The Major

Author: FourMajor

  • Wha Happen?

    This pretty much sums up all that is wrong with the world: Parker Brothers releases version of Monopoly using debit cards instead of cash

    Seriously, who doesn’t love having a big ol’ wad of Monopoly cash?

  • Honk Shoo

    Tonight is my last night working night shift. Ever.

    I have kind of an unofficial list of things I will never do for work, and now I am adding this to it. My current list:
    1) I will not work in a restaurant.
    2) I will not sell things.
    3) I will not work weekends.
    4) I will not work nights.
    5) I will not travel more than one hour each way.

    I hope to add as many of these to the list as possible with my next job:
    1) I will not work in support, no matter how high level.
    2) I will not work with Windows.
    3) I will not be on call.
    4) I will not work an overly strict schedule. So, I’ll need some freedom on start and end times.

    I am guessing that I will only be able to add about two of those with my next job. And the ultimate goal here is to become valuable enough, with knowledge, experience, and certifications, where I can eventually accomplish the following as well:
    1) I will not work more than 35 hours per week.
    2) I will not accept less than 4 weeks of vacation per year.
    3) I will not work for a for-profit company unless they share the profits very generously with the employees.

    It is going to feel so great tomorrow night to want to go to sleep, and then just go to sleep. It’s also going to be great that, if I want, I can go out and have a couple of beers at midnight. Or I can stay up until 2am playing some Eve Online with Mark. Obviously this takes a bit of self discipline, because you can’t come in to work every day on 5 hours of sleep (even though that is what I do now).

    The night shift did have its perks though. I rarely had to wake up to an alarm, and I got to work by myself with no interruptions. But I think I will be able to do without those things 🙂 Time to join the “normal people.” It was going to happen sooner or later.

  • Unnecessary Arguments, Part II

    Following up on yesterday’s post about global warming, I thought of another example of an unnecessary argument. This one has to do with gay marriage.

    Social conservatives sometimes argue that it is a choice to be gay, not something that you are born with. The liberals bite.

    It shouldn’t be about why someone is gay. It should be about equal rights alone. It should be about being able to marry any consenting adult, whether you are straight or gay, or even if the relationship based completely on friendship alone – a “life partner” type arrangement.

  • Unnecessary Arguments

    There are a few things that I believe in strongly enough where I think that the other side is just plain wrong. Global warming, for me, has quickly become one of those issues. Saving ourselves from rapid climate change must be one of our very highest priorities.

    Some of the arguments from the other side are absolutely absurd. They don’t have anything to stand on, so they just start making shit up. Even those that agree that there is or might be global climate change argue that if we were to do something about it, it would ruin our economy.

    And the rest of us give in to this argument. Not give in in terms of agreeing with it. But we give in when we even argue that at all. We let them change the argument. Now it isn’t about global climate change, it is about the economy. First of all, our footing isn’t nearly as steady when talking about the effect on the economy as it is when talking about science – things like CO2 emissions and temperature change. Even if it was as solid – What is the point? Our main argument is that we are putting ourselves at risk of massive flooding and millions of deaths worldwide. Who cares about the economy when faced with these prospects?

    This post inspired by this post on ThinkProgress.

  • Electric Car Goodness

    0-60 in 4 seconds.
    $0.01-$0.02/mile
    redline 13,500 RPM
    two gears

    The Tesla Roadster

  • Sonic.net is Awesome

    It is worth the (small) premium to get a good ISP:

    “We will not allow warrantless wiretapping or access to customer information.”

  • *grumble*

    Patience is a bitch sometimes. And so is only getting a few hours sleep, even for just a couple days.

  • The Media is Good at This…

    Well I guess the media got bored of the Mexico story…

    Buried deep within the NY Times website. Definitely not on any front pages. And I know there are some very important stories right now, but Bush saying a swear word is getting more coverage than 1 million people in Mexico City protesting a contested election.

  • Source of Military Equipment

    There’s a lot being said about Hezbollah getting their rockets from aid from Syria and Iran. Well…who do you think supplies Israel’s warplanes? It sure isn’t Israel. Yep – It’s the United States.

    And every time over the past few days when you hear that Israelis have been killed, how does Israel retaliate? An eye for an eye? Impossible. They kill many more of their enemy.

    This whole thing really is making me sick. And to think my tax money is going to support this crap. That really pisses me off.

  • Drunk Observeration of the Night

    A high five is not great unless it hurts.

    Furthermore, I will likely delete this in the morning.

    Maybe not. That may or may not have been added for comedic effect. I have Biff here reading what I type, and the combination of my typos and his drunken verbal screw-ups are highly…amusing.

    Done. (If I wanted to be artsy, I would say “fin.”)