Category: BullShit

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Oh for God’s sake! I’m so over this Woke Bullshit!

Caught an article talking about the James Webb Space telescope and how there are some people who think that the telescope should be renamed so that it doesn’t honor James Webb.

Artist Rendering: James Webb Space Telescope

Webb was the second person to lead NASA and did so from 1961 – 1968.

This particular controversy doesn’t arise from the all too common hackneyed phrase of racism.

You do realize that we’re still removing historical figures based on their supposed racism in the 1600’s right???

This controversy is about Webb being the director of NASA during the Lavender scare or Pink Purge.

The Lavender Scare was a period of time when the United States Government sought to purge all homosexuals from their ranks.

The thought was that homosexuals couldn’t be trusted because they were forced to live their lives in the closet. As such, the thinking went, all homosexuals were security risks because all it would take is a commie to find out someone was queer and then blackmail them.

Given the times, it wasn’t actually a bad line of reasoning. In the 1960’s homosexuality was considered a mental illness, and illegal in most states. A queer could lose their job, their home, and be sent to an asylum for their “un-natural” behavior.

Gay men were commonly beaten up, mutilated, or killed, but Lesbians had it worse. There were a lot of men who believed that a lesbian was a lesbian, because she hadn’t had the right cock shoved inside her. Lots of real bastards would volunteer to be that magical dick that made a lesbian a “real” woman.

Picture the almost rape scene from “Kill Bill“. Except that the woman is tied down in an insane asylum and raped at any time, by any orderly who happened to get a hard on.

Oh and let’s not forget routine electro convulsive therapy. A.K.A. Electro shock. Apparently there was a school of thought that said the Gay could be shocked out of the poor soul and make them ‘right as rain’.

These factors would pretty much insure that a Homosexual would do anything to prevent themselves from being discovered.

Alan Turing

Look up Alan Turing sometime.

He helped defeat the NAZI Enigma encryption machine, could arguably be called the father of modern computing, and still ended up committing suicide (Although the suicide is still being debated,) because he happened to be homosexual.

I’m not saying that any of this was right, It absolutely wasn’t.

However those were the times.

(As an aside, this kind of persecution is still going on in the Middle East. The “woke” crowd is very willing to ignore it, because it’s ‘Middle Eastern Culture‘. While at the same time the “woke” crowd goes back 200, 100, 60, or 50 years and condemns people for shit that we’ve grown out of, for the most part.)

J Edgar Hoover

The Lavender Scare was being perpetrated by none other than the FBI. Who at the time had as its head a crossdressing asshole named J. Edgar Hoover. Uhh duplicitous much?

It’s arguable that the Lavender Scare was rooted in McCarthyism. A dark time in our history famous for the question, “Are you now, or have you ever been a member of the Communist Party?”

The gay purge probably got started there, and just continued on under its own momentum after Senator McCarthy was considered passé.

In the case of James Webb, he happened to be NASA’s director during this time.

So let’s look at this logically. Webb was the director of NASA, he answered to Congress.

James Webb

Congress has this funny little organization called the FBI who loves digging up dirt on people. J Edgar Hoover really liked having leverage over anyone in power.

Webb had a career, a family, and believed that we should conquer space.

There were hundreds of former NAZI scientists working throughout government labs (brought over during Operation Paper Clip) including one guy by the name of Wernher Van Braun.

Webb knew there is no way in hell that the FBI was ever going to leave his people alone to do their jobs… So he made a choice.

MSFC CENTER DIRECTOR VON BRAUN, WERNHER-DR. IN HIS OFFICE WITH ROCKET MODELS IN BACKGROUND. 5/18/64

He chose not be obstructionist to the FBI.

Webb chose to keep moving the space program forward.

He in good conscience didn’t defend a group of people that Medical Science, (hey, they believed the science then too,) said were sick in the head, and that the government’s security and intelligence community said were a danger because they could be compromised by the commie bastards in Russia, placing the whole of the Space Program in jeopardy.

It doesn’t matter where he came down morally on boys who do with boys.

He had a Mission to the moon to worry about. I daresay he didn’t worry too much about a few “sick fucks” being purged from his staff.

That does not make Webb a bad man. It makes him a product of his time.

Webb’s scientific achievements merit his name being on the telescope.

I think that we’re looking at something different. I think this name change is nothing more than an attempt to purge another white guy from history.

I think this controversy is nothing more than some “Woke” asshole digging into Webbs history and finding nothing more than a shred of potential guilt that can be hung around his neck, then using this “assigned guilt” to erase Webb’s achievements and legacy.

Harriet Tubman

The authors of the article suggest the telescope be called the Harriet Tubman telescope. While Harriet Tubman was no doubt an American hero, and should be remembered with respect, she was not a scientist. Tubman, like the rest of the people alive in her day was probably very content to leave the mysteries of the firmament in God’s capable hands.

James Webb on the other hand most likely wanted to see God’s hands shaping the heavens.

In my opinion, the latter makes the case for his name being on the space telescope.

We need to stop judging people of the past by the morals of the present. This behavior is irrational and destructive.

We need to look at leaders (whether heroic or despotic) of the past in context of their times. Only then can we see that humanity is progressing (however slowly) toward a better future.

We need to be able to observe past events with an unflinching realism, because only in understanding the errors and successes of the past, can we hope to build a livable future.

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We’ve reached the end of the week.

Annnnnnnddd… Nothing is new!

Had a job offer rescinded. Disappointing but in truth I had some reservations about the job. The pay was good, but the Job itself was in Florida.

Florida wouldn’t be bad for me personally, but it would mean leaving Jesse, my home, and probably any reasonable chance of returning to California would be gone too, except to sell the house eventually.

I thought about it and had come to peace about all that I’d be leaving and all that I’d have to clean up eventually.

The reservations about the job in addition to those stated, also had to do with the relationship of the person I’d be working for and my family’s involvement. What happened to the job if things went sour between my boss and the family? Those questions were apparently answered when the offer was rescinded. I know from the family’s perspective that something happened.

I’m trying to convince myself that it was for the best and have mustered at least some strength of will to continue this fruitless search.

I’ve been considering just entering warehouse work. There’s a nice symmetry in that. One of the first jobs I had, involved warehouse work, and I sorta liked it.

No politics, simple labor, In motion all day long, and not trapped behind a desk. Do your job, do it right, and go home at night.

There’s also a pot grower nearby that is looking for help with the growing. The pay isn’t as high as the warehousing positions, but I like making things grow. I’d also be a good candidate because I don’t particularly like pot. The employer wouldn’t have to worry about me taking merchandise or being stoned out of my mind on the job.

The longer this unemployment goes on, the more I’m leaning toward abandoning technology as a career and doing something that’s actually constructive.

I’ve been thinking maybe it’s time to let software continue it’s slide toward horrific inadequacy without my interference.

After all we’ve all seen the debacles across the software industry in recent years. From simple things like, Typos salted through menus and help texts, to data breaches exposing a corporations entire customer database to the world.

Remember… the software “Passed” testing…

I wonder how happy I’d be returning to an office environment where any bug I discovered could be called “Racist” based on the color of a programmer’s skin or their national origin. Software either works correctly or it doesn’t. As a QA person my job is to find the problems and report them. I don’t care who or what the programmer is, a bug is a bug.

The problem is, that if you’re assigned to test a particular part of functionality it’s often a particular programmer’s code. Programmers hate QA finding bugs in their code I could see it devolving into a “He’s just a racist and going through my code with a fine tooth comb because he hates: X, Y, Z colored people.“

No matter how you play that scenario out, as a white man these days you lose. Even if you’re treating all the code you test in exactly the same way.

Then I ask myself do I really want to deal with being afraid of using the wrong word or pronoun.

Years ago I was called on the carpet during a class that I was teaching for using the term “dikes”. It was a common term that described diagonal cutters (as in for wire).

I don’t know how the term came into common usage, as that happened decades before I was an itch in my Daddy’s pants. But there I was, facing a pissed off lesbian who’d taken offense.

First of all, I didn’t know or care that she was a lesbian. Second of all, I used a term that the other 30 people in the class knew, and my use of that term caused them to all pick up the indicated tool to perform the indicated action.

I asked her what term I should use, her reply was, “diagonal cutters”. “Fine,” I said, “I’ll use that term for the rest of the class.”

While she was yelling in my face about how hurtful the term “dikes” was, I could see the other 30 people in the class rolling their eyes in annoyance.

I told her in front of the class that I happened to be gay and that I wasn’t offended by the term “Fag.” In fact I expected to hear that term frequently when I was in London.

I then asked if we could get on with the class. She’d have none of it. She demanded satisfaction in the form of an immediate written apology for using an offensive term.

Her boss spared me wasting time on an endeavor to satisfy 0.03030303 % of the class by removing her from the classroom.

Several other women were present and two of them said they too were lesbians, and didn’t mind my use of the term in this context. One of them quipped, “I hope Sheila NEVER visits Holland!“

The class burst into laughter and we got on with business.

I’ve been thinking a lot about that incident over the past year. I honestly can’t say if I’d be happy in an office full of people just waiting to pounce on the wrong word, action, or pronoun, just to be offended and cause drama.

Perhaps I’ve had enough of the corporate grind.

I know I’ve had enough of the HR bullshit where a corporation states their policy then promptly discards the policy based on skin color.

Yeah, the last place I worked had a few incidents like that. I’m rule based. Give me a rule & I’ll follow it until you aren’t following the rules. At that point, don’t try making me selectively follow your rules, especially not based on the color of my skin versus someone else’s.

The last place I worked, was just starting to see the perpetually aggrieved. I have to wonder how much worse that’s gotten over the past year.

I just want to go to work, do my job, be paid for my effort, and go home. I don’t want to be terrorized all day into silence or be expected to show up at some event to show corporate support for a cause that I don’t believe in.

Sadly, that too seems to be required by some companies.

Time will tell…

I wonder if it’s too late in my life to move to Norway. A nice simple one room cottage perched on green hills overlooking a fjord. Maybe some sheep, a cow, and a windmill or solar panels to charge the electronics, (At least much of the year…)

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The Job Search continues

As it has for almost 2 years now…

When I was notified that my Job was being outsourced, I started looking. Anyone with half a brain would have at that point. I was hoping to secure a position before the actual layoff, even though it meant that I’d be leaving money on the table.

“We’re going to lay you off, but if you leave before we lay you off you don’t get this bundle of money we’re going to pay you if you stay with us so we can enjoy making sure your’e really fucked.“

Corporate logic! How about you offer to pay a pro-rated amount up until the time you lay us off?

Ultimately it hasn’t mattered a bit. I’ve been looking and sending endless resumes and filling out online job applications until I’m honestly sick of it. I’m sick of being approached by strangers saying they’ve got the perfect job for me only to jump through all their hoops and then hear NOTHING!

I’m sick of calling to follow-up on positions I’ve applied for and not being able to reach the person, leaving a message, then never getting the simple courtesy of a return phone call or an email telling me what the status of the position is.

I’m sick of reaching out to recruiters that someone I know has dealt with, only to be ghosted.

There are those like my Mother who’d say, “Well it’s the COVID dear… “

No Mom, it’s not the COVID, this has been going on since well before the COVID gave everyone an excuse to be jerks.

Then there’s these websites like Glassdoor. “We’ve found a Job that we think lines up with you perfectly. Customer Service Representative for a Beauty Supply and Accessories company in Cupertino, Pay range 20,000 per year. Not Remote”

SAY WHAT?!!

You can’t live in Cupertino for 20K a year. Maybe if you lived in your car, and it was paid for and you had no bills, and didn’t need to eat.

If it was just a one off mistake fine, but this has become a constant. No where in my resume does it say that I have any idea about anything related to beauty supplies!

I’m a Software Quality Assurance / Software Test engineer. How do you get to Customer Service Representative from a 30 year resume that’s uploaded to your site, and then was redundantly filled in on your customized series of forms?

Glassdoor, you’re so out of here!

So I closed the account on that particular aggregator of jobs which hadn’t done me a lick of good anyway.

Then when I close the account which didn’t ask any questions about why I was closing the account, I get an email saying that a review of some job, [I hadn’t made any reviews in at least a year] suddenly violates their community standards.

The email rolled in within seconds of my closing the account, so it’s fairly obvious that they sent it by mistake instead of an email stating I’d closed the account. Hmmm. Perhaps Glassdoor could use my services? Just saying…

I’ve lost count of how many hours I’ve spent looking for a job. I no longer know how many different applications and forms I’ve filled out online. All for nothing!

I know, there are those who’d say, “Just keep trying, it’ll work out for you, you may fill out 1000 applications but you only need one to be successful.“

I used to be able to have two or three offers, in recent years that’s dwindled to offering to suck cock for just an interview.

I’m not into the Pollyanna shit anymore.

The thing that gets me is that while I’m working with all these online job applications, I’m finding bugs in them.

In some cases it’s typos throughout the forms, in other cases it’s forms that don’t work properly on Mac or Windows. I seriously think I should be paid to do nothing but test the forms companies put out on their public facing web sites. At least then their company HR pages wouldn’t be an embarrassment.

I’d consider just going back to printed resume and good old fashioned US mail in response to Job postings. The only problem with that is hiring companies rarely post an actual address or phone number so that you could even go “Old School”.

There’s another site that’s really funny. They’ll post positions that say, located in Ontario, CA. What they really mean is Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The problem is that even on the description of the job they’ll still say Ontario, CA and it isn’t until you get to entering your information and the application won’t accept a US zip code that you realize the mistake.

Give me a good old fashioned newspaper want ad section any day. I know, you’d think, “Hey there’s an idea,” You’d be wrong. a large number of newspaper want ads simply direct you to their online resources like careerbuilder.com. Which puts you right back into a nationwide database that probably hasn’t been purged of erroneous records for a decade.

There are the other aggregator sites that post positions as “NEW” but when you follow the link back to it’s source you find that the position is already 3 months old and has been filled. The position may be “NEW” to the aggregator, but it’s really so stale you could grow penicillin on it.

There must be a better way. This online bullshit ain’t cutting it.

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I’ve been seeing articles about AOC being triggered

AOC-by-evy-mages

The first articles quoted her as saying she didn’t feel safe with her republican colleagues.

Then she says she was triggered and fearful for her life.

Then we find out she wasn’t in the Capital Building itself but was in one of the offices adjacent to the Capital Building. These offices are connected to the Capital via tunnels.

Last week she’s saying that she was a victim of sexual assault, but refuses to name the perpetrator.

Now she’s saying that she was afraid that the rioters would get into the tunnels.

Really AOC?

Pick a freakin lane!

I’m sorry that she was sexually assaulted.

Although I have a certain doubts about the veracity of that claim. Having known several women who were victims of sexual assault. I find it hard to believe that AOC (of all people) refuses to name the person and have them strung up by their gonads.

I know, we’re supposed to believe all women. (Unless they have a credible claim against a certain sitting President, cough! Biden.) Then it’s fine to ignore the claim, the evidence, the woman, and marginalize her out of existence. That’s the way we do things now in the Socialist Democratic States of America. Right?

The thing that I would ask AOC is, “Did you pay any attention the the security briefings you no doubt had to attend when you took office?”

Those tunnels have existed for years, since long before AOC was an itch in her daddy’s pants. There are multiple security protocols in place to prevent a full on invasion, because if some force were to take control of those tunnels. it would require a major military assault to regain control. The best way to avoid that problem is to be able to close off sections that might be compromised. The better solution is to prevent the tunnels from being compromised in the first place. I’m absolutely sure that much thought has been given to this problem and many horrific scenarios have been played out to create protocols for the security of the Capital complex.

Those protocols have been considered and revised often over the years and by people much smarter about such things than AOC or myself. The fact that many Congressmen and staffers were evacuated to the tunnels suggests that they are more secure than the office buildings or The Capital building itself.

So what exactly was AOC doing during those briefings? Was she simply ignoring what was being said because she mistakenly thought it had something to do with Donald Trump? Did her hatred of him, blind her to the underlying fact that security is kind of a big deal in and around the Capital? Did she fail to consider that security has been functioning for at least 200 years, through multiple Presidents, even though the tunnels are more recent editions?

Further, how on Earth does she come up with her Republican colleagues would be a threat to her? I’ll grant you they might not like her. (Probably don’t.) But they would not see her come to harm.

I honestly dislike AOC. That being said, I would still tell her to come with me for her safety. I’d leave it completely up to her to enjoy my protection or not, in a battle, a fire, a poison gas attack, or whatever.

I believe you can choose your own fate and if you’re not smart enough to choose wisely, then it’s on you and you alone.

I doubt I’d take a bullet for AOC, and feel very sorry for her security detail because they’d have to.

Even though, I see her as a petulant child, and I think she’s among the absolute worst of our so called “leaders” I would not see her come to harm, if I could prevent it.

I’d suggest that she get some professional psychological help.

I say this because the level of fear and paranoia she’s been displaying, suggests a very damaged person. It is possible that she should not be in the position in the House that she now occupies because it is clearly far too stressful for her. If she chooses to remain in her position, her crippling fear will only get worse.

I can tell you this, had I been in the Capital during the riot, I’d have velcroed myself to the largest group of ex-military Representatives or Senators, regardless of their party affiliation.

I say this because they know how these things work, and when bullets start flying, their instinct is to protect. They don’t give a crap about your party, sexuality, gender, religion, or the color of your skin. They are about survival, and saving as many people as they can.

That’s my having faith and respect for military people.

That AOC doesn’t get this, says a lot more about her, than it does the people she works with.

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After two days of Snow clearing…

I can see the road in front of the house. It had about an inch of compressed ice on it.

The snow players, as anticipated made their appearance. Saturday wasn’t too bad, Sunday on the other hand was an absolute shit show.

They actually pulled up the stakes labeled “Reforestation” that marked where new trees had been planted. Obviously, the stakes were in the way of these people’s fun.

The police were up here at least 3 times running everyone out of the neighborhood, because they’d parked so that the roads were blocked. I do appreciate the police and they were ticketing and towing to beat the band.

One humorous incident came when a full sized expedition was backing into my driveway and about to hit the other half’s car. I stepped out onto the deck and yelled at them to stop. The vehicle was loaded with people, but the woman in the passenger seat told me they were locals trying to avoid the snow players.

When I pointed out that they must be new to the area because all the locals know there is no way to get to town except via Hwy 2 due to the bridge being under construction and the wash, she realized she’d been caught lying through her teeth. Then the driver of the expedition backed down the street. Where they went, I don’t know.

I can tell you that to a local it’s obvious you don’t live here. Your vehicle is too clean and if you look at other vehicles from around here, you’ll notice ice on the roof or muddy snow or splashed mud on the quarter panels and in the wheel wells.

My car is in the garage, and even it has evidence of having been driven in snowy conditions. During this time of year it’s pointless to wash your car except about once a month.

Then there was the neighbor next door who noticed an adult male trying all the doors on a house for sale across the street. When she asked him what he was doing he replied, “I’m here to fix the water heater.”

When she asked him where his truck and tools were, he disappeared behind the house and she called the police. We suspect that he was looking for a bathroom for his 3 children and wife who were playing all over the property.

Dude… This ain’t Disneyland and we don’t need to cater to your wishes or needs. Of course that means someone is going to find human poop in their yard come springtime.

Ugh! Those are just two of the incidents that stand out. The whole day was like that. So I spent most of the day shovel in hand chipping at the ice. It gave me a good excuse to keep an eye on the stupidity and generally keep folks off our street and out of our yards.

Today, has brought light showers and warmer weather it’s about 39° and thankfully the showers are more rain than sleet.

We’re expecting warmer temps and even sunshine later in the week. There was supposed to be another snow storm on Wednesday but it looks like that’s breaking up over the coast. That is a relief! All of the neighbors are tired and achy from the snow removal and none of us were looking forward to having to do it all again so soon.

We never had this kind of snow play problem before the county decided to widen the wash as part of an ill conceived flood control project. A project that over ten years has resulted in the county spending millions in overtime digging out the log flume they created, year round.

Finally a year or two ago, someone decided that replacing the bridge that had washed out was more cost effective.

Funny how the residents suggested that in the first place and also pointed out that the county solution would cost more in the long run and cause other unanticipated problems in the area.

The wash before the county messed with it, was a natural meandering space with trees and a lovely trail. The wash itself wasn’t a 50 foot deep straight gash in the landscape. It was obvious to everyone visiting the town that this was not a place to play in the snow.

After the county work, the wash looks very much like a ski run and tourists use it as such because they’re tired of sitting in line to get to the actual snow play areas or ski runs.

The first winter after the county work, everyone at this end of town knew we were screwed.

For 7 or 8 straight years we’ve watched the county dig out the wash year round, to keep the road open. Each spring the county shows up with saplings to plant in the devastation they created. Each winter, those saplings are trampled and destroyed by snow players looking for free winter fun, instead of using the appropriate and safe designated areas.

People fall and get hurt every single weekend playing in the wash because they have no idea there are rocks under the snow that they cannot see. Having to split the paramedics between both ends of town also means that skiers who are injured on the actual slopes have to wait for medical help or be airlifted out if their need is really great. Not to mention having to pay triple shifts to fire and police.

These are all things that I personally mentioned in the town meetings opposing the county’s wash project. They were only concerned with the official environmental impact statement and basically told me to shut up. They were unconcerned with the impact this would have on the property owners.

They kept telling us it was for erosion control.

Now the county is having to pay property owners whose property fronts the wash for loss of property and fences that are washed away.

If you hike up to the national forest property that was left alone, you’ll find that nature knows best. Beyond where the county boondoggle stops, the original wash is largely unchanged. Erosion is minimal and the natural habitat has naturally occurring pools of clear fresh water for the animals of the forest. It’s beautiful and doesn’t look like the lunar surface.

I think it was Reagan who said the most terrifying words every heard were, “We’re from the government and here to help you.“

I’m going to go take the dog out for a walk. He’s been cooped up in the house all weekend. I’m thinking that we’ll start picking up the trash in the wash too. I can see from the back deck, there are hundreds of surgical masks littering the landscape. Those in addition to the food wrappers and broken plastic sleds give the wash and the one remaining trail the appearance of living in a land fill.

If the dog will be more or less calm, I’ll take some pictures and update this post with them.

Sigh…

Here’s a few pictures. The cleanup is ongoing.

We’ve got a call into the Board of Supervisors.

Apparently, their phones began ringing at 8:00 AM on Monday Morning. Folks are tired of being trapped in their homes by the chaos.

However, I know a lot of people up here don’t really expect politicians to actually do anything.

This last photo is of blood in the snow. Unfortunately, the red in the photo looks more brown. In daylight, the red was more vibrant. I think this wasn’t anything more severe than a nose bleed, caused by cold dry air.

It’s probably going to take a large patch of bloody snow to get the County’s attention. Unfortunately, that means someone is going to have to really get hurt.