A Decent Pickup
The guy is way past his warranty period, but at least the Brewers only
view him as a stop-gap.
What is encouraging about the signing is that even though the Brewers know they have a player coming up that they really like (who won't be ready for a year or two), they decided it wasn't good enough to get by on what they had at the position last year. They actually went and outbid two other teams for this veteran.
When they upgrade their stop-gaps, it's a sign that they are going to toss around more of the mazumah.
Although, that's not saying much. They could hardly spend less if they tried.
Monday Thoughts
My word trough is barren, so this will be short.
The good thing about plowing about 30 hours of work into one weekend is that Monday feels like a Friday. I woke up this morning with a giddy "knowing" that I had only two days of work left before I could truly relax. It's the same feeling I get when waking up on Friday morning, ...abdication soon.
To give you an idea of how much I am looking forward to Thanksgiving this year, ...I actually have random icicles of cheeriness shooting through my body. I think of introducing my new wife to the Macy's Thanksgiving day parade, and I feel them. I think of holding my new daughter before the long buffet of my family's Thanksgiving dinner, watching her eyes and ears and nose try to take in all the new senses, and I feel it.
I think of football in the afternoon, an early nap, a movie and a glass of wine at night, the "day after" shopping nightmare, and I feel it.
Yes, I go shopping on Turkey day v2.0. I don't plan on getting any shopping done. I just do it because even though I hate the hassle and the rush and the stupid, fat ladies who take it all too seriously, it's part of the whole Christmas in America thing that I like. So, yes, I like what I hate sometimes. We all do.
Most people hate getting drunk, but sometimes you gotta do it. Later in life you will look fondly on it, laugh about it, remember it.
For example, who can forget the time I drank 13 whiskey-sours (doubles), a Tanguaray and tonic, and a Sprecher Amber at Metropolis? I passed out on my drummer's parent's toilet at 5am and had to be driven home by Atagi.
Then, I was awaken at 9am by the girlfriend I was avoiding, and bitterly told her off and broke up with her. I actually interrupted one of her innocent sentences to do it. She's a huge success now, living in Portland, married, traveling the world, living on her art.
Anyway, I've long since given up having a point.
Bottom line, ...still stressed out, a bit miserable, but very very excited about the coming holidays.
My daughter's first Christmas! How can an admitted Christmas nerd like me
not be excited?
I'm Calm Now
But I wasn't as recently as 3:45pm today.
You might notice that today is Friday.
My company has a big product release set for next Friday. You'll notice that day is the day after Thanksgiving which has basically become an official US holiday called Shopping/Hangover/Digestion day.
Us chickens here in the writer coop have been suspicious of the release date for obvious reasons. No one works on that day. Not us, not our customers.
Well, they wouldn't give us any information on the date, telling us that we're sticking to it, for real this time. See, this product was supposed to go out sometime last year I think, and has been pushed back, pushed back, and pushed back again and again.
We're going through a lot of effort to plan everything out based on this date. With everyone off on Thursday and Friday, we need to have everything checked in by Tuesday night for assembly on Wednesday.
I was planning on putting in 10+ hours this weekend to make sure it's all frosting rosebuds.
I get a voice mail around 3:30pm today saying that we need to send out our stuff on Monday, can I have it ready? Ok, change of plan. Big work involved. I call my new, inexperienced, over-his-head manager and ask about this.
Change of plan again, we're sending the stuff out tonight!
My wonderful new manager seems suprised that everything is not done 6 days ahead of schedule! No matter, we'll just give the customer-in-question unfinished material. That's real top-notch customer relations right there. (I forgot to add that our wonderful new manager knew about this early release for weeks and never told us, even in our weekly meeting which was just THIS MORNING!)
I say OK, not having much other choice.
My biggest concern is the complex installation documentation, of which I am responsible. I ask about the OS the customer is using to make sure what I am giving them is kosher.
His answer, UNIX.
This would be no problem if for the last 3 months everyone, including him, have been telling me this release is Windows only. Therefore I have ZERO UNIX material written.
Nothing.
I even asked him this very question last week, he said he'd "follow up" and I didn't get an answer. I wrongly assumed everything was ok, not expecting him to completely forget about my question.
My fantastic new manager sees fit to pin this on me. Despite the fact that I've been given consistantly incorrect information and was never informed in any fashion that plans had changed, even though I have asked.
This is a disaster. A total disaster. A customer is paying upwards of 6 figures for this software it doesn't have instructions?!?!
They agree that we can get by with delivering this document Wednesday. That gives me about 4.5 days to complete all my regular work, plus about 2 weeks worth of UNIX work.
Complicating this is that I don't currently have access to a UNIX machine.
I'll be flying blind, working game-developer-type hours for the next 5 days.
That's if I don't follow my instincts and walk out of here right now and never come back.
What pisses me off is that this is going to be pinned on me. We have all new managers in development, and I've met none of them. They don't know if I'm a good worker or a bad worker. From my new manager's tone, he sees this as my fault somehow and I'm sure that's how it will be portrayed company-wide.
If anyone needs a dedicated, experienced, technically saavy, VB schooled tech writer with experience with SQL, ASP, WebSphere 4.x, WebSphere 5.x, WebLogic 7 and 8, Oracle, DB2, SQL Server, HTML, Javascript, and over 5 years experience in the software field, ...drop me a line. tnmke at yahoo dot com
I'm officially looking for other work.
If the Journal Was Any Good ...
we might have heard about
this. But no, we had to read about it in the Vikings paper. Sounds like bad news, though. More Shermbutt idiocy.
Crybaby Bitchqueens
The purple bitches are bitching up a storm about the officiating in their loss to the Packers Sunday afternoon.
Despite the fact that the only really disputible call went against the Packers, when Nick Luchey got a first down, but was given a bad spot and was officially 6 inches short. The replay clearly showed he had moved the ball about 2 feet past that spot, it was not overturned.
No, the bitches are wadding up their purple panties about the two scrum plays where fumbles were fought for in the pile. The 4th quarter scrum where Ferguesen fumbled a kick off return is what they are
crying about most ...
“It was a crap kick coverage,” Vikings coach Mike Tice said. “And at the end of the kick coverage we had the ball, but we didn’t have the ball. The ref pointed the other way, so we didn’t have the ball. That was just a myth.”
He knows this for certain because he was right there at the bottom of the pile. Yep, Mike Tice actually suited up for that play, was on the coverage team, and was right there at the bottom of the pile, pinching asses, and saw it with his two eyes. That's why he's so certain about it. Not because he's a crying bitch. Not at all.
But maybe you could excuse his sobbing because he's never actually played football before, or even seen a football game. If he had, he would have known that these types of scrums happen in EVERY FUCKING GAME. The guy who has the ball when the ref sees it gets the possession. Well, now he knows, right?
The crying didn't stop there ...
“I was laying on the ball for a minute at the bottom of the pile,” Derek Ross said. “I came out of the pile holding the ball. I was telling the ref, ‘How can you give them the ball when I’ve got the ball in my hands?’
“It’s just another one of those felonious calls in Green Bay y’all make. That’s how it is.”
Let's see, ...he fell on the ball and then he had the ball when he came out of the pile. Did anything happen in between those two events? In his own words ...
“The more we tugged and pulled at the bottom, the more (Ben Steele) was getting the ball from me. If you ask me personally, I don’t think the referee did a good enough job of getting everyone off the pile to see who clearly had the ball.”
Gee, he doesn't sound so confident and certain in that quote. In fact, he even seems to concede that Ben Steele was taking the ball from him.
Hey girl, ...that's football. It's a physical game. You got a problem with that, go play soccer or flag football, ...just get your crybitchy ass out of here.
I guess this syndrome made it's way up to the Vikings awful broadcast team, who allegedly squealed about nearly every play, urged their audience to write to the NFL about the officiating, and then cheered Ahman Green's injury, saying a season-ending injury would be the "best thing" that could happen to their season.
This is the ugliest, stupidest, bitchiest franchise in sports. From the fans to the broadcast booth, to the field, to the coach. No wonder everyone hates them.
And I always thought I would be shot by a jealous lover ...
You'll be smashed by a piano that unexpectedly fell
from the sky.
What can I say... shit happens.
How will you die? (with pics) brought to you by Quizilla
Happy Thursday
First, meet
Lianne Lin. Wow.
Second, I have a collosal headache right now, and it's not the kind that goes away with a few aspirin.
For whatever reason, painkilling drugs seem to have little effect on me. Pot never did much. Whenever I get major dental work done I always ask for an extra shot or two because a normal dosage will do nothing. And headaches, ...they don't go away until they are darn good and ready, usually the next day.
Third, ...the Packers. Yes, I know I proclaimed the season to be over. And yes, I know that if (
IF)they beat the Bitchqueens on Sunday that their season is anything but over.
here comes the but ...
BUT, I still think the season is over even if it isn't mathmatically over at this point.
Just think about what a great position they would be in right now had they not played maddeningly inept football for four straight weeks.
Moss is out for Sunday's game. That helps a little. But the Packers can't stop anybody right now, forget about Moss. The other teams that scorched them didn't have Moss, and they also didn't have the likes of Culpepper, a huge offensive line, and four fast running backs (except Indy). In my opinion, they would need a herculean effort on Sunday. They'd have to play smart, tough, aggressive football.
That seems like a remote hope.
Add to this scenario the fact that the Bitchqueens are just dying to get a shot at the Packers. After losing Monday night, they are hungry to avenge their performance. Tice has stated that there's no team he'd rather play right now then the Pack.
And if you've watched their defense, you know why.
We should also talk about the math. With a loss this Sunday, the Packers would be 4-5, the Bitches will be 6-3.
The Pack would be 2 games back and going up against, Houston, St. Louis, and Philly on consecutive weekends.
In other words, goodnight Mikey.
One of the more hilarious things I've read ...
It seems that some
smarty-pants brits at the Guardian decided to lecture voters in the US about the election with a personal letter writing campaign. They targeted a small battleground community in Ohio, and selected British leftists to personally write letters to individual households in that community. They hoped to help sway the election with a targeted strike in a strategic battleground community.
Somehow, it suprised the brits that it might backfire, and the American's might write back with letters like this:
Have you not noticed that Americans don't give two shits what Europeans think of us? Each email someone gets from some arrogant Brit telling us why to NOT vote for George Bush is going to backfire, you stupid, yellow-toothed pansies ... I don't give a rat's ass if our election is going to have an effect on your worthless little life. I really don't. If you want to have a meaningful election in your crappy little island full of shitty food and yellow teeth, then maybe you should try not to sell your sovereignty out to Brussels and Berlin, dipshit. Oh, yeah - and brush your goddamned teeth, you filthy animals.
and ..
Real Americans aren't interested in your pansy-ass, tea-sipping opinions. If you want to save the world, begin with your own worthless corner of it.
and ...
Gentle folks at the Guardian,
In your plea to get your non-American readers to write to voters in Clark County, Iowa, you are correct that events in the US have had, and will have, effects on world events. For example, we have pulled your chestnuts out of the fire in two world wars that were occasioned by European diplomacy. Maybe you'd like a vote in which American president will oversee the next rescue. The next time you have elections in Great Britain, I shall endeavour to send names of your citizens to people in France, Iraq, India, the United Arab Emirates, Botswana, Pakistan, China and Argentina so that they may attempt to influence your election. It's only fair that everybody in the world should have a say in the selection of the prime minister.
Read a sampling of the letters
here, and an
article about the idiot who thought this up. Hilariously, it looks like their campaign actually drove more voters to Bush. The evidence shows that they may have single-handedly helped Bush win.
Thirty-Four Years Ago Today ...
a great evil was unleashed on the world.
Yes, in keeping with the unluckiness of this day, Mr. Frogurt was born in wee hours of Nov 4, 1970.
Here are some other evil things that happened on this day in history:
Twenty-five years ago, on Nov. 4, 1979, the Iranian hostage crisis began as militants stormed the United States Embassy in Tehran, seizing its occupants. For some of the hostages, it was the start of 444 days of captivity.
In 1884, Democrat Grover Cleveland was elected to his first term as president, defeating Republican James G. Blaine.
In 1922, the entrance to King Tutankhamen's tomb was discovered in Egypt, unleashing a curse.
In 1956, Soviet troops moved in to crush the Hungarian Revolution.
Walter Cronkite was born.
In 1995, Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin was assassinated by a right-wing Israeli minutes after attending a festive peace rally.
Markie Post, Yanni, and Ralph Macchio were born.
To be fair,
some good things happened on today.
I proposed to my wife one year ago today.
In 1942, during World War II, Axis forces retreated from El Alamein in North Africa in a major victory for British forces commanded by Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery.
In 1952, Dwight D. Eisenhower was elected president, defeating Democrat Adlai Stevenson.
In 1980, Ronald Reagan won the White House as he defeated President Carter by a strong margin.
Actress Loretta Swit, blues singer Delbert McClinton, First Lady Laura Bush, and Sean "P. Diddy" Combs were born on this day.
I hate birthdays.
Quick hits
Closings are soooo old fashioned. The buyers and sellers are seperated into different rooms, and people run the papers back and forth for both parties to sign. Just computerize it for cripes sake.
Saturday I woke up at 7am and was immediately exhausted from the 7 hours of moving I did the night before. Sunday morning, I woke at 7am more exhausted than I've ever been. I was totally spent. Nothing left. Yet, I had to move and clean all day Sunday as well. Monday night as well. All day Tuesday and Tuesday night as well.
Today I rode the elevator down to the LL. Too tired to even rest against the hand rail, I let my body fall against the wall and stared at the suddenly comfortable-looking floor. All I wanted to do was lay down on the nice elevator floor, curl up, and sleep. DING
The stock market breaths a HUGE sigh of relief, then
cheers the Bush win. Duh.
I've been getting a lot of porn spam lately. Heh. That's like giving a glass of water to a fish.
Packers, ...oh yes. Domination until Favre's hand got hurt. We were looking at a 41-14 type score, ...then his passes went wild. I've got a sneaking suspicion Rossley had more say in the playcalling last week. If you've just dropped down to planet earth, ...that's BAD.
The World's Naughtiest Dog (WND) was so cute and pathetic. She was deathly afraid that I was going to leave her behind. She's now gotten used to the new house and started to settle into a routine, but I really felt bad for that cute, big, psychopath. I felt bad because I could not explain to her that everything was ok and that we were just moving to another house. I had to prove it to her over and over and over again. Not suprisingly, she's been on best behavior. Just the model dog. A perfect angel. When you look at her, you can see that little halo she projects over her head.
The Consession
Edwards sucks, sucked, and will always suck. His pseudo-concession blather was moronic. Goodbye jerkboy.
Kerry, however, was great. His speech was very, very clear, honest, direct, and emotional. You could hear the sadness in his voice. At the end of his first passage, his voice broke in a hard way.
This is the best he's ever sounded.
Too bad for him you don't win elections by giving good loser speeches.
Free Time Isn't Free
For the last year it seems that every step I take moves me closer to full-fledged adulthood. The biggest sign of this came this morning.
Baby woke up around 4am, crying up a storm. The wife gave her some formula and she soon was asleep again, ...but I was not. So, around 5am I got up. Normally I would watch TV or surf the web, which is what I started to do, ...but something kept nagging me.
It was my responsibilities. All I could think about was how I could be measuring the windows, wrapping the pipes in the basement, moving more boxes, putting the dimmer switch in the dining room, etc, etc.
This is anathema to my most natural instincts. Friends know that I am somewhat of a lazy guy (my Mexican genes), and that I'd rather goof off online, play video games, sleep, or watch TV then doing anything constructive.
That's all changing, and not due to any will on my part. At this rate I'll be Ward Cleaver by the end of the month.
Free Time Isn't Free
For the last year it seems that every step I take moves me closer to full-fledged adulthood. The biggest sign of this came this morning.
Baby woke up around 4am, crying up a storm. The wife gave her some formula and she soon was asleep again, ...but I was not. So, around 5am I got up. Normally I would watch TV or surf the web, which is what I started to do, ...but something kept nagging me.
It was my responsibilities. All I could think about was how I could be measuring the windows, wrapping the pipes in the basement, moving more boxes, putting the dimmer switch in the dining room, etc, etc.
This is anathema to my most natural instincts. Friends know that I am somewhat of a lazy guy (my Mexican genes), and that I'd rather goof off online, play video games, sleep, or watch TV then doing anything constructive.
That's all changing, and not due to any will on my part. At this rate I'll be Ward Cleaver by the end of the month.
