October 31, 2003
Will the Docs still charge for the faulty treatments
Thousands Given Wrong STD Results
I don't know what I could say that would make this any funnier sadder.
Wonder what the average charge to the BC medical system is per treatment. Actually on second thought I wonder what effect this has on the DIVORCE RATE in Cranbrook...
Betcha that's cast a pall over the bustling Cranbrook singles' scene...
October 30, 2003
October 28, 2003
Proceed with the plan...
The plan continues to take shape.
Our two cars are being swapped into one minivan soon. I did just say that. A minivan. And I'm actually excited about it, as it's nice- a Honda Odyssey with beaucoup de leather. How do you know that you've reached that stage of life where you cease to be interesting? You buy a minivan.
But this one's got 240hp and I embarassed that guy in the Camaro during the test drive...So it's not all bad.
Instead of getting the $2,000 factory-installed DVD system, we're looking at cheaper/better aftermarket systems or a laptop that plays DVD's that we can strap down between the two front seats. Don't know which way we'll lean yet.
The house now needs to be cleaned and furniture needs to be moved...
I really hate this part, but somebody's got to do it. We're looking at listing next month. It's sooner than I think.
October 27, 2003
My newest pet peeve...
...is people who feel the need to comment on something without reading the entry fully.
Oh well. At least I worked out some frustration...
October 23, 2003
Indifference
Yay!
Today is part 2 of nasty big scary CMA (Certified Management Accountants) entrance exam.
I am probably going to fail. That's OK. My goal was to get a split (pass either part 1 or part 2) and I feel like I did OK in part 1.
I may surprise myself and get some extra neurons firing in this beat up ol' head, but if I don't that's OK.
Either way, I won't have to worry about this crap 'til the next entrance exam in June, when I'm sitting on a sunny beach out west...
POST EXAM UPDATE: Well there's five hours of my life that I won't get back...
October 22, 2003
It Could've Been Much, much worse
"When Doves Cry" (by Prince)
How could you just leave me standing,
Alone in a world so cold?
Maybe you're just too demanding.
Maybe I'm just like my father--too bold.
Maybe you're just like my mother.
She's never satisfied.
Why do we scream at each other?
This is what it sounds like,
When doves cry.
Which 80's Song Fits You?
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Tip of the hat to On The Fritz
Busy little bee
If someone had told me that I'd still be writing accounting exams into my thirties...I'd would've had them killed.
Honestly, there is nothing more boring than accounting exams, 'specially if you don't have the time to study (re. file that under KIDS)
The nasty one is Thursday afternoon...
Plans are under way for the eventually relocation to the beautiful (underwater?) land of British Columbia...
Met with the agent we'll use to sell the house. She suggested (surprise!) more work to make the house presentable for sale. Like we've got the time or extra cash lying around. We'll do what we can...
Took some quotes on moving all our stuff (Oh the internet is a wonderful thing for actually figuring out what something costs!) It's a lot cheaper than I thought and companies are falling all over each other to send quotes.
And we are also debating the swapping of the Krautmobile and Rue's chariot (our two cars) into something a little more family-practical (hey, I'm hoping to be a soccer dad. It might actually get me back into watching sports for more than ten minutes at a time...)
My current job just keeps on pissing me off more and more and more...I still feel a small twinge of guilt about the fact that I'm just working there until our moving plans get activated, but that twinge gets smaller and smaller for every stupid manual task that gets dropped on my desk that any decent, written in the 1990's software package could do instantly...
Well, that's all for now. I'm too tired to rant about anything at the moment. I promise something else will piss me off soon...
October 18, 2003
The U.N. way
I was sick on Monday, so I got to stay home from school and catch up on Sesame Street watching with my daughter.
My fever-soaked brain refused to believe what I saw but I found proof:
That's right Kofi Annan brings that "compromise is best" attitude to Sesame Street. And it's supposedly a good thing!
The gist of the segment was this:
Elmo was arguing with another character about who gets to sing the alphabet song. Historically Elmo always sang the song, but now the other characters are muscling in, wanting a piece of this rich singing pie...
In walks Mr. Annan and dictates that they should solve the problem the "U.N. way" and mandates that they should all sing the alphabet song together- no auditions to see who was the best singer, no digging in to the history of the situation, no exclusion of AWFUL performers - just a compromise solution that rewards the slackers in the group and punishes those that have worked hard and are actually better than average.
So by now you're saying that I've gone off the deep-end. It's just Sesame Street for Pete's sake! Remember though that Sesame Street has cultural icon status in North America. There's probably not one person in their 30's who grew up in North America who hasn't watched it as a child. The "teachings" are lauded by educators everywhere as crucial to forming early child abilities and attitudes. So by espousing "the U.N. way" they are promoting an agenda.
So what's my beef?
I hate compromises. They only work best when there is no optimal solution and you need to move forward with all parties agreeing. They shouldn't be used as your default starting point and catch-all solution.
Many people are just plain wrong. Without vigorous debate and the occasional shoving match the wrongness of some positions wouldn't get exposed. And the right solutions get diluted by crap.
Specific example: In Toronto there was a plan in the 60's for an expressway that would connect the 401 and the Gardiner Expressway along Spadina Avenue. If you've ever been caught in a Toronto rush-hour, an alternate North-south route would come in handy.
It doesn't exist. Because it was an all or nothing proposition. The debaters in favour of their neighbourhoods won and the expressway didn't happen.
The "U.N. Way" would've compromised and created an expensive half-assed expressway that went nowhere and caused more problems than it solved.
But that's bad for the commuters right? Too bad. They lost the debate. Deal with it. There was no optimal solution for everyone and a compromise would've been worse for everyone.
So what's the lesson here re: "the U.N. way?"
- If you're better at something, it doesn't matter. You'll have to carry the shittier performers
- If you're not that good at something, scream loud enough to be included. Instead of trying to get better, those that are better will carry you
- The best solution doesn't matter as long as no one's "wittle feewings" aren't hurt
I could write a lot more on why I think the U.N. has become a modern League of Nations, but I'll be brief.
The U.N. seems to want to punish the successful countries for being successful, because their mindset is that in order to be successful, they must have unfairly "stolen" this success from the sweat of the third-world.
Before the leftist history majors come out of the woodwork: this is not TOTALLY wrong, but has become a crutch every time the shortcomings of the third world are pointed out. The fact that these regimes punish innovation with prohibitive taxes, have no property or individual rights and are rife with corruption never seem to enter the argument as to why they are basket cases...
What I wish they would do is help the "loser" countries (c'mon, we all know they're losers...) do better rather than lay blame and guilt at the feet of the richer countries.
But that would require saying bad things about the weak wittle countwies wouldn't it?
Morning
I'm more of a night person.
Mornings are a necessary evil. When I was in school I'd get up at the absolute last possible moment to ensure that every last comfy doze was taken. It was mine, all mine. During summer vacations I'd try to sleep in 'til 10 or 11, but usually aroung 10am my mother would send a gang of 3 year olds to attack me if I was still asleep. (My Mom ran a daycare centre in our home during the 80's)
Sometimes they'd catch me unaware. Anyone with a child who likes to jump on them while they're asleep? Multiply that by 4 and you'll know what it was like. I'm surprised sometimes that they didn't do any permanent damage.
Sometimes I'd lay in wait and at the last moment play-wrestle them all until the last one screamed: "GIVE GIVE GIVE" and then the other three would take that opportunity to attack me again. It was fun.
But Saturday morning was all about the sleep in. Even when my girlfriend became my roommate and then my fiancee and then my wife, Saturday morning was STILL about the sleep in. I infected her.
So what's changed? One word: Kids. They don't get it. Someone should tell them that when they're older they'll appreciate the extra sleepy time. Does my youngest 4 month old understand when I quite reasonably request that she go back to sleep?
"GA!" Followed by some excited gurgling when she realizes she has an audience. I have to get her away from the bedrooms so that Rue and Boo can still sleep. Somebody should get to keep the Saturday sleep-in.
Maybe I'll blog something.
October 14, 2003
October 13, 2003
The Black Knight is Invincible!
You are the Black Knight!
Determined and Stubborn you stand at your little
bridge and demand that, "NONE, Shall
pass." This makes it very hard to keep
friends around you. One day this damned king
comes by and chops off all your limbs. Now
you'll never be able to take up a hobby.
Stupid Bastard.
What Monty Python Holy Grail Quest Character are You?
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via Ghost of a Flea
Disgust.
I'm getting tired of seeing exceptions being made for this guy:
from IMDB news Oct 13/03
Let's see. He's suing someone for libel, but can't show up in court because the child-raping bastard figures he might get sent back to the States for the hard jail time he deserves.
Well the Academy proved to me that night that it had no morals to stand on. Hollywood does love its non-extradited child rapists.
I also love how it's always emphasized that it was "statutory" rape. As if she was some young temptress that seduced him and he was some noble victim that got birthdates wrong. Read the Smoking Gun archives on this perv. He isolated his victim, plied her with drugs and alcohol and then victimized her. And this is only the incident that was made public. Roman's got good PR people and lots of lawyers...
Pervs like him don't do this only once. You gotta wonder how many young French girls fall victim to his "charms." But the French are so much more mature in the ways of love, mais oui?
Oh, and he's the victim because he's not allowed on U.S. soil to accept his stupid award. And now the British courts are granting him a "special exception." If I were Vanity Fair I'd fight this tooth and nail and make him show up in court.
And why is it that I believe completely Vanity Fair's assertion that he was propositioning another woman on the way to his murdered wife's funeral?
Bastard.
October 12, 2003
Remodelling Hell
...to add space for the comments spammer that keeps sticking links to hardcore sites in old postings.
There should be special tortures for the authors of these spambots, like having to listen to endless speakers talking about the "miracle of Amway" for 9 eternities.
This is worst than email spam.
October 09, 2003
Sin City is dying
I've read all the inevitable jokes about Roy of Siegfried and Roy getting mauled by the tiger: I wonder how the writer of that Simpson's episode where Mr. Burns opens a casino and a Siegfried and Roy type act gets mauled by a pissed off tiger feels right now. I mean it was an obvious joke, and the odds of something happening with big nasty cats over the long haul for them was probably getting close to 1:1, but nobody wants to predict anything like that do they?
They're talking about the economic spillover effects now: all the dancers and performers fired, the ticket revenue lost, the trips cancelled - who knew that Siegfried and Roy were that big a draw? But why else would one want to go for Vegas if not for the spectacle of acts such as these?
You can gamble almost everywhere else on the continent. In Ontario alone there are three (soon to be four) big commercial casinos, six "charity" casinos, and 15 (soon to be 18) slots-at racetracks facilities. There are plenty of local places to lose money hand-over-fist at.
Vegas used to have an air of danger about it. People would look at you with suspicion if you frequented Vegas. You might be dangerous.
Now Vegas is the playpen of Celine Dion's spoiled little brat. The marketers have succeeded in making Vegas a "family destination." Ugh.
Sigfried and Roy, laugh if you will, were part of the dangers of Old Vegas. Unless they get newer, hotter acts to have extended stays in Vegas it will be harder to convince the pigeons (ie. tourists) to flock to the slot machines.
It's just as easy to plug quarters into a machine at home...
Is this the real me?
| ESTJ - "Administrator". Much in touch with the external environment. Very responsible. Pillar of strength. 13% of the total population. |
First Step
...in planning our big move out west.
Don't get cocky and get yourself fired for telling someone off (no matter how much they DESERVE it!)
October 07, 2003
Fear is the Mind Killer...
Darling wife Rue told me last week that some guy had rang our doorbell asking if our house was for sale. Seems his grandparents had owned the house before the characters we purchased Kraut Manor from and he was feeling nostalgic.
Instead of being happy about this development (one guy knocking probably means 2 or 3 silently watching and waiting) I felt fear and panic grip me. I didn't want to know, I didn't want to think, I didn't want to consider.
Didn't want to consider the fun task of moving: packing, lifting, breaking, unpacking, living in boxes for the next 2 years. Didn't want to consider the cross-country haul: if we sell the house, we might as well move to where we want to live long-term and the west is certainly beckoning me, and probably by association, my wife has expressed a desire to live in B.C. as well.
And it's not like the last time: At that time it was just 24 year old me, half a two-bedroom apartments' worth of stuff and no baggage of the metaphysical kind. Now it's 33 year old me, a two-bedroom house's worth of stuff, a wife two kids and a dog. And a big-time inferiority-complex monster stalking me...
The stakes are bigger. The price of Fuck-Ups are greater.
And I never quite understood how much I now fear unemployment after the year I spent unemployed after September 2001. Until now. Curse of the bread-winner, I guess. Why rock the boat and bite off more than I can chew? Why tempt fate again? I barely recovered the first time, and now I'm contemplating a move to an economically-challenged (relatively) area of the country. Who am I kidding?
And then...
Calm.
A realization that I almost let that fucker break me. "That fucker" being the asshole at the back of my subconscious that keeps telling me that I'm doomed to fail. That any good thing that I've ever accomplished has been by luck and not talent. That I deserve to suffer because I'm just not good enough.
Maybe you've met him.
I loathe him.
People move every day. Why the hell am I so scared of it? It's not like when I moved to Ontario in '94. I had no idea what Ontario was like. I love some things about this province I never thought I would. I hate some of the very things that brought me here in the first place. But all of those were unknowns when I got on the plane that cold November day.
I know what awaits me in British Columbia.
And maybe that's what scares me.
Settling into a nice comfortable part of the country with a not-too challenging subsistence job waiting for the icy cold hands of death to wrap its bony little fingers round my windpipe after an average number of comfortable years as an also-ran rather than a winner...
See how he sneaks up on you when you're jabbering away to the general public? He's maniacal that one.
But what if the abyss is in your way? What if the abyss is hiding that which you need to find? Shouldn't you take a deep breath and jump with both feet? Fuckin' abyss thinking it can strike terror into the hearts and minds and stop me from doing what is best...
First thing I need to do is find out how much that pigeon gentleman is willing to pay to relive his childhood memories...
Next thing I need to do is see what my resume gets me in the town we want to go to...
Any readers from the town of Kelowna, British Columbia who need a good great accounting/financial analyst who's not afraid of a little rolled-up-sleeve dirty work? Will work at quite reasonable rates...
October 04, 2003
The changing face of the profane
:::Warning: foul language alert. If you're easily offended, maybe select an earlier, less offensive article. Raging Kraut is usually a PG-rated blog. But it being sweeps week we all know what sells: tawdry sex and a whole lotta potty-mouth. Regular programming will resume soon. Maybe.
-----
I once knew a girl at university (yes, I wanted to nail her) that was a member of the "God Squad" (ie. Catholic high school, self-declared virgin, etc. etc.) but had the mouth of a sailor:
"Fuck this, Fuck that, Fuck him up his fucking ass!" etc. etc. etc.
The scary part of this was that she got pissed at me for saying "Damn" or "God Damn it", which were the only swearing I could get away with at home with the parents. The word "Fuck" didn't leave my lips until I was about 18 or 19, safely away from the disapproving glance that knocks a kid flat. Her definition of "offensive" swearing was taking the Lord's name in vain: everything else was fair game.
I never did de-flower the young lady as she found her vows to God preferable to me. Knowing myself in those days I can't blame her...She would of course, not even rate a mention here if it wasn't for the juxtaposition of high-falutin' Christian morals (which she lectured on and on about) and nasty-sailor-potty mouth, which taught me some of my more creative swear-word combos used throughout the 90's.
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I only bring this up because I was watching Reservoir Dogs on A&E tonight which was advertised as "uncut" and the only word they chose to censor? You guessed it! F-U-C-K!
Damn, shit, Jesus Christ were all left in. But the F-word, which a commerical break informed me was used 252 times in Reservoir Dogs, was the ONLY word they chose to censor.
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I had a boss once who controlled his division with an iron fist. My wife likes to call him Mr. Blowdry, for reasons that would be obvious if you met him. He scared the hell out of all of the salemen who worked for him. At one point, during a divisional meeting he would utter a sentence during that meeting that took professional conduct in the sales office down several pegs.
When confronted with a particularly bad supply situation because of production problems at one of the company's facilities in a moment of frustration he shouted "if those apathetic Motherfuckers would get their fat fucking heads out of their greasy tight asses and get me some supplies maybe would could meet our fucking targets!"
For the next 3 months the office was awash in Fuck-speak:
Salesman to customer: "We've got your fuckin' inventory. It'll be on your fucking dock at fucking 8 in the fucking morning.
Salesman to whiny customer: "Dude, I ain't fucking with you! The price was fucking 50 per item and that's fucking that!"
Salesman to pissed customer: "Yeah, we fucked up. But I'll make it up to you by fucking your competitor on the the next shipment and giving you his fucking stuff!"
And on and on. And it was comical in the way these losers tried to emulate their hero: the master of Fuck-speak we called him...
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It's still a pretty powerful word. One that I've been striving to cut out of my language as of late because, well I've got fucking kids you know...
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The word "fuck" was used in this post 23 times.
Inconceivable!
Which Princess Bride Character are You?
this quiz was made by mysti
via Classical Values
October 02, 2003
Ha! I knew it!
I'd thought in this entry in June that Clive Owen would make a great Bond. Apparently I'm not the only one who thinks so.
The Daily Record reports that Clive Owen will take over the franchise in Bond 22 to be released in 2007.
It was previously stated in the IMDB that Owen had said some nasty things about the franchise as I wrote in this entry (also from June.) Thankfully that seems to be something a so-called "friend" was shooting his mouth off about.
Interesting to see the other choices the producers are considering as well:
Jack Davenport (of BBC's Coupling, not the crappy NBC remake. Check it out in it's original British!) is too much the funnyman. I saw him in the British mini-series "Ultraviolet" as a vampire-hunting cop. The show's only weakness, excellent as it was for fans of the genre, was that I couldn't buy Davenport in the serious role. Maybe it's because he was so great in Coupling. NBC should've just bought the English show and ran it as is instead of remaking it with inferior actors. No one's accent in the original was that bad...
Orlando Bloom is too pretty. Without the elven super-powers I can't see him as tough guy.
I still think the series needs something else to make it "pop" more: maybe make it more episodic, with a recurring uber-villain for a couple of movies that's written as more than a "villain of the week" characterisation that seems to be happening in the last couple of films...I don't know. We'll see if they give Pierce Brosnan a good farewell.
via Wizbang!
Who are the Pirates?
All I have to say about the recording industry is this:
When Compact Discs first made their appearance in the 80's, we were promised that they'd be cheaper than the LPs and tapes we were buying.
I remember buying currently released albums on cassette for $CDN6.99 (less than $US5) in the late 80's. Compact Discs, which were cheaper to produce (no moving parts like cassettes, no vinyl pressings) cost $CDN14.00 ($CDN 20+ if you were buying something out of the back catalogue), but were pushed as premium products because of the sound quality.
Because there were limited numbers of producers, there was no competition to push the prices down. Now the same companies are insisting that we pay them AGAIN for music we've already bought and paid for (some of us already MORE than once.)
While I think that downloading something you've never owned before is wrong, the fact that there is an assumption of guilt (to the point that they think they have the RIGHT to search individuals private computers) just for having MP3s on your hard disk shows what the recording industry thinks of us. Backing up our collections IS a legitimate activity despite their efforts to reach into my wallet yet again.
To them, customers are pigeons revenue streams to be collected from again and again and again.
By acting high-handed and not thinking out a logical business model they are just as responsible for the "problem" as the people who used Napster and still use Kazaa.