Crying

If you are a man, you most likely won't understand a damn thing about this blog ...

I have a very demanding job. I am the only woman in my company that has the level of responsibilities I have as a project manager. Not that women are in short supply, or that my company does not have a lot of women on staff, but the positions that can make or break the company with the clients usually are filled by men...anyway, so i have to do my job as good or better than my colleagues. I manage contracts, coordinate vendors, ensure that the purchases of equipment and installation go according to the plan I developed...all in all some days my job is, well, somedays it sucks. Today was one of those. From 7 am on it was problem after problem...

Finally my husband came into the den a nd asked why I was crying. I let loose, with all of this, and he said " well, you let people you don't really even know jerk you around, honey thats dopey" ...which made me cry some more. He's right.

So I am choosing to feel better and not worry about it. Then I start watching the news about the gulf, and Obama's supreme court nominee, and the tears well up, but for a different reason...

Have a peaceful evening...

Iran-US-Israel drama goes into Act II

Iran-US-Israel drama goes into Act II

Dr. Bhaskar 
Balakrishnan (Middle East)

25 June 2010

Two weeks ago, the UN Security Council, in a divided vote adopted Resolution 1929 imposing fresh sanctions on Iran.

 Turkey and Brazil voted against while Lebanon abstained in the 15 member Council. The US and its allies lobbied hard for the sanctions, making concessions in order to bring Russia and China on board.

The move followed months of futile efforts to reach a negotiated settlement between Iran and the P5 plus Germany over the nuclear issue. The last minute agreement brokered by Turkey and Brazil for Iran to hand over 1200 kg of low enriched uranium failed to satisfy the US.

As expected, Iran has dismissed the Security Council resolution as illegal, and declared its intention to continue with its nuclear programme. Meanwhile, the US Congress has drafted a tougher sanctions package, which would affect third country companies supplying petrol or engaging in financial transactions with Iran. President Obama seems to have little choice but to approve it. The EU has adopted its own version of tighter sanctions against Iran. On the military front, Israel on June 22 launched a sixth spy satellite Ofek-9 specifically to focus of Iran. It has a more advanced camera with a resolution of 0.5 metres.

A major military exercise took place off the Mediterranean coast on June 6-10, involving US aircraft carrier Truman and associated strike group and German and Israeli ships. The exercise Juniper Stallion 10 involved practice bombing runs by US and Israeli aircraft, as well as Israeli anti missile defences is significant in relation to speculation about a possible military strike against Iran.

The USS Truman battle group has since transited Suez on 18 June, headed for the Arabian Gulf to join the USS Eisenhower battle group already there.

Iran has declared a state of alert on June 22, on its northwestern borders alleging that US and Israeli forces have concentrated in Azerbaijan ready to strike at Iran’s nuclear facilities. Iranian sources claim that Israel has secretly transferred a large number of bomber jets to bases in Azerbaijan, via Georgia, and that American Special Forces are also concentrated in Azerbaijan in preparation for a strike.

Dr. Uri Arad, a top adviser to Prime Minister Netanyahu said on June 22 that a pre-emptive military strike against Iran may “eventually” be necessary. On June 17, US Defence Secretary Robert gates told US Senators that Iran could fire salvoes of hundreds of missiles against targets in Europe, and argued in favour of stronger missile defence systems in Europe, despite Russian objections. Israeli commentators have pointed out that this could mean a far larger threat to Israel, taking into account the presence of large numbers of shorter range missiles with Syria and the Hezbollah in Lebanon.

US sources indicated that senior Al Qaeda operatives such as Saif al-Adel, living in Iran had been allowed to leave the country through Syria to orchestrate terrorist attacks on American targets. These reports seem aimed at further tarnishing the Iranian regime and portraying it as a supporter of international terrorism.

All these developments point to a situation of increasing tension in the region. A small incident could trigger off a larger conflagration. It is likely that Iran may resort to buying its needs of petrol through companies in third countries having no business operation involving the US.

It would be legally difficult to for third countries to apply restrictions on companies that wish to supply petrol to Iran, in the absence of any UNSC ban on such trade. However, the US government is likely to put pressure on countries to try and stop such indirect trade. As the Iran-US-Israel drama moves into its second Act, countries in the region should be ready to face unpleasant consequences of heightened tensions and conflict.

Dr Bhaskar Balakrishnan is a former 
Indian ambassador to Cuba and also served as representative at ILO in Geneva

Canice has lost her mind...

I mean, I read the news online at lunch time, and i see these stories:

Obama .. To Nationalize 401k Plans, where the government is going to make every employer that does not have a pension plan open a National Retirement Savings account in your name, and supposedly have to make a deduction from your paycheck roughly equal to you Social Security. The government will guarantee you earn 3%.  Supposedly this is in the 2010 Budget put forward by you know who, BHO..

After the stock market plunged, i reinvested my 401k money and started making some of it back, averaged a little over 8% last year. Does that mean the government would have confiscated 5%? I mean according to the way the story reads, "you don't need more money than that" is the mantra...

I have decided the Obama is not just crazy, they are evil. Evil as in the laws, the Constitution, everything we used to say is right with this country are now bad.

Then I read about how the Obama Scholar program is now in full swing at Arizona State

Here is what the web page says about the President Barack Obama Scholar program...

ASU will award recipients a combination of the following sources of aid. These awards do not require repayment, and cover all direct expenses for 8 semesters (4 years)

Qualifications

To remain is good standing in the President Barack Obama Scholar Program, undergraduates must maintain a cumlative GPA of 1.600 for the first 24 semester hours, ...

HUH? are you friggin kidding me? I had to maintain at least a 2.5 to keep my schloarship in college, but these kids only have to earn a D+ average...what is this, Animal House..

"...1.6; four C's and an F. A fine example you set! "

Then there is the story about how the Brazilian Oil company is going to drill in over 14,000 ft of ocean, but thats Ok by BO," Obama loans Brazil $2 billion for offshore drilling"

 If President Obama has embraced offshore drilling in Brazil, why not in the old U.S.A.? The land of the sorta free and the home of the heavily indebted has enormous offshore oil deposits...

Meanwhile he fires a General, and who knows what else he's up to...

 

USS Truman Air Group , USAF practice desert bombing

From June 6 through June 10, the USS Harry S. Truman carrier Strike Group was deployed 50 miles off the shore of southwestern Israel, secretly drilling the interception of incoming Iranian, Syrian and Hizballah missiles and rockets against US and Israeli targets in the Middle East.
This was first revealed by DEBKA-Net-Weekly on June 18.

The fleet let by the Truman then headed for the Persian Gulf through the Suez Canal accompanied by an Israeli missile ship (not identified) and the German missile frigate FGS Hessen F221.

For five days and night, the Truman's sixty F/A-18E/F Super Hornet fighter bombers took off on simulated bombing missions against targets set up by the Israeli Air Force at its firing range on the Nevatim Base-28, in the Negev desert southeast of Be'er Sheva - one of its three big air bases.
The Super Hornets flew simulated bombing missions night and day against targets set up by the Israeli Air Force at its firing range on the Nevatim Base-28, in the Negev desert southeast of Be'er Sheva - one of three big Israeli air facilities.
The exercise had 60 American F-16 fighter jets landing at Israeli Air Force facilities from bases in Germany and Romania, refueling and taking off with Israeli fighter bombers to practice long-range bombing missions over the Red Sea and the Mediterranean and drill air-to-air combat along the way.
Switching over to a tough line, US defense secretary Robert Gates warned a Senate panel on June 18 that Iran could fire "scores or hundreds" of short- and medium-range missiles against Europe - in salvoes rather than one or two at a time.
Gates told a Fox interviewer: "I don't think we're prepared to even talk about containing a nuclear Iran. I think… our view still is we do not accept the idea of Iran having nuclear weapons." Asked whether a military strike was preferable, he said all options remain on the table although some time is left for working on problem."

 

Aircraft carrier and 11 other ships sail thru Suez Canal

A fleet of a dozen warships including the aircraft carrier USS Harry Truman and at least one Israeli vessel have reportedly sailed through the Suez Canal under heavy Egyptian guard. Heading from the Mediterranean Sea toward the Red Sea, the fleet was the largest military armada in years and follows the same route US warships took prior to the attack on Iraq. The London-based daily Al-Quds Al-Arabi quoted unnamed eyewitnesses saying the Egyptians had closed down the entire canal over the weekend to commercial and civilian traffic and confined Egyptian fishermen to ports in the southern lakes as a security precaution. The Israeli navy declined to comment on the report.

 However, it is known that Israeli warships have only recently returned to using the canal after unilaterally avoiding it due to fears of a terror attack on their ships. Joining a US flotilla would certainly be a safer option for them.

Egyptian opposition figures have been quoted as saying the move was in preparation for a possible strike on Iran.

Note:

Iran has promised to retaliate in kind if shipping lanes were to be disturbed in the Persian Gulf and the Sea of Oman. Iran warns that US bullying postures against Iran and an eventual military confrontation would lead to the start of Third World War.

Open Letter to Congress

Dear Congressional Representative, Senator, and President

As a Californian, I have seen this state go up and down in various measures; unemployment, economic prosperity, ranking of our educational system.

Growing up, I received a public education that was among the best in the country; I went on to attend a university that even today is still ranked among the top 50 such schools in the US, although the costs have skyrocketed from the measly amount of in state tuition I paid to the current $37,560 a year today (I still have a student ID somewhere that says I paid $61 per semester hour).

Unemployment has gone up and down, and as recently as three years ago was about 4%, considered full employment for the area- today the statewide average is over 12%, with some counties at 27.5%

Most people I work with or am friends with have what I would call a middle class standard of living- we drive our cars to work every day, and those cars tend to be older. We have taken pay cuts, furloughs, increases in what we pay for benefits if available, and struggle to make our mortgage, pay our gasoline and other living costs, and still manage to “stay above water” financially, although many are losing that struggle.

This situation exists nationally, not just here in California. Our state just happens to be in the central vortex of this shitstorm called the financial meltdown.  People in the Gulf of Mexico coast states have the economy AND the oil spill to deal with.

These are the things I care about…that our kids get a decent education, that we have jobs that pay a decent wage, and that the government gets the hell out of the way, because they sure aren’t leading.

Every day presents us with new challenges, which we as a people have shown we can meet.

You on the other hand have not.

Thomas Jefferson said “When a man assumes a public trust, he should consider himself as public property”.

You work for us, but you are not willing to honor that commitment. So you are on notice that we plan to lay you off in November. Consider this the 4 month warning many of us never get. You go on TV or the radio and make speeches about things that have no substance, that only serve to confuse the issues and more importantly show us how wrong we were in hiring you. Your loyalty is to those with money and power, while you distance yourselves from those with any meaning in all of this, We the People. We are why you are there. You are supposed to serve our interests.

 

Get you're things together, you will be leaving Washington January 2011.

Main stream (Dumb ass) media skews reality-again

From AP today: BP CEO's yacht outing infuriates Gulf residents

 "He wanted to get his life back,"  "I guess he got it."...President Barack Obama's chief of staff Rahm Emanuel made the observation Saturday on ABC's "This Week."

Meanwhile, we The People get it  - users of social networking sites like Twitter (Twitter is over capacity. Please wait a moment and try again) compared Obama and Biden's golfing to Hayward's yachting, lumping them together as diversions of privileged people who should be paying more attention to the oil gushing into the Gulf.

"Our government, the executives at BP, it looks like they decide to worry about it later," said Capt. Dwayne Price, a charter fisherman in Grand Isle, La., who now spends his days shuttling media out to the oiled waters. "Things need to happen now. The longer this is strung out, the worse it's going to be."

I checked, and as this story came out well over 158,000 comments populated the store, while Twitter and other instant media were temporarily slowed down BUT EXCESS demands for usage...

Mrs Old Fart

When on vacation a few weeks back, I was pulled over for a burnt out tail light. After he looked thru my documents, he pointed out my proof of insurance was expired…I had meant to put the new one in the glove box and forgotten before we left on our trip.

He could have written me a ticket on either item, but instead simply handed the paperwork back to me, and said to me (and honey)

 

 

“You folks have a safe trip, and try to get that light fixed soon.”

 

Honey said we lucked out; he just was a nice guy.

Today while sitting at a traffic light in (duh) traffic, my blackberry started buzzing, so I checked my email. As I was reading the email, I heard a motorcycle coming up between cars, and looked up to see a motorcycle cop sternly looking at me, blackberry in hand, he smiled  and says “Don’t do that..”

 I tossed it back into my bag.

After the light changed and he roared away, I merged over and went on my way home. On the drive, I thought about this, and how different an experience it was, these two encounters with the law, from when I was say in my 20’s.

 I know at least twice back then I got pulled over purely so the guy could talk to me…the other times were because I was, well, a lead foot. I drove my VW like it was a sports car...although I didn’t always get a ticket.

So what has changed, beside the fact that I no longer drive like a maniac? Well, the cops have gone thru more people oriented police training, or …and then it hit me.

Both cops were probably between 25 and 35. I am old enough to be…their mother??? They let me slide because they see mom when they talk to me? 

Then there was that park ranger in Oregon, a woman I surmised to be no spring chicken herself, offering me the senior discount on park admission, “Because you are 62, aren’t you?”

I know sometimes I look like hell, but come on; I am a good half decade plus from 62…

Oh, I know I need to accept this. I look around when out and about, and the majority of people seem younger than me. Seems like that just happened overnight

Makes that whole saying about youth being wasted on the young make sense.

I guess I qualify for Mrs. Old fart... I am married to one

Gomer Bama, USMC

My husband saw this and burst out laughing, until I read him the story. Seems Our Fearless Leader wants to show he's one of the biys, and so he wears military issue atheletic clothes when shooting hoops...

Honey says "He could never be a Marine"

Air Force maybe...? (sorry Air Force )

Obama brought this on himself...new ad blasts inaction

Pretty much says it all for me...I never thought I would say this, but Mr. President, you are a real assclown....

Work is fun?

One of my dreams is to be able to work for myself from home.

I’ve often dreamt of doing this by photography, graphic design, selling my crafts, soap making, and dabbling in whatever other interests me. I want to create things, and being a project manager just ain’t cutting it. I long for something new, something different, where I can put my skills to use. Something where I feel in control, not that it’s controlling me.

At the same time though, when I have done something I love, photography, proofing the pictures can be a royal pain. I sit there for hours, analyzing (and over analyzing) the pics. I work for so long editing the pictures that my eyes get blurry and I start to get a headache. Not good at all!

It makes me think- I love photography and taking pictures. When it is a job though, won’t that sometimes make it more stressful than it is enjoyable?

I just need to realize that nothing is perfect and that in the end, what doesn’t kill me will make me stronger. As long as I’m enjoying what I do, isn’t that’s all that matters.

What do you think- do you think if you had to do something you love as “work” every day, would it become a chore?

My fallback position is, to realize as I quickly approach retirement age, maybe I can work at something fun while I am retired from the 5 day a week grind…I will need to do something, since there will still be bills to pay while I dream of being a lottery winner…

 

ps..Today had that bad vibe for some reason which took me awhile to figure out, until I noticed the date..today is my first husband's birthday. Though I divorced that cheater over 30 years ago, I guess that date will stick in my head, like July 20 when our divorce became official.  D-i-v-o-r-c-e became final today...remember that song?

Wow- Physical traits you might hate are good for you?

I found this article education and actually cheered me up a little...mostly because I can relate to several traits listed. Moles, smallish breasts, big ankles,not especially wide hips...etc...and as kids, my brother used to tell me I have a big nose...I would call him a booger miner in response.......

For instance, researchers in Turkey reportedly found that large breasts cause back pain and a curvature of the spine, while the University of Vienna found that smaller boobs are more sensitive (wink wink). A large nose, meanwhile, reportedly inhales 7 percent fewer pollutants, such as dust and airborne bacteria, according to research from the University of Iowa.

And there's a reason why they call moles "beauty marks." Though having moles can increase your risk of skin cancer, those with blemished skin (as in, more than 100 moles) are reportedly younger biologically than their less dotty counterparts, and have a lower risk of age-related ailments such as heart disease and osteoporosis, King's College of London has found.

"The results of this study show, for the first time, that moley people who have a slightly increased risk of melanoma may, on the other hand, have the benefit of a reduced rate of aging," lead researcher Dr. Veronique Bataille told the Daily Mail.

Got shapeless hips? You're in luck. The University of Southampton in England found that women whose mothers had wide hips were more than three times more likely to get breast cancer because of estrogen levels.

Having junk in your trunk can also be a good thing. Oxford University reportedly determined that gaining weight in the butt rather than the stomach can cut the risk of diabetes while promoting good cholesterol over bad cholesterol.

Redheads, on the other hand, are able to maintain their natural hair color for longer than blondes and brunettes battling white hairs, according to the University of Bradford.

And don't let those cankles get you down -- scientists reportedly suggest that lower body fat cells are healthy, and that beefy ankles can be good for mobility and indicate well-structured tendons. Big ears, meanwhile, are reportedly useful for better hearing, large thighs can carry a lower risk of premature death and heart disease (because they suggest a more active lifestyle), short and stumpy legs could have larger bones that ward off osteoporosis, short toes require less energy when walking and flat feet are less susceptible to injuries, according to the source.

Phew. Next thing you know they'll be telling us that a bad hair day can cure cancer. Fingers crossed

I Voted...Career politicians-0, Fresh Ideas 1

I spent the day at work reading stuff online. Not all day mind you, but during those times my brain was turning mushy from working on a project budget to squeeze more savings and improve the overall cost to a previously approve contract.

I checked the news about things, and noticed that there was a story about how many unionized government jobs in the cities and counties of broke California were telling the union to stop being such jerks...a job with less benefits and lower pay was better than NO JOB...a sentiment I, unfortunately am well acquainted with.

For those of you that enjoy stories of the rich getting bashed, take heart that Canice who once was on the path to a six figure income is now making nowhere near that, after a several thousand dollar a year cut. And it looks like I will probably have to give more to keep my job, which means working even more years to put away enough to even think about retirement. More importantly though, my daughter may face a layoff, and I fear her and her under employed husband could lose the home they scrimped and saved to buy just last month.

So as i entered the polls, i resolved that the f__ktards that got us in this mess should not think for a minute i give crap about their career...who said political office was a career field anyway? I don't remember ever visiting a Politician booth in college on Career Day?

Same goes for multiBillionaires trying to get elected- WHY? Like Meg Whitman here in California spending $80 million on the PRIMARY...WTF? 

Hope you all voted, because if you didn't, your silence just as surely screwed us over as anything...

PS, sorry if I got a little bit on a rant, OK?

Why people don't leave comments?

I often wonder why I see sometimes several people read a blog, but don't comment. I usually figure they read through it, decide its crap, and move on. I am not alone in wondering about this, and found a list of reasons people don't bother to leave comments...sort of interesting, to me anyway.

10 Reasons Readers Don’t Leave Comments

I don’t suppose this is all of the reasons folks choose not to comment. This is only a list of 10 +1 of them ....

• 1. What you write is so complete, that I don’t know what to say except good job. I feel silly writing that, so I read and move on.
• 2. You’ve taught me something I didn’t know, and I need to think about it before I even have a question. Much like number 1, I don’t want to embarrass myself. I’m better off moving on.
• 3. I get ready to type a comment, but I notice you only respond to a few friends who mostly share inside jokes. I won’t take the risk of being overlooked in public.
• 4. The folks who comment on your posts like to argue and I don’t. I’m not sure I’m brave enough to fight my way into the crowd.
• 5. You rarely respond to comments. So, there’s no point in writing one.
• 6. Your blog has geeky attitude and I’m not geeky enough to keep up.
• 7. I really like your blog and your post, but I’m too tired, busy, or any one of a number things that you can’t control. I’ll comment the next I come back to read.
• 8. You end your posts with a giant general question like “What do you think of the Big Bang Theory?” That question is such a big one. I don’t have time to answer it. I feel strange answering with a lesser comment.
• 9. You put up a fence by making me login to comment. I have too many passwords already and I don’t know you well enough to add one to my list.
• 10. Your content wasn’t fresh and exciting, and I couldn’t find anything YOU inside it. It seemed the same post that I’ve read on 10 other blogs. If I commented, I would have to tell you that.
• PLUS ONE: Your post was negative. Negative is scary. Most folks don’t like negative stuff, because they know they could be next to be the recipient. I don’t comment, because I don’t want to be part of it.

DARPA Mind's EYE Program - When make believe becomes real

DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency: the central research and development organization for the United States Department of Defense ) has a proposal for research on integration of visual intelligence to a variety of platforms, including unmanned aircraft, land vehicles and sea going vessel/vehicles.

Mind’s Eye Program

The Mind’s Eye program seeks to develop in machines a capability that currently exists only in animals: visual intelligence. Humans in particular perform a wide range of visual tasks with ease, which no current artificial intelligence can do in a robust way.

One of the desired military capabilities resulting from this new form of visual intelligence is a smart camera, with sufficient visual intelligence that it can report on activity in an area of observation.

Mind’s Eye strongly emphasizes fundamental research. It is expected that technology development teams will draw equally from the state of the art in cognitive systems, machine vision, and related fields to develop this new visual intelligence.

Oregon coast and SW Washington 2010

View of Otter Rock and Otter Crest from Cape Foulweather, OR

The last week of May we travelled from central California to Redding, CA, crossed to the coast and then followed Highway 101 up, ending in Long beach WA.

Problem solved!

 Everyone concentrates on the problems we're having in this country lately --
...... not me -- I concentrate on solutions for the problems -- it's a win-win situation. 

* Dig a moat the length of the Mexican border. 
* Send the dirt to New Orleans to raise
the level of the levees. 
* Put Florida alligators in the moat along the Mexican border. 

Any other problems you would like for me to solve today?  

Think about this: 
1. Cows 
2. The Constitution 
3. The Ten Commandments   


COWS
Is it just me, or does anyone else find it amazing that during the mad cow epidemic our government could track a single cow, born in Canada almost three years ago prior, right to the stall where she slept in the state of Washington? And, they tracked her calves to their stalls. But they are unable to locate 11 million illegal aliens wandering around our country. Maybe we should give each of them a cow.   


THE CONSTITUTION
They keep talking about drafting a Constitution for Iraq ... why don't we just give them ours? It was written by a lot of really smart guys, it has worked for over 200 years, and we're not using it anymore.   


THE 10 COMMANDMENTS
The real reason that we can't have the Ten Commandments posted in a courthouse is this -- you cannot post 'Thou Shalt Not Steal' 'Thou Shalt Not Commit Adultery' and 'Thou Shall Not Lie' in a building full of lawyers, judges and politicians ... it creates a hostile work environment, which is illegal...

Rolling Stone Turns 69

Listening to the radio in the mindlessly long commute to and from work leaves me wanting for the heady days of AM radio (like KXOA in Sacramento where now legendary Don Imus became famous), and the emergence of FM underground radio, like KZAP also here in Sacramento.  Rock ruled, along with some jazz and blues…like the Stones

The Stones were already established, although they were heavily influenced by various music forms through the years, and now are nearing 50 years.

That’s right- drummer Charlie Watts, born June 2, 1941 turns 69. Keith Richards is 66, as is Mick Jagger.  No matter

I still love their music

I bought my first Rolling Stones album in 1966, it was Big Hits and featured a lot of songs I really loved…I still have this record to this day, stashed away in my sparse remaining records. Eventually I added the CD release of the album, but kept the vinyl for the memories, and the sound, which over the years acquired some hiss and popping from scratches.

Playing Jumpin Jack Flash always reminds me of the summer of 1968, when I would play in on my stereo, and imagine all sorts of wonderful things…

Happy Birthday Mr. Watts