Max: Whirled Peas

The past week has been something of a kick in the head. Thursday, I went into work to find out that my job is being shipped to Louisville sometime this summer. I had no desire to move to Kentucky even before Jericho's last post. Even if a move was not in and of itself not out of the question, they told us that if we wanted to move with our jobs, we would have to do an interview. That is right, I would have to interview to keep my job. Fuck the fact that I am damn good at what I do. Fuck the fact that I drag my ass in every day despite the fact that playing chicken with a methed out semi drivers has way more appeal. Fuck the fact that 3 weeks ago when we were overwhelmed with calls I managed to take over 100 calls in just 8 hours when most people around me had taken 60-70. Fuck the fact that I took care of each and every one of those 100 callers properly. If I had any desire to keep my job not only would I have to move to Hooterville, I would have to compete with Arnold Ziffel in the process.

We have been officially discouraged from looking for jobs outside of the company. The powers that be say that between openings in Louisville and expansion of other departments in Saint Louis that more jobs will be opened in the next few months than there will be people laid off. Just in case there is the slightest possibility that we are being dicked around by our corporate masters who don't want this layoff to leave them too shorthanded too soon, I have started sending out resumes.

But that's not all...

Laura has been having some minor back pain, mainly first thing in the morning, for a few months now. It finally got annoying enough that she sought out a chiropractor. We should have known from the start that the squirrelly little fellow she found was a quack. We should have run screaming at the sight of him. In just three days of "treatment" Laura's back pain went from annoying to crippling. On Saturday she ended up in the emergency room, barely able to walk. Some industrial strength pain killers and muscle relaxants that have just about turned her into a zombie have started her on a month long trek back to the point where we started when her back pain was merely an annoyance.

All this made my jobs even more of a challenge than normal. It is bad enough dealing with bitter, hate-filled assholes who would rather condemn themselves to a lifetime of malware and other computer issues than admit that my employer is not the source of all evil in the universe. Dealing with it knowing that there is no future in it has so far been a test of my famously limited patience.

This past week by itself would have been more than enough fun just based on my impending layoff and Laura imploding vertebrae. But on top of all else, yesterday marked the second anniversary of my daughter's death. I took yesterday and today off. I decided to take them off both in remembrance of my little Robin and as a favor to the callers I would otherwise had to deal with. After this week's events - both past and present - it would have probably taken only one user reacting to the suggestion that they might want to consider installing some basic security software as if it was the most hateful insult ever uttered in their direction to cause and eruption of small arms fire.

Laura decided she was ready to finally view the ultrasound video we took of her just three days before we lost her. I wasn't as sure that I could handle it. The idea of looking at that perfect, healthy little girl mere days from being gone left me mixed feelings. It proved to be a bit easier than I feared it might be. But only a bit. We then went to her grave with Laura's parents. That is always hard for me. Going there and being there isn't so bad. In fact, it helps because my mother always leaves toys and other decorations. It's helpful to see that others remember and miss her too. Leaving is that hard part. There is something very paternal in me that keeps telling me I am leaving my little girl behind. That is still hard to deal with.

Laura's parents took us out to dinner after. Some great steak and some freaking amazing ribs helped fill the physical hole, and helped take our minds off of the spiritual hole that will never be filled.

Today I have been pretty much settling in to a long weekend. I guess after I wind this up I will hit the online version of the local paper and see if anything new has been posted in the help wanted section.

Jericho: Zombies ate my freedom!

Yup, they have gone too far.

I thought kids were getting the short end when they were given detention and suspension for giving away Tylenol and Mydol. I thought The Establishment couldn't get any worse when they expelled kids for carrying toy guns. But this, this takes the cake!

Okay, fine, we don't want another Comlumbine or 9/11 - granted. But, some kid who made no specific threats, mentioned no real names, and writes a story about, yes, ZOMBIES, is a terrorist? He commited a felony? I wrote about radio-active hamsters killing lunch ladies in my school newspaper - everyone thought it was hilarious! Of course, I wrote that for the public, mentioned names and didn't do it in the state of Kenfuckedupy!

If this kid has a legal defense fund - I'll find it and post it. If he doesn't - I'm going to start one! The entire State of Kenntucky should be jailed for this bullshit!

Jericho: Road kill-a-no-go?

Really? They really have time for this? I mean, people are out there running dog pits and puppy mills and the New Jersey Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals has time to worry about a candy made of vegetable products? Really?

What's next? No more Swedish Fish? Gummi Bears taboo? Are we going to see the last chocolate turtle sold to benefit some charitable organization? And, what about those cheezy, crunchy, crispy gold fish - are those smiling crackers going the way of the gooney?

I further don't understand why Kraft reacted to this at all. I mean, almost the entire Trolli line is animal in nature. Bears, worms, octopi - Kraft has just opened themselves up to the NJSPCA making more demands.

My advice to the NJSPCA would be worrying about states that allow people to eat anything they kill on the road and leave the kids to have their fun. If we see a rash of kids running over wild gummi animals, then we should worry.

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Max: This is a test

Please ignore this for your own well being.

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Max: Fear and Loathing in the Graveyard

CNN.com - Hunter S. Thompson dead at 67 - Feb 21, 2005

"Journalist and author Hunter S. Thompson, who unleashed the concept of 'gonzo journalism' in books like 'Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas,' fatally shot himself in the head Sunday at his home near Aspen, Colorado, police and his family said."

Max: OMFG

Trailer for The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. Fuck me. Why does no one tell me these things?

There is a better one here.

Max: Blog Jazz

For the vast majority of the past few years, my weekend has been Tuesday and Wednesday, even back when I was working at GuiTarget. It seems to have become the prvailing pattern. So, for me, today is Saturday. It started off as all good Saturdays, even the ones that come on Tuesday, with a nice sleep in. I dragged my ass out of bed around 9am. At one time in my life, 9am qualified as early - or even as bedtime. But I seem to have finally settled into a 9 to 5 routine.

I made my daily sacrifice to the gods of personal hygiene. One of the downsides of sleeping in is that I miss Morning Edition on NPR which I listen to on my shower radio the rest of the week. Diane Rheme is okay, but not really my cup of boiled leaf extract. So, I turned to St. Louis's commercial rock stations for shower time entertainment. As usual, they were more commercial than rock. Although I did get to hear a coupld of cool Todd Rungren tunes.

It is February, and I do live in St. Louis, so it was about 60+ sunny degrees out today. This winter has been more like spring. Something about sunshine and temps in the 60 to 70 degree range brings out the all too rare ambitious side of me. Sadly, in my case ambition generally means doing almost anything outside of spending the day watching TV or reading.

I headed off to the grocery store to get a gallon of milk. While cruising down Lemay Ferry with the windows down, I was struck with an inspiration. I wanted to make chili. Then I decided I wanted to make fajitas. I knew I couldn't do both, so I decided that if they had skirt steak at the store, it would be fajitas. Lately, I have not seen any skirt steak in any of my usualy grocery haunts. Today was no exception. So, chili it was to be.

When I speak of chili, I speak of mid-western chili. I know I am going to offend a lot of southwestern chili purist when I say this, but chili can contain beans. Yeah. That's right. I said it. At its heart, chili is meat and heat. That is, beef (usually) either in ground or stew meat format and chili peppers. For some, that is all chili ever can, will or should be. Me, I am a fan of most of the varitions on classic chili con carne that have sprung up around this country. Sure, a classic bowl of red is a beautiful thing. But that does not mean it can't be adapted.

I say with great pride that this is the greatest pot of chili I have ever made. I browned about two pounds of groung beef, a hamburger friendly 70 percent fat variety. To this, I added a diced yellow onion, a diced banana pepper, a diced jalapeno, diced tomato and unspiced tomato sauce. This I simmered four about three hours. I then threw in a can of refried beans (great bean flavor and an excellent thickener) and two cans of dark navy beans. I threw in about a tablespoon and a half of kosher salt - a long slow cook can mute flavors and a bit of salt can bring them back to life - and about a tablespoon of course ground pepper. I think next time I may double the jalapeno and banana pepper.

Though the temps screamed, "SPRING," it is still winter. It is 4:30 and the sun is starting to leave us. I cannot wait for Spring to start in earnest when the sun to last well into the evening.

Outside of making chili, I made my ealier post, did some laundry and just spent a fair amount of time outside. The temps are sue to drop tomorrow and I wanted to get as much other this day soaked up as I could.

Now I am sitting, writing this. I have no point to this post in mind. I am just writing whatever pops into my head. I have Medeski, Martin and Wood's End of the World Party (Just in Case) playing in iTunes. It is one of the best albums I have heard. MM&W have managed to take the trad jazz trio into an incredible direction. I can't even really describe it. Just jump into iTunes and listen to the samples.

Well, I need to drop off my tax papers and then vist the Mrs. at work.

Catch y'all later.

Max: Goose Stepping in the Moonlight

Usually I am more paranoid than Jericho. Almost anything government does insinherently suspect. And that which is not suspect (the social welfare/safety net stuff) it usually does with mind melting incompetence. So, when Jericho starts talking fascism and jackboots it is time to be genuinely afraid. Being the contrary fuck that I am, I am going to instead try to be calm and reasonable.

A recent poll showed about a third of high school aged American found my beloved First Amendment too be to generous in the freedoms it grants. My first reaction was concern. The last thing the First Amendment needs is to suffer another round of pruning. Freedom of religion is fine as long as you are not a Native American or Rastafarian. We love freedom of speech so long as no body says anything we don't like. And now we are cool with freedom of the press as long as they toe the government line.

That of course says nothing of the intense assault on my beloved Second Amendment.

However, when I was in high school it seemed like more than a third of my fellow students were not entirely enchanted with the concept of broad freedoms. Maybe it is like how one's old grade school seemed bigger when one was smaller. Maybe others seemed like more like freedoms haters when I was an anarchist. But I can clearly remember being consistently astounded by how many of my fellow Americans had absolutely no grasp of what was in their own Constitution.

Hmmm...

Now that I think about it, I was going to say that freedom has managed to survive. But then it dawned on me that just like me my cohorts are heading toward their mid-30's, when a generation starts entering government in earnest, taking power from the previous generation. And look out what we have in government. Neocons who want to spread freedom everywhere but at home.

Wow.

We are fucked, aren't we?

Of course, we have been fucked for a while now. I've long known that. Freedom isn't easy. Democracy is not self correcting. But that is what most people seem to want. It's not that we are not interested in the well being of our country. It is rather that we are so behind on our Tivos that we just don't have time for participation. So government gets left to two groups. Power hungry politicians who only care about holding office and will espouse any idea to get elected, and nutbars with an axe to grind. The middle, the rational, the gently idealistic sit out a few rounds. And even if they try to jump in, the jump right back out when they see what a fucking mess things have become. Even if they try to stay in, not enough are willing to join the the clean up and they soon find themselved marginalized.

Is it too late? Of course not, you silly person. Will people really care enough to do the work to make it better? Well, that depends. You're people. Are you willing to do the work?

Jericho - I weep for the Youth of America

I have the hot new buzzword for all of you, our disenfranchised readers: fascism.

I know that the country has taken a severe right turn, but it seems to just be getting worse and our children are getting the brunt of it.

Let's start with the fact that our children have no idea what freedom means. They probably can't even spell it. They feel that we are too free, that the government can censor the Internet (*head slap!*) and, well, just read the rest here.

Then we have some other fun stuff. I heard a news story that some school has these lovely lights that go off when the kids get too loud and they have to stop talking to make the lights go off. I can't find a link for that one. However, I love this other thing, they are tracking school kids like cattle.

What next? How about little brown shirts and shiny boots? Who will stop the Christian Reich?