Thanks Dad.
What have we learned in 2,065 years? [Apparently, not much.]
"The budget should be balanced, the Treasury should be refilled, public debt should be reduced, the arrogance of officialdom should be tempered and controlled, and the assistance to foreign lands should be curtailed lest Rome become bankrupt. People must again learn to work, instead of living on public assistance."
- Cicero - 55 BC
So .... evidently nothing.
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
Saturday, May 14, 2011
What a week
Over the last 5 weeks I have closed 2 jobs each week, at least one of them (sometomes both) between five hundred thousand and a million dollars. Can you say mentally tired? Very. At the start of the week I didn't have too much going on and figgered it would be a good thing to just coast. A couple of small jobs; a little-bitty bank renovation in Turner Valley and selective demolition (the officail title used at tender time was deconstruction, is that what they're calling it now, and why didn't I get that memo?) of a building that was built in 1948 that was being used as an Emergency Call Center. Both small jobs that were extremely easy (the bank) and very easy (EOC) for me to put together.
Then all hell broke loose Wednesday. The boss had put a budget number together in January for one of our favorite general contractors and got a call that they had drawings now, could we put a hard number together for it? They needed somebody on site for Monday. Didn't seem to be a problem 'til we had a look at the drawings. This is a bigger job than the general thinks. Going to be around five hundred and he wants a price for Friday. Wonderful. I'll do my best. I jumped on it first thing Thursday morning, got my bill of material out to the distributors and got down to the nitty gritty of doing a take off. Worked my ass off all day and was feeling pretty good about being ready to close it Friday afternoon when I left for the day.
When I got home I had the very first outdoor happy hour of the season (YAY) and went in to watch the hockey game. I would have liked to watch the whole thing, I think the outcome would have been different for Buck's Beloved Wings if there had been just one more out there rooting for them, but it all of a sudden reached up and hit me smack-dab up-side the head at 7:30; I couldn't keep my eyes open any longer, I had to go to bed. And. Crashed. Then the door bell rang and someone was opening the inside door and knocking on the inside door and the girls went nuts, flying down the hall and barking. They don't usually bark when the door bell rings I think what set them off was the knocking on the storm door. I leapt out of bed, grabbed my robe, and went down the hall after them. When I got to the door there was a guy standing there with a clipboard in hand. I opened the inside door and told him I wasn't interested.
Him: "But I'm from Telus" (flashes fancy laminated ID on lanyard around neck)
Me: "I don't care. I've dealt with you highway-robbin'-bastards before and I'll never deal with you again. When will you people get it through your thick heads and leave me alone?!"
Him (glancing at partner, must have been a training session): "Whoa".
Me: "And don't you know it's quarter to ten?" SLAM, and LOCK.
I had been so out of it when everything started that I had glanced at the clock (of course without my glasses on) and mistakenly read 9:45, not 8:45. Sound asleep for just over an hour, great. I was so verily PISSED over the whole thing. First that he had the audacity to think that he could just kinda invite himself in by opening the storm door, second that it was fu**ing TELUS at quarter to nine, and third that he woke me from a very sound sleep. And of course when I went back to bed I stewed for a couple of hours.
And then last night at about quarter to 12 there was knocking, almost exactly like the night before. Of course the girls went nuts and flew down the hall. I jumped out of bed and went to investigate. Checked my front door (a quick peek through the glass), nobody there. Looked out one of the front bedroom windows to check on my truck, nobody out there and headed back to bed.
I had no sooner crawled back in and laid my head on the pillow when I heard thumping. Sat up and looked out the window to check on the canopy that I had put up on the deck, thinking that the wind was trying to carry it away (it hasn't stopped all week) and saw the neighbor's man door in the garage opening and closing almost like the wind was having a go at it when I realized that no, someone was in there trying to get out and somone else was in there trying to keep them in. The door slammed shut and there were some more thumps and the whole building shook like one of the parties involved was being slammed against the wall. The neighbor lady emerged and went to the house. Her husband (?) came out and followed her, stopping to unlock the house door when he went in. The lights were on inside and I saw him moving around and then come out and sit on the unfinished deck for a while and then try to go back in the house. The door must have been locked again with his keys inside because he went to the garage and closed the door and all the lights went out.
So what to do, Gentle Reader? I've been beat up enough times to know how it goes. And these two get into it often enough that I don't think it's healthy for their 3 little kids to grow up thinking that's how mommies and daddies treat each other. AND is he beating up on the kids too? Do I get involved, or not?
Then all hell broke loose Wednesday. The boss had put a budget number together in January for one of our favorite general contractors and got a call that they had drawings now, could we put a hard number together for it? They needed somebody on site for Monday. Didn't seem to be a problem 'til we had a look at the drawings. This is a bigger job than the general thinks. Going to be around five hundred and he wants a price for Friday. Wonderful. I'll do my best. I jumped on it first thing Thursday morning, got my bill of material out to the distributors and got down to the nitty gritty of doing a take off. Worked my ass off all day and was feeling pretty good about being ready to close it Friday afternoon when I left for the day.
When I got home I had the very first outdoor happy hour of the season (YAY) and went in to watch the hockey game. I would have liked to watch the whole thing, I think the outcome would have been different for Buck's Beloved Wings if there had been just one more out there rooting for them, but it all of a sudden reached up and hit me smack-dab up-side the head at 7:30; I couldn't keep my eyes open any longer, I had to go to bed. And. Crashed. Then the door bell rang and someone was opening the inside door and knocking on the inside door and the girls went nuts, flying down the hall and barking. They don't usually bark when the door bell rings I think what set them off was the knocking on the storm door. I leapt out of bed, grabbed my robe, and went down the hall after them. When I got to the door there was a guy standing there with a clipboard in hand. I opened the inside door and told him I wasn't interested.
Him: "But I'm from Telus" (flashes fancy laminated ID on lanyard around neck)
Me: "I don't care. I've dealt with you highway-robbin'-bastards before and I'll never deal with you again. When will you people get it through your thick heads and leave me alone?!"
Him (glancing at partner, must have been a training session): "Whoa".
Me: "And don't you know it's quarter to ten?" SLAM, and LOCK.
I had been so out of it when everything started that I had glanced at the clock (of course without my glasses on) and mistakenly read 9:45, not 8:45. Sound asleep for just over an hour, great. I was so verily PISSED over the whole thing. First that he had the audacity to think that he could just kinda invite himself in by opening the storm door, second that it was fu**ing TELUS at quarter to nine, and third that he woke me from a very sound sleep. And of course when I went back to bed I stewed for a couple of hours.
And then last night at about quarter to 12 there was knocking, almost exactly like the night before. Of course the girls went nuts and flew down the hall. I jumped out of bed and went to investigate. Checked my front door (a quick peek through the glass), nobody there. Looked out one of the front bedroom windows to check on my truck, nobody out there and headed back to bed.
I had no sooner crawled back in and laid my head on the pillow when I heard thumping. Sat up and looked out the window to check on the canopy that I had put up on the deck, thinking that the wind was trying to carry it away (it hasn't stopped all week) and saw the neighbor's man door in the garage opening and closing almost like the wind was having a go at it when I realized that no, someone was in there trying to get out and somone else was in there trying to keep them in. The door slammed shut and there were some more thumps and the whole building shook like one of the parties involved was being slammed against the wall. The neighbor lady emerged and went to the house. Her husband (?) came out and followed her, stopping to unlock the house door when he went in. The lights were on inside and I saw him moving around and then come out and sit on the unfinished deck for a while and then try to go back in the house. The door must have been locked again with his keys inside because he went to the garage and closed the door and all the lights went out.
So what to do, Gentle Reader? I've been beat up enough times to know how it goes. And these two get into it often enough that I don't think it's healthy for their 3 little kids to grow up thinking that's how mommies and daddies treat each other. AND is he beating up on the kids too? Do I get involved, or not?
Wednesday, May 11, 2011
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
Saturday, May 7, 2011
from the op/ed pages of this morning's paper
Hi, neighbours
Hi. I'm a 59-year-old American man, living in San Antonio, Texas. Nothing very special about me. I don't hold any political office and I don't represent anyone but myself. But I just watched a video about Canada that was originally broadcast during the 2010 Olympic Games. It features American newsman Tom Brokaw speaking about you and your country.
Watching it reminded me that I wanted to write this e-mail to a Canadian newspaper that might publish it for its Canadian readers so I could say, "Thank you, Canada" and "Well done, friends!" and something along the lines of, "I'm feeling rather glad and fortunate and respectful that you are who you are, that you're the neighbours America can look to for so many different things, and that I wish all of you well."
I guess that's kind of a vague, out of the blue sort of message to send to anyone, and certainly to an entire country at large, but it's heartfelt.
And if you're ever in San Antonio, look me up. I'd like to buy you a beer.
Stephen Maynard, San Antonio, Texas
And if I'm ever in San Antonio Sir, I will take you up on your offer of a beer. Cheers.
Hi. I'm a 59-year-old American man, living in San Antonio, Texas. Nothing very special about me. I don't hold any political office and I don't represent anyone but myself. But I just watched a video about Canada that was originally broadcast during the 2010 Olympic Games. It features American newsman Tom Brokaw speaking about you and your country.
Watching it reminded me that I wanted to write this e-mail to a Canadian newspaper that might publish it for its Canadian readers so I could say, "Thank you, Canada" and "Well done, friends!" and something along the lines of, "I'm feeling rather glad and fortunate and respectful that you are who you are, that you're the neighbours America can look to for so many different things, and that I wish all of you well."
I guess that's kind of a vague, out of the blue sort of message to send to anyone, and certainly to an entire country at large, but it's heartfelt.
And if you're ever in San Antonio, look me up. I'd like to buy you a beer.
Stephen Maynard, San Antonio, Texas
And if I'm ever in San Antonio Sir, I will take you up on your offer of a beer. Cheers.
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
from my email inbox this morning
Thanks Dad
Ever wonder?
Why is it that rain drops but snow falls?
Do sheep get static cling when they rub against one another?
If love is blind, how can we believe in love at first sight?
If you dig a tunnel straight through the earth, will you come out with your feet first?
Do skunks think people smell bad?
Why do we wash bath towels? Aren't we clean when we use them?
If there's an exception to every rule, is there an exception to that rule?
What is a male ladybug called?
If croutons are stale bread, why do they come in airtight packages?
How come people tell you to stay a kid for as long as you can, yet the moment you do anything childish or immature they tell you to grow up?
Why is it called "after dark," when it is really after light?
Why is a Nautical mile shorter than a land mile?
If you were on a plane going the speed of sound and walked from the back of the plane to the front, would you be walking faster than the speed of sound?
And my own personal ones:
Why do clothing manufacturers place a tag at the neck and right at the waistband so it irritates the hell out of you all day?
Why do dog food manufacturers keep making the size of the bag smaller and keep charging the same price? Do they think that their customers are stupid?
Ever wonder?
Why is it that rain drops but snow falls?
Do sheep get static cling when they rub against one another?
If love is blind, how can we believe in love at first sight?
If you dig a tunnel straight through the earth, will you come out with your feet first?
Do skunks think people smell bad?
Why do we wash bath towels? Aren't we clean when we use them?
If there's an exception to every rule, is there an exception to that rule?
What is a male ladybug called?
If croutons are stale bread, why do they come in airtight packages?
How come people tell you to stay a kid for as long as you can, yet the moment you do anything childish or immature they tell you to grow up?
Why is it called "after dark," when it is really after light?
Why is a Nautical mile shorter than a land mile?
If you were on a plane going the speed of sound and walked from the back of the plane to the front, would you be walking faster than the speed of sound?
And my own personal ones:
Why do clothing manufacturers place a tag at the neck and right at the waistband so it irritates the hell out of you all day?
Why do dog food manufacturers keep making the size of the bag smaller and keep charging the same price? Do they think that their customers are stupid?
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
Politics
As most of my faithful know I don't usually do politics but this one just can't slide. Yesterday was a national election day that was most historic. Prime Minister Stephen Harper finally pulled off a majority goverment. This is a wonderful thing. We have been to the polls far too many times over the last decade, all because of shenanigans of the opposition party whining about his policies and proposed changes. They have repeatedly voted non-confidence in our elected (minority) government forcing us (yet again) to the polls. Can you say "Voter fatigue"? 4 times in the last 7 years is more than enough.
Harper lands knockout majority in fight he didn’t want
Our peculiar Calgary prime minister has finally done it; pulled off a majority victory without changing anything about the cool, impersonal, lofty style that drives so many Canadians half mad with rage.
He’s a stubborn fellow for sure; and now, Harper enters Canada’s political annals as a hugely successful leader who managed two tricky minorities before scoring the knockout in a fight he didn’t want.
The win was even bigger than the numbers show, because he now faces an opposition that is almost guaranteed to be unstable and ineffective.
Most of these people have never been elected before and it's said that one gal who won her riding prob'ly couldn't even find it on a map and spent most of her campaign time in Vegas.
The NDP made off with Quebec, decimating both the Liberals and the Bloc Quebecois, while Harper’s party scooped up much of Ontario and the West.
Quebec has gone federalist, but still finds itself outside government. The rush to orange was so powerful that a novice Quebec NDP candidate won by rolling the dice from Las Vegas.
With more than half its MPs from Quebec, the NDP will be less a party of social democratic reform than Quebec nationalist discontent.
Layton will have immense difficulty reconciling this impulse with the purely social sentiments of his MPs from Ontario and B.C.
But a least Layton’s problem is born of success; the Liberal outcome is a disaster on every front.
The storied party of St. Laurent, Pearson, Trudeau and Chretien — long considered Canada’s natural government — no longer has the reach to to be considered fully national.
Harper’s relentless attacks on Ignatieff, starting long before the election, drove countless votes both to the New Democrats and the Tories.
(Who is a boob of the nth degree)
Ignatieff did his part with a weak campaign performance that left him squashed between the two surging forces.
The Liberals have only one hope; to dump Ignatieff as quickly as possible, and find a charismatic leader who can catch the public’s imagination.
As for the Bloc Quebecois, the bitter, cynical Gilles Duceppe finally gets his comeuppance for using Quebec nationalism once too often as an extortion crowbar into the national treasury.
The Bloc has been threatening for years to take their ball and go home, causing the rest of the country to say fine, let them go. See how well you do out on your own without the equalization payments that you recieve from the rest of Canada. We're quite sick of it.
Once an intellectually honest separatist, Duceppe ended up being less idealistic than most Quebecers. They dumped his party as surely as they ejected the Liberals after the great Adscam humiliation.
But the major result, obviously, is Harper’s majority.
I don't think so much that the large numbers for the NDP were so much for the NDP, but more NOT for Stephen Harper which is ok with me, the right guy got in.
Ignatieff picked a fight with the wrong person at the wrong time and I say "Good riddance".
Read more:
Update 08:53
This just in
Michael Ignatieff has announced he is stepping down as Liberal leader after suffering a crushing election defeat Monday that saw Stephen Harper's Conservatives win their first majority government.
Read more:
Harper lands knockout majority in fight he didn’t want
Our peculiar Calgary prime minister has finally done it; pulled off a majority victory without changing anything about the cool, impersonal, lofty style that drives so many Canadians half mad with rage.
He’s a stubborn fellow for sure; and now, Harper enters Canada’s political annals as a hugely successful leader who managed two tricky minorities before scoring the knockout in a fight he didn’t want.
The win was even bigger than the numbers show, because he now faces an opposition that is almost guaranteed to be unstable and ineffective.
Most of these people have never been elected before and it's said that one gal who won her riding prob'ly couldn't even find it on a map and spent most of her campaign time in Vegas.
The NDP made off with Quebec, decimating both the Liberals and the Bloc Quebecois, while Harper’s party scooped up much of Ontario and the West.
Quebec has gone federalist, but still finds itself outside government. The rush to orange was so powerful that a novice Quebec NDP candidate won by rolling the dice from Las Vegas.
With more than half its MPs from Quebec, the NDP will be less a party of social democratic reform than Quebec nationalist discontent.
Layton will have immense difficulty reconciling this impulse with the purely social sentiments of his MPs from Ontario and B.C.
But a least Layton’s problem is born of success; the Liberal outcome is a disaster on every front.
The storied party of St. Laurent, Pearson, Trudeau and Chretien — long considered Canada’s natural government — no longer has the reach to to be considered fully national.
Harper’s relentless attacks on Ignatieff, starting long before the election, drove countless votes both to the New Democrats and the Tories.
(Who is a boob of the nth degree)
Ignatieff did his part with a weak campaign performance that left him squashed between the two surging forces.
The Liberals have only one hope; to dump Ignatieff as quickly as possible, and find a charismatic leader who can catch the public’s imagination.
As for the Bloc Quebecois, the bitter, cynical Gilles Duceppe finally gets his comeuppance for using Quebec nationalism once too often as an extortion crowbar into the national treasury.
The Bloc has been threatening for years to take their ball and go home, causing the rest of the country to say fine, let them go. See how well you do out on your own without the equalization payments that you recieve from the rest of Canada. We're quite sick of it.
Once an intellectually honest separatist, Duceppe ended up being less idealistic than most Quebecers. They dumped his party as surely as they ejected the Liberals after the great Adscam humiliation.
But the major result, obviously, is Harper’s majority.
I don't think so much that the large numbers for the NDP were so much for the NDP, but more NOT for Stephen Harper which is ok with me, the right guy got in.
Ignatieff picked a fight with the wrong person at the wrong time and I say "Good riddance".
Read more:
Update 08:53
This just in
Michael Ignatieff has announced he is stepping down as Liberal leader after suffering a crushing election defeat Monday that saw Stephen Harper's Conservatives win their first majority government.
Read more:
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