Workplace Tools

Have you ever truly noticed the people that you work with? Have you ever sat, in silence, and listened to the things they talk about? As I write this I'm sitting at my respective place of employment (on a Saturday no less) listening to the conversations of my co-workers. It's a tad bit amazing and hilarious at the same time. In the 30 minutes that we have been here, the topics have ranged from how to illegally download movies, to the "white" part of the egg at McDonald's and how bizarre it is, to the latest edition of the newest comic series. Now I am an admitted people-watcher, but it's almost as much fun to listen to what they're saying.
You know, it amazes me that there are people in the world that have actually DONE everything there is to do on this earth!!! There's a particular fellow that works at the same place I do that, no matter what the topic of conversation, he's done it; he's done it better, faster, and longer than YOU have. It interests me why people are like this. Was he not shown enough love as a little boy and now he's overcompensating for the time lost? Peculiar.
Then there's the Captain of Tools....this freakin' guy walks around like he has never passed gas before and if he were to fart, it would smell like the very lilies from heaven. He portryas himself as a world traveler who's main devotion is all things Asian. Huh? He has had minor success at our place of employment and acts as if he's the greatest salesman in the history of sales. (Zig would be proud!) I bet he's got three testicles and 3 toes.
Then there's the quiet chick. Very pretty, but very elusive. Seems to do a good job for the company, but probably, behind closed doors, likes candle wax on her nipples and handcuffs laced with fur. The comic geek is rather humorous with his constant babbling on about this and that inside the fantasy world in which he spends 30% of his time. (The only reason he doesn't spend more time there is because the Company takes the other 70%) He seems like a nice enough guy though.....I guess. There are people who are hung over from too much of a good things last night. Are you serious? Are you still in college? Come on man....be a bit more responsible.
Work on a weekend definitely sucks on ice, but we can always find advantages to the cards that life deals us......if we just listen closely.

A ROSE By Any Other Name.......

I'm sitting and reading an article in USA Today about Pete Rose and his elusive chase for baseball's most hallowed ground....The Hall of Fame. http://www.usatoday.com/sports/baseball/2009-08-20-rose-hall-of-fame_N.htm
Pete is now well past the period for the baseball writers to vote him into the Hall. His fate now lies with the Veteran's Committee; a board of the 65 living Hall of Fame members. It is up to them, once his lifetime ban is lifted, to vote him in.
I find myself asking, "How did we get to this point?" Now I am a self-professed Pete Rose fan, so I'm not without bias in this matter. But looking at it as objectively as I can, the man really should be in the Hall based on what he did ON THE FIELD. As As a kid growing up in a town without a Major League team, I always watched Pete Rose. I marveled at his accomplishments, not because he could hit the ball 500 feet, or because he stole 100 per season, but rather because he went all out every single day. You never saw Pete take a play off. And all he wanted to do was win; whatever the cost. (Just ask Ray Fossey about Pete's will to win!!) I was not as talented as some of the other guys I played with. Not overly fast, decent arm. But I had that same will to win; whatever the cost. Pete used the talents he had, limited as they were and became the all-time hits leader in baseball. A record that will likely stand for a very long time. Pete showed up to play and play as hard as he could. "Charlie Hustle"....there's never been a more appropriate moniker for an athlete that I can think of.
Granted, Pete isn't the nicest guy in the world. Or at least that's his reputation. He can be abrasive, but only if you don't want to hear what's on his mind. He made a mistake in betting on baseball. Ban him from managing a team, but not from the Hall.
This, in light of the hundreds of players that we now know used illegal drugs to improve their game. THEY have influenced the game far more than Pete Rose ever did. 3 of the top 5 or 6 home run hitters of all-time have been linked with usage of steroids. Are you going to put them in the Hall? Then how do you leave Pete Rose out? It really does seem to me, after all the research I've done into his case that it was a personal thing between Pete and former Commissioner Bart Giamatti. When he died, he stated that he didn't want Pete in the Hall. His follower, Fay Vincent took the reigns and kept in step with Giamatti's wishes. He has been very outspoken on the issue. I guess it's the only limelight the little fat man gets these days.
Pete Rose should be in the Hall of Fame...............Period.

Why Are These Individuals Still Breathing?

Many of you reading this blog have no doubt been following the Channon Christian/Chris Newsom murder trial in Knoxville. The more I read about this mess (and it IS a mess by anyone's definition) the more I want to vomit! Here we have 4 individuals (I will not refer to them as people as that term infers humanity) who car-jacked, beat, raped, tortured, and murdered two young people who simply happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. It was a hideous, senseless crime committed by a quartet of thugs. The crimes happened over 2 years ago and the jury is just now being selected. What???? What happened to a speedy trial? What about the grieving parents of these two slaughtered young people? When do they get rest and peace knowing that their child's killers are behind bars or facing death?

Here's how we'd do it in the United States of Chris (a very scary place for thugs such as these). While I fully believe that every man or woman accused of a crime should have their day in court, it would not (and should not) take 2 years to set a freakin' court date! The individual would stand trial and, if convicted would have 48 hours to get his or personal things in order. There's no death row in Chrisland; no special last meal; and certainly no book or movie deals to be made while awaiting the litany of appeals that are sure to follow. No, in Chrisland, if you did the crime you're going to do the time. I also believe that the punishment should fit the crime. So to all you thugs out there......if you murder someone and are found guilty by a jury of your peers; guess what? That's right! You get to pay a short visit to Ol' Sparky!!!

Another thing, while I'm on my soapbox.....one of the individual's attorney is trying to spare his client the death penalty by pleading guilty to the lesser charge of "facilitating" the murders. Huh?

In Chrisland, there's no bargaining, no begging for mercy. The defendant should have thought about that LONG before they committed these heinous acts. (And no, I do not care how he was beaten as a child, or how he was on drugs at the time of the murder) If you knew about the murder, drove the car to take someone to or from the murder scene, watched the murder happen, or had a general knowledge that the murder was going to happen, then you too, my friend, will be next in line for Ol' Sparky. Have a nice ride and remember to buckle up! Click it or ticket!!!

Government Healthcare.......Seriously??

As I've followed the debate over "free" healthcare proposed by the Obama administration, I find myself wondering why all the fuss? I wonder why this particular topic is puzzling to so many very bright people. I think I can help. We need to look at some irrefutable facts that are part of the discussion. Facts that, I feel, both sides are overlooking, either by mistaken, ignorance, or intentionally.

#1: NOTHING IS FREE........EVER. If you are a proponent of government-run healthcare and are hooked by the "free" price tag, then you should receive some free couch time with a local psychological professional! Our nation is trillions in debt. How are we going to pay for this thing? Remember what your Mother told you; "If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is." She was talking about "free" healthcare.

#2: Physicians are medical professionals that are trained in the art of healing people. Elected officials are life-long bureaucrats who haven't got the first damn clue how to stop spending your tax dollars for their 'projects", much less how to administer healthcare. Do you seriously want the same idiots that run the I.R.S. and the United States Post Office determining how your condition will be treated, if it's treated at all? Come on now....

#3: Our country is fat and out-of-shape. No level of "free" healthcare will magically make you healthier than you are at this very minute. The majority of the fat people in America got that way through their own choices and lifestyles. Yes, yes, I know, Mama was a full-figured gal, and Pa was big-boned. I've heard it before. The only thing that will make you healthy is to get off your fat ass, turn off Oprah, and go for a walk!! Sweat a little bit doing something other than walking to the fridge for ore Bon Bons. "Free healthcare will not take the accountability away from you. All you will do is add to the rising cost of drugs because it takes 40 meds to keep you alive.

#4: The reason insurance rates continue to climb is due to Fact #2!!! If we, as a nation were in shape, the insurance companies wouldn't be paying out huge claims for heart attack, and lung cancer because you choose to smoke, even though you've been warned by everyone short of Jesus and Allah that it's bad for you and WILL KILL YOU! Hello? Is anybody listening? So please understand me; the problem isn't the small percentage of people who are born with conditions, such as blood diseases, or other issues. The problem is the vast majority of people to make stupid health choices that continue to put their health at risk. And you seriously sit and wonder why your rates keep going up???

Get off the teet of Uncle Sam and take control and accountability for your own life! Less govenrment is a good government!

UFC 101 Post-Fight

Sitting in my favorite local establishment following the Anderson Silva - Forrest Griffin debacle, my mouth agape at the humiliation that Griffin has just suffered at the hands of Silva. I now have to say that Silva IS the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world. I base this on his success at 185 AND 205. BJ Penn is in the discussion, but it seems every time he ventures up to 175, he gets destroyed. With Miguel Torres getting knocked out by Brian Bowles this past weekend, BJ is the best 155-pounder in the world. His new training regimen has him in the best shape of his career and that's a very scary thing for the rest of the lightweight division.
So what does Dana White now do with Silva? There's already talk of a Silva-Lyoto Machida superfight. I personally don't think this will ever happen. The guys are too close. Of course, Silva and Wanderlai Silva were close once as well. I would love to see THAT fight. There is some really bad feelings between those two! This is my first ever blog so I hope they will get more interesting as I go. Keep reading and give me some feedback.