THE OLD MAN

I don't know how much time we have left together on this mortal coil...but god damn, I love this dog...



Peering over "his spot" looking for a handout.
Theo...

THE CHANGING OF THE KHARMA GUARD...

Our old "P-Diddy put yer hands in the air" traditional Bhudda...



is moving on to Ann's work desk.

New, more demure and Cambodian style Bhudda takes up center...



Feel the calm....:)

NEW COMICS

Electricians are funny...

CLICK HERE

Evolution...

CLICK HERE

More primates

CLICK HERE

AND HERE


Enjoy...

NEW SONG!

MSBK

metal studs and bloody knuckles
just tryin to make a livin out here
just tryin to suss it out-out here
just tryin to find my place out here
in a world of metal studs and bloody knuckles

metal studs and bloody knuckles
turn me around from a call draggin' off down to the hall
book one- book two- which one are you
just standing there with your life in a canvas bag
living in a world of metal studs and bloody knuckles

metal studs and bloody knuckles
just tryin to make a livin out here
just tryin to suss it out- out here
just tryin to find my place out here
in a world of metal studs and bloody knuckles

metal studs and bloody knuckles
and weed and pills and alchohol
and the sickly sweet smell of the chem can
that makes that hangover worse
living in a world of metal studs and bloody knuckles

metal studs and bloody knuckles
just tryin to make a livin out here
just tryin to suss it out- out here
just tryin to find my place out here
in a world of metal studs and bloody knuckles

just tryin' to get by.

copyright 2006...packmentality inc.

THIS NEW JOB HAS CUT MY SMOKING IN HALF

Today I only smoked 7 while at work. Others smoke while working, but it's a hassle for me,so I only smoke on breaks...outside. I figured it would be an issue, but so far, not so much.
The plumbers on this job are also the defacto D-jays, they have this power cube made by bosch which has a radio and a cd player and plugs for equipment...check it out:



It plays both kinds of music...country and western...most of the time it's tuned to KVET, a station that plays contemporary country that makes me want to shove self tapping screws into my ears. But they have the biggest box set of Johnny Cash I have ever seen ( I have never heard so many versions of Jackson in my life ) which is cool, and this CD of dirty country songs that is fucking high-larious! The plumber didn't know who it was ( somebody burned him the CD and all it had written on it was "redneck" ) but I did a google and it's none other than Larry Pierce.
Go check it out and hear samples of some funny shit.
It's especially ironic to me because one of the engineers is a woman, who is frequently walking the job site while this CD is playing. I wonder if she is offended. Maybe I'll bring one of my Uncle Tupelo CD's and request they play it...or maybe Steve Earle. Or the new Slayer...nah...I'm dreaming now!
I found some gloves this weekend. Mechanix brand were recommended, and that's what I bought...here they are:



Wearing gloves is weird...the jury is still out.

I got them at the walmart in San Marcos, where I met my son, his wife and my grandson to have pictures taken. I was a few minutes early and just for grins checked automotive and there they were. And 2 dollars cheaper than they were in Austin or online...but back to the picture. It's a generational shot of me, Kyle and Sean, kinda like the one of my dad, me and Kyle from 20 years ago. I was stoked that Kyle wanted to do this, and the picture looks good...we are all in black. The pics will be back on Oct. 12...you'll see it then.
Walmart ( which I generally avoid ) has this deal: $8.98 gets you 1 10x13, 2 8x10's, 2 5x7's, 4 3.5x5's, 16 wallets and 4 mini's. That's a hella deal. And that underlines my custom white trash belt.

Several years ago, my buddy Jeb told me about a movie called Spun...about speed freaks. I bought it yesterday, and oh my god...if you have any experience with crank, this movie will hit you like a ton of bricks. I also got Land of the dead...ok, but ehhhh...Romero has kinda run this zombie shit into the ground, and after 28 days later, everything pales in comparison...pales get it???
Ha!
Have a great week!

METAL STUDS AND BLOODY KNUCKLES

And fingers, and cuticles and, oh you get it. The metal studs used in construction are hella sharp, so sharp in fact that you can cut yourself and not even notice it till you see the blood. Yesterday I looked down to see four little pools of blood oozing from my hands without a notion of when or how they got there. It's kind of surreal in a clive barker sort of way.
Today it was only two, plus a wood splinter jammed under my fingernail...ouch.It's still sore. I used to have 3 pair of work gloves, but I can only find 1 right glove. I figured the left one was in Rusty's truck, he did have a stray one, a right one...so I need to buy some gloves.
I went shopping for some tonight w/o success...however, I got a nailbag for $1.29 and a tool belt for $15.00.
This is a world away from UT, but I'm enjoying myself and it seems that I do know what I'm doing after all. In fact, I was mistaken for the foreman today...HA!
Perhaps my missing glove is under the couch, if not, I have a weekend mission.
Until next time...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ANN!!!

We did the camp out- jam out bbq dealio that Ann requested, and I think I can speak for us all...it was great fun.
On to the pictures!




THE BIRTHDAY GIRL AND WOLFIE TAKE A BREAK





PLAYING COFFIN BLUES (A SECOND TIME)





LT PLAYING, WOLFIE PLAYING ALONG "BACKSTAGE"





NOT SURE WHAT'S HAPPENING HERE, BUT IT'S LOUD.





BADGER MANAGED TO PUNCH A HOLE IN HIS KICK DRUM WITH HIS PEDAL, ONE OF SEVERAL PROBLEMS WITH THE DRUM KIT THAT NIGHT





THE EVER RESOURCEFUL BADGER CAME UP WITH A PLAN, AND BEFORE YOU COULD SAY WOLVES AT THE DOOR...





HE WAS BACK IN BIDNESS, WITH SOME HELP FROM DUCT TAPE (THE MUSICIANS FRIEND)

The sheriff showed up around 2:30am and shut us down. There's lots of stories to tell, but I'll leave that to Ann.
One last shot:




WOLFIE SINGS "MIGHTY MOSES"...ABOUT A DOG THAT "HAD A LOUISVILLE SLUGGER SOME CALLED A TAIL".

Vacation!
Today was the start of my four days of vacation, however, vacation at this job does not mean four days of not working - it just means four days of not having to go into the office and the opportunity to say "Dude, I'm on vacation" when someone sends an IM or email or calls the cell phone and asks you to do something. There was plenty of work stuff that still needed to be taken care of today. I stayed up until 3:30 in the morning from yesterday trying to knock it all out so I didn't have to touch anything until Tuesday, but eventually realized it was a hopeless cause and went to bed. I slept until noon today - nice treat - and then got up and tackled the critical items. I decided to leave the rest of it to smolder for a few days which means that the next time I look at my work email, my inbox will be ON FIRE! Screw it - after all, "Dude, I'm on vacation."

"THE REAL WORLD"

So...I got the word on monday that I was to report to the home shop on tuesday, at 7am. I thought I was going to be working with one journeyman, but ended up with another. We are at a new construction job on south congress very close to our house, and aside from adjusting to the heat, I'm really enjoying myself! I've been turned loose to do my thing and so far so good, but, god damn! It's HOT.
I miss my crew at UT, but I've been talking to Clark almost everyday about how its going and I talked to Rusty today...his new apprentice, apparently, is 20 but looks 15. Someone even asked Rusty if he brought his son to work with him...HAHA! That's some funny shit.
We were at the shop this morning loading up another gang box to take to the site, and lo and behold, my old journeyman, Lee was there. He left UT about a year ago to work for another outfit, but he's coming back to work with us.
When I saw him he said "hey Rob...so you're finally out in the real world".
"Yeah'' I said "I'm really liking it".
It was nice to see him, not in that friend sort of way, but as a mentor who took the time to teach me the trade.
The real world...ok.

Avoiding work...sort of...
There was work stuff I needed to be doing tonight, but it was a hodgepodge of unpleasant tasks and I was distracted by thoughts of stress balls because the staff were all asking for them again this afternoon. I can certainly understand why since I used to bring in my own when I was working the phones and it was helpful to have something to smush, smash and occasionally destroy while attempting to sound friendly and helpful on the phone. I've thrown the suggestion out there to management, but no stress balls have been forthcoming so I decided to shop around on the internet and see if maybe I could find some cheap enough to be able to supply the staff on my personal budget. I found all kinds of cool things that smush or squish or stretch or otherwise occupy your hands and fingers, but I wasn't have much luck finding anything that fit my budget. Then I remembered that back when I worked in Human Resources we used a mail-order place to buy all manner of cheap and cheesy novelties to hand out to our staff on holidays or sometimes just for grins. Only the most jaded and bitter employee couldn't have at least a little fun with a rubber monster finger puppet. From fake plastic leis on "luau day" to bat pencil toppers on Halloween, the folks at Oriental Trading Company were always there with something affordable for a cash-strapped HR department. So I decided to look them up and it turns out they have stress balls at a price I can probably afford next payday. Woot!

ORNATE WOOD TURTLES REACH SEXUAL MATURITY!

Let the fucking begin!
5 or so years ago, I got a pair of ornate wood turtles from central america...not actually frrom there , but from a reptile show in San Antonio. Tonight I witnessed some actual attempts at mating!
I am very happy about this...they are beautiful turtles, with very colorful skin and shells...to have some babies would absolutely rock.
I missed the actual coupling with the camera, but here's a romp shot in the bath tub...sniffin' that ham boy! Look at his big ass tail! that's my boy!!!

HEY DUBYA! ONLY MONKEYS POINT

You have got to see this to believe it. Matt Lauer one on one with the murder monkey. Matt presses him on the secret prisons and the torture. Amazing stuff. A character study in desperation.
I have seen many many people in my life completely full of shit, trying to justify their behavior in a psychiatric setting, and the murder monkey is fucking textbook sociopath.
Every gesticulation is a lie and justification for abhorrent behavior.
Plain as the nose on your face. How much more proof do we need?????
Enjoy the grilling, and thank you Matt, for trying to live up to your creed.

LYING PIECE OF SHIT

I kept hoping Matt would just deck his sorry ass, sadly, that didn't happen.
comments?

Generation gap
Tomorrow I work the Sunday day shift which is always an odd shift because it's done solo with no other managers or admins (the big bosses) to be found. I've been told by coworkers that they love this shift because they get to be "in charge" and call all the shots during the busy part of the day (late night shifts are also solo, but tend to be pretty quiet with very few employees on the floor.) I find this attitude rather puzzling because the only difference I notice on Sundays is that there's no one around to help if things get crazy. I feel just as much "in charge" on a Monday as I do on a Sunday. Sure, the admins are not there on Sunday telling me to do stuff, but they don't ever tell me to do anything on a Monday that I don't already know I ought to be doing in the first place. I'm not so sure it's the "in charge" part that appeals to my co-workers. I think it's more along the lines of "all that stuff is stupid so I can decide not to do it" which, I suppose, if you are 25 to 30 years old could translate into being "in charge". But I'm 15 to 20 years older and I've been around long enough to learn that breaking the rules doesn't put you in charge. The real power is when you can get the rules changed.

CREW...

Here they are...



click here for a larger view

L-R: Clark, Wolfie, Rusty

ALL THINGS MUST PASS

Well, I got my marching orders today. Tomorrrow may be my last day at the university, depending on when they can place the new apprentice. If i'm really lucky I might get another week, but i doubt it. The good news is I'm being transferred, not laid off, and I have worked with the journeyman before...and it's a site that's closer to home.
Like I said, I believe I can cut it anywhere, but it won't be the same. The crews I've been working with for these 2 1/2 plus years have a camraderie, I feel connected to them and also to the UT electricians and supervisors, as well as the other trades we've worked with.
I have seen plenty of electricians come and go (short calls) during this time...here today, gone tomorrow, that's the nature of union/contractor labor...no good byes, just gone on to the next job.
I guess there's just enough social worker left in me that I have to say good bye to a group of people that helped me reinvent myself, literally.
After I lost my job at the pool place I was a fish out of water, Rusty offered me a paycheck for 2 weeks and that turned into this.
I never dreamed in a million years that I would call myself an electrician, but that's what I am.
I'm sure I'll stay in touch with Rusty, after all, we've been friends for years, and I owe him a lawnmower (HA!). I'll try to stay in touch with Wolfie and Clark, the crew I've spent the most time with.
And tomorrow I'll take pictures of them all, for history and for remembering an important time in my life.
Then on to the next adventure!

Bad mood rising
I have to go into the office tomorrow on my day off because three of my staff can't be bothered to come to work on a regular basis and need to be put on probation. It's not a good thing when I have to go into work on a day that I am not scheduled to deal with people that can't bother to come in on a day when they are scheduled. Add to this the fact that my next day off isn't until the 15th so I'll be facing the start of seven work days in a row and you can see why sacrificing tomorrow off has put me in a particularly shitty mood.

OUT TO BID

Our contract was officially put out to bid last week. There were three other contractors at the initial meeting. We'll know something by the end of the month. Considering we have done an outstanding job shines a good light on us, but you never know whats going to happen. The low bid is sometimes the most attractive.
Regardless of what happens, myself and a couple of other IJ's will be moving on anyway. When we started out we were at 50% or less, but in the two and a half years that have past, we've gotten raises...to the point that our contractor has to move us on in order to continue making money.
FNG* IJ's = $$$. *Fucking new guy
I understand this, and six months ago I would have taken a lay off over going to work somewhere else, but you know what? Not anymore. I feel I can do well anywhere. And as much as I'd like to stay for the remainder of my training, it's unfair of me to deprive my union brothers of such a beautiful place to learn the basics of what it takes to be an electrician. I'm ok with that, at least that's what I keep telling myself :).
When they hand me my shovel I hope it has a kickstand. And, as an added bonus, it's not the dead of hot hot summer.

Not gonna create that resume just yet
It's amazing what a little blog venting and some dedicated slacking off with beer and loud music can do to improve one's attitude. It's not enough to get me to return to 60+ hour work weeks without an eye towards greener pastures, but I think I can at least pull off the next several days at work without making a rash decision to resign. And so tonight I was slacking off, drinking beer and listening to music when I decided to clean the tire changing gunk out from under my fingernails and discovered that I had fingernails that were a 1/2 inch long. This wouldn't be an odd thing for a lot of women, but for me it's pretty strange because I've always kept my fingernails cut short. Not because I can't grow them out since my fingernails are so tough I have to cut them with toenail clippers, but because they get in the way of playing an instrument - first the piano, then the guitar, then the bass. Yeah, you can have long fingernails if you play the piano, but that clicky-click sound always drove me crazy. Anyway, I've been chopping my fingernails off since age five when I starting playing piano so it was a bit of a wake up call to see them that long. I realized that I haven't been playing my bass much at all over the last few years because it just isn't much fun as a solo instrument. I love playing bass with a band, but by myself - not so much of a thrill. I suppose I could pick up a guitar again, but I've never been very keen on that instrument. Now if I had a piano, I'd be playing that most every day, but even if I had the money to buy it, there's no good place in this house for one. I've also played the flute and the piano accordian in the past, but I have no burning desire to return to either of those instruments. But there is one instrument that I've always wanted to play, ever since I was a little bitty kid, and that's the fiddle. Maybe it's because my grandpa was a fiddle player or maybe it's from all that time I spent in family-friendly Texas hill country dance halls as a kid, but it's something I've always wanted to try my hand at. So I poked around on the internet and found I could afford a fiddle. I even found someone nearby that would give lessons for an amount I could afford. But faced with the possibility, I find I have suddenly have cold feet. What, here's a chance to accomplish a childhood ambition and I'm balking? Me, whose knocked down barriers and taken on challenges all her life? What the fuck is wrong with me? I think I better get my ass down to the music store on my next day off and buy a fiddle. And I should probably buy Rob some earplugs while I'm at it because there are few things that sound worse than a fiddle played badly.

STEVE IRWIN'S HEART RIPPED OUT

By a sting ray. I always thought steve would be killed by a "salty". But no...he was killed by a sting ray, and not by the venom. Thank god. This sting ray jammed it's reverse serrated barb into Steve's heart and demolished it on the way out. So don't minimize his death, we all knew it was coming, but who knew?
I imagined him getting his head ripped off by an 18 foot croc, like us all.
In a way, he was ripped off.
He was a naturalist, an advocate for animals and a really nutty likable guy. He did alot for animal conservation and for Australia.
God bless that crazy bastid.

Today gave me a flat tire and the desire for a new job
I left work early today. It was pretty slow due to the holiday and I was very close to strangling an employee or two so I figured I better get the hell out of there. I backed out of my parking spot on the fifth floor of the garage and the moment I turned to go down the exit ramp to the fourth floor my left front tire blew out. Not a simple flat, but an actual "blow out" with shredded belts poking through a giant hole in the tread. I limped into an empty parking spot and gave Rob a call. No answer so I left a message that I'd be taking the bus home. Then I realized I was working nights tomorrow and I couldn't just have Rob drop me off in the morning so I went ahead and changed the flat in that hot, steamy parking garage. This did not do much to improve my mood. And of course, I don't have a real spare tire, but one of those stupid space savers so I need a new tire right away. Make that two tires - not a good idea to replace just one. Except that today is a holiday and my favorite tire place is closed. My next choice for tires was booked for the day and not taking any more customers. This pretty much left WalMart, but not even the impossible logistics of getting new tires when one works 55-80 hours a week could make me shop at WalMart. And that was when I decided that I was tired of not having the time to take care of basic necessities. Never mind the not having any fun - I don't have time to get my clothes washed, groceries bought, bills paid, toilet bowl cleaned or tires replaced. If I made the big bucks, I could pay someone to do that, but I can't afford that on a $30,000/year salary. So fuck this job. Time to find something else.

Work, work and more work
I have not done much other than work for the last... well, since February. Things reached an all time high (or is that a low) last week when I was told to work 11 hours a day at the office. I usually put in 8 hours at the office, then another 4 to 6 hours at home and let me tell you, exchanging three hours of work at home for three hours in the office just about did me in. Although I'm pretty much doing the same work during those three hours, it's much easier at home. For one thing, at home I'm only physically interrupted by Rob, the dogs and the occasional person knocking at the door. The instant messages, emails and phone calls don't stop, but just taking out the presence of 40 or so other people around makes a big difference. Add to that the comfort factor of being able to wear my most comfortable clothes, no shoes, having food and beverages handy plus a private bathroom and I find that I'm much happier grinding away at things in my domicile. There's no way I could have done the 60+ hours a week I've been doing since February if I had to spend all that time at the office. In fact, I've been having a hard time doing the extra 20+ hours at home after such a prolonged stint of it. Seven months of 5 to 6 hours of sleep a night and 12 to 15 hours days takes it's toll and if I thought I was bone tired before last week, I found out just how much more tired I could be after these last six days of working 53 hours in the office and 28 hours at home. Yes folks, that's 81 hours in six days and I'm taking today (Sunday) off - I don't care if the place catches on fire. They can call me all they want, but I'm not answering the phone. Fortunately they've rescinded the 11 hour day mandate for next week, but I'm so friggin' tired that I'll be hard pressed to put in the normal required 42 hours in the office. I just hope that Monday, being a holiday for most of the US, turns out to be a quiet day so I can get a bit of a break from the usual chaos of floor managing. I've not really talked much about what I do here, but for 18 to 28 hours of my 40 to 60+ hour week I'm "floor managing" which means I'm responsible for the entire operation of the call center. On a normal day, it's a headache and on a bad day it's a nightmare, but every once and a while things are quiet and I can leave the shift without wishing someone would just shoot me so I didn't have to do it again. If nothing else, this job has definately prepared me for purgatory. So the hope is that the Monday morning shift (8am to 2pm) will be a cake-walk because my Tuesday night shift (2pm to 8pm) is definately going to be hell and that shift will probably last until 10pm or later. Wednesday I get to go in at 8am no matter how late I end up staying Tuesday night, but at least I don't have to floor manage that day. I'm supposedly off Thursday and Friday, but will most likely be working from home if I'm not called into the office. Saturday I floor manage from 8am to 4pm and it's anyone's guess how that will go, but I get to do it again on Sunday and that one will definately suck. Somewhere in between all of that I'll try to get the laundry done, the bills paid and all that other personal stuff one has to do, spend some time with Rob and give my parents a call so they know I'm still alive. Though the alive part is subject to debate at this point.

IT'S LIKE TAGGING

Only from my lap top.
Wikipedia is fun to mess with...check my additions to the page about Tamarins...My contribution is in bold.


The tamarins are any of the squirrel-sized New World monkeys from the family Cebidae, classified as the genus Saguinus. The closely related lion tamarins are in genus Leontopithecus.

Tamarin habitats range from southern Central America (Costa Rica) through middle South America (Amazon basin and north Bolivia, however not in the mountainous parts).

The various species of tamarins differ considerably according to their appearance, ranging from nearly all black through mixtures of black, brown and white. Many species typically have mustache-like facial hairs. Their body size ranges from 18 to 30 cm (plus a 25 to 44 cm long tail) and they weigh from 220 to 900 grams. Tamarins differ from marmosets primarily in the fact that the lower canine teeth are clearly longer than the incisors.

Tamarins are inhabitants of tropical rain forests and open forest areas. They are diurnal and arboreal, that run and jump quickly through the trees. Tamarins live together in groups of up to 40 members consisting of one or more families. More frequently, though, groups are composed of just three to nine members.

Tamarins are omnivores, eating fruits and other plant parts as well as spiders, insects, small vertebrates and bird eggs.

Gestation is typically 140 days, and births are normally twins. The father primarily cares for the young, bringing them to their mother to nurse. After approximately one month the young begin to eat solid food, although they aren't fully weaned for another two to three months. They reach full maturity in their second year.

In captivity, tamarins live to be 18 years old.

Tamarins are widely thought to be posessed by the devil, able to cast evil spells that kill, even from thier cells in zoos throughout thhe world.

Tamarin saliva, when dried out and smoked is said to produce effects not unlike using DMT.

When Tamarins mate, the baby jesus cries.


I added similar stuff about salamanders and chimps, but they were on to me, and I got this message from the webmaster:

User talk:Therev46
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to: navigation, search

Please refrain from adding nonsense to Wikipedia, as you did to Salamander. It is considered vandalism. If you would like to experiment, use the sandbox. If you feel that the edit I reverted should not have been reverted, please contact me. -- Omicronpersei8 (talk) 01:58, 3 September 2006 (UTC)

Please stop. If you continue to vandalize pages, as you did to Chimpanzee, you will be blocked from editing Wikipedia. If you feel that the edit I reverted should not have been reverted, please contact me. -- Omicronpersei8 (talk) 02:27, 3 September 2006 (UTC)

FUN FUN FUN!

TREASURE TROVE

I have been digging around you tube recently and have seen some amazing videos from days gone by.
Judas Priest live in 1975...Halford has really long hair and looks seriously gay, as opposed to his burly leatherman persona of late. Early footage of Black Sabbath, plus a documentary about them I had not seen. Old Deep Purple, and a doc on them as well. The Clash, Uriah Heep...it just goes on and on.
So, if you're jonesing for a look at the musical past, I'll bet ya it's at you tube.