Monthly Archives: November 2011

Football

Mostly because I’m pissed at the Vikings and the way they played tonight, I’m posting this fun picture from this weekend:

He has done something that no other tight end has done since 2010.

Which is last year.

Damn.

Obamacare: Supreme Court

It’s looking like the Supreme Court will hear the case and issue a decision in the June 2012 time frame.  Here’s what people who bet money think:

Doesn’t look good right now.

OWS: Chapel Hill Edition

I continue to make the point that the OWS protest crowd is spinning into lawlessness and soon to be violence.  We’ve already seen rape and assault in New York and then murder in Oakland.  The proof isn’t open for debate.  Larger rallies involving Tea Party folks didn’t have even a HINT at violence.  They rallied on the day and time they said they would, they registered for permits, and when the time came to end, they went home.  But not before cleaning up after themselves.

OWS is seen urinating in public and even defecating in public.  There is no respect for private property.  These people vandalize shop keepers who refuse them restrooms.  Restrooms where they not only go to the bathroom, but wash and bathe themselves.  It’s as if they feel the world owes them.

And now, the gentle Left and it’s slow descent into chaos has come to Carolina:

Blue [Chapel Hill Chief of Police] said that officers tried to confront the crowd inside the Yates Motor building on Saturday but found some wearing masks and hoods and acting in a threatening manner.

“This was a reaction we had not encountered in any of our interactions with the ‘Occupy Chapel Hill’ group,” he said.

The “Occupy” group has been protesting peacefully for weeks outside the Chapel Hill Post Office. Supporters said the seven who were arrested Sunday were part of the group that has been at the post office.

Police said the group inside the Yates Motor building had obscured windows with large banners, and some members were posted on the roof as lookouts. Anarchists use such strategies to take over buildings and destroy property, police said.

Inside the building, police said, they found flammable material, a bag of rocks and pamphlets that discussed the number of people needed to overturn a police car.

Private buildings being “occupied”, covered windows, bags of rocks and “how to overturn a cop car”.

But this is a peaceful movement made up of young thoughtful individuals bent on a genlte revolution.

The Best of Beers: The IPA

When I was young, I was all about the macro brew.  I was into Miller Genuine Draft.  For years.  Then I moved to Seattle and the world was tipped on it’s head.   I’ve gone through the various stages beginning with the gentle hefeweizen, a soft unfiltered wheat beer.  After that I moved into the Ambers and some of the Octoberfests.  At each stage I was getting darker and a little bolder.

The next stage would have been the deep porters and stouts.  But I never made it there.  For some reason I stopped going darker and went towards the IPA.

And so it is that I find myself on a never ending quest for a better IPA.  I try to rank ’em.  Not so much against each other, but against a common standby.  So, tonight I’ll introduce that standby and every now and then I’ll introduce a new favorite.

The IPA that I use as my measuring stick is Red Hook’s Long Hammer:

Here’s what Red Hook has to say:

The generous addition of hops both during and at the end of the fermentation process (dry-hopping) gives our India Pale Ale its characteristic bitterness and piney citrus aroma and flavor.  The medium body, crisp finish, and moderate alcohol and IBU levels makes this one of America’s most drinkable and best-selling IPAs.

I don’t know what that means, really.  All I know is that for an everyday back, Long Hammer is about as solid as you can get.  And when looking for an everyday beer, I look for:

  1. Availability – The beer can not be a rotating specialty.  It has to be there everyday.  All day.
  2. Convenient – I’m awfully busy.  I have tons of work, lodge and church stuff.  And that’s AFTER my family.  The kids dominate.  So being able to buy the beer at the local grocery is paramount.  Red Hook’s distribution agreement with Budweiser is huge.
  3. Great taste – Predictable and convenient doesn’t count for jack if it doesn’t taste good.  And Long Hammer delivers.  It’s not elite, maybe not even great.  But it’s REALLY good.
  4. Packaging – I hate buying beer in six-packs.  Coming in cases of 12 is huge.
  5. Price – Let’s face it, I’m not gonna drink a beer that comes in at more than $3 a beer.  Just not gonna happen.

Long Hammer is exactly that.  All of the above.  It’s widely available tastes good.

There ya have it.

How To Fix Public Schools

I just thought of this.  If you wanna fix public schools, or at least improve them dramatically AND increase the pay of teachers, just follow these simple three rules:

  1. Find some way to identify the bottom 10% of teachers.
  2. Fire them.
  3. Do this every year.

If you object to this, you are more interested in keeping shitty teachers in jobs than you are seriously worried about kids getting a good education.

Education should not be a “Make Work Pay” program.

John Galt: Occupy Wall Street

It’s only going to be a matter of time before the producers go on strike.  In some ways, I think, some have.

The OWS folks are protesting some valid stuff; no one wants to bail out Wall Street banks and investment houses.  However, their message is getting lost in a mess of non-message nonsense.  We live in a society that is the envy of the world.  Our poor are richer than most country’s middle class.  We have it good.

But they continue to protest and occupy.  What they don’t realize is that this is being done only by the “tolerance” of others.  At some point, we’re gonna tire of this and they are going to have to leave.  In some cases, this is already occurring:

Small business owners and local residents fed up with the “Occupiers” at Zuccotti Park in New York City are planning a counterprotest and news conference of their own Monday, to make clear the crowd has long overstayed its welcome — and that businesses will not survive if the “occupation” continues.

In recent days, shopkeepers, restaurant owners and others with small businesses located near Zuccotti Park have been quietly meeting to share stories of the damage they say has been caused by Occupy Wall Street: theft of property, vandalism, threats, violence and even incidents involving the throwing of fecal matter.

The producers are tired.  And they’re starting to protest.  They are going to weigh in and demand their time.  It’s one thing for young impressionable kids to take to the streets for an afternoon to protest some social wrong.  It’s who we are and helps build an internal compass that we’ll use as we continue to build life experience.  It’s another thing altogether to just sit and be pissed that people aren’t throwing $100k money at’cha for a freakin’ degree in Women’s Studies*.

And it goes further than just the business owners; it’s hitting the people who feel they have a responsibility to deliver:

The flyers were printed out by a 46-year-old unemployed teacher named Leslie who has spearheaded the counterprotest efforts. She asked her last name not be used out of concern the protesters would retaliate against her, and that her involvement in the counterprotest might negatively affect her job search.

“It’s time for them to go,” Leslie said of the Occupiers.

Leslie makes no effort to conceal her disgust.

“They say they are the 99 percent. Let me tell you, I’m unemployed and I lost my unemployment benefits after 99 weeks. I had to move in with my mother—I’m a true 99 percenter,” she said.

A police officer who was posted at the perimeter of the park for seven days said he would be attending the Monday event out of uniform, “as a protester and fed-up New Yorker.”

“After speaking with many of them, I realize they are unemployable takers,” he said, asking that his name not be used. “They just want to be able to tell their friends, ‘Hey, I was there.’ There is no leader, no voice. They have money in the bank but can’t agree on using it and no one knows who controls it.

“I’m sick of it. Fed up like everyone else.”

They’re losing the unemployed and the cops.  It won’t be long now.  John Galt is going to speak up and when he does, this is all over.

By the way, an illustration of the civility and respect these animals have:

These protesters—they’re not even protesters, they don’t know anything—they are horrible. They break things, they steal, I have to close my bathrooms and bring customers downstairs [to employee restrooms],” he said.

“You should see what they have done to my gate, what they do every night when we are closed,” he said, referring to vandalism and damage to the exterior of his restaurant.

One of his employees said the urination and fecal matter in the neighborhood are among the worst of the problems. A construction worker who works nearby said he saw someone defecating into a newspaper, which was then rolled up and thrown across the street.

“What they do is horrible, it is just horrible,” Corstales said.

Classy.  Not one time, not ONE time ever, did you hear of a Tea Party protester shit in a newspaper and throw it in the street.  Ever.

* Don’t get me wrong.  There’s nothing WRONG with women’s studies, there isn’t.  However, no one hires people because they are a Women’s Studies major.  When I hire people, I’m looking for applicable skills to fill the position.  And to be honest, I like to see soft science minors or focuses and I’ll even direct significant time of the interview on that.  However, that is a component of study that rounds out a candidate, not defines that candidate.

Jobs and Unemployment

I know.

I KNOW that a professional used to making North of 80k isn’t interested in hearing this.  Hell, someone making 30k doesn’t wanna hear this either.  But the fact is, there are jobs out there.  The problem is, the government is making it impossible to fill ’em.

When a potential worker is faced with working 40 hours a week in order earn 8-9 bucks an hour [$320-$360 a week] vs. not working at all and making $310 in unemployment, it doesn’t take a rocket surgeon to figure out what’s gonna happen.

By the way, McDonalds is offering 401k, insurance, cheap food and scholarships.

There are jobs.  That doesn’t seem to be the problem.  We need people willing to work.

Rape, Violence, Assault and Murder: OWS

The OWS nonsense has gone on too long now.  If it isn’t enough that we have women being raped and individuals being assault, we have murder in the OWS protests:

OAKLAND, Calif. – Leaders across the country felt increasing pressure Friday to shut down Occupy encampments after two men died in shootings and another was found dead from a suspected combination of drugs and carbon monoxide poisoning caused by a propane heater inside a tent.

City officials have long been reluctant to enforce law on these protests.  I suspect in some cases the officials are actually on the side of the OWS folks.  And in other cases, were afraid of the consequences.

Well, the time has past for the protesters; it’s time to move on:

Late in the afternoon, police officers acting at the direction of Mayor Jean Quan distributed fliers to protesters warning that the camp violates the law and must be disbanded immediately. The notices warned campers they would face arrest if tents and other materials were not removed, although the warnings did not say by when.

It’s time, children, to put your fun signs away, go home and shower, and try to find meaningful other things to do with your life.

This movement is officially over.

2012 Election: Republican Primary November 11, 2011

Right now, the race is for 2nd place.  Until we’re down to two, I don’t think that we’ll have a clear idea of who’s gonna win this thing.  Some time ago, I predicted that Perry would fade as well as Cain.  While I think that I’ve been proven right, Cain has continued to surprise me.  Except for this most recent scandal, he’s been rising in the polls and rising pretty quick.  However, the scandal did hit and he’s suffered.

My biggest prediction was that Gingrich would be the contender to take on Romney.  I think Gingrich is the smartest guy on the stage, has a history of getting things done and just speaks with a confidence that will set people at ease.  He’s clear, he’s concise and he just talks common sense.

I think that my prediction is playing out:

Newt Gingrich has jumped to second place and Herman Cain has dropped to third among Republican voters’ preferences for which candidate should win the GOP presidential nomination, according to a new poll.

According to the McClatchy-Marist Poll, Mitt Romney leads the Republican pack with 23 percent. Gingrich is next with 19 percent, followed by Cain with 17 percent.

It’s time for the pretenders to bow out.  I suppose they’ll work towards the first round of primaries, and that might be fair, but the sooner we can weed out the lower tier candidates, the better off we’ll be.

By the way, for fun, check this out:

 

More Joe Pa

Last night I made a move to defend Paterno.  I’ve seen some other arguments thatkinda don’t agree with me; and that’s fine.  I like the push, the challenge.  So, I’ve thought about it some more.

From what I understand, the crime was witnessed by a graduate student.  This grad student then reported it to Paterno.  It’s here, in my mind, that the critical decision takes place.  Where I work, if I hear, HEAR, of a possible crime being committed by an employee or on corporate property, I’m to report that information to internal HR or security.  At this point, I am NOT to call 9-1-1.  Rather, I will have my statement taken and then I’ll be directed to do the appropriate.

If that’s too call the authorities, then I will.  If it’s to watch or listen for further information I will.

Whatever else I might think about what happened, should happen or will happen, my role is to report and do what I’m told.

Now, with that said, given the nature of the allegations, I might have acted not like that.  Be that as it may.  In fact, it might turn out that if I HAD acted like my gut told me, I would be or could be sued, I might do it anyway.  However, Joe didn’t.  He did what the book said.

I slide a little more towards the “support Joe”: camp the more I think about it.