Houston, We Have A Problem

I really hate what's been going on lately with the United States Space Program, and I think the politics are coming straight from the top. Why was there such a big rush to launch this latest shuttle when there were so many questions being asked? Was there at any one time in the history of N.A.S.A. where a perfect mission had to be more important? If not for the lives of seven atsronauts and billions of dollars invested then at least for the morale of the American population and the integrity of the entire program?

If, God forbid, this shuttle comes back to Earth in more pieces than it went up, it'll destroy so much more than the lives and families of seven brave people.

I honestly think that President Bush is behind this whole thing right from the word go. How the space program was able to get billions of more dollars in funding from the government after it's last tragedy and be able to turn around so fast and launch well before it's ready, even by their own admissions, is beyond me. Was there a deal made? Did Bush agree to pave way for the funding in return for a spot on the podium at the end of the runway after a successful landing? Is this his weak attempt of diverting America's attention from the shambles he has left in the Middle East? That moron can stand in front on the shuttle all he wants while waving the red, white, and blue but he's got to be even dumber than he sounds if he thinks this will help him politically.

Seriously, take a look back at all the presidents in America's history. Through the good, bad and ugly everyone of those men can be remembered for some sort of accomplishment during their time in office. What will President W. Bush be remembered for? Never has one man disgraced this country more or put it so far behind the eight ball as far as global politics are concerned. How in the hell did this guy ever get re-elected? I truly hate politics and it surprises even me to see how flabbergasted I am with this idiot.

But back to the space program, I just have a terrible feeling about this mission and the results a failed mission will have.... on everybody. I also have a feeling that when they were having problem after problem with the shuttle that the astronauts had genuine concerns but might have been too afraid to voice them... or to try and back out of the program. And now where are they? They went ahead with the launch, had the exact same problems that caused the last mission to fail and promised to fix before EVER flying again, and have now cancelled all future missions indefinitely. Why weren't these measures put in place BEFORE the launch?? These are astronauts... not guinea pigs!

God Bless them, my prayers go out to them, but damn I have a really bad feeling about all of this.

Back To School....Again

Well things aren't working out exactly as planned at my new job. I originally took the job because it had awesome opportunity to get training on CNC Swiss Screw Machines but now I'm not so sure. The head guy, who was with the company for just over 26 years, told me during my interview that he needs guys with initiative to learn and do programming and set-ups. Hell yeah! That's exactly what I want to do but couldn't find the schooling so I jumped all over the opportunity. Three days after I started, this guy put in his two week notice. Was it something I said??

What's worse is that there is really nobody to do programming and set-ups left, and the second in command doesn't want anything to do with becoming in charge of the place. So yeah, my prospects of getting some training done was pretty much shot out the window. So back to searching online for some more training, and I found a company that sells the machines that I am running everyday. After some research I also found out they have a course starting August 1st that offers training in both programming AND set-ups on these machines, so I signed up and took a week off work to do it.

I have a contact with a staffing agency that keeps in touch with me often and he has told me that finding young guys who know how to program and set-up are in HUGE demand and that I am basically in the prime of my work life right now. He told me that if things don't work out at my present job that I am to call him first and he'll find the right spot for me. So just when I thought things were going to settle down once and for all, here I am taking another class.

This shit better pay off one day.... and soon, I hope.

Barney Is Getting Old

While Julie is away on vacation with the P/T, I get to drive around in her old 1994 purple Mercury Tracer, which I long ago dubbed as "Barney". I honestly didn't think much about having to drive this thing over the next 10 days but now it's falling apart.

I was driving home from work when I heard something pop in the rear of the car.... and then it sounded like I was dragging the bumper along the ground. "What the F%$# was that??", I calmly asked myself. I was almost home so I just kept going and examined everything once I was safe in our driveway. Apparently the rear strut on the passenger side broke. Well shit.

No biggie. I knew these run around a 100 bucks so I thought I may as well just go get it fixed. I went and took a shower, got dressed and headed for the mechanic we normally go too. On the way to the shop, and right at the top of a very long and windy descent, the brake pedal went right to the floor and my heart went and hid behind my arse. I was downshifting and e-braking all the way down the hill wondering "what the hell is going on here!?!" I safely made it to mechanic's place and two rear struts and the replacement of four brake lines later was out the door... minus about 500 bucks.

I asked the guy if they offer any type of crushing services but unfortunately they don't. I think our luck is running out on this old car and it's time to replace her in the next few months, so please feel free to PAYPAL donations to briandunn2003@hotmail.com. Every donation will be accompanied with a heart felt thank you email from yours truly. lol :)

You Learn Something New Everyday

While driving home one night from Mass, I had the windows down and I was cruising along route 8 through a stretch where there is a lot of narrow curves. The area is pretty remote and over the years Julie and I have seen a lot of wild animals along the way. But I got to learn something I never knew before, and that's if you're going about 60 miles an hour and hit a possum.... it goes "Squeak!"

R.I.P my little rodent friend :(

Let The Parties Begin!

So last Wednesday Julie and I headed for Mass after work to attend her company's 10 year anniversary party. The people she works with are really nice and it's good to see them every once in a while but damn, they are boring as hell for somebody like me. Lawyers, engineers, and all types of folks who went through years of post secondary education and I'm standing there with an oily rag still sticking out of my back pocket. It's at times like these that I realize I never made a mistake by choosing to be a blue collar worker. I consider myself to be an everyday average joe and I like working with people who are at the same level on the social ladder. My idea of a "funny story" isn't about the time I got sued and had to go through a deposition. Oh well, it takes all types I guess.

Anyway, after the party I headed back to Connecticut by myself and Julie stayed at her parents house for the night before heading out on her vacation to Maine. She will be there for the entire first week of August so everybody... LET'S PARTY!

Clueless Joe Jackson

I often find that people who suffer from some kind of mental disorder always make up for lost brain power with a heart of gold. Case in point, one of my new co-workers, named Joe.

Joe I'm told is in his early forties and is the custodian at the shop. Besides his daily duties of cleaning up after everybody he also goes out of his way to help whenever and wherever he can. Unfortunately this often gets him into trouble.

Joe was an average guy living out the American dream when everything changed for him one fateful day about 16 years ago. While out enjoying the thrill of the ride on his new motorcycle, he ended up going head to head with a sedan..... and let's put it this way... he lost. He fell into a coma and spent the next three months balancing on the picket fence of life before finally awakening. Although his recovery was miraculous it was never to be complete and to this day he has trouble focusing during conversations, has massive lapses with his attention span, and battles his short term memory continuously. But I dare you to find a day where he isn't walking around with a smile and telling you the latest jokes he's heard.

One of the things Joe has confided in me is that he wants to learn how to run the machines like everybody else in the shop but the manager refuses to teach him. As frustrating as it could be for Joe, I totally understand the company's point of view. It's not a matter of whether or not he could end up running the machine, it's whether or not he can keep himself from being hurt or hurting others. The guys around the shop are already having to remind him not to spray cleaning fluid right into the circuit boxes as he's cleaning them, imagine would he'd be like with sharp objects in his hands? Regardless, one day I was talking to a few of the guys during the shift about Joe and asked if they had even given him a chance to prove himself. I remember back when I supervised a shift that I'd give guys a chance to see what they can do and you'd be surprised at what somebody is capable of once given the opportunity to prove themselves. But the guys just shook their heads and laughed, and then wanted to prove their point.

I was sent over to my machine with instructions for my part of "the test". I called Joe over to my machine and his face lit up as he scrambled over to me. "Hey Joe, can you do me a favor?", I asked.

"Sure!", replied Joe.

"Can you take these oily rags away and bring me some clean ones?"

"Sure no problem big guy!" Now, the basket we have for dirty rags is halfway across the shop and it was on his way there that the test began.

"Hey Joe, can you help me lift this box for a quick sec?" Asked one of my co-workers who was part of this plan.

"Sure no problem!" as he dropped the rags on a counter and help lift the box onto a cart.

"Thanks, Joe"

"Any time man", Joe responded with a look of accomplishment on his face.

"Joe, have you seen Ted?", asked co-worker #2 in on the plan. Joe pops his head up over the machines and does a quick scan.

"Nope, I don't see him. You want me to go look for him?", Joe offered.

"Nah, it's O.K. Thanks anyways Joe"

"No problem! Any time!". Then Joe just stood there for a few seconds looking at the floor. My other co-workers were watching him, and looking to me for a response. I could tell Joe was completely lost and by being interrupted twice during the task he was doing for me, he was distracted beyond repair. One of my co-workers just looked and shrugged at me as if to say, "Hey, what can you do?" in an unfortunate kind of way. Joe eventually grabbed his broom and slowly started sweeping around the machines, stranding me without any rags to work with at all. I was amazed, yet saddened. All this guy wants to do is feel important, feel as though he has a purpose in life and it must frustrate the hell out of him that he can't function daily.

It took about 20 to 25 minutes for him to sweep his way around to my work area. There was something definitely on his mind. It's almost like he knew he had forgotten something but was too ashamed to ask what it was he was supposed to be doing..... especially since he probably doesn't even remember who he was supposed to ask in the first place.

"How ya doing Joe?", I asked him to see if looking at me would jog his memory of his failed task.

"Would be better if it were 2:30" he said as his face lit up with that big goofy smile.

"Yeah I hear ya man, I want to get outta here and start the long weekend"

That's when Joe just jumps right into one of his jokes.

"Hey so I went up to my ex-wife and said, 'wow, when did you get into an accident?' and she said, 'what accident?' and I said, 'oh, you were born that way??'". He laughs to himself and walks away.

I just laughed and went and got the new rags I needed by myself. He seemed to have worked himself out of his mini slump, no sense on making him feel guilty over forgetting all about the favor I asked earlier.

The value of employees like Joe is always underrated in my opinion, because people like Joe just don't pick up garbage, they pick up spirits.

Cruise-ing Toward The Nut House

What the hell happened to Tom Cruise over the last couple years? He has slowly morphed into Hollywood's biggest freak show (which says a lot)from his days as the number one "It" guy.

From his rapid descent into the arms of Penelope Cruz shortly after his divorce, to all this Scientology talk, to bashing other movie stars and their personal lives, and now showing his affection for Katie Holmes like a 13 year old who just discovered girls this man is heading for the nut house. I'm not sure who Nicole Kidman had for a lawyer but she obviously got all his marbles in the divorce settlement.

I say by January 2006 this guy is admitted into some kind of psych ward.