Things that annoy me

Here's a non-exhaustive list of things that annoy me. At times, I feel like I am the only one who is annoyed by a lack of common courtesy since every time I comment about these things, people jump on me for being jaded, but that's ok.

1. Subwoofers I can hear inside my house, especially after 10:00PM. This actually pushes me nearer insanity than anyone really wants to know.
2. People who listen to loud music -- music I can hear from at least 10 feet away -- in a GOD DAMN PUBLIC LIBRARY
3. Children who repetitively ride their bicycles through my yard. ESPECIALLY through NEWLY SEEDED LAWN, and through my garden, ESPECIALLY AFTER I have asked MORE THAN ONCE TO KNOCK IT THE FUCK OFF
4. People who stop in the middle of the road with their vehicles to chat, unload or otherwise. ESPECIALLY when they know that there is traffic behind them (it is astonishing, the frequency in which I have to deal with this in my neighborhood).
5. People who honk their horns more than a few times for longer than a few seconds to get the attention of someone in a house. Get off your lazy ass and knock on a door. Better yet, use the fucking cellphone that's glued to your ear.
6. People who go the wrong way down a one-way, who are talking on their phones while doing it (This one I encountered leaving the library full of loud fucking rap music. I got pretty nervous)
7. People talking on their cell phones in line at some kind of retail establishment, or similar. It can't fucking wait? Not even a minute? Jesus Christ, shut the fuck up.
8. People who are rude to cashiers.
9. Rude cashiers
10. People who stare at everyone for no good fucking reason -- another common occurrence in my neighborhood. This raises the question "Well, if you're not looking, how do you know they are?". I have good peripheral vision. I've recently started to wave and smile at these draggin' pants fools. They look away very quickly. I only use this method when I am at least 5 blocks from my home.

I am sure I will come up with more. Maybe I can do this in episodes or something.

~Nic

I have to chime in on this, even though I am on a political break

The healthcare thing is front and center, obviously. I have my opinions on it, but I am going to stay away from that, and attempt to keep this a short, simple, unbiased comment.

It was brought to my attention on Sunday evening, or Monday morning (I don't remember which) that persons of certain religious beliefs can opt-out of the entire schema. While I think this is a very good idea, and I understand why it is in the legislation, I seriously question the bit's constitutionality. I hear that the big argument against the legislation is about mandates, and whether or not that is constitutional. Although I am not (obviously) a constitutional scholar, I doubt that this argument will win in the Supreme Court (If it does, so be it). I think a better road would be to question the constitutionality of the religion thing. Let someone say this: "I hate the healthcare plan, and I want to opt out, but I can't because I am a , and my religion has no specific problem with medicine" (for instance, you're not Amish). I am not certain that the opt-out would stand up in the S.C.

That is all.

~Nic

I resolve to be less of a dick

So, I made a few good old cliché New Year's resolutions. I've made some in the past, and mostly kept them to myself, just in case they didn't happen, so I wouldn't have to be reminded of something I already know. Anyone who knows me knows that I can be a dick (some would argue, I suppose, that I am always a dick. Probably the same people that I think are so as well). A few people who pay attention have pointed out that this has decreased markedly in the past couple of years, but there's some left. The resolutions verbatim are:
1. be less of a dick
2. continue progress seeing all sides of things

Explanations:

1: This shouldn't be construed as "Don't give anyone shit". I give people shit all the time, and get my own fair share in return; this is just fine. There are some key examples of what I mean, that I am aware of, and that's where the problem lies. It should also be noted that disagreeing with you is not me being a dick. Me calling you a "stupid bitch" in the middle of an argument, however, would be a prime example. Another example of NOT being a dick would be a caustic rhetorical Facebook (or similar) post. Stirring the pot keeps my mind busy.

2. A few years ago I started to really focus my mental efforts on putting myself in "other people's shoes" (It could be argued that this is analogous to focusing a nearly-dead flashlight on the surface of Pluto, then going there and wondering where the hell the light is). I have concentrated the results of these efforts on playing "Devil's advocate", which has resulted in garnering an even better, albeit seemingly infinitely more complex, understanding of my own positions and beliefs (And pissing a few people off). This is more of a personal reminder, but with a purpose outside of that: perhaps someone reads this and decides to try the same thing; if they don't already. (WARNING: Greater understanding results in exponentially more complicated questions. If you've ever progressed in a subject in school or otherwise you know exactly what I am talking about.)

If you don't like this, you're a stupid bitch. ;)

~Nic

New Dignity Party

It's been months since I have had anything to say on here. This is small beans and I am not quite sure why I decided to go after this, but that's just how it worked out. Here's a chunk of their platform, and break down of: The New Dignity Party
From www.newdignityparty.org My comments are in [brackets]

[BEGIN QUOTE]

"In particular:

(1) We aspire to establish a new paradigm in the politics of identity.
[Alert: "paradigm"]
(2) We would rein in powers assumed by local governments without the consent of the governed.
[Great, a special election every time we install a fire hydrant]
(3) We lament the decline of honest journalism as big media companies shape the news along certain lines.
[I am so effing sick of hearing this bullsh*t, anyone with half a damned brain can recognize spin]

Specifically:

(1) We like white people (and people of other races, too).
[This is terrifying. I am not quite sure what the F*CK that is supposed to mean.. a bunch of old white men like like white people. How oppressed they are, not being a member of one of the two major parties.]
(2) We don’t like local governments meddling in their residents’ personal affairs.
[Having to pull a permit to install a water heater is not meddling. I don't know if that's for sure what they are getting at, but I have heard a lot lately about how permits and inspections are 'meddling'. I wonder how insurance companies feel about those things.. let alone home buyers]
(3) And you better shape up, too, Star Tribune!
[And you too FOX news, Pioneer press, Agape Press... stfu,.]
"
[END QUOTE]

Sounds like the Republican party.. with the key difference that.. they like white people.

~Nic

Government Motors? We already get an employee discount!

Hello. It's been a while (at least a while since anything "coherent" has shown up here). I've got a shit ton of stuff to tell you how to think about, but I am going to just kind of babble on for a little bit and see what I end up mentioning.

GM + Chrysler: As a liberal, I think I support this insofar as jobs were saved for lots of people and things like that. I may slightly disagree with myself a little on this one. I feel like the baby boomer generation is at the core of saving these monstrous institutions (clearly, since the boomers run the world right now). I don't really think it's necessarily to save jobs, I think it's for nostalgia purposes.. but the jobs thing makes it that much more righteous of a decision. These companies, as far as I am concerned, don't deserve to live on. If my little bitty LLC fucked up, made a shitty product for 100 years and then all of it came back to bite it in the ass it would go out of business. Anyhow, the problem is blamed on everyone from all sides; management: it was the labor, labor: it was the management, government: we have no fucking clue, Nic: none of you are worthy of running a company, running a company: Nic you suck. So my stance is: well, we're here now, lets force the damn company to play by some sensical rules.. make cars that don't suck, do it with expensive labor and make it cheap. What, that doesn't make sense/is impossible? Hogwash: tell the execs with putt putt courses in their offices to go fuck off.. that's gotta save a shit load of money in itself. These people clearly weren't making the right decisions anyhow. Oh here's another good idea: don't make promises to labor unions you can't keep. Labor unions: don't ask for the world, ask for a chunk of land. Installing wiper blades isn't $30/hr work. I realize that there is harder work in the factories than installing wiper blades, but this extreme is beneficial to proving my point. (Full disclosure) So jobs saved.. good. what?

My neighbors; I live in a nice neighborhood. Except for the one house directly north of me. Three people live there, Mom and two sons. But at any given time there are 10+ people there who don't belong there. Not to mention they've woken the dead at the nearest cemetary more than 30 times already this year leaving me to have to battle the undead in my dreams. This one really fucking fat person was bouncing on the wooden steps outside the house a couple weeks ago, and broke part of it. Some old man who was there asked if I had a 2x4 to fix it for the time being, so I asked my dad (who was helping me remodel the bathroom on the renter side of my duplex), and he said "oh sure", and went ahead and proped the middle of the step back up. The old man was less than grateful, saying "Oh, I wanted a long 2x4 to put in along the side of it". Really? Not enough. Did I mention they are black? "Well, what does that matter Nic?" Well, usually it doesn't except that every chance they get to point out that I am white they do.. "Sup White Boy?!", so it's only fair. Call it "reversed reverse racism". On the other hand, they are usually fairly nice. I was chatting with this one dude outside over there about a month ago.. it came up that I was in school and he asks "What are you in school for?" I replied "Computer Science and Mathematics." He responded "What's Mathematics?" Really? They call each other the good ol' "N word" all the time.. All the work over the past 50 years to get rid of it, and it's revered, adored, chanted and loved. Somethings awry. I think the tenants of the local graveyard would agree.

That's all for now.

~Nic

The Maul of Fan

So, it's been a while.. I've had lots to say, but little time to come here and whack away at the keyboard for a half hour or so. So anyhow... Recap.. Economy failing, Obama inaugurated, Limbaugh making an ass of himself.. etc. This economic stimulus package that went through; waste? I would suppose that some of it is. Is it going to help anything? I don't know, I have no way of knowing.. would the great depression have lasted as long if they would have done NOTHING instead? Who knows, but of course there's plenty of people who can call up anecdotal evidence at a moments notice to say: "LET 'ER FALL!". That is, they say that now, but if the economy was left alone in its current state and failed because of so (More of a post hoc ergo propter hoc, since we wouldn't be able to say one way or another what caused it), would say "Whoops", and they'd end up being far more f'ed than they think. What happens when an economy fails? RE: Germany post WWI/Rise of Hitler.. burning the money you would need to buy wood for the furnace would last longer than the wood itself.
Anyhow, where's the end of this? I don't know.. maybe next month, maybe years away. Either way. Who's fault is this all? Democrats: Republicans. Republicans: Democrats. Rush Limbaugh: Everyone not Rush Limbaugh. Should we keep throwing money at this problem? I would say: Sure. If we let it just "Fail" we're boned. If we try to save the economy and it fails, we're boned. It seems like the logical path to throw money at it and see what happens. This can be paralleled to schools, I hear a lot (I work with a few r-tards) about how throwing money at schools doesn't help. The proposition is: "Cut funding". This seems to scream "I HATE YOU" in the face of anything in the entire world that has ever made sense.. like 1+1=2... the cutting funding idea says "Hay 1+1=2, I HATE YOU!" OH OH, another favorite is "Well it's not working right, so we better scrap it" mentality. (Also commonly found in the school argument, but also in arguments such as the abolition of fiat money). Let's apply this logic to something like a mill worker.
"Hi Bill, did you hear Jimmy died because the security device that was supposed to keep him from falling into the buzz saw broke, and he fell into the damned buzz saw!?"
"No, Alfred, I hadn't heard that, but clearly we should do away with any security measures, because they do not work."
Pelosi is talking about another stimulus package already. I think it's way too soon for that.. I mean, I think we ought to throw money at this problem and hope for the best (I say throw money because I am not qualified to say how it should be spent, that's why I have representation in the legislature, they get to figure that shit out). BUT, we should consider WAITING A GOD DAMN MINUTE and seeing if what has been done will work.. it's too soon to consider another stimulus package.
What about all the pork in the omnibus spending bill? Well, as it turns out, earmarks are how important projects get completed. McCain knows this and is being a dick. Obama knows this, and should have kept his mouth shut about it during the election. (HINT: The 35W Bridge was re-built with earmarks).

So to sum this post up: STFU. Opinions are fine, HOWEVER, there seems to be a lack of any thought behind the opinions I have been hearing lately... from all sides of everything. I hear mindless talking points from Limbaugh repeated over and over, and mindless talking points from whoever the hell is on Air America these days repeated.

~Nic

Why I "hate freedom"

Here's why I hate freedom. Itemized, for free! (plus processing & shipping and handling)

• I think that women should be allowed to choose what to do with their own bodies (This applies to many different things)
  
• I think that the government has absolutely no right to know what I, or anyone else says in a private conversation on a telephone, or on the internet (without a warrant) regardless of any [perceived] loss of security that could follow
• I think that if a person wants to die, with the assistance of a doctor they should be able to
• I think that the right to burn the American Flag should never be infringed upon (otherwise it would destroy the very thing it stands for)
• I think that anything someone does in their personal life that has no effect on the general population should not be regulated or controlled by anyone in government, OR in business
  
• I think that gay persons have just as much right as straight ones to become married. Divorce will destroy the "institution of marriage", and if GOD didn't want gay people to to be gay people he should have paid closer attention to what he/she/it was doing.
• I think that belligerent, unprovoked unilateral attacks on sovereign nations is hypocritical
  
• I like Scooter
• I am not a Republican, nor am I a Libertarian

This is not an exhaustive list.

~Nic