Category: Things that make you say hmmm?

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Saw this and thought it was pretty funny

An Article at California Watch reports that all those ever so important Compact Fluorescent light bulbs that California has been shoving down our throats may have a sinister side.

When rebuilding my house, the building code REQUIRED that I have X Fluorescent light fixtures in the house. In point of fact the building code mandate actually INCREASED the number of overhead lights in my home. This was done to save energy! I have yet to figure out how having MORE fixtures saves energy!

It seems to me having NO Fixtures saves a lot more power.

California being the ultimate NANNY state, and all the wonderful elitists who only have my best interest at heart forced their will on me via building code and I had no choice in the matter. After all it was for my own good.

Well it seems that someone forgot to file an environmental impact statement! It turns out that if you drop and break one of those compact fluorescent bulbs it emits mercury vapor. Not at all surprising if you know anything about how those bulbs work.

What surprised me is that they emit vapor for 10 weeks or more. And that vapor is at levels that are considered unsafe for people.

So the California MANDATE… has placed hazardous materials in our homes!

I think it’s FUNNY AS HELL!

Of course the news media will downplay it IF they report on it at all…

See… no matter what, the elitists CAN NEVER be publicly shown to have done something that could be embarrassing or that they were wrong.

After all, if the Elite were shown to be less than perfect,  the Sheep might start asking questions…

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The Car saga continues

This entry is in general about the car but there are broader implications in what I’m about to say.

To recap, the car started acting up then I got a check engine indication.

After a  day or so the dealership said the problem originated from both turbo waste gates malfunctioning.

Aside from the strange coincidence that both units malfunctioned at the same time and that I’ve been chasing some kind of gremlin around the car since 2009. I’m more or less happy that finally some hard indication of a problem existing in the car has been documented.

I’m MORE than annoyed that when I started reporting issues I was WELL within the factory warranty and now that someone actually saw a problem I’m close to the end of the extended warranty. But that is simply the way things are and there’s nothing to be done about it.

90% of the issue in this case is the reliance of the dealerships on their diagnostic and onboard computers, then doing ONLY the minimum required NOT actually engaging in diagnosis.

Diagnosis being the logical testing and elimination of potential problems until the actual problem was found and corrected.

In many if not all of todays vehicles the “Technician” (Give me a good old fashioned MECHANIC any day.) interrogates the onboard systems and if they say nothing is wrong… Well then NOTHING is wrong!

I swear, The car could have come in on a tow truck with the engine not even turning over and if the computer said everything was fine, then some of these “Technicians” would return the car still not running with “No problem found”.

There is however an overarching problem in our society.

In my opinion this problem will continue to undermine us until we put a stop to it, or until the United States we know is just another 3rd world cesspool.

The problem is the minimalist approach.

Let me give you an extreme example.

You go in for surgery. Your doctor and surgeon have determined that you have a cancerous tumor in your gut. So they prep you and slice you open. While they’re inside you they see another tumor of a slightly different kind. They note in your records and remove ONLY the original tumor as required by the insurance company and per the legal documents you signed when you were admitted. 

Then they schedule you for another surgery next month to remove the OTHER tumor. Of course the doctors get to hit you with double the costs and drive up the insurance payout. So literally everyone in the situation WINS….

Except of course the poor bastard that’s being sliced and diced.

This makes no fucking sense, we all know it defies logic. Yet we have examples of this kind of thinking all over the place.

There was a place I worked where we tested software. I’m a black box, start to finish, end to end, front to back, kind of Quality Assurance Engineer.

I’m proud of that and I take pride in my ability to find problems in software. (Except when I’m finding issues with software I’m not being paid to test… Windows? Anyone?)

This company was all about process, procedures, and documentation. Problem was they only tested to prove the requirement was met. It didn’t matter that the software under test didn’t actually fucking work!

The focus was so narrowly on meeting the individual requirement that they’d lost sight of the overall system. Requirements are, in general the MINIMUM thing necessary.

That’s the problem. Accountability means meeting the minimum. In a homogeneous work environment where the person that excels is never rewarded for their excellence, you build in mediocrity. You really cement in that “It’s not my job” mentality.

Another aspect of this is that costs are driven up and MORE busy work is being created, customer satisfaction drops into the shitter, customer loyalty becomes a thing of the past, OH AND you increase waste and consumerism.

Why? Because usually in these situations the customer spends an inordinate amount of time dicking with getting their problem SOLVED!

More often than not the customer in frustration SOLVES the problem by tossing the offending “Whatever” in the trash Then they buy another similar item from another vendor.

 In this age of being green, hugging Mother Earth, carbon credits, and political posturing for environmental responsibility, you’d think the first thing to work on is fucking quality!

Here’s another example.

This is an actual email thread I had with the guy at the dealership today.


ME:

It occurred to me that there is a lot of oil going through the turbos.

If I remember general turbo construction the turbos depend on oil for a part of their cooling and they may even use oil bearings dependent on design.

This begs a question.


The next service interval was about 7000 miles in the future. It doesn’t make any sense to me that you’d put new turbos on the car and then subject them to OLD oil. Does this turbo replacement INCLUDE the OIL CHANGE and whatever other service is indicated?

It makes sense for the health of the car and frankly my convenience to just do the next service early. Is there any way we can take care of this now?

THEM:

The issue was not with the Turbo it self but the waste gate. The waste gate is attached to the Turbo

ME:

OK,

Are the waste gates external to the turbochargers? I know that’s a possible arrangement.

From the expense of the repair I assumed that both the turbochargers were being replaced as units which contained the turbos and gates

If it’s a whole unit replacement then it still makes sense to drop the oil and do the other service. Just so the turbos have a clean start.

If the waste gates are external, then i wouldn’t have expected them to be quite as expensive since there’s nothing particularly exotic about them.

In any case. The point is that I’m planning to take the car on a couple of trips over the next 6 weeks because of those plans I want to make sure it’s fully up to par before I leave.

Another question, I just want to confirm this is an N54 engine correct?

THEM:

Yes, It is an N54 engine. We can change the oil is you would like. I have a coupon for $99.00

ME:

OK

Do the oil change.

Change the Air intake filter.

Change the micro-filter.

I realize that those items are not included and will cost additional money. If it’s not over 200.00 then do it

Otherwise let me know what the estimate is.

Also and this is vitally important. Make sure that I haven’t missed ANYTHING that would be included in the service that is DUE in 7000 miles.

I’m looking at the “Service and Warranty guide.” And didn’t see anything that jumped out at me. If I did miss anything let me know.

IF there is nothing else that should be done for the upcoming service,

Then reset the service interval (CBS) system.

I’m attaching the oil service coupon.

To Recap

I currently Owe you for the Air conditioning service

I will Owe you for the oil change

I will Owe you for the air filter

I will Owe you for the micro filter

THEM:

Ok

THEM 2nd Email:

It’s about 364.45 for the oil & filter, air filter and micro filter

ME:

Do it

THEM:

Ok


IS IT ME???

There are several places in this email exchange where this guy is JUST not answering the questions.

I’m not naming anybody here but for FUCKS Sake! Why did I have to go digging up information,
Why was this apparently some kind of issue? Frankly this guys approach seems to me to be EVASIVE as hell and being a QA person this is like putting blood in the water in a school of great whites.

Again this is indicative of the minimalist approach.

This service guy SHOULD have suggested that we do the interval service NOW.

As I pointed out it makes ME the customer happier so I don’t have the car BACK in for service in a month or two.

Yet because the FUCKING computer didn’t tell him to THINK! He was just going to let it go.

I STILL don’t know if the DAMN turbos are being replaced in their entirety or if the waste gates are EXTERNAL to the turbos.

What I DO know is that you can’t ever hurt a car by changing it’s oil. I know that you can’t hurt a car by changing it’s air filter, and I KNOW that I drive in a dusty environment so it’s likely that the air intake and cabin intake filters are dirty. Yeah, maybe not dirty enough to require changing, but for FUCKS sake it isn’t going to hurt and in fact may help the new hardware get off to a healthy start.

At least mention the option… I can take it or leave it but DON’T make me feel like I’m having to fight you for it.

Again meeting requirements but not going beyond what the computerized program SAYS to do…


If all we are doing is reading scripts from our computer screens, in no time the computer will be reading the script and the humans will be living under an overpass like every other 3rd world cesspool..

I just can’t wrap my head around this kind of thinking, It’s so wasteful and irritating and then you see news articles speaking of low customer satisfaction and the writers are at a loss as to why.

All anyone has to do is try to have their car repaired, or call customer service for their computers, cellphones, game consoles, or televisions, or telephones.

Don’t we all cringe when we hear

“Yes Sir, I understand your concern…”
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Bad… Spooky bad

I read this article this morning and it sent chills down my spine.

This is bad ju ju… very very bad ju ju.

Apparently in addition to having to worry about your credit score (BTW… a completely subjective, fictitious number anymore after the banking / mortgage disaster…) now you’re going to be graded, rated and judged on your influence score.

Yep, Your Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn accounts now are going to be used to create an influence rating. That rating may be used by others to decide if you’re worthy of perks. The article suggests that perhaps even jobs would be offered or withheld based on your influence score.

Klout allows you to log in a see your score right now. I didn’t check mine…

Personally, I see this as a very good reason to delete all my social media accounts so that I’m not in the system and therefore not scored.

I could see a situation 20 years in the future… “Oh no sir we’re not allowed to perform medical procedures on you… Yes Sir, I understand you have enough cash but your influence score is just too low. You’re not relevant enough to continue to live. NEXT! Please sir, step aside for someone who is more motivational.”

After all, we all know just how well the credit scoring system worked. If your credit score is too low you couldn’t buy houses, or cars, or get credit cards. That way the financial system in the United States is protected from bad debt. YEAH RIGHT!

Folks we need to move away from shit like this!

Already some employers are asking for your social media accounts and blog addresses as part of the application process.

If an HR person doesn’t like something they see, or you don’t “friend” them fast enough you can loose job opportunities. It’s no longer about what you can do for the company…  it’s about your personal life as well.

We need to start dealing with each other Face to Face again. Arbitrary indexing and scoring is simply another way to strip us of our humanity.

Maybe I’m wrong here but this just feels like a very slippery slope.

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I seriously need to get off

Yeah It’s been a while.

Need to take some time, get naked, and fucking play with myself for at least a few hours.

Just thinking about it, is making my cock drip. It’s been way too long!

You know it’s the weirdest thing. I’m off work and working harder than ever. I’ve been so busy catching up on stuff that I’ve needed to get done that I haven’t taken time for myself.

I’m thinking today I’ll down shift. Slow down and enjoy my body.  I might be less of a prick and less wound up.

It’s funny how we get so caught up in our projects, working out, and generally busy that we forget the basics.

As a young man, I thought sex would always be the the front of my mind. Now in middle age I still think about sex and react when I see someone that’s physically attractive. But there are times when I’m so busy and focused and I’ll realize a whole day has got by me, I’m horny as hell but tired too.

I like to take a good long time and enjoy working up a nice load of cum. I’m working for it and I want to really enjoy squirting.

So if I’m doing myself, I don’t want to start out tired or feel like I’m on some kind of timetable. Then it’s all just stroke, & cum. Don’t get me wrong that’s a great combination sometimes and it can take the edge off but I usually want bit more, sometimes a LOT more.

Unfortunately, that means that somewhere somehow I’ll need to carve a chunk of time out of my day for me and that’s often easier said than done.

I’ve been thinking about a long brutal massage with a fucking great happy ending. (Yes, I had someone in mind who doesn’t mind me relaxing afterward) But I don’t want to spend the cash especially since

I’m looking at expensive car repairs.

I had a buddy that I’d Skype with. We’d be talking about general shit in our lives, we were both naked and stroking watching each other. In a strange way sharing the experience wasn’t like having sex with each other, it was something else. The words that come to mind are; Fun, calming, honest, bonding, satisfying. I have no idea why it felt that way but am more than willing to accept that it just was…

Well my schedule is clear for a few hours,  I think I’ll silence the phone, and have some fun….

Plan some stroke time for your selves guys. I’m right there with ya.

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I see things like this and wonder

Was reading my morning news, yeah I know bad idea… and this headline leapt out at me.

Green Lantern’ is opening. Does it appeal only to white American males?

I thought to myself DOES IT MATTER?

Why did the writer of this article think it important to ask this question?

There are a number of movies that I personally have no interest in seeing.

Were I to ask the same question about  The Lottery Ticket for example with a headline like;

Lottery Ticket opens today, Does it appeal only to Black American Males?

I’d be crucified as a racist, so why doesn’t the blade of racism in America cut BOTH ways?

According to Wikipedia the first Green Lantern appeared in 1940.

Green Lantern is a reflection of the time in which it was created.

The story Line I’m most familiar with starts in 1959 with Hal Jordan who is a fighter test pilot. Since the 1959 story line involves a fighter test pilot, and the first African American test pilot (Ed Dwight) wasn’t appointed until 1961. It’ makes all the sense in the world that Hal Jordan would be white.

It is worth noting that later in the Green Lantern story arc as early as 1971, an African American (John Stewart) is chosen by the Green Lantern Corps. Again this is a reflection of the changing attitudes in the society. The John Stewart Green Lantern is an Architect, was a Marine, and is all about Justice and doing the right thing regardless of the consequences. He’s a strong character that everyone can understand and identify with.

There was always considerable diversity in the Green Lantern story. When you consider that  The Green Lantern Corps, is coalition of aliens from many worlds all of whom are given great power and responsibility based on the judgement of the Lantern rings.

I’ve noticed chatter in the ‘net where people are complaining that Hal Jordan, not  John Stewart is the Green Lantern in the current movie.

Since I haven’t yet seen the movie, I don’t know how relevant the internet chatter is.

If the movie is about the origins of the Green Lantern on Earth then the Hal Jordan story arc makes sense. If the movie is about the Green Lantern in general then it could have gone either way.

What I find disturbing is that people are bitching about the color of the Green Lanterns skin.

If anything, the development of the Green Lanterns story over the past 50 years shows that Green is the color of justice and the color of the persons skin is incidental  to the Character and Strength of the person wielding the ring.

It’s ashamed that life is not imitating art in this case.