Did you see how much money GM lost last year?
They lost 38.7 billion dollars in 2007. As a result, GM offered buyouts to 74,000 hourly workers - their ENTIRE hourly workforce. I have a better idea, how about buying out shitcanning the upper end of the workforce?! All I know is that if my property lost money at the end of any given year, I would be tastefully shown the door with no apologies, no benefits, and no golden parachute.
The goal is to bring in a new workforce at lower wages, and to continue to produce the same vehicles. Gas guzzling, boxy, poor quality control, and of course dependent on gasoline. I wonder if they would ever consider, with all of their capital, starting a national movement of gasoline-free vehicles?
Johnny McCain was right when he said to the UAW that they would likely be losing jobs in the future - while Mitt Romney promised a resugence of jobs in the motor city.
I got a problem with Johnny though.....as I hope he doesn't sell out to conservatives. He's starting to walk the fence to please everyone and I wonder how much of that is political speak, and how much of it is really who he is.
My friend Ellen wrote to me today - here's an excerpt of her craziness after I told her how great it would be to be this generation's Frank Stallone:
"Seriously, you're right-- to be a Stallone would be a decent way to make a living, even if it meant that your Mom was this psycho... http://www.sonic.net/~atomicow/jackie_stallone.jpg
What up, Stalloney Boy! Crazye for Stallone. God, why have Stallone and Swayze never been in a movie together? That seems so wrong. Or have they been? Like "Throw Momma from the Train" or some crap like that!? Were they in "Too Wong Foo?" together? Anyway, it's too late now if they haven't been in a film together. They've both faded like wilted roses from a high school prom. "Rambo" is playing at the local movie house in Rottenwood. Jeezus, would Stallone PLEASE get some new material?? He's been milking Rocky and Rambo for the better part of the past 30 years. It would be like me carrying around Floyd's taxidermied body 20 years from now, taking photos of it in front of random locations long after he's dead. Ever see "Copland"? He was actually quite good in that. He's not a bad actor, truly, when he branches out. Though I do not see him ever making a "John Travolta-style" comeback. Don't call it a comeback."
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
Sunday, February 10, 2008
Good fun, good times, good Lord there's a lot of ice on my roof..
Time goes too fast, most of the time. My Mom and her hub came up for the weekend and stayed at Junipine. That seemed to be the best way to get them up to Northern Arizona in the winter. It's crazy that they have never stayed there - I have been there for the better part of the last 10 years. It was great to see them both.
Saturday morning, Lyza and I packed it up and headed south to meet them. The three o' dem went on a hike, and I hit the roadbike to ride from Sedona to Jerome and back. Sheck - I knocked on your front door, and the only one home was barky boy Floyd. Both parties finished in 3 hours. Lunch, playtime, dinner, DONE. It was a great day. Followed by a quick breakfast this morning, and we were back in Flagstaff for the warmest day since November - it was nearly 50 degrees. Unfortunately, with all of the snow we have had, everyone's gutters have pack ice, and the constant freezing/melting is rotting many north facing roofs in town. I have east/west roofline - so I was only faced with maybe 25 feet of ice. Hammer - check, ladder - check, ice chunks spraying me in the face on impact of the hammer, check.....2 hours later plus 1/2 hour on the roof shoveling off snow, and we're looking good again. The gutters are draining and all seems to be well. Lyza and I celebrated with a colossal fire in the stove, and a formulaic hollywood bomb called Fantastic 4 or something like that. It was perfectly simple, $1.49, and right around 1.5 hours. Good night Lyza, and I just finished 1 more hour of housework.
Being a single parent is not easy, and I have more admiration for those that do it 24/7/365 versus me going 24/7/187.5. I am listening to this new Sheryl Crow stuff on Napster and it SUCKS. Anywhoo - It's taken me a couple of weeks to get into the rhythm again, and it'll mean cancelling the gym membership and buying a few pieces of weight equipment for the garage so I can work out after 9pm with a sleeping kid in the house. D has 7 more months of massage school, so I better get used to it again. Ohhh for crissakes, this music is horrible.
Aside from the ice pack work today, I spent about 2 hours on the garage - making it more of a bike shop/work space combo. Big weekend - woo hoo! It was a big weekend for D, as she busted out a 15.5 mile run in around a couple of hours for second place in her age division. Why would anyone want to run that far on trails, when you could ride that far in around an hour on a sweet single speed? I think she's asking the same question as her left knee is all f*cked up.
I'll hit the rollers tomorrow morning for an hour, ride hard on Tuesday, and call it a wrap for Old Pueblo. I'm ready and psyched to race.
Time goes too fast, most of the time. My Mom and her hub came up for the weekend and stayed at Junipine. That seemed to be the best way to get them up to Northern Arizona in the winter. It's crazy that they have never stayed there - I have been there for the better part of the last 10 years. It was great to see them both.
Saturday morning, Lyza and I packed it up and headed south to meet them. The three o' dem went on a hike, and I hit the roadbike to ride from Sedona to Jerome and back. Sheck - I knocked on your front door, and the only one home was barky boy Floyd. Both parties finished in 3 hours. Lunch, playtime, dinner, DONE. It was a great day. Followed by a quick breakfast this morning, and we were back in Flagstaff for the warmest day since November - it was nearly 50 degrees. Unfortunately, with all of the snow we have had, everyone's gutters have pack ice, and the constant freezing/melting is rotting many north facing roofs in town. I have east/west roofline - so I was only faced with maybe 25 feet of ice. Hammer - check, ladder - check, ice chunks spraying me in the face on impact of the hammer, check.....2 hours later plus 1/2 hour on the roof shoveling off snow, and we're looking good again. The gutters are draining and all seems to be well. Lyza and I celebrated with a colossal fire in the stove, and a formulaic hollywood bomb called Fantastic 4 or something like that. It was perfectly simple, $1.49, and right around 1.5 hours. Good night Lyza, and I just finished 1 more hour of housework.
Being a single parent is not easy, and I have more admiration for those that do it 24/7/365 versus me going 24/7/187.5. I am listening to this new Sheryl Crow stuff on Napster and it SUCKS. Anywhoo - It's taken me a couple of weeks to get into the rhythm again, and it'll mean cancelling the gym membership and buying a few pieces of weight equipment for the garage so I can work out after 9pm with a sleeping kid in the house. D has 7 more months of massage school, so I better get used to it again. Ohhh for crissakes, this music is horrible.
Aside from the ice pack work today, I spent about 2 hours on the garage - making it more of a bike shop/work space combo. Big weekend - woo hoo! It was a big weekend for D, as she busted out a 15.5 mile run in around a couple of hours for second place in her age division. Why would anyone want to run that far on trails, when you could ride that far in around an hour on a sweet single speed? I think she's asking the same question as her left knee is all f*cked up.
I'll hit the rollers tomorrow morning for an hour, ride hard on Tuesday, and call it a wrap for Old Pueblo. I'm ready and psyched to race.
Friday, February 8, 2008
Growing up Zeppelin
Over Christmas, I picked up a copy of Led Zeppelin’s latest 2-disc compilation. It’s a chronological compilation of their biggest and best from Zep 1 though Physical Graffiti. Playing it from time to time in the house, my daughter has caught on to the music. She loves the guitar riffs, the heavy dose of John Bonham’s drums, and she mimics Robert Plant’s screams. I remember when I discovered Led Zep, but that was because I was closer to 13 years old. I found a copy of their Untitled 4th album – the one with No Quarter, Stairway to Heaven, When the Levee Breaks, Black Dog etc….I wore that vinyl out. Now, here’s Lyza asking me to play Kashmir because “it sounds like scary monsters are marching down our hallway!”. All I know is that it’s a good thing that it’s hard to comprehend Plant’s lyrics – so she is simply reacting to the music itself – which is arguably some of the best R&R ever produced.
I am fully ready for the day when she is listening to bubble-gum pop stars like Myley Cyrus and Hillary Duff, but I can’t help but think that with a Led Zep foundation, those forays into weak pop music won’t last too long. She likes Amy Winehouse too, but I cut her off QUICK when, while playing Uno, Lyza muttered “They try to make me go to rehab but I said NO NO NO”.
Looks like no racing this weekend – just training. I’m down with that 100%, and looking forward to caking up my bike with red dirt in Sedona.
Over Christmas, I picked up a copy of Led Zeppelin’s latest 2-disc compilation. It’s a chronological compilation of their biggest and best from Zep 1 though Physical Graffiti. Playing it from time to time in the house, my daughter has caught on to the music. She loves the guitar riffs, the heavy dose of John Bonham’s drums, and she mimics Robert Plant’s screams. I remember when I discovered Led Zep, but that was because I was closer to 13 years old. I found a copy of their Untitled 4th album – the one with No Quarter, Stairway to Heaven, When the Levee Breaks, Black Dog etc….I wore that vinyl out. Now, here’s Lyza asking me to play Kashmir because “it sounds like scary monsters are marching down our hallway!”. All I know is that it’s a good thing that it’s hard to comprehend Plant’s lyrics – so she is simply reacting to the music itself – which is arguably some of the best R&R ever produced.
I am fully ready for the day when she is listening to bubble-gum pop stars like Myley Cyrus and Hillary Duff, but I can’t help but think that with a Led Zep foundation, those forays into weak pop music won’t last too long. She likes Amy Winehouse too, but I cut her off QUICK when, while playing Uno, Lyza muttered “They try to make me go to rehab but I said NO NO NO”.
Looks like no racing this weekend – just training. I’m down with that 100%, and looking forward to caking up my bike with red dirt in Sedona.
Thursday, February 7, 2008
Just go here - and check out the reason for this quote: "I think God was holding my leg, beating my ass, teaching me that I hadn't been doing everything he wanted me to do,"
http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/weather/02/07/tornadoes/index.html
http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/weather/02/07/tornadoes/index.html
Romney quits, which seals the deal for McCain….
The only prediction I have been right on, since I can’t remember shit anymore, is saying that McCain would emerge as the frontrunner prior to the New Hampshire primary. I just had a hunch that it was his time considering how f*cked up this country is because of conservative control. I just wanted the most moderate GOP candidate to represent, that’s all.
I find it a riot that the right wing, you know – the ones who call themselves conservatives, are all up in arms over McCain getting the GOP nod. Their problem is that their leading candidate is FOR fiscal responsibility, and he’s FOR a fair solution to immigration. These guys (and chicks – see Ann Coulter the emaciated windbag who now gets to eat a whole lotta shit and campaign for Hillary if she gets the Dem nod since she vowed to do so if McCain wins the GOP) are just whining up a storm, clogging the national airwaves, and ruining my morning coffee time when I listen to NPR.
I like my coffee. I like a quality medium roast, fresh ground, moderately tamped, and I like to drive 8 bar/120psi of boiling water through it to create a frothy espresso. Then I steam ½ a cup of soy milk sans sweetener and voila….. perfuckingfection. Rather than listen to the white-guy, navy blue suit rhetoric on NPR, I flipped on Angry DiFranco – that’s Ani DiFranco for non franco-philes. She’s short, she’s pissed, and she has 10x the talent of 1997’ short, and pissed off chick Alanis Morissette. Check DiFranco out if you haven’t already. Her Out of Range CD is tight.
It was 1 hour and 5 minutes on the rollers again last night. That’s 2 sessions this week, and one more scheduled for tonight. Race day on Saturday may be cancelled as teammates are bailing for personal reasons and I don’t want to drop $50 on gas to get there and back. I can ride in Sedona for free – all day – and probably have more fun.
The only prediction I have been right on, since I can’t remember shit anymore, is saying that McCain would emerge as the frontrunner prior to the New Hampshire primary. I just had a hunch that it was his time considering how f*cked up this country is because of conservative control. I just wanted the most moderate GOP candidate to represent, that’s all.
I find it a riot that the right wing, you know – the ones who call themselves conservatives, are all up in arms over McCain getting the GOP nod. Their problem is that their leading candidate is FOR fiscal responsibility, and he’s FOR a fair solution to immigration. These guys (and chicks – see Ann Coulter the emaciated windbag who now gets to eat a whole lotta shit and campaign for Hillary if she gets the Dem nod since she vowed to do so if McCain wins the GOP) are just whining up a storm, clogging the national airwaves, and ruining my morning coffee time when I listen to NPR.
I like my coffee. I like a quality medium roast, fresh ground, moderately tamped, and I like to drive 8 bar/120psi of boiling water through it to create a frothy espresso. Then I steam ½ a cup of soy milk sans sweetener and voila….. perfuckingfection. Rather than listen to the white-guy, navy blue suit rhetoric on NPR, I flipped on Angry DiFranco – that’s Ani DiFranco for non franco-philes. She’s short, she’s pissed, and she has 10x the talent of 1997’ short, and pissed off chick Alanis Morissette. Check DiFranco out if you haven’t already. Her Out of Range CD is tight.
It was 1 hour and 5 minutes on the rollers again last night. That’s 2 sessions this week, and one more scheduled for tonight. Race day on Saturday may be cancelled as teammates are bailing for personal reasons and I don’t want to drop $50 on gas to get there and back. I can ride in Sedona for free – all day – and probably have more fun.
Wednesday, February 6, 2008
Super Tuesday...
wasn't all that surprising to me. Cheap Thrill Hill and He's Barack Enough fo' Me are in a dogfight, and McCain is distancing himself from Romney and Huck Finn. It wasn't all that surprising to see Huck Finn make a small comeback in the bible belt states smack dab in the center of Tornado Alley. Unless Johnny Maverick dies of old age on the campaign trail, he should get the GOP nod against who knows right now. There was talk of a McCain/Huckabee ticket last night which is intruiging. I have to do some more research on Huck Finn to see if I would be down with that.
It really wasn't a super Tuesday though. Work was flat, and boring - and Lyza was just drivin' me nutz last night with a whiny, confrontational attitude. I was so crunched for time that I took her to Taco Bell for dinner. That marked the 2nd time in her life she has had fast food with me. Now, I love TB Lounge - but I don't want to get her hooked on Taco crack. I gulped those tacos down like they were my last meal on death row and washed 'em down with a good ol Mormon Pepsi Cola product. Just puttin' money in Romney's pockets I guess. The Taco Bell must have helped though, because she aced her spelling words last night so there must be something smart about consuming Taco Bell food.
Old Pueblo Dreams are starting to come true. So far so good.....we have a team full of jokers who are taking this at the right speed....moderate. I figure we'll moderately ride, moderately drink Patron the night before, and moderately consume beer throughout. Team Moderate? Nope - we're the Small Town Douche Bags. Comin' at ya in slow-mo. Temps are looking like 70 and sunny. Does it get any better than that?
Go Small town D-Bags!
wasn't all that surprising to me. Cheap Thrill Hill and He's Barack Enough fo' Me are in a dogfight, and McCain is distancing himself from Romney and Huck Finn. It wasn't all that surprising to see Huck Finn make a small comeback in the bible belt states smack dab in the center of Tornado Alley. Unless Johnny Maverick dies of old age on the campaign trail, he should get the GOP nod against who knows right now. There was talk of a McCain/Huckabee ticket last night which is intruiging. I have to do some more research on Huck Finn to see if I would be down with that.
It really wasn't a super Tuesday though. Work was flat, and boring - and Lyza was just drivin' me nutz last night with a whiny, confrontational attitude. I was so crunched for time that I took her to Taco Bell for dinner. That marked the 2nd time in her life she has had fast food with me. Now, I love TB Lounge - but I don't want to get her hooked on Taco crack. I gulped those tacos down like they were my last meal on death row and washed 'em down with a good ol Mormon Pepsi Cola product. Just puttin' money in Romney's pockets I guess. The Taco Bell must have helped though, because she aced her spelling words last night so there must be something smart about consuming Taco Bell food.
Old Pueblo Dreams are starting to come true. So far so good.....we have a team full of jokers who are taking this at the right speed....moderate. I figure we'll moderately ride, moderately drink Patron the night before, and moderately consume beer throughout. Team Moderate? Nope - we're the Small Town Douche Bags. Comin' at ya in slow-mo. Temps are looking like 70 and sunny. Does it get any better than that?
Go Small town D-Bags!
Monday, February 4, 2008
My winter training schedule called for cross training today - as in shoveling snow for 5 hours to get my car outta the driveway and then to help shovel the walkways at the resort. Great for the core muscles, and lower back......none of which I ever train or even have. So, I'm on Vitamin I tonight, that would be a billion milligram dose of Ibuprofen. Ahhhhh, I still feel like shit. Maybe I need a 24 ounce can of Tecate.
So, I decided to sign up for the 2nd AZ MTB State Series race this weekend. I'll likely get my ass handed to me since we have had nothing but snow for a month straight, and all of the tan f*ckers in Phoenix and Tucson have been riding in optimal conditions. Our state series starts in January since it's desert-based.....therefore it ends in May when most of us in Flagstaff are finally done with the cold and snow. D says that the elevation will help me despite the lack of training time. I say - yeah - for maybe an hour, and then I'll explode. I'm racing Expert/Comp this year again, and that means you don't even finish in the top 20 unless you have significant mileage in every week. Ahhhh well, it'll be 75 degrees and sunny down there, and I haven't seen that kind of weather since September. Plus I want to test some new tires for Pueblo the next weekend - and the bike too.
I'm absolutely crushed that I'm missing a ski trip to northern Utah this weekend. My ex-father in law needs some help, so Lyza's birth mother is back in Michigan helping him recover from cancer surgery. I'm loving the extra time with Lyza, but I was really lookin' forward with going on this trip with 9 other dudes from W.L. Gore - a bunch of smart f*cking engineers and PHD's with the exception of the clown who got me the invite. He's just an MSU grad - so you know he's there just to drive, tune skis, and buy beer.
So - off to the rollers for an hour.....it's 9:30pm. Maybe I'll throw a little TLC in the CD player - nothin' like a little TLC to get me rolling. I'm totally f'n kidding, but I do have a crush on the since deceased Lisa Left Eye Lopes. She's the one who burned Andre Rison's house down - and they kissed and made up after it happened. I think it'll be Warrant and Ratt tonight....fo' reals.
14-6 is better than 18-1 isn't it New England?
So, I decided to sign up for the 2nd AZ MTB State Series race this weekend. I'll likely get my ass handed to me since we have had nothing but snow for a month straight, and all of the tan f*ckers in Phoenix and Tucson have been riding in optimal conditions. Our state series starts in January since it's desert-based.....therefore it ends in May when most of us in Flagstaff are finally done with the cold and snow. D says that the elevation will help me despite the lack of training time. I say - yeah - for maybe an hour, and then I'll explode. I'm racing Expert/Comp this year again, and that means you don't even finish in the top 20 unless you have significant mileage in every week. Ahhhh well, it'll be 75 degrees and sunny down there, and I haven't seen that kind of weather since September. Plus I want to test some new tires for Pueblo the next weekend - and the bike too.
I'm absolutely crushed that I'm missing a ski trip to northern Utah this weekend. My ex-father in law needs some help, so Lyza's birth mother is back in Michigan helping him recover from cancer surgery. I'm loving the extra time with Lyza, but I was really lookin' forward with going on this trip with 9 other dudes from W.L. Gore - a bunch of smart f*cking engineers and PHD's with the exception of the clown who got me the invite. He's just an MSU grad - so you know he's there just to drive, tune skis, and buy beer.
So - off to the rollers for an hour.....it's 9:30pm. Maybe I'll throw a little TLC in the CD player - nothin' like a little TLC to get me rolling. I'm totally f'n kidding, but I do have a crush on the since deceased Lisa Left Eye Lopes. She's the one who burned Andre Rison's house down - and they kissed and made up after it happened. I think it'll be Warrant and Ratt tonight....fo' reals.
14-6 is better than 18-1 isn't it New England?
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