I certainty would vote for him.
2015-04-29
I betcha these guitars have a rich sound!
2015-04-27
Oh man! Really? Tukwila?
http://nhltoseattle.com/2015/04/27/tukwila-plans-start-to-emerge/
It all looks and sounds good. But I live not too far from here, and the traffic is already a mess.
This would make it a lot worse for sure.
Still ... Seattle and the NHL? Closer to reality?
It all looks and sounds good. But I live not too far from here, and the traffic is already a mess.
This would make it a lot worse for sure.
Still ... Seattle and the NHL? Closer to reality?
2015-04-24
2015-04-23
Ah another long day in IT ...
... where no matter how reasonable one can be, how helpful one tries to be, how honest one is, or how well one strives to perform their job for the good of everyone and the project and the team and the company
... it's ... just ... never enough.
There's always someone with more authority and less knowledge making idiotic decisions that impact you and others.
I think the part that hurts the most is being part of the group that's meant to clean up the messes made by the stupid decisions on projects where we know it's a failure, only to watch management be rewarded (rather generously) for the same decisions as if it were successful.
... it's ... just ... never enough.
There's always someone with more authority and less knowledge making idiotic decisions that impact you and others.
I think the part that hurts the most is being part of the group that's meant to clean up the messes made by the stupid decisions on projects where we know it's a failure, only to watch management be rewarded (rather generously) for the same decisions as if it were successful.
2015-04-22
Ah Monsanto, we've not forgotten you here at SoG ...
... though it seems you have tried very hard to forget that you knew Glyphosate was a carcinogen quite some time ago.
Monsanto Knew of Glyphosate Cancer Link 35 Years Ago
How telling -
"However, archived and accessible EPA Memos from the early 1980′s do give
some indications as to what the rat studies contain (9). Although the
studies predate the adoption of international test guidelines and GLP
standards they suggest that there was significant damage to the kidneys
of the rats in the 3-generational study — the incidence of tubular
dilation in the kidney was higher in every treated group of rats when
compared to controls. Tubular dilation and nephrosis was also
accompanied by interstitial fibrosis in all test groups and in some of
the lumens the researchers found amorphous material and cellular debris.
Less than a third of the control rats showed signs of tubular dilation.
In the rat study results, the changes in the bladder mucosa are
significant because metabolites, concentrated by the kidneys, have led
to hyperplasia that could be considered as a very early and necessary
step in tumour initiation. EPA was worried in 1981 that these
indications were sinister, and at first declined to issue a NOEL (no
observed adverse effect level) — it asked for further information and
additional research. In its 1982 Addendum, Monsanto presented evidence
that minimised the effects and confused the data — and on that basis EPA
accepted that glyphosate was unlikely to be dangerous. But Monsanto
knew that scrutiny of the data in the studies would potentially threaten
its commercial ambitions, and so it asked for the research documents
concerned to be withheld and treated as Trade Secrets. So there was no
effective independent scrutiny. Monsanto and EPA connived in keeping
these documents away from unbiased expert assessment, in spite of the
evidence of harm. (It is clear that EPA was thinking about carcinogenic
effects — it knew in 1981 that glyphosate caused tumorigenic growth and
kidney disease but dismissed the finding as “a mystery” in order to set
the NOEL for the chemical and bring it to market.)"
Happy Earth Day everyone! You too Monsanto - Keep on fucking up all living creatures on the planet!
I'm sure folks in India will LOVE this.
"China–Pakistan Economic Corridor" on @Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/China%E2%80%93Pakistan_Economic_Corridor
2015-04-21
2015-04-20
2015-04-17
Never forget - Stephen Colbert's 2006 White House Correspondents' Dinner
Someone actually exposed both the right-wing and corporate media for what they really are - frauds.
And done with great humor, satire and wit.
Mark Twain would've been proud.
2015-04-16
Here we go again - those ALEC assholes trying to fuck up another County.
This time they're trying to fuck with my previous County of residence.
http://nwlaborpress.org/2015/04/clark-county-residents-blast-proposed-right-work-resolution/
Let's face it - 'right-to-work'=ALEC idiocy. While on those subjects, let's hear from the 'multimillionaire business owner serving in his first term' - you know - the person who supposedly drafted this legislation.
Ah, let's not. I don't need to give ALEC more space.
What I will give is more space to the residents and union members who spoke out -
“These resolutions are of no value to this community. They serve no purpose other than to be destructive to a current workforce that works very hard and has been very successful,” said Vancouver resident Mike Richards, executive secretary of Office and Professional Employees Local 11. Local 11 represents some Clark County employees.
Union Carpenter Ron Robbins of Camas said right-to-work isn’t about rights and it isn’t about work.
“Right-to-work, let’s not kid ourselves about it—lowers wages. There’s not a state in this union where that experiment’s been tried that it hasn’t. So it’s complete B.S. to say that isn’t what it is. It’s about lowering the wages of the working man,” he said.
Robbins pointed to Idaho, a right-to-work state since the mid-’80s. “They have the lowest personal income of any state in the union. They passed up Mississippi last year … congratulations.” Idaho’s number one export, he said, “is their young people. They have to get out of there, or they can’t survive.”
Beatrice Jenkins, a 20-year member of Operating Engineers Local 701 who lives in Woodland, said “people who think we don’t need unions any more are wrong.”
She told councilors how difficult it is for women working in the construction industry, especially nonunion. You can’t speak out if a job is unsafe, for fear of being fired, she said. And pay isn’t always equal. “If you take away the union, you take away the voice that women have out there,” she said.
IBEW Local 48 member Kevin Lux of Vancouver told councilors that he is from a conservative Republican family—all of whom are or were union members. Lux then read pro-union quotes from Presidents Eisenhower and Lincoln. “So, if you can’t believe us as Democrats or labor people, look to those Republicans from the past—the stances they took, and the elections they won.”
Retired Laborers Union official Dave Letinich of Vancouver reminded councilors that union members make up a large portion of the “citizens “of Clark County. He said he was offended by a councilor’s remark at a previous meeting complaining that they (councilors) hadn’t heard much from regular citizens.
“You look at the hundreds of us here that are opposed to these resolutions—we are the citizens. Just because we’re in the union …”
Vancouver resident Sid Clark, a member of Teamsters Local 117, said councilors opened a pandora’s box.”The people of Clark County, we’re Republicans, we’re Democrats, and we’re independents, but when we come together for a common cause … we’re going to stand up,” he said."
Thank you folks for doing so.
http://nwlaborpress.org/2015/04/clark-county-residents-blast-proposed-right-work-resolution/
Let's face it - 'right-to-work'=ALEC idiocy. While on those subjects, let's hear from the 'multimillionaire business owner serving in his first term' - you know - the person who supposedly drafted this legislation.
Ah, let's not. I don't need to give ALEC more space.
What I will give is more space to the residents and union members who spoke out -
“These resolutions are of no value to this community. They serve no purpose other than to be destructive to a current workforce that works very hard and has been very successful,” said Vancouver resident Mike Richards, executive secretary of Office and Professional Employees Local 11. Local 11 represents some Clark County employees.
Union Carpenter Ron Robbins of Camas said right-to-work isn’t about rights and it isn’t about work.
“Right-to-work, let’s not kid ourselves about it—lowers wages. There’s not a state in this union where that experiment’s been tried that it hasn’t. So it’s complete B.S. to say that isn’t what it is. It’s about lowering the wages of the working man,” he said.
Robbins pointed to Idaho, a right-to-work state since the mid-’80s. “They have the lowest personal income of any state in the union. They passed up Mississippi last year … congratulations.” Idaho’s number one export, he said, “is their young people. They have to get out of there, or they can’t survive.”
Beatrice Jenkins, a 20-year member of Operating Engineers Local 701 who lives in Woodland, said “people who think we don’t need unions any more are wrong.”
She told councilors how difficult it is for women working in the construction industry, especially nonunion. You can’t speak out if a job is unsafe, for fear of being fired, she said. And pay isn’t always equal. “If you take away the union, you take away the voice that women have out there,” she said.
IBEW Local 48 member Kevin Lux of Vancouver told councilors that he is from a conservative Republican family—all of whom are or were union members. Lux then read pro-union quotes from Presidents Eisenhower and Lincoln. “So, if you can’t believe us as Democrats or labor people, look to those Republicans from the past—the stances they took, and the elections they won.”
Retired Laborers Union official Dave Letinich of Vancouver reminded councilors that union members make up a large portion of the “citizens “of Clark County. He said he was offended by a councilor’s remark at a previous meeting complaining that they (councilors) hadn’t heard much from regular citizens.
“You look at the hundreds of us here that are opposed to these resolutions—we are the citizens. Just because we’re in the union …”
Vancouver resident Sid Clark, a member of Teamsters Local 117, said councilors opened a pandora’s box.”The people of Clark County, we’re Republicans, we’re Democrats, and we’re independents, but when we come together for a common cause … we’re going to stand up,” he said."
Thank you folks for doing so.
Well this is good.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cuban_Thaw#Normalization_of_relations
On April 14, President Obama informed the United States Congress that he has decided to lift the designation of Cuba as a state sponsor of terrorism because "the government of Cuba has not provided any support for international terrorism during the preceding six-month period," and it "has provided assurances that it will not support acts of international terrorism in the future."[29] The U.S. Congress can prevent the removal of Cuba's designation by passing legislation within 45 days. If Congress fails to pass such legislation within 45 days, Cuba will automatically be removed from the U.S. list of state sponsors of terrorism.[29]
2015-04-15
The more I learn about 'Smarter Balanced Assessments' ...
... The more I know it's a set of stupid corporations behind it - all to gut the public school system -
"First off, the Common Core SBAC exam fails to test students on what they have been learning in Connecticut. Instead the Common Core SBAC test is seeking to determine if students have reached a level that is about two grade levels above the present curriculum.
Second, and even more troubling, Governor Malloy’s administration approved Common Core SBAC pass/fail “cut scores” that are intentionally set to ensure that as many as six in ten children fail to meet goal in English and as many as seven in ten fail to reach goal in Math.
To repeat, the Common Core SBAC pass/fail rate is intentionally set to ensure that the vast majority of public school students are deemed failures, and making the situation even more unfair, the Common Core SBAC scheme particularly targets minority students, poor students, children who are not proficient in English and students with disabilities that require special education services."
https://jonathanpelto.com/2015/02/20/public-school-student-failure-common-core-sbac-test-says-probably-yes/
This sounds a lot like what's currently going on in my son's school. The staff have been more or less intimidating and bullying kids into taking the test under threat of 'summer school'.
Certainly not smarter.
Definitely not balanced.
And absolutely no valid form of assessment.
"First off, the Common Core SBAC exam fails to test students on what they have been learning in Connecticut. Instead the Common Core SBAC test is seeking to determine if students have reached a level that is about two grade levels above the present curriculum.
Second, and even more troubling, Governor Malloy’s administration approved Common Core SBAC pass/fail “cut scores” that are intentionally set to ensure that as many as six in ten children fail to meet goal in English and as many as seven in ten fail to reach goal in Math.
To repeat, the Common Core SBAC pass/fail rate is intentionally set to ensure that the vast majority of public school students are deemed failures, and making the situation even more unfair, the Common Core SBAC scheme particularly targets minority students, poor students, children who are not proficient in English and students with disabilities that require special education services."
https://jonathanpelto.com/2015/02/20/public-school-student-failure-common-core-sbac-test-says-probably-yes/
This sounds a lot like what's currently going on in my son's school. The staff have been more or less intimidating and bullying kids into taking the test under threat of 'summer school'.
Certainly not smarter.
Definitely not balanced.
And absolutely no valid form of assessment.
2015-04-14
Ah the long days in IT
I see this all the time in IT
On the one hand, I see almost all the time people in authority over me. They got there however and for what ever reason, and as such, it's my job to execute on their orders to the best of my ability and as honestly as possible.
On the the other hand, when one sees so many really bad decisions made by the same group as above, one has to question if they're the right people who should be in charge.
This is not to say I should be running things - that's not what I'm saying at all. For one thing, because I'm not in management, I'm not wired or connected with all the other managers and management at large. So I'll never be privy to all the future plans, rumblings, challenges.
But .. in order to prevent stupid decisions from being made nevertheless, I still have to stay a few steps ahead of the front-line managers (which itself is a very condescending term, as it reinforces to everyone else how low on the totem pole we really are).
But after awhile, one gets sick of seeing so many bad decisions being made such that people like me are forced to clean up the messes of a failed 'effort', while the management above is allowed to revel in the success of the same 'effort'.
With that kind of rot, it does make me wonder how as a leader how would I ever get to really know what people under me are really thinking, as if there are so many layers of shitty people in between to gum up the works such that one would never get an honest reckoning, and even then, it'd require a great deal of understanding in order to get to their reality.
On the one hand, I see almost all the time people in authority over me. They got there however and for what ever reason, and as such, it's my job to execute on their orders to the best of my ability and as honestly as possible.
On the the other hand, when one sees so many really bad decisions made by the same group as above, one has to question if they're the right people who should be in charge.
This is not to say I should be running things - that's not what I'm saying at all. For one thing, because I'm not in management, I'm not wired or connected with all the other managers and management at large. So I'll never be privy to all the future plans, rumblings, challenges.
But .. in order to prevent stupid decisions from being made nevertheless, I still have to stay a few steps ahead of the front-line managers (which itself is a very condescending term, as it reinforces to everyone else how low on the totem pole we really are).
But after awhile, one gets sick of seeing so many bad decisions being made such that people like me are forced to clean up the messes of a failed 'effort', while the management above is allowed to revel in the success of the same 'effort'.
With that kind of rot, it does make me wonder how as a leader how would I ever get to really know what people under me are really thinking, as if there are so many layers of shitty people in between to gum up the works such that one would never get an honest reckoning, and even then, it'd require a great deal of understanding in order to get to their reality.
2015-04-13
How far will the Habs go this year?
Ok - second in the league in terms of points, and lowest goals against average.
But the team that beat them last year had the highest point total (and Glen Sather still in charge, ugh).
We'll see.
But the team that beat them last year had the highest point total (and Glen Sather still in charge, ugh).
We'll see.
2015-04-12
Sad that even to this day, Dyer has never been held accountable for this.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jallianwala_Bagh_massacre
The Jallianwala Bagh massacre, also known as the Amritsar massacre, was a seminal event in the British rule of India. On 13 April 1919, a crowd of nonviolent protesters, along with Baishakhi pilgrims, had gathered in the Jallianwala Bagh garden in Amritsar, Punjab to protest against the arrest of two leaders [Dr.Satyapal and Dr.Saifuddin] despite a curfew which had been recently declared.[1] On the orders of Brigadier-General Reginald Dyer, the army fired on the crowd for ten minutes, directing their bullets largely towards the few open gates through which people were trying to run out. The figures released by the British government were 370 dead and 1200 wounded. Other sources place the number dead at well over 1000. This "brutality stunned the entire nation",[2] resulting in a "wrenching loss of faith" of the general public in the intentions of Britain.[3] The ineffective inquiry and the initial accolades for Dyer by the House of Lords fuelled widespread anger, leading to the Non-cooperation Movement of 1920–22.[4]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reginald_Dyer#Return_to_Britain
On his return to Britain, Brigadier Dyer was presented with a purse of £26,000 sterling, a huge sum in those days, (approximately £1,000,000 in terms of 2013 PPP) which emerged from a fund set up on his behalf by the Morning Post, a conservative, pro-Imperialistic newspaper, which later merged with the Daily Telegraph. A Thirteen Women Committee was constituted to present "the Saviour of the Punjab with the sword of honour and a purse." Large contributions to the fund were made by civil servants and by British and Indian Army officers, although serving members of the military were not allowed to donate to political funds under the King's Regulations (para. 443).[44] The Morning Post had supported Dyer's action on grounds stating that the massacre was necessary to "Protect the honour of European Women."[51]
The Jallianwala Bagh massacre, also known as the Amritsar massacre, was a seminal event in the British rule of India. On 13 April 1919, a crowd of nonviolent protesters, along with Baishakhi pilgrims, had gathered in the Jallianwala Bagh garden in Amritsar, Punjab to protest against the arrest of two leaders [Dr.Satyapal and Dr.Saifuddin] despite a curfew which had been recently declared.[1] On the orders of Brigadier-General Reginald Dyer, the army fired on the crowd for ten minutes, directing their bullets largely towards the few open gates through which people were trying to run out. The figures released by the British government were 370 dead and 1200 wounded. Other sources place the number dead at well over 1000. This "brutality stunned the entire nation",[2] resulting in a "wrenching loss of faith" of the general public in the intentions of Britain.[3] The ineffective inquiry and the initial accolades for Dyer by the House of Lords fuelled widespread anger, leading to the Non-cooperation Movement of 1920–22.[4]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reginald_Dyer#Return_to_Britain
On his return to Britain, Brigadier Dyer was presented with a purse of £26,000 sterling, a huge sum in those days, (approximately £1,000,000 in terms of 2013 PPP) which emerged from a fund set up on his behalf by the Morning Post, a conservative, pro-Imperialistic newspaper, which later merged with the Daily Telegraph. A Thirteen Women Committee was constituted to present "the Saviour of the Punjab with the sword of honour and a purse." Large contributions to the fund were made by civil servants and by British and Indian Army officers, although serving members of the military were not allowed to donate to political funds under the King's Regulations (para. 443).[44] The Morning Post had supported Dyer's action on grounds stating that the massacre was necessary to "Protect the honour of European Women."[51]
2015-04-10
An interesting point about the past
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waking_Up_the_Neighbours#Canadian_content
Seriously -
I wasn't aware that a music's supposed nationality and heritage was defined simply by who created it and where. That seems very narrow-minded to me.
Seriously -
I wasn't aware that a music's supposed nationality and heritage was defined simply by who created it and where. That seems very narrow-minded to me.
2015-04-09
So many petitions, so little time.
I've become so liberalish, I've actually fallen behind on all the petitions I agree to.
It's gotten so bad that I have to fill them all out and sign them usually at the end of the day.
It's gotten so bad that I have to fill them all out and sign them usually at the end of the day.
2015-04-08
16 games.
That's how many games a team needs to win in the NHL playoffs in order to win the Stanley Cup.
Can the Habs do it?
Can the Habs do it?
2015-04-07
Bring back the Expos?
http://www.thestarphoenix.com/sports/return+Montreal+faces+hurdles/10945619/story.html
Somehow I doubt any franchise is going to relocate to Montreal any time soon ...
"Getting a stadium and getting a team are different classes of hurdle. Take, for example, the Tampa Bay Rays, the franchise most often mentioned in bringback-the-Expos fantasizing. They check a lot of the boxes of a team that might want to relocate: fan support is tepid, averaging fewer than 18,000 a game in 2014, and not much more than that in years when the team was making the playoffs.
The market is small, about half that of Montreal, depending on where the circle is drawn around the respective metropolitan areas, and the Rays' stadium is old, in a bad location and seemingly doomed to remain that way for, well, ever. The mayor of St. Petersburg this week surrendered on a proposal that would have allowed the Rays to search the surrounding area for a suitable site for a new ballpark, so that makes the team, in theory, that much closer to decamping."
... still, I'd say it has more of a chance than does Seattle getting an NHL franchise.
Somehow I doubt any franchise is going to relocate to Montreal any time soon ...
"Getting a stadium and getting a team are different classes of hurdle. Take, for example, the Tampa Bay Rays, the franchise most often mentioned in bringback-the-Expos fantasizing. They check a lot of the boxes of a team that might want to relocate: fan support is tepid, averaging fewer than 18,000 a game in 2014, and not much more than that in years when the team was making the playoffs.
The market is small, about half that of Montreal, depending on where the circle is drawn around the respective metropolitan areas, and the Rays' stadium is old, in a bad location and seemingly doomed to remain that way for, well, ever. The mayor of St. Petersburg this week surrendered on a proposal that would have allowed the Rays to search the surrounding area for a suitable site for a new ballpark, so that makes the team, in theory, that much closer to decamping."
... still, I'd say it has more of a chance than does Seattle getting an NHL franchise.
2015-04-06
2015-04-05
Zombie day for some fairytalers.
Admittedly I feel like a zombie. All that driving, noise, screaming and fucking around ... after awhile it gets to you.
So I tell people all the time - if you don't like, fuck off - HA!
So I tell people all the time - if you don't like, fuck off - HA!
2015-04-03
Finally a deal with Iran?
https://consortiumnews.com/2015/04/03/iran-deal-a-possible-crossroads-to-peace/
Now the US and rest of the West can recognize their own double standards with respect to Israel and hold their right-wing establishment accountable?
Now the US and rest of the West can recognize their own double standards with respect to Israel and hold their right-wing establishment accountable?
2015-04-02
Reading online an interview of Ace Frehley given by some hack ...
... by some guy called 'Eric Spitznagel'. Oh my.
No I'm not going to put the link up - why give him and his employer any space on the blog?
Frankly I agree with the other commenters. This interviewer sounds really out to lunch.
"I called Frehley to talk about his memoir, and we ended up talking about Nazis ... "
Uh, who brought of the subjects of Nazis - guess? The Interviewer did, not Ace.
For somebody who’s been allegedly clean and sober for almost three years, he was literally the most stoned-sounding person I have ever spoken to in my life."
Given the stupid questions, it seems more like the interviewer's projecting ...
No I'm not going to put the link up - why give him and his employer any space on the blog?
Frankly I agree with the other commenters. This interviewer sounds really out to lunch.
"I called Frehley to talk about his memoir, and we ended up talking about Nazis ... "
Uh, who brought of the subjects of Nazis - guess? The Interviewer did, not Ace.
For somebody who’s been allegedly clean and sober for almost three years, he was literally the most stoned-sounding person I have ever spoken to in my life."
Given the stupid questions, it seems more like the interviewer's projecting ...
2015-04-01
Me the April Fool
And by fool, I mean sore.
My hands, neck, shoulder, back.
But those I can deal with.
It's the mental soreness of a long long day that wear on me a bit after awhile.
My hands, neck, shoulder, back.
But those I can deal with.
It's the mental soreness of a long long day that wear on me a bit after awhile.
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