netvibes…

Priceless…

Raiding the pensions of thousands of workers…600 million.

Cigarettes for everyone in jail…1 million.

Soap on a rope…priceless.

Booze it up

I am still registered with Monster.com though they did nothing for me while I was searching for a job. I still get sent the little newsletters and pep talk things meant to keep you psyched-up about your search for a job whilst on the brink of becoming a crazed, destitute whore willing to suck the kidney stones from the nearest HR manager…anything to avoid working at the nearest fast food restaurant.

The latest to hit my inbox had the provocative title, “Did You Know Drinking Can Boost Your Income?” Why, no, I did not, I thought to myself. And the ploy worked, I clicked the link. Now, before I’d actually read the story I ran a couple of likely scenarios through the wringer.

 1. If you’re drunk, you’re likely to put up with the kind of bullshit that would cause a sober person to turn postal. Therefore, since you are employed and agreeable you get the pay raise.

2. When inebriated, it’s much more likely you are willing to take it up the ass and this willingness is always looked upon favorably by your superiors. Bend over and you get a better salary.

3. You get your boss loaded and he/she confides in you something that should never be spoken or admitted ever to another person. Now you have blackmail and can extort a higher salary. Who turns the screws now, motherfucker!

4. You bang your boss. This really is a surefire way to filling your pockets with cash since you’ll either get a raise or rumors will start to fly (wonder who started those?) and if you get fired you’ve got a nice lawsuit. Remember to keep your soiled clothes locked away as evidence and you’ve won your case faster than you can say, “Monica Lewinsky”.

5. Then lastly I grew tired of trying to entertain myself with the kind of depraved reasons I’ve listed above and reasoned rationally that booze hounds are probably making deals at the bars and strip clubs, hence the higher pay.

It seems I was close to what the Monster.com article had to say with my final reason (I’m so f-ing smart). Here’s the stats:

“…a recent study published in the Journal of Labor Research (indicates), “drinkers earn 10 to 14 percent more than teetotalers, and…men who drink socially bring home an additional seven percent in pay.”

The study found that women do not see the same pay increase. Probably because we all know the real deals are going down at the local grindhouse where the boyz are hi-fiving between pitchers of beer and huge titties. Some things never change…

Sadly, the link for the Yahoo! article is dead.

Macbeth

A dark Cave. In the middle, a Caldron Boiling.

[Thunder. Enter the three Witches.]

FIRST WITCH. Thrice the brinded cat hath mew’d.

SECOND WITCH. Thrice; and once the hedge-pig whin’d.

THIRD WITCH. Harpier cries:–”tis time, ’tis time.

FIRST WITCH. Round about the caldron go; In the poison’d entrails throw.– Toad, that under cold stone, Days and nights has thirty-one Swelter’d venom sleeping got, Boil thou first i’ the charmed pot!

ALL. Double, double, toil and trouble; Fire, burn; and caldron, bubble.

SECOND WITCH. Fillet of a fenny snake, In the caldron boil and bake; Eye of newt, and toe of frog, Wool of bat, and tongue of dog, Adder’s fork, and blind-worm’s sting, Lizard’s leg, and howlet’s wing,– For a charm of powerful trouble, Like a hell-broth boil and bubble.

ALL. Double, double, toil and trouble; Fire, burn; and caldron, bubble.

THIRD WITCH. Scale of dragon, tooth of wolf, Witch’s mummy, maw and gulf Of the ravin’d salt-sea shark, Root of hemlock digg’d i’ the dark, Liver of blaspheming Jew, Gall of goat, and slips of yew Sliver’d in the moon’s eclipse, Nose of Turk, and Tartar’s lips, Finger of birth-strangl’d babe Ditch-deliver’d by a drab,– Make the gruel thick and slab: Add thereto a tiger’s chaudron, For the ingredients of our caldron.

ALL. Double, double, toil and trouble; Fire, burn; and caldron, bubble.

SECOND WITCH. Cool it with a baboon’s blood, Then the charm is firm and good.

Religion

Fucking morons…I’m not on the side of “The Jews” or “The Christians” or “The Muslims.” How could I be? These classifications are completely idiotic and exist only in the minds of morons or the devils who prey on morons and their zombie-like susceptibility to suggestion.

When I consider the ongoing “War on Terror”, I too, am becoming convinced that the whole reason for the “terrorists” is this silly belief in a god that does not exist and the notion that a “morally pure” culture is somehow better than a culture of freedom and permissiveness. This notion of morality exists on all sides of the conflict. Terrorism is justified by radical muslims whose insane and false interpretations of the Koran somehow allow them to commit horrible crimes against civilians; their own and those from other countries. The US war on Iraq is justified by the belief that Saddam is evil, the US is under threat, and it’s the duty of a soldier to defend god and country. I’ve heard several accounts from parent’s of dead soldiers that their child died with a sense of purpose. That people are looking for a sense of purpose that gives them justification to invade another country and kill the people found there is obviously a powerful tool used by the gov’t. Why not develop sense of purpose by helping rebuild the slums of our country, helping the poor, or assisting the elderly. I guess that would be gay…

This actually gets right to the point of general stupidity. Perhaps it is innate…

The time is soon coming when the countries that harbor terrorists will be held accountable for allowing this shit to go on in their countries. “Terrorists” are allowed to exist in many countries to draw attention away from the real problem; corrupt leadership. The masses are led to believe that the rich and the poor have a common enemy in the US. And yet oil-rich countries have the U.S. and the petroleum industry to thank for their riches. Inadvertantly, we are financing terrorism, when an oil-rich sultan gives money to an organization that carries out acts of terrorism.

What also bothers me, is the willingness of so-called “innocent” civilians to turn a blind-eye to terror activities. At some point, rational people will have to put a stop to the bullshit. People building bombs are doing no favors for anyone.

Money

I spent a shitload of money today.

Groceries: $200+
Golf Gear: $75
Clothes: $100

I hate spending money – love collecting it. Of course, I don’t have the kind of career where I’m collecting as much as I’d like. I don’t think I’m even accurate with the above sums. Groceries and sundry items bought throughout the day likely totalled closer to $300. What a shame, that money lost like that. Especially since much of it I’ll be eating.

The golf supplies I can justify. I had to get new golf shoes – $40. They were on sale and actually fit. The shoes I had prior to today were hand me downs from my dad that I got 10 years ago. And they were worn out when I got them then! But then I also bought a new glove since the one I had was so fucking old the ball marker had corroded itself onto the glove and the fabric was so stretched I had to pull the velcro enclosure to the very last teeth to get it to close on my hand. And then it was more like a hat than a glove.

I also spent $60 for gas and a carton of cigarettes today. I need to get this spending under control. My only consolation is that I’ve been spending very little the past fortnight so there’s been some accumulation in the meantime. But, I’d really like to get an iPod. One of the 30gb models. And one for my wife. Maybe she’d want a Nano, which would cut costs down a bit. But then there’s the prospect of a G5 in the future…

War

I was listening to NPR the other day and one of the panelists discussing the war between Israel and Lebanon made the point that once the bombing is over the countries will have to sort out their differences through diplomacy anyway, so why the bombing and killing of civilians caught in the crossfire in the meantime?