Piss and Moan

Pork

Posted on December 23, 2020 by backuphill

The amount of pork in the “stimulus” package passed by Congress and challenged by the President, even a lame duck president, is stupid. For a body that says they are trying to help the American people, they sure know how to help themselves to our money. This stuff, among other things, is why so many Americans don’t believe the government is working and is broken beyond repair.

For the record, I don’t believe it is beyond repair. However, I do believe it is not working the way it was intended or should.

Is it really necessary to include money for foreign countries in a bill that is aimed at helping American citizens? Is it really necessary for the country, already in debt, to make it larger to help people outside of the U.S.? Is it really necessary for our congressional representatives to stuff every spending bill with frivolous pork barrel crap just so they can get themselves re-elected and pad every pet project brought to them by the countless lobbyists?

Honestly, there is nothing stimulating about the bill.

For those who need the direct payment, it isn’t enough. For a majority of Americans (including myself), they don’t actually need a direct payment and so it is too much. Once again, Congress isn’t actually addressing the real issues and they have delayed real help by including a massive amount of stupid spending at a time when many Americans are looking at their finances and wondering how to make it from day to day.

Don’t forget the money a government spends wasn’t theirs in the first place. THIS MONEY COMES FROM YOUR POCKET! So, in one way or another, they are taking if from you: payroll taxes, income taxes, sales tax, death tax, capital gains tax, etc. The list is seemingly never ending.

The least you could do is demand that your money be spend in ways that make sense. Spend wisely. Use and follow a budget. Save.

There used to be a joke (maybe it still is a thing) that when you bought stuff from China it was cheap and would break almost immediately. People would say, “You get what you pay for,” meaning the more you pay for an item (in most cases) equates to the quality and durability of the item. Though it is cliche, the thought hold weight because there is some truth to it.

The same can be said of our representative government. We get what we pay for. Unfortunately, most of us can’t pay for a senator or a representative, so the people and companies with real money get what they pay for.

This “stimulus” bill and all the pork in it just proves that’s true…again…

Slow day

Posted on December 22, 2020 by backuphill

The work day is crawling today.

There are barely any help tickets and the only thing left to do is work on projects…and I don’t want to.

Can we all just go home now?

Staring at the screen waiting for something to happen is mind numbing.

OK, fine, I’ll work on projects.

But I am not going to like it.

Other

Posted on December 21, 2020 by backuphill

Ever had a tough time not thinking about “the other”? Specifically, “the other” things you could be doing or “the other” person/people you could be with?

Sometimes I find it hard to make it through the day without thinking about “the other” things. I am sure this is just a focus issue and somehow I have developed a little ADD in that I am isolated each day in my home office (garage). There are so many other things I could be doing. So many other things that I want to do (or maybe need to do) instead of actually working. LOL

I know, I know. Work provides the income that allows me to actually do other things when I am not at work. It is a necessary evil.

It’s just, do I have to? I mean, really? Do I have to?

The other things seem like they would be way more fun. The other people seem like they would be way more entertaining.

I suppose this could just be a case of “the grass is greener” and what I am really experiencing or feeling isn’t necessarily the truth. But still, “the other” thing, person, people, activities, job, entertainment, whatever, seems way better than what I am doing right now.

I could be wrong.

But there is no way of knowing.

So, I ponder and think about “the other” still.

Search what?

Posted on December 18, 2020 by backuphill

I am not sure if you take a look at the stats page for your blog. There is some interesting stuff on there. Which of your blogs was read, how many site visitors, likes, comments, where people are from when they look, and in some cases even what someone was searching for when they found your site. Look for “Search Terms” on your stats page. It might just be entertaining!

Yesterday, for some odd reason and obviously not known to me, someone found the blog by searching for “office piss.”

I’m not joking. I serious, though keeping a straight face may not be possible.

What are you searching for when you type that into the search bar?

Looking for directions to the office bathroom?
A comment about the quality of coffee in the staff break room?
Incomplete sentence?
It it some kind of slang or urban dictionary thing about gossip?
Code words for the watercooler?
Reminder about a staff meeting?

So, I tried it. I searched for it. I would recommend not actually seeing what you get in the search results. I looked. Unless you are looking for porn, that’s what you’ll get as top results…which then leads me to wonder, how did they get to my site?

One will never know how the algorithms work. It’s mysterious magic, or voodoo. Probably voodoo.

Take a look at your stats and see if you get a chuckle from yours. What are some of the weird “Search Terms” used to find you?

Governmental abuse

Posted on December 17, 2020 by backuphill

This is what a government looks like when free choice and free will is taken from you.

The premise behind the shutdowns/lockdowns is “we’re protecting you.” However, that premise goes right out the door if that order is limiting your ability to make choices for yourself.

As an adult, you have the free will to make choices that are good or bad for yourself. When your ability to do so is limited or taken away then there is a line that gets crossed and it isn’t one that should be taken lightly.

We all know smoking (anything, really) is bad for you, and those in close proximity to you. Whether is is first-hand or second-hand smoke, there is an affect on the body that deep down you know is going to have detrimental effects. Its a proven fact, be it cigs or marijuana, or whatever. The government hasn’t banned you from being able to make this choice, even when it harms yourself and others. Why? Well, that is probably debatable, but likely because they collect tax dollars from it.

So why then are people not allowed to make the decision to dine out for themselves? People who choose to go out and eat obviously know the risk by now. They are adults and responsible for themselves. They are allowed to make these choices, so why is this choice taken away and not others? The connection is lost and the “we’re protecting you and others” argument holds little water when people are 1) making a free will choice to stay open to the public, and 2) people are willing to take that risk and visit said open establishment. No one is being forced to dine in these places.

Government gone wild. There is no review because the legislature isn’t allowed to meet and the state Constitution has given the governor virtually dictatorial powers in an “emergency” or a real emergency. So, there is no way to stop it and one man (or two, if you include the state health guy) have virtually unlimited power. These rules basically task a governmental department with enforcement powers with little oversight since the people in charge or enforcement aren’t elected.

Smells a lot like late 1930s Germany…or post WWII Soviet Union…

AND…the fact that citizens are snitching on their neighbors or community members smacks of American 1950’s Red Scare, only it isn’t about Communism this time. It is all about “Covid under everybody’s bed.”

Sad. Infuriating. Scary.

IBAF

Posted on December 16, 2020 by backuphill

Photo by Andrea Piacquadio on Pexels.com

I am creating a new acronym. IBAF. There you go.

Actually, it isn’t new because apparently there are others out there that use it for inane purposes like the name of organizations or something like that. For me, think if it as a new text acronym.

I am sure you are familiar with “WTF,” right?

Think of this one along the same lines.

IBAF = Irritated Beyond All F*cks.

How is that defined? When someone does something that is so beyond comprehension AND irritates you to a level you haven’t known before, you just stop caring but can’t at the same time.

Yes, I know that makes no logical sense. But, if illogical can explain the illogical, then it is logical. Make sense?

Ah, never mind. I don’t expect that you can understand.

Just know that I am irritated enough that I am making things up just to deal with it.

Bailing, again

Posted on December 15, 2020 by backuphill

Why do I feel like we are constantly responsible for bailing out the adult children? Good grief, it is never ending.

“Can we borrow the car?”

“Can we live with you?”

“Can you watch the kids?”

“Can we use the house?”

“We need help…”

“The kids need…”

“Can you help us find…”

“Can we do laundry at your house?”

“Can you keep this in your big freezer?”

“The car broke down again…”

“Will you co-sign with us?”

Choices. It all has to do with choices and theirs are continually poor. Much of it stemming from the fact that they rarely think about the future. Vision for the future and putting in a little thought about consequences and what might happen if…thus, the lack of forethought constantly has them stamping out fires of their own creation and never allowing them to head in the right direction.

Once again, we are being asked about borrowing a vehicle and providing a place for them to hang out while they have appointments in town. They are the ones that chose to move over an hour out of town (“We like living in the country”). They are the ones that made poor financial choices and only have one running vehicle, which also happens to be providing the only manner of income at the moment. They are the ones that have chosen to have four children on little to no income (supposedly the last two were unplanned, but we know better…).

These adult step-children are killing me. They know they are the source of friction in my home and yet they do nothing to help. It is a constant stream of needs, wants, and demands (or at least putting us in a position where it feels like a demand, leaving us with little choice).

The problem is, when I try to mitigate the help and limit the aid, it comes back to bite me in the ass. The wrath and second guessing in the household becomes palpable. Winter inside, and outside the house.

Yeah, good times…

Here we go again…

500+

Posted on December 14, 2020 by backuphill

Over the weekend Piss and Moan reached a milestone! This is kinda significant but not at the same time. I am having a hard time deciding.

Should I just be excited because of the number? I mean, 500 is kind of a milestone and in the last couple months the site has been “growing.”

But on the other hand, as I have mentioned before, most of the 500 are likely not even real people. They are most likely BOT sites that are generated for “likes” and “follows,” an issue I am sure you all have seen too.

So, I am going to have to choose to view it with some satisfaction I suppose.

The issues to Piss and Moan about this last year has been overwhelming, to say the least. Rest assured, I’m not going anywhere and there will me more to get off my chest. Keep on following and spread the word!

Wrenches

Posted on December 11, 2020 by backuphill

Day started well, even though I knew there would be one interruption that I didn’t like but was at least aware of. Well, what was supposed to be a brief interruption has turned into a prolonged one and that totally throws a wrench into my day. I had plans. Those plans, out the door.

I hate it when this happens. I wasn’t real fond of the idea of the interruption to begin with, but I can’t keep the other person in the house from just doing stuff so I relented and had just made plans to cope. Unbeknownst to me, there were still other plans in the works that I didn’t know of and now the house has been totally taken over by people much longer than I had planned for. (Remember, my work from home office is in the garage, but I still need in and out of the house.)

So, looks like I will literally spend all day in the garage in order to avoid the people in the house. Totally throws a wrench into my lunch plans for today…and basically into most of my evening and weekend now.

Ugh.

Big ass monkey throwing wrenches into the gears all day, every day.

Assume

Posted on December 10, 2020 by backuphill

There seems to be a lot of assumptions going around these days. And you know that old saying about those that ass-u-me, “You make an ass of you and me.”

If that is the case, there are a lot of asses running around with no clue as to what they are speaking of.

Shall we count the ways?

There are a lot of people that assume the last two elections were “stolen” by one party or the other. The Democrats spent two plus years of wasted time and wasted money to investigate Trump, on the assumption that there is no way he could have legitimately beaten Hillary, only to find there was scant to no evidence that he had help in stealing the election. Now, the Republicans are going to waste time and money to try to stop or investigate whether or not Biden has stolen this election. Again, there seems to be little evidence of such an occurrence and lots of assumptions are being made.

There are a lot of people making assumptions about a vaccine that will “save the world” from Covid. The assumption is that once available it will help life go back to “normal.” It is safe to say that even with a vaccine, life will not return to normal as we are now seeing evidence that if you don’t get the vaccine you may be excluded from society until you. There are also those who assume that when it become available that it will be mandatory for all. There is nothing normal about that.

There are a lot of assumptions being made about wearing, or not wearing, as mask. Violence being done to those without. Name calling to those who do. People thinking it’s their job to inform others of the mandates or rules or whatever. Lots of assumptions being made about others without actually knowing them or their situation.

There are a lot of assumptions about people who are different from ourselves. That’s definitely a part of the problem we see in society at large. We someone who is different from us and we assume we know something about them, or people like them. Never a good way to deal with people.

There are a lot of assumptions being made in every Hallmark Channel movie, especially the Christmas ones. Good grief I had to endure one last night and the assumptions written into the storylines to generate conflict to enable the resolution are ridiculous. Of course, I can’t help but make assumptions about the people who regularly consume such entertainment, so there is that for me…

Anyway, you probably assumed where this post was going or where it wasn’t going. You may have been write, or you may have been wrong. The fact is we all make assumptions and it is hard to do so. As such, there’s a little bit of ass in us all.

I assume you read to the end. Tell me what you think if you did. What assumptions do you have, or are willing to admit?