Harleys, Cars, Girls & Guitars

Partisanship is Good

I’m not an Obama fan. In fact, I’m not a fan of any particular politician or party. So, I watched only a bit of the State of the Union speech the other night.

The President had a lot of negative things to say about partisanship. He seems to think that it’s a bad thing.

“Government is the problem,” said President Ronald Reagan.

The one politician I really admire is my fellow Illinoisan, Dutch Reagan. And, I despised him when he was president. He was so unfashionable! Going on about the evil of communism. Ugh! Talking about the importance of self-reliance. Gauche! Trying to cut the power and scope of government. Hideous! I was young and stupid when Reagan was elected in 1980. I wanted the world to be a nice place.

Our current economic mess was caused by the actions of government. The subprime mortgage catastrophe is entirely the work of the fed during the Clinton, Bush and Obama presidencies. The fed insisted that banks drop their lending standards. And, they did.

Since stupid political decisions led us to this economic catastrophe, why would we want politicians to lead us out of this mess? The best thing for the Republicans and Democrats to do would be nothing at all.

This is why partisanship is good. A Republican House or Senate is just what we need now to stop the Obama administration dead in its tracks. I’m entirely in favor of one party occupying the Presidency, while the other party occupies Congress. Divided government prevents government from doing very much… and that’s a very good thing.

We know the way out of this economic mess. President Reagan showed us the way. Cut taxes across the board. Reduce the power and scope of government. Get rid of as many welfare entitlements as possible. It works. We enjoyed two decades of prosperity as a result.

And, by all means, both parties should be as partisan as possible. They should do everything in their power to stop the idiots on both sides from doing anything at all. The best government is the least government. We desperately need partisan bickering. It will save us from our saviors.

The Telephone Job Interview With a Bit of S&M

Yes, I’ve found a couple of new clients, and I’ll be back to work soon doing project work. I’m still looking for that full time job with vacation and benefits. So, I’m suffering through endless phone interviews.

In the internet era, the phone interview is the norm. I can remember when a job interview lasted fifteen minutes. Hell I can remember when one face-to-face interview was all it took. No more. Nowadays, the phone interview is the “screening” interview that precedes the face-to-face interview.

This is a bit of an advantage for me. I do good interview. So, the potential employer doesn’t have a clue how old I am during the phone interview. When I show up for the face-to-face, the interviewer discovers that I’m 60 years old and about half the time everything goes to hell.

I’ve been searching for stability and security ever since Myrna died. Don’t know if I’ll ever find that again. I lost my long term corporate job at the publishing house four years ago. My entire department was reorganized out of existence. The work at home job with the pharmaceutical company lasted three years.

It’s a bad job market, so employers play out the full S&M trip on job applicants. That’s human nature. If a human can dominate and punish another human, he’ll do it. So, interviews drone on endlessly, some lasting over an hour, with the interviewer picking apart every detail on the resume.

The Indian recruiters are the worst. Once they’ve locked onto you, they badger and scold relentlessly. While I was at the gym the other day, I received six “URGENT” e-mails from a recruiter. He had chosen the ridiculous pseudonym, “Steve Norman.”

Finally, I called him back.

“You’re a very hard man to get hold of,” he scolded.

Then he asked me whether I was interested in a job that, on a good day, would require a two and a half hour commute through the most congested route in New York City.

“No, that’s too far to drive,” I answered.

“Are you willing to relocate?” the recruiter demanded.

“No,” I replied.

“What’s your rate?”

I told him my rate.

“Are you flexible about that?”

At this point, I was ready to hang up. The guy wanted to know if I’d lower my rate for a job I’d already told him I wouldn’t take!

Friday, I have the second phone interview for a full time work at home job. I’ll be phoning into a conference with four interviewers! This company might never require a face-to-face, so that might work to my advantage. They’ll never get to see my wrinkles.

Another Computer Bites the Dust

My Dell XPS M2010 seems to be dying. It’s been my primary computer for three and a half years.

Damn, I’m tired of buying computers! I do everything on a computer… edit music and video, download pictures, produce animations, create websites, access my bank account, e-mail… I’m entirely dependent on those plastic boxes.

One of the hard drives on my Dell seems to have collapsed, and a number of keys on the left side of the board are becoming unresponsive. I’ve reached that critical point… it might be more sensible to invest in the most up-to-date processor I can find, instead of fixing the Dell.

Thankfully, I’ve found a new client, and I’ll be returning to work this week. Still interviewing like crazy for that full time job. The new client will probably produce consistent project work, but there’s no guarantee of full employment. At least it’s a start. And, I still have a couple of little clients that send me work from time to time.

I visited Best Buy in Paramus, NJ last week to look at the new laptops. Wouldn’t buy a PC laptop from those guys, because they don’t offer adequate configuration options. I really demand a lot from a computer. I was surprised to discover that Best Buy now sells Macs. Mac or PC?

The equation hasn’t changed in a decade. Macs cost a few hundred dollars more, have a more elegant OS, and are less prone to breakdown and attacks from viruses and spyware. Macs tend to dominate the arts world. I especially like the 27 inch iMac pictured above. Big, clean, high definition screen. No box! Everything is built into the screen!

I love big screens because they are easy on my eyes. Unfortunately, I also need a high resolution laptop for displaying work to clients. And, I can’t afford both. So, if I go Mac, I’ll probably go for one of the MacBook Pro laptops.

Money’s tight. Last thing I want to do is buy a computer right now. But, I seem to have no choice. How many of these damned boxes have I owned? It’s impossible to even count.

Do You Think Obama Heard?

I’m not looking for salvation in politics. Right now, I’m just looking for a job. But, I’m hoping President Obama heard the message sent to him by Massachusetts voters last night in the senatorial election.

Scott Brown’s victory should cause the Obama administration to seriously reflect on its wild first year in office. Stop the crazy spending. Stop raising taxes in the middle of a recession. Stop trying to take over the health care industry. And, while you’re at it, take the war on terrorism seriously.

I don’t know if Obama is capable of hearing the voters and changing course. The crazy spending has been payback to those people who stuffed his campaign coffers. And the health care mania of the Democrats… who can even figure out what they are doing or why they are doing it? It appears that getting their hands on the money that industry produces is their only motive.

The Obama administration, if it wants to survive, needs to listen… and get the message. The midterm elections are only months away. Voters will clean house if Obama and the Democrats don’t change course.

Woodstock Artists Association & Museum (WAAM)

The art colony in Woodstock was, first and foremost, a community of painters.  WAAM opened for business in 1920. It is still the focus of the visual arts in town.

The weather outside today in Woodstock is frightful. Low teens, snow on the ground... God, I'm sick of it. So, I thought today would be a good time to post these pictures that I took last August, when the trees were still green and kids still wore t-shirts and shorts. Don't these pictures make you feel warmer?

I haven't posted a thing in my walk around Woodstock series of photos for ages. I've only got a few more buildings to photograph before I finish with the business district.

WAAM is the permanent exhibit center in Woodstock for the visual arts. Of course, if features the predictable extreme left political views of the community.

WAAM has a blog!  It's even on Facebook! 

Every once in a while, I wander through the gallery. As I recall, the museum is free. So, take a walk through next time you're in Woodstock.

Birthday Times Three

The Karaoke Queen put together a feast for a combined B-Day party for me, Big Joe and Fred. Here's the crucial picture of the three of us blowing out the candles on the cake.

Big Joe and Fred are retired, and I am currently involuntarily retired. More interviews scheduled this week.

Click here to see the Facebook photo album.

Old Farts: Two Pairs of Socks!

Winter sucks when you're getting older. God's waiting room, here I come! Well... Florida will have to wait for me, because I'm still stuck here in upstate New York.

My 60th birthday on Friday! Sometimes I really feel it. I'm always cold. I've begun to wear two pairs of socks around the house. My nice, thin dress sock go on first, with the cotton socks over the top. I often wear a baseball cap, too.  Most heat loss is through the head.  Thermal underwear, of course.

Reduced circulation at the extremities is a fact of life for old farts. In the nursing home, you'll see the most ungodly examples of this in patients with diabetes. Their feet will literally die and turn black from lack of oxygenated blood. For many, this means amputation.

Oh, well... no use focusing on the negative. I've got the heat turned up. Lots of job interviews happening. Quite a burst of activity after the New Year. Sooner or later, I'll be back in the grind, wishing that I could stay home and sleep in.

God bless the Karaoke Queen, she's given me a heavy comforter for the bed. When I really need to warm up, I crawl in for a nap.

God Bless America!

The Karaoke Queen and I sang “God Bless America” for the town council meeting in Hasbrouck Heights on New Year's Day.

Behind and to the left of the Karaoke Queen, that's Rose Heck, the mayor.

The audience sang along. A young woman in the audience videoed everything. I'm hoping that she e-mails me a bit of video of our song. If she does, I'll post it.

Afterward, we repaired to the senior citizen's center for sandwiches (pastrami, corned beef, turkey and beef), potato salad, cole slaw and some of the best pickles I've ever eaten.