Retreat in India

Because I have a company website, I receive solicitations from time to time from overseas outsourcing companies, mostly from India and Russia.
One particularly assertive individual has emailed me several times, asking if I have an assignment which I’d consider throwing in his direction.
Out of curiosity, I started corresponding with him, starting with a few generic questions about the type of projects he’s worked on, and ending with a serious request for proposal.
The results were interesting.

Continue reading Retreat in India

The Cost of Citizenship: Time

The mainstream media, which had given Bush (“I’m a war president”) a pass for three long years seems – finally – to be crawling out of its communal spider hole.
Thanks to Vietnam vet John Kerry, who has been through one or two political fights in his long career, the media now can focus on a candidate from the loyal opposition who is not afraid of the Rove/Bush smear machine.
Perhaps smelling blood, or maybe just hedging their bets in case of a Democratic victory this fall, the press has been giving its attention to the deficit; intelligence failures; and corruption in the military/industrial complex.

Continue reading The Cost of Citizenship: Time

Friday Five

TGIF and a happy President’s Day weekend:
1. Are you superstitious?
Ayup, I own this one.
2. What extremes have you heard of someone going to in the name of superstition?
Human sacrifice would be right up there.
3. Believer or not, what’s your favorite superstition?
Making a wish when a digital clock shows all the same numerals, like 11:11. Must be a modern superstition, huh?
4. Do you believe in luck? If yes, do you have a lucky number/article of clothing/ritual?
Sure do. I make a wish when I enter a new church, which happens oh, probably not often enough for someone who’s superstitious.
5. Do you believe in astrology? Why or why not?
Nope. From the small amount of training I have in Probability & Statistics, it doesn’t seem possible that 1/12 of the world would have the same events, concerns, shots at romance or the lottery on any given day.

The Boobs of CBS

I’ve been confused by the amount of Victorian era swooning on the part of corporate executives and Bush administration officials alike on the half-time antics at this year’s Super Bowl.
Viacom, the owner of CBS and MTV, can hardly lay claim to good taste or restraint. Flooding the airwaves with misogyny and adolescent sexual fantasies is nothing new. Even the Bible thumpers on Pennsylvania Avenue have shown little interest up to now in reining in giggle, jiggle or wiggle.

Continue reading The Boobs of CBS

Happy Days Ain’t Here Again

From the Economic Policy Institute:
JobWatch Bulletin, February 6, 2004
www.jobwatch.org
Continued high unemployment and the lack of meaningful job growth made 2003 the worst year for weekly wage growth for the typical worker since 1996 (see EPI Issue Brief Weak Recovery Claims New Victim: Workers’ Wages ). This clearly indicates that the weak labor market is now hurting employed workers as well as those looking for work.

Continue reading Happy Days Ain’t Here Again

The Latest Hysteria

How predictable: the Bush administration and the Archdiocese of Boston, the employers of choice for baldfaced liars and child molesters, respectively, are shocked, shocked that the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court has said that gay people can get married.
I really don’t get it, folks. I don’t understand how allowing people who have established committed relationships, some involving the raising of children, to be bound by the legal responsibilities of marriage is a bad thing.

Continue reading The Latest Hysteria