Didn't even have a tumbler w/Crown Royal......very quiet and watched the NYC feed for the ball drop. Couldn't find anyone who wanted to go to the Rose Parade or I'd 'a been out of the house at 0300 and on the way to Pasadena. Nothing beats the sidewalk crowd at 0500 in Pasadena on New Years morning.........
Seen 'The Hobbit' yet? I'd wait......this is part I of a 3-parter! so you won't find out how it ends until mid-year 2014!
Maybe wait for the 'Double Tolkein Trilogy Box Set' for Christmas, 2014, and save the ticket price?
much more convenient to d\l & watch , i bet ppl who have netflix & such probably say the same thing too
so then it seems like hobbit is like LOTR with 3 parts & a few yrs , only watched part 1 of lotr & 1\2 or part 2 since they are really long & sometimes i feel sleepy watching them ...
Had a great New Years. Drank too much, ate too much and BS'd the whole night long with family. Around 10pm we set off some extremely illegal fireworks on the lake lol and had a blast. Midnight we set off whatever we had left. My jacket smelled so much like sulfur you'd think I was a fireman. Next morning we watched some of the Mummers parade. I can only do about an hour's worth myself.
Let's all have a better year shall we? 2012 was one in suspense in so many ways. I'd like to see it come full circle and pull out of this mess but the fiscal cliff is bothering me.
Don't worry, Paul.....The 'Cliff' is one of the last things to worry about. with 16 TRILLION in debt, no end in the red ink and the Fed in charge....keeping interest rates artificially low, it won't be long before we have some REAL inflation. Saving for retirement? I don't know that I'd bother. Any savings you have will be consumed by inflation.
It is sad to see the ENTIRE wealth of a nation squandered by the vermin in Washington.
Don't know that I've EVER seen a Mummers Parade......Where is it from? Does it have a bunch of Shriners in the funny little cars? Or Horses?
I'm sending in my application to be a Grand Jury member. That should keep me out of trouble for a year....if accepted....(long shot, to be sure)
Lol leo. The Mummers is a long tradition in Philadelphia on New year's day. They compete in parades for decoration and showmanship. It's our Northern version of Mardi Gras. Guy I work with partied for 12 straight hours on the streets, kinda like a tailgate party on testosterone. Came into work the next day a.......mess.
Hard to believe only a few presidents ago we had a surplus. Today we are a mess with unemployment going nowhere and constantly borrowing from China. I fear I'll be working into my 80's just to keep a roof over my head, if I live that long.
Boy I tell ya sometimes it doesn't pay to try and advance your career. Current job sucks azz. Has so for quite a few years. Overworked, underpaid and an overall stress pot. So in hopes of finding greener grass elsewhere I got myself an interview with one of my competitors. It was all on the down low mind you. Long after hours after the sun went down so nobody would recognize my truck in the parking lot and long after everyone else went home. Initial interview went well. Salary right where I need it. All that's left is a background check, drug screening and a follow up interview to seal the deal.
Yet, I get an email at work yesterday from my immediate boss asking if I had anything to tell him. He had our competitor's name in the subject. I was busted! I mean I met with 3 guys behind closed doors at night and somehow he finds out?? If our GMO gets wind of this I'm as a good as let go. There's no love between us so he would jump at the chance to use it as reason for dismissal. Now the guy who knows is a cool guy but if he found out in a day how long before our GMO does?
So here's my problem. Yes I'm looking to get out anyway but I wanted it on my own terms, giving me more weight at the bargaining table when we negotiate salary. I'm speculating that one of the suits I met last week purposely leaked the info out, just to get me at rock bottom $$ when and if my current company tosses me as a traitor.
I know it's done. I don't doubt it but what a horrible thing to do to someone. So now I face not only losing my job but forced to take a replacement at possibly lower salary, all because I inquired about increasing it. It's insane to think about. What a crazy cut throat world we live in. Because my industry involves the housing market it's not like there's 100's of positions available. I mean there's nothing.....nothing! So when I catch wind of an opening and I happen to be at the right place at the right time I might end up getting scorched by it????
How does this happen? How does one walk into a hospital looking for someone to set his broken leg get hit by an ambulance that breaks his other?
u shud have let someone give u a ride to the interview so nobody would see ur truck but i guess more than likely the competitor company called ur current work place to get some info on u thus spilling the beans
thats really shiddy that u cant even inquire about another job without possibly getting fired , hope that doesn't happen to u ....
Welcome to the wide world of 'commodity labor'. No skill set is so valuable that you can't be replaced by some toady willing to work for 1/3 less than whatever you're getting.
Just look at the guy who outsourced his OWN job so he could sit around at work, watching CAT VIDEOS.
The current world is NOT based on capitalism....which would give workers at least the option of unionization / organization or perhaps the protection of 'value to the company'...but rather CORPORATISM which is the joining of corporation to government. This is worst case scenario since one will lie and the other swear to it.
Atlas is Shrugging.....and we are nearing the answer to 'Who IS John Galt?'
Well I'm still on solid ice for now. My immediate boss (who knows) is going to play it up like I was the one approached. He's going to see how much $$ he can get for me to stay. I told him it wasn't ALL about the $$ but also the working conditions. I probably have a better chance seeing god then THAT changing but more $$ would be nice. long over due too. Staying would preserve my 3 weeks vaca I just received also and retain my years' seniority. I'm holding my breath. I don't like changing jobs and starting over but when a man gets pushed too far for too long....
It really is a shame in today's world that it takes someone walking out the door before management will bend and compensate you the way they SHOULD have all along. I work in an environment where our mantra is "Ready.....fire.....aim".
Another sign I have in my office is:
You want it fast. You want it correct. You want it cheap.
That is messed up Paul. Hope everything works out. I know what you mean by walking out to get them to realize they are mistreating you. I'm so glad I left my last job for my new one. Last I heard my last job is going out of business. I was the one that was barely keeping it afloat. When I left almost 2 years ago, they just went downhill and fast. Should of treated me better from the beginning.
It's been awhile since I've been to this section. I almost forgot about this. LOL. I'm rarely on the internet forums or Facebook now. I've even deactivated my Facebook account because it was becoming a distraction. I am at the front door of where I want to be in life finally and I gotta do all I can to open the door and get inside.
Coming to this section made me think about the first time I joined this site and when I first started to destroy my Accord with bass. LOL. Good memories with great people on this site. In a few years it will have been a decade since I joined.
"Good memories with great people on this site. In a few years it will have been a decade since I joined."
Wanna feel really old Chad? Try this. The woman I married in 1998 had an infant son when I met her. (I was 25, she was 22). I helped raise him since he was in diapers. This month he turns 18 and will be graduating high school this summer. My ex wife could possibly be a grandmother soon. In my mind I still feel like I'm 20 something. I look around and I see a much different story. My own kids grow up faster than I can keep up and I often ask THEM more questions then they do I.
Oh and I find out tomorrow what my employment situation will be. I have my 2nd interview with the "devil" and yet another decision to be made. All goes well I'll be....................oh Christ who knows?
Paul, SOMEWHERE on the application was a box marked 'Is it OK to call your previous employer?' If you checked 'yes'.......and I'm thinking a 'no' is a disqualifier, somebody in personal called your current boss and said 'Hi....this is xxx from yyy and we'd like to know about Paul'.......... You get the drift:
No this was kept in the dark. You see in my field there isn't a job fair to go to or college that teaches my job. It's a VERY specific and unique job that one can only acquire experience in by working in. Employers sometimes list jobs for months without a qualified applicant applying. Most of the time they are scouted from other facilities and lured in with more $$. I still get calls from head hunters who are looking for people for their clients who are 2500 miles from me. Yeah, they look that far away.
The exception would be a college grad who has a degree in computer aided design (CAD). They would still need industry specific training which takes months/years to master but a leg up on any PC based design software is a plus. That or networking can always bring a friend in.
So no, nobody called my place of business. It was probably a reference someone called and talked to. Like I said in my business you know who your competitors are and who works for them. So Joe Shmo called company A looking to talk to person B about person C and word travels fast.
And in today's world not only are there drug tests but they don't stop there. Background checks, credit checks, heck they even want your Facebook name to check up on you there now. Salesmen in my company have smart phones that have mandatory tracking apps turned on so the GMO knows exactly where everyone is at. Creepy. We also have ppl who work from home and to ensure their loyalties their internet usage is monitored whether they're logged on or not, weekends too!
Our company email is also monitored. Should any of 1000 key words get flagged like resume, competitor's name, job search, ect it get's sent to corporate for review. Our PC's are also equipped with a webcam that, when triggered, can show exactly what you're doing. They say it's for conference calling but you just never know when it's remotely turned on. Need to adjust your shorts? Step away from the desk first!
omg its chad - lol , great to know ur still around bud
hope sh1t works out for ur pauly
i been d\l some theme songs & just discovered this song was in it , havent heard this in over 20yrs & i remember it so well , didnt know the name of bac then but im so glad i stumbled onto it now ...
Been sifting through the OT archives. Nothing much better to do around here anyways. LOTS of good reading and memories there. Posts and threads from days past. Old members too. Ones who haven't posted in years. Good stuff.
Trucks rule. I can love cars but a truck can carry that away lol.
Then again Chad a truck in CA doesn't serve you much good. If you lived in Longo's territory you wouldn't dare go out without one in the winter. Heck even in Jersey! That and if you like hauling stuff, it's a no brainer. For you though you HAVE to think about fuel economy.
So I've been thinking about buying a gun permit. Not a carry permit but just for home defense. With all the new gun laws flying around I want to secure one for myself before my Government revokes my 2nd amendment right to it. It will be a handgun and something with a clip. I know they aren't cheap and I feel my kids are old enough to respect it should they ever stumble across it. (My son will be a teenager this year). It was one of the reasons I waited. Looking into it and since I live in NJ the process is very cumbersome any can be frustrating. There are many forms to fill out and psychological tests to be performed. I also need at least 3 references to attest that I'm not some nut lol.
Of course every form and step requires a fee. $20 for my local police and like a $60 for state. I'm not looking to hunt or bring down an establishment, just want to own something millions of law abiding Americans have in the past.
I have no felony convictions, drug or alcohol addictions (ok jury is out on beer lol), no enemies foreign or domestic, mental disorders or family history of such, shoot I don't even have any over due books at the library. Why should it be so hard for me to get a gun permit? That and a decent handgun, from my research can cost $1000+. Ouch. Then there's the ammo, case, training, ect. I'm ok with that, since it's an elective. Just don't tell me I CAN'T because of a new law.
Now there is a HUGE debate on our current gun laws and many can swing either way but it seems to me guns have been around for 100's of years. Why all the hype over them now? So some poor SOB takes out a bunch of movie goers or takes out 20 kids in a school. If guns weren't available they would just find another way. Maybe if more LAW abiding citizens carried then it wouldn't have gone that far. I know MY azz would have pulled my piece and taken him out had I been there and allowed to carry!!!
Maybe I should start this debate in the OT section but with the current traffic this site has that is as futile as barking at the moon.
Paul, you should definitely go for it. Getting the hand gun permit is pretty easy. I think hand gun is a must to own. I got a Sig Sauer .40 cal hand gun and love it. I also own a .308 rifle for fun. Shooting targets 200 yards away is so fun. When I got to a open shooting places (not ranges), I put my hand gun in my holster while walking around with my rifle. I feel like a sniper. LOL.
Last year I was paying about .60 cents for a round of .308 but the price got jacked up now. It is almost 2 dollars a bullet. Can't shoot too much now. LOL.
I still need an AR-15 and a shot gun to add to my collection and I'll be done.
im guessing with a few wackos here\then bumping off a bunch of random ppl is why dont want to give out guns like they used to
here in trinidad its very difficult to get a gun license unless u know somebody with influence to help u get it but of course illegal arms & other illegal stuff are very easy to get seeing that we are so close to south American ...
The government..in various agencies...has bought large amounts of ammo within last 18 months. IF you believe internet flaks. The reason? I doubt it's target practice.
In order to get ammo costs down, you might want to consider handloading. I KNOW....another money sink hobby! And than they'll start registering people for buying components. Like primers or whatever.
For someone who shoots VERY little, a hand press for handgun ammo can be used. Check gun by firing 20 rounds. Make sure you still have your 'eye' and than spend some time reloading. repeat 2x a year. Up scale would be a full-on press which clamps to a bench and would allow rifle ammo and faster rates of reload. Still a lot of work.
Once guns are outlawed, only outlaws will have guns.
"Once guns are outlawed, only outlaws will have guns."
Yup I agree 100%. In states where the right to purchase and carry guns are a LOT easier the armed crime rates are lower. Let's face it there will always be more citizens than police. Why trust the few and corrupt to protect the masses? Now I'm not saying for every legal gun owner to suddenly become a deputy against crime but we all can sure see the isolated benefit of some instances where it would help. Properly trained, a gun owner is in a sense a free crime deterrent in society. If a criminal knows his victim is powerless it makes his decision that much easier. That and it makes my own chance of survival as a gun owner THAT much greater. Like I said most criminals are NOT heroes. They prey off the weak and are cowards who rely on a machine to administer the fear they need to commit the crime. If their prey isn't so weak, crime by default will lessen.
That and I freaking LOVE the videos that show store owners shooting back at thieves and armed robbers. Stand up against it and don't be so defenseless. That's what they rely on!!!!!
Finally got to shoot my rifle this past Saturday. I picked up some reloads of .308 ammo. I paid $240 for a box of 250 rounds. Came out to just little bit under $1 per bullet. Still expensive but I had because I was itching to go shooting.
The range I went to only had 100 yards or closer targets. I usually don't shoot my rifle unless it's at least 200 yards but it wasn't too bad.
LOTS of people own guns but simply do NOT advertise the fact. California is going thru some concealed carry trips with a court finding (9th district?) in favor of gun owners and legal, concealed carry. The permitting process will be eased as a result. California just a few years ago BANNED what was called 'open carry' where a legal gun owner could carry a gun IN THE OPEN as long as it was unloaded and available to a peace office for inspection upon request. Other rules applied, like NOT near schools, in government buildings and a few others.
