Presidential Address - 2/24/09

I'm not sure I've ever had so much national pride as I did when this speech was over.

Finally, someone stood on that podium and stated the words 'climate change'.

Finally, someone was brutally honest enough to say that there was no easy way out of this recession. It's going to take a long time and a lot of hard work. Working in an employee owned company I've started working harder to ensure my future and I really hope the trend catches on.

Here's my take on a couple of points from tonight's speech:
-Renewable Energy: What he said was great but not nearly specific enough for me. I would have liked to seen more of a plan laid out. I also hope these contracts are doled out resposibly as this opens up the door for a ton of corruption.
-Education: One year of national service to ensure you will have an affordable education? Love it.
-The Wars: This was the first Presidential address I've seen in 7 years that didn't lead with the war. I'm glad he didn't spend lots of time on this because I think we all know where he stands on both Iraq and Afghanistan. I suppose it's too early in the administration to hear any real specific plans on these conflicts.
-Auto Industry: I really hope Obama's push for more reliable renewable energy translates to the auto industry somehow. Everybody keeps blaming the EPA for keeping technology down. What a bunch of shit. Lazy asses... It wasn't that long ago that the best selling car in this country was the Ford Taurus. What the hell happened? The cars got ugly and even more unreliable (and over priced). My Ford truck has 160,000 miles and has only cost me about $2,000 in unplanned maintenance in the 6+ years I've had it. I feel really lucky but this should actually be normal. It probably is for Honda owners.
-Credit: I turned to my roommates when he was saying that banks needed to lend again and said if a bank would give me a loan I could afford a house. Then it struck me that I can't get a loan because of outstanding debts. Wow, financial institutions making irresponsible loans. I guess I'm as guilty as anyone else.
-The deficit: I think this was my favorite part of the entire speech. It's time for everybody to open up the books and start cutting fat. From our federal government to my company to my own household. 2 trillion dollars cut in 10 years? I bet they can find way more than that.

So my company is due for our own little 'State of the Union' address in a week or so. I really hope the higher ups were as inspired as I was by this speech and come to us with a plan. I'm so damn sick of everyone saying 'Oh, we just need to get through this' or 'I have no idea how we're going to get through this' (speaking of the recession). Work harder, cut the fat, show some initiative and just shut the fuck up about it! Mostly, have a plan. Everyone should have a plan.

Stereotypes

I get most of my news from the homepage on Comcast on my way to check my email so please bear with me.

I saw the headline 'Woman Fails Driving Test 775 Times' and I thought to myself 'there's no way it could be an Asian, that's just way to funny'. Yeah, well, guess what. Asian Lady.

I'm often guilty of believing stereotypes. I'd be flat out lying if I told you I always wait to know a person before I judge them.

fun pics free.com-Funny Pics and Crazy Pictures

Is buying into stereotypes tantamount to racism? I'll be honest, I don't trust people with mullets or cornrows (let alone cornrow mullets if such a beast exists). Name one stand up person that has either one of these hairstyles. MacGuyver? Allen Iverson? Wear a pink popped collar shirt to a bar with sunglasses on your head at night? You're a douche.

You can't help but judge people immediately based on looks. Why do you think people dress up for interviews and court? Stereotypes.

Gonna drink Captain till I die so my Mom can be Rich

It's stories like this that really piss me off:

http://http://www.comcast.net/articles/news-finance/20090218/Florida.Smokers/

Go ahead. Blame Marlboro for making you a chain smoker. Blame McDonalds for making you a fatass. I hate these fucking people!!!!! Own up to your shit!

Somehow the jury decided this guy was 58% responsible for his habit. How the hell they figured that out is beyond me. Truth is, he was 100% responsible for his horrible habit. Yeah, horrible. I hate smoking but I hate companies getting blamed for shit like this even more.

I think I'll sue Seagrams because I'm not a rocket scientist. It's not because I was too lazy to finish my engineering degree, it must have been the rum.

Movies - Overrated/Underrated

While I'm walking the dog my mind tends to wander. I mean, it's just me, the dog and nature. Today I started thinking about movies that sucked and it turns out some of these movies were pretty highly touted. Conversely, some are very much under appreciated. Here is my list:

Overrated:
Titanic-
God I fucking hate Titanic (the James Cameron version). The sad thing is I've always liked Dicaprio's acting but I think that this movie is actually his worst. 10 years later the special effects don't even hold up. Drawn out piece of shit. Also highest grossing movie ever. You get like one topless moment and it's not even that great.

Underrated:
The Patriot-
This to me was Mel Gibson's attempt at an American Braveheart. The movie kicks ass the whole way through with the exception of Heath Ledger's character being a little bitch (makes up for it in Dark Knight). It's a little unrealistic but then again there aren't allot of Revolutionary War movies out there.

Overrated:
There's Something About Mary-
When this movie came out and for a couple years afterwards it was hyped up as the funniest movie of the decade. The entire f'n decade! Are you kidding me!?! The movie has some mildly average moments at best. One scene that people still talk about. That's it. I don't even know any quotes from the movie except 'frank and beans'. The sad thing is I'm a Stiller fan. Which will become evident, now.

Underrated:
Zoolander-
To me this is one of the funniest movies of all time. Hilarious from start to finish. Very, very quotable. Stiller is fantastic, Owen Wilson is tolerable and Will Ferrel is probably in his funniest role ever as the twisted fashion designer Mugato. 'I'm getting the black lung Pop',' You can deri lick my balls capitain','It's a walk off'. Classic.

One more gripe: How the hell did Saving Private Ryan not win best picture in '98? How!?!

Technology will save us all

I think the only thing that will pull us out of this recession is innovation. That's why I'm glad there's this:

NASCAR

So on the morning of the biggest event of the season for NASCAR I feel I need to defend my decision to actually watch and enjoy this event.

Flash back to 1999. I used to watch the NASCAR highlights just for the wrecks. 'Bunch of dumbass hillbillies ridin around in circles' I would say. Then a friend of mine drug me to a race, kicking and screaming the whole way. That morning we woke up at 3 am to start our trek to Dover which was only about an hour away. It took about 3 hours to get there. Once we pulled in the lot we started drinking. Yeah, do the math, it was about 6 in the morning. I was bs'ing with some people next to me and I'm all like 'Yeah this is my first race'. They swore I would be hooked. I didn't believe them.

I had watched parts of the Daytona 500 that year and I saw a rookie driver kicking ass so I figured I should get a shirt or something so I would fit in. I walked to the merchandise trailers and got a Tony Stewart shirt (who I pull for to this day) then we made our way into the stands.

The fly by during the national anthem was cool but it couldn't prepare me for what was about to happen. 43 cars w/ 800+ horsepower each pulled up slowly to the starting line and then the green flag dropped. It was unbelievable. They roared by like freakin thunder or something.

Needless to say I was now hooked on NASCAR.

Since then I've been to about 20 races. Here's what the best part of the 'sport' is: In all of these races there are about 100,000 fans (sometimes more). Everybody's drunk. Everybody's rooting for different drivers. Guess how many fights I've seen considering these numbers. None. Not even one brawl. Try going to an NFL game and let me know how many fights are in your section alone. These are the greatest fans I've ever been around. Run out of charcoal? That's ok. Just ask your tailgating neighbor. Even if they are Gordon fans...

So mock it if you will. Laugh at me for my redneckishness. But I dare you to give the experience a shot one time. You might, begrudgingly, have fun.

This shit is sad

I saw this on craiglslist and it gets to me everytime.

A Letter from a Shelter Manager

I think our society needs a huge "Wake-up" call. As a shelter manager, I am going to share a little insight with you all...a view from the inside if you will.

First off, all of you breeders/sellers should be made to work in the "back" of an animal shelter for just one day. Maybe if you saw the life drain from a few sad, lost, confused eyes, you would change your mind about breeding and selling to people you don't even know. That puppy you just sold will most likely end up in my shelter when it's not a cute little puppy anymore. So how would you feel if you knew that there's about a 90% chance that dog will never walk out of the shelter it is going to be dumped at? Purebred or not! About 50% of all of the dogs that are "owner surrenders" or "strays", that come into my shelter are purebred dogs.

The most common excuses I hear are; "We are moving and we can't take our dog (or cat)." Really? Where are you moving too that doesn't allow pets? Or they say "The dog got bigger than we thought it would". How big did you think a German Shepherd would get? "We don't have time for her". Really? I work a 10-12 hour day and still have time for my 6 dogs! "She's tearing up our yard". How about making her a part of your family? They always tell me "We just don't want to have to stress about finding a place for her we know she'll get adopted, she's a good dog". Odds are your pet won't get adopted & how stressful do you think being in a shelter is? Well, let me tell you, your pet has 72 hours to find a new family from the moment you drop it off. Sometimes a little longer if the shelter isn't full and your dog manages to stay completely healthy. If it sniffles, it dies. Your pet will be confined to a small run/kennel in a room with about 25 other barking or crying animals. It will have to relieve itself where it eats and sleeps. It will be depressed and it will cry constantly for the family that abandoned it. If your pet is lucky, I will have enough volunteers in that day to take him/her for a walk. If I don't, your pet won't get any attention besides having a bowl of food slid under the kennel door and the waste sprayed out of its pen with a high-powered hose. If your dog is big, black or any of the "Bully" breeds (pit bull, rottie, mastiff, etc) it was pretty much dead when you walked it through the front door. Those dogs just don't get adopted. It doesn't matter how 'sweet' or 'well behaved' they are. If your dog doesn't get adopted within its 72 hours and the shelter is full, it will be destroyed. If the shelter isn't full and your dog is good enough, and of a desirable enough breed it may get a stay of execution, but not for long . Most dogs get very kennel protective after about a week and are destroyed for showing aggression. Even the sweetest dogs will turn in this environment. If your pet makes it over all of those hurdles chances are it will get kennel cough or an upper respiratory infection and will be destroyed because shelters just don't have the funds to pay for even a $100 treatment.

Here's a little euthanasia 101 for those of you that have never witnessed a perfectly healthy, scared animal being "put-down". First, your pet will be taken from its kennel on a leash. They always look like they think they are going for a walk happy, wagging their tails. Until they get to "The Room", every one of them freaks out and puts on the brakes when we get to the door. It must smell like death or they can feel the sad souls that are left in there, it's strange, but it happens with every one of them. Your dog or cat will be restrained, held down by 1 or 2 vet techs depending on the size and how freaked out they are. Then a euthanasia tech or a vet will start the process. They will find a vein in the front leg and inject a lethal dose of the "pink stuff". Hopefully your pet doesn't panic from being restrained and jerk. I've seen the needles tear out of a leg and been covered with the resulting blood and been deafened by the yelps and screams. They all don't just "go to sleep", sometimes they spasm for a while, gasp for air and defecate on themselves. When it all ends, your pets corpse will be stacked like firewood in a large freezer in the back with all of the other animals that were killed waiting to be picked up like garbage. What happens next? Cremated? Taken to the dump? Rendered into pet food? You'll never know and it probably won't even cross your mind. It was just an animal and you can always buy another one, right?

I hope that those of you that have read this are bawling your eyes out and can't get the pictures out of your head I deal with everyday on the way home from work. I hate my job, I hate that it exists & I hate that it will always be there unless you people make some changes and realize that the lives you are affecting go much farther than the pets you dump at a shelter. Between 9 and 11 MILLION animals die every year in shelters and only you can stop it. I do my best to save every life I can but rescues are always full, and there are more animals coming in everyday than there are homes. My point to all of this DON'T BREED OR BUY WHILE SHELTER PETS DIE! Hate me if you want to. The truth hurts and reality is what it is. I just hope I maybe changed one persons mind about breeding their dog, taking their loving pet to a shelter, or buying a dog. I hope that someone will walk into my shelter and say "I saw this and it made me want to adopt". THAT WOULD MAKE IT WORTH IT