Rants and Ravings

Telephone Answering Machines

I'm taking a break from my usual whimpering over my personal problems to note a problem that I have found with answering machines.  I left a message for someone one theirs, and then I saw them.  I said "Oh, did you get my message?" to which I expected either a yes or no reply. Instead, I got "I'm too busy to talk to you now."

Why do people have those things if they aren't going to acknowledge that you left a message?  What's the point?  If you don't see someone, then you assume that they are too busy to call back (or they are ignoring you for those of us on the paranoid side) but if you see them and they don't say they got your message wouldn't you wonder if it had been dropped or erased???  (Because here in America that NEVER happens).

It happens too frequently to be a mistake.  I've heard messages like "Talk to the machine because the people aren't listening".  How rude. Why do people enjoy saying things like that?  You wouldn't say that to someone in person - why leave a message like that?

I think that answering machines are evil.  Ok, I have one too, but I only leave it on if I think that someone will call when I'm not there and it's business or something.  Otherwise, if a friend calls, then the phone rings and rings and then, surprise!  They figure out that I'm not there to answer and they call back.

I know people who immediately run to their machines upon entering their houses (I've seen this) and check for messages.  HELLO - I'M ACTUALLY HERE IN PERSON WITH YOU RIGHT NOW. And this is NOT a when's it gonna be about me statement.  I just think that live guests should take precedence over taped ones, that's all.  Besides, you know that half the time you try to call people back when they leave a message and all you get is their machine or worse, they don't leave a number and you spend the entire night frustrated because you can't call them. And then they're mad because you didn't return their call, and it doesn't matter that you couldn't and then everyone is having a bad time.

And that's why I don't like answering machines.  Soon to come - call waiting - friend or foe - you decide.

Wind

Dear Wind, Did you get my e-mail last night? @¿@
                                                       \/

Regarding Big Business and Downsizing

It seems to me that as each business day ends, companies are merging, purchasing, etc. other companies. As they do this, invariably a downsizing occurs. What is the rational of top executives? If this situation continues, all working people will be employed by one company. In addition, the supply side of all job classifications will continue to escalate. Since downsizing affects all levels of employment, all people will be competing for similar positions at reduced pay scales. The Stock Market is more and more consisting of younger, less wealthy owners. As companies profit from doing business, most of the cash is re-invested in new ventures. The cash is not sent down to the  employees or the stockholders who provided the capital required for the profits made by the company in the first place. It would be very difficult to rally enthusiastic loyalty from employees, many of them are actually stockholders. In years gone by, as companies earned profits, the employees were given raises. There was a code of ethics that existed between employer and employee. Rewarding employees by purchasing other businesses and downsizing the staffs is absolutely ludicrous. Again in other days, we tried to find other products to manufacture or sell to not only keep our employees, but to add to the work force. Am the only idiot out here or what?

Paul

No Paul, I'm one of the other idiots out there with you. While our economy has enjoyed considerable growth over the past 5 years, the gap between rich, middle class and poor is getting larger. 5% of the richest people in the country own as much as the remaining 95%. Hopefully someone will realize that if we don't sustain our workforce, there won't be anyone who can afford the goods and services we produce. What do other people think?
 

This is from SUSD's anonymous Writer. I am interested in knowing if people agree or disagree? Comments are welcome!!

Whatever Happened To The Work Ethic?©
By IRC's Anonymous Writer

When I was growing up, my earliest memories of my father were far and distant. He was not my "father." He was breadwinner. Mom, on the other hand, was awarded the primary duty as "bread baker." Remember, I was nothing more than a snot-nosed kid, when I came to this revelation.

Back to the topic at hand. My Father, was always working. And believe me, I do mean always. Thinking back to those twenty plus years, my earliest memories are of my Father walking out the front door, leaving before the sun's first rays appeared, heading off to work at the corrugated box plant.

I distinctly recall the dedication that he had, and I remember the emotional and financial struggles he went through to make sure that his four daughters were clothed, well fed, had a roof over their heads, and heat was available when those cold Iowa winters would sneak up upon us. The basic living needs were met. The extras (and many of what we consider necessities today) were not given to the four girls with any sort of consistency. If you wanted something above the "norm" for our family, you found ways to help EARN it!

No one in my family ever thanked him for making sure we were taken care of. I doubt that anyone gave it a second thought for that matter. I know I never outright told my Father "Thank you" for all the hard work, perseverance and dedication he showed towards providing for us in the best way he could.

But, for all the lessons learned through observing my father all those years, I hope to be a shining example of the person that he is. A Responsible person. A person who can be held Accountable for her actions. A Reliable person. A woman with strong Ethics. RARE! Of course, we can add to that, I would like to be a person who is known for honoring each of her commitments, personal and professional and lastly, something I attribute to my own boss I work under today...a person of excellence.

Today, I no longer work as a blue collar employee. Neither does my father for that matter. He is a simple yet complex man without a college education, unless we as a society can call the University of Life an accredited educational program. Unfortunately though, the University of Life is unable to obtain the respect it received in the world of yesterday.

If you work hard, work smart and display a dedication above and beyond what I would measure today as society's norm, you would be justly rewarded with raises based on performance and merit, bonuses, promotions and even better career opportunities. At least that is how it used to be in the job market. Back in those days of yesteryear, it was much easier to climb the ladder of success than it is today. I believe it is because our basic value system has changed.

As a personnel consultant, I have witnessed more and more employers place a higher emphasis on a degree. I could send them all the degreed applicants in the world, and they can spend days upon days interviewing those that have that coveted degree, however if they have zero of the RARE attributes, they really aren't going to do anything for the company in the long term, other  then cost the company thousands upon thousands of more dollars then what the candidate is worth.

Today, we place a high emphasis on education. But who are the ones that are doing a large percentage of the hiring today? People who were formally educated in an accredited university. The days of seeing someone who has long tenure with a company are going south. The latest statistics state people change jobs an average of seven times through the course of their professional career. Men are changing jobs at a more frequent rate then women are today. The statistics tell me that the loyalty factor is no longer important to either gender. There is no such thing as dedication and commitment anymore.

It would appear to me that people believe that piece of paper is truly the ticket to prosperity. I beg to differ. I tend to place more weight or emphasis on the educational background from my favorite university. You won't find it on the top ten most expensive campuses. You won't even  find it unaffordable for the typical household. The University of Life, located right near you.

The University of Life, teaches hands on, through example and you set the pace for how quickly you learn the basic lessons taught. I love it! It means everyone regardless of appearance, financial background and ethnicity are able to qualify. Heck, by birth alone, you have passed the entrance exam.

Now don't get me wrong, I am not discrediting that sheepskin we have all worked so hard to promote and for many (including yours truly), attain. However, as a personnel consultant I have seen some of the most educated men and women make poor hiring choices. They examine the sheep skin as if it were a counterfeit $100 bill. Finger smears where signatures occur on the degree, making sure the signature is authentic is a  common sight nowadays. Double checking the authenticity. Calling the colleges and verifying transcripts that may have been requested in the initial
interview.

Bill Clinton made good on one promise made during his initial election campaign. Unemployment is low. Very low. I have witnessed salaries in the Tarrant County, Texas skyrocket because of low unemployment rates. The newest trend...hiring someone in your warehouse with college background is the ultimate hiring prize today.

I am not in any way demeaning the position of the typical warehouse worker by any means. After all, our nation was built because of the efforts put forth by the blue collar worker. The problem is, finding a blue collar worker with the dedication of a blue collar that was in the job market twenty years or more ago. I believe our economy was at its finest hour. Work was readily available. Employers believed in training, and allowing employees to manage their work, ask questions and learn various facets of their industry without the worry that the employee would defect to the competition for a higher salary, better benefits or other opportunities.

We lived in a dedicated society. A loyal society. A society that believed job security meant something. Take my Father for example. He was a high school graduate. He never spent a day on a college campus. But through hard work and dedication, the
eagerness to learn more about the corrugated industry, he has excelled amazingly in title, position, authority and financially. He is a graduate of the University of Life.

While others were sitting there in college classrooms, he was out in the workforce earning and learning. Working. Taking care of his wife and four daughters. Making sure they were well fed, clothed, and had a roof over their heads.

Sure, getting a college education then was almost impossible given the circumstances that he operated within. How many young men who are 24 or younger do you know that come complete with four kids and a wife are sitting in the classroom "earning" their education? I can't think of even one. Not only is it not practical, but what family could afford this luxury? Not many.

I remember when my father was ill and by today's standards, he should of taken off work, and seen a doctor, or hospitalized even because of the severity of an illness. However, with four daughters and a wife he was responsible for, the only logical thing to do was GO TO WORK, or run the risk not taking care of the immediate needs of his family. By leaving work under the guise of sickness to take time off to go fishing or hunting was not only a lie, it would compromise his reputation of being a "Responsible, Accountable, Reliable and Ethical" man. He is a RARE man indeed. Responsible. Accountable. Reliable. Ethical. The acronym for RARE.

Today, we live in a society that the unemployed population feels the employer OWES them everything, and the unemployed owe nothing more then showing up to work. What happened to loyalty? Dedication? Commitment? What happened to working in excellence? They fell by the wayside as greed kicked in and our society became more materialistic, selfish, shallow, egotistical and let's not forget about greed.

It saddens me to see more and more of our young children...our future, are learning such horrible values. Where are they learning it from?  Sure, education is important. Does it mean that the education should only come from an accredited university? What about the University of Life? What about education through the examples set forth by those that are most influential in your life? Where did we, as parents fail to educate our children in these values?

Where does all this fit into a society where the degree does nothing other than to prove to me that "you are trainable?" If I discipline you enough, and stroke your ego enough, reward you, I'll get the desired result. Good behavior. Is it me, or do we sound more and more like the common dog?

Ahhh....But the dog has loyalty, and a commitment to protect the family in the face of danger. Isn't that what any employer or corporation is looking for as well? Commitment to protect the interests of the company? Loyalty to the company? We could learn a lot from a dog.

Growing up, I don't remember ever having a key to the house until I was in my final high school years. I don't even remember locking the door growing up. I'll bet if I ask my Father today, he will tell me that we NEVER locked the door growing up. In fact, I distinctly recall we left for vacation to the east coast and COULDN'T lock the doors, because no one had a key to the house.

Criminals, crime and security systems were a hard find when I was growing up. I can't help thinking the increase in crime is boils down to a reduced work ethic and diminished value and moral system that has been handed down to my own generation and the generation that exists today.

How did we, as a society, become so lazy? So compromising? Greedy? Ahh...but the work ethic, was an easy find in my neighborhood though. If you wanted something, you went out and found a way to earn it. There was no opportunity for laziness in my old neighborhood. The opportunities to earn were endless. The chance to prove your word was your bond was there. The opportunity to learn was there as well. You may not have had "experience" in something that they hired you for, but it was very common in our neighborhood to see an adult showing a young person how to mow the yard. Where the dog liked to walk. How to paint the fence properly. How to wash a car without watering the lawn of the entire block. Given the opportunity to "earn and learn" you had come that much closer to your desired goal.

The lessons my father taught me through his own actions are worth far more than any college could possibly teach, and were less expensive then the cost of obtaining any degree out there. I don't know exactly where he learned his lessons from, but he learned them well.

Throughout my growing up years, I was educated in work habits extensively through nothing more then my father's actions. It wasn't something that was extensively discussed at the dinner table in the evening, although it probably should have been discussed more thoroughly. It was something I learned through nothing more then observation. Following his example. Sick or tired, he went to work. When there was a football game on he was "dying" to see, if  his plant needed immediate attention, the importance of the game, fell to the wayside, because his priority was his job.

If the boss needed him and we were on vacation in New Jersey, the boss would call he went back to Iowa early. Sure, we were disappointed children, and I'm sure my mother had her share of resentment towards the situation. However, the bottom line was simple. Work or suffer the consequences. Consequences being very simple. If you don't do it, the boss will eventually be forced to find someone else who will.

Through my father's example, I learned RARE ingredients to become a successful employee, and with or without that piece of paper. If you don't have an established work ethic, you are professionally doomed, and so are your children, as they will learn through your example.

I'm told I am the last of a dying breed due to my age and generation, and can't help but wonder what does the future hold for the children of today? Adults of tomorrow. I shudder at the thought of what our commitment and work ethic will be like, when very few of my own peers operate within the lessons of previous generations.

As a daughter to this fine example of a man I may never be able to hang a deeply desired law degree from Harvard or Yale, or even The University of Iowa for that matter, but I have something that no college can come even close to touching...my degree from the University of Life.

Thank you Dad! Your taught me well!
 

A Bill of No Rights

This was from Lady Hawke.

We, the sensible of the United States, in an attempt to help everyone get along, restore some semblance of justice, avoid any more riots, keep our nation safe, promote positive behavior and secure the blessings of debt-free liberty to ourselves and our great-great-great grandchildren, hereby try one more time to ordain and establish some common sense guidelines for the terminally whiny, guilt-ridden delusioned, and other blame-happy bed wetters.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that a whole lot of people were confused by the Bill of Rights and are so dim that they require a Bill of No Rights.

You do not have the right to a new car, big-screen color TV or any other form of wealth.

More power to you if you can legally acquire them, but no one is guaranteeing anything.

You do not have the right to never be offended. This country is based on freedom, and that means freedom for everyone -- not just you! You may leave the room, turn the channel, express a different opinion, etc., but the world is full of idiots, and probably always will be.

You do not have the right to be free from harm. If you stick a screwdriver in your eye, learn to be more careful, do not expect the tool manufacturer to make you and all of your relatives independently wealthy.

You do not have the right to free food and housing. Americans are the most charitable people to be found, and will gladly help anyone in need, but we are quickly growing weary of subsidizing generation after generation of professional couch potatoes who achieve nothing more than the creation of another generation of professional couch potatoes.

You do not have the right to free health care. That would be nice, but from the looks of public housing, we're just not interested in public health care.

You do not have the right to physically harm other people. If you kidnap, rape, intentionally maim or kill someone, don't be surprised if the rest of us get together and kill you.

You do not have the right to the possessions of others. If you rob, cheat, or coerce away the goods or services of other citizens, don't be surprised if the rest of us get together and lock you away in a place where you still won't have the right to a big-screen color TV or a life of leisure.

You do not have the right to demand that our children risk their lives in foreign wars to soothe your aching conscience. We hate oppressive governments and won't lift a finger to stop you from going to fight if you'd like.  However, we do not enjoy parenting the entire world and do not want to spend so much of our time battling each and every little tyrant with a military uniform and a funny hat.

You do not have the right to a job. All of us sure want you to have one, and will gladly help you along in hard times, but we expect you to take advantage of the opportunities in education and vocational training laid before you to make yourself useful.

You do not have the right to happiness.  Being an American means that you have the right to PURSUE happiness -- which, by the way, is a lot easier if you are unencumbered by an overabundance of idiotic laws created by those around you who were confused by the Bill of Rights.

The Great Debate About on line Being Real

Happy,

I was just trying to sleep! geesh, this thought has come to me. The GREAT debate about on line being real.  First of all, you can be whoever you want to pretend to be.  Know someone, well what ever you chose for them to know.  Can they influence your life, sure based on what you think you see.  On line is silly because it is still a pretend person telling you just what you want to hear.  Can it make a relationship? Sure, if your dumb enough to believe what you read.  This on-line thing is good........and bad......it can destroy your marriage and your life. 
And what you say is true, if there is all ready problems, oh well....
BUT>>>>if your an on-liner just playing......you can destroy lives. All I want to say is let the on-liner beware! OH my god did she do that?  I'd leave her this minute.  If you were with me I would have done........lalala get the point?
I am the secret love.  I am all you want.  Leave your spouse for me.
GEESH I was just kidding' sorry your wife left you
IM MARRIED LOL
Evaluate what is it your looking for FIRST!
Don't play with the hearts and minds of others!
BE REAL!!!
OH by the way, I kicked him out today,  when are ya moving in LOL
Get the message it is real, but not, because too many people are players.
BE CAREFUL BELIEVE NOTHING YOU READ AND NOTHING YA HEAR!!!

A Rebuttal

I don’t believe that there is a debate as to whether on-line is being real or unreal. It is as real as you want it to be or  as unreal as you want it to be. Everyone has their own agenda and that is a matter choice. The more important issues for me are personal responsibility and honesty.

This is not a new thought but I guess some things need to be repeated. On-line relationships don’t hurt marriages and loved ones. People do! The Internet has made it easier to communicate with people all over the world and the anonymity of  Internet chat can give us the courage to be bolder and more open with our feelings than we normally would be in a face to face situation. 

We must keep in mind: 
    We make the choice about how honest or dishonest we are!
    We make the choice about how important our on-line relationships are!
    We make the choice about how decent and honorable we are.
    We make the choice about how we allow the Internet to affect our family life.
    We make the choice about living in the real world or immersing ourselves in 
    fantasy.
    Finally, we make the choice to stay or to leave.

I choose to stay. But I also choose to be honest, honorable, good humored, real, and perhaps most important careful.  Happy(alwaystryingtomaketherightchoices)shrink  
 

Wars and Whores

Seems like I live in a war zone here in LA...I call it the "wars & whores syndrome."  People are running around angry, unfulfilled, full of blame and mistrust & no one wants to take any responsibility (which would actually empower them). 

My rant about wars and whores has mainly to do with my sadness/anger about myself and the state of humanity in general.  Maybe it's just human nature to fight and fuck.  Maybe ever since animals existed we've fought and fucked for control and pleasure. 

Nico

Dear Nico,

There are 3 responses to the wars and whores syndrome.

1. Join the Heaven's Gate cult.

2. Become apathetic, cynical and bitter.

3. Try to do just a little bit to make the world a better place.

To quote the activists of the Black Power movement of the 60's, "If you are not part part of the solution, you are part of the problem." Response #3 may not make us feel great all the time, but its the only way we come close to keeping our sanity.

happy(barelysane)shrink

 Married Is Married - Single Is Single

Where is the clear-cut definition anymore? People don't seem to recognize it. Say, you meet in a club. You dance. Very innocent act. You sit down at the bar and have a drink. Still, a very innocent act as you paid for your own drink.  Marital status comes up in every social situation whether it be in a nightclub, in the cyberworld, or even in business. 

Either you are married or the courts have granted you a divorce. If you
date  a person separated, shouldn't you be afraid of the baggage they
carry? Shouldn't you be afraid of the rebound relationship theory? Most
people, fools that they are - do not. They are loving or living for the
moment and in the end, someone gets hurt. Most generally it is the one that
put themselves in the situation to begin with!! Then these idiots, have the
audacity to cry "victim."

"If you don't want to get burned, stay away from the fire," hands that rocked the cradle once warned me.  But my fellow sisters and brothers refuse to think with their head - or in some cases think with the wrong head. 

If you are married, you shouldn't feel the freedom to date others - you are
still tied, bound and damn near gagged to the commitment made (commitment, hmmm... another sound off topic for a later date) until the courts or powers that be deem you no longer tied to that commitment. 

If you aren't committed, feel free to wander here, there and everywhere. But you won't catch this person doing something like that in a day of AIDS and venereal diseases. 

Anonymous

HEY I WORK FOR A LIVING!!

I just hate it when I am busy in the office and friends call me there "just
to say hi." When are people going to realize that if I am at work, my boss is paying me to WORK, not to chat on the phone and b.s. about my personal life.  When are people going to realize that the boss OWNS you during normal business hours and you need to keep separate your personal life and your professional life?

It annoys me to no end when friends call or a spouse calls. I equate this time taken to "stealing" because my boss is paying me to work, not to chit-chat about my personal life or to obsess over a problem that a friend feels is a genuine crisis - but doesn't understand that it really isn't a crisis.  I would spend all my personal time talking with friends and helping with problems but my work time is my time to produce results for the company I work for - not to deal with issues that really need to be dealt with after office hours. 

Am I the only person anymore that still believes in a work ethic? We now
have the government allowing for all this personal time crap - but the bottom line is if an employee is NOT in the office - the office suffers and the bottom line is that the financials of the company suffers. People will then whine about raises and why they don't get them. Well heck, if 25% of your time in the office is spent dealing with friends and issues that belong being dealt with after office hours - you don't deserve a raise, because you are making 25% more per hour than your co-worker who is doing their job and not mixing business and pleasure. 

This is annoying to me and ticks me off totally - because my dedication is far above and beyond that of the typical person. It all comes down to the work ethic - or lack of it!!

What happened to the teachings of our parents? You go to work, sick or not,
dealing with crisis or not?

And people wonder why Japan is way ahead of us in technology and production!!

RU4-69-2NITE

A Rebuttal

This is not as much a disagreement as it is a different outlook RU! Let me start with where you and I agree:  People need to feel pride in what they do and have an obligation to their employers to be productive and earn their wage! People need to value their workplace and make a commitment that may also mean personal sacrifice! I believe in an ideal world that should be true!

But if the boss wants me to feel that way about his/her company, he/she has to give me back something in return. He/she must provide me an environment where I can succeed, grow and move forward. He/she must acknowledge my efforts, creativity and accomplishments. I must be rewarded for my loyalty, innovation and productivity. If he/she doesn't do these things, Ill still be forced to work for my paycheck but without the motivation and sense of obligation. He/she must never convey the attitude that he/she owns me just because he/she is paying me a fee for my services. If he/she treats me like a strict parent treats a child, more than likely, I'm going to find a way to rebel or goof off or sabotage his efforts.

The fact is, our parents and more so our grandparents worked in much more oppressive environments where they were exploited, undervalued and looked at as replaceable goods! Their incentive to keep going was survival and their earlier life experience of having been exploited even worse by a King, a Tsar, a Kaiser, a communist  dictator or another form of tyrant! My parents message to me was to get more education so that I could have a better life and not have to be exploited by bosses like theirs. 

If you look at Japan and Germany, two countries whose workforce are significantly more productive than ours, the relationship between Employer and worker is much more of a partnership. Japanese companies pay college tuition, provide housing and even invest in purchasing cooperatives that give their employees extra buying power. Germany as well as most European countries provides 6 weeks vacation as the standard! The average CEO of a top 100 company in Japan makes about $250,000 annually and that includes bonuses. The average Fortune 100 CEO in America makes more than ten times that amount. Is it any wonder why Americans feel further removed and more alienated from their bosses?

Now I know RU that  you were focusing more on a type of person who would goof off no matter how supportive, fair and considerate the employer is! We have too many of them around and they piss me off too! BUT GREEDY AND THOUGHTLESS EMPLOYERS PISS ME OFF EVEN MORE! Just another viewpoint from someone with too much time on his hands. happy(needtogetonstrongermedication)shrink

Personal Freedom and the Internet 

When I first discovered cyberspace about two and a half years ago, it was love at 
first sight. Outer space was not the final frontier, cyberspace was! Here was an 
opportunity to meet people from all walks of life, to get information, to speak your 
mind, to have access to more information in your home than in most libraries! This uncensored and unabashed world was paradise! Yes there were places not suitable for children as well as stuff that was unbelievably offensive. But the rewards by far  outweighed the risks. So as any good cyber frontiersman, I was appalled and 
outraged at government efforts to regulate the Internet. Like they don't piss me off 
enough in real life, now they were going to invade cyberspace? Not without a few 
hundred email letters to congressman and legislators and signing a dozen petitions.  

Now after two and a half years of being in cyberspace, its not the Government that I'm  pissed off at. Its my cyber countrymen. I was under the naive delusion that in a totally free and unencumbered society where there was no poverty, no disease, and the opportunity for everyone to amass wealth and prosperity, there would be no need for government, police and most important regulations. 

But I didn't count on three types of cyber neighbors; bullies, troublemakers, and 
people motivated by pure greed. I have no problem with someone putting up a web  page and putting whatever stupid, evil, disgusting and vulgar stuff they want. That 
doesn't hurt me. I support freedom of speech on newsgroups and I am not afraid of  ideas. Actions are another story but if you want to be out there in the twilight zone, that’s fine with me! 

What I do resent are people who go into a newsgroup and flood them with tons of advertising about things totally unrelated to the topic! I don't mind advertising! Even in cyberspace its necessary to pay some bills. Advertising is good for the Internet and will allow it to grow even more into the Twenty-first Century. But when someone posts so many ads to prevent me from getting to the articles I want to look at, that impinges on my freedom. When someone advertises pornography in newsgroups that are intended for young people or thinks it funny to put it in a religious newsgroups, that is abuse! When bullies go into chat rooms (many of which are privately maintained) and try to disrupt and prevent communication by scrolling and unprovoked aggression, that is abuse!  When someone sends "email bombs" (a word I just recently learned)with the purpose to clog up a persons system for hours, that’s criminal abuse! And finally when some creates and disseminates computer viruses, that's criminal abuse! As a victim of all of these practices, I no long wonder if Adam and Eve could have been spared banishment from the Garden of Eden. Cyberspace is still here and I'm still a loyal citizen. But gone is my vision of a perfect society!