They tell us from an early age that admitting you have a problem is half the cure.  Well…  there you go.  I have an Eyore complex.

For those of you who might not understand, I strongly suggest that you rent any of the Winnie the Pooh movies or shows and pay particular attention to the donkey.

That is not to say I am an ass, though there are many that would say that this is, indeed, the case.  It is more that I have a particularly self destructive and self deprecating personality.

I have never been the type of person to see the good in myself or my accomplishments.  It is just my nature and has been for so long, that I really do not know how to be any other way or how to teach myself to grow out of it.  So I have learned to incorporate it into my sense of humor and overall personality.

There are certain places that I cannot mold this personality defect into, though.  I mean, would you take someone who nicknamed themselves or had a website named “SamuraiEEyore” seriously…  That is, of course, assuming that you take me or anything I have to say, seriously.

Wait… do not answer that.  Let me have my moment of fantasy here.

But you see… there is a certain amount of good in being “Clinically EEyoric”.   This is to say, always understanding that you are a magnetic well for all misfortune in the universe.  It means that you grow up learning that there are certain truths in the universe that pertain only to you and affect only you, or so it might seem.

It is almost like being, dare I say… a Super Hero…  at least in the sense that I seem to have the knack of taking away the bad luck of others and absorbing it myself.  So would that actually be a Super Hero, or an Anti-Super Hero?

In reading up and doing a bit of research on the “Eeyore Effect” and the “Eeyore Complex”. it appears that there are a few others out there that seem to share this gift.  I will not provide links to the sites that I have found, though I will say that they are easy to find if you to your searches right.

Now… I shall retreat to my secret lair and plot my next feat… coming up with a “Battle Cry”…  Fare thee well!

Let’s take, for the most recent example, the World Trade Center.  The official groundbreaking for Tower 1 was August of 1966 and both towers were completed in 1971.  So it took five years to build two of the tallest buildings in the world.

Going further back, let’s look at what happened during World War II.  Specifically, the construction of the Liberty Ship fleet between the years of 1941 and 1945.  During that time there were 2751 Liberty Ships planned and 2710 built, floated and sent into action.  That works out to be almost a whopping 46 ships a month from all the shipyards.  This is assuming that they started building these on Jan 1st, 1941 and stopped Dec 31 1945.

Not so much looking at the economy today, but at the nature of our nation and the way our current business, legal and production models work, could we accomplish this kind of engineering or manufacturing feat today?

Personally, I do not think we could.  I think that business’ and industries have become so mired down in rules, laws, union vices and EPA restrictions, that were there suddenly a need for a large quantity of ships, planes, tanks, etc…  we would just not be able to accomplish it.

A lot has changed over the years, and in spite of what some may say, it is not all good.  Sure, we have better medicines, better electronics, better hospitals (in spite of what the Obama administration might be telling us.) all in all, many things have gotten better.  Including the legal system.

As I see it, the problem these days is that we have burdened ourselves so far down with laws, rules and guidelines that many of the things we once could have done, are no longer possible because their are so many restrictions.  While some of these restrictions and laws are needed to insure the safety and well-being of those involved… but there are some that I think just hinder instead of help.

Back to the original question, though.  Could we do it again?

It took a little over a year to build the Empire State building and the Chrysler building took about a year and a half…

… Five years to build the Hoover Dam…

… just over four years for the Golden Gate Bridge…

… Lastly…  The world trade center took about four years per tower to build.

On that last item, consider how long it took to build the towers and now, today, how long it has been since the towers were destroyed?  Now why has it taken so long to build a replacement or suitable memorial?

Could we build these amazing things today?  Again, looking at how inundated most companies are from the beaurocrats, unions, lawyers and laws, could we build another World Trade Center building in four years?  Another Empire State building in a year?  Anything like that?

We are too busy arguing over who wants what, fighting over how many hours this employee should work, why THAT employee should not get the same benefits, etc…

It boils down to one thought that I have on these things…  Shut up and get it done.  If it needs to get built, build it… if it need to be fixed, fix it.  Just don’t sit around and talk about it.

I also believe in a supreme being.  What ever name you have for it, I think that it is out there, somewhere.  This is not to say that I think that he or she is watching our every move, judging our every thought, action or word, deciding what should happen to us in some afterlife.  In fact, I do not believe in an afterlife other than the fact that when we die, the matter and energy that makes you and I up, along with all other living creatures, will be returned and reused by the universe, and through that, our lives have, in their passing, helped to give life to others.

In my pondering of a G-d, I often wonder what it would be like to meet such an entity, and in these thoughts, it occurs to me that there is really only one language that a truly supreme being could speak that would be recognized throughout the universe.  The language of mathematics.

When you look at the universe, all the way out to the furthest star on the edge of the known universe, to the inner universe and the smallest pieces of the atoms that make you, me and the ground we walk upon… it can all be explained, at least in part, with mathematics.  There is, or will be, some equation that will explain in whole or in part, why things work.

So… at least in my way of thinking, the only logical language for G-d to speak, would be in a language based primarily on mathematics.  When you look at the combination of the apparent simplicity of the universe which hides the complexities of it’s substructure, it implies the work of an artist that not only wanted to show the potential beauty of all things, but then, for those that need to see more, like the scientists and dreamers, there is the superstructure of the universe.  The underlying details that make up everything that we are and everything we know.

I know that there are those out there that are going to be upset with my take on this, but remember…  Religion, Spirituality and Faith are all three very personal and unique things to each person.  Two people may say they are Jews or Catholics, but they may not have exactly the same concept of what G-d or heaven is.

Our personal relationship with G-d, the Universe and everything is our own.  Personally, if I had to put a face to G-d… it would have to be something like Albert Einstein or Johannes Kepler.

I was watching a program the other day and I watched as one of the characters went out of his way to kick a can that was in the road.  When I saw this, I felt myself kind of chuckle at it and think that what he did was silly.

Then it dawned on me… that this was something that I did…  Not just years ago when I was a child, but now.

Since watching that show, a show that I am now completely unable to recall the name of, I have been paying more attention to this, and I am now noticing more people that will kick stuff while walking.  Not just the obvious things, like cups, cans, etc.  But these people are kicking rocks, bottles and things like that.  So the condition is serious, it would seem.

I think that I shall try a little experiment.  Several people walk through the parking lot where I work on a daily basis.  I see people walking to and from lunch, walking for some exercise whilst on their breaks, walking to get the mail.  I wonder… if I were to buy a box of cheap golf balls, and place one strategically in the middle of the driveway, how long would it be before someone kicked it?

I think I will start this once the weather warms up. Maybe in May.

If I do this, I will post the pictures I take on here and keep all of you informed.

I am not asking this from a religious point of view, though I am also not ruling that out as a possible answer.  Nor am I playing on that old Steve Martin joke, asking you about your “Special Purpose” and what you use it for.

When you look at what you do throughout the day and what you are trying to accomplish, is it for a special reason or are you just making it through the day?

I am not trying to put you on the spot, or anything… I am just curious about how many people that might read this, have a life goal that they are working towards.  Whether this is a spiritual, emotional, financial or other… what are you working towards?

Personally, I am working toward a couple goals.  First is to make myself more spiritually aware… not really to be more religious or anything like that, but to “understand” more in life.  Secondly I am teaching myself carpentry… so that when I retire, hopefully at or around 55 years old, the wife and I will be able to retire to Oregon… hopefully somewhere along the coast, and I can start a little business doing some wood working and carpentry.  Anything but computers for the rest of my life.

So… tell me your story, goals or desires… I am interested in hearing them.

Thanks.

When you sit down and think of organizations within the federal government that are run smoothly and efficiently, not many really come to your mind, or at least not many come to the mind of most of us.

Now… if I told you that the IRS is going to be the watchdog for the new health care system that Chairman Obama and his lackeys want to put into effect, the first thing you should be thinking is something along the lines of: “WTF?  The IRS?”

But, unfortunately, this is not a joke.  As you will see in the links I will provide at the end of this piece, the proposals in play right now have the IRS playing a key roll in determining who has health care, who does not and if the health care you have is “adequate”, going so far as to use their own determination as to what “adequate” means.

They, the IRS, will also be responsible for levying fines if you are determined to not have the right or enough health insurance, at least enough by their standards.

Do we REALLY want an organization as top heavy as the IRS already is to be put in the position of being the official Obamacare Gestapo?  People that already have too much to do with your income right now to also have their feet dipped into what kind of medical coverage that you do or do not have?

I would say no.  A BIG freaking no!

Here are the links:

From the Washington Examiner

From the Marketplace Public Radio

From USA Today

As I grew, I learned that while my family was there for me, I was no longer “entitled” to anything that I did not work for.  Unlike when I was younger, I now had to start working for things.  Any allowance that I received was based on what I did to help around the house.  If I chose not to help around the house, doing things like washing dishes, cleaning up, doing laundry, running errands, then I simply did not get any money.  Just like a real job.  Cleaning my own room never counted, as it was one of those things that I was supposed to keep clean on my own.

When I got my first job, mowing lawns for a couple friends of the family, my Mother began charging me a “rent” of sorts.  It only worked out to be about 20% of what I made mowing, but it was enough for me to learn that when I earn a paycheck, it is not all mine.  The same held true when I started my first REAL job, working for a company called GEMCO.  I had, at this point, learned that I needed to keep aside a portion of my pay for rent.  Granted… I did not enjoy it, but I learned long before I went out on my own that I needed to do this.

This philosophy that my mother instilled in me translated very well into my adult life.  I had no misunderstandings when I first went into the workforce, I knew that I had to work for my pay.  I expected no special favors or handouts.  If someone gave me a second chance on something I failed at, it was because they wanted to, not because they owed it to me.  If I was promoted, it was because I had worked for it.

So… Why is it that today, more and more, I see people that think that they are owed something simply by showing up or by being alive?  There seems to be this attitude that no matter what they have or have not done, they expect to make top dollar and not have to work that hard to do it.

When I watch people on TV, or hear people of the radio, that say things like “The government owes this to me.” or when I hear people say that they are upset because their welfare ran out and the government owes that to them, I am truly perplexed.

It amazes me that people have somehow grown to this opinion that anyone owes them something, when they have, in many cases, done nothing to work for it.  Yes, an employer owes you a paycheck and a safe place to work if you are working for them and doing your job well.  If you are not doing your job well, then they would owe you a warning or two, and then, if you do not clean up your act, they would owe you a pink slip and an escort out the door.  It return, you owe your boss a good day’s work with some decent level of productivity.  That is it, nothing else.  If you lose your job through no control of your own, the state owes you a certain period of unemployment, you pay into that, so that also, within reason, is owed to you.

I do not deny that things are different now than they were twenty or more years ago.  People rarely find a job that they will spend the rest of their lives with, as was once the case.  But the point is that when you go to work for a person or company, while you are there, you should still give the best you can.  For that and ONLY that, you are owed a paycheck and whatever other benefits you are provided.

If you recieve public assistance (Welfare, WIC, etc…), then do not… EVER… think that you are “owed” that.  Yes, there may be a very valid reason you are on public assistance, and it may or may not be entirely your fault for having to use it.  But if you are able bodied or so much so that you can still work, and are not making a concerted effort to get off of assistance, then you are owed nothing.

Before you come down on me for my opinion on this, you need to know that I am no stranger to public assistance.  When my mother and I first moved to Bakersfield back in 1974, she had no job and the little that she was getting for child support for me was not enough to pay the rent let alone pay for a full month’s food for us.  So she applied for and got both food stamps and welfare.  But she was going out on a regular basis and looking for work, and after a couple smaller jobs and the birth of my brother, she eventually, ironically enough, started working for the Department of Health and Human Services… the “Welfare Department”.  So she used the system the way it was supposed to be used, to get back up on her feet again.

It was partially because of growing up with a history of welfare that I have always chose not to use any public assistance.  There was only even one period in my life that I used my Unemployment Benefits.  Even though that IS something that we pay into, I am still hesitant to use it.

I understand that there is nothing wrong with getting something for free from time to time or having something gifted to you.  But I do not expect it.  Likewise people should not expect that anything is going to be given to them.  No one should think that they are entitled to that which they did not earn through hard work.  Anything you get through the course of your life should be earned otherwise there is no incentive to apply effort to do better.

If you are a person who sees yourself as a “giver”, then understand that you are a noble person… I will not say that you are doing wrong by committing the act of giving, but I will say that you should make sure that you are giving to the right people and for the right reason.  Do not give to those that do not need it and do not give for the sake of making yourself look good to those around you.  Give to the ones that are really needing it and give because it feels right in your heart.

If you are a “Taker”… one of those people that feels that simply by being born and living in the United States, you are owed something with no effort or desire to work for it on your own and there is no correctable physical or mental reason why you cannot be out there earning a paycheck, then you should be ashamed of yourself.  You are a good part of what is wrong with the United States and, more than likely, part of the reason we ended up with Mr. Obama as a president.

2010!

I can remember being a kid and thinking how far away that sounded.  Thinking that I would be 41 years old and then thinking; “Man, that is old.”

Then, quite suddenly, I was 41 and then, almost as suddenly, I was wishing everyone Happy 2010.

Can you remember all the things that we were supposed to have accomplished by this year?  All the advances that we were supposed to have made by now.

Instead we go into 2010 with a bad economy… a president that seems hell bent on suffocating the very system that got him elected and screwing the rest of us in his personal quest for a universal medical coverage program that a growing majority of Americans are objecting to.

I sincerely hope that this year ends better than it is beginning, and that come November, the PEOPLE stand up and take back THEIR country from these hacks.

There is something kind of neat about an encyclopedia that the “People” have some control over and can edit.  You might call it a “Leuteenzyklopädie” of sorts, if you will.

This is a tool in which people from all over the world can create, edit or dispute articles and use the provided information in the same way that you would any other encyclopedia.  There is a caveat, however, and that is what I have decided to write this piece about.

The problem lies in the fact that it IS a “open source” encyclopedia.  As such, you should use the information that you get from Wikipedia with the understanding that you should accept it as information that you would want to double-check or verify before accepting it as the gospel truth.

Now… I say that with no malice towards those that run or administer Wiki or Wiki itself.  I say that with the understanding that because of the nature of the system, it is possible for people to get in there and add information that is not quite correct or a flat out lie and this information being distributed before anyone has had the chance to edit, correct or delete it.

I will not go through and list all the examples that I found links to for the various errors that were posted to Wiki over the years.  Most of them Wiki was already made aware of and have corrected.  I will, however, direct you to the official Wikipedia links for how they approach that which I am discussing here.  I will list them at the end of this article.

The main point here is that the old standard applies the same now as it always has.  Verify your sources… do not just rely on one source, such as Wikipedia.

Use it, but do so with the understanding that people just like you and me have the access to go in and add and edit information on that service.  People that may or may not know enough to intelligently write about the topic in question.

Just remember… “Caveat Lector”

Links to Wikipedia’s policies on Reliability and Criticism.

Funny… without digging up the recording from George Bush and going strictly from memory, does his goal not sound similar to both George Bush’s and Bill Clinton’s resolve to flush out and hunt down the people who perpetrated both the 1993 WTC terror attack and the 9/11 terror attack?

Hmmm…

Just sayin’.