Ho! Ho! Ho! (Who you callin' a Ho?????)

Merry Christmas

Happy Chanukkah

Blessed Yule

Screw Kwanzaa - it's a pretend holiday

26 days

Sewmouse talks economics

There's an awful lot of talk about how to fix the economy. Throwing money at it seems to be the government's solution. Charles Osgood on CBS yesterday chastised Americans for not spending, because hording our money just worsens the situation. The Federal Reserve thinks the answer is lowering interest rates so banks can get easy money that they refuse to lend.

I've thought about this a bit, and I think there is merit in all the above, but that each and every one of them misses the boat because they leave out the KEY element. The connection between Consumers and Markets.

Consumerism drives our economy. People make things, people sell things, people buy things, people fix things, people buy things to make things... nice little circular "ecosystem",(Let's leave those asshats called "speculators" out of this for now - that's a whole 'nother ball of wax) and it all works.

Until some idiot comes up with the bright idea of outsourcing jobs to 3rd world countries.

Laying off people who make things.Laying off people who fix things.

Which means there are less people who can buy things.

So nobody buys things.and nobody can sell things so they lay off people who sell things.

Which means even MORE people cannot buy things. so nobody makes things.

So they lay off MORE people who make things...

Not to mention that all these people are now collecting Govt. benefits because they don't have jobs and NOT paying taxes because they don't have jobs... And of course, they only spend their benefits on the BARE ESSENTIALS, because they don't have jobs...

Clearly anyone with 1/2 a brain can see how this turns out. Laying off people clearly is the prime reason why the economy sucks tepid pond slime and will continue to do so as long as Corporate America decides that their dividends and profits can be saved by "cost cutting" measures like downsizing workforce, outsourcing and layoffs.

Put people back to work. Now there would be that many more people who CAN buy things. So you'll need even MORE people to make, fix, sell, etc. things.

Really - I'm fair certain even a 10 year old could grasp this...

Hello, WallStreetMCFly???????

32 days

Holy Refridgeadeezer, Batman - it's COLD

With wind-chill figured in today it feels like 14 BELOW zero F. Fortunately, the car's battery works like a champ and I got going fine this morning, only to run into traffic while people gawked at 2 cop cars having stopped someone on the OTHER side of the road. *sigh*

Progress is being made in the great 2008/2009 decluttering. Another 2 trash cans full of I never use it and nobody wants it is ready to be dragged to the curb on Thursday nite. I still have a pile of "I need to hang this up but the farking closet is not properly insulated and freezes my whole room if I open the door" stuff sitting on an end table, but that's not too bad. I really do need to cut back on the dust-collectors, however. Some of this crap I've had since I was a kid. Maybe I should take a big box out to the Garage and have a driveway sale next spring.

Dad got his christmas present box. I'm glad of this. I hope they didn't put a receipt in it. I need to get Amanda and her hubby's presents mailed off this week. I need a box. GAH - so much to remember. I need a secretary. And a maid.

I tried making bratwurst in the microwave. I'm thinking it wasn't too successful. I may try again some time, however. I just need to figure out a good time/power setting ratio, I think.

Thanks to Enigma 4 Ever, I now have a new recipe for butter cookies to try out. *cross fingers* I hope it's as good as the recipe looks - go check her out, she's got all KINDS of Xmas spirit going over at Watergate Summer!


35 days

It's later.

The governor thing really threw me for a loop, and I'm not sure why, because I've never really liked him all that much - but for some reason, having the feds swoop in and grab the Guv was upsetting.

Maybe it's just too much focus on Illinois right now. First my Senator wins the Presidential election, then everybody and his 1/2 brother Duane with a lisp is sneaking around here looking for stories on the "President Elect", and then the whole thing with Republic Windows and Doors and Bank of America and that is the bank that bought out the one our company used to do business at, and now THIS...

Too much news. Too much! Slow down and let me absorb ONE crisis before ladling on another, not to mention another 1-3 inches of sn*w and I really need someone to slow down the planet for a few eons, please.

Dick Daley (Mayor Richard Daley to the rest of the world, but it IS fun to say "Dick Daley", as that would be a nice xmas present.... shaddup Mouse) was saying that people should not judge Illinois by this scandal, and that this is NOT what Illinois and Illinois politics are all about and I about to spit my pepsi out my nose because he is SOOOOOO bullshitting - That is EXACTLY what Chicago and Illinois politics has ALWAYS been about, Mayor Dick! C'mon! Your FATHER was the Godfather of Illinois Politiking.... And people wonder why I'm cynical.

Gotta go scrape car windows. Ugh.

40 days

Oh My Goodness!

They just arrested our Governor.

The feds took Rod Blagojevic into custody this morning!

Oh my!

Lt. Gov. Quinn is not yet acting Gov.


More later....

41 days

Snipshots

Young lady in the Pharmacy on Friday nite... sobbing into her cellphone to an obviously unresponsive boyfriend "All I wanted was a hug..." Didn't have the guts to tell her that most men are scum and she'd be better off losing his ass on the side of a freeway than trying to get him to "care". Those kind of guys DON"T care - ever - except about getting their hoses polished.

More Sn*w over the weekend - my little walkway lights have nature-made snowmen on top of them. All I'd need to do is put out some mini carrots and tiny hats. *giggle*

I have discovered holes in the Veggie quilt. This distresses me. I like it the best. I hope I have some of the same fabric left so I can patch it.

Earworm of the day: Jimmy Buffet singing about a pencil-thin mustache. Grrrrrrrrrrrrr
George, george, george of the jungle..... IT"S NOT WORKING!!!!

Bathrooms went out again on Friday afternoon. The water situation at work is depressing.

Finished my xmas shopping. Except for Susan. She's usually first, but this year I've not found anything that screams her name at any of the stores. Bleh. I DID, however, find my Dad's present. FINALLY

In the "funny things" category - I discovered someone from the FAA has checked out my blog. *chuckle* Yes, Houston, we DO blog.... WTF would the government be interested in ME for - especially seeking out SPTLM's shenanigans from childhood? *shrug*

42 days

Roger, Houston - we have Potty

Well, not that Houston cares, but our water is back on (for now). Yay.

No more unauthorized and expensive trips to McD's to use the restroom. Not that they charge, but it seems very tacky to walk in, do a poo, wash up and then walk out without buying anything.

Rude at the least.

So it's been an expensive 3 1/2 days.

46 days

Pickin' on Librul's Day

Mine is an Equal Opportunity Blog. Everyone has the opportunity to annoy me, and my self-determined appropriate ridicule will follow, regardless of gender, race, creed, color, national origin, political affiliation or choice of anti-perspirant spray, although refusal to use ANY anti-perspirant may be used against someone in a blog post. /fakeMiranda

So!A little over a month from now, barring any last-minute coup attempt by the Axle of Evil (Dunno about an "Axis", but an Axle has only 2 ends - Bush-Cheney), a new President of the United States will be sworn in on a chilly January day and history will be written about it, because Mr. Obama has a perma-tan.

So why, pray tell, are the Lib'ruls having convulsions and shitting themselves, going all right-wing-loonytunes because of what he has "failed to do"???

Helllloooooooo? Buehler???

Yes, he has selected his "first round draft picks" for cabinet positions - but each and every one of them needs to get past the approval process yet. Sure, we can ASSUME that with a Democratic majority in the Senate that this will be roughly a "rubber stamp" issue - but we could very well be WR... WRO... Wrrrrr..... Less than Correct - as Arthur Fonzarelli (sp?) would stutter.

No, he hasn't signed anything yet. Damn the man! Oh yeah - he hasn't taken the freaking Oath of Office yet!!! *SLAP* MCFLY!!!!!!!!!!

There are things I do not agree with that Mr. Obama has done. I'm not thrilled with the idea of Senator Clinton as Sec of State. From what I've been able to read, I do not agree with EFCA as currently written (I don't like the idea that 1/3 of the workers in a plant can essentially make the decision to unionize over the objection of the other 2/3 of the workers - and that there seems to be no provision to keep huge unions from destroying small or slowly growing companies.)

Mr. Obama didn't get elected by the Lib'ruls or the Progressives alone. He got elected by being a candidate who appealed to a LARGER audience - and to paraphrase something President Lincoln said "You can please all of the people some of the time, and some of the people all of the time, but you cannot please all of the people all of the time."

Unless you are talking about ALL of the 22%'ers, whom Shrub has pleased ALL of the time - but they only count as SOME of the People - so there, neener neener neener Phlllhhbbhhhtt.

In other news.

A water pipe under the street got broken because a semi-truck hit a fire hydrant about a block away, and it rocked the world out of a big chunk of the system including a part that runs under the sidewalk in front of our building which is STILL bubbling up a little bit (although the LAKE from yesterday is gone!), but we still have no water here at work.

We have a couple of water coolers, so we have drinking water - but no potties. We have to drive to McD's to use the bathroom. They're giving us extra (paid) break times to go out to McD's - which is nice, and they are supposed to be getting a "porta-potty" sometime today but if the guys are all supposed to use it too, I think I will just campaign for us 4 girls to still get to use the McToilet.

47 days

The dreaded "S" word

3-5 inches.

Sn*w.

Driving to work was not as hellish as I'd anticipated, but I still got there 12 minutes late, which bites, since I left over 1/2 an hour earlier than usual. Sn*w is fecking COLD, btw. (In case you didn't know)

I got some up my sleeve while I was brushing off the windows and I thought my wrist was gonna get frostbitten. Almost 50 years I've lived here near Chicago, you would think by now I'd be done bitching about it. HAH! I have not yet BEGUN to bitch!

Although the radio kept reporting 100's of spin-outs and fender benders, the traffic was not ill-behaved (except for the occasional SUV who did not realize that 4-wheel drive does NOT negate the laws of physics). I saw no accidents, and there was only 1 spot where traffic was so slowed and creepy-crawly that it was miserable (that's where I lost the 12 minutes, I think)

Actually, if the sn*w would just only stay on the grass and the trees it would be rather pretty. I just don't like it in my shoes, or my sleeve or on the road or on my car windows or on the sides of my car making it hard to open the doors, or on top of my mailbox and falling onto my hand when I try to get the mail, or on the sidewalks or...

Really - there need to be sn*w laws. Damn things think they can just go anywhere they please!

48 days

Giving Thanks

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving Holiday in the U.S.

Traditionally a time to reflect on all of our blessings and give thanks to the Deity of our choice for all his/her/their largesse.

For the following, I am truly grateful:

1) Amanda. Without qualification, the most wonderful, challenging, fantastic, beautiful, aggravating and delightful person and experience in my life. We do not always see things the same - but my life wouldn't have been as full, and I'd have missed out on so much without her. I'm so proud of her, she's become such a fine woman.

2) Having the ability to associate a number with an object or action. In my job, it is a major asset. "$875.05? That's the line-of-credit interest payment" - for instance.

3) My fellow Americans who finally got their collective heads out of their collective asses and told the GOP where to shove it sideways.

4) Polyester low-loft fiber batting.

5) My Neon. 35+ MPG on the interstates, and damn reliable. Built sorta kinda near my house too. I hope Chrysler doesn't have to go out of business.

6) The fact that there are only FIFTY FOUR more days....

54 days