It's mostly bullshit

It turns out that most of the horror stories coming out of the Dome and the Convention center during the Katrina disaster were simply not true. In the confusions and chaos rumors started and spread like wildfire, picked up strength and went out of control. I remember hearing these stories, but they did not suprise me. People do fairly horrible things to each other all the time.

I'm glad that it turned out to be a case where things were'nt as bad as reported. Make no mistake, the conditions were horrible. The response was still too slow. FEMA was still being run my a Bush crony. But the stories about people (specifically the urban black poor) of New Orleans regressing into animals weren't true. And that gives me some hope.

Last day

Last day
Originally uploaded by stevepack.

The corset wall of shame. Where crappy corsets are placed for public mockery.



Yesterday rocked. High sales volume. Today we sat on our asses until 2 in the afternoon. Then we managed to pull in sales as a soft rain began to fall. We did not beat last years closing weekend. I wonder how much better we'd be doing if we weren't in a goddamn war and the economy wasn:t a wreck. I am so glad i had Aliki and Heather working with me this year. They helped the idle hours pass quickly and were whirlwinds of action when we were busy. I was so tired and frazzled at the end of the day that I screwed up their pay. We got it straightened out but i hope they dont think I was trying to cheat them. I just literally ran out of thinking process. Tomorrow i pack everything up and head home only to head down to southern Ohio's show tuesday to do 2 'kids days' which is sort of like being kicked in the balls but less fun.

Pirate goodness

A little late for Talk like a Pirate Day, but tasty nonetheless:

Another poll thingy

You are a Social Liberal (63% permissive) and an... Economic Liberal (25% permissive) You are best described as a: Democrat Link: The Politics Test on OkCupid Free Online Dating

Jelly!

We finally took a few hours and converted our grapes into jelly. I'm praying that it tastes good. After it sets a while I will perform some serious quality control involving a loaf of Roman Meal and some Crunchy Jiff.

Clever

Some person in new york printed up a mess of cartoon word balloons and slapped them up on posters all over the city. Then he went back and photographed them later. The results are amusing and poignant.

So cool

I just found out that actor Vin Diesel played Dungeons and Dragons. How cool is that?
Answer: Very cool.

Getting better all the time..

Mike "Drownie" Brown has resigned, proving that either he has a modicum of common sense or honor. I'm not going to guess at which it is. He still deserves any and all ethical or criminal prosecution that is coming to him (though given this administrations habit of rewarding fuck ups he will be getting the Medal of Honor in about 6 months).

He's been replaced by R. David Paulison, who seems to have actual experience with emergencies (check here). I don't know where he was previously in the chain of command but he certainly looks alot better than the idiots previously running this fiasco.

If you're still grinding your teeth in anger over this issue, DO NOT go look at this acticle. It will only give you an embalism. I gotta go hug another tree.

Better now...

I have forced myself to stop looking at the news for short time, and my bloodpressure has dropped appreciatively. You should do the same. Go here and enjoy some visual goodness.

Blood pressure dangerously high...

Building upon my post below about how the leader of a particular government agency doesn't HAVE to be proficient in the agency's field so long as they are a competent administrator... (that is, Lee Iacoca doesn't have to know how to weld to run a car company) It certainly helps if they have SOME kind of experience.

I would prefer that the head of FEMA know what the fuck a disaster is and how to help mitigate one, but if his operational staff are competent, then I'll cut him some slack. If he knows the high altitude lay of the land and is aware of how best to lead and support his agency then I'm happy.

But the fucktard in charge of FEMA isn't competent in any way, shape or form. In fact, five of the top 8 people there are Bush appointees. Go take a look at an analysis of Mike Browns credentials here. This is beyond padding your resume to get into a good paying corporate gig, this is fucking lying your way into a job where you are in charge of saving lives. This man isn't fit to run a Quiznos, let alone FEMA. If you disagree, or think I'm way off base, sound off in the comments. Tell me I'm wrong and cite your logic. Right now my blood pressure is so high I need to go hug a goddamn tree and pet some bunnies.

Why am I not happy?

I am exploring the possibility of changing from my Sidekick II to the sexy Treo 650. I bought one last week and have been messing around with it a bit. I have 30 days to see if its for me. Certainly the better coverage is a big plus. It also is supposed to get my email, which it is refusing to do. It's also supposed to act as a wireless modem for times when I need to hook my laptop to the internets to fix a clients website (which happens any time I am over 1,000 miles away from home or nowhere near an wifi hotspot. It's supposed to do this but we haven't gotten that worked out yet.

I CAN surf the web using the phones built in browser, which is passable. But my joy at receiving delicious internets even while snuggled up in my tent in Michigan is made sour by what I am seeing on it.

The more I read about the disaster in New Orleans the madder I get. I am, at this time, almost incandescent with rage. At first, I was willing to blame our President/King only for failing to act in the manner which he is required to during times of natural disaster. After all, he is not a disaster relief professional. His job is to reassure the public and make sure congress funds relief efforts. But in this simple task he has failed miserably. He stayed on vacation for two fucking days after the levees broke, eating cake and playing a guitar with the presidential seal on it. WTF??

His photo op in New Orleans (when he did show up) required all air traffic to be grounded and while a coast guard crew acted as a backdrop, they were not out saving lives. The man in charge of the government agency that IS supposed to do the lions share of this work has NO emergency management training. Okay, the president of Ford may not know how to weld but he's a good administrator right? But the guy in charge of FEMA isn't a good administrator. He's a political hack, who was fired from his previous job as head of the Arabian Horse Breeders association. He and his right hand man at the agency were given the jobs as thanks for helping get Bush elected.

During the disaster, the Vice-President was on vacation as well. Fishing. Rumsfeld was at a baseball game. And Condi Rice went on vacation AFTER the levees broke. 57 countries are trying to give us aid, and she's out seeing Spamalot and buying $2000 shoes. Who the fuck is working down in D.C.??

There is no doubt that local and state officials must shoulder some of the blame for the cock ups that kept thousands stranded without food or water. Of course, they didn't have communications, power, transportation, or sufficient manpower. In the end, the military stepped up and seems to be doing a good job of moving materials, supplies and troops where they need to be. FEMA on the other hand, doesn't seem to know that they have hundred of fire fighters sitting around in Atlanta waiting for something to do, or that a Navy hospital ship is sitting empty or that a mobile hospital designed of this kind of disaster is idle. They claim they couldn;t get to the convention center, yet three college students did it in a 2 wheel drive Hyundai.

The White House press corps slapped Scott McClelland around today and rightly so. The republicans are one and all saying:
A) We cannot divert ANY attention from Katrina relief
B) 'Blame-Game' politics are evil and should not be tolerated.

Funny, I can chew gum and walk at the same time, the government should also be capable of more than one activity. And it's called 'accountability' when you demand that the moron running the show be sacked. Just because the machine is running better now doesn't mean that the director isn't still incompetent. That FEMA is now doing it's job is a tribute to those who actually DO SOMETHING. They are doing their jobs, bringing the vast resources of the government to bear. But I wonder how much better the results would be if they had started earlier.

In the end, I feel that the President deserves much of the blame here. Not all of it. Yes, he was the first President to cut funding to the levee system, but even with full funding the levees would likely have still broken. Yes, he has refused to sign the Kyoto accords to reduce pollution and global warming which may be creating larger and more deadly hurricanes, but even with a signed treaty it will take decade to see any noticeable change. No, I can't blame Bush for everything, but I do blame him for acting irresponsibly. I blame him for failing to provide leadership in a time of crisis. This is the second time he's been placed in a position where he had to rise to the occasion, and he blew it again. I blame him for appointing political hacks to positions in FEMA. (I'd be interested to know if this is something that has been done from the start but I believe that FEMA has only been around since 1984).

This country simply can't afford to leave this man in charge. If he were a gentleman he would but his affairs in order, and resign the presidency. In the wake of this disaster an independent investigation should be conducted and action taken to assure this never happens again. McClelland said as much. "Now is not the time for playing the blame-game". But it's been 4 years since 9/11 and no one has been held accountable for that have they? The buck simply doesn't stop anymore.

Update** About 1,000 firefighters are sittng around in a hotel in Atlanta doing...nothing. Well, they are getting FEMA classes on secual harrasmnet and they MAY eventually be sent out into the field to hald out FLYERS with FEMA's number on it. I wouldn;t have believed it if I hadn;t read the article for myself. 50 fire fighters DID get sent to Louisiana, so they could stand next to Bush as props for a photo op. May the Gods stike this imecile down.

Turkey

Turkey
Originally uploaded by stevepack.

Tonight at camp there was a deep fried turkey feast. It was deliscious.

Now a guy is playing a guitar by the fire.



The little girl in the pic just had her first s'more, and I'm pleased to

say that I made it for her.

Tribal fire

The fire circle at Jellystone campground. No CNN. That's good. Too much
tragedy, too much anger. Have you donated over at www.redcross.org yet?
No? Why not?

Found out that Vlad of Vlads pleasure palace made it out. But a merchant
aquaintance out in Biloxi is mia. I hope he got out. I hope they all get
out.

A bountiful harvest!

When we came to Bag End we knew that the property would need some work to bring it back to full health. This spring we spent a good many hours pruning our fruit trees and training the grape vines. We also sprayed the trees to prevent various diseases and insects. Yesterday I stepped outside for a breath of fresh air and I cought three deer bounding away across the back of the property.

"Honey, it's time to pick our apples"

"Is it time?" She asked.

"The deer seem to think so. Last year they waited until the fruit was perfect before eating all of it."

Indeed the deer were right. It was time. The grape vines were overflowing and we must have picked at least a bushel, or maybe half a bushel...What the hell is a bushel anyway? Well, we picked a lot of green grapes and some red.

We also picked a mess of apples which, while looking better than last years crop, were spotted and grungy looking. Well it turns out that all they needed was a bath. We scrubbed them un til their faces shone brightly and then mercilessly hacked them up and made a pie. We're not sure what to do about the grapes. I think we're going to have to cook them down to juice to make jam, a fairly time consuming process according to the internets. If we cock it up we still have a lot more red grapes that aren't quite ready yet.

The great thing is that this is our fruit, our bounty. Although we lived in the midst of a farm for five years, it wasn't our product (plus they were growing pumpkins, which aren't really a snacking food. But there grapes and apples are ours. Was it worth the effort, time and expense? I think so.

Mein Kampf

This weekend was a struggle from start to finish. Rossana departed Thursday for Ohio Ren to start clean up of her and my booths. Lindsey and Jesse had to detour to Bag End to pick up aone crucial piece of equipment I had forgotten to pack for Rossana. Had to make a sign for Michigan Ren (It came out great) in addition to fixing mannequins, mirrors etc etc.

Everyone was trapped by traffic. I spend the better part of an hour roaring down unnamed Detroit streets in a mad heard of Michigan drivers who view the speed limit as a personal affront. I arrived late to site and unloaded. I get a call from Lindsey down at Ohio Ren, the phone line isn't working. Despite sending in the required bribe and battling the forces of Sprints' customer service department, we have no dial tone. Lindsey will have to call in all credit card orders.

Saturday opens with rain, both at Ohio and at Michigan. It eventually subsides but the crowds are meager. Ohio opens with 50 people at the gate. Jesus, the rennies outnumber patrons by something like 3 to 1. Every sale is a struggle, a triumph of the will. A victory of salemanship over reasoned thought. This should be easy, but everyone is tight with their money because the economy just fine according to our glorious King George.

There comes a point where you have to do whatever it takes to make sales. At one point I spent 30 minutes, an unheard of amount of time, setting up a snipe. If you've never heard the term I shall explain. A snipe is where you get a sale for yourself by getting the customer to return a competitors product. This is not easy. Not only do you have to convince them that your product is better, but you must seem like you aren't badmouthing the competitor. You have to point out the many advantages your product has and let them make their own choice. Above all, you must not lie.

I never lie when I sell. I know that seems like an obvious falsehood. After all, Steve/Erik the Bard/Dante the Daring is a master con-man, a flim-flam artist, a hustler. I'm not sure how this perception came to be but I hear it a lot from acquaintances. The fact is I never lie to customers. Ever. A lie is a nasty little vermin that, once escaped from the lips, can do untold damage. Yes, I could lie and say that our products have such and such amazing properties and my competition is a drunken wife abuser etc, etc. And although it might gain me a sale in the short term, it would surely come back to haunt me. Lies have to be kept track of, an increasingly difficult thing to do as my mental capacity shrinks with age. I have made it a point to never lie when dealing with a customer. I actually left an employer when he wanted me to make promises about delivery dates that I knew he could not keep.

So I had to use the truth and my wits to steal this sale. I spent 30 minutes giving an impromptu lesson on Elizabethan fashion, bodice construction, female anatomy and high finance in the form of our layaway program. Most customers won't stay still for 30 minutes of sales pitch but I made her an offer she couldn't refuse. I told her that if, after trying on my corset, she thought the outfit she had just purchased from a competitor looked better, I would GIVE her the $375 corset.

And I meant it.

I came up with the idea right on the spot and I must admit that it spurned me to do my best to gain her confidence and trust. She didn't believe my offer at first so I repeated it for the shop at large. They would act as impartial judges. The end result was that 10 people were captivated enough to stay through the entire pitch and in the end she returned the other outfit and put her more expensive corset on layaway with a deposit. Snipe achieved. Snipe isn't the best term but I can't think of another name. Poaching is a nice term, but poaching refers to the cardinal sin of taking a potential customer out of a fellow vendors shop. An unpardonable sin.

If you have any ideas for replacing the term 'snipe', let me know.

Everyone worked hard. Everyone had my sincere thanks. Tired now...must sleep.