American Sociopaths

[BO]

They keep coming out of the woodwork like cockroaches. They eat away at the foundation of civilization. They lie, cheat and steal. They think the world owes them something they don't deserve. They get away with murder.

Who are they?

[Mouse]

Thank you LOM.  Pancakes were top notch and this time my daughter was not inclined to snooze at all (she usually falls asleep on the sofa for a while).  That made her sure it was really happening at last.  So, she left the small people with me for a few hours, went home and phoned the midwife, and now I have got another little granddaughter.  Labour was four hours, all at home and not a smidgin of painkiller.  On the phone to his brother her husband said she barely broke a sweat.  Baby is 8lbs 4ozs.  Evelyn Grace. Tra la.

Would you like my pancake recipe? 6 heaped tablespoons of wholemeal bread flour, 6 heaped tablespoons of white bread flour, four free range eggs, a pint and a dollop of milk and a generous pinch of sea salt.  Mix the usual way till light and smooth.  You'll need a quarter pound of butter for the next bit.

LIberally butter pan, stand and cook each till crispy,  until they have all had enough.  Then it's your turn.  We have ours hot with lemon juice and soft dark brown sugar.

[littleoldme]

Yum! Thank you for the recipe. Congrats on your newest addition! My Clancy named his newest Evelyn Mae. I guess the name is going to make a come back, I've always liked it.

[Mouse]

Yes, it has a certain elegance I think. I think it will probably only be used for posh.  It came with the understanding that she will be called Evie most of the time.  

Woke early in the morning in a sudden horror of which witch hunt will get me.  There seem to be so many these days.

And yet in other ways I seem to be so much safer than most people, and must set aside paranoia and remember all those good people out there

who care like the blazes to keep safe their own kith and kin in a land of milk and honey  and do not desire to destroy their neighbour's peace

and the whole world

out of misplaced fear

or General Carelessness.

[waldopaper]

Oh- and how incredibly fucked up is THIS??  No need to stick a fork in us... we're done.  

I am so sick of "dirty hippies" and "freeloaders" bullshit... but when somebody hurls the "socialist(s)" epithet, I just want to rip their face off.  Last night I thought of posting on the local "conservative" sites... but reading their content to get some kind of voice caused me to open a beer to calm down... next thing was crawling off to bed where I woke up (at least THAT'S good) feeling rather crappy.  All the browser windows were open, which probably caused the crash earlier. 

otoh, Saturday's visit to the #camp was discouraging... a lot of bickering about stoopid shit... like should "we" allow the kops to come in and give random breathalyzer tests.  The only sage advice I could give was, "...in the old days, we had a saying:  "they" can do anything you can't stop them from doing."  More yammering about procedural bullshit.  Reminded me of a committee meeting.  Only thing missing was the power-point presentation and cookies.  At least those were quieter. 

Overall though... their hearts (and brains) are in the proper place... they are not caught in that stoopid Cartesian duality left-right trap that so obsesses the "conservative" twits.  I can't see the "conservatives" (who don't seem to want to conserve anything) getting off of that.  It's so core to their "identity." 

Crap.  On my way to another hangover. 

edit: during the panel discussion, one line that seemed to gain purchase was, "...we are bickering about 'munny' while the icecaps are melting..." which seems to illustrate the memetic paradox here in the US.  Most USAons think "munny" is real... but global warming is "junk science."  Why?  Because million$ in really crude propaganda convinced them to "believe" what they already wanted to believe. 

BO:  where ARE ya, buddy?  I know this is the most shittiest time of the year.  Makes me vacillate between bitter and maudlin.  I HATE that.  Bitter: no country for old men.  Maudlin:  Es ist ein Ros entsprungen.  "It came a flower'et bright... amid the cold of Winter... when half-spent was the night..."  Aw fuck it.  I'm gonna cry.  Merry cricking fucmas to y'all.  I wish to shit we could hear from Curt.  I have already lost too many friends.  

Edit2;  my oldest friend Randy and me... when he was in remission from stage 4 melanoma... robust as ever... from the disease that finally took him down.  He got kinda "conservative" in his last years... we argued forcefully and bitterly about the Afghan invasion... but not here.  Here we were taking a break from working on his beloved project, a cabin overlooking Lake Huron on Manitoulin Island.  Here we were sharing beers and yuks like we always did.  This was taken about 10 years ago (or so)... I think. 

Goddammit brother.  I miss you terribly... in these hollandaise of my anecdotage.  Save a spot for me.  You and Chuckie and the boyz...and that Airstream-by-the-lake we always talked about.  Only in our dreams, I guess.  But damn... I believe these kids truly do us proud.  See you when I get there.  Waldo's runnin sweep, as always.  Takin' my own dam time... as usual.  Don't wait up.  I'll get there.  Good night- to all my sweet friends left on this beautiful Earth.  

Good Night. 

[BO]

Eyes here. Been busy with a couple of clients who are keeping me from retiring and shooting my brains out. Guess that's a good thing. God I get depressed when I don't have enough to do.

That's one clean construction site. Can tell that a bit of love went into that house. Nice clean cuts -- even on the handrail. Sorry that your friend didn't get a chance to watch it weather.

Feel like I'm kinda biding my time until we go into full collapse mode. And not knowing if we have a future or not is kicking my ass. I keep wondering why I should do shit if it ain't going to matter. I've got a full blown case of nihilism. Got it so bad I don't want to be around anyone for fear they much catch it. The wife understands, but I have to put on a happy face for the kid. Totally unfair for him to have to worry 'bout shit at his age.

Criminality is the US has free-reign now and is unstoppable. The rule of law, our civil rights, and basic civility between people have become a memory. I have no idea what's next. But when she blows, I think it'll be global. Currency collapse, nuclear winter, environmental catastrophe. You want nihilism? I got it. There's no scenario I can imagine where we return to sanity. My bones are telling me we're getting close to the end game.

Til then, best to keep on truckin' So, we're taking a trip to the Caribbean for xmas. Maybe we'll get lucky and be in Belize when the dollar and euro go TU... and we'll be stuck there for the rest of our lives. 

Fleas navi-dog.

[Mouse]

Not stuck in Belize, Small and I went to the meadow for turning on the Christmas lights, and we had hot chestnuts and hung around on the edge of things, watching, as we like.

Then we went to the fish and chip shop and waited awhile for the portion of each we shared in various places, wandering here and there, as our evening out drew to its close with the very best chips I have ever had.  Must have been fried twice surely, really crispy in layers of crispiness over the proper softness within of a perfect chip.

[waldopaper]

"chips" -- gor!  How I do love ye Brits! 

...and our little angel, Cornchip... who would have been 14 this last Pearl Harbor Day. 

[Cal]

Best chips I EVER had were in Yorkshire ... wrapped in newspaper ... the soggy stuff we get here just doesn't hack it.

 

[Cal]

Nice post Waldo - got me all teared up about friends lost ... I'm staying put here for xmas.  Can't get much better than a wooden deck umbrellad by trees older than me (which is nice at this age!) with the sound of the sea in the background.  The town is a little 'overrun' this time of year though with city guys in their SUV's & beach buggies ... huge beach buggies ....

 

Bo are you still doing IT stuff?  I have started dabbling in it again after a more than 10 year break.  I am pretty fascinated by the potential of mobile device apps for updating central databases.  Lots of new terms to get used to - like clouds, androids, blackberries.  Listening to Steve Jobs biography got me all excited about creativity again - although my type of creativity is not nearly as aesthetic as the Mouses and Pans of this world.

 

BTW - I heard nothing from the company about my dubious medical tests although the doctor looked a little awkward during my 'sign off' session.  Maybe it was my hypersentive imagination - or maybe he was just completely overwhelmed at how to discuss the issue with a 54 year old bespectacled aunty who looks anything but hip. 

 

[BO]

Hi Cal, Nice to hear from you. Was wondering how your test turned out. If they haven't run another by now, pretty sure you passed.

Speaking of IT...my 'skill set' is in creating visual communications...which by necessity, also includes content management and development. As the web came on the scene and flourished, I learned 'front end' programing so I could control my designs without them being destroyed by IT geeks. It was a matter of survival. As it's hard to manage mechanics unless you can actually show them which tool to use and how to use it. Very similar to an architect and a construction worker. An architect who actually knows how to use a hammer is going to garner the respect he needs to get the job done right.

But that was then. With the level of technology required to stay current with the trend to 'socialize' all forms of communications, it just ain't possible to be a one man show anymore. The last few projects I've worked on have begun as template designs with lots of embedded technology that frankly, I'd be at a loss to try and develop on my own. As a result, I find myself doing a lot more content editing than designing. Which is OK because I have a natural affinity for the logical and can create taxonomies with my eyes closed. It's amazing really...how few people there are that are able to mold their thoughts into something others can understand. That said, those same people tend to be highly appreciative of someone who can take their pile of shit and make sense of it.

But hey if you want to see where things are going, here's a company that's into the cloud thing big time. One of my customers is looking at using their services...

Salesforce.com

[Cal]

BTW Bo - I must thank you for this post.  It got me climbing the mast of the Good Ship Cal crying "Idea ahoy".  I am currently run aground in the shark infested shallows but when the tide turns .... "Ahoy! ".  My totem animal is the dung beetle.  Skip the eagle, the bear, the mountain lion posturing and head straight for the nearest pile of shit and start processing some of the stink out of this world.

I did not pass the test.  I can tell (I am gifted that way).  It's just that no one exactly knows what to do when a reasonably senior manageress fails tests like that.  And I'm not going to be the one to tell them.

 

[BO]

Maybe they just give the test to keep you on your toes. I can assure you that you aren't rare among senior managers -- at least not over here. 

Do sharks eat dung beetles? Be careful out there.