12/25/2014
Technology is wonderful, isn't it?
Think about it. I can sit at the house in my shorts and a t-shirt and send a message to a friend half-way around the world at the speed of light. Then (depending on the format) probably see an indicator while they are composing their reply. Once it is finished and they send it I get it immediately. Similarly here I can be sitting at work, as now, and compose a message to all of you and wish you all a Merry Christmas, without ever having met any of my fellows before. No need to, beyond adding a face to the screen name, or real name depending on everyone's individual tastes. Possibly to just share a personal conversation face to face and get an immediate response. Beyond that, oh well, no biggie. I never had many friends growing up out in the sticks like I did, now I have friends from coast to coast and beyond. So, thanks to all of you for another year on this big ball of dirt. Merry Christmas and Happy Hanukkah.
12/18/2014
Your enemy's OODA loop and you.
The OODA loop, for those of you who might not know, is Observe, Orient, Decide, and Act. In essence it is the mental part of our fight or flight response. Anything you can do to disrupt enemy's is going to shift advantage in your favor. Anyway.
I started having an e-mail conversation with a friend and fellow blogger earlier. (I won't name who.) Anyway, she had mentioned an exchange she'd had with a subject outside a court room. I thought that her reply was on the money and timely. I replied that my dad, being a corrections officer, has regularly gotten inside their minds and tinkered with their world view in similar fashion. At any rate, anything you do that disrupts the flow of events which your enemy/opponent has planned out (typically prior to making contact) is going to help. It isn't the be all end all of the encounter but every little bit helps. And surprise is a deadly weapon.
For instance, a mugger steps out of an alley directly in front of you holding a knife, up and toward your face. What he expects to happen is for you to be shocked into immobility. What he doesn't expect is for you to turn that last step you were taking into a solid kick to his wedding tackle. He is now well outside his OODA loop. Matter of fact, his loop at this point more resembles a figure 8. The planned events didn't go the way he thought. You may now turn and run in the opposite direction and get to a location to safely call 911, or you have now given yourself adequate time to draw your CCW and you may now safely call the police to come collect the wayward miscreant. Or he may decide that without cowardice there is no such thing as courage and remember that he really should be singing hymns at church right now. Which ever way, you have now won this battle.
Similarly if you have an unwanted verbal exchange with a half-melted, unlit candle of humanity. Anything you can say that is either off the wall or out and out hilarious is probably going to make them stop and have to think, or more often, them having to come up with something off the cuff (which doesn't work out so well when you are either slow to respond, or your IQ is around room temperature, even better is when it's both). One example of this comes from my dad. Him having to do random pat-downs of inmates on a regular basis is the start of some of his more hilarious stories. This one is no different.
Inmate: "So how does it feel to be touching a real man?"
My dad: "Dunno, go find one and I'll let you know."
Inmate: "Man, f*ck you."
My dad: "You're not my type. Go to your cell."
The inmate in question then became a subject of mockery to his fellows for sometime afterward. Mainly for being both new to prison in general, and my dad in particular. He also had the unfortunate luck of this happening in front of several of the "old hands" who have known Dad since he started. They both liked (as much as inmates like guards, but more importantly) respected him. They were not kind to that young man. The last dad had mentioned, the inmate was requesting a transfer to a different prison due to the ridicule centered around him not being a "real man." Sometimes it really sucks to be stupid. But then again as dad has always said, "If they were smart, I'd never meet them."
At any rate, always be ready to fight, even if it is just verbal judo. Because the best possible outcome is that you are able to walk away. Stay ready my friends.
I started having an e-mail conversation with a friend and fellow blogger earlier. (I won't name who.) Anyway, she had mentioned an exchange she'd had with a subject outside a court room. I thought that her reply was on the money and timely. I replied that my dad, being a corrections officer, has regularly gotten inside their minds and tinkered with their world view in similar fashion. At any rate, anything you do that disrupts the flow of events which your enemy/opponent has planned out (typically prior to making contact) is going to help. It isn't the be all end all of the encounter but every little bit helps. And surprise is a deadly weapon.
For instance, a mugger steps out of an alley directly in front of you holding a knife, up and toward your face. What he expects to happen is for you to be shocked into immobility. What he doesn't expect is for you to turn that last step you were taking into a solid kick to his wedding tackle. He is now well outside his OODA loop. Matter of fact, his loop at this point more resembles a figure 8. The planned events didn't go the way he thought. You may now turn and run in the opposite direction and get to a location to safely call 911, or you have now given yourself adequate time to draw your CCW and you may now safely call the police to come collect the wayward miscreant. Or he may decide that without cowardice there is no such thing as courage and remember that he really should be singing hymns at church right now. Which ever way, you have now won this battle.
Similarly if you have an unwanted verbal exchange with a half-melted, unlit candle of humanity. Anything you can say that is either off the wall or out and out hilarious is probably going to make them stop and have to think, or more often, them having to come up with something off the cuff (which doesn't work out so well when you are either slow to respond, or your IQ is around room temperature, even better is when it's both). One example of this comes from my dad. Him having to do random pat-downs of inmates on a regular basis is the start of some of his more hilarious stories. This one is no different.
Inmate: "So how does it feel to be touching a real man?"
My dad: "Dunno, go find one and I'll let you know."
Inmate: "Man, f*ck you."
My dad: "You're not my type. Go to your cell."
The inmate in question then became a subject of mockery to his fellows for sometime afterward. Mainly for being both new to prison in general, and my dad in particular. He also had the unfortunate luck of this happening in front of several of the "old hands" who have known Dad since he started. They both liked (as much as inmates like guards, but more importantly) respected him. They were not kind to that young man. The last dad had mentioned, the inmate was requesting a transfer to a different prison due to the ridicule centered around him not being a "real man." Sometimes it really sucks to be stupid. But then again as dad has always said, "If they were smart, I'd never meet them."
At any rate, always be ready to fight, even if it is just verbal judo. Because the best possible outcome is that you are able to walk away. Stay ready my friends.
12/16/2014
12/13/2014
So... I'm probably going to piss a lot of people off, but.
Obama was right about one thing, and one thing only. We do need a fundamental transformation in America. However, the one we need isn't what he and his socialist/anarchist colleagues had in mind.
1: Close the f**king borders.
Simple enough but then you have people that complain about the cost of a head of lettuce is now going to be $20.00. No, no it isn't. Why? Because the pay stays the same for the work. "But Americans won't work for such low wages." You bleat. Yes, yes they will. Why?
2: End the welfare system, ENTIRELY.
You want to eat, get a job or figure out how to produce enough food for yourself. And no, shoveling horseshit is not beneath you to do, nor is hauling slop buckets to the pig trough. I don't care that you were breast fed from the finest most voluptuous Scandinavian nannies until you were 20 when your parents finally had enough of your shit and tossed you out on your ear. Work or starve b*tch. But I also hear you say "But what about retirees?" I said end welfare, not Social Security. But, and this is a BUTT as big as Kardashian's. You get federal matching funds to what you paid in and no more. No pay in, no pay out. "But how is the government going to pay to match everyone's funds if everyone is working?" Simple.
3: All payments to foreign countries cease. All Foreign bases are closed and we don't step into shit that doesn't involve us unless a CLOSE ally is under threat and requests aid, which THEY pay for.
So simple a chimp could do it. But ACT NOW!!!! and get the added bonus of....
4: Re-instituted tariffs (and make em painful enough they'll question why they don't just do it here) on all goods coming into our market.
We use the fact we are the largest single consumer market on this rock to our advantage. Quintuple the amount if the company ever operated inside the US and moved off-shore for cheaper labor, karma is a real b*tch. But you say, "That will drive the cost of everything we have to levels we could never afford." Maybe in a broken system but no. Because, being that I like companies competing for my dollar, any company that doesn't want to deal with having to lose money to our new tariff system will be given a tax deduction for moving production facilities to the US. And that's functioning production facilities not staff offices. However, only the goods they produce here are exempt from the tariffs and qualify for the tax exemption, not all their goods. So that part is a good win-win, the government gets money that it doesn't have to raise taxes on us to procure and We the People get a source of jobs.
Plus to insure its all not to big a shock to anyone, and to tap into my lonely-unloved-unused leftish side and prevent the inevitable $20b Christmas bonuses to top execs who're now within microseconds of retiring at the ripe old age of 29.
5: Price caps.
"But that's not capitalism." You're right, somewhat, that part isn't capitalistic but is a tactic that works in favor of the consumer, ie: you and me. It also solves the problem of price gouging, mostly by people who don't know how to manage costs properly and are only interested in maximum profits at the expense of everyone else, "Because f**k the little people, I'm getting a Porsche". Kinda like welfare queens in that regard. However, I never said they can't make a profit, only that the prices for goods and services will be tomorrow what they were yesterday. Up to them to figure out how to maximize profits in that whole grey area I left open for them. Especially since the .gov isn't going to be using banks or regs to shut down businesses it doesn't like. Namely because such an offense would be grounds for a firing squad at dawn, for both the politicians and the bank managers and anyone else involved that stood to gain anything. Anyway if companies are smart they'll cut the numbers of VP of Bullshit #1, #2 and #3 etc. that they are paying for doing absolutely nothing close to productive. I'm currently paid to sit on my ass in an office and do nothing. Why is my job not in danger? Simple, I'm a security guard. I keep them from losing money due to outside forces. Its cheaper to pay me than to replace computers, heavy equipment, tools and various and sundry other things that may grow legs in the absence of company personnel or even in the presence of company personnel. To get back to my main point, because companies obviously need a lesson where they are hemorrhaging money. Hint: it ain't the workers on the line or in the cubicle making $30k a year that would be bleeding them dry. Anyway moving on, I love me some competition so that brings us to...
6: Government grants on completion.
Mostly because there is this whole risk/reward policy to get back into. For example: War material production. Used to be the government would send out guidelines for what they wanted, companies would risk money building prototypes for the .gov to test. Then a winner would be chosen and given a contract of a set amount for a certain number of complete units and sometimes a certain number of spare parts. Quite lucrative contracts too. However, usually a company wouldn't have the capacity to make what Uncle Sam wanted in the time allotted. Which is where the other companies in the process could recoup some of their losses. The runners up would sometimes be given a chance in adding to the production capacity. They get the plans and would build the winning design for a percentage of the contract. Not as lucrative as being the winner but they have to share that set amount of the pool and you also don't have entire companies folding because of one idea that while workable they still gambled on and lost, sometimes by a hairs breadth. However these situations didn't cost the taxpayer the current going rate of a $4B turkey or cancellation which seems to be the current DoD/private industry policy. As I stated, payment on completion with a fixed amount. You overrun the contract by a microsecond and we take the plans, tooling, completed components/units and hand em over to someone else to complete. Not to mention fine your asses for the full cost to us thus far for administering the trials, selection, and which includes the costs of taking all the stuff above and moving it around/storing it, plus interest. Not to mention firing, fining and incarcerating anyone at the Company/DoD/Congress/WH that allowed the BS to go on in the first place. Because after all We The People not The Company-in-Question nor the DoD/Gov are in charge of this military industrial complex and it is our money funding it, and I'd really like to see a 4+ billion dollar project show some sort of tangible result after 20 f**king years, even if it's just to watch it blow up a herd ofbaaaing future harem prospects goats in Buttf*ckistan. All of this is kind of a parallel to my next point.
The biggest reason I can pin down that we have such stagnant development in medical tech the last couple decades (and probably beyond) appears to be due to the companies and labs doing the research are paid to produce nothing. They are given money without having to show any tangible results, only "progress toward a solution" or even worse "We developed a 'treatment' for ultra-deadly-virus-X2015Mk4 that only costs $mumble,000,000 per dosage and we hold the patent, So yay team us! Plus it only kills 3 out of 10 patients." I've got a simple solution to that problem, "I have a one time $2,000,000,000 check for the first person or persons who come out with a safe and effective CURE for cancer/AIDS/Ebola/insert random ailment here. You have 1 year to collect before the reward gets cut in half." I often wonder how many broken necks and sneaker fires would result in the rapid sprint for the finish line knowing this is the only money they are going to get for the project and every second wasted brings them closer to it getting cut by half, and then half again. That way they are looking at less money if they try to pull the same stall tactics as normal.
Either way, upon a solution and payout. The formula is then taken (remember it's already been paid for) and given to every supplier that can produce it and told "We'll cover production costs and assist in providing any raw materials to see to it that this gets to our citizens who need it in a timely fashion. And. Oh BTW, we know exactly what capacity you can churn out, so don't f**k with the numbers on it, unless you'd really like an open air jail cell in Alaska somewhere above the arctic circle for the next 400 years."
I haven't really found a solution to other, simpler medical costs other than to just do a massive price cut across the board and then cap them too. Then tell all the affected parties to "Pray I don't alter the plan further". Same with other areas that could use a monkey wrench to the testicles just for motivation. I'm pretty good with the whole Underpants Gnome system of;
Step 1:Collect underpants.
Step 2:?
Step 3: Profit.
Anyway, just a mental exercise searching for workable solutions to current problems. Ones that don't involve immolating massive piles of our money and being told to look at the pretty colors that were "given" to us. You may disagree, that's ok, if you have a better idea please share. How the hell else are we gonna un-f**k this giant steaming pile?
1: Close the f**king borders.
Simple enough but then you have people that complain about the cost of a head of lettuce is now going to be $20.00. No, no it isn't. Why? Because the pay stays the same for the work. "But Americans won't work for such low wages." You bleat. Yes, yes they will. Why?
2: End the welfare system, ENTIRELY.
You want to eat, get a job or figure out how to produce enough food for yourself. And no, shoveling horseshit is not beneath you to do, nor is hauling slop buckets to the pig trough. I don't care that you were breast fed from the finest most voluptuous Scandinavian nannies until you were 20 when your parents finally had enough of your shit and tossed you out on your ear. Work or starve b*tch. But I also hear you say "But what about retirees?" I said end welfare, not Social Security. But, and this is a BUTT as big as Kardashian's. You get federal matching funds to what you paid in and no more. No pay in, no pay out. "But how is the government going to pay to match everyone's funds if everyone is working?" Simple.
3: All payments to foreign countries cease. All Foreign bases are closed and we don't step into shit that doesn't involve us unless a CLOSE ally is under threat and requests aid, which THEY pay for.
So simple a chimp could do it. But ACT NOW!!!! and get the added bonus of....
4: Re-instituted tariffs (and make em painful enough they'll question why they don't just do it here) on all goods coming into our market.
We use the fact we are the largest single consumer market on this rock to our advantage. Quintuple the amount if the company ever operated inside the US and moved off-shore for cheaper labor, karma is a real b*tch. But you say, "That will drive the cost of everything we have to levels we could never afford." Maybe in a broken system but no. Because, being that I like companies competing for my dollar, any company that doesn't want to deal with having to lose money to our new tariff system will be given a tax deduction for moving production facilities to the US. And that's functioning production facilities not staff offices. However, only the goods they produce here are exempt from the tariffs and qualify for the tax exemption, not all their goods. So that part is a good win-win, the government gets money that it doesn't have to raise taxes on us to procure and We the People get a source of jobs.
Plus to insure its all not to big a shock to anyone, and to tap into my lonely-unloved-unused leftish side and prevent the inevitable $20b Christmas bonuses to top execs who're now within microseconds of retiring at the ripe old age of 29.
5: Price caps.
"But that's not capitalism." You're right, somewhat, that part isn't capitalistic but is a tactic that works in favor of the consumer, ie: you and me. It also solves the problem of price gouging, mostly by people who don't know how to manage costs properly and are only interested in maximum profits at the expense of everyone else, "Because f**k the little people, I'm getting a Porsche". Kinda like welfare queens in that regard. However, I never said they can't make a profit, only that the prices for goods and services will be tomorrow what they were yesterday. Up to them to figure out how to maximize profits in that whole grey area I left open for them. Especially since the .gov isn't going to be using banks or regs to shut down businesses it doesn't like. Namely because such an offense would be grounds for a firing squad at dawn, for both the politicians and the bank managers and anyone else involved that stood to gain anything. Anyway if companies are smart they'll cut the numbers of VP of Bullshit #1, #2 and #3 etc. that they are paying for doing absolutely nothing close to productive. I'm currently paid to sit on my ass in an office and do nothing. Why is my job not in danger? Simple, I'm a security guard. I keep them from losing money due to outside forces. Its cheaper to pay me than to replace computers, heavy equipment, tools and various and sundry other things that may grow legs in the absence of company personnel or even in the presence of company personnel. To get back to my main point, because companies obviously need a lesson where they are hemorrhaging money. Hint: it ain't the workers on the line or in the cubicle making $30k a year that would be bleeding them dry. Anyway moving on, I love me some competition so that brings us to...
6: Government grants on completion.
Mostly because there is this whole risk/reward policy to get back into. For example: War material production. Used to be the government would send out guidelines for what they wanted, companies would risk money building prototypes for the .gov to test. Then a winner would be chosen and given a contract of a set amount for a certain number of complete units and sometimes a certain number of spare parts. Quite lucrative contracts too. However, usually a company wouldn't have the capacity to make what Uncle Sam wanted in the time allotted. Which is where the other companies in the process could recoup some of their losses. The runners up would sometimes be given a chance in adding to the production capacity. They get the plans and would build the winning design for a percentage of the contract. Not as lucrative as being the winner but they have to share that set amount of the pool and you also don't have entire companies folding because of one idea that while workable they still gambled on and lost, sometimes by a hairs breadth. However these situations didn't cost the taxpayer the current going rate of a $4B turkey or cancellation which seems to be the current DoD/private industry policy. As I stated, payment on completion with a fixed amount. You overrun the contract by a microsecond and we take the plans, tooling, completed components/units and hand em over to someone else to complete. Not to mention fine your asses for the full cost to us thus far for administering the trials, selection, and which includes the costs of taking all the stuff above and moving it around/storing it, plus interest. Not to mention firing, fining and incarcerating anyone at the Company/DoD/Congress/WH that allowed the BS to go on in the first place. Because after all We The People not The Company-in-Question nor the DoD/Gov are in charge of this military industrial complex and it is our money funding it, and I'd really like to see a 4+ billion dollar project show some sort of tangible result after 20 f**king years, even if it's just to watch it blow up a herd of
The biggest reason I can pin down that we have such stagnant development in medical tech the last couple decades (and probably beyond) appears to be due to the companies and labs doing the research are paid to produce nothing. They are given money without having to show any tangible results, only "progress toward a solution" or even worse "We developed a 'treatment' for ultra-deadly-virus-X2015Mk4 that only costs $mumble,000,000 per dosage and we hold the patent, So yay team us! Plus it only kills 3 out of 10 patients." I've got a simple solution to that problem, "I have a one time $2,000,000,000 check for the first person or persons who come out with a safe and effective CURE for cancer/AIDS/Ebola/insert random ailment here. You have 1 year to collect before the reward gets cut in half." I often wonder how many broken necks and sneaker fires would result in the rapid sprint for the finish line knowing this is the only money they are going to get for the project and every second wasted brings them closer to it getting cut by half, and then half again. That way they are looking at less money if they try to pull the same stall tactics as normal.
Either way, upon a solution and payout. The formula is then taken (remember it's already been paid for) and given to every supplier that can produce it and told "We'll cover production costs and assist in providing any raw materials to see to it that this gets to our citizens who need it in a timely fashion. And. Oh BTW, we know exactly what capacity you can churn out, so don't f**k with the numbers on it, unless you'd really like an open air jail cell in Alaska somewhere above the arctic circle for the next 400 years."
I haven't really found a solution to other, simpler medical costs other than to just do a massive price cut across the board and then cap them too. Then tell all the affected parties to "Pray I don't alter the plan further". Same with other areas that could use a monkey wrench to the testicles just for motivation. I'm pretty good with the whole Underpants Gnome system of;
Step 1:Collect underpants.
Step 2:?
Step 3: Profit.
Anyway, just a mental exercise searching for workable solutions to current problems. Ones that don't involve immolating massive piles of our money and being told to look at the pretty colors that were "given" to us. You may disagree, that's ok, if you have a better idea please share. How the hell else are we gonna un-f**k this giant steaming pile?
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