What do you believe in?

I was pondering this question the other day and it occurred to me it might make for good (if not a little contriversial) blogs(I am going to split it up so its not too rambling). So here it goes:

With the whole holiday season it has become all the more appearant that I think this country has a lot of problems and they are very deep rooted. Obviously the economic downturn is highly discouraging and worrisome, and yet I think this is truly the tip of the iceberg. We are a nation that has always prided itself on tolerance; both ethnic and religious. We preach equality for all; and yet I don't think that we grasp the significance or perhaps even danger of such naivety? Is that possible? The fundamental issue I have with this (as in physics) you need a reference point; and that point has become blurred to the point of non-existance. Do you think it was a odd whim of our government to emblazen "In God we Trust" on our currency? The fact is that our legal system is based on the common principles of the 10 commandments and the fear of God. And that has and should continue to be for the country to be successful. In a court of law we are asked to swear on the bible or other such holy book, to tell the truth and nothing but the truth so help me God. Why? Because it assumed that the only thing worse that prison is the wrath of an angry God on our soul. Without this what do we have? How is justice supposed to happen if lying leads to... freedom? Exoneration? Perjury? pah its relatively difficult to prove and the perjury sentence is minimal often compared to the actual crime; Playing game theory economics if you are guilty and you don't fear God, YOU SHOULD ALWAYS LIE. Disagree? I challenge you to convince me; and no plea bargains don't count, and even then embellishment couldn't hurt could it? Does that scare you? Surprise you? It does me. If we have as a nation in general reached a point where the average person does not believe in God hasn't our constitution failed us? Become obsolete? Shouldn't this also signify the downfall of our nation? Doesn't it sometimes seem that way?
The economic spectacular collapse of the mortgage industry follows suit; instead of doing what was morally right, the market was allowed to become a false god; It was said bailouts were necessary because the 'market needs/requires/must happen' In God we no longer trust; we trust in the market, and the men; honest some, dishonest some we put our trust into.

Engaged!

So in a bit of exciting news (at least to me) Timea and I got engaged on Christmas Eve. I succeeded in surprising her (that was one of the 'rules') she also is a big fan of the ring which I will try and post a picture of soon. Perhaps even a group shot of all three of us (Me, Timea, and the Ring) Anyway I'm excited, and no we don't have a date, none of that stuff; give us a second to let the fiance part sink it first. Here's to an exciting upcoming new year and beyond.

Cheers!

Let the skiing begin...

So I apologize for slipping on the blogfront; last two days were epic powder days in VT. I know when you read that you think "Wait there is no powder in the east." And typically you'd be right- but it so happened that Magic mountain perhaps one of the most poorly run ski mountains in the US who don't believe in 2 things; Snowmaking and Grooming. They also happened to have their opening day on Monday after over two feet of snow Friday thru Sunday. And it had stayed cold so no crusting on the top. Hence a mountain offering first turns of 2 ft pow from a lift; midweek (so nobody there) Myself and about 200 people had the best day of the season on the first day. Pretty wild no? It was just blowing up everywhere, you could just float through it, and when(you had to) you fell it was softer than landing in a bed. So there you have it 1755' runs of powder turns. Made for an Epic Epic day.


Merry Christmas Everyone, hope you and yours have a great holiday. And if you don't celebrate Christmas please don't be offended- I'm wishing you a Merry day- not instant pain or suffering.

Who says theres no free lunch?

So its that time a year again; time for company lunches. Basically it’s a who’s who in the company by how many lunches you go to. Today was the lunch for a PL (project lead) I have worked for a few years who in my humble opinion has easily the best lunch. We get pizza and beer (hooray Sam Adams) and basically proceed to stuff ourselves. He also hands out these fun little gadgets; sometimes tools sometimes other things. The best part of course is that it is a freebie. (minus the blood and sweat tears of the entire year; and if you think this is an exaggeration ask Dave) This was my fourth one. My first year it was a Swiss army like knife, second year a pen, third year a ratchet screwdriver (awesome), and this year I got a LED flashlight that has a dyno in it so after a few pumps it stays lit for quite a while. I’m seriously impressed; I mean this thing probably costs less than five bucks, yet it stays lit for hours on 30 seconds of hand action. Which brings me to this: If a cheap little flashlight requires so little, why not make it bigger; say foot pedals, a larger array of lights for more light and have one at each cube? Then when you’re not there the lights would go out anyway, otherwise it’s a little pump to get your cube lit again. It might be interesting to see if that’s practical. Personally I have an overhead lamp, a lamp and two under shelve fluorescent bulbs just in my cube. I also have a fountain of flowing water and my pc. All told a decent amount of electricity…how much could I power during the day? And get exercise too? It sounds pretty good to me. Certainly the PC would need a sourced power, but all the light? They could work with the self-created power.

Finals!

I know its been a few years now since I had 'finals' being several miserable days of studying/cramming/caffeine binges, however this past weekend I was diligently working on my final for JAVA. The final in this case is only a project, which I have to say I don't know why mine doesn't work. All the information and calculations and process happen; I can watch them fly by in the console. Its just that my table to tabulate all this great stuff doesn't happen. On the plus side my grade is pretty good already so I'm not terrible concerned. I have a A now I think so even with a C on this I should get at least my B which is pretty much what it comes down to. (that's the cutoff for 100% tuition reimbursement). So yeah the plan is that by August I'm officially done, then I get a $1400 check and go down and buy me something fun.

For those keeping score I will now have 2 classes to go for my masters. Which is good. Its taken me 3+ years to get to this point; ironically it will take me 4 years to complete my masters- the same time it took to me to get my BS.

On the plus side this is my last week of work, then 2 weeks off. Let it snow!

The thing about Unions

I for one have never liked unions; sure they were great trendsetters when working conditions were terrible and it was the first steps for the blue collar worker to gain a reasonable salary, be provided adequate benefits and had provisions for some level of safety on the job. However, now they are bloated egocentric dinosaurs of a past age that are single handedly bringing down the economy. Harsh? I don't think so. NOBODY has pensions anymore except: policeman, fireman, other city jobs, and union members. Why? because it bankrupts everyone; health care is absurdly expensive and people are living longer, so those deals of the past just don't work. Not to say that's the solution the health care issue is the larger issue here. For example my great aunt worked at GM, she was union, and received I think it was 75-80% pension for the rest of her life after 15 years? That was over 50 years. Not a bad deal for her. The costs GM must pay out for one vehicle are ridiculous; its no wonder they lose so much money.

And now we reach the crux of it yesterday, the big three ready to make concessions and cut costs to qualify for the government influx of cash; guess why it failed? UAW refused pay cuts. That's really a great idea, protect benefits and salary of your members so the companies they work for fail and ALL of you lose. I heard a quote this morning on the radio from a satisfied union member "I'm a single mother of three, I can't afford a pay cut." Oh but you can afford to lose your job completely when the company shuts its doors. That makes total sense. Having worked with some union workers I feel I can also with some degree of certainty say that it is a culture that promotes laziness; its the entitlement. Whenever I asked a union guy to do something outside his normal routine(as is common in an engineering environment when troubleshooting a question) I got a lot of excuses and no results. Basically if it ain't in my contract I ain't gonna do it. Great stuff.

Workers are protected by many organisations these days from safety to workers rights. Its time to move on, we hear all this talk about making the US competitive in the auto industry again. One of the first things that's going to have to change then are the unions.

Idiots!

So in a new dramatic and most idiotic move made yet by a Governor of Illinois (don't forget that the last one is currently in jail):
"CHICAGO – Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich was arrested Tuesday on charges he brazenly conspired to sell or trade President-elect Barack Obama's vacant Senate seat to the highest bidder as part of what federal prosecutors called a "political corruption crime spree." "
Awesome!

I mean seriously this guy must have big brass ones to think that he could literally auction off a senate seat to the highest bidder; oh and by the way somehow not get caught? Bill Gates could have totally gone for a power grab and outbid everyone. Heck I would have submitted a bid if I had enough money. I mean why bother with the whole political process when you can just pay for it? And a senate seat is 1/100. Its good to know the citizens of Illinois have such good choices of character. Poor Barack, you're going to have to answer for this even if you had nothing to do with it. However, you two did share a relationship with Antoin "Tony" Rezko, another solid citizen who is awaiting sentencing for charges of using Blagojevich's administration to help his $7 million dollar kickback scheme.
Awesome!

So for the record not only was he trying to auction the senate seat, he was getting kickbacks for state sponsored jobs for 'friends' (allegedly he was pissed that 2.5mil he expected for kickbacks to the campaign was late) now THAT is a solid citizen. Have fun in jail asshole. Say hi to the last Governor for me.

Fantasy Football Update!

So its the first week of the playoffs this week, and I move into the playoffs with the 5th slot. In a ironic twist which I'm very happy to explain I did win the regular season points title, Charles was second and got the final playoff spot with a win last week. Meanwhile the first and second placers were fortunate as their record belies the fact they were 6th and 7th respectively in points. The odds of that seem strange, regardless I find myself down 10 pts after last nights game and just have an overall bad feeling about this week. My oponent has a lot of good machups and as stated a 10pt lead now. Anyway it should be interesting, I'm looking to back up my last years championship we'll see how it goes.

To see the action and my team:
http://football.fantasysports.yahoo.com/f1/214566

"Your warranty may be expiring"

So lately (well actually for about 6 months) I've been getting calls on both my work and cell phone from a recording telling me that the warranty on my vehicle is expiring. Now I believe that I am in the very unique situation where I bought my vehicle but the only way I could get .9% financing was twofold 1) I had to pay it off in 2 years 2) I had to buy their extended warranty BUT at the end of the extended warranty if I had not used it I get the money back. Don't worry I have this in the contract. Needless to say I have my doubts about ever seeing this money (its about 2k) Now my car will be five years old in 3 weeks so I think that the initial warranty is almost up 5yrs/60k miles. So being the idiot that I am I pressed the button 'to be connected to a representative' I get a gum chewing (I could hear it through the phone) girl who asks if I want to buy a new warranty. Um no I wanted to verify that my extended warranty is still there. So I ask are you associated with Nissan? No we're an insurance company. So you don't know about my car? "Well do you want a new warranty?" Goodbye! But its aggravating because they somehow have my cellphone but also my phone at work. Of these two my phone at work has no caller id so without fail at least once or twice a week I start swearing into the receiver as its therapeutic, besides there's no one on the other end anyway. How do you get a machine to put you on their do not call list?

To Ooma or not tooma

I'm a big fan of technology; usefulness is secondary to coolness factor; and I sometimes make poor choices after being hamstrung over xbox360 vs ps3; the issue was the blu-ray. However, now that I own the blu-ray, now I want a xbox360 because it has games that actually are challenging and fast and real looking. And well I just don't have one and the wii has failed to fulfill my gaming needs. So http://slickdeals.net has a really good price on 360s or ps3s:

Dell Home has Playstation 3 80GB Console for $400 - 15% coupon CTV2$2HX963145 - 5% coupon TP5NV0VMFJ9BCZ = $323 ($313 with DPA) with free shipping. Thanks WhiteStallion
They also have Playstation 3 80GB Gaming Console w/ Far Cry 2 Game $460 - 15% off coupon CTV2$2HX963145 - 5% coupon TP5NV0VMFJ9BCZ = $371 ($360 with DPA)

Xbox 360 Pro 60GB Holiday Bundle with Lego Indiana Jones and Kung Fu Panda $241 ($234 with DPA)

Anyway there is also this thing called Ooma out there which advertises free home phone forever, it also has all the stuff that's nice, call waiting, caller id, 911 etc.... Obviously there is a big catch; it requires a broadband connection. SOOOOOoooo since I have dsl that makes no sense. To get the deal I get on DSL we need to get the phone; which you have free if you have the Ooma; which requires a broadband connection.... and catch22.

This raises the question what about cable? If I got just the cable Internet would it be cheaper than phone+dsl? I need to check.

But it does sound cool. I like free stuff; but its 'free' phone being that it still isn't entirely free I still need to research. I'll keep you all updated.

Follow up to the Last Shot

So it seems my previous blog was right on; to the point where it was almost eerie. My man Mike B (Bloomberg) mayor of NYC went out and proceeded to back up my words almost to the letter. "It would be a mockery of the law..." Amen to that. It also seems that Jerry Reese (the Giants GM) structured Plax's contract so that if he gets into any "conduct unbecoming the team" they can cut him and owe him nothing. His contract allowed him to make much more than the 35mil in incentives; it also had a poison pill to kill it should he act up. Reese has shown himself to be one of the best GM's in a very short time. Finally, the hospital, Mike has said that he intends to go after the hospital! Whoever that Dr. who stitched him up is; he/she better start looking for a new job. No hospital is going to go up against the city government, its bad for business and just not a good idea to hold onto people who flaunt the law; it just screams for a further investigation.

Bloomberg has made handguns one his top priorities to eliminate them from the streets. He even sued a gunmaker because the guns looked like toys. Lets face it, its not a huge leap to say that if there are less guns on the street there will be fewer issues of gun related violence. What it comes down to is fairness, a kid gets caught with an unlicensed gun they go to jail; no issue. Can we then allow an entertainer to get away with this? Especially if it is a clear cut case. The answer is definitively NO!

Now its no small shock that over history powerful and influential people have literally gotten away with murder, but the fact that entertainers have more time in the spotlight than those who make the laws for the country is more than a little disconcerting. For example every night on CBS, NBC, and ABC a half hour is devoted to national news. In most cases this is followed by an hour(2X as much) of tabloids and what I wouldn't even consider news. I really don't care what Oprah's dog ate while at the dog spa. Regardless we have created idols out of these people, and they live apart from the common citizen but if we put them above the same laws we live under we have nothing.

Last shot

First a very happy Thanksgiving to all, I took a break from the computer these past couple days to enjoy doing nothing at all! It was most refreshing. Now I can't wait until my TWO WEEK vacation starts in only three weeks. (Its our plant shutdown for one week, vacation for the other) But its two weeks that I'm not going to be at my desk, so its all good.

I have to comment today on Mr. Plaxico Burress. The NFL has had, and will continue to have idiots of epic proportions (Mike Vick, Maurice Clarett, and a running back from Nebraska who sold his Superbowl ring for $500- can't remember the name right now) Anyway today begins the fallout from what could be (some would say inevitable) one of the fastest falls from stardom since, well Vick. For those late to the party Mr. Burress just this fall signed a 5 year 35 mil contract, and as of Friday shot himself in the leg.

This has so many avenues its fascinating. First financial; this is a non-football related injury so its not in his contract; I would be disappointed if the Giants didn't go after his a)signing bonus b) salary for missed time. He could lose all of that contract (Plus the money hes already been fined)

Two; Legal issues; He was carrying a hidden weapon without a permit. (It was also a .40cal, not a pea shooter) he carried said gun across state lines, he carried it into a nightclub, he discharged his gun in a nightclub! In NYC carrying an unlicensed firearm carries a MANDATORY 3.5 year jail term. He will be in jail longer than Vick!

Three; Casualties of Hurricane Burress; Plax's pants (big hole and bloody), Plax's lifestyle. Also all the suckers who thought they were helping him out by NOT doing the right thing (which by the way would be following the law) The club, which did not report the shooting, The hospital which also did not report treating a gun shot wound personally inflicted or otherwise, the doctor who treated him. These people also should take a long hard look at whatever they were thinking (or not thinking) It will be interesting to see what happens to them too. It was the NY Giants organization that finally reported the shooting, not just because it was the right thing to do, it was the right thing to do because it is the LAW. I'm sorry the law has to be bigger than a football star, I will miss Burress as a supreme talent on the football field, but his stupidity is going to cost him; I don't see anyway he can wriggle out of this without the city of NY looking really bad, and as I said earlier the law has to be bigger than 6'7" receiver for the NY Giants.

The Dallas Cowboys are counting the days until his release.