Port Deal
Mood:  a-ok
Topic: Politics
I finally decided to comment on the US Port deal that has been in the news everywhere recently. Here is how I see it:

1. Out of most of the areas in the Middle East, the UAE seems to be the most capitalistic, or the most Westernized.

2. They have also made great strides in helping us with the war on terror, at least more than many other Middle East countries.

3. Out of the 300 or so terminals in US ports, the UAE will only be running 9...and we still retain control of the terminal and port security. Yet, if you listen to the Left, we are giving up all security control...can you say liars?

4. It's not like this is the first foreign country or company to take over terminal operations at a US port...why do the Democrats make such a big stink now? Could it be because this is an Arab country? But I thought they were above looking at people's skin color/race? I guess not huh?

5. The UAE gave almost 4 times as much money in Katrina relief ($100 Million) as every other country combined ($26 Million).

Now by no means am I saying that the UAE is perfectly loyal to us or that they are completely safe, but no company could honestly claim that. We find spies in our government...people can be bought in every facet of life. But I don't think there is enough evidence out there to support the left's position that this is a bad deal for us. We have given up control of most of the terminals in our ports...why not have the one country in the Middle East that is trying to become westernized be here?

Hockey is back again!
Mood:  energetic
Topic: Sports
I think I watched about as much of the Olympics as the next guy...which was about 15 minutes. That also figures in time that I saw it as I surfed the channels. But really...I think I watched about 10 minute of women' curling...until I realized that I didn't have a clue what the announcers were saying, and they weren't going to explain anything. I'm also not sure that curling is a "sport"...it is a game...like shuffleboard, but I don't consider that a sport, do you?

Come to think of it, I'm not sure I consider ice (figure) skating a sport either. It's just something about it...if it puts you to sleep, it can't be sport in my opinion. Maybe that's why I don't like baseball...yawn city.

Hockey on the other hand is hard to sleep through...the checks...the slap shots...the goals and then the horn and then the screaming fans!! I can't wait to get home tonight and watch some more hockey!!

Go Lightning!!

Got a good joke?
Mood:  a-ok
Topic: Life
As I stated earlier, I'm going to be adding a joke area to the site. If you have a favorite one, add it as a comment...I'll accept them and put them in my list. If I don't already have it on my list, I'll mention that I got it from you...if you want.

You have got to be kidding me!
Mood:  don't ask
Topic: Grad School
Yesterday was the last day that I could order my cap and gown without a penalty. So I went to do it and nearly had second thoughts about going into IT.

It cost almost $60 to RENT the cap and gown, with nothing fancy, to wear for a total of a few hours! I'm thinking of opening up my own cap and gown business...you only have to work three times a year...and if you can make $60 per student times 5,000 students times 3 ceremonies...that's $900,000 a year!!! And that's for working only 1 school!

Insane!!

Too funny.
Mood:  cool
Topic: Work
Well, I know I said I wasn't gonna talk about people I talk to on the phone at work...but...

I answer the phone today, and I get some hick on the other end asking to talk to the owner of the line. Well, I work at the answering service, so I told him I could take a message. He then proceeds to rattle off something...his phone was pretty crappy, I could barely understand him...I caught three numbers and then the rest was a complete guess. So I stopped him and asked what it was that he just said, then he gets all pissed off and says "It's my phone number, what are you, a stupid nigger?" At first I was kinda stunned, then I replied that if he was talk that way I was going to end the call...and promptly hung up on his inbreed, redneck, Arkansas ass.

Then I laughed like hell for a little bit. Some people are just plain dumb. Here he is calling because he wants some one to buy his muddy lot with his trashy trailer on it, and he can't even be nice to the person trying to help him.

Don't you just love people?? I do.

I can't take any more! ! !
Mood:  irritated
Topic: Grad School
Oh boy, I had a feeling that my Information Security class was gonna be a problem the very first day when the professor made snide remarks about Bush and the "Domestic Spying Program." She brought it up twice, and I turned to a friend of mine in the class and told him if she continued this way all semester, we would have problems.

Well...we now officially have problems. She made another comment last week, and I asked her why she was opposed to us spying on our enemies. She gave me a strange look...you know the kind...where she was surprised that some one would question her all-knowing power as a professor. She made some Democrat-like answer that made no sense, so then I had to throw out the tiny little fact that we weren't spying on "Average American Citizens" like she tried to claim. Let's just say, the debate didn't last long...she quickly changed the subject.

Then today, she made another comment, but I guess she checked out what I said because she conceited the point I made previously and also correctly identified that we have been tracking International calls...not Domestic ones. The debate stopper this time was the little fact that out of the billions of calls that have been made since 2001 when this program started, less than 2,000 have been tapped. It is kinda hard to make the point that the government is abusing its power in this matter with that little tidbit.

Another testing
Mood:  energetic
Topic: Life
Tomorrow I have another testing for TKD, I'll be getting my stripe...blue belt decided.

Its another step to black. I'll have just about a year left after this testing.

I missed a week or so because I've been fighting off the sickness that has been going around...at work it is referred to as the Plague.

More to come...
Topic: Life
I've been thinking of adding some other parts to this blog...and it will be a little while before they are all done...I will try to point them out when they are finished though.

As you might have noticed, I've added an area for some of my favorite jokes...but I'm still compiling them and trying to figure out how exactly I want to organize them.

Some people are just dumb.
Mood:  a-ok
Topic: Work
I haven't been tracking the idiots that I talk to everyday. I think that if I was constantly writting about all of them, I'd go insane! Seriously...you people suck!!

Beauty and the Geek
Mood:  a-ok
Topic: TV
I saw a couple episodes of the first season, but I've seen a few more of this season. It is a good show...funny as hell to see these dude trying to act "cool", or those chicks trying to act smart.

I sit here and can answer nearly all of the questions at the end...so does that mean that I'm a beautiful geek?? Somehow I'm afraid it does. ;(

That's the team I know and love!
Mood:  energetic
Topic: Sports
The Lightning have finally started to play like the defending Stanley Cup Champions!! They currently have a total of 68 points and a record of 32-22-4.

They are 7-2-1 in their last 10 games, 15 points out of 20. I hope they can keep this up after the Olympic break...

HR Management
Topic: Grad School
This class is the last elective that I need to graduate. I was debating between this class and a computer graphics class...which I think would have been really cool! But after talking to a couple of students who have had the professor, I decided against it and registered for HR Man.

I missed the first week because the class meets Monday nights, and I didn't add the class until Wed. Then the next week we didn't meet because of MLK. So the third week was my first week.

Now, I don't know how many of you have a graduate level education...but I'm going to share some of the wisdom...the gem, or pearl of wisdom that I gathered from that first class:

Prof: "If you know that you are going to need to hire some one to fill a position...the first thing you should do...is make sure that you know what you need."

Me: "Duh!!"

But the scariest part was that as I looked around the classroom, everyone (mostly MBAs) that had a laptop was typing away and anyone that didn't was busily writing it down. Now maybe it is just me, but doesn't everyone do that before they go to the store anyway? Is this really something that needs to be stated during a class where I'm paying over $200 a credit hour?!

Keep coming back for a free education from RDU!

I'm back!
Mood:  a-ok
Topic: Life
My other laptop finally died in mid/late November. My new one just came in today, so I thought I'd make another post to this thing after nearly three months!!

Let's play quick catch-up...I'm now in my last semester of Grad school...I'm currently a blue belt recommended in TKD...I missed the first episode of the new Survivor...I have Battlefront 2(but I don't know if I like it as much as the first one)...and my Lightning are finally starting to play the Stanley Cup Champions!!!

That about sums it up...now I gotta go watch Survivor and the Lightning!

Jamie is gone!
Topic: TV
Last night Jamie got voted out of Survivor...it's about time. That guy was starting to drive me nuts, I can only imagine what it was like being there with him (assuming the editing was proportional).

He created his own self-fulfilling prophecy...he was so paranoid about being voted out, that he caused his name to be written down instead of Gary's. Which brings me to something I was curious about...Gary has proof that Judd lied, and then lied again (about the immunity idol) but he has yet to bring it up. I would have pointed it out right away...as soon as we got back to camp after TC. But I guess Gary figured it would be better to work on getting Jamie voted out first because he was really starting to get on everyone's nerves and he was an easier target. I'm guessing that he'll use the idol thing next week since there isn't another easy target sitting out there right now.

Oh...so you're the answering machine?
Mood:  a-ok
Topic: Work
I've been actively trying to avoid venting about work on here the last little while. I have gotten some really strange calls though this week.

But I think I've decided to start taking notes about some of the calls I've been getting and then documenting them here for future reference and laughs. I don't want to forget the crap I put up with at this job later on...I'd like to be able to look back and remember that even I can be a CSR!

So in that spirit...yesterday I was called an "answering machine" three times by separate callers. It was funny the first time, but then I kinda got annoyed afterward. Most people seem to have the same reaction..."oh, you're JUST the answering servce"...well, yes, we are the answering service, BUT we do so much more than that. Anyway, I decided to let it go, and not let that annoy me any more...if people want to be rude and ignorant then there is nothing that I can do about.