Here we are in the middle of this years rendition of "Who has the most medals?"
In this corner we have China - a relative newcomer to the world stage of Olympic gold.
Over there we have the US - been around for a long time on the Olympic gold stage.
It is all about the gold, who got gold? Who is the official sponsor of that person, where was
he born, what cereal does he eat, what shoes does he wear, what is his favourite fast food....
What happened to the thought that these athletes were just people who worked hard at
whatever it was they did? Now they have been turned into a thing used to sell something.
McDonald's, the official fast food sponsor for the games, again. What the hell is McDonald's
doing at the Olympics? The huckster of mediocrity at the place where people have worked
their whole lives to be the best. Anything for a dollar, McDonald's has spent a small fortune
so that when someone in London wants some fries, they have to have McFries. A small fortune
spent so that all over the world, people are shown the McFries are associated with the best that
humanity has to offer.
The pressure to win, to get that gold medal must be crippling to these athletes. Look at what
happened to the triathlon competitor from Canada. She worked for years to get to the
Olympics, to show her dedication and drive. After two of the three events she was forced to
withdraw - "my legs have nothing left". She was in tears, apologizing to Canada for letting us
down. Who has made her feel that she has let Canada down? She is a shining example of what
it means to be the best. She fought and pushed and made the hardest step of standing in front
of everyone to be judged. And she feels she let us down because she wasn't good enough to
get the gold.
This drive to be the gold is killing people. It no longer looks like people doing their best, it
really looks like who can get away with what.
I am proud of those folks who are out there, who have worked hard at what they do. They
deserve better that the tarnished image of what getting the gold has become.
Monday, 6 August 2012
Thursday, 17 May 2012
Dentistry - the hard way
Hit the button marked 1988 on your way back machine folks and you will see me, marching around the base - fresh out of basic training and half way through the first course in my military career.
My class of 10 was comprised of the standard mix of people: the angry young man, the annoying twerp, the quiet guy in the corner, the "I am so good my poop don't stink" dweeb and the person who tries to make everything go just a bit smoother.
Part of the routine of the course was that we were required to march from the school to the galley at lunch. Someone within the group had pissed off the instructor so we were marched the long way around, cutting into our lunch. During the march up to the galley, the annoying twerp decided to pester the angry young man. This turned out to be a very stupid thing.
We finally get up to the galley and get fed. I linger over a second cup of coffee and then head up to my room to have a bit of a lie down. I open the door to find my room just strewn with blood. It turns out that the annoying twerp decided to continue pestering the angry young man. Angry young man snaps and takes kicks the shit out out of the dweeb. He kicked and kicked and kicked again. One particular kick catches the dweeb in the mouth. Dweeb gets hauled off to the hospital, angry young man has a chit chat with the military police and the school chief and the base chief and and and.... We don't see him for the rest of the day.
I get to clean my room. Nice. My room, his blood, my problem. The dweeb shows up to class a couple hours later with a couple bands of wire around his front teeth. It seems that the boot of angry young man cracked dweebs front teeth.
About 2 weeks later, angry young man goes in front of the Base Commander and gets fined $100 for kicking the dweeb. 2 weeks after that, dweeb gets the steel off of his teeth. We all get to look at his new and improved smile - very improved it turns out. Dweebs front teeth used to stick out and in odd alignment. Now they are straight and in line.
We all decide that angry young man was fined $100 for practising dentistry without a licence
And that is dentistry, the hard way
Wednesday, 16 May 2012
Day Two
Well, after a 5 month long long weekend, I am finally back to work.
What is it with this get out of bed and go to work thing anyway?
Oh yeah, the paycheck every two weeks. I keep forgetting about that <g>
I was introduced to a lady who told me what was wrong with my resume -
EVERYTHING. Ah well, I know what is required to fix it and I have 4 months
to get it done and find my next job.
The Adventure Continues
What is it with this get out of bed and go to work thing anyway?
Oh yeah, the paycheck every two weeks. I keep forgetting about that <g>
I was introduced to a lady who told me what was wrong with my resume -
EVERYTHING. Ah well, I know what is required to fix it and I have 4 months
to get it done and find my next job.
The Adventure Continues
Tuesday, 8 May 2012
Politicians and Their Job
So just what is their job anyway? Every4 years (or sooner up here in Canada) we have another round of federal elections. Everyone hunkers down, spends lots of money, kisses babies, shakes hands and wanders the streets looking like the guy I want to work for me.
Work for me, what does that really mean? How often do you see one of them doing what they promised to when they were trying to get elected? With a few rare exceptions I can't really say I have seen a lot of those promises kept.
Oh, sorry, the money just isn't there - hmmm, unlike the millions of dollars being spent so that our senators don't have to walk outside in the snow.
Oh, sorry, something more important came up - hmmm, like what is more important than balancing the budget?
Oh, sorry, <insert excuse here>
What is there about the term "public servant" that is lost on these people? That is what they are, servants of the public - you and me. The person elected is supposed to answer to you, not the bags of money that are being held out by the corporations, or the 1%.
When you have been lied to, make them accountable for it
Work for me, what does that really mean? How often do you see one of them doing what they promised to when they were trying to get elected? With a few rare exceptions I can't really say I have seen a lot of those promises kept.
Oh, sorry, the money just isn't there - hmmm, unlike the millions of dollars being spent so that our senators don't have to walk outside in the snow.
Oh, sorry, something more important came up - hmmm, like what is more important than balancing the budget?
Oh, sorry, <insert excuse here>
What is there about the term "public servant" that is lost on these people? That is what they are, servants of the public - you and me. The person elected is supposed to answer to you, not the bags of money that are being held out by the corporations, or the 1%.
When you have been lied to, make them accountable for it
Monday, 7 May 2012
Woman Abuse in Afghanistan
Today I woke up and thought of another great crime that was being committed, the abuse of women over in Afghanistan.
How horrible is it to hear of child brides, women not being able to drive, "honour" killings, women being forced to wear specific types of clothing, being denied access to medicine,.....
The list goes on and on. These terrible things happen daily and it is all blamed on the ancient traditions of the people. How convenient to have such a ready made excuse.
What can be done to stop this from continuing? Well, right now there is a multinational force in Afghanistan, out there, amongst other things, to stop this horror from being perpetuated. At this moment, the main part of the multinational force is the US. It is good to know how wonderful things are in the developed, civilized world.
Or is it?
How many times do you hear of a women getting raped and then having to suffer through the humiliation of watching the attacker sneer at here while she is put on trial for "asking for it".
And what about Mr Santorum, the guy who wants to run the US (God help us all). Did he not say that any woman who is raped and a child is conceived of that rape, that the woman should carry that "gift from God" to term. What kind of crap is that? Is it any less horrific than what is happening in Afghanistan?
Down in the US, women have to look hard to find access to an abortion, even if it is medically necessary. Then, if they find a way, they have to brave the religious zealots who are sitting in front of those offices. The same people who say life is sacred are the very ones who are shooting Doctors.
"But that is what is written in the Bible!" they call to their defence. Yes, the bible, written thousands of years ago by, Men. Yes, men. And don't throw that "they were spoken to by God to write it" crap. The guys who shot JFK, the pope, John Lennon, they were all "spoken to by God" and we have decided that they were all crazy.
Yes, women are being abused in horrible ways in Afghanistan and many other areas of the world.
Let us not stand up showing how great we are over here until it can be said the same thing doesn't happen here.
How horrible is it to hear of child brides, women not being able to drive, "honour" killings, women being forced to wear specific types of clothing, being denied access to medicine,.....
The list goes on and on. These terrible things happen daily and it is all blamed on the ancient traditions of the people. How convenient to have such a ready made excuse.
What can be done to stop this from continuing? Well, right now there is a multinational force in Afghanistan, out there, amongst other things, to stop this horror from being perpetuated. At this moment, the main part of the multinational force is the US. It is good to know how wonderful things are in the developed, civilized world.
Or is it?
How many times do you hear of a women getting raped and then having to suffer through the humiliation of watching the attacker sneer at here while she is put on trial for "asking for it".
And what about Mr Santorum, the guy who wants to run the US (God help us all). Did he not say that any woman who is raped and a child is conceived of that rape, that the woman should carry that "gift from God" to term. What kind of crap is that? Is it any less horrific than what is happening in Afghanistan?
Down in the US, women have to look hard to find access to an abortion, even if it is medically necessary. Then, if they find a way, they have to brave the religious zealots who are sitting in front of those offices. The same people who say life is sacred are the very ones who are shooting Doctors.
"But that is what is written in the Bible!" they call to their defence. Yes, the bible, written thousands of years ago by, Men. Yes, men. And don't throw that "they were spoken to by God to write it" crap. The guys who shot JFK, the pope, John Lennon, they were all "spoken to by God" and we have decided that they were all crazy.
Yes, women are being abused in horrible ways in Afghanistan and many other areas of the world.
Let us not stand up showing how great we are over here until it can be said the same thing doesn't happen here.
Sunday, 6 May 2012
Barack Obama
So, the republican party has finally chosen someone to run against you.
Gee, and 6 whole months for Rick to do his magic. Now we get to see
if the Mormons have the same political clout that the Jews are
supposed to have.
It will be an interesting race
Gee, and 6 whole months for Rick to do his magic. Now we get to see
if the Mormons have the same political clout that the Jews are
supposed to have.
It will be an interesting race
Driving
This morning I went down to the local 7/11 to pick up some butter. Just as I was walking across the parking lot I heard someone gunning his car into motion. I turned around to have a look see and there he was, in his jacked up pickup truck, gunning the engine for all it was worth. A cloud of smoke blew out the back of the truck, tires squealed as he went from stopped to about 50kph as he was taking a left turn. The truck straightened out in its new lane and the so called "adult" driving it sought fit to rev the engine and roar down the road.
It was 11am. What was this "adult" missing in his life that made him need to make so much noise and smoke?
Did he not get enough attention from mummy and daddy when he was little? Maybe he was lacking in between his thighs. What ever his problem is, I do wish that he and the myriad of others like him would find somewhere else to be before one of these "adults" lose control of their gas powered toys and kills someone who was unfortunate enough to be out and about.
Rant over
Friday, 4 May 2012
Never On A Sunday
There are those people out there who are sure that us sailor types are godless heathens, that we do not believe in a God of any flavour. This is not an accurate thought, we all believe in a higher power when we set sail and every once in a while our belief is reinforced for us.
It was Sunday. Bright, beautiful, clear sky (above us) in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. The ship I was on was en route to the Red Sea to begin operations. Now, normally a Sunday routine aboard ship means that after cleaning stations, there is no extra work done on the ship. A day off so to speak. Today was not to be one of those days.
The Commanding Officer decided that he wanted his ship to look shiney and clean when it hit port in a few days so he told the buffer (man in charge of ships husbandry) to have the color topping on the deck redone.
Color topping is a thin black paint that is put on the walk ways of the upper deck. Properly done, it makes the ship look that much nicer.
Properly done does not mean going across the Atlantic at 15 knots, with a 20 knot cross wind ON A SUNDAY (you know, that day we are supposed to keep holy?)
The CO told the buffer - paint the ship
The buffer said - Sir, Sunday routine Sir?
Buffer, paint the ship
Errr, Sir, there are rain clouds behind us
BUFFER, PAINT THE SHIP
Aye Aye Sir
So, all hands turn out to colour top the deck. Wind and all.
We painted
We swore when the wind blew paint streaks here and there
We painted some more.
Finally we finished and started securing the gear
Do you remember that cloud the buffer mentioned?
Do you know that clouds are very patient?
They are.
That cloud waited for us to finish
Then it started chasing us
And it was doing a good job of catching up
The CO ordered Full Speed
And that didn't help
The cloud moved right up over us and cried
It cried because we had had to work on Sunday
It cried and cried, and every tear drop that hit the deck slashed
that colour topping up from where it was carefully placed
There was runs and streaks of this black stuff everywhere,
including down the hull of the ship
And then we all cried
Except for the CO
He went to his cabin and stayed there for a couple of days
That was the last time we painted that ship on a Sunday
It was Sunday. Bright, beautiful, clear sky (above us) in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. The ship I was on was en route to the Red Sea to begin operations. Now, normally a Sunday routine aboard ship means that after cleaning stations, there is no extra work done on the ship. A day off so to speak. Today was not to be one of those days.
The Commanding Officer decided that he wanted his ship to look shiney and clean when it hit port in a few days so he told the buffer (man in charge of ships husbandry) to have the color topping on the deck redone.
Color topping is a thin black paint that is put on the walk ways of the upper deck. Properly done, it makes the ship look that much nicer.
Properly done does not mean going across the Atlantic at 15 knots, with a 20 knot cross wind ON A SUNDAY (you know, that day we are supposed to keep holy?)
The CO told the buffer - paint the ship
The buffer said - Sir, Sunday routine Sir?
Buffer, paint the ship
Errr, Sir, there are rain clouds behind us
BUFFER, PAINT THE SHIP
Aye Aye Sir
So, all hands turn out to colour top the deck. Wind and all.
We painted
We swore when the wind blew paint streaks here and there
We painted some more.
Finally we finished and started securing the gear
Do you remember that cloud the buffer mentioned?
Do you know that clouds are very patient?
They are.
That cloud waited for us to finish
Then it started chasing us
And it was doing a good job of catching up
The CO ordered Full Speed
And that didn't help
The cloud moved right up over us and cried
It cried because we had had to work on Sunday
It cried and cried, and every tear drop that hit the deck slashed
that colour topping up from where it was carefully placed
There was runs and streaks of this black stuff everywhere,
including down the hull of the ship
And then we all cried
Except for the CO
He went to his cabin and stayed there for a couple of days
That was the last time we painted that ship on a Sunday
Thursday, 3 May 2012
Stop Steven Harper Day
So someone has come up with the idea of calling Canada Day "Stop Steve Harper Day". On that day, I will go to my local celebration and enjoy the festivities. I will go up to all the protesters and ask each one of them
"Did you vote at the last general election?"
I had a look at the official tallies and for the last general election, about 60% of registered voters got up and made their mark. When you add in those who are not registered and are eligible to be so, the number is close to 50%, 1 person in 2. That means of everyone of those people who are unhappy, 1/2 of them have absolutely no right to say anything.
When you don't make your way down to vote, you give up your right to complain when things happen that you don't like. If you want the right to complain you have to make the effort to get down and vote.
Getting back to the protesters who will be down at the Canada Day celebrations, everyone of them that I ask and get the answer of NO, I will blissfully ignore.
And before anyone asks, I did vote. And not for Harper
"Did you vote at the last general election?"
I had a look at the official tallies and for the last general election, about 60% of registered voters got up and made their mark. When you add in those who are not registered and are eligible to be so, the number is close to 50%, 1 person in 2. That means of everyone of those people who are unhappy, 1/2 of them have absolutely no right to say anything.
When you don't make your way down to vote, you give up your right to complain when things happen that you don't like. If you want the right to complain you have to make the effort to get down and vote.
Getting back to the protesters who will be down at the Canada Day celebrations, everyone of them that I ask and get the answer of NO, I will blissfully ignore.
And before anyone asks, I did vote. And not for Harper
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