Today’s Earworm
Posted by daddybear71 on January 13, 2014
https://daddybearsden.com/2014/01/13/todays-earworm-462/
Quote of the Day
No offense Ladies, but if you’re going to learn to handle a weapon you need to learn to handle any weapon, because sometimes its not your weapon you’re going to shoot the intruder with; it is like squeezing a guy’s balls, one size may not fit all, but the right amount of pressure will bring any man to his knees, you just have to know how to twist properly. Now lock and load!! —
Spike, from GBC, Friend of a friend,* commenting on Facebook about my post from yesterday.
*Corrected after someone politely corrected me.
Posted by daddybear71 on January 13, 2014
https://daddybearsden.com/2014/01/13/quote-of-the-day-133/
As Respectful A Refutation As I Can Muster
BRM brought up a post from a congressional candidate here in Kentucky who worked through the Christmas season as a temporary worker at one of our area’s largest employers. Coincidentally, I happen to work at the same employer, and have for several years. BRM asked me for my comments, and after filling up a comment box over at his place, I decided to just put my thoughts down here.
First and foremost, I don’t speak for my employer, and everything here is my personal opinion. Just wanted to get that out of the way.
I’ve never met Mr. Leach, and since I don’t live in the 2nd Congressional District, his candidacy hasn’t crossed my field of vision news-wise. From what I can gather from his website, it appears that he’s spent his career in service to the country, and wishes to continue that service by becoming a Congressman. I don’t agree with some of his positions, but I can respect his desire to serve.Here are my thoughts on his post about working at or near the minimum wage:
- I too tip my hat to Mr. Leach for both his military service and his willingness to get into the trenches and get his hands dirty. Too many politicians on both sides of the aisle are afraid to do so.
- Mr. Leach failed to disclose how much of his paycheck was paid to the Teamsters Union, which he disparaged for not getting entry level employees bigger raises over the past few decades, in dues and/or initiation fees. He also failed to discuss how much of his paycheck was going to pay taxes to support those who refuse to work. Want to keep more of your paycheck? Then stop taking money out of it to feed unproductive mouths and to pay union bosses’ salaries. Welfare reform and right-to-work laws in Kentucky might make things a little better for those who have to watch every dollar.
- It’s an entry level position. It’s not meant to be your life-long vocation, and it’s certainly not meant to be your single source of income. Yes, you have to know skills to do it, but so does the kid at the gas station or the waitress at the Waffle House. More relevant skills usually means more pay. You will tend to get them as time goes by, assuming that you are willing to put forward the extra effort to make yourself more profitable to your employer, and hence worth the additional pay.
- Yes, the cost of living has gone up faster than the rate of income for people on the low end of the pay scale. That’s what I call a stimulus to do better. Get educated. Get skills. Get a better paying job. There are plenty of them in and around Louisville if you’re willing to work hard and learn.
- I’m sorry that some of his co-workers have degrees and are still loading planes for a living. When I got out of the Army, I had education and could speak four languages fluently. My education and language skills meant precisely diddly over squat in the job market and place I found myself. It was a blow to the gut to realize that the things I had worked so hard for were pretty much worthless. I adapted, I learned, and I got a good paying job. If your degree isn’t helping you get the job you want in Louisville, then move somewhere that it will, or write off the degree as a bad investment and do something else.
- Mr. Leach talked a lot about how his family wouldn’t have been able to make it without the income from his wife. So we’re supposed to be surprised that an hourly job that only has 5 or 6 hours a day isn’t enough to feed your family without both people working. No kidding. So I guess Mr. Leach found himself in the same position in which most American households find themselves. Irish Woman and I have never not worked, and that probably isn’t going to change. Not saying that it’s right or wrong, just saying that it’s the reality in the American economy, and probably will be for a very long time.
- Again, it’s an entry level job. If you can’t make it on just that amount of money, get another one. Heck, get two. There are “Help Wanted” signs up all over Louisville. There’s no shame in busting your ass to keep the lights on, if that’s necessary.
- I’m shocked that it costs so much to commute to and from your place of employment. Maybe if the cost of gas were a bit lower, it would help. I know, maybe if we built a big pipeline to bring more oil from Canada into the United States the supply would go up and the price might come down a tad. Heck, maybe some people might even get a job from the construction and maintenance of the pipeline. Or hey, maybe if we weren’t paying over 50 cents a gallon in taxes, which are ostensibly to pay for the wonderful roads we enjoy here in Kentucky, the price of a commute might be a little cheaper. My solution to the problem was to move closer to work and try to maximize fuel economy where I can. Your mileage may vary.
Like I said, I respect Mr. Leach’s commitment to trying to understand how people in his area make their living, but crying that entry level jobs don’t pay well isn’t going to cut it with me.
Posted by daddybear71 on January 13, 2014
https://daddybearsden.com/2014/01/13/as-respectful-a-refutation-as-i-can-muster/
Movie Quotes – Day 13
Adrian Cronauer:[impersonating an Intelligence Officer] We’ve realized that we’re having a very difficult time finding the enemy. It isn’t easy to find a Vietnamese man named “Charlie.” They’re all named Nguyen, or Tran, or…
Adrian Cronauer: [as himself] Well, how are you going about it?
Adrian Cronauer: [as Intel Officer] Well, we walk up to someone and say, ‘Are you the enemy? And, if they say yes, then we shoot them.”Good Morning Vietnam
If you all only knew how close this is to reality. A lot of the training I had in the 1990’s basically relied on the bad guys walking around talking and acting like Boris Badinov. It can take months or years for an intelligence worker to become a professional and an expert in his or her field, and, especially in the military, people bop around from one assignment to another so often that by the time they learn how to do their job effectively, they’re getting ready to move on.
The flip side of this is the person who’s been at the same job for years and years, knows everything there ever will be to know about it (just ask them), and resists the thought that the target may evolve or that methods and sources might too. In becoming an uber-expert on their job, they had lost flexibility and perspective.
There has to be a happy medium. If you’re going to need six months to a year to become more than proficient at a job, then a two year tour is probably too short. But if you’ve spent 10 years at the same place and have grown into the office furniture, then maybe it’s time for you to broaden your horizons a bit.
Posted by daddybear71 on January 13, 2014
https://daddybearsden.com/2014/01/13/movie-quotes-day-13/
Thoughts on the Day
- Boo saw a picture of a lady with an intricate tribal tattoo on her upper arm today, pronounced that she was a Frankenstein, and insisted that it was true because he could see the stitching on her arm.
- I can’t wait until he’s old enough to read some of my books. He’s going to get a lot out of them.
- Girlie Bear watched one of those shows where they try to show the best restaurants in the United States for a given type of food. This one was for barbecue. It occurred to me that a lot of time and trouble is expended trying to perfect Festhahnchen* and shashlik.
- And for that, my tummy is eternally grateful.
- It is nigh unto impossible to quickly wash a white truck to the point that it is not off-white streaked with gray.
- I knocked off the big chunks and the salt, and that’s as good as it’s going to get until spring.
- It shouldn’t be difficult to find a new pair of sneakers for a five year old boy, should it?
- It took an hour. We tried on four pair before we found a pair that fit properly.
- Apparently children’s shoes have gone the way of women’s shoes. A 2 in one brand was the size of a 3 in another.
- The shoe store didn’t help by having a basketball goal for the kids. Every time we’d turn our back, Boo would be off trying to improve his free throw percentage.
- How good is my 1911 holster from Michael’s Custom Holsters? Good enough that I was able to securely and discreetly carry while contorting my body up, down, and around to find a size 2 1/2 wide tennis shoe, wrestling several pairs onto Boo for fitting, and repeatedly getting up off the floor at an odd angle.
- For once, the shoe store had a pair of shoes that fit me, looked OK, and were reasonably priced.
- Usually, if I don’t order my shoes on-line, I either leave the store discouraged or end up with something that would fit in at Ringling Brothers or a bowling league.
- Size 15 isn’t that big, I tell you! Why don’t shoe stores stock a better selection for those of us with slightly larger feet?
- I learned today that Moonshine will put himself into his kennel with little to no fuss if offered a slice of cheese. Apparently bribery works.
- Irish Woman and I spent an hour tonight discussing the project list for the spring and early summer.
- Apparently I’m going to learn how to stain and seal concrete, plant cherry trees in planters, and possibly even apply stain to a fence using a power sprayer.
- If my time estimate is right, I may be done with everything in time for the Kentucky Derby in May, assuming beautiful weather for every weekend until then.
*I know, I know, needs umlauts.
Posted by daddybear71 on January 12, 2014
https://daddybearsden.com/2014/01/12/thoughts-on-the-day-204/
Movie Review – Lone Survivor
On Friday night, I joined a group of my friends and co-workers to watch a screening of “Lone Survivor“. The film is a dramatization of the book of the same name by Marcus Lattrell and Patrick Robinson. It is one of the better war movies I’ve ever seen, and the way that it deals with real heroes and how they faced duty, life, and death makes it one of the best movies I’ve seen in the past few years.
Plot Summary (Spoiler Alert)
Posted by daddybear71 on January 12, 2014
https://daddybearsden.com/2014/01/12/movie-review-lone-survivor/
Oh, for the Love of Browning
An Indian company has begun marketing a gun ‘designed’ for women. It is named the Nirbheek in honor of the victim of a mass rape in 2012. It is described as a small, lightweight .32 revolver, and is supposed to be convenient for carrying in a purse. It has a price tag of about $2000, and so far only 20 have been ordered.
I wonder what color it is. For $2000, it better be a damn work of art.
That sound you just heard was my giant sigh.
Every weapon out there is designed for a woman, because it is designed for humans. Not all of them are best for any given woman, but that’s why the good Lord made friends, family, and ranges that rent guns. Try as many guns as you can and want to before settling on one that you like shooting and that you can shoot well. I’ve known dainty little things that loved 5 inch 1911’s, and corn-fed farmgirls who loved pocket pistols. I knew one diminutive grandmother in Arizona who surprised us all by pulling a K frame revolver out of her purse and putting six full-power .357 holes in the 10 ring of her target. You can’t say that this gun is appropriate for a woman, and this gun is not.
There is no such thing as a “ladies revolver”. It seems we’ve made some progress on that here, but there seems to be some work to be done with our brothers and sisters in India.
Posted by daddybear71 on January 12, 2014
https://daddybearsden.com/2014/01/12/oh-for-the-love-of-browning/
Overheard in the Hallway
Irish Woman and I are discussing family.
Irish Woman – You know the best part about having kids? You get to enjoy all the things you didn’t have a chance to enjoy growing up.
Me – But when do I get to enjoy silence and being left alone? (I was the oldest of five. Privacy and solitude were a rare luxury)
Irish Woman – You aren’t going to get to enjoy silence until you hear dirt dropping on top of your box.
Me, trying to be morbid – So, that’s what, Thursday?
Irish Woman – No, not Thursday, because I need to get the new couch home. Friday might be better.
Posted by daddybear71 on January 12, 2014
https://daddybearsden.com/2014/01/12/overheard-in-the-hallway-2/
Movie Quotes – Day 12
We’re standing here in Philadelphia, the, uh, city of brotherly love, the birthplace of freedom, where the, uh, founding fathers authored the Declaration of Independence, and I don’t recall that glorious document saying anything about all straight men are created equal. I believe it says all men are created equal. — Philadelphia
Rights for one means rights for all. It doesn’t matter whether the person is gay or straight, white or black, male or female. This the political ideal that I believe in, and if you disagree, please consider what about your own life could be used to strip you of your rights. Saying that someone isn’t worthy of free exercise of their God-given rights because of something in their life is a slippery slope to having our rights dictated to us.
One of the stumbling blocks for us is that we have an obligation to respect the rights of those who want to take our rights away to express that opinion. Saying “You shouldn’t say that no-one should own a gun.” is, to me, as wrong as saying “You shouldn’t be able to own a gun.”. Demanding that our rights be respected signs us up to respect the rights of those who disagree. We can debate them, prove them wrong, and do our level best to thwart their efforts, but we must never fall into the trap of denying the rights of others in order to preserve our own.
Posted by daddybear71 on January 12, 2014
https://daddybearsden.com/2014/01/12/movie-quotes-day-12/
Musings
- Nothing is more fun than going to a customer and asking “You requested this back in September. Do you still need it?” and having them have no idea what you’re talking about.
- It’s amazing how a few simple tasks can grow to nine and a half hours of work when given enough project management work.
- Somewhere in Columbus, Georgia, is an elderly man who used to work at the equipment issuing facility at nearby Fort Benning.
- Our paths crossed twice: First, when he issued me my cold weather gear for going to Bosnia, and then again when I returned and turned most of it in.
- I owe that man a great debt for letting me keep my very expensive Matterhorn boots, which kept my feet from shrivelling up and turning into a muddy mess at the range today.
- If I ever meet that man again, he’s getting a free beer.
- The mud was ankle-deep and the color and consistency of butterscotch pudding today.
- Someday, I’m going to re-learn the math necessary to model my efforts to clean the mud off my boots and pants this afternoon.
- “How long will DaddyBear work to get the mud off his boots before he realizes that all he has done is transfer it to the rest of his clothing and his hair?”
- Are the people who design pistol competition stages all evil geniuses, or does it just seem that way?
- Yeah, it was muddy, but there was no way I was going to lean down to shoot through a tube that sat at navel-level for me.
- It was just easier to take a knee and wash my pants an extra time or two.
- I can safely report that the 1911 in .45 ACP was a much better choice for knocking down steel targets than the CZ-82 in 9mm Makarov.
- I can’t say that I shot a lot better today than I did last month, but my left-handed shooting has definitely improved.
- Dry-firing left handed might be a pain, but I guess doing it as often as I can is paying off.
- Girlie Bear answered a late call last night, and ended up going with her shooting team to the state match this morning.
- I hope she enjoyed herself, but the best thing for me was being complimented by the chaperone on how sweet and respectful she was.
- I can’t imagine a better way to spend my evening than having a pizza delivered, watching Bugs Bunny with Boo, and just relaxing.
Posted by daddybear71 on January 11, 2014
https://daddybearsden.com/2014/01/11/musings-28/
DaddyBear
DaddyBear’s Den 
