I Was a Teenage Anti-Unionist

Actually, I was anti-unionist into young adulthood, too. Then one day I found myself struggling to find a job at age 45.

I was raised in a very pro-union household. My father and all of my uncles were serious union workers/supporters. My uncle Pete was even a big muckity-muck with the Greyhound Lines, Inc. Teamsters at one time. Why wasn’t I a trade union fan like dad? Well, I’m not sure. Hell, how did I grow up in a pro-union Democrat household and end up as a pro-capitalism conservative Republican?

We change as we age. Our personal experiences and our continuing personal education tend to shift our beliefs and priorities over a lifetime. Not many people believe the same things with the same passion that they did when they were 19. I used to think Ronald Reagan was the anti-Christ. Heh!

Over time, I’ve been moving more and more to the lower left on the Political Compass. I’m well within the realm of Anarchist/Libertarian nowadays (see Fig 1).

Fig 1 – My Recent Political Compass Results

And while I still agree with some things Ayn Rand had to say, you’ll be more likely to find me quoting Kropotnik or Emma Goldman these days. I’m a biker by nature and by choice. Bikers are usually hardcore anarchists. We just want to be left alone to live our lives as we see fit. My own philosophy on life is to be as compassionate toward my fellow human beings as I can be, try my best not to step on anyone’s toes, and live my life how I want to live it.

My father’s three rules for living a good life were:

• mind your own business
• pay your debts
• always cut the cards

So, I’ve blabbered on for nearly 300 words now. Where is this article going, you’re probably wondering. Well, have you ever read Upton Sinclair’s book The Jungle? It’s a story about the terrible working conditions in Chicago’s meat packing industry around the turn of the century (1899/1900). Once trade unions built up their strength and influence, Big Business could no longer blatantly abuse its workers as they did back during the time of Sinclair’s story. Big Government started enacting laws to protect the workers. Once it reached the stage where the government was watching out for our well-being, everyone swore off unions; criticizing them (often correctly) as being nothing more than giant corrupt bureaucracies.

The result of this was a weakening of the once mighty unions across this country. And so, we find ourselves once again Stranded in the Jungle.

How did this happen to us? Well, we trusted our Big Government, which is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Big Business, to watch out for our interests. That was insane. We’ve literally put the keys to the hen house into the hands of the fox. We are a trusting sort, aren’t we. We trusted our elected representatives. We trusted our bloated bureaucracies. We trusted the greedy capitalists to behave in a fashion that would be fair and beneficial to all. We are idiots.

Here’s a shocking article about just how much ground we’ve lost in the battle for fair labor practices in this country; nearly back to Sinclair’s era. I read it in Mother Jones earlier today. It’s by a young lady named Mac McClelland. You REALLY should read this entire article. It’s called I Was a Warehouse Wage Slave. Folks, this story is truly disturbing. And sadly, it’s just one example. There’s the food processing industry, the farm labor industry, the call center industry, etc. It goes on. All these industries are abusing their employees in ways that would astound you. I spent some time working in a call center. I would rather dig ditches than go do that again.

What can we do about this? RAISE HELL! Join the Occupy movements going on around the country and the world. Read blogs and activist news sites like Alternet, Truthout, Mother Jones, Occupy Together, Wikileaks, etc. Follow the hacktivist group Anonymous. Learn what you can do to help. You don’t have to don your Guy Fawkes mask and protest on some street where the fat cats roam in NYC. There are many, many other ways you can help those who are out there fighting for a better future for you, your children, and their children. We’ve lost a lot of ground with our misplaced trust and complacency. It’s going to be an uphill fight to regain it.

We fight not to enslave, but to set a country free, and to make room upon the earth for honest men to live in. ~Thomas Paine

Later…

~Eric

An Open Letter to Chris Dodd by Eric S. Raymond

This article is so important, in my opinion, that I’m posting a link to it on all my blogs.

This is about freedom, pure and simple. If you read nothing else the next month, you should at least read this article by Eric S. Raymond. It is 24 carat TRUTH. It’s not just about technology and the Internet. It’s about your future and the future of your children and their children. Read it!

An Open Letter to Chris Dodd – by Eric S. Raymond from his blog.

Later…

~Eric

Friends, Family, Netizens…

Yes, It is nearly springtime in the Northern Hemisphere.

The little critters are being hatched and born. The trees are coming to life. The flowers are blooming on the roadside. And Certified and properly Licensed (in the Great State of Texas) Zombie Hunter Nathan Greene (played by actor Elvis Quintero) is at this very moment sitting at home in his den cleaning and oiling his tools of the trade. He had already checked the condition of his favorite SPAS 12. He’s oiled up his H&K 91. His .357 Magnum is all nice and shiny. You  know what this means?

Well, it means that with the advent of spring in Texas along come those pesky damned zombies. They’re thawing out as we sit here twiddling our thumbs. I’m safe. I’m in Florida. However, if it wasn’t for dedicated souls like Nathan over in Texas, that plague they’re dealing with could easily spill over into the other Gulf Coast States. Then where would we be, I ask you. Never underestimate the importance of local properly trained and licensed zombie hunters like Nathan.

There is something of prime importance that we need to talk about here today, though. In order for Nathan to carry on his work in Texas he needs some help from all of us. You see, the Zombie Hunter video series plays an important role in assisting local zombie hunters like Nathan to do what they do best… and by extension, protect our lazy asses. Would you really want have to go out there and risk your life to put down a zombie uprising in your neighborhood. C’mon! You can’t even get your fat ass off the couch to take out the garbage like your wife (or mom) asked you to do two days ago. Plus, you aren’t trained in the use of the firepower that these professionals use on a daily basis.

So, what can you actually do to help Nathan and his colleagues in the zombie hunting business? I’m glad you asked me that. Here’s what you can do. Run right over the Jesse Dedman’s blog and read all you can find on the topic of the Zombie Hunter. Watch a couple of the sample videos from Season 1 so you can see for yourself the importance of this. After you’ve done that, go directly to THIS site and give a generous donation to Jesse so that he can buy the equipment needed to continue filming these critically important docu-tutorials on Nathan Greene’s selfless and high risk activities while protecting your neighborhood from this menace.

It’ll be money well-spent, I assure you. Plus, Jesse is offering some pretty cool stuff as a thank you for any help received. Look, just sell your Magnum and give a couple bucks to Jesse. You don’t need that damned big gun anyway. I bet you haven’t shot the thing in years. You wouldn’t want mama to be having to deal with one of these guys the next time she goes out to hang your formerly skid-marked boxers on the line to dry, now would ya’?

I didn’t think so.

Later…

~Eric

Image credits: Nathan Greene, Zombie Hunter – property of Jesse Dedman, Dedman Productions

Little animated zombie courtesy of AnimateIt.net

Other images – public domain

Springtime Is Almost Here!

The spring has always been a favorite season for me.

Green is my favorite color and springtime is the season of green. I love it when all the trees start putting out their leaves and the flowers start blooming. It’s a time of awakening from the winter’s sleep. I think humans have it impressed in their DNA to feel joy during the spring. It’s the season that ushers in the long, productive days of summer, when game and plants are abundant for the hunter or the forager.

Of course, most of us don’t worry too much about that these days. We just go to the grocery store to hunt and forage. Nevertheless, it’s still ingrained in humans to feel more alive and positive during the springtime. Sadly, it’s a misery for those of you who suffer from allergies. The oaks will be blooming any day now here in Central Florida. Since we’ve had a very mild and dry winter, I’m sure the pollen output will be horrendous. It’ll be snowing pollen soon enough.

That, and bazillions of leaves, is the price I pay for the shade, coolness, and beauty provided by the eight oak trees in my yard. It’s a small price to pay, I feel. I love my oaks. I love my electric bill, too. My house is nearly completely in shade during the hottest parts of the day.

I’m looking forward to watching my Mexican petunias that I planted last summer come back to life and start putting out their pretty little purple flowers every morning and evening. They put a few out during the winter, but nothing like the way they were producing in the summertime.

Eventually, springtime leads to the doldrums of summer here in Florida, where hot and sticky days/nights make life miserable if you don’t have an air conditioner running somewhere nearby. That’s OK, too. I ain’t complaining. I just hope that the hurricanes pass on by again this year without visiting Florida. I haven’t had home owner’s insurance in five years. When it got to be $2400.00 a year, I cancelled it.

Springtime is almost here, folks. Dream a little. Take a deep breath. Take a moment and smell the beautiful new flowers. Life is fleeting. Slow it down a bit when you can.

Later…

~Eric

Image credits: oak pollen from Bethany Gallagher’s website –> SlowButt

Mexican petunias – from Phillip’s Natural World. Also, I recommend Phillip’s wonderful article about his own Mexican petunias experience.

The Time Traveler’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger – A Review

Ever wish you could turn back the clock, go back in time, change something in some way, right a wrong, maybe?

How ’bout going back in time and not being able to change anything that’s already happened? This is precisely Henry’s curse… and blessing. Henry is the time traveler in Audrey Niffenegger’s wonderful love story about Clare and Henry. Now don’t go running off just because I called it a love story. This burly biker dude don’t do romance books, you know. Don’t be afraid of this one, though. It’s unique.

And if you don’t like science fiction, don’t run off just yet, either. This book is so difficult to pigeon hole easily. It’s joyous, tragic, intense, light and airy, humorous, dark, playful, serious, happy, and sad all rolled into one extremely satisfying story. This is a story of humanity, of life, of beginnings and endings. Whether you’re an 80 year old granny or a 17 year old skateboard punk, I think anyone with a bit of humanity in them will be affected by Ms. Niffenegger’s story of Clare and Henry.

The book I actually read was from my local library. However, I liked this story so much that I ordered a copy a few minutes ago from an online seller. I will definitely be reading this book again sometime in the future. It’s one of those books that once you closed that back cover over after reading that last page, you have just such a wonderful feeling of satiation and tranquility. Any readers out there know exactly what I mean.

Many books are enjoyable, some are very good; a few, like this one, are special. We all have our favorites. It’s a subjective thing, for sure. Recommendations from readers and written reviews are usually not ironclad guarantees of similar reactions in others. They can be a starting point, though. A book like The Time Traveler’s Wife is usually not my cup of joe. If someone had recommended it or I had read a review of it, just the words “love” and “story” probably would have scared me off. I saw this book on the bottom shelf at the libary. The title intrigued me. The cover was even more interesting. I checked it out. I’m so glad I did.

Paperback: 546 pages
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (May 27, 2004)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 015602943X
ISBN-13: 978-0156029438

Pick yourself up a copy of this little gem next time you’re at your local library or bookshop. I don’t think you’ll regret it.

Time, not the mind, puts an end to love. ~Publilius Syrus

Happy reading!

~Eric

The Shame of Falling Into the Social Safety Net

The legions of us creep up to the counters at our local grocery stores…

… and surreptitiously reach into our wallets or purses and quickly pull out that distinctively colored food card and swipe it, all in the blink of an eye. I’ve become proficient at that maneuver myself, actually. It doesn’t matter, though. You still get the looks from the cashiers. You can see these young kids looking at you and you can practically read their minds. They’re saying, “Why don’t you get a job, old man?” or something to that effect but possibly with a nastier tone. Or is it just our own insecurities that make us think this?

Earlier this morning, I read a great article by Chris Cook of Salon.com over at Alternet.org. Mr. Cook is having some financial difficulties these days; seems that many of us are, doesn’t it? Chris writes about his recent experiences while applying for food assistance in his state of residence (California). He cites a thought-provoking statistic:

The soaring food stamp rolls, though quite predictable in the midst of a deep recession, have inspired wealthy Republican candidates for president (is there any other kind?) to brand Barack Obama “the food stamp president,” even though, according to USA Today, the rolls rose more sharply under President George W. Bush.

Roughly one in six Americans (one in five children) does not have reliable access to food. According to USA Today, citing census data, nearly half the country is poor or low-income.  Even as unemployment eases modestly in some places, the vast underbelly of America is, economically and nutritionally, underfed.

*Emphasis mine.

One in six. Amazing, huh? Here we are in America; land of the free, home of the brave, etc. Nearly 17% of our population (higher if you just count children) are going to bed hungry every evening. Something smells rotten, and it’s not all the uneaten food that we American gluttons throw in the garbage every night. No, it’s something… I’m not sure… it seems to be emanating from pretty much any government facility you drive by. Ah yes! It’s the smell of inefficient, bureaucratic waste and greed. Stephen Moore states in a Wall Street Journal article that more Americans work in government than in manufacturing, farming, fishing, forestry, mining, and utilities combined. Gee! I wonder if any of them are on food assistance. I seriously doubt it. They’re comfortably gorging at the public trough… no utensils needed, just dig in.

Chris continues:

How have I fallen back to where I was when I was a food stamp, Head Start kid (getting, yes, free lunches)?  America is supposed to be the engine of progress, and each of us is assigned the “promise” and, effectively, the duty, of keeping up that steady march.  Even though I never bought the American narrative of progress and opportunity, I somehow feel like a bumbling screw-up for not holding up my end of the bargain.

My parents were Depression Era kids. They and my aunts and uncles were all on some sort of government assistance at one time or another back then. The times were very, very hard. My father used to say, “You young folks need a nice depression of your own so you’ll understand what it’s like to go to bed hungry and not have any money to pay the bills.” Well, dad. You got your wish, it seems. Myself, my brother, many of my friends and neighbors are all suffering to some extent through this current depression/recession or whatever the hell the talking heads want to classify it as this week. Hell, you’ve even got Dirty Harry giving halftime locker room pep talks. Makes you wonder, huh? WWHD = What would Harry do? “Feel lucky, punk?”

It’s an ugly time in America. What does the future hold? More greed? More corruption? More government bickering and gridlock? Yeah… probably. But hey, I’m a pragmatist. I’m hungry after all this typing. Think I’ll go eat a package of those ramen noodles. I can by it by the case with my food assistance card. Remember, cheap food makes FAT, sickly people. Ain’t it great? Oh, that’s a whole ‘nother topic, though.

Later…

~Eric

P.S. I don’t have anything against government workers. I’m just envious of them.

Further reading:

I’m on Food Stamps: My Shame and Pride in Signing up for the Most Stigmatized Benefit - Christopher Cook/Alternet.org

We’ve Become a Nation of Takers, Not Makers – Stephen Moore/Wall Street Journal

Government Employment & Payroll – U.S. Census Bureau

Lies, Damned Lies, and Statistics

The title to this article is a quote that was popularized in America by Mark Twain.

He attributed the original quote to British Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli. Unfortunately, there is dispute about the accuracy of that attribution. That’s neither here nor there, though. The fact of the matter at hand is that statistics can be manipulated, fondled, and caressed into looking a lot like factual data. The result is often bad science. It happens daily in many fields of endeavor. In some, as with pharmaceutical science, results can be deadly. The rush to get something on the market to make the almighty buck is often the driving factor behind this.

Earlier today, Tony Shin of clinicalpsychology.net emailed me with an interesting graphic that he thought I might like to share with my readers here. He was right. I did find the information that he provided (along with source links) to be quite interesting. I don’t trust experts just because they are experts. Humans are fallible. Of course, we have to trust to a certain extent. I don’t have the funding to open and staff my own labs to test medications before I take them. I have to rely on BIG Pharma and its bedmate BIG Gov to watch out for my safety. HA! I’m in trouble, huh?

Anyway, Tony provided me with this impressive graphic, but space constraints won’t allow me to post it here in full size mode. I’ll post a thumbnail that you can click on to see the full-sized graphic.

Created by: Clinical Psychology

I’m sure Tony would have no issue with you embedding this image on your own site, as long as you attribute it properly and link to his site. He provides the HTML code on that page for you to do so. Check out clinicalpsychology.net while you’re at it. It’s an interesting site. If you have an interest in that sort of thing, there is quite a bit if information there for you to peruse.

A favorite quote:

Tantum eruditi sunt liberi – Only the educated are free ~Epictitus

Later…

~Eric

Image credits: Bad Science graphic provided by Tony Shin of clinicalpsychology.net and used here with permission.

Alan Turing – The Genius Who Sinned

The Catholic church finally got around to apologizing to Galileo for condemning his then blasphemous support of Copernicus’ idea of a heliocentric system.

You’d think that the modern British government would cut Alan Turing a little slack. Who is Alan Turing, you might be asking? Well, Mr. Turing was a genius of the Newtonian caliber who lived in the last century (1912-1954). He was a mathematician, cryptanalyst, and computer scientist. He was an extraordinary man. He was also gay.

Without Mr. Turing’s accomplishments, you might not be sitting in front of a computer right now reading this. You might not be living in the country you’re living in. You might be speaking German. You could very well not be here at all. Who knows how different things would be right now if Turing had not been the man he was back then?

During WWII, Alan Turing worked as a codebreaker for the Brits in the now famous Bletchley Park facility. He helped to break the Nazi codes and cyphers during the war. Thanks to Turing, the allies were able to “read their mail”; the Germans’ mail, that is. We used this information to ultimately defeat Hitler and Nazi Germany.

Yet, Alan Turing was convicted of being a homosexual and actually castrated. The world was very different then, friends. The British government recently had the opportunity to pardon Mr. Turing. They failed. Their excuses are lame; based on silly legal technicalities. This man literally SAVED THEIR ASSES, yet they cannot see their way clear to forgive him his one sin. A sin which is only a sin as dictated by some silly religion. How sad for us all.

Why can we not judge people by their accomplishments, their compassion, their moral goodness? Why must we continue to judge people by their skin color, their belief system, or their sexual orientation? As long as we continue to place people in pre-made pigeon holes, there will always be strife between us. The world full of “us and them” will eventually lead to a world of ashes and dust.

You Brits need to get your government to take the high ground on this topic and forgive Alan Turing his trespasses. The man’s been dead for 50+ years; he won’t really care one way or the other. However, how we the living choose to act on this will make a difference to us.

Later…

~Eric

Image credits: Turing plaque courtesy of Wikimedia Commons, a worthy Internet site. Help if you can.

Further reading:

No Pardon for Turing, English Gov Avers

Alan Turing – Wikipedia

The Alan Turing Home Page

Proficient Killers

It never ceases to amaze me at how proficient humans are at killing; be it plants, animals, or themselves.

Since that hairy-knuckled ancestor of yours climbed out of the tree on the African savannah and took to inhabiting those caves uptown, he’s honed his killing skills to a fine razor’s edge. And as good as humans are at killing, with the help of technology, there’s even more room for improvement.

From Susan Montoya Bryan | Associated Press – 2 hrs 30 mins ago via Yahoo! News:

Figuring out how to pack a processor and other electronics into a machine gun bullet has been a challenge for engineers at Sandia National Laboratories, so weapons experts say the miniature guidance system the lab has developed is a breakthrough.

Three years in the making, the bullet prototype represents another step toward a next-generation battlefield that scientists and experts expect to be saturated with technology and information.

Oooh, boy! A guided .50 caliber bullet… you can run, but you can’t hide. The Browning M2 machine gun fires 1/2″ diameter bullets at a prodigious rate downrange. You don’t want to be on the receiving end of this devestating weapon. And while the weapon itself is not new, these spiffy guided slugs sure are.

Ms. Bryan continues:

More than $1 million in research and development grants have taken the project this far.

A million is a tiny drop in the ol’ piss bucket, I admit. However, one has to wonder what the world would be like if we stopped spending so much on improving our killing skills and instead invested in our living skills.

Defense department researchers and contractors are already developing flying nano-bots that can stream live video, contact lenses that would allow soldiers to focus simultaneously on virtual digital images and their surroundings, and smartphone apps that help with tactical operations.

Killing seems to be our business. We’re good at it… always have been.

Have a great day!

~Eric

Motel Ticks – We’ll Leave the Bug Spray Out For Ya’ (Revisited)

Did you come home from that recent vacation or business trip with some hitchhikers in your luggage?

We’re seeing more and more news stories on TV, at online news sites, or in the papers talking about the comeback of the BEDBUG. ARRRRRRRGH! Amazing how just mentioning that lowly little critter can make one start itching. I’ll be perfectly honest with you here, folks. I’ve never even seen bedbug that I know of. I remember my mom and dad, who were kids during the Great Depression, talk about bedbugs. They were the scourge of the poor back then, along with lice and an assortment of other unwholesome critters.

Well, guess what? They’re BA-ACK! A recent ABC News story gives us the scoop on these disgusting little blood suckers. Read The Down and Dirty: What’s In Your Hotel Bed? Blech! Good graphics along with that article, too. Oh, and for a more technical view of the bedbug… like you needed that, right? …here’s a detailed and educational dissertation on the bedbug from University of Florida: Bedbugs – Cimex lectularius (Cimicidae). That’s odd. I would have thought that Harvard Law School would be the place to go to learn about parasitic blood-sucking creatures.

A snippet from the ABC article to whet your appetite:

There’s no definite way to know how often bed spreads get washed, but according to Moore, they don’t get washed after every guest. She suggested taking it off the bed right away and keeping it off. If you get cold, it’s a better bet to ask room service for more blankets.

EWWWWWW! You can’t even use the bedspread on the bed in the hotel room? Man! I remember going on trips when I was a kid with my parents and brother. We stayed in Holiday Inns and Ramada Inns and many other no-name motels from Florida to Colorado and everywhere in between. I always remember those rooms being spotlessly clean. This was in the early 60s or thereabouts. Have we become a nation of slovenly scum buckets? Sheesh!

Speaking of hotels, I remember at the ’03 State Rally for my biker club, we leased out 95% of the Cocoa, FL Econo Lodge. There were about 400 of us there for the weekend. We had an absolute blast. I don’t really remember much of it, except for the miserable four hour ride home on the HOT Sunday afternoon at the end of the weekend. I wasn’t really worried too much about bedbugs that weekend. If one had bit me, he would have died almost instantaneously of alcohol poisoning. Heh! Good memories.

I’ll leave you with a little saying mom always used to say to me when I was a kid…

Good night… sleep tight, don’t let the bedbugs bite.

~Eric

Note: This article originally appeared on my Nocturnal Slacker/Lockergnome blog (now defunct).