There's always a down side.

I took the plunge and bought an iPad. I talked myself into the expense by telling myself it will be able to be a second credit card machine using the cool new square device. But there can be no doubt that I was tempted by the promise of a device I've been dreaming about for a loooong time. Something like 6 years ago there was a neat little tablet device called the eePc. It was WinCE powered. I was able to install and read Jules Verne's "Around the World in 80 days" on it. I've kept track of sales at shoes using simelar WinCE devices for years. I knew back then that a tablet PC was a viable product.  Netbooks are good but they still aren't a great surfing device despite the better battery life.

 So now I have the iPad and it is very good. Quick boot or instant on with amazing battery life. Stunning screen. Apps that work to remove the need for a mouse and a virtual keyboard that is actually very easy to use. So what's the down side? It has nothing to do with the device and everything to do with where it comes from. Shenzen China and a company called FoxConn. They make lots of electronics, including my iPad. So it sucks to read about the work conditions at the factory, where there have been 7 suicides this year.

FoxConn has now hired almost 100 Councillors and even brought in Buddhist monks to drive evil spirits out of the machines. Really? Evil spirits? Maybe it has nothing to do with spirits and everything to do with the absurd hours these kids are working. The lack of social contact. The depression of living in a kind of indentured servitude.  The factories are bright and clean. The employees aren't chained to the assembly line. They are free to leave...but to do what?

I don't have any real answers. I like my shiny toy, but I don't want someone to work themselves to death for it. I could wait an extra week or two if it let them slow down. I'd happily pay a little more if it went to the line workers. But the wheels of capitalism must turn and nothing can get in their way.

What happens to disarmed nuclear weapons?

A short but cool article with a killer pic.

Scientific proof

Did you even notice that incompetent people always seem really confident? I have. Hell, look at the 8 years of Bush. That man was certain we was smart and doing all the right things. He and his cronies thought they couldn't possibly be cocking things up.  Well, there actually a term for that. It's called the Dunning-Kruger effect. Here is some science for you.

Look at this dog!

I love Star Trek

But I fear this monstrocity would go to places in my colon where no sausage has gone before.

We're off on the road to....

Are YOU looking for adventure? Do you like to travel to strange foreign lands to meet exotic people and eat sausages? They do I have a deal for you!.

This summer (June 30- July 12) Rossana and I are going to Poland. The tour looks absolutely fantastic. The company that runs it only takes 15 people so it's very personalized. Right now they are looking for 3-4 more people. If you are interested check out their PDF flyer or call Eryk (who runs the tour) at 603-563-8054

Honestly, this thing sounds great. At one point we'll be dressing up to attend a battle re-enactment near Warsaw followed by a Sarmatian feast! What do Sarmatians eat? I have no idea, but I'm keen to find out.

Who is hamad?

That's a good question. After all, he is carving his name into an island off the coast of Abu Dhabi in letters 500 meters long.

No really, he is. Why? Because he is filthy rich and a bit of an eccentric. You can check out his brief wikipedia entry here and a video of his unusual truck:

I don't think I'm going anywhere

Not long after the earthquake hit Haiti we got an email from Hands On Relief, the group we worked with in Biloxi after Katrina. They were doing scouting and working with NGO's to see how they could best help out.

I just went to their web site to see how things were progressing and they have a hell of a good start. There are doing demolition/debris clearing, helping with temporary shelters and working to increase their volunteer capacity. They've fotten a lot of help from the Canadian Army which is more than I can say for FEMA when we were in the 9th ward.

Part of me wants to go. Even though things are far worse than they were in Biloxi. There is a far greater risk from diseases, medical care is very basic and accommodations are pretty damn spartan. To say nothing of the fluctuating security situation.

But I still wanted to go.

But working outside the past week had let me to an unpleasant realization. I don't think I am in good enough shape to do the work needed there. It's just that simple. I'm 42 and Rossana has a few years on me. Demo work is backbreaking. And I do not do well in hot weather. They need young, strong, healthy people or people with greater technical skills than I posses. I just don't know how helpful I would be even if I did go.

So I guess I'll be donating to Hands On directly, and if you have a few spare bucks, I'd appreciate if you'd consider doing so too. Or you could donate to the Red Cross or the charity of your choice. Let's not forget these people now that the camera's have gone and they are no longer leading the news.

Thanks

I don't feel good...

The recent events concerning pedophile priests had given me pause. Haven't we been here before? Indeed we have. Hundreds of children abused in the US. A massive scandal. Millions in fines against the Church. And then things died down.

Then came the report about the workhouses in Ireland, more pedophiles come to light, then the Ferns Report, revelations about a secret document used to suppress accusers under threat of excommunication, more child abusers in Germany and now the revelation that the man who was supposed to oversee and handle this kind of thing is none other than former Cardinal Ratzinger aka The Pope.

The accusations are coming fast and hard now and the media smell blood in the water. The church is of course, trying to cover this up. Issuing denials and carefully worded statements and apologies. Fall guys are taking the blame. It's starting to sound very familiar. You might not be old enough to have experienced it first hand, I was only a child, but things are starting to play out like Watergate. And as Nixon observed, "it's not the crime that gets you, it's the cover up"

Ratzinger will have a very hard time squirming out of this because (by papal decree) ALL abuse cases are supposed to be handled by the Vatican and the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (a very pretty name for what historically has been called The Inquisition). He was supposed to be the TOP man. I'm sure the office was responsible for many different tasks, but surely child rape and abuse cases were a high priority. Right? Right?

Then I watched this short documentary:

aaaaaaaaand, now I'm pissed. Very pissed. I like to think that I am fairly even handed. I believe firmly that there are almost always two sides to every story. I like to play the (no pun intended) Devils Advocate. Despite my distaste of organized religion I accept and admit that it can have a positive affect of many peoples lives. And when you consider that there may be somewhere around 50 million children worldwide who are being raised as Catholics it may be inevitable that some of the hundreds of thousands of priests would be pedophiles. Any group with these numbers would likely have this problem. But it's how the Church handles the problem that really gets me.

Despite the recent events the Church continues to plod along like it's the 12th century. It is an entity unto itself. Beholden to no one. It ignores secular laws. It pays hush money. And worse, it continues the same behavior of shifting priests around, blocking police inquiries and above all failing to help the victims.

By the way, did you know that when a diocese pays off sexual abuse victims millions of dollars not one cent of it comes from the Vatican? Nope. They're like McDonald's franchises. So the money comes from the diocese and that money comes from parishioners. Tadaa! Members of the flock pay to have their children raped.

I don't want to pick on the Catholic Church, but it's a top-down organization and it's very large and it KNOWS what the fuck is going on. The Pope could change how the church deals with pedophiles tomorrow. It could initiate sweeping change. But it won't.

It will pray for the victims. Sure. Fat lot that will do. But but it won't change. Why? Because at it's very core, at it's very heart it believes that a cosmic Jewish Zombie who was his own father can make you live forever if you symbolically eat his flesh and telepathically tell him you accept him as your master, so he can remove an evil force from your soul that is present in humanity because a rib-woman was convinced by a talking snake to eat from a magical tree.

The thing that might force change (whether the Church wants it or not) is that there is very little secrecy anymore. For good or ill we are very much a confession culture these days. What used to remain a deep secret is now shared much more easily. People no longer believe that such atrocities are impossible. And now the media and lawyers want a piece of the pie. Good luck keeping them at bay Mr. Ratzinger.

Another dark confession

As a pretty ironclad rule, I do not give a flying fuck about celebrities or gossip. But I cannot help but watch the slow motion train wreck that is the life of Jessie James.

Jesse is a high end chopper builder out in California. Discovery did a few shows on him, kicking off the whole absurd chopper craze. This led to his show "Monster Garage" where teams of fabricators had a week to build some bizarre contraption like a hearse/backhoe or a Delorian hovercraft. I liked the show because it required that people think, design and create under a deadline. Yes, there was some drama, but that was second to the project. Now most shows are all about the drama. They can't get enough of people doing stupid things and screaming at each other like harpies.

Time passes,the show is over and I don't hear much about Jesse until I learn that he married Sandra Bullock. Ok, that seems a little weird. But opposites sometimes attract. And it's not as if she can't know that he's been married before and screwed that up.

Flash forward to the academy awards and Mrs. Bullock gets the Oscar for a film I didn't see. Good for her. I've liked some of her work. She doesn't seem to have gone off the rails like some people in Hollywood do.

Then the big shocker, Jesse had an affair with another woman. A heavily tattooed fetish model. Wow. Well, looking at her she seems to have some common interests with Jesse. Then it turned out that she might be a white supremacist. (The jury is still out on that). Oooooookay. You cheat on your beautiful and supportive wife with a woman who seems to have some issues to put it mildly.

But all is not lost. Many couples have worked through this kind of thing before. Hillary forgave Bill right? Maybe she bangs the pool guy to even things up. Or counselling. Whatever. Then another heavily tattooed stripper arrives on the scene. "I've been sleeping with him for two years!" she proudly crows as soon as the check clears. Dude, this is not helping.

But wait, there's now a THIRD woman who says she's been banging him (although she doesn't seem to have any tattoos so I'm not sure she can be trusted, (except for all the text messages she has as proof).

Okay, at this point I don't think you have much of a chance to fix things Jesse. One might wonder why Sandra didn't notice her husband cheating with enough woman to make up a rugby team. But Hollywood is a strange place where the laws of time and space do not apply. Celebrities are constantly doing interviews, travelling to promote themselves, doing 'deals', taking meetings and occasionally... working. So I'll give her some slack. They are busy people.

The fault here lies with Jesse, and he knows it. He doesn't seem like a bad guy really. He opened an environmentally friendly burger joint (whatever that means) does community work and his employees seem to like him. But he is a fuck up with regards to the institution of marriage. Why on Earth did he ever think it was a good idea to get married again? One of his wives tried to stab him while he was in the hospital. You have to be some special kind of dick to inspire that kind of crazy.

It might be that Sandra didn't want a casual relationship and insisted on marriage. At the exact moment she stated this he should have said "I understand your point of view, but I habitually cheat on women, I bid you good day" and walked out. Thus, denying the gossip magazines of millions of dollars of revenue and preventing me from feeling dirty every time I read some new sordid detail in this Greek tragedy.

Some people are fuckups. This doesn't mean they are totally evil or useless. Jesse makes some cool looking choppers. He likes women. Fine. Stick with your strengths and stay away from the whole marriage thing. The whole monogamy thing doesn't seem like your forte'. That's fine, the world does not think ill of men who have sex with several women. You should have stayed single. It would have saved Mrs. Bullock a lot of heartache and legal fees divorcing your ass.

Okay, I'm done.

Minion Wanted

We are looking for one or two new minions to help us over the coming season. One local (NE Ohio)for sure and one somewhere in the Midwest. Our company, Renaissance Fashions (www.ren-fashions.com) sells Corsets, bodices and other clothing as well as Steampunk items .

The job chiefly consists of going to Sci-Fi conventions, SCA events and Renaissance Faires throughout the Midwest and selling our product. Sounds great doesn’t it? It is! You will be involved in sales and basic book keeping but as we are a mobile business you will be helping transport, load, unload, setup and tear down at events.

Sales skill is very helpful but we will also be training you. You need to be fit enough to move heavy tubs of stock and grid wall. A clean driving record and dependable car is a must. Experience driving a cargo van is a plus. If you are local you may be working with us at shows or operating solo. Having Ren-Fair garb also a plus.

If you are not local you will be acting semi-autonomously. You will coordinate with us to book shows. You will then be responsible for getting to shows with your own transportation (a minivan is helpful but not absolutely needed) setting up, selling and then tearing down. You will be required to keep good records regarding expenses, stock levels and providing a report to us after shows.

“Wow! This sounds great! Where do I sign up?”

Not so fast there. It’s important that you understand that this is part time work. Shows are on weekends but with travel you may be on the road from Thursday to Monday. If you work 9-5 M-F and are still interested we might still be able to use you for shows in Ohio and Michigan.

Pay depends on experience and the type of work you are doing. Typically there is a daily rate and a bonus if certain sales goals are met. We also cover certain expenses for shows. Other perks include deep discounts on our products.

This position is open to men or women 21 or older.

If interested email us at steve@renaissancefashions.com or call 440-647-4668

Meh...

I watched The Hurt Locker last night and I am a little confused. Why did this picture win an academy award for best picture?

Don't get me wrong, it was a good movie. But I don't think it was a great movie. The acting was good, but not great. The cinematography was good, but not great. The acting was good. But not great. The best I can say is that it looked like it was shot in the Middle East and indeed it was shot in Amman and Kuwait.

The plot is simple and non-political. Why not? These guys are in a war that very few people are happy about, including soldiers. Yet there isn't word one about it. None of them offers any kind of opinion on their situation, their superiors or the administration that sent them there. It was likely a decision to keep politics from distracting from the story or making the film political but fuck, people have opinions. Strong ones, especially when the action of your government place you in a war. Nothing. Nada.

The lead is obviously an adrenaline junkie, yet no one call him on it to his superiors. Going Rogue is not something EOD guys are supposed to do. The film takes place in 2006 when there were still issues with getting up-armored humvee's and equipment. Nothing. Also, a squad is generally 8-16 guys yet there are only three man characters.Why?

And most importantly, the film didn't grab me emotionally. I didn't really feel anything positive or negative about these people, which is a pretty big deal. Certainly people can have mixed emotions about a fellow soldier, but none of it grabbed me and none of it affected the story for the most part.

Want a great war type movie? Watch Blackhawk Down. First, it's a true story. Second it shows how acting with good intentions can have unintended, brutal consequences. Yes, BHD is more of a shooting film where The Hurt Locker is supposed to be about the tension. But I didn't get any tension from the Hurt Locker, where BHD had a shitload of tension. You are as frustrated as the soldiers on screen who are watching as everything goes to shit. You wonder why no one can get to these guys to help them. You feel ill because despite superior equipment and training a swarm of drug addled thugs are beating the shit out of our guys.

If you were going to give an Oscar for a war film, it should have been Blackhawk Down. The Hurt locker was a let down.

Chicken

Back when I was a corporate drone I was part of the Marketing Department. That meant that there were times that I had to take peoples ideas, no matter how complex or stupid and forge them into Powerpoint presentations.

I made a lot of those suckers. So when I saw this video I felt a bit of nostalgia. It is possibly one of the funniest things I've seen in months. Eventually ALL the concepts started sounding like this.

Details

Some people have asked me about the safety of visiting the middle East and specifically Jordan. Here are some of my observations.

When we arrived in Paris we made our way to the Royal Air Jordan ticket counter. This was right next to the El Al counter, but the difference between them could not be more stark. The El Al counter was, in short, a fortress. There were four armed soldiers in the vicinity, more outside next to an armored vehicle. There is barbed wire on the roof. Several steel posts are set in the floor so that a cart or large luggage cannot be brought directly to the counter. Just being in the area meant we were observed and studied. Israel takes its security very seriously.

In Jordan there are police checkpoints along major roads. The police have a little pull off area. If they wave at you, you pull over and hand them your ID. I never saw the police chasing people for speeding. The speed limit is more of a suggestion. There is however, a clever method to keep peoples speed in check. About once every mile on all but the largest highways there is a large speed bump. Going over it at high speed would quickly destroy your suspension. Clever.

The American Embassy in Amman is heavily fortified. There are at least 20 soldiers around it. Baracades and pickups with .50 cals on them at either end. But then, this is par for the course in a lot of countries there days.

The airport entrance is also fortified. It seems that regular citizens don't easily enter the area. We had to have someone from the tour company meet up with us on the way there and get in our car.

Like in Egypt hotels have barricades (often disguised as large potted plants) and a quick bomb scan.

All this might make you think its a dangerous place but really it did not feel that way. They are wary about their neighbor to the West, but not paranoid. Jordanians are very friendly and are a big US ally. Hell, the King was once an extra on Star Trek Voyager! I'd have no reservations about going back.

Sooooo far behind

Thanks to limited access to wifi and high data costs I didn't post a lot of stuff to the blog but rather to facebook. Now that I'm back I plan to write a few posts about the experience in Jordan.

I also hope to post pics to flickr soon. Stay tuned.