What's So Great About a Nobel Peace Prize?

The Nobel Peace Prize apparently exists only as proof that our world is filled to the brim with bullshit.

Billionaires get taxpayer money when they're caught cheating, while Jane and Joe down the street lose their jobs and then their house. The CEO's that were "hurt" by the bad economy they've propagated for years really should thank Jane and Joe for their lifelong tax contributions, ensuring many more happy caviar parties aboard their yachts.

Opponents to health care reform scream "murder" and "socialist", but they're not the ones who need a reasonable health plan. Ask Jane why Joe can't get any coverage any more because he caught an infection that damaged his heart and nearly killed him, thereby stigmatizing him as a "risk" and thus uninsurable. His four monthly medications cost somewhere between $100 and $300 per bottle. What does he do after his company goes bankrupt, he loses his job, and he needs to pay for the $800 - $1200 monthly medications that keep him alive?

Somewhere in Afghanistan at this moment, a mother wails because her husband and son were rent into so much collateral damage when a Predator let loose one of its Hellfire missiles upon a party. Later, after she walks into a market and blows herself up, a soldier will perish and his family will suffer for years from the shock.

These things can be averted with the right policies and priorities, but I have yet to see the "yes we can" president follow through on his commitments. Health care is doomed, jobs are disappearing, the rich keep getting richer, and he will very likely capitulate to the generals that supposedly work for him and escalate an already-lost war.

So, where's the peace? Is it in death? It must be because the Nobel team picked the one person in this world who has made sure that peace in death will assuredly come to thousands more.

El Proyecto Magnífico de la Transformación de la Cocina

The Grand Kitchen Transformation Project. My wife and I are now deep in the throes of a very large renovation of our kitchen. Not to be bested, we've planned the purchase and replacement of all appliances, the cabinetry, most of the electrical wiring, one quarter of the drywall, and the entire floor.
Big Tip For Renovator Wannabes: Plan on spending a long, long time making the changes -- if you're doing it yourself. If you're planning on hiring, get ready to spend a lot of money.
My incredibly resourceful wife found super-ultra-mega deals by looking in places like overstock.com. We saved about 20% - 30% on all of our appliances, which aren't cheap ripoffs. The flooring is easy enough, if you can lay tile or hardwood. We can do both, so the cost for us is now just materials. Same with the wiring and drywall, with the one exception of an additional 220-volt circuit.
Tip #2: All it takes is Patience and Practice. If you're short on the practice, exercise an additional amount of patience. We were burdened with an unexpected inheritance -- an old house -- which needed a lot of work to get it livable. After spending about 12 months on it, we found that we could do just about anything. The unexpected gift was the chance to work on an empty house, replacing or fixing virtually everything except the frame.
Pictures to follow...

Obama Health Care Ripped

There is a very good post at Counterpunch.org that discusses the failures of the Obama health care plan. Not only does it cover several items point-by-point, but it also reads well. Call me crazy, but I like to read a well-written article, no matter what the subject.

The media in this country -- and this includes much of the alternative media -- appears to be engaged in a prolonged fear fest, shouting all sorts of soundbites that say nothing more than "you will lose". Conservatives say you will lose your current benefits under the plan. Liberals say you will lose everything if the plan fails to pass.

It's disheartening, and it is boring. At least the opinion piece by Vicente Navarro isn't dull.

Letter to Fellow Cubemates

I am in a company that is now reducing its workforce in a very steady manner down to a zero sum value. One could make the argument that the potential energy in this company (and especially the IT department in which I work) was often equal to 0, perhaps even something less. But, as modern IT offices go, this company most assuredly represents corporate America. Everything you saw in movies like Office Space is very true.

One very good friend of mine who I shall miss very much just spent his last day in the office. He, along with about 10 other employees, were given their walking papers on Monday. They were told that their last day was Friday. One week's notice from the company that demands two when the shoe is on the other foot.

Anyway, he sent a letter to his co-workers, including a fair number of managers, letting them all know exactly how he felt about working here, and why he was so happy to finally leave. We here have all been waiting for the axe to fall for nearly 12 months. There have already been two waves of job cuts. No one knows when they will be let go, but we all know that it will be "very soon now." My friend's farewell letter was written tongue-in-cheek, but, like all good satire, speaks truth to us all:

My Friends and Co-Workers,


As many of you probably know, today is my last day. But before I leave, I wanted to take this opportunity to let you know what a great and distinct pleasure it has been to type “Today is my last day.”

For nearly as long as I’ve worked here, I’ve hoped that I might one day leave this company. And now that this dream has become a reality, please know that I could not have reached this goal without your unending lack of support. Words cannot express my gratitude for the words of gratitude you did not express.

I would especially like to thank all of my managers: in an age where miscommunication is all too common, you consistently impressed and inspired me with the sheer magnitude of your misinformation. It takes a strong man to admit his mistake – it takes a stronger man to attribute his mistake to me.

Over the past eight years, you have taught me more than I could ever ask for and, in most cases, ever did ask for. I have been fortunate enough to work with some absolutely interchangeable supervisors on a wide variety of seemingly identical projects – an invaluable lesson in overcoming daily tedium in overcoming daily tedium in overcoming daily tedium.

Your demands were high and your patience short, but I take great solace knowing that my work was, as stated on my annual review, “mostly satisfactory.” That is the type of praise that sends a man home happy after even a 10 hour day, smiling his way through half a bottle of mostly satisfactory scotch.

And to most of my peers: even though we barely acknowledged each other within these office walls, I hope that in the future, should we pass on the street, you will regard me the same way as I regard you: sans eye contact.

So, in parting, if I could pass on any word of advice to the individual who will soon be filling my position, it would be to cherish this experience like a sponge and soak it up like a good woman, because a job opportunity like this comes along only once in a lifetime.

Meaning: if I had to work here again in this lifetime, I would sooner kill myself.


This is all stated with my tongue planted firmly in my cheek.

It has been an interesting 8 years working for this company. I've made friends, shared times, and I will remember many people here with great fondness. I wish you all happy lives.

For those interested in staying in touch... I'm easy to find. Just type my name into google.

Very truly yours,
-x-x-x-x-

UPDATE: I found an earlier version of this letter online. Darn it all. I thought that my friend had created his letter from scratch. It still rings the truth, however. I applaud his bravura for sending the letter to various people in the company.