2006 July | Some Blogging Guy

Archive for July, 2006

I wish I was this guy!

July 31st, 2006 by Howard | No Comments | Filed in Main

This is an amazing story. A guy with no college education works a few years, saves money. (Did you get that part, saves money, doesn’t spend every dime.) And then quits his job and travels around the world. He creates a web page to keep his family and friends informed of his travels. A friend recommends he dance everywhere he goes, and vedio tape himself. Eventually, he makes an internet video. He becomes modestly famous, and a gum manafacturer asks him if he would travel the world again dancing, with them footing the bill. Of course he accepts. The video is very, very cool, Go see it on his web site,

www.wherethehellismatt.com

Man I wish I did/would do that!

All you young folk out there – take a lesson from this. Enjoy life. Take chances. Explore!

Hat tip to http://badkitty1973.blogspot.com/ where I found the link to this.

Peace out people.

SCG

Minimum Wage Take Home Pay Won’t!

July 30th, 2006 by Howard | 2 Comments | Filed in Main

This map is from the United States Department of Labor. Really doesn’t add much to this post, but it damn sure is colorful, eh? I enjoy color. Rant continues after this color break……

	States with minimum wage rates higher than the Federal		States with no minimum wage law
	States with minimum wage rates the same as the Federal		States with minimum wage rates lower than the Federal
	American Samoa has special minimum wage rates

———————————————————–

The Federal minimum wage is $5.15 an hour.

Times 40 hours a week times 52 weeks that works out to an annual pre-tax income of $10,712.

Do you know what the USA poverty level is? For one person in the lower 48 states? $9,570.

As someone who worked for years in the banking field as part of middle management, and works in management at a college now, let me tell you folks something. You can forget this minimum wage, because wages above that suck too! A company can pay $6.00 an hour. A guy has to work a half day in order to just put gas in his car!

Hey, let’s say an employer is paying someone an outrageously generous rate, to say, one of their employees who has been there five years. $9.00 an hour! Whohoo! That is $18,720 a year on a 40 hour week. Subtract 22 percent for deductions and you have about $1,200 take home a month.

In many cities, the average one bedroom apartment is $600 a month. That leaves $600 for savings, car payments, utilities, groceries, etc. Could you budget that well? I couldn’t. And that is at $9.00 an hour!!!!

USUAL DISCLAIMER: I am neither a Republican or a Democrat. I have severe conservative views, and severe liberal views. I bash both sides. Today just happens to be the Republicans bashing time.

Conservatives are the first asswipes out of the chute with this fantastic plan!!! Hey, we CUT TAXES! That way, regular people have more money in their pockets, more money in their paychecks, and they spend more money! Since we are no longer an industrial economy, but a consumer spending economy, this means the economy improves, and store owners and corporations get more money!!!! Whoo Hooo!

But these lizard brained evil overlords then say you can’t raise the minimum wage, as it will bankrupt small businesses, and then cause the bigger business to just pass the cost along to the consumer by raising the price of products! So, never, ever, raise the minimum wage! WTF!!!!???

Are these guys sucking wonder weed or what? If their first theory is correct, and I actually think it is, then consumers having more money in their paychecks will cause them to spend more money, and thus drive the economy even more. More profits for businesses. Right? What, they are gonna bury their extra pay in the back yard?

What conservatives seem to be saying (while speaking out of both sides of their mouths) is that business owners profits MUST take priority over people. Period.

That makes perfect sense! Because people can only donate a few bucks to their campaigns, but businesses can donate millions!!!! $$$$$$

This is just one reason that the Evil Overlord Republicans (EOR) are going to lose control of the house and maybe the senate in the November elections to the moon-bat brain dead Democrats. (MBBDD).

Either way, America is screwed.

Rant concluded. Go back and watch the animated hooter lady sing the Polka from Finland. (Previous post) Hey, it makes ME feel better!

Peace out people!

SCG

Now THIS is a Polka!

July 29th, 2006 by Howard | No Comments | Filed in Main

OK folks, let me first warn you that it is late on a Saturday night, I’m awesomely bored, and I have been searching Russian web sites for bad polka. Did I mention the wine? I probably should have mentioned the wine. Also, that my wife has a tummy ache and is in bed, so I’ve been left alone to my own devices. That’s how I was able to find a popular Finnish Polka song attached to a Macromedia flash animation of bouncing breasts. Yes, Indeed, I jive you not! Apparently the start of this was a group called Loituma, which is a â€œyoung quartet who combine the Finnish vocal tradition with the exquisite sounds of the kantele (Finnish harp). At ease with four-part unaccompanied vocals as well as four-part kantele instrumentals, Loituma were selected Band of the Year at the 1997 Kaustinen Folkmusic Festival.â€

You can see the group and hear/watch them sing their hit Polka. Hmmm…somehow I never thought I would use those two words together……at google, this link.

Apparently, the internet being what it is, there are now a couple of billion versions of this song, attached to various bouncing animations. However, the swf file that I have attached here is my favorite version.

Warning, this might be consider deeply offensive according to contemporary community standards of morality or decency by some hard line non-drinking Baptists.

If you can’t get the animation to load, you can see it here at this link:

I tell you, it is amazing what they are doing these days with animation!

The words? Ya want the the words too? Sheesh! OK, here they are, in english.

Levan Polkaa / Leva’s polka

On its release in Finland, this song entered the radio charts – a rare occurrence for traditional music. The humorous story is told in the Savo dialect of Eastern Finland.

The sound of a polka drifted from my neighbor’s
and set my feet a-tapping oh!
Ieva’s mother had her eye on her daughter but
Ieva she managed to fool her, you know.
‘Cause who’s going to listen to mother saying no
when we’re all busy dancing to and fro!

Ieva was smiling, the fiddle it was wailing
as people crowded round to wish her luck.
Everyone was hot but it didn’t seem to bother
the handsome young man, the dashing buck.
‘Cause who’s going to mind a drop of sweat
when he’s all busy dancing to and fro!

Ieva’s mother she shut herself away
in her own quiet room to hum a hymn.
Leaving our hero to have a spot of fun
in a neighbor’s house when the lights are dim.
‘Cause what does it matter what the old folks say
when you’re all busy dancing to and fro!

When the music stopped then the real fun began
and that’s when the laddie fooled around.
When he took her home, when the dancing was over
her mother angrily waiting they found.
But I said to her, Ieva, now don’t you weep
and we’ll soon be dancing to and fro!

I said to her mother now stop that noise
or I won’t be responsible for what I do.
If you go quietly and stay in your room
you won’t get hurt while your daughter I woo.
‘Cause this fine laddie is a wild sort of guy
when he’s all busy dancing to and fro!

One thing I tell you is you won’t trap me,
no, you won’t find me an easy catch.
Travel to the east and travel to the west but
Ieva and I are going to make a match.
‘Cause this fine laddie ain’t the bashful sort
when he’s all busy dancing to and fro.

Peace Out People

SCG

WordPress – too many themes!

July 29th, 2006 by Howard | No Comments | Filed in Main

Sometimes too many options is a bad thing. I use WordPress as my blogging software. Problem though, is that there are SO many freaking options now, especially themes, that it is driving me bonkers! (OK, so that was a short walk, I know, I know.) At last count, there are over 1,000 themes for WordPress, and that is just the free ones. I’m not counting the ones for sale. And then you have sidebar widgets and plugins, sheesh, I don’t know how many of those are available, but certainly hundreds!

Too many options!!!! Agghhhhhhhhhhhhh……..

Peace Out People.

SCG