Unemployment Solution at Hand

Recently the Lightbringer solicited a resume from someone having a hard time finding a job.

http://www.mediaite.com/tv/president-obama-tells-unemployed-engineers-wife-send-me-your-husbands-resume/

I didn’t know he ran an employment service. I encourage every person unemployed, under employed, or stuck in a low paying dead end job to send him their resume.

http://www.whitehouse.gov/contact/submit-questions-and-comments

Caucus, should be Cau-cuss

Mine is Tuesday, March 6. As usual, will attend if only to piss off the liberals.

Wal*Mart Woes

Does a job ever bump into you?

At Wally World yesterday, ran into an acquaintance in the entry. No greeter was present and the shopping carts were jammed together. While chatting with the acquaintance (with ulterior motives in mind), freed up a cart for her and one for me. A stream of women were coming by. Each time I freed a cart, someone grabbed it. Had to fight to keep one. Am I destined to be a Wal Mart greeter?

As an aside, my shopping at Wal Mart is limited to a couple of food items.

Give Me an Olympic Break

Whoop de do, Mitt Ronmey being attacked for his handling of the Salt Lake Winter Olympics.

I'm no fan of his, hope he doesn't get the nomination, but give him credit where credit is due.

He walked into a mess and he fixed it. Large sums of money were spent. Probably slick operators lined their pockets.

Our country's prestige was on the line. Post 9/11, we, as a country, couldn't pull off the Olympics? How much more would that have emboldened our enemies?

Damn, I hate all this gutter politics.

Get Involved, Please

“All politics are local” stated Tip O’Neal, late Speaker of the House.

Last night was the monthly coffee hour with our local State Senator. About 20 people attended. All local Democrats. All activists to one degree or another. Topics discussed were local and state issues. Schools, taxes, outside PAC’s, water issues, workman compensation issues, some ballot initiatives and issues, etc. Little national except for our ineffective Congress. This coming Saturday, a candidate for Congress will have an hour “coffee”. All this at our local I HOP.

Folks, this is where it all starts. Please get involved. An hour, here or there, out of your schedule won’t hurt your lifestyle. An hour, here or there, can damn well improve your chances for the kind of government you want.

Don’t be a one issue person. Your representative, or potential representative, must listen to many points of view and input on many issues. Have some respect for their position.

Last night I had an opportunity to speak about 2nd Amendment issues. I said something along these lines. “Since Mr. Obama’s election, the people of this country have, voluntarily and with their own money, purchased enough firearms to equip the world’s four largest standing armies. That is a “poll” that should capture your attention.” My Senator was visibly startled. Got some long, hard looks from several in the room.

I’m a fat, grumpy, senior citizen with no wealth, but I can have, however small, an impact. So can you. Get involved.

We can blog, we can write emails, letters, etc., and be ignored Going face to face, belly to belly with a politician makes it much harder to be ignored.

Shy? Uncomfortable speaking in public? Get over it (and yourself).

New Age Car Buying

Recent conversation over coffee with former car sales associates (and current friends) was centered on our weirdest customers. My contribution.

Woman in her fifties, overweight, I’m not interested in sex hairstyle, and clean but not stylish attire was shopping for an Escort. After the test drive, we sat down to negotiations. She took a crystal on a chain from around her neck and held it over my proposal.

This crystal was a raw, jagged natural appearing stone. She closed her eyes. Soon the crystal started swinging left to right with no apparent movement of her hands. She closed her eyes again. Soon the crystal started swinging front to rear. This went on after every discussion of each part, or question, of the proposal. My response was complete silence but my thought was WTF?

She decided to lease the Escort and the sale was made. After all the paperwork but before the delivery, I asked her about the crystal, which I knew was part of her decision making process.

She explained the first question she “asked” the crystal was, “Does 2+2=5”? She then looked to see if the crystal swung left to right which signified “no”.
This was her “quality control” check. Back and forth signified “yes”. Damn, if I had that prior knowledge, I would have been blowing on the rock.

She had a much longer explanation, which I didn’t understand, but didn’t matter to me so long as one more Escort went down the road with a happy tag in the window and my name on the deal folder.

My outlook was always toward making a sale in whatever manner made the customer want to buy. More sales are lost by salespeople talking too much and asking stupid questions. People come to a dealership to buy a car. Let them! Sheesh.

We Don't Care. We Don't Have To

THEN


NOW



Some things never change?

Especially the taste of Starbucks.

A Right and Proper Ballot

Promoted

Per the Department of Homeland Security, I have been promoted to Militia Extremist from Bitter Clinger Pain in the Ass Third Class.

http://pjmedia.com/blog/homeland-security-lexicon-youre-all-militia-extremists-now/?singlepage=true

WARNING: Reading my blog may put you on some "list". As a gimpy senior citizen, I'm a grave threat. Nice to be recognized.

Can't Quit Working

Much to the disgust of some of my friends, notably Dirty Al, and some family members, I can’t retire. Guess work is an addiction.

Left the car testing job last fall and picked up a job deicing airliners. Nice job, mainly 4-5 hour shifts, pays decently, and I can play with big toys!

Come spring will find something else to do. Probably be back on the road but I’m glad I am sitting at home this winter.

Having a steady retirement income does allow me to only do jobs I find interesting.

Starbucks

On Valentines Day I will buy coffee at Starbucks in support of their gun neutral policy and send a copy of the receipt to their headquarters.

Hat tip to Guffaw in Arizona
http://armedlaughing.blogspot.com/2012/02/starbucks-reminder.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+GuffawInAz+%28Guffaw+in+AZ%29

I don’t like their coffee; don’t like the taste. Always a reminder of unpleasant times. Three things come to mind.

Pre cell phones, my business took me on two Washington State Ferry rides per week. With no telephones on board, I had thirty minutes to an hour of peace and relaxation to catch up on paperwork and savor a cup of coffee. Then Starbucks got the coffee concession. I didn’t like their coffee at all. There was no alternative. This wasn’t espresso, regular coffee, just their roast, and I didn’t like it. Still don’t.

Had dealings with one of Starbucks founders (not related to coffee) and found him to be an arrogant asshole.

When the espresso craze started in Seattle and the Pacific Northwest, the machines were made in Italy and cost $3,500. Looked into setting up a business selling coffee, lottery tickets, and tobacco. Planned to call the business “Minor Vices”. I couldn’t build a business case that made sense to me. This ranks up there with some of my other brilliant decisions like “Forest for Trees.”

http://wellseasonedfool.blogspot.com/2011/10/forest-for-trees.html

Will go buy a cup anyway if only to thumb my nose at the gun grabbers. Yes, I know I’m shallow and superficial. Deal with it!