" for a freight elevator in a museum. Should only be a couple of day's, so the effect on the blogging will be minimal.

"See" you soon.

Carnival of the Pajamas Costumes.

The call came out. Harvey said "Think Costumes", so I figured I'd show you folks my "Drunken Priest" outfit. I hope that Sally likes it. (She was pestering me in the comments awhile back.)

(I'd like to note that an eight year old took these pictures, so I'm blaming her for the goofy expression on my face in the first picture. I know it's my face, but just give me this little thing.)

Anyway, On to the pic's.

I'd like to introduce...Father John.

(as with every picture I post, you can click to enlarge.)

Yup, that's me. I think the outfit looks pretty good. The last time I wore this to a costume party, I was asked to run down to the store to pick up some extra "provisions". The poor people in that store just weren't sure whether or not I was actually a preist. That was fun.

Let's see what Father John has in his jacket pocket. Shall we?

(Really bad fake Irish accent) It appears I've found me a bit of a tipple. (/RbfIa) Well that's intrigueing. How did that get in there? I'm not real sure, but I think there may be EVIL (tm) in that flask.

DEMONS COME OWT!

Whoops. Went all "Baptist" on you there for a minute. Ahem.

So there you are. (Hey, at least I posted something NOT related to elevators.)

Recalibrating the "Eyeball"

I'm only at about 75% on my "Eyeball" calls since I've been back in the construction bidness, and it bothers me. I'm used to being able to look at something and being able to tell immediatley....no Instinctively what the measurement is, and whther or not it's "out" of level or plumb. I'm just used to noticing these things.

Here lately, I've been missing a few things that I should have caught "by rote". I guess it's just the fact that my measuring "eye" has atrophied over the intervening years. White collar work will do that to you.

However, I've had a few victories over the last few day's. As a matter of fact, this afternoon, we were "setting" a few door bolsters, and the bracketry that holds them up. Well the "lead man" (An old salt of the elevator business if thee ever was one) got called over to the three-stop elevator at the front of the building to consult on a problem. I was admosnished to "get the side brackets up" as he left.

We already had the bottom piece in place ( _ ), so all I had to do was sit the side brackets atop it, and bolt them in place ( I_I ), like so. He was gone for longer than I expected, so I proceeded to install the "header". (That's the part that installs above the previous example creating a box. (Sill at the bottom, side brackets go9ing up from the right and left, and the Header sits atop the side brackets.)

The "Headr" is a foot-long by eight-foot wide piece of stamped steel. It's not light. I had to figure out a way to put this in place (via two bolts at each end) without holding it out over the open gap that separates the platform from the emptiness that goes all the way down to the pit. I got creative, and set a two foot piece of bracket down on the floor of the platform, that extended out over the emptiness, and set a five gallon bucket of "Spare parts" (also not light) on the end of it (to support the end of the header that I wasn't working on first.)

Needless to say, my "Lead" was impressed that I had managed to set the header without his help, and the fact that I set it correctly was even more of a surprise. (There's someone who works with us, who has been there for three years, who (according to reports) could not perform the same feat. I've been employed there for Eight Days, so I think I'm ahead of the curve.

Damn, I like this job. Body-aches and ten hour day's notwithstanding. I'm thinking that I'll be a fine "Elevator Man"...Someday.

As a former "Biker"...

I wholeheartedly agree with the sentiments espoused so eloquently by the lovely and talented Cheesemistress.
I don't mind a little "rumble" coming out of the pipes, but (for the Love of Jeff) some people just go way overboard.

If you've ever hung around a bunch of biker's, I'm sure you've seen the T-shirt that reads "Loud Pipes Save Lives". I think that's a pretty good example of the lengths that some people will go to just to damage their own (and everyone else's) hearing. I think that the whole "LPSL" meme is patently bullshit. I'm not going to go off on a Denbeste-ian type analysis of the sound characteristics of a motorcycle, but anyone in their right mind can agree that the majority of the noise is projected from the rear of the bike, and even moreso at speed. The whole argument that "LPSL" is that people will hear them coming and then be sure to not pull out in front of them, etc. If the majority of the noise is behind them, then how are they warning folks in front of them?

I always wanted to get a T-shirt printed up that said: "Loud Pipes Make Noise", and wear it when I was out riding. I never had one made though, as I've seen the size of the gentlmen who normally wear the "LPSL" shirt. Unlike that little Wren, I'm positive that I wouldn't be able to make it to the third fall. I'd be "paste" in only one. Or it could be that I don't like loud pipes because I don't have any need to "compensate" for any , erm, shortfalls.

Honey, I'm Home!

I know I'm a little late, but I still expect to have a warm supper on the table... I don't care if it's been two day's! Put it in the oven or something.

Sorry about that, gentle readers, but sometimes you just gotta put'em in their place. You know. (Quit crying and get me a damn beer!) Ahem.

So do you wanna see what a real life job-site looks like? Of course you do.

I'm standing out in the street keeping traffic from coming down the road. We are currently in the process of unloading an elevator from the back of a semi-truck. You can see the back of it in the lower right corner of the pitcher. I'd like you all to know that those damn things are heavy. It made me wish that we could have used this thing:

The only problem is that all of the parts have to go on the ground floor, and nobody is willing to cut a hole in the roof. (I'd have been willing, but I doubt that the Union welders would let me use their torch. Stupid Unions!) While all this is going on, I'm still standing out in the street being a traffic target. To illustrate a point of "knuckle-headedness" in the general public, I'd like to point out exhibit "A".

(BTW, you can click to enlarge any image I post.)

What would you do if you see this sight up a one-way street? That's what I thought, but there were several vehicles that drove all the way up to the barrier. Maybe they were hoping that we would move it because they were "special" or something. If they were so freaking "special", then I'd expect them to be riding on the "Short Bus", and not driving a frickin' Lexus. Idiots.

Also, my damn cell phone has been acting weird lately. Turning itself off, missing calls and voicemails (and not letting me know that something was missed, or a voicemail was left for 12 to 24 hours after the fact.), and just generally being a nuisance. This phone is an Audiovox CDM-400C, and to give you an indication of its age, Google didn't return a single page that referenced this phone. Not one. I mean it's been a good phone and all, but if it can't last for more than the seven years I've had it, then it must be a piece of crap. I mean, don't they make anything to last nowady's? Yeesh.

So my new phone is a Samsung sch-a650 and I still haven't figured out all the features. It's Twenty-Aught-Four already, so I figured that it was time for me to step into the "digital-age" with my communications hardware. (Hey! The old one was digital...first generation dual-mode, but it WAS digital!) So far I'm just tickled with the new telecommunications apparatus, and I really hope that it stays that way. I'd hate to have to bring the old one out of mothballs.

Yesterday I went down to the 'Rents houseboat to do some fishing...Five hours after I arrived, I actually got to put a line in the water. Meh. It's all good though, 'cuz that boat really needed a good Fall cleaning. I was there, so I was happy to pitch in and help get that sucker scrubbed from top to bottom. It took five hours because that "floating home" is better than seventy feet in length. What the hell. I got to spend the entire day with Dad and Mom, and I scored a free supper out, for helping them with the chores. Hell, I even caught more fish than they did. (A strange occurrance I assure you.) At least I got to sleep in 'till 8:30 am, what a slugabed I am.

This morning I slept in 'till 7:30 am. Still lazy, but improving. I got some laundry done, and caught up on a little blog reading. After the "darks" were done and the "whites" were in the dryer, the damn cat's (There's four) came careening into my living room, and jumped up on my little corner-shelf that stores my old audio tapes. Tapes go crashing all over the place, but I'm distracted (Brazilian Grand Prix had just started), so I figured that they were just playing, and went back to my race. I learned that this was no "game" when I heard the ungodly screeching of a bird (of some sort) coming from the corner where all the cats were.

After much throwing of cats and moving of furniture, I discover a wren that is apparrently wounded. Well I had to find a way to extricate the little bugger from the house, and the first thing that came to mind was to use the dust broom and pan to scoop him up and deliver him to the open skies. What did he do? WEnt under my TV. My 32 inch console TV. The one that weigh's 300 pounds, and only has a two-inch clearance at the back between the floor and the TV. Great! I'll just leave the booger under there until it dies, and clean up the mess later.

Just as the buzzer goes off, signifying that my "whites" were ready to come out of the dryer, I hear a tremendous fluttering sound from the corner. I turn and look, and find a suprisingly spry little wren sitting on top of my stereo speaker. He even had some cat fur still in his bill, so he gave as good as he got. This time I figured that I'd don my work gloves and grab him, so I could take him outside and free him. Unfortunately, my gloves were out in my van, so I had to go get them. I left the door wide open when I went to get'em, and you'd think that he would have split when he had the chance, but nothin' doin'. As I came back through the front door (Gloves on) he was sitting atop my corner shelf, and seemed to be taunting me. (his body language was: I just survived four cats. What have you got?) He let my outstretched hands get to within three feet of him before he figured out that I meant business, and made for the door. He's lucky that he split, 'cuz I think I could've taken him in a best "three out of five falls" competition. We'll never know now. (Stupid coward bird!)

Went back down to the docks, and got to spend time with my Brother-in-Law, fishing for whatever would bite. Visited with my Aunt and Uncle (Dad's sister and her husband) and got fed a Mexican Shrimp dip (I know it sounds strange, but it's damned good), and finally I headed home to get my "blog" on. All in all a very good weekend. I'm not used to them..weekends that is. I guess it's the benefit of finally going back to work at a "real job". So can anyone tell me what the difference is between a "real job", and something else? All the jobs I've worked were "Real" as far as I know.

First Weekend!

I actually get to have a weeked! WooHoo!

Therefore, I am off to the bar to celebrate my new job. I'll give you a report if anything interesting happens.

Day Three...

...and still doing fine. So far I've worked with three separate crews in three day's, at three sites. One residential, and two commercial (hospital yesterday, and a church today), and each one had a different elevator make and/or model. I'm in full sponge mode. Just learnin' and learnin', and I'm loving it.

Everyone that I've worked with out at the sites has been real good to me, and so far there's noone that I foresee having a problem with. Good buncha guy's, and they aren't afraid to put me to work. Luckily, I'm not scared of getting a little sweaty, so it's all good. (Of course there are other, more fun, ways to get sweaty, and I ain't scared of them either.)

I'm looking forward to starting another job tomorrow, and this time the plan is for me to stay on it all the way through the construction of the elevator. I'm going to be working at the historic Tennessee Theater, and I'm really excited to be a part of the renovation/restoration going on there. (Check thn second bullet-point under "Backstage Renovation", and the first one under "Public Area Renovation and Restoration", and you'll see how much work we've got going on there.) This should be a really neat job, and it's something that I know I'll take tremendous pride in when it's done. That's the best payoff for me personally. Being able to take a step back after jobs like this are done and being able to say "I had a part in that." I'm really looking forward to that feeling of satisfaction. I've missed it since I went into supervising people over five years ago.

Sorry about the one track mind that I've got here lately. I've been eating, sleeping, and dreaming elevators for the past three days, and I don't see much of an end in sight. Ah well. I'll do my best to keep it interesting for you.

First Day...

...went pretty well. I got to sit in on the training meeting for all the "Construction" mechanics, and I got to learn a few good things there. Afterwards I got to watch the safety videos (snore), and got set up with a safety kit. The kit is pretty neat because of all the stuff it contains. Safety glasses, work gloves, first aid kit, a big ole' honkin' rope, a safety clamp, and a harness. As long as I get all this set up right, I can't fall any more than six feet if I happen to lose my footing. I put that rig on and felt like I was ready to tackle Everest. All that ate up the first four hours of the day.

Then I got sent out to a jobsite, and was required to work. Hey! That's a four letter word! I got all dirty and greasy, and played with hammer-drills and climbed ladders. Fun! We damn-near got all the rails up, for a three-stop elevator, in the short time I was on the job. We would have gotten more done, but one of the guys had to go and get anchors to secure the bottom rail section into the block wall of the pit. (How do ya like the jargon? Soundin' like an Elevator Man (tm) already!)

All in all a decent day. Here's to many more, and gettin' better at this. So far, I'm havin' fun.

A Little Literature

So I went into the bathroom yesterday to take care of my "Constitutional", and before reclining on the throne, I noticed a new book sitting on the cistern. A childrens book to be exact. I just had to peruse it in order to find out what sort of things our kids are reading these days (That, and the title intrigued me).

The missive in question is: "The Three Little Wolves and the Big Bad Pig" written by Eugene Trivezas, illustrated by Helen Oxenbury, and published by "Scholastic Inc." (aparrently a part of Macmillan Publishing Company) in 1993.

I think to myself "I wonder what sort of twist they have put on the traditional story of the "Three Little Pigs" that I haven't seen before?" and proceed to read the book. One of the first things I noticed was that the Three little wolves all were different colors. One Black, one gray, and one white. (Not to mention the fact that they are at their Grandmother's Death-bed at the outset...Where's Mommy?)

Granny sends them out on their own, and they decide to build a house. As in the original story, they build three eventually, but they never pay for any of the materials (First house is of bricks, donated by a Kangaroo. Second house is of concrete, donated by a beaver. Third house is of armor plate, donated by a rhinoceros.) The fourth house they built of "natural" materials.

House #1 was destroyed with a sledgehammer by the big bad pig. House # 2 was destroyed by a jackhammer. Number three was blown apart by dynamite. I can only say that I admire the three little wolves in the fact that they were willing to rebuild again and again after such adversity. Good display of stick-to-it-iveness there, but I have a little problem with the final choice of building material. Flowers.

You can probably already see where this is going, but I'll go ahead and finish the tale. After the final house is constructed, the "Big Bad Pig" shows up to tear it down as he did the previous three. However, when he "Huffs and Puffs" to blow the flimsy house of flowers down, he gets a whiff of the nice flower smell, and the next thing you know the wolves and the pig have moved in together and lived happily ever after.

This story is nice and cutesy, but is very demonstrative of the world view of the Liberal set. The whole "be nice to each other" theme is all good, but I'm afraid that it just doesn't work that way in the real world. If you continue to let yourself be bullied, and then the bully decides to be nice, it wouldn't be a good idea to let him into your house. He's still a bully, and I believe you will find that out in short order.

Personally, I would have shortened this little tale quite considerably. after the first lick taken by the pig with the sledgehammer on the first house, one of the little wolves would have gotten out his trusty firearm and proceeded to blow a hole in the pig big enough to swim a catfish through. The last line would be something like "The little wolves had Ham for supper, and were very happy."

It just amazes me that there are people out there that believe in this type of crap, and it saddens me that they are trying to teach our children to believe it as well.

Last day, and I'm busy

Just got through with my last day at the retail store. I left on good terms, and with a standing invitation to come back to work there. Gotta like that.

I've been working on a post about a children's book (of all things), but I don't have time to finish it now 'cuz I'm heading down to Dad and Mom's for some supper. More to come, later this evening.

I was born in 1971

And you need to read this. I think it is a very compelling reason why John Kerry would make a very unsuitable CINC.

Peter, if you're reading. Thanks for posting that, and for Land's Sake! Get yourself a blog.

Elevator books are boring as hell.

I'm here to tell you that they are some of the worst written texts on the face of the planet. (you've read this site, so you can be sure that I'm a good judge of writing.) Sure, you get good information from them, but do they have to be so dry? Even the attempts at leveity that are smatterd here and there are crappy. So much for reading for pleasure.

Anyway's, that's what I've been up to for the last couple of day's. When I'm not at my retail job, I'm studying for my new job. Gotta be as prepared as I can, you know.

I've been catching a lot of grief from the folks at the retail store. They're all upset at me for leaving them. As I've said to several of them, "It's about what talks and what walks", and the elevator company is talkin' my language. It still makes me feel a little bad for leaving these fine folks behind. I met a bunch of good people there, and a little part of me feels like I'm letting them down. On to new experiences though. Gotta better yourself whenever you can, don'tchya think?

Another new job!

I'm sure you all know that I've been looking into the "Handy - Person" bidness, but I haven't heard from the person who is organizing the whole thing. I don't know what's going on there, and I haven't gotten any jobs from her, so I may have to just back burner that whole affair. However, all is not lost.

Last night my blogless sister 'Chelle left me a voice-mail that stated that one of the people who works for the business she does just up and quit last night, and maybe I should put in an application. As it happened, I was off work at my retail job today, so I went on in. I tlked with the owner of the business for forty-five minutes before I even filled out the application. Essentially, I've got the job. Hell I've already gone and taken my drug-test to get hired. Really a fast track, and I like that a lot. This is a small company, that I have a good potential to grow rapidly in. Needless to say, I'm pretty stoked.

So what type of business is it Johnny? I'm glad you asked. Elevators. The installation, maintenance, and servicing of them to be exact. Lots of new things to learn, getting to be outdoors, and actually having to engage my brain while oing my job. All that and it starts at three bucks an hour more than what I make now. Oh yeah, and better benefits too. There isn't a downside to this for me, but there may be one for you. There's travel involved.

I'll have to be gone from here through the work-week, and back on the weekends, for the majority of my time. Until I get enough scratch together to get me a laptop, blogging will be pretty-much nil through the week. (calm down folks, I'm not shutting down the site or anything.) I'll keep you all posted as things progress.

I'm pleased to say that I am now the proud possessor of an "Erection Manual." Gee, I thought I already had that figured out. The worst part of it is that it was given to me by my Sister! Eeewwwwwww! I'll be happily perusing this data over the next few day's, as I love to learn new things. The rest of the title of this wonderful manual? Basic Field Practices for Installation of Elevator Equipment. Absolutely rivetting!

After almost a year of no job opportunities coming my way, I get two good ones in the last week. One of them is coming through for me, and it feels like a good fit. I guess patience really is a virtue.

TS beer-bottle rating = 5

Well the "little" PC was just having a tough time of it. During the "reinstallation" phase of trying to get things working in some semblance of order, and to get the little WIFI tranciever to hook up to the base - station, Win 98 just decided that it was going to arbitrarily uninstall most of its drivers. All I can say is that it was damn creepy. I left my blogless Brother-in-Law reinstalling Windows on that machine after I had created a new boot disk, and formatted the primary hard drive. I hope the installation goes good the next time around.

So what else went on? Glad you asked. When I called my Sis back (after I'd gotten off work and could talk) She put Dean - O on the phone, and he asked me to pick him up a new USB hub, for him on the way. Back to work I go (doesn't matter though, I'd left my jacket there and would have to go back to get it anyway) procure the hub and strike out. Now, I live on the Westernmost reaches of Knox County Tennessee, and they live just outside of the North-Easternmost area of the County. At least half of the drive consists of two-lane roads, that snake directly through God's Country. 45 minute drive minimum, so I don't get up there too often.

They had agreed on feeding my poor carcass when I got up there, and had asked what I'd like to eat. I told 'em "I don't care", because I really don't. I've been blessed with the gift of not being a "fussy eater". Hamburger Helper or lobster tail, if you're gonna feed me for free, I don't care what it is. However I might have mentioned here that I'm a meat and potato's man, and that's just what I got. Salad, baked potato with everything, cheese-biscuits, and a steak that seemed like someone set a deli slicer at about an inch gap, and ran the whole damn cow through it. I'd like to say tht I cleaned my plate, but there was a helluva lotta food there. (and I have to keep my "girlish figure" if I'm to keep modelling on the internet)

Good family + Good food + Good conversation = Good Times. I'd try harder to go up there more often, but I figure that if I was there every day, that "Hamburger Helper" thing would become a reality. I ddn't properly thank them for the fine hospitality when I left (because they were busy thanking me for my assistance with the PC), so I'd like to formally thank them both here. I had a great time, even though you made me do tech support.

Tech - Support and Blogging on the road

I got the call to come over to my blogless sister's house to help out installing her new ADSL to their second computer. so what am I doing? Blogging from her "Main box" while the installation is taking place on the other one. Yeesh I'm a geek. My Sister has made a run for a twelve-pack and some grub, so I'll be able to guage the complexity of the problem, by the number of beer cans stacked beside the PC. I'll let you know how things turn out.

Pajamahadeen!

I finally decided to join in on the Carnival of the PJ's, but I realized that I have one small issue...I don't wear Pajama's. I hadda do a little shopping to come up with something that would be appropriate.

(click to enlarge)

Sorry, I couldn't get up the nerve to actually wear these things for the picture. I gots a few more pics in answer to a few requests I had from this post. See the extended entry if interested.

The "Money Shot" brought to you by Tammi-Licious.

(BTW You can "click to enlarge" any image I post)

I hope that's enough "Leg" for you Machelle. I hope that's enough khaki for you Boudicca. Sorry Eric, I just couldn't keep my shirt on. BTW Sally, I'm saving my "Priest" outfit for Halloween.

Those shorts don't show off the "assets" (what little there is), so here are some other shots. Just 'cuz Bug wanted 'em.

Right cheek. (With knife and wallet)

Left cheek. (With cell phone)

And finally, here's the "Command Center" for Closet Extremist.

Shirtless (of course). Yeah yeah yeah, I need to clean it up, but what can I say, I work for a living. I'm enjoying a spot of the "Old Kentucky" in this here shot. I tried really hard to ensure that I just pressed the timer button, and went back to what I was doing. I'm not sure tht I was one hundred percent there, but I did my best.

So...What do you think about the haircut?

"John" of all trades, and a little music

When I went into the navy back in '89, I had to take the ASVAB. That's Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery for those who are uninitiated. I scored a 99 out of a possible 100, and I take that as a point of pride. In the many jobs that I've done since then, I believe that I've validated that assessment. So far, I've been able to do anything that has been asked of me, and been able to take care of any emergencies that have happened around the house or the vehicle. Need your oil changed? I've got you covered. Need drywall repair? Not a problem. Computer acting up? Call doctor John.

Well, this evening I was out with a friend who is attempting to start up a new bidness concern. Basically it's any type of job that will cost less than $25,000. (That's the threshold where you have to have a General Contractor's license) Landscaping, paint work, light construction, light destruction, oil changes, light bulb replacement (automotive), plumbing, you name it. Basically a "Jack of all trades" type of handiman service.

I plan on starting out part time, and I'll see where it goes. Fair price for fair work is what we plan on charging. Small mark-up for supplies. Just a good deal for folks who have no clue about how to do things for themselves.

As a person who's done a little of everything, I find this type of thing to be a good fit for me. I'll certainly give it a go, but the worst part of it is that any regular "down" time will be spent doing this. I promise that my (already spotty) blogging will not suffer as a result. Who needs sleep? I'm still young.

As for the music: I saw an advertisement for a movie the other day, and it included a little snippet of a song that I hadn't heard in years. WEll it got caught in my head, so I had to obtain a copy as quick as possible, and just gorge myself on the tune before I could be okay again. I'm still listening to the damn thing. The song is "Personal Jesus" by Depeche Mode. I've got it on perpetual loop on my MP3 player as I type this. It's kind of strange that I should find such merit in a song that touts the virtues of faith so compelling.

This happens to me periodically though. I once searched throough an entire phonebook sized catalog of music just to find: LeeRoy Parnell's "Wasn't that a Party?". It must be a particular sickness with me. When I get a song stuck in my head, I've got to hear it over and over until I'm "Over " it . If not I'll wind up "Up on a roof with a Magnum".

I'm thinking that it would not be "too pretty good". What's your opinion?

I just gotta be me

Another silly quiz-type thingy, but this seemed sort of appropo.

Hat tip to blog bro That 1 Guy.

Just for the ladies

Let's face it. I'm not above spongeing some attention off the old blogpappy. In the comments to this post there was a mention of ladies liking a feller in hiking boots. I couldn't just let that slide, so here's a shot of what I wear on a daily basis:

Feel free to swoon. If you get a case of the "vapors" I'll have mint-juleps standing by.

The "Europe" flap

After giving it a few days to die down, I finally decided to look into what Alex was complaining about. As I suspected, it was over this article.

I'm going to jump around this article to make my point here. Let's start with one of the most obvious arguments :

That 1776 declaration is worth rereading. Its very first sentence demands "a decent respect to the opinions of mankind": isn't that exactly what the world would like from America today? The document goes on to excoriate the distant emperor George for his recklessness, insisting that authority is only legitimate when it enjoys "the consent of the governed". As the world's sole superpower, the US now has global authority. But where is the consent?

By this logic, it is not a declaration of independence the world would be making. On the contrary, in seeking a say in US elections, the human race would be making a declaration of dependence - acknowledging that Washington's decisions affect us more than those taken in our own capitals. In contrast with those founding Americans, the new declaration would argue that, in order to take charge of our destiny, we do not need to break free from the imperial power - we need to tame it.

In response to the "decent requests" aspect of the declaration, I need only point to the title above it. "The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen United States of America". The key point here is the part that says "United States of America", not the "United States of The World". This was a declaration by Americans for Americans. Please don't forget that. Another thing to remember here is that this declaration was written 228 years ago. At that time there was no such thing as a "global authority" unless you mean the British Empire that we were fighting at the time. Seems a bit "Unilateral" to me for a single country to try to take over the globe. Back then, there was no such thing as the United Nations. There wasn't any kind of watchdog to go to to take care of the issue, so the people in the America's came up with the declaration to state their case against their oppressors. Instead of taking the problem to a commitee (that we knew would be inneffective), we took action, and formed a country that is based on that tradition.

It may sound wacky, but the idea could not be more American. After all, the country was founded on the notion that human beings must have a say in the decisions that govern their lives. The rebels' slogan of "No taxation without representation" endures two centuries later because it speaks about something larger than the narrow business of raising taxes. It says that those who pay for a government's actions must have a right to choose the government that takes them.

Today, people far from America's shores do indeed pay for the consequences of US actions. The citizens of Iraq are the obvious example, living in a land where a vile dictatorship was removed only for a military occupation and unspeakable violence to be unleashed in its place. The would-be voters of downtown Baghdad might like a say in whether their country would be better off with US forces gone. Perhaps John Kerry's Monday promise to start bringing the troops home, beginning next summer, would appeal to them. But they have no voice.

Mr. Freedland, I'd like to direct you to the statements of Mr. John F. Kerry during the Presidential debate (paraphrasing here) "The United States is paying 95% of the cost of the war". Whether it be in monetary value, or lives of our young people, it is inarguable that the US is paying the majority of the costs in our current conflict. The reason that the numbers stack up that way is due to the fact that the other countries that have a vested interest in this war, either have them on the other side of the conflict, or they don't have the resolve to get things done.

Such a request would also represent a recognition of an uncomfortable fact. It would be an admission that the old, postwar multilateral arrangements have broken down. In the past, America's allies could hope to influence the behemoth via treaties, agreements and the UN. The Bush era - not just Iraq, but Washington's disdain for Kyoto, the test ban treaty, the international criminal court and the rest - suggests that the US will no longer listen to those on the outside. As candidate Dole understood, only those with votes get a hearing.

I believe that those "multilateral arrangements" have indeed broken down, and for good reason. Sooner or later you have to actually do something as opposed to just talking about it. I've seen this happen more times than I care to think about when I worked a "White Collar" job. All the "Big Wheels" upstairs were having meeting after meeting, while the business was gradually slipping away. I saw the writing on the wall, and bugged out. two months afterward, the company was sold off to another company. I still talk to the people that I worked with over there, and I can tell it's still the same. Still losing clients, and the business is getting smaller and smaller. Essentially they've managed that company to death, instead of being proactive and actually fixing problems.

Looking at the examples that he's given above: "Kyoto, the test ban treaty, the international criminal court" I'd like to hear a good explanation of why these treaties would be beneficial to the US. Kyoto is a nice "touchy-feely" type thing that actually winds up making it even more expensive for businesses to operate. That and the fact that the regulations it entails are based on junk science, and you can see why we would shoot it down. The test ban treaty is a way for other countries to ensure that one of the reasons that we are a military superpower (nukes) is eleminated. That's not gonna happen. The ICC is another nice way for others to try to take our sovereignty away from us. So you want to be able to try a few of our general's as war criminals whenever you want? I don't think so.

As I see it, there is a general malaise that is coming out of Europe these days. The countries aren't as powerful as they used to be, and they don't know how to fix it. So they all get together and talk and talk. Meanwhile they are getting weaker and weaker due to the fact that all they seem to be doing is bitching about how big and powerful America is, instead of actually doing something to try and compete. They tax the hell out of their citizenry to support their welfare states, and then wonder why there's no innovation coming from their people. You're stealing your citizens drive to compete, and to make something better for themselves. Even the ones that actually do manage to actually do something positive, wind up being regulated so much that they can't share what they've achieved.

I've got a few suggestions on how European countries can get back a position of power.

1. Deregulate, and drop your "Nanny-States" thereby letting your people sink or swim on their own. If there's no net down there to catch you, you'll find that you will concentrate extra hard on not falling off the wire.

2. Quit letting other European countries tell you how to govern your country. It's your country, and your system of government. What makes you think that those other countries know any better than you do. This will go towards instilling some national pride back in your people, and that can be one hell of a motivator.

3. If you insist on going the route of the European Union, then you've got to set up a better central system of government. You've got to get to something like the US has. I am an American first, and a citizen of the great state of Tennessee second. If you choose to not stand on your own as a country, then you've got to get rid of some of your national pride. Become a European first, then a citzen of whatever state (formerly country) you are a citizen of.

4. Here's my most radical idea for improving a European country: If you can't beat us, join us. If you really want to be able to vote for who gets to be the President of the US, then submit your country to be admitted as the 51st state in our union. Sure you'd lose your national identity, but look at the one you'd be getting in its stead. You'd get to vote too, but I'm betting that if you were a membr of this great union, you wouldn't be as willing to elect someone who would give your country's power and resolve away to other countries.

So my solution to Europe's problems is simply this: Shit or get off the pot. Get out there and actually do something, instead of sitting around second guessing the country that actually is doing something. If your leadership is incapable of getting it done, then get new leadership. If your system of government is stifling your ability to succeed, then install a new one. Quit sitting around in your meeting rooms talking about what's going wrong. Make up your mind, and take action.

The US is showing you how to do it. Get cracking.

Buncha Losers

Well. My baseball team lost earlier today, and now my football team is losing tonight. To quote Mork: "Much depression. Heavy sigh." At least I've still got my health. (cough. cough. Haaaawk Thpoui!) Dangit!

I knew I shouldn't have bothered to watch this game, but I couldn't help myself. At least I can wear my Orange with a little Pride today. Orange 31 to 21 over Rutgers. Sweet.

On another Football related tangent, I was watching ESPN's score "Ticker" earlier this evening, and noticed that Harvard, Princeton, and Yale All won their games today. Must be something about the phase of the moon or something. Three BIG Ivy League schools won today. Somebody check the stats, because I'm not sure that this has happened before.

With that, I'm going to go cry myself to sleep.

Bitches and Football

I was doing a google search on safeties on the M1911A1 (My roomate was thinking that it had a "Magazine Safety" so that the weapon would not discharge if the mag wasn't inserted. I was pretty sure he was wrong, but decided to fact check myself. Yup he was wrong.)
Two links below the article listed above, I see this link entitled "The Bitch Girls - I Have a Complaint". There was no way that I could resist clicking the Link. What a cool blog! I can't believe that I'd never seen them before. I like these Bitches! Just to keep an eye on them, I believe I'll put'em on the blogroll.

Anyway's. I'm currently in the throes of a UT (Ranked Eighth) vs. Auburn (Ranked Ninth) Football game. I'm a little distracted right now, so I'll just wait to blog more until after the game.