Strike!!!

My union voted down the contract offer last night and will begin striking next week. I'm not sure if they'll be calling on me, since our company is from out of town and doesn't really have a say in the contract negotiations, but I don't know that for sure right now. More than likely I will just have to pay $100 a week into a strike fund.

I am the rare nay vote amongst my coworkers. I have a hard time relating to these guys. We have a lot going our way this time and I feel that we have been given the shaft on our last couple of contracts, but these guys just don't seem to have the guts to do anything about it. I was a bit frustrated this morning, I seem to have a low tolerance to frustration lately, but as the day went on I started to feel a little better. Then right at the end of the day I needed a sprinkler fitter to more a hanger for me and he expressed his support and hope that we stick to the strike, mainly because their contract is up in a month. As we talked I got some comfort from talking to someone of a similar mindset. I wish my coworkers were more like him.

Booing,

Andrew Card was Bush's chief of staff. For his part in the Iraq war he got booed relentlessly while receiving an honorary degree at University of Massachusetts Amherst. Starting fake wars have consequences.

Chose Life,

Is there any way to describe Charlies death on Lost last night besides suicide. Why didn't they just swim out just like the way they swam in. Somehow I think they were trying to show him sacrificing his life to save Sayid Desmond, but I can think of multiple ways he could of did it without dying. They kill off too many people on that show, they really don't need to force it.

On the other hand I always thought that this season was a transition season and it looks like I was right. I am actually anxious to see what happens next season.

I have always been sick of Jack's back stories and was with this one until we found out at the very end (or was there hints along the way, his wife? I will have to watch it again.) that it was a jump ahead. Now that twist is why I watch the show.

Impromptu party,

I didn't eat the vegetables.

The Simpsons,

The Simpsons really went on a tear last night blasting Fox.
It is a little cut off at the end. They do the voice over bit a little more.

I found this older one that I wrote about some time ago.

This is an unrelated piece about the School of Americas that I want to listen to when I get a chance.

Is it me,

For the last few days at work my foreman has been coming up to me and having me help him. They are very minimal tasks something normal left for an apprentice. With all my layoffs my confidence at work is real shaky and I was wondering to myself if this was some sort of critic on my performance. Until right before lunch today when a journeyman working by me, came up to me and said he thought the foreman didn't like him because he kept walking past that journeyman to ask me to help him. I told him I read the situation completely opposite and I think that both found some comfort in this.

I guess it just goes to show thinking too much can be bad.

This can't be happening,

The thing that really stings about shows I like getting canceled is the shows they are running instead. For example tonight ABC is putting bingo on prime time. How fucking bad does your life have to be to sit at home on a Friday night and watch bingo. And this is coming from a guy who is going to sit at home and watch PBS for two and a half hours. All I can say is if you are watching bingo tonight take a minute to think if your life is really worth living, then change the channel to PBS and learn something.

The Banana countdown,

Every Sunday I buy myself five bananas for my lunches during the week. As I peel a banana off in the morning I think only two (four, three, one..) more bananas until the weekend. I call this the banana countdown. Two more this week.

Books and Revolution,

NBC released it's fall line up and it looks like my hope of watching less television will work out; because,

a bionic woman, a time-traveling newspaper reporter and a computer geek with spy secrets embedded in his brain.

doesn't in the least interest me. Maybe the other networks will foil my plans, but I doubt it.

Brownback loses WI vote,

Wow did this guy fuck up. Sam Brownback disses Farve and screws up attempt to correct himself and receives boo's from Wisconsin Republicans. He's a third tier candidate so this won't really matter. He is pretty fringe fundamentalist. I find it amazing that he can even get elected to the senate, but that is Kansas for you. Brownback was one of the candidates that said he doesn't believe in evolution in the republican debate. The next questions should have been, "Do you believe the earth is round?"

h/t Crooks and Liars

Get back to work,

My boss came over to me the other day and talked to me in hushed tones about a coworker I was sort of working with the day before. I made the mouth gesture with my hand indicating that person talks too much. My boss walked away kind of abruptly. I wonder if he thought I was telling him he was talking to much and to get back to work. I don't know if this translates into other lines of work, but this idea is really funny to me.

My other boss, the one I deal with more, walks away abruptly like that somewhat regularly. I wonder if this is just how these guys are or maybe I stink.

SiCKO,

Michael Moore's new movie SiCKO about the insurance industry and health care in America comes out next month. He posted this blog on Kos today.

Another good Kos link, CBS fires Gen. Batiste for VoteVets ad, watch the ad it is important.

the ridiculousness of CBS taking two weeks to ponder firing Imus but firing Batiste virtually overnight

Here is C&L with a countdown clip

Switching parties,

I am so voting republican if Mr. Pickles wins the nomination. That is almost as cool as my friend who named her kid Noodles.

Lost,

Lost set an end date 2010. This sort of reminded me of when Leno announced his retirement years (3, 4 I don't remember exactly) before it is going to happen. They also are going to run there series uninterrupted next year. That's a good idea, only comedy shows can get away with reruns and the whole sticking a new show in the middle of a popular shows season is just stupid.

The odd thing in the article I linked to is when they say,

the network is taking the unusual step of turning "Lost" into a limited-run series.... Typically, networks milk a series until it runs dry of ratings and then drop the ax.

Were they ever thinking of running Lost until it got boring. I was under the impression it was always going to be somewhat of a "limited-run series". Was there a point where they weren't going to explain what the fuck is going on? I think Lynn Elber never watched the show.

I haven't been a big fan of this season, although I have always thought of it as a transition season, which tend to be slow and boring. They say it is going to have a shocking finally, but I have my doubts.

While I was in the TV train of thought, I looked up Studio 60 on Wikipedia it looks like it's going to take ER's spot on May 24 and that will be it for the show. That's too bad after a slow start it really started to get good. I am sure they will replace it with some piece of shit like that stupid Wedding Crashers that's in it's place now. I don't get all these hoax shows out there. I guess reading, writing and revolutionary thoughts (like "how tired will I be tomorrow if I stay up and drink one more beer") is what I will be up to next season.

Hiking this morning,

The green still hasn't fully emerged, but it is getting there



When I went hiking in the past it was during the week and the trails were pretty empty. Now that employment is oppressing my freedom, I have to go during the weekend and have come to realize that more people use these trails than me and a handful of retirees.

What's going on,

This is kind of scary. Barack Obama gets secret service protection, now CBS is closing the comments on Obama articles because of racist comments. I hope this is just being cautious and not something more. Too many popular progressive politicians have meet an untimely end.

Again,

Tommy Thompson apologizes, that is twice in less than a month. I never thought he had much of a chance and now he is proving it. Video

Edwards,

Some WI endorsements of Edwards.

Doorbell,

I had a dream last night that someone was ringing my doorbell late at night. My house doesn't have a doorbell and the strange part was I realized this in my dream. I still answered the door and it was a girl with beer. That just goes to show you always answer the doorbell even if you don't have one. Then I woke up. Stupid alarm why couldn't you of given me a couple more minutes.

Before that I dreamt that I was being held in a very rural jail because I had just shot one of about a half dozen gun toting Bigfoot/zombie creators. I didn't seem to be too worried about going to jail though, it was more like a technicality. Because seriously who is going to put someone in jail for shooting one of those fucking things.