OK, I try not to bitch about work since my super-secret blog is not as anonymous as it used to be and a couple of co-workers do know about it. That aside, let the bitching begin:

Last week I moved cubes (not much of a move, 2 down) to get away from some noise and from a loud neocon who sat across from me. As of today there are now 2 consultants in the cube beside me. One is on the phone all day to other clients and the other is a … wait for it… loud neocon. He also wants to move the entire shop to Java. This from a guy hired as a BA. Whiskey Tango Foxtrot! All I need now is for him to talk about how much he loves Jesus and Pat Robertson and he’ll have broken all the social taboos in one day.

Seriously, if you are a consultant, you should work your ass off not to offend and do a good job. Your coming in because management can’t get their shit right and you’re being paid a lot for the same work as the people around you but your input matters more and you won’t have to clean up the mess you made. So don’t be a giant flaming asshole when you do it, … k?

I requested today off a couple of weeks back. Was planning a guys’ weekend trip but that fell through. So I thought I would unwind, run some errands, basically TCB. Well, my tags expired back in January so I thought I would take care of that. Well last night a tornado rips through Little Rock and takes down power lines, etc. Certain neighborhoods don’t have a single working red light. And of course the Revenue Dept where I would go to renew my tags is out of power. So they ship me downtown where I wait an hour to get assessed. Well the huge downtown facility does not have a treasurer so I can’t pay there. I’d have to go to place #3. At that point I bail and decide I’ll take care of it when power gets restored to my normal Revenue Dept. BTW, Arkansas has the most f’d up personal property taxes. Anything with a license get taxed. I may be a bleeding heart but I can tell you that politicians are self-involved assholes and don’t deserve the right to touch my Benjamins.
Then I come home to check on some finance and find a $70 charge to my credit card from TLG*EverydayValue. I don’t know how these fucking scumbags got my credit card number but I know damn well that I did not sign up for their service. I called Chase and the guy knew immediately how to fix the problem, ‘unsubscribe’ me, and refund the amount. I am about to mail off taxes. Hopefully that will go smoother.

I should have just gone into the office today.

Clear Channel bans Springsteen’s new stuff - I like the boss and have heard mixed reviews of his new stuff but he’s not someone I go out of my way to listen to. But the fact that Clear Channel dominates so much of the industry is bad for artists and the public. Not to mention the founder is an Aggie. This guy is my new arch-nemesis.

BTW - if you want to complain to the FTC or email the commissioners, feel free.

Leadersheep - The ACLU has an online ad calling out the democratic leadership. The democrats are not the cock-hungry hypocrites that the Republicans are but being spineless is not really an upsale. The link is silly but hit the right chords for me to become a card carrying member.

On Clinton and Lobbyists - Lessig eloquently expresses elements of my dislike for Hillary. She is part of the institution of corruption and I think this ‘business as usual’ mindset is crippling our nation on just about every issue. Historically, you tend to see a cycle of stability, corruption and revolution within society. This cycle frequency has been extended lately as politicians/marketeers have learned to make people more dormant and lethargic. Clinton is part of the institution (which she cleverly labels as ‘experienced’) that has me so outraged.

OK, I’ve been getting the emails again about doing a gas boycott. In the past I would respond to the sender and everyone in the chain who has forwarded it along and call them retards while trying to educate on the basic principles of economics. I am getting too old and there is way too much stupidity in the human race to constantly fight it (look no farther than the popularity of Mind of Mencia and Are You Smarter than a 5th Grader for evidence). I am forced to give up fighting the good fight. I’ll let the Consumerist handle it.

5 years ago today, I was laid off from my first post-college full-time job. Tough to believe it has been that long ago. I floated around a year waiting tables and generally had a blast. Then I started work at a non-profit four years ago. It is now time for me to get back in the private sector.
My experience at non-profits has been one of cronyism, incompetence, and a whole bunch of CYA. Seems like there is also a strong inverse relation of merit to pay. And no matter the intentions when you start, marginalization and apathy are just around the corner. But I don’t mean to sound bitter. It really is just time for me to move on. If your looking for stability (which I was at the time) and can deal with the politics, then I recommend working for the state. Just go into with your eyes open. And not to sound like a republican - it is our tax dollars being massively wasted on hiring and paying through cronyism instead of job performance.

I was talking to today that BuSh and co were traitors and should be hung. Nice opening line, huh? Anyway, seems like Bill Maher agrees. Check out Traitors don’t get to question my patriotism and from earlier Sacrifice. Both good rants.

Mea culpa to Bush on Presidents Day - USA Today founder’s mea culpa on rating the Bush legacy.

I am giving up on humanity, civil liberties and any optimism for the human race. Seems the whole Boston/ATHF “bomb” scare is going to be settle for $2 million. It really does not worry anyone that these things were hanging up for 2-3 weeks before they sent off the scare or that they are obviously not a bomb to anyone with the wits God gave a dung beetle. Seriously, we have to be a beta version because we are so fucked.