Elections... Decisions, Decisions

Over the weekend I was in a discussion regarding the election. While I wasn't thrilled with Trump as a whole, in my book it was no contest when I entered the voting booth (figuratively speaking, of course).

We were discussing how it really was not a hard decision in the end for me to cast my vote...
And in reflection, it never has been, at least for me.
But... Shouldn't the decision be close?
Shouldn't it be the best of the best of both sides?

I mean, let's look at the choices I have faced when I went to vote:

1980  Reagan / Carter  - Easy decision - Carter was a horrible failure as President. FTMF
1984  Reagan / Mondale - No problem - No reason to think about changing the administration.
1988  Bush / Dukakis - Easy - Dukakis couldn't compete with GHWB's election machine.
1992  Clinton / Bush - Never even thought about voting for Clinton.
1996  Clinton / Dole - Dole was not my first choice, but he didn't make my skin crawl like it did when I heard Clinton (either one) speak.
2000  Bush / Gore - Easy choice, after listening to the man-bear-pig speak.
2004  Bush / Kerry - No problem pulling the lever for Bush.
2008  McCain / Obama - I saw through the smoke and mirrors early. No thought of voting Obama.
2012  Romney / Obama - Even more resolute about the choices.
2016  Trump / Clinton - Not even a tiny thought of giving her a chance to carry out her grand plan of fucking up the country even more than Obama already has.

Seriously- shouldn't we expect better candidates? Shouldn't it be difficult to choose because both should have great potential to do good for the WHOLE country, not just special interests?

TBG - - ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒE

This Is Why I'm Such a Shitty Blogger

If you substitute the word "Thought" with "Blog Post Idea"...





TBG - - ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒE

Shit Stirring

So... Wearing this around Jacksonville would probably earn me
an earnest talking-to...

But when I go to Australia...... Hmmm.



TBG - - ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒE

Cannot Humor At This Time, Please Try Again Later

Blah blah blah,

Something something:
Elephant Gloryholes.

Punchline.

TBG - - ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒE

Going Overboard

Boy the spammers, scammers and phishers are really pulling out all the stops now...

I got this in my inbox this afternoon:



Trying to do some due diligence on this...
St. Ass says the nice folks we were working for in Sochi nominated us...
(I assume he meant the entire team. If its only St. Ass and YT, fuggetaboutit.)

I do have to wonder what the category was, though...
Most Khatchaipuri eaten in one sitting?
Outstanding performance while lusting after the Canadian women's curling team?
Highest number of Starbucks double-whip, half caf-half soy skinny caramel macchiatos drank in a 24 hour period?

(I won't be able to attend anyway- I'll be in SanFran, up to my eyeballs in Amateur Golf at Olympic.)

TBG - - ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒE

Good Times -Shanghai Pranking

I haven't had any bonehead user errors yet today, and I haven't had to threaten anyone's life since late Wednesday, so I really don't have anything to put into the ice cream machine.

In lieu of actual current content, I'll be sharing a story of our time in Shanghai 2014 and a little prankage that occurred this year.
(My memory was jogged by a post over at Old NFO's website- Do you read him every day? You should... Tasty stuff!)

We had a noob as an adjunct to our team this year- the nephew of one of the Honchos at the Tournament. Good kid (and I mean kid- 17 or 18 years old).
Honcho asked if we could impart some words of wisdom and life lessons to young James over the course of the event. No worries- we were on it.

So young James was busied with some basic tasks for the event, and did a passable job.


James is on the right- his brother Peter on the left.
As the tournament progressed, young James didn't screw up too badly and we decided perhaps a Snipe Hunt was in order.
(In the days of my Sordid Youth, I was caught not once but twice- I spent the entire day running from one end of the Marathon Airport to the other- in search of 100' of flight line, and another time I spend 3 hours looking for a large bottle of prop wash. I was a dumbass.)

So a plan was formulated - I enlisted the help of several co-conspirators and then CJ whistled up young James...
"Hey- I need the tube of squelch grease. I lent our last tube to Mal up in the control room. Really need it fast..."
And young James was off at top speed- up to the upper level control room to see Mal, who sent him back down to the event level to see Chase, who sent him back up to the upper level to see Alex in scoring, who sent him down to see Ed in the Admin office...then to the press room I think-
Up and down, back and forth...
Poor bastard.
When we finally let him off the hook he was quite a good sport about it...We had a good laugh- and he learned the lesson:
Never trust anyone. Especially the people you trust.

(Unlike some people back in 2013- who took the missing Mercedes S-Class I "borrowed" much too seriously...)

Good times- good times...


TBG - - ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒE

Quotes To Live (or Die) By

To the people that insist on pissing me off...

(And the ones that do it unknowingly too- this does not excuse stupid behavior.)

I'm Always polite. Always respectful. And always making plans to kill everyone within a 50' radius. Just in case.

"There are three things all wise men fear: the sea in storm, a night with no moon, and the anger of a gentle man." 

"You might call them soft, because they're very reluctant to kill, and they might agree with you, but they're soft the way the ocean is soft, and, well; ask any sea captain how harmless and puny the ocean can be."

"When kind men grow angry, things are about to change."

"When the nice ones snap, it's always a good show."

"Don't ever mistake my silence for ignorance, my calmness for acceptance, or my kindness for weakness." 

"You're too nice a guy to know so many ways to kill someone..."

"If you have to look along the shaft of an arrow from the wrong end, if a man has you entirely at his mercy, then hope like hell that man is an evil man. Because the evil like power, power over people, and they want to see you in fear. They want you to know you're going to die. So they'll talk. They'll gloat. They'll watch you squirm. They'll put off the moment of murder like another man will put off a good cigar. So hope like hell your captor is an evil man. A good man will kill you with hardly a word."


TBG - - ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒE

Pissed Off Dinosaur

Jeebus!
Is that what I look like when I get in a
"Hey! You! What the hell are you looking at?!" mode...


(Best not to click on the pic...seeing it full size should probably require a trigger warning.)

Over Christmas I got the pic in an email from the famous Shanghai driver Mr. Gu.



Mr. Gu, Yours Truly, and our other driver Sum Ol Gai

Mr. Gu has been RF's driver for several years, and he always takes care of me and the other guys once the tournament in Shanghai is over.
In this pic we had all gone to the Cybermart to shop then to lunch in XinTanDi. I got to ride in the S-Class with Coop, while the other guys took the M-Van.
I let the other guys have the S-Class for the airport run, though...
Nice ride... Nice guys.
Thanks Mr. Gu- you da man.

TBG- ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒE

Glutton For Punishment - The Followup

The plan:
Drop off car near Cronulla Station, take 5:25am train to Otford, Walk to trail head at Otford Lookout.
Begin hike at +/-6:30am.
Need to complete hike at Bundarra before 7:00 PM to catch last ferry back to Cronulla.
12 hours to do 26km. Easy peasy.


You know- there is a reason that they recommend making it a two-day hike...
Looking at the satellite views from Google maps doesn't tell the whole story.
I should have taken the walk from the station to the trailhead as a sign of things to come.


I got to the station just after 6:00 am.


From the station to the lookout is a 300' climb.
Not a good way start...
I had my backpack with water, a change of clothes, etc, and I had picked up an aluminum telescoping walking stick... The stick was a life saver.
I used it in it's original office to steady myself- but I also employed it to fight off the spiders...
The bad thing about being first on the trail for the day is that overnight the spiders have laid webs thick and heavy across the trail.
Everywhere.


(One of billions)

Gah.

Once I got started I was doing pretty good. I resigned myself to the fact that this was going to be an all-day thing.
One thing that all the documentation said was that it could be done in one day if the hiker was in excellent shape.
Dude, I am NOT in excellent shape.
I'm not even in decent shape.

By about 10:30 I had made several up-and-down traverses- from the top of the hills and cliffs, then down to the beach, then back up to the top of the next cliffs to the next descent to the next beach...
And the beaches- beautiful and deserted, but-

Slogging in hiking boots across the sand will sap every bit of energy you have.
And there is an inevitable realization that when you go down, you must also go back up.

I had made it to Garie Beach by 10:45 and the sun was starting to come out...
I slathered up in sunscreen and kept at it.
The worst climb was coming up... The climb up to Garie Overlook was another 350' up a winding log and stone path. I'm not embarrassed to say that it took me almost 90 minutes to get to the top, and another 30 to recover from the climb and eventually move on.

One thing about the paths and trails...
There is quite a bit of variation in the paths- from barely-recognizable paths through scrub, to wide-open roads, to composite decking that traverse grassy areas.


Rocks in the path like this are ankle-breakers. Not to hikers: Wear boots with good ankle support. I wore my Belleville boots- had I worn sneakers I would have had to bail an hour into the trip.


Wide-open spaces. Watch for spider webs.

Another danger was not paying attention...
If you stopped on the trail, you had to make sure you weren't standing on these:


Some bad-ass army ants would boil up out of these holes and (I assume) bite the shit out of you...
I saw them swarm once early in the day, and I steered clear after seeing how fast they could move.


Composite decking on the cliffside.


Another high climb from sea level...


Mmmm. Nice decking...

There was a long relatively flat stretch (about 4 miles or so) where I just got roasted by the sun... It was a tease, however.

Pretty plants... They are probably poisonous, this being Australia and all...
(Took this pic with my Samsung phone, hence the quality- most other pics were taken with my Oz iPhone from the tournament.)

Rain was in the forecast for the afternoon and I could see the clouds rolling in from the north as I soldiered onward.
I didn't realize how fast the storm was coming. I got to the next way point, Eagle Rock at a 1:45p, and the wind was whipping and the rain started.
I hunkered down under an overhang of rock waiting for the worst of the rain to pass-
it took almost an hour- and now I was starting to worry about making the ferry at 7 PM.
I also knew I had 2 major climbs in front of me...
One thing I had in my backpack was one of those Mylar space blankets...
I wrapped up in that, covering my head and my backpack (a wet backpack is HEAVY) and got on my way.
Fortunately the rain had slacked off a good bit- just waves of drizzle...
Curracarrang to Wattamolla was a wet blur for me. It was my next resting place...
I changed socks and got going again- another high climb off the beach at Wattamolla and then off across the cliffs again heading for the Marley beaches.
I got smart going across the Marley beaches by taking off my boots and carrying them in my backpack- much better going- definitely worth the time.
One last climb up from Marley's beach - it was just after 4pm... I had a 400' climb over the next mile and a half- then a long downhill to the ferry in Bundeena and the rain was getting heavier... the drizzle was now waves of short light showers.
I got to the trail end at 6:05pm, and walked through the streets of Bundeena trying to find the ferry dock. I got to the dock just at 6:30- the last inbound ferry just arrived.
I got my ticket and sat on the boat to wait for the ride back to my car...
It was uneventful, except I could barely drive once I got to the car.
I had to take my boots off and massage my feet and legs for a bit before I could get back on the road...

But I made it.

From the pedometer on my phone...


Did I have a good time?
Not really...
Was it cool?
Yes- I'm glad I did it.
Do it again?
Nofuckingway.


TBG- ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒE

Gorram (Progressive) Kids...

Now get off my lawn.

TBG- ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒE

Stereotypes

And I ain't talking Marantz vs Kenwood, either.

I've had the idea for a post scurrying around in the wide open spaces found twixt my ears for a couple weeks.
Problem is, I can't put it to words and post it as it could be considered, if taken without proper context, as be quite raaaacist.

I can give you the gist- I was in Shanghai and this year the traffic, especially the large numbers of near-accidents and offensive driving incidents was markedly higher than in previous years.
It's not hard to imagine why- think of the worst stereotype about Asian drivers in the US, then imagine driving in a place that was populated by ONLY these kind of drivers.
All the time.
And if you carry the stereotype of Asian drivers to the next quantum level, segregating by gender,it is no surprise which sex gets the nod as being worst than the other.
And by obvious extrapolation, half of the total drivers in Shanghai are the stereotypically worst type.

(I hope I have been sufficiently vague-but-obvious...If not, ring me up and we'll chat.)

So I have been noodling that for a good bit...
But today/tonite's flight has been quite an eye opener, stereotype-wise.

I have been on several airlines that are geared to one nationality or another over the course of my job...
US Carriers that cater to bacon-eating, gun owning, loud, fat, ugly Americans such as Yours Truly...
I was on JAL - a carrier that tailors their passenger jets in a configuration lat enables them to stuff 4 or 5 salarymen into a space that would normally fit one of the afore-mentioned bacon-eating Americans...
(And let me tell you, that was a miserable center-seat nightmare.)
And I was on the ANA flight a few weeks back in a center seat built for Taiwanese nationals. And it was pure joy, if you will recall...

But tonight... Wow. UAE-based Etihad Airlines.

I have never been looked at with such smouldering animosity for 20 hours...
Both on the plane and here in the terminal waiting for my next hop to Kuala Lumpur.
On the whole trip, in line to board, one the flight itself, getting off in Abu Dhabi, hanging out in teh terminal...

I thought I might have had one of CJ's "Pork-Eating Infidel" t-shirts on for the number of hateful looks I was getting just for being a 'Murican on a Middle East flag carrier.

Really- from the looks I'm getting you'd think I was walking around with a paintbrush and a 5 gallon bucket of pig fat, anointing all flat surfaces I come in contact with...

And that is not the worst of it- I have found an out-of-the-way spot to kill the 6.5 hour layover and do my favorite thing- people watch - and man, it's quite entertaining.

I thought I was the only one getting the looks-that-could-kill-if-I-had-a-block-of-C4-and-a-kindergartener-to-tape-it-to...
Oh no- any Westerner here gets a "fuck you infidel pig" treatment- and the worst recipients - any Western woman- and the more attractive, the nastier the looks and reactions.
You can practically read the minds of the typical Middle Eastern male:
"Western whore! How dare you dress like that to tempt and titillate me! Get out of my presence, but hey- Abdul- check out her cleavage before she goes..."

Fuck this entire place.
Cannot wait to get outta here.


TBG- ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒE

Ctrl-Alt-Zzzzzzzz

TBG- ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒE

Lunchtime Reminder

Martinis are like breasts.


One is not enough, and three is too many.

TBG- ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒE

The FJRs New Clothes

Old busted...

Finally got all her new clothes on, new jewelry, etc...

Just in time for me to get back on the road...
Oh well- She'll be ready for a nice long ride when I get back from Canadiastan.

New hotness...

The Interweb Is Forever - I'm Screwed

It looks like 'Mental Health/Illness' will be the petard which will hoist Gun Rights folks.

The problem is who gets to quantify your mental health quotient, and by what criteria, and how will the criteria be collected?

What if, in lieu of an actual lab visit or a hundred page questionnaire, They (the ubiquitous 'they') decide that one's body of work (Facebook? Blog? Instagram photos?) could be analyzed and the citizen can then be adjudged mentally askew?

Is this a possibility? You betchur ass...

There is a new version of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) and the difference between the old one (DSM IV) and the new one (DSM 5) ain't just the cutover from roman to arabic numerals in the title.

Many of the changes in DSM-5 were made to better characterize symptoms and behaviors of groups of people who are currently seeking clinical help but whose symptoms are not well defined by DSM-IV (meaning they are less likely to have access to treatment). Our hope is that by more accurately defining disorders, diagnosis and clinical care will be improved and new research will be facilitated to further our understanding of mental disorders.

 The APA has quite a comprehensive set of tools for assessment of mental disorders...
Some of these tools are pretty vague on making assessments-

Level 2 Cross-Cutting Symptom Measures
For Adults
LEVEL 2—Depression—Adult (PROMIS Emotional Distress—Depression—Short Form)
LEVEL 2—Anger—Adult (PROMIS Emotional Distress—Anger—Short Form)
LEVEL 2—Mania—Adult (Altman Self-Rating Mania Scale [ASRM])
LEVEL 2—Anxiety—Adult (PROMIS Emotional Distress—Anxiety—Short Form)
LEVEL 2—Somatic Symptom—Adult (Patient Health Questionnaire 15 Somatic Symptom Severity Scale [PHQ-15])
LEVEL 2—Sleep Disturbance—Adult (PROMIS—Sleep Disturbance—Short Form)
LEVEL 2—Repetitive Thoughts and Behaviors—Adult (Adapted from the Florida Obsessive-Compulsive Inventory [FOCI] Severity Scale [Part B])
LEVEL 2—Substance Use—Adult (Adapted from the NIDA-Modified ASSIST)

Now- if you look at the Level 2 - Anger Section - you find instruction for evaluation:

Instructions: On the DSM-5 Level 1 cross-cutting questionnaire that you just completed, you indicated that during the past 2 weeks you (the individual receiving care) have been bothered by “feeling irritated, grouchy, or angry” at a mild or greater level of severity. The questions below ask about these feelings in more detail and especially how often you (the individual receiving care) have been bothered by a list of symptoms during the past 7 days.  Please respond to each item by marking (x) one box per row.

 In the past SEVEN (7) DAYS....
                                                                                                Score
   Item                                                           Never  Rarely  Sometimes  Often  Always
1.  I was irritated more than people knew.    ☐  1    ☐ 2         ☐ 3           ☐ 4         ☐ 5
2.  I felt angry.                                                    ☐  1    ☐ 2         ☐ 3           ☐ 4         ☐ 5
3.  I felt like I was ready to explode.                ☐  1    ☐ 2          ☐ 3          ☐ 4         ☐ 5
4.  I was grouchy.                                               ☐  1    ☐ 2         ☐ 3           ☐ 4         ☐ 5
5.  I felt annoyed.                                               ☐  1    ☐ 2         ☐ 3           ☐ 4         ☐ 5

 Now, this being the short form for evaluating how 'angry' someone is, could the Thought Police decide that reading over someone's daily rantings on a weblog and apply the same yardstick? It would be just a short hop to making a decision that someblogger is a full bubble off plumb, and should have their Second Amendment rights amputated.

The APA has a hell of a catch-22 involved here...
In the APA's policy document they talk out both sides of their faces:

The American Psychiatric Association recognizes the
critical public health need for action to promote safe
communities and reduce mortality due to firearm-related
violence. As such, the APA supports the following actions:
...
2.  Research and training on the causes of violence and its
effective control should be a national priority.
a.  Given the difficulty in accurately identifying those
persons likely to commit acts of violence, federal
resources should be directed toward the development
and testing of methods that assist in the identification
of high-risk individuals.
...
c.  Psychiatrists, as well as other physicians and
health professionals, must continue to be trained
to assess and respond to those individuals who
may be at heightened risk for violence or suicide.
Such training should include education about
speaking with patients about firearm access and
safety. Appropriate federal and state resources
should be allocated for training of these professionals.

It is shortly followed up in the document with:

3.  Recent attention to the mental health system has
highlighted the need for improved services and access
to care.
...
c.  Because privacy in mental health treatment is
essential to encourage persons in need of treatment
to seek care, laws mandating psychiatrists and other
mental health professionals to report to law enforcement
officials everyone who appears to be a danger to
themselves or others are likely to be counterproductive
and should not be adopted.

According to the above, they (the HeadShrinkers) can't report you for being nuts, but they COULD suggest that some Gummint Agency check you out on the Intarweb and see what you've written.

The Media (and some law enforcement) are all about publishing on-line rantings from Facebook, Twitter, etc every time someone commits suicide-by-LEO...
How far off are we from a 'concerned citizen' SWATting a blogger because the content of the 'blog is a little too 'angry' a little too often?

I had to shut down my blog a couple years back because I was concerned it would be used against me during a workplace incident...
I am now wondering if my "dammit-the-assholes-are-all-around-me" on-line ravings from the last nine years will be my downfall...

(And as the title of this post implies, just deleting the posts won't do any good...
I did some searches on some really old stuff that came up with no problems...
Not good.)

TBG- ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒE

Getting Talked About

Notoriety - I doesn't need it.

I was getting some fresh towels down at the front desk last weekend...
(They don't service the rooms on Sunday. Go figger.)

Front Desk Clerk One: "For 708? Right."
Yours Truly: "Yep."
FDC1: "You're with TennisAustralia, right? What do you do for them?"
YT: "Just IT stuff- network, phones, internet..."
FDC1: "Oh..." She had a puzzled look.
YT: "Is there something wrong?"
FDC1: No...Um...You don't look techie."
YT: "I'll take that as a compliment. I think."

 - - -
Today, talking to a different FDC about an issue in the laundry room:

FDC2: "...we'll take care of that. You're in 708- You're the techie with TA?"
YT: "Yes Ma'am." She knows I'm a tech? Hmmm.
FDC2 gives me an over-the-glasses look. "Really?"
YT: "Yes... Why?"
FDC2: "Oh, no reason."

My turn for the over the glasses look.

YT: "No, now, why does everyone keep asking what I do for TA?"

She looks around, checking for eavesdroppers.

FDC2: "There's been discussion that you are a policeman."

Huh?

YT: "How's that?"
FDC2: "Just speculation. No reason."
YT: "Hmm. Nope. Not a cop. Just a tech."
FDC2: "Okay... If you say so."
YT: "Seriously. You want me to come back there and configure a router for you, or maybe crimp you a Cat-5 cable?"
FDC2: "No... I believe you."
YT: "I should hope so... But seriously, why do folks think I'm a cop?"
FDC2: "No idea. That's just the chatter."

Hmmm. Chatter about the Big Guy in 708.

I think I figured out why...


I had brought along an old issue of Concealed Carry magazine on the trip just to have something to read in case I needed a break from my iPad. I threw it on the nightstand when I cleaned out my backpack the other day looking for some odd or end in the bottom of the pack.

Mystery solved...

However...
This brings up a new idea.
I will definitely pick up some other similar reading material for my trip to Sochi;
Maybe it will make the housekeeping staff give the room a little more attention...
(Them or the Russian NSA-analog. They're probably one in the same anyway.)

TBG- ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒE

To the Lady in Line Behind Me....

Preparing for some much-needed recoil therapy on Sunday AM...
Stopped  by Wally World on the way home.

Shopping list:
2 boxes of .44 Magnum
2 boxes of 9mm

Impulse buy:
6 red velvet cupcakes (for TWWKMT and the PC...)

So, cupcakes and boolits.

I heard a sniff of derision behind me as I put my goods on the checkout stand.

A lady who looks like a candidate for the People of WalMart website is looking at my items, then gives me the hairy eyeball.

Judge me all you want, honey.

We're all gonna die someday and when I go people are gonna say:
"I knew he'd come to a bad end. We all saw it coming."

TBG- ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒE

What do you mean "Safe"?

I was in Walgreen's the other day...

The guy in front of me was purchasing (not kidding) condoms and Listerine mouthwash.

"Don't judge me." he said, in not so many words.

I normally don't comment on other people's purchases.
(A guy who buys Marshmallow Peeps, rum, and 9mm ammo in one purchase shouldn't throw stones.)
But, since he initiated the dialog, I figured I'd join in.
"Strange times we're living in... Even condoms can't guarantee safe sex anymore."
"What do you mean?" he asked.
"A buddy of mine was wearing one when he was shot by his girlfriend's husband."
 
 TBG- ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒE