I have had writers block for what seems like years. I read as much as I can to find something, anything that will give me a spark of an idea, and finally, I have one...Choosing.
Now I want to say first thing that I will no doubt anger some of my readers with this, but remember, MY job is simply to make you either think or laugh or otherwise be stimulated in some way. I try not to be too opinionated, especially about anything controversial, just give YOU something to consider, that's all, okay?
Now, Ms. Nixon, the other day, said she CHOSE to be gay, which is the sort of statement that attention junkies like to make if they aren't doing so well financially, or trying to drum up attention for a cause, or say a new play they are about to be in...just something to get a camera in their face so they can then "plug" something. It happens all the time, if you pay attention. If you're doing something that's not of much note itself, you do something that IS, and voila, free publicity. SO, she chose, right? Well, I have a news flash. That's like saying you chose to be blonde, or allergic to peanuts or left-handed. You can dye your hair to a different color for a while to see what you think, but you're still blonde under that new, not natural color, right? You can CHOOSE to eat some other type of nuts to see if you're allergic to them all, and maybe you're not, but you're still doing something that your body isn't really comfortable with, and fights against with every nut (and yes, I see the potential joke there, but no), and as for being left-handed, you can train yourself to use your less dominant hand if it's not your body's first choice, but why would you? If you give a kid two crayons to choose from when they're little, and both colors are equally appealing, say magenta and teal ( two of my favorites and very hard to choose between), and they pick one to use from then on, you CAN take that color away from them and force them to use the other instead, just like you can force a natural lefty to be right-handed because it will make the world "easier" for them, but eventually their nature will out somehow. You force a lefty to use their right hand, and you're forcing them to use a side of their brain as the primary side, and you aren't getting the person they were supposed to be, and that causes untold inner conflict in them. They don't know WHY they aren't doing what keeps bugging them to do, they are just confused about their thinking until they finally give in. Same with the color thing. Eventually, then want to use that other color, and when these things come to a head, there is usually a LOT of drama involved with the change over. Now a LOT of people, male and female, play softball in a league that generally only takes the other sex, just because they feel the need to fit, even if it's not where they really belong, and they might do great, stats-wise, and they might play for years in that league, but one day, they realize that they want to be on the other team more, because it's not so much work to be there, it's a better fit for them. So, can you go through life pretending to be someone you're not...sure, THAT is a choice. But choosing to be Gay, no, I don't think so. I think what you are doing is simply choosing to admit you are really left-handed, a magenta person and going back to your natural hair color, that's all. You were who you are all along, you were just choosing to hide it. Biology is biology and although you can run, you can't hide forever, not and be truly happy.
I saw where she also has shaved her head recently, don't know why, and I really don't want to. She's taken up enough space in my head already, but I hope she has finally gotten the attention she wanted, and apparently needed.
That's all for now, hope I have not offended anyone.
Dragonfly
Sunday, January 29, 2012
Wednesday, January 11, 2012
Can I buy a vowel?
I'm sort of torn about Twitter. Well, not Twitter, per se, but texting in general. On the one hand, there is evidence that it's "dumbing down" today's youth with abbreviations, symbols and whatnot. It sometimes amazes me what my 29 year old roomie asks me to spell as he's playing some game on his phone with his buddies, a Scrabble-type game that he seems to take very seriously. AND I play "Words with Friends", yet another one where the most incredible things are okay. I'm having hemorrhages over some of the truly obscenely bastardized things that pass, and some of the real, been around a LONG time words that don't, it's a challenge, to say the least. BUT, on the other hand, I kind of wish I had texting ability on my phone because it's like playing Wheel of Fortune. I have Twitter on my computer, so, dinosaur that I am, I still get the occasional Tweet, and it's sort of fun trying to decipher what my friends are actually saying to me AND more importantly, this...
I am, as you have seen, a very wordy person, so boiling down the stuff I want to say in so few characters is sometimes daunting. But as a writer friend wrote in how to write a synopsis for your books,( Check him out at The Green Water blog right here, he's brilliant) you have to boil the whole thing down to two sentences. Good Grief, really!!!! I worked and worked on doing that on the book I'm working on, and I finally had, I thought, done it. It just about killed me, I re-read it about 20 times. I was doing IT as I was fleshing out the characters and plot, so it was all there before me. Big mistake there. I sent it off to a friend for a "review"... and it was favorable, but as I was reading her reply, I realized with horror that although I had managed to mention, by name, the two friends of the main character, I had failed to mention HIS name!! Did I mention that I re-read it about 20 times? With the whole thing in front of me, I was Seeing his name above and below, but not in that vital couple of words strings. Heavens to Betsy, was I embarrassed. It will eventually get to where you have to boil your book down to 60 characters, and that is where I could lose my little mind...oh wait, on the OTHER hand, too late.
Thnx 4 cmng,
Jst sying, Drgnfly
I am, as you have seen, a very wordy person, so boiling down the stuff I want to say in so few characters is sometimes daunting. But as a writer friend wrote in how to write a synopsis for your books,( Check him out at The Green Water blog right here, he's brilliant) you have to boil the whole thing down to two sentences. Good Grief, really!!!! I worked and worked on doing that on the book I'm working on, and I finally had, I thought, done it. It just about killed me, I re-read it about 20 times. I was doing IT as I was fleshing out the characters and plot, so it was all there before me. Big mistake there. I sent it off to a friend for a "review"... and it was favorable, but as I was reading her reply, I realized with horror that although I had managed to mention, by name, the two friends of the main character, I had failed to mention HIS name!! Did I mention that I re-read it about 20 times? With the whole thing in front of me, I was Seeing his name above and below, but not in that vital couple of words strings. Heavens to Betsy, was I embarrassed. It will eventually get to where you have to boil your book down to 60 characters, and that is where I could lose my little mind...oh wait, on the OTHER hand, too late.
Thnx 4 cmng,
Jst sying, Drgnfly
Sunday, January 8, 2012
Who is the man in the middle?
We've gone over defining the youngsters just starting out that need a chance to prove themselves and the almost ready to retire "old lions" that teach them the ropes, but what about "everyman", the middle-age guy with a family, or wanting to start one that is suddenly without employment? I know what you're saying, that SOMEONE has to lose out, we can't hire everyone! Since when? There have always been, and should always be, jobs for anyone that wants one, shouldn't there? We used to be the can-do country, the little engine that could. What has happened to that? I'll tell you what. The powers that be, at some point, decided that we were too good for hard work and outsourced everything, that's what happened. We are not so old, so wise, so rich that we can do this. And even if we were the richest country on the planet, what in the world gave anyone the idea that we could rest on our laurels? Boy, you bail out a few countries, win a couple of wars, and you think you're special or something. Guess what? There are tiny nations around this big blue marble that did that centuries ago, and THEY still work for a living, big ones, too..
You'll have to do your own digging on this, but just take China for example. They are about to own us if we don't straighten up soon. Now I am NOT an economist, politician or even that type of writer, but I promised when I started this blog that you would get whatever I was feeling or thinking about at the time I sat down. Can't always be funny (although I do fine at "funny looking" most days) I am watching a person that I consider a friend actually devolve because he hasn't worked for so many months now. It has affected our relationship because he's gone to a place in his head that is not good. Being bipolar myself, I grasp the depression thing only too well, but there has to come a point, you know? He IS the man in the middle here. There are so many people that are middle aged, some with families, etc. that for some reasons, cannot get a job. He says he is not too proud to take ANYTHING. He keeps being told things like "you don't have experience in this work" at places like Sonic Drive-In, for heaven sake! At what point is a lack of experience NOT a huge factor? I think something that we used to have might be worth revisiting. Back when I was wet behind the ears, they had employment agencies that would/could take you and test you for your abilities regardless of your work history (sometimes you didn't have any yet) and they sent you to everywhere that you seemed to have an aptitude for, and then, when you got a job, YOU paid the agency back, a bit at a time, out of your paychecks. People got interviews that way. I think having to sell yourself only with online resumes is ridiculous. There are so many personal factors that should come into play that ultimately cost the employer less money. You should interview some people to see if their personality is a good match for the job because SOME people come across as a better fit than they really ARE in the long run, and others don't do well on paper, but are something else in person. Bring back Human (that being the operative word here) Resources!!! THAT would create new jobs right there. You need to get a GOOD fit for the job, not just anyone that can write a great resume. For instance, I could SOUND like quite the personality here, but in person, I can be quite shy sometimes. I don't do well with crowds of people (and I consider 5 to be a crowd). I can be "on" for a short period of time, but I do better with just a few people, and yet, I've been the "life of the party" more that once. The thing is that hardly anyone notices that after I get it started, I fade into the background. So think about LIVE interviews, and not just scanning the "virtual landscape" for your next, maybe career long employee, huh? Believe it or not, sometimes a handshake can actually make the difference, and ultimately, save time and money. And you lost souls stuck in the middle, sometimes "suit up and show up" is the way to go. If you do that, sometimes they simply cannot say no to you. I've been there and done that, truly.
Soon, back to being more humorous, I hope.
Just sayin' for now,
Dragonfly
You'll have to do your own digging on this, but just take China for example. They are about to own us if we don't straighten up soon. Now I am NOT an economist, politician or even that type of writer, but I promised when I started this blog that you would get whatever I was feeling or thinking about at the time I sat down. Can't always be funny (although I do fine at "funny looking" most days) I am watching a person that I consider a friend actually devolve because he hasn't worked for so many months now. It has affected our relationship because he's gone to a place in his head that is not good. Being bipolar myself, I grasp the depression thing only too well, but there has to come a point, you know? He IS the man in the middle here. There are so many people that are middle aged, some with families, etc. that for some reasons, cannot get a job. He says he is not too proud to take ANYTHING. He keeps being told things like "you don't have experience in this work" at places like Sonic Drive-In, for heaven sake! At what point is a lack of experience NOT a huge factor? I think something that we used to have might be worth revisiting. Back when I was wet behind the ears, they had employment agencies that would/could take you and test you for your abilities regardless of your work history (sometimes you didn't have any yet) and they sent you to everywhere that you seemed to have an aptitude for, and then, when you got a job, YOU paid the agency back, a bit at a time, out of your paychecks. People got interviews that way. I think having to sell yourself only with online resumes is ridiculous. There are so many personal factors that should come into play that ultimately cost the employer less money. You should interview some people to see if their personality is a good match for the job because SOME people come across as a better fit than they really ARE in the long run, and others don't do well on paper, but are something else in person. Bring back Human (that being the operative word here) Resources!!! THAT would create new jobs right there. You need to get a GOOD fit for the job, not just anyone that can write a great resume. For instance, I could SOUND like quite the personality here, but in person, I can be quite shy sometimes. I don't do well with crowds of people (and I consider 5 to be a crowd). I can be "on" for a short period of time, but I do better with just a few people, and yet, I've been the "life of the party" more that once. The thing is that hardly anyone notices that after I get it started, I fade into the background. So think about LIVE interviews, and not just scanning the "virtual landscape" for your next, maybe career long employee, huh? Believe it or not, sometimes a handshake can actually make the difference, and ultimately, save time and money. And you lost souls stuck in the middle, sometimes "suit up and show up" is the way to go. If you do that, sometimes they simply cannot say no to you. I've been there and done that, truly.
Soon, back to being more humorous, I hope.
Just sayin' for now,
Dragonfly
Saturday, January 7, 2012
Re-thinking some definitions...
is what we are considering in this chapter from my world. The word that we'll start with is overqualified. It is on Wikipedia as, in part, someone that has, basically way more skills that the position requires, and that they are likely just taking the job (and training) as a stepping stone to something better, or, to tide oneself over for the time being. Okay, I will say that in some circumstances, that can absolutely be true. But isn't that the very definition of "life experience?" Some people DO take jobs KNOWING they aren't going to stay, who COULD get better, or different jobs, but for some reason don't. The people that are USING employers maybe shouldn't get the job before someone that can't get anything else, BUT, what if, yeah, you have had better jobs in the past, but for some reason cannot any longer DO them, or you want/need something with less pressure in your life, you're wanting to scale down on purpose?
Who starts at the top, really? A rarified few, that's it. Those born to power and wealth, yeah. Sons and daughters of great leaders, sure. But the majority of us started out "entry level" and worked our way up, didn't we? McDonald's is a great example of what I mean. There used to be mostly two sorts of employees there, besides the manager, who usually worked his way up from fry cook. The pretty young and the pretty old. Those coming into the workforce, and those about to leave...in other words, those who would work for less money due to lack of experience who are learning, and those with a lot of experience, but not allowed to make too much on top of social security. The latter often taught the former, and that is the way it should be, isn't it? You aren't supposed to start at the top, and even if you're middle aged, if you want to learn a business, isn't the basement the place to be? I think things changed when we started outsourcing everything and the locally owned business went by the wayside. The very best managers and supervisors are those crackerjack smart types that start out at the bottom, learn things, and start moving up. But HOW do you get to move up if you can't get hired in the first place? If someone with little or no experience at the open position, but a willingness to learn all you have to teach shows up at your doorstep, isn't THAT person the best for the job? For instance, we need to give the newbies a chance to learn so that they can be the "elder statesmen" of the future. But who is going to teach them? There are two sorts of employees at, say, a hardware store. First, the silver-haired mentor that either knows how to fix most anything, or knows the guy on the floor who does...he started as a stockboy, most likely, and learned by doing. Second, the new-hire that knows a few things, but what he/she lacks in knowledge, they make up for with enthusiasm and interesting new ideas. Last summer, I talked to one of the old timers in "filters" and such about the Cottonwood issue I had with my outdoor AC unit, and it getting all clogged up. He said I needed something to block that fuzz the trees shed, but that they didn't carry anything like that. He THEN suggested that we talk to someone in the "construction" area. Two young Turks mulled the problem over, and one suddenly asked me if I could come back in a couple hours, he had a thought. I agreed, left and returned later. When I got there, they had used some screening, PVC pipe and zip ties and built a cage for my outside unit. They showed me how to assemble it and it works! Now IF the experienced guy had just sent me away with "we don't CARRY anything", and hadn't taken me over to the young men, I still would have to spray down my AC every couple of days for a LOT of the summer and fall.
We need some of every type, experienced and not-so-much in our workplace. It's how things get handed down. Or are we SO very determined to totally dumb down everyone? Just because you know some stuff in ONE area doesn't mean you shouldn't get to know another. Give the "over-qualified" person a chance, maybe they'll be your next really great supervisor, bringing what they have learned already, plus what you teach them, to the table. And while you're giving the newbie and the oldster a job, let's not forget the man in the middle, huh? to be continued...
Who starts at the top, really? A rarified few, that's it. Those born to power and wealth, yeah. Sons and daughters of great leaders, sure. But the majority of us started out "entry level" and worked our way up, didn't we? McDonald's is a great example of what I mean. There used to be mostly two sorts of employees there, besides the manager, who usually worked his way up from fry cook. The pretty young and the pretty old. Those coming into the workforce, and those about to leave...in other words, those who would work for less money due to lack of experience who are learning, and those with a lot of experience, but not allowed to make too much on top of social security. The latter often taught the former, and that is the way it should be, isn't it? You aren't supposed to start at the top, and even if you're middle aged, if you want to learn a business, isn't the basement the place to be? I think things changed when we started outsourcing everything and the locally owned business went by the wayside. The very best managers and supervisors are those crackerjack smart types that start out at the bottom, learn things, and start moving up. But HOW do you get to move up if you can't get hired in the first place? If someone with little or no experience at the open position, but a willingness to learn all you have to teach shows up at your doorstep, isn't THAT person the best for the job? For instance, we need to give the newbies a chance to learn so that they can be the "elder statesmen" of the future. But who is going to teach them? There are two sorts of employees at, say, a hardware store. First, the silver-haired mentor that either knows how to fix most anything, or knows the guy on the floor who does...he started as a stockboy, most likely, and learned by doing. Second, the new-hire that knows a few things, but what he/she lacks in knowledge, they make up for with enthusiasm and interesting new ideas. Last summer, I talked to one of the old timers in "filters" and such about the Cottonwood issue I had with my outdoor AC unit, and it getting all clogged up. He said I needed something to block that fuzz the trees shed, but that they didn't carry anything like that. He THEN suggested that we talk to someone in the "construction" area. Two young Turks mulled the problem over, and one suddenly asked me if I could come back in a couple hours, he had a thought. I agreed, left and returned later. When I got there, they had used some screening, PVC pipe and zip ties and built a cage for my outside unit. They showed me how to assemble it and it works! Now IF the experienced guy had just sent me away with "we don't CARRY anything", and hadn't taken me over to the young men, I still would have to spray down my AC every couple of days for a LOT of the summer and fall.
We need some of every type, experienced and not-so-much in our workplace. It's how things get handed down. Or are we SO very determined to totally dumb down everyone? Just because you know some stuff in ONE area doesn't mean you shouldn't get to know another. Give the "over-qualified" person a chance, maybe they'll be your next really great supervisor, bringing what they have learned already, plus what you teach them, to the table. And while you're giving the newbie and the oldster a job, let's not forget the man in the middle, huh? to be continued...
Friday, January 6, 2012
Sometimes you have to get serious...
even if you aren't serious very often. I look for things to write to you about and I try to make sure that I usually make you laugh a bit if possible (we need that every day), and then, if I can get you to keep thinking about something past my page, I consider that a bonus in my life, regardless of whether it's about the all-mighty comma, or a really stupid and dangerous commercial on TV, whatever "hits" me that day.
Today, what did it was an article in Huffpost (a really great online newspaper I'd LOVE to write for/article on San Franciso page) and they reported about a child molester that drove a school bus who was finally caught and charged. He traumatized two special needs kids over a long period of time (too awful to even imagine how the kids or parents are feeling) and I had a thought about how to prevent child molesters (at least male ones) from getting hired in the first place by anyplace that they will have access to children to in ANY way. Now I can almost already hear a LOT of people in this industry, and hungry lawyers, screaming about civil right here, but what about the KIDS civil rights, keep that in mind, okay?
They've had the science for years to tell if a man's inability to get an erection is mental/emotional or physical. In fact, a simple line of stamps can do it. So you know, just wait until bedtime, carefully but snug, wrap a row of perforated postage stamps around a "resting" penis, go to sleep, and if the next morning, the perforations are torn at any point, it's in his head, because unless it's his medications, or other drugs, causing it, a man can have several erections every night in his sleep...so finding out if, and when, a penis "works" is not exactly rocket science, okay? So, IF you are a guy and you want to work in any field with children, you should have to go through more than just a drug test. This is NOT an absolute test, but it would sure weed out a LOT of pervs. A simple devise attached, several of the right sort of pictures get flashed on a screen and the results come out, bam, instant knowledge. A lot of places have lie detector tests for the brain, why not the penis, which gets the upper head in trouble a lot more than the other way around, yes? IF this were available to businesses that are already doing the drug tests, it's probably about a 30 minute deal. I cannot imagine any decent man that is NOT a molester, or a potential one, really objecting to this, and the real molesters wouldn't WANT to take the test, so would not get hired. I can't find a man with kids that has a problem with it. As an added bonus, some men that have BEEN molested might be discovered and helped. I wish I had the money and/or connections to get something like this going, but if anyone that reads me, hears about this down the line, whoever, gets it going, it'll be worth being serious once in a while. Be back soon with more funny. Thanks.
Just sayin'
Dragonfly
Today, what did it was an article in Huffpost (a really great online newspaper I'd LOVE to write for/article on San Franciso page) and they reported about a child molester that drove a school bus who was finally caught and charged. He traumatized two special needs kids over a long period of time (too awful to even imagine how the kids or parents are feeling) and I had a thought about how to prevent child molesters (at least male ones) from getting hired in the first place by anyplace that they will have access to children to in ANY way. Now I can almost already hear a LOT of people in this industry, and hungry lawyers, screaming about civil right here, but what about the KIDS civil rights, keep that in mind, okay?
They've had the science for years to tell if a man's inability to get an erection is mental/emotional or physical. In fact, a simple line of stamps can do it. So you know, just wait until bedtime, carefully but snug, wrap a row of perforated postage stamps around a "resting" penis, go to sleep, and if the next morning, the perforations are torn at any point, it's in his head, because unless it's his medications, or other drugs, causing it, a man can have several erections every night in his sleep...so finding out if, and when, a penis "works" is not exactly rocket science, okay? So, IF you are a guy and you want to work in any field with children, you should have to go through more than just a drug test. This is NOT an absolute test, but it would sure weed out a LOT of pervs. A simple devise attached, several of the right sort of pictures get flashed on a screen and the results come out, bam, instant knowledge. A lot of places have lie detector tests for the brain, why not the penis, which gets the upper head in trouble a lot more than the other way around, yes? IF this were available to businesses that are already doing the drug tests, it's probably about a 30 minute deal. I cannot imagine any decent man that is NOT a molester, or a potential one, really objecting to this, and the real molesters wouldn't WANT to take the test, so would not get hired. I can't find a man with kids that has a problem with it. As an added bonus, some men that have BEEN molested might be discovered and helped. I wish I had the money and/or connections to get something like this going, but if anyone that reads me, hears about this down the line, whoever, gets it going, it'll be worth being serious once in a while. Be back soon with more funny. Thanks.
Just sayin'
Dragonfly
Wednesday, January 4, 2012
Facebook. Just because it's there...
doesn't mean you HAVE to use it every second. I read an article that asked if Facebook was making us miserable. There is a link to it on my page on Facebook Pam.Wellner if you want to read it. When did we start blaming everything for our behavior but ourselves?? I know little kids and even teens do it, but come on, we're grown-ups aren't we? Facebook is like any other tool, just because you have it, Can use it, doesn't mean you HAVE to. Pretend it's a loaded gun or a bottle of medications. You only use those when necessary, OR you become a strung-out junkie or a serial killer. The author, Daniel Gulati, posted to Huffpost Health about this. He seems to think that maybe Facebook is somehow bullying us into a constant frenzy, Causing depression and other problems. There have always been people that MUST compete (otherwise, no Olympics, sports, advances in science, medicine, or really, anything) and Facebook is just a broader forum for them. I personally share both good and bad, peaks of both, because if I don't share ALL of me, well, I don't really consider them real friends, do I? And if they're not true friends, WHY is everything I do, or have, any of their business? Sure, if you have a kid or something else great, by all means, tell you real friends, BUT if you share THAT, also share things like some real friends of mine did with updates on their perilous pregnancy they just survived. Everyone was pulling for them, and the news wasn't always good. Given that the last couple of months were fraught with danger, it was easier to tell all their many real friends on facebook than phone everyone every day or week, those of us that wanted to know, and the ending was wonderful, btw. The point is, USE facebook, don't let it use you. Think of updates as presents to others. Do you really want to give them something that will make them feel left out, less than or otherwise bad? Of course not. Do you NEED to share an especially grim, scary or even wonderful happening? Sometimes,sure. One-upmanship has been around since cavemen. Don't blame the messenger, look in the mirror, THEN update. And while you're at it, before you do, please live your actual life first. You do not have to fill every single waking moment with something. Sometimes a quiet moment or so, like at the doctor's office, in traffic at a train, just odd moments, are for going over the day in your head, actually planning your evening, things like that. NOT updating the world on your mileage, what you just had for lunch or breaking a nail while texting.
Just sayin'
Dragonfly
Just sayin'
Dragonfly
Tuesday, January 3, 2012
What if people that sued companies...
were actually working for a competitor? There is a non-specific person (for our purposes) suing a highly caffeinated soft drink company for a LOT of money, I read in the news. Now, IF what he said happened, did, then EWWW, and get that money, amen, but they're saying it's chemically impossible for the whole, um, rodent to have still been intact in the can he purchased, and having been a long-time drinker of this wonderful stuff, I can tell you that they're probably telling truth, given what it's done to my plastic mug over the years just on regular overnight stays. I could see it being the "jelly" that they said it would be on the one hand, but then, even if it WERE jelly, again, EWWWWW, and total, permanent trauma. I'd never be able to drink anything I'd not poured into a glass first again, ever. BUT...
On the other hand, what if. If you were a competitor of this wildly popular drink, and you were running a sad third, sort of like poor NBC seems to, network-wise, what better way to get folks re-acquainted with YOUR baby? These things seem to happen JUST often enough, but not TOO often, you know? Sort of like the Late/great/ first lawsuit over Tylenol a LONG time ago. Now, I'm not saying this guy is lying (don't want him to sue me next, although I have nothing but my cats, really), but don't you know the guy that came UP with this concept got a raise and a car from HIS agency?
By the way, in case you're new here, when I "cap", I'm not yelling, it's just the only way to emphasize without underlining, and the way I talk, it would take days to do one blog... and no cheering in the background from my readers either,okay?
So anyway, what if?? A hangdog player could do that to almost any product, but you know what I've found through the years, especially since the internet, and yes, there was life before, that is generally true? IF you have a problem with a product, a really well worded letter to them about what has happened often gets you satisfaction. Not rich, but reasonable. This wonderful country has become way too litigious. It used to be that some people tried to "hit the jackpot" on Welfare. When I was young and a grocery checker, I'd have people come in sporting designer clothes (before knockoffs), furs, serious amounts of gold, etc, and pay with food stamps, and talking about being on Welfare. Then the Lottery came along, took some of that pressure off, now everyone is trying to get on disability with mental issues. Now, I am on disability, WITH mental problems, but they're life-long and I had to have two nervous breakdowns before I finally had to admit that I could no longer deal with a full-time, out in the big world type job AND survive, so I fought disability until I was basically forced to apply. Anyhow, enough of my craziness, we were talking about other people today.
NOW, the new game is "Wheel of Misfortune". If anything happens to you, you must sue someone or something. I realize that lawsuits are sometimes necessary, but in a LOT of cases these days, not so much.
I found a, well, I have no idea WHAT it was in some chunky soup one day. It was bite-sized and I thought it belonged there since it didn't have a tail or anything and was green, but as soon as I put it in my mouth, didn't even have to bite, I knew it did NOT, and spit it out. I still have no idea what it was, and yes, I didn't eat soup for a while, and even now still poke at everything in the chunky-style just to be sure, but I've had a few incidences like that, haven't you?( I DID wrap it and send it in, and got fairly compensated with some coupons, but that's enough, isn't it? There are all sorts of things running around, literally and figuratively, in a factory, and sometimes something gets scooped up. It's the fairly reasonable price you pay for processed food, grow up. Now, having said that, IF you find something like a human body part, as in a thumb, in your food, by all means, sue, for a reasonable amount. They KNEW that someone lost a digit, blood and all, and should have tanked that whole batch, absolutely. It's just that if we keep suing the few "in-house" manufacturers that are still here, we're going to kill the last of the processing plant jobs still available. And don't we have enough people out of work? Stuff happens, and yeah, sometimes one must sue, but every time?? Really?
Just sayin',
Dragonfly
On the other hand, what if. If you were a competitor of this wildly popular drink, and you were running a sad third, sort of like poor NBC seems to, network-wise, what better way to get folks re-acquainted with YOUR baby? These things seem to happen JUST often enough, but not TOO often, you know? Sort of like the Late/great/ first lawsuit over Tylenol a LONG time ago. Now, I'm not saying this guy is lying (don't want him to sue me next, although I have nothing but my cats, really), but don't you know the guy that came UP with this concept got a raise and a car from HIS agency?
By the way, in case you're new here, when I "cap", I'm not yelling, it's just the only way to emphasize without underlining, and the way I talk, it would take days to do one blog... and no cheering in the background from my readers either,okay?
So anyway, what if?? A hangdog player could do that to almost any product, but you know what I've found through the years, especially since the internet, and yes, there was life before, that is generally true? IF you have a problem with a product, a really well worded letter to them about what has happened often gets you satisfaction. Not rich, but reasonable. This wonderful country has become way too litigious. It used to be that some people tried to "hit the jackpot" on Welfare. When I was young and a grocery checker, I'd have people come in sporting designer clothes (before knockoffs), furs, serious amounts of gold, etc, and pay with food stamps, and talking about being on Welfare. Then the Lottery came along, took some of that pressure off, now everyone is trying to get on disability with mental issues. Now, I am on disability, WITH mental problems, but they're life-long and I had to have two nervous breakdowns before I finally had to admit that I could no longer deal with a full-time, out in the big world type job AND survive, so I fought disability until I was basically forced to apply. Anyhow, enough of my craziness, we were talking about other people today.
NOW, the new game is "Wheel of Misfortune". If anything happens to you, you must sue someone or something. I realize that lawsuits are sometimes necessary, but in a LOT of cases these days, not so much.
I found a, well, I have no idea WHAT it was in some chunky soup one day. It was bite-sized and I thought it belonged there since it didn't have a tail or anything and was green, but as soon as I put it in my mouth, didn't even have to bite, I knew it did NOT, and spit it out. I still have no idea what it was, and yes, I didn't eat soup for a while, and even now still poke at everything in the chunky-style just to be sure, but I've had a few incidences like that, haven't you?( I DID wrap it and send it in, and got fairly compensated with some coupons, but that's enough, isn't it? There are all sorts of things running around, literally and figuratively, in a factory, and sometimes something gets scooped up. It's the fairly reasonable price you pay for processed food, grow up. Now, having said that, IF you find something like a human body part, as in a thumb, in your food, by all means, sue, for a reasonable amount. They KNEW that someone lost a digit, blood and all, and should have tanked that whole batch, absolutely. It's just that if we keep suing the few "in-house" manufacturers that are still here, we're going to kill the last of the processing plant jobs still available. And don't we have enough people out of work? Stuff happens, and yeah, sometimes one must sue, but every time?? Really?
Just sayin',
Dragonfly
I'm just sayin'...
I wanted you to know that I seem to have a cold or something. I TRY to write something every one or two days...although they say you're supposed to pick when you'll be here and stick with it, like an absolute. I understand that, as a reader you want to know when I might have something new up, of course. The thing is, what if nothing "hits" me on a particular day? I don't want to disappoint anyone. Maybe it'd be better to be here for sure once a week, then you will get to be surprised with either one, a couple or several topics. I say that like I don't switch topics inside of one blog, right? So let's say that Saturday you will have something to read, for sure, and maybe just cruise by during the week in case inspiration strikes before then. I try to remember to tweet when a new page comes up, if you want to "follow" me on Twitter. I want to have followers, just don't want you trekking here for nothing, and if, like possibly the next few days, I'm sick, I want you to know that.
I will make a promise to take better notes about what I want to share with you, you know, the Little things, like details on a topic, instead of just "Hay baler machine goes berserk, bales chickens" or something like that...see, even THAT note had the details in it. For someone as OCD as I am, you'd think that details would be of utmost importance to me, and they are, but sometimes my brain goes faster than my pen, I have a few ideas at once, write down the basic thoughts, and when I get back to the first one.....
Yeah, exactly, blank. HOW does this happen? I have been going from one room to another and forgetting what I came in to get for a long time now, but actually forgetting a "great" topic in less than a minute? I am very glad I never managed to have children, didn't want to pass on the family curse, because by now I'd be a grandma, and what if I was sitting for my child, and LOST the baby?? I mean, I'd BE here, and the baby couldn't be very far, but it's the principle of the thing. I'm starting to wonder about me. What if I have a fire in the bedroom, go to the kitchen for a fire extinguisher or water, and forget why I came and make a sandwich? I know, that's a bit of a stretch, right? Well, I managed to get from the bedroom to my car and lose my cell phone. We're talking about 30 feet here, folks. I got about a third of the way to my destination, about a mile away, and reached to feel it in my pocket, and guess what? NOT. I turn around, come home and ask a roomie to call me so I can find it because it's NOT the last place I remember, which is my smock-like top's pocket. Well, my bed starts to ring, which I do not understand, and my sweater that I was wearing is there, but it's like a poncho and I can't tell if it's buried in there, or under the bed. So I have like 4 rings to find it, am basically standing on my head looking under the bed while simultaneously shaking the poncho...and it stops ringing. I don't want to admit just what an idiot I am, because he's heard the thing ringing, so I lied and said I found it, but it's just amazing how voluminous this poncho is (In all fairness, first time wearing it and it was bought a couple years ago), and it's NOT under the bed, and NOT falling out of the folds...ack!!! So I get a stranglehold on it, and start patting it down like I'm a TSA employee and it's a suspicious flyer, looking for the hard spot, bigger than the many snaps.
I would say long story short, but too late, I finally discover that it's in a pocket! I've never seen a poncho with pockets, and they're really small and besides, when did it get put in THERE? I may have a cold or something that feels like a gallon of water in my head, but really? I think I'll postpone the trip for a couple hours.
Later,
Dragonfly
I will make a promise to take better notes about what I want to share with you, you know, the Little things, like details on a topic, instead of just "Hay baler machine goes berserk, bales chickens" or something like that...see, even THAT note had the details in it. For someone as OCD as I am, you'd think that details would be of utmost importance to me, and they are, but sometimes my brain goes faster than my pen, I have a few ideas at once, write down the basic thoughts, and when I get back to the first one.....
Yeah, exactly, blank. HOW does this happen? I have been going from one room to another and forgetting what I came in to get for a long time now, but actually forgetting a "great" topic in less than a minute? I am very glad I never managed to have children, didn't want to pass on the family curse, because by now I'd be a grandma, and what if I was sitting for my child, and LOST the baby?? I mean, I'd BE here, and the baby couldn't be very far, but it's the principle of the thing. I'm starting to wonder about me. What if I have a fire in the bedroom, go to the kitchen for a fire extinguisher or water, and forget why I came and make a sandwich? I know, that's a bit of a stretch, right? Well, I managed to get from the bedroom to my car and lose my cell phone. We're talking about 30 feet here, folks. I got about a third of the way to my destination, about a mile away, and reached to feel it in my pocket, and guess what? NOT. I turn around, come home and ask a roomie to call me so I can find it because it's NOT the last place I remember, which is my smock-like top's pocket. Well, my bed starts to ring, which I do not understand, and my sweater that I was wearing is there, but it's like a poncho and I can't tell if it's buried in there, or under the bed. So I have like 4 rings to find it, am basically standing on my head looking under the bed while simultaneously shaking the poncho...and it stops ringing. I don't want to admit just what an idiot I am, because he's heard the thing ringing, so I lied and said I found it, but it's just amazing how voluminous this poncho is (In all fairness, first time wearing it and it was bought a couple years ago), and it's NOT under the bed, and NOT falling out of the folds...ack!!! So I get a stranglehold on it, and start patting it down like I'm a TSA employee and it's a suspicious flyer, looking for the hard spot, bigger than the many snaps.
I would say long story short, but too late, I finally discover that it's in a pocket! I've never seen a poncho with pockets, and they're really small and besides, when did it get put in THERE? I may have a cold or something that feels like a gallon of water in my head, but really? I think I'll postpone the trip for a couple hours.
Later,
Dragonfly
Monday, January 2, 2012
I love to tweet, but...
I am simply too wordy for Twitter. I am a bit addicted to this wonderful site, but being bipolar and OCD, having to condense my thoughts into that few characters is really tough. Luckily, the amazing people that run Twitter make sharing links available so if you were to accidentally make a "find" (stumbleupon. com.. a really great little place itself, you can get lost for HOURS, seriously, check it out next time you want to find something amazing) like The Bell Chants page I sent a link for on Twitter, you don't have to write an email to everyone you want to share it with, or try to describe the goosebumps you'll feel while watching, listening and reading this glorious video to people in either one short tweet, or several, very annoying ones. The Bell Chants can be found on Vimeo. com also. Good heavens, you'd think I was getting paid to mention sites here, wouldn't you? Well, unfortunately I'm not. I just have got to share things with people, that's all. If for no other reason to show up here, you get really cool places to visit when you leave, and that, for me, is payment enough( although the electric company sadly does NOT recognize the real satisfaction of making someone laugh, think or "surf" as legal tender).
I had a topic for you, but have you ever had an idea and thought "wow, I have GOT to write this down and get back to it when I have the time", and when you went back to that note, like the ones I talked about before, when you dream a "great" idea, and you read it and think, "um, okay, what does this mean?" I am starting to think that our brains have a secret life that we only get small glimpses of on occasion. I mean I have this note that says simple "Attack the Block" and "Eddie Haskell". Now I know that the former is a movie that I saw listed on my TV, but what was I going to SAY about it? OH yeah, now I remember, bless techies for search engines...have you started noticing, you people over, say 40, that a LOT of new actors have the last name as stars we've been watching for years? It was a Whittaker that made me wonder if there was any relation to Forrest... still haven't gotten to that, and you follow these rabbit trails to find out that the Flynns', Carradine's and Waynes' were NOT the only multi-generational actors ever. And I didn't have a typo there, I meant the Wayne family, as in John and Patrick, not the also GREATLY multiplied Wayans family (they are an all -day trip all on their own, and worth the ride). There are the Sutherlands, Fischers, Fords...it goes on to many, many more. And the really tricky ones are like today, I watched an episode of the really fabulous "Leverage" on TNT, and there was a young woman on it that sounded exactly like Lara Flynn Boyle AND, not only that, but LOOKED like she could easily be the child of Ms. Boyle and her former beau, Jack Nicholson, seriously, but I didn't catch her name, and there is no mention of a sister/daughter/niece of her's anywhere. Could this really be a co-incidence? Stuff like this drives me crazy. So now I have figured out the Attack thing, but what in the world do I do with Eddie? Remember, Eddie Haskell, the really snarky (he could be the definition of the first snarkster) best friend of Wally on "Leave it to Beaver" fame? And for those of you either too young or old to remember this show from the '60's, NO, it is not anything to do with anatomy, to put it as nicely as I can. Can you imagine how much groaning has gone on amongst the folks still around that were associated with that nice little show? The tease factor alone is almost unimaginable. I wish I had a penny for every joke or skit done since it's debut, and especially since, say, the '90's.
ANYway...
I have other similarly cryptic "topics" for this blog, and I promise that as soon as I can decipher them, I'll get right back to you. In the meantime, feel free to Twitter me or whatever your fascination happens to be today. Like Roseanne Roseannadanna (a character of the late, great Gilda Radner on Saturday Night Live) said every time, "It's always something".
Later, Dragonfly
I had a topic for you, but have you ever had an idea and thought "wow, I have GOT to write this down and get back to it when I have the time", and when you went back to that note, like the ones I talked about before, when you dream a "great" idea, and you read it and think, "um, okay, what does this mean?" I am starting to think that our brains have a secret life that we only get small glimpses of on occasion. I mean I have this note that says simple "Attack the Block" and "Eddie Haskell". Now I know that the former is a movie that I saw listed on my TV, but what was I going to SAY about it? OH yeah, now I remember, bless techies for search engines...have you started noticing, you people over, say 40, that a LOT of new actors have the last name as stars we've been watching for years? It was a Whittaker that made me wonder if there was any relation to Forrest... still haven't gotten to that, and you follow these rabbit trails to find out that the Flynns', Carradine's and Waynes' were NOT the only multi-generational actors ever. And I didn't have a typo there, I meant the Wayne family, as in John and Patrick, not the also GREATLY multiplied Wayans family (they are an all -day trip all on their own, and worth the ride). There are the Sutherlands, Fischers, Fords...it goes on to many, many more. And the really tricky ones are like today, I watched an episode of the really fabulous "Leverage" on TNT, and there was a young woman on it that sounded exactly like Lara Flynn Boyle AND, not only that, but LOOKED like she could easily be the child of Ms. Boyle and her former beau, Jack Nicholson, seriously, but I didn't catch her name, and there is no mention of a sister/daughter/niece of her's anywhere. Could this really be a co-incidence? Stuff like this drives me crazy. So now I have figured out the Attack thing, but what in the world do I do with Eddie? Remember, Eddie Haskell, the really snarky (he could be the definition of the first snarkster) best friend of Wally on "Leave it to Beaver" fame? And for those of you either too young or old to remember this show from the '60's, NO, it is not anything to do with anatomy, to put it as nicely as I can. Can you imagine how much groaning has gone on amongst the folks still around that were associated with that nice little show? The tease factor alone is almost unimaginable. I wish I had a penny for every joke or skit done since it's debut, and especially since, say, the '90's.
ANYway...
I have other similarly cryptic "topics" for this blog, and I promise that as soon as I can decipher them, I'll get right back to you. In the meantime, feel free to Twitter me or whatever your fascination happens to be today. Like Roseanne Roseannadanna (a character of the late, great Gilda Radner on Saturday Night Live) said every time, "It's always something".
Later, Dragonfly
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