Saturday, June 05, 2004

"Never believe anything in politics until it has been officially denied."
Otto Von Bismark.

Kudos and Laugh O the Week go to my little brother Jeff. On Tuesday, while out mowing a main road in the Park, he makes a point to run down every Conservative election sign he comes across. Some lady calls his boss and reports that a county worker is "violently swerving into election signs." Jeff is subsequently questioned by his boss, who is asking why he acted in such a manner. Jeff honestly replies that he doesn't like the Conservatives. Now that's good comedy. Made his older bro proud too.

So I did get the July long weekend off (July 1st-4th) from work, but not without some politics. My boss, Tim, who seems to be rather unhappy with his life, made it sound like I was asking for his liver one day, and then the next day said, "Yeah, I guess. I dunno why you need time off, you only work two days a week."

Fuck you Tim, thats what I say. I'm not gonna justify how much I work, but while doing this summer class, I have worked 32 hour weeks, including most Saturdays and Sundays. So I'm taking the time off and if the bunkers look like shit, well tough. Seriously, there are plenty of other guys that can work that weekend. I don't know why people play politics in such circumstances. I'm a summer labourer, this isn't my life (thank god), and I figure if I'm working every weekend, I'm entitled to a requested break.

Look I know that next year, when I am teaching, I will have stress and politics as well. But I'll be paid a lot more and work is non-subordinate role so it'll be easier to stomach. On the golf course, with the clowns I work with, political games seem to be a little stupid. I'll be glad to end this working chapter in my life.

On the plus side, we hired two new"er" guys, which means that I've moved up the totem pole of shitty jobs. Trevor is missing a front tooth. Sigh, 2 months left...

Gonna enjoy that Mt. Robson hike though, thats for sure.

Updated some links, check em out.

Dad, thanks for the long (and rather rambling) comment. Although I wouldn't hand that comment in for marks, if I were you. Topic sentences!

Heard some Gram Parsons on CKUA's "Wide Cut Country" program this morning on the way home from work. Some song about Baltimore. It was good, really good. Well done Unca Pat.

I only got about 230 pages left in Vol 1 of my Winston Churchill's biography. 888 pages total, and then it's onto Vol 2 (1939-1945) which is a little shorter. It is a really good read, I would recommend it, espcially for history nerds like me.

Sunday is the 60th anniversary of D-Day. Remember & Respect.

Indeed, the greatest generation.

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Thursday, June 03, 2004

"After climbing a great hill, one only finds that there are many more hills to climb." Nelson Mandela

Lots of things to talk about today. First, the trivial:

Time: 4:45am
Coffee: Damn right
I hopped into the Beautiful Blazer this morning, on my way to work, and of course CKUA was on the dial. What were they playing, you ask? I just about had a heart attack. Guns N Roses. What the hell? Oh man, I had a serious crisis, which was only resolved when 5:00am hit and the program changed. I'm gonna email Baba, who is the host of Overnight Train, and give him an earful. I thought for a second the world was ending, thats how bad it was.

Okay, onto world politics. Bush, in a speech yesterday, compared the war against terror to WW2 and the Cold War. I thought he might do this during the WW2 memorial dedication speech a few days ago, but he didn't. Apparently, the chance to attach his blunder to a noble cause (WW2 in this case) was too good to pass up.

To me, in my left wing little bubble, it stinks of rhetoric, reaching into the rose-coloured memories of better times when the US emerged victorious. He made no mention of the fact that it was not the US alone who won WW2, nor did he mention that the downfall of the USSR was largely a result of Gorbachev's glasnost policy and the staggering economic costs of socialism. No, instead Bush yapped about the strength of the US people, the country that has fought and won long battles, just like terrorism, before. Sounds to me, if one is able to read between the lines, that Bush is trying to say: This is gonna take a long, long time. Comparing it to the decades long Cold War is a not so subtle hint that only time will tell if this war on terror is gonna favour the US.

In other US news, CIA Director George Tenet resigned today, claiming that it was for personal reasons only. Perhaps, but it is also mighty nice that the man at the center of one of the greatest intelligence failures in US history is slipping out the back door just before the election runs starts. My view sees this as a tactic to weaken a Democrat offensive against the 9/11 intelligence failure.

Man, I can wait until I'm 75, then I'll know what is really happening behind closed White House doors. Mind you, I'm sure I'll be gunned down in a hail of bullets long before then.

Okay, with that pleasant thought, I'm off to buy milk at Mac's. Does a body good....

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Wednesday, June 02, 2004

"Human history becomes more and more a race between education and catastrophe."
- H. G. Wells (1866-1946)

Well i just finished my lab, no thanks to WebCT, the U of A's contraption that allows us to submit assignments remotely. In theory. New version equals lots of bugs. I have 4 classes left, one of which is my final. I can't freaking wait to be outta there.

I'm mailing it in today, here is some cut & paste writing I did a while ago. Cheers.

My Own Political Party (and what a party it would be!)

Once in a while, after watching the talking heads on the TV, I consider running for public office. I would most assuredly not win, redheads never do. But along the way I would hope to define myself as someone who really does not want to win and instead is just using this forum as a glorified soapbox to antagonize a lot of people.

So say a reporter asks what my position is on something that would require the average politician to spin doctor a sentence until the quote is rendered meaningless. But I am not that average politician. Instead I boom out a black and white answer. After the reporter recovers from the surprise of an actual meaningful quote I proceed to rant and rave about whatever subject I desire, which will be replayed on the evening news.

Reporter- What do you think about the war on terrorism?

Average Politician- We stand behind our allies as a united front against the horrors of terrorism in all its forms and I feel confident that life will be better in the future.

Jay, Politician of Truth- Fuck the war on terrorism. We cannot find a guy who is hiding in a freaking cave with all of our expensive military do dads, so I think it is pretty much a wash. It is a joke. Now we go after some oil country with some trumped up charges and bomb their kids into the ground just because we can actually do it well. I would rather see some updated textbooks in classrooms so that we can teach the children not to be as dumb as we are.

See, would that not be a lot more interesting? Instead of telling you what you are expecting to hear, I just tell you how I feel. What a revolutionary I would be.

Reporter- What do you think about the oil companies needing a tax break?

Jay, Politician of Truth- Those oil companies need a tax break like Michael Jackson needs a facelift. Enough is enough. In fact, lets tax the shit out of the oil companies, send some of the money back into the communities. Tax breaks for oil companies, what the hell are they thinking...

Reporter- A lot of parents are concerned about the level of violence in video games nowadays. Do you think it should be scaled back?

Jay, Politician of Truth- The parents have to look in the mirror. Who bought little Jimmy the Playstation? Who has the parenting skills of a doorknob? Who complains when little Suzie is a butterball, yet refuses to 'force' their baby to actually do something other than play video games and eat Doritos? These parents have to realize that if their kid has issues, it is not the fault of a video game programmer living in Japan. It is their fault and they better deal with it like adults, instead of crying like their kids. I think children are basically okay, its the parenting that fucks em up. So in short, no I do not care about video game violence. I care about the amount of stupid people out there that cannot keep their pants on and dump their kids into our school system expecting the school to raise their kids for them.

Of course there is no way I would ever get elected to any kind of office, not in this politically overcorrect world. People might agree with me, or plot to kill me, but they do not have the balls to put someone with independent thoughts in any sort of power. Heaven forbid, they just might end up with a leader.

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Tuesday, June 01, 2004

"The best argument against democracy is a five-minute conversation with the average voter." ~~ Winston Churchill

I was reminded of this quote while sitting in the luchroom, listening to two of my fellow co-workers debate, and I use the term loosely, the upcoming election. Oh how the world would change if I ran the show. In time, bide my time....

I got to drive the big John Deere tractor today. This may not seem blog-worthy, but after of a month of driving little runabouts to useless tasks, this was a bit of a step up. I was backing the tractor down a hill, doing so with a 20 foot trailer on the back, when I got my signals crossed and jack-knifed the whole thing, almost tipping the trailer over, which would have been a lark. I'd imagine things would have broken and, at the very worst, the tractor would have flipped too. But, in the end, the Theory of Invincibillity won out. My co-worker was evidently not aware of the Theory, as his eyes got rather large.

Looks like the Liberals are heading for a minority government, according to numerous recent polls. If so, watch for a coalition of NDP and Liberal to form in an effort to prevent the Conservatives from having too much right wing influence.

I haven't mentioned it on the blog, but I am pulling for Calgary to win. Only losers cheer for Tampa Bay. Cadrin, I'm looking in your direction. Have some Canadiana spirit, man!

I saw another letter to the editor the other day, comparing Calgary to Edmonton in terms of infrastructure. This bloke mentioned that Calgary is super easy to traverse because of the freeway system. I don't know if Calgary is super easy, but it is definately better that Edmonton's Yellowhead "freeway", with it's stoplights every 700m. It is interesting (to me anyway) to see Edmonton try to cope with a growing population, as it becomes a major centre. The urge to remain a smaller centre (in terms of money allocated to roads or sensible development) is clashing with the need to increase taxes as a means of surviving the growth. I dunno, food for thought.

I still think Calgary beats Edmonton hands down when it comes to acting like and portraying itself as a major centre. Any comment, Father?

Okay, that's enough rabble-rousing and bear-baiting for now. Read a newspaper tomorrow.

A sovereign thought, delivered to your door at 6:27 PM ~~ 0 bonsai trees

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Monday, May 31, 2004

Just a request. If you have noticed that the comments option has been screwy, please email me. It has been a little weird (occasionally) on both my desktop and laptop. If you notice it, please email me. Thanks. What a shitty blog this is, not worth the bits & bytes I'm using....


Okay here is some tidbits I thought about today:

#1. I bought a jumbo sized box of Raisin Bran. It still says "Two Scoops of Raisins", but that only confused me. Is it the same sized scoop they use in the regular boxes, or is it different? Am I getting screwed here? Please refrain from making any "old man Jay/ eating bran" jokes, cause they won't be funny.

#2. For the guys. You walk into a public bathroom for a pee. You most likely go to the urinal, not the toilet stall. Why is that? You don't have a urinal in home, you have a toilet. So why avoid the toilet in the public loo? Try it next time, using the toilet for a number one. It'll feel weird. Or you'll think of me when you are doing it, which will really be weird. Ewww.

71% on my midterm. Yay, I may just finally throw off the chains of university.

My mom is so positive. Love ya Wum!

Megan is still sick. This is hard for me (not her though!), as I can't bug her when she's got a cold. Well, I can and I do, I just feel kinda bad afterward. Like picking on Al, it's just a little too easy sometimes.

Anyone see "Soul Plane" this weekend? Cause if you did, I'm ashamed of you.

Ciao

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Sunday, May 30, 2004

Dear to me is sleep; still more to sleep
in stone while harm and shame persist;
not to see, not to feel, is bliss
speak softly, do not wake me up, do not weep ...
- Michelangelo

I watched Bush's speech yesterday, at the dedication to a WW2 memorial. Lots of old veterans in the crowd, which was estimated at 200,000. I understand that the US played a major role in the winning of WW2, but to hear Bush tell it, the US fought and won the war all by themselves. Very little mention of allies. No mention of the fact that it was the Soviets who made it to Berlin first. I cannot blame the Americans for yesterday, hell it was a memorial to US soldiers. But I think just a slight nod of appreciation to allies would have been appropriate. Mind you, Bush didn't make any comment on Iraq, which was good. It would have cheapened the memories of what was possibly the last just war.

I've updated the links and I do encourage you to check out this week's "Sigh", as it is a site dedicated to ending "zero tolerance" policy in schools. Crazy stories that cheapen the entire education field.

Until later

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