Rants

     Uh hu... I suppose that's true from a rich persons point of view, but if you're on the opposite side of the gutter like I am, you see it differently. I haven't written much of anything lately, let alone a rant. I might just enjoy this. Yes, I think I might...     First, the standard disclaimer. I'm sure all rich people are not the same. I simply present these views from my own experience as a construction worker. Granted, at times dry wall hangers and finishers have proven to be quite a disreputable bunch of characters surpassed only perhaps by carnival bums as the scourge of the earth.

Hope you didn't think this was going to be a science fiction short story. The title might have led you to believe so. What I'm talking about is good old rural America. We get our water directly out of a hole in the ground, from a well. It tastes pretty good, if you like the taste of dirt. We have a Septic tank and leach beds for our sewage and have to have our poop carted away every year or so or it tends to back up into the basement. We even have indoor plumbing, electricity and phones. Yeah, I guess we don't have it all that bad.

I should really stay away from politics. Politics is an insane subject populated by insanely power hungry individuals supposedly elected by the registered citizens to take care of their wants and needs. Instead, as a rule they simply do the bidding of the people who really put them there, special interest groups and the rich. (Basically, one and the same...) So rather than get into something way beyond my understanding, I only wanted to point out a few glaring inadequacies of the American way.

This is America... in Iraq.

I rarely involve myself in in-depth political discussions. It's not that I'm uninterested in the fact that it seems our country is being run into the ground by less than qualified leadership, or that possibly we're undergoing a quasi revolution directed by misguided holier-than-thou religious zealots on our own soil. Its not because there is such a pandemic of idiocy infecting those who are elected by the people whose job is to care for the common citizen's needs.

I make no claims to being an expert writer, or even good as far as that goes. I rarely blow my own whistle you see. However, I don't care who a certain famous writers editor is, what I do care about is that he allowed the writer to make a decent four hundred page story into a bloated six hundred and fifty page weather report...

     Trying to sound intelligent is hard work. That's why I'm so quiet most of the time, which of course leads one to believe I am either ignorant, disinterested or stuck up. In a room full of college graduates, I would feel like a child left behind (in our fearless leaders words). Lucky for me, I have come to realize that while a higher education may make one feel smarter or superior to a certain extent, that rarely translates into a truthful description of the college graduate. Naturally, that sounds like a sweeping generalization and I don't intend it that way.

     The title says it all. Gary Jules recorded a song called "Mad World" originally written by Tears For Fears I believe. This song will get to you if you've ever felt or experienced instability in your life. Actually, just the song itself is fantastic no matter what you've experienced. At any rate, it is a Mad World, and I thought I might offer a bit of truth in support of the fact...     I am neither a Bush supporter, nor a Bush hater, but when he took office, there was over a trillion dollar budget surplus. We are now looking at a five hundred billion-dollar budget deficit.

     You know how women are always saying that their husbands never listen to them? Well, I've got news for you; women don't even listen to themselves. It became blatantly obvious during our recent weekend family reunion at the lake...  

     Construction has to be one of the only occupations where unqualified workers outnumber those who know what the hell they are doing. Excluding the government of course. But that's politics and better left to The Mike to pontificate on...

     It simply amazes me the number of workers who have no idea what they are doing, or how to get along with other trades on a construction site. And that certainly is not limited to the common worker either. Few General Contractors I have had the indistinct pleasure of working with have a clue either.

     Why bother? A person works their entire life trying to achieve top honors in their profession and what do you get? Jealous coworkers, intimidated underlings and life under a microscope. It's lonely at the top...

     We never aspire to be god like creatures -- worshiped as one who's extraordinary talents are highly sought after -- only to be put upon a pedestal and submitted to nearly unbearable scrutiny. Ok, so maybe we do want to make a name for ourselves. I guess you have to be careful what you ask for.

     I never thought I would live to see the day that there would be a run on duct tape. How can an honest, hard working construction worker be expected to do his job when citizens are driven to panic induced, binge buying? The single most valuable, and highly sought after tool box necessity in existence -- if everyone asking to borrow it is any indication -- has disappeared by the case from our favorite hardware outlets. And where does that leave us, the ones who really need the stuff in order to face a full day of tasks that might require the actual use of it for which it was intended?

     Here's one from the archives. I've been sick for a week and didn't have anything ready. Unfortunately, I got the dreaded stomach virus that has been making the rounds, and then promptly caught the standard winter cold. I don't think I ever posted this old rant, but if I did, it was quite some time ago. It was written in August of '99... 

Language is cool. The thing I really like about language is the different ways that different people can describe the same thing. And the most amazing thing is, that even though the descriptions are as different as night and day, they can paint the same picture. At least, most of the time...For instance, let's say two guys are on the beach, and they see an attractive woman in a bikini. It's hot, and the sun is shining brightly, so she happens to be covered in suntan lotion and sweating. One of the guys is an auto mechanic, and the other is, I don't know, maybe a taxidermist.

     Weather men are fairly accurate. You can usually depend on their forecast, especially when it will ruin your well laid plans. However, if you are clever and devious enough, (like me), you can use that to your advantage...

So sorry! I was unprepared today to have anything of significance posted. However, that shouldn't keep me from posting something less significant should it? And in all actuality, this just might be significant to someone out there.While I have nothing against Middle East countries in general, or any OPEC concerns for that matter, we thought it might be of interest for you to know which American gas companies purchase oil from Middle Eastern countries, and which do not.

For the time frame of 9/1/00 - 8/31/01