Question:  Why have we as a society become so enamored with telling everyone what we are doing and where we are?

Think about that for a bit.

With applications like Facebook, Twitter, Foursquare and others, we can let people know what we are doing every second of the day.  I’m not knocking the technologies.  I’m a member of and take advantage of them all (except Foursquare…haven’t gotten into that one yet).  I just find it ironic that we enjoy all of these things in an age where we scream at the top of our lungs about privacy and how Big Brother is always watching us or tapping our phone lines or spying on us through our computers.  Don’t get me wrong.  I don’t support any of those activities.  Fact of the matter is, Big Brother can save a lot of that “stimulus” money by cutting their surveillance budget.  Dude, all you gotta do is monitor Twitter feeds and Foursquare locations to find out where and what people are up to.

So, I guess the better question is:  Why do we complain about invasions of privacy when we so freely publish the minutiae of our lives?

I used to have a boss that was quite a character.  He was an amazing guy; he just didn’t always make the right decisions.  You see, he was this up-and-coming young firecracker.  His name was Rick.  Everyone one at work loved him the moment he started.  He was hired in as a Supervisor, but was fast tracked to management.  He just had this, this, …. I dunno.  This air about him that exuded excellence and hope.  It didn’t matter what he did, all he had to do was open his mouth and he could disarm even the most hostile client.  We kept a lot of accounts because of him.  Great guy.

Even though he had all of those amazing qualities, he was still lacking in some areas when it came to judgement.  Most of you know that I work with computers.  Well, most people work with computers, I guess.  But I work in software development and design.  Quite a stretch from the Theater degree that I got.  But that’s a different story.  Well, one day we got a virus on our system.  Don’t know how it got past our anti-virus software.  But like most viruses, it entered our system via someone’s email.  Luckily, we have an off site back-up that it didn’t affect.  Bad thing was that it hit everyone’s computer.  So, we were all out, at most, a day or 2 of work.  Our Kansas office was unaffected though.  I don’t know how, but they were okay.  Anyway, it was pretty chaotic when it went down.  Everyone at the office was freaking out.  Now you gotta understand, we had about 105 people in our office.  Our Kansas office is just a remote office that had about half of that.  So, everyone was running around like Chicken Little screaming that the sky was falling.

The few of us that worked in the Software/IT division knew it was going to be okay.  We knew the procedures for when something like this happened.  Basically, we would have to push the reset button; format all the hard drives and restore from the offsite backup.  Well, here comes Rick to the rescue.  He gathered everyone into the conference rooms (we had some big rooms).  We got the Kansas office on the phone and he told us not to worry and that everything was under control.  We were all given the rest of the day off since no one could work anyway.  That really made a lot of people happy.  At first they were scared, but now they were pretty psyched that they were getting the rest of the day off…with pay.  So, we all went home and enjoyed our day off.

Nothing could compare us for the next day.  I got to work earlier than most, because I had a pretty long commute.  So, getting there early lets me leave early so that I can spend more time with the family, but I digress.  Anyway, as soon as I got to my desk, I noticed that my PC was gone.  No big deal, I thought.  IT was probably still working on it.  So, I took a stroll through the office and noticed that all of the computers were gone.  I thought it was pretty weird that IT would still have all the PCs.  Once everyone got to work that day, it looked like a scene from Night of the Living Dead; people aimlessly wandering around the office.  They even had that “I haven’t had coffee yet” look on their face that made them actually look like zombies.  Anyway, once everyone rolled in (and were properly medicated with their daily dose of caffeine) we were called into the conference room again.  Rick was there to meet us with that perfect face of his and that solid stance that seemed to say, “I did it again.  I saved us.”  He proceeded to tell us that since all of the computers were infected they decided to throw all of them in the dumpster.

*tick*tock*tick*tock*

At first, a few people just chuckled.  And then we realized he was serious.  Now it really was like Night of the Living Dead.  The horror of the situation spread throughout the ranks.  Still, some people thought it was cool, because since we didn’t have computers, we would more than likely get another paid day off.  But Rick stepped up and said, “It’s okay.  We are purchasing new computers for everyone.  Since the old ones were infected, we decided the only option was to buy new ones.”

Everyone was quiet.  Then one of the guys from IT spoke up.  “Uh, Rick.  We could’ve just formatted all of the hard drives and then restored from the backup.  Why buy all new computers?  This is going to cost us a lot of money.”  Okay, you gotta understand, that up to this guys question, a majority of our company thought this was a good idea.  They didn’t know that much about computers, so they thought that was what you did when your computer was infected.  But when IT spoke up, it turned a few heads.  I was sitting in the back of the conference room with my jaw on the floor.  I was waiting for Rick to say April Fool’s or something like that.  But he was serious.  He also didn’t take too kindly to being questioned about his decision.  He stated that something had to be done.  We couldn’t sit around and not do anything, so he acted.  He said that doing nothing was not an option from his perspective.

IT spoke up again, “Uh, okay, Rick.  I don’t really agree with that approach.  Essentially, reformatting the hard drives is pressing the reset button.  We’re down for a couple of days, but after restoring the backup, we’re back on our feet in no time.  Your “solution” is going to take weeks, if not months, before we are able to recover from this incident.  Also, if you threw away all of the PCs, where are the printers and monitors?”

Rick didn’t miss a beat, “Well, you can disagree all you want, but we need everyone to be team players here.  We have to do what’s best for the company right now.  It may take us longer to see the results, but we have to act or our company is going to suffer.  Oh, and I threw out all of the printers and monitors with the PCs.  I figured that since we had to spend the money on new computers, it seemed like a good time to upgrade to the flat panel monitors and laser printers.”

I thought the IT department was going to demonstrate spontaneous combustion.  You could tell they were livid.  I’m still thinking this is a joke.  I mean, c’mon, who throws away perfectly usable equipment to spend a ton of money on something that is not necessary at the moment.  To top it all off, our company had been struggling, so this is not what it needed.

Then Rick stood up and put on his best smile.  The sunlight was beaming through the window at just the right angle, bouncing off of the whiteboard behind him to make it look like he was glowing.  At that moment, he said, “The plan is not perfect.  No plan is. I can’t tell you for sure that everything in this plan will work exactly as we hope, but I can tell you with complete confidence that a failure to act will only deepen this crisis as well as the pain felt by all of us.  At this particular moment, with the company so weakened by this incident, the management team is the only entity left with the resources to jolt our company back to life.”  And all of the zombies were nodding their heads in agreement.  I wanted to jump up and shout, “What the hell are you talking about?  I feel like Will Ferrell in Zoolander.  Doesn’t anybody notice this? I feel like I’m taking crazy pills!”  But I didn’t.

And just when we thought it couldn’t get any more insane, Rick told us that the new computers wouldn’t be sent here.  They were going to our Kansas office.  Now even some of the zombies were confused.  Rick said that the new PCs (and monitors and printers) would go to Kansas and that their old ones would be sent to us.  Once again, blank stares from the audience.  Someone, I don’t know who at this point, asked how that was going to benefit us.  He said that the IT department would be moved to Kansas during the transition to configure all of the new computers.  And that since the Kansas computers were already configured, they would bring them back to our office and set them up so that we could get back to work.  This would all take a few weeks, maybe months to get underway.  There would be a lot of time dedicated to the planning of the move and a lot of logistics that would occur.  The company would have to hire a few logistics experts to do all of the planning.

Meanwhile, our office would have to close temporarily, since we didn’t have the computers we needed to work.  Someone, reluctantly, asked the question if we would get paid.  Rick put on his best concerned face and said that the company didn’t have the resources to cover the paid time off.  He encouraged everyone to sign up for unemployment during the transition.

Luckily, I was attached to the IT department, simply because my company didn’t really understand how to categorize me.  They kept us on so that we could coordinate with the PC manufacturer.  So, after the 6 week planning phase that was conducted by a (rather expensive) consulting company, we shipped off to Kansas.  Once we got there, we were able to get the Kansas PCs sent back to the home office pretty quick.  And it took us about a week and a half to get all of the new PCs up and running.  I really wasn’t a lot of help, but it was better than being temporarily laid off.

As soon as we got back from Kansas, I started looking for a new job.  No matter how impressive Rick was, I had lost all confidence in his ability to make the right decisions.  Sure, he was a great guy, but he wasn’t cut out to make the big decisions.  I’ve since left that company and have found another job.  Last I heard, my old company was filing for bankruptcy.  Rick had also moved on to manage an even bigger company.  I saw a picture of him in the paper the other day.  He still has that same smile and that glow about him that says, “I have everything under control.”

Oh, yeah…here’s his picture.

My fellow Americans, why such the fervor today?  As we stand at this historic(?) precipice, I ask you to consider this:  Why is today so historic?  I understand that Mr. Obama is about to become the first black President.  I get that.  But why is it cause for a 4-day, $170 million shindig in the middle of the economic times we are experiencing?  It boils down to this:  he hasn’t done anything yet.  So why are we celebrating?  Let me put this in perspecitve that I’m sure a lot of you can relate to.

Let’s say that a company has been around for 200 years.  It’s a very powerful company that controls the fate of a lot of businesses.  Let’s say it’s a financial institution.  The CEO of that company has always been an old white man.  Well, times are bad and sales have not been good.  The CEO has announced that he is leaving the company because some of the decisions he made were bad decisions.  The board of directors has elected a young, vibrant black man to be his successor.  A couple of months later, when the “change” is set to occur, the new CEO’s staff has decided to throw a huge party that the company can’t really afford.  Everyone is excited that change has occurred and that the new CEO is going to be the savior of the company.  All is right in the world.

My question is this:  Why is the company celebrating?  For all they know, the new CEO could come in and run the company into the ground.  The only thing we can celebrate for sure is that it’s someone new in leadership.  And that’s not really a celebration; it’s just change.  Something different.  Different doesn’t always equal better.

I am not an Obama hater.  I hope that he does right the ship we’re on.  I pray for the man and his administration.  And I think it is a great thing that we have moved past our history and elected a black man as president.  But if that’s why we are celebrating, shouldn’t that have occurred November 5, 2008?  People will try to equate this to Martin Luther King, Jr’s “I Have a Dream” speech.  I think that is giving Mr. Obama a little more than he deserves.  I still think we have a little ways to go before Dr. King’s speech comes to fruition.  And I think we can get there.  Mr. Obama may play an important role in ushering it in quicker…but we don’t know yet.  I will ask everyone this, please go easy on the man.  That includes not building him up so much that no human could possibly live up to the expectations.

All I’m saying is give it 4 years and let’s see where we are.  If we are better off, I’ll jump on the band wagon and say, “Job well done, Mr. President.”  Until then, let’s all learn to be patient and not jump at the first sign of change.

I was thinking the other day about Obama’s plan to “spread the wealth around.” I’m about to go for a drive so ride along with me, if you will.

Obama, our new President Elect, has stated many times that he is going to spread the wealth around. So, those that have a lot will be taxed so that those that don’t have a lot can have more than they normally would or can’t currently afford. So, in essence, take from the rich and give to the poor. Modern day Robin Hood. Okay. Not a problem. I’m one of the people that stand to gain from this.

We have seen that most of the celebrities are behind Obama and have given him their support. These are the same people that are always telling us not to “illegally download” movies or music. This coming from some of the wealthiest people in the nation. I know they are going to get hit by Obama’s “over 250,000 200,000 153,000 income” tax plan. So, and here’s the stretch, why should these people gripe about us downloading their precious “intellectual property?” I mean, if they are worried about us “taking money out of their pockets” by downloading the newest CD, then how is that different than us “taking money out of their pockets” by them being taxed more? When you think about it, if I don’t buy their newest album, they will have less income and won’t be taxed as much. So, I would be helping them out if I “borrowed” their new album.

So, isn’t redistributing the wealth the same as us all sharing the benefits of our hard work? Doesn’t matter if it is money or some other tangible good. I don’t have the latest Diddy album. He worked hard for Obama to be elected. So, isn’t he giving me permission to “share” his money/music?

Where do I even begin? Someone please explain to me how giving a bunch of people, that have proven to be bad with money, more money is going to be good for the economy. Did I miss something here? Am I taking crazy pills? I’m not an economics professor or even pretend to know anything about the subject, it just doesn’t smell right. Answer me this:

1. Where is the money coming from?
2. If my business failed, would the government bail me out?
3. Since more Democrats voted for this, is this the “change” we keep hearing about?
4. Why can I not lose weight even if I cut back on my portions and run 3 miles 4 times a week?

Okay, that last one was just me being frustrated with myself, but the other 3 are legit questions. Can anyone answer me?

PLEASE BRING BACK DR. RON PAUL!

Ya know, one of the things that frustrates me most about this candidate is her supporters. Not the informed ones, but the uninformed ones. I have no problem with people that can give me a good reason for voting for her. My problem comes when people use one or two of the following:

Bill was a great President.

I think it’s time for a woman President.

George Bush is a moron.

Let’s break these down:

Bill was a great President.
Okay. That’s great. He was a good President. He did some great things. All of which escape me right now, but I’ll go ahead and agree that he did some great things. That doesn’t qualify Hillary in any way. That’s like you being on an operating table and the surgeon looks down and says, “Hey, it’s okay, my husband was a surgeon for 8 years.” Just because Bill was good, doesn’t necessarily mean Hillary is going to be good.

I think it’s time for a woman President.
If this is your reasoning for electing the next leader of the free world, please don’t vote. That would be like voting for Obama because he is black. It’s actually sexist to choose your candidate based on this reasoning. Could you imagine the outcry if all of the candidates were women and a guy ran and people started saying, “Well, it’s time for a man to win.” It doesn’t matter that she is lacking a Y-chromosome. She did prove she could use those woman-ly wiles and start crying so people would take pity on her and give her what she wanted. That’s the only reason she won New Hampshire. I’ve even talked to Hillary supporters that agree with me on that one.

George Bush is a moron.
So what. How does this in any way make Hillary the best candidate for the job. Bush just surrounded himself with the wrong people. You would think that by now, someone would of thought of putting a micro-receiver in his ear and feed him lines during press conferences. And if they are doing that, the guy feeding the lines has to be a Democrat. That’s why we get Bush saying stuff like, “Too many OB/GYNs aren’t able to practice their love, with women all across the country.” Yeah, that was pretty stupid, but using his stupidity as an example does not in anyway qualify another candidate. Simply going around saying, “At least Hillary is smarter and more articulate than Bush”, isn’t enough to qualify her in my book.

I once saw the end of 60 minutes and the commentator said, “If you don’t know the names of your 2 Senators, please don’t vote, because your vote is going to cancel my vote.” I think it makes sense. I’m going to go out on a limb and say that we can all agree on the fact that we want informed citizens voting in the election. I don’t want people voting who vote for Fred Thompson because their favorite show is Law and Order. (I know someone who is doing that.) I don’t care who the candidate is, Democrat or Republican. Just have a good, informed reason based on the candidate’s platform. Know what the candidate stands for. Heck, everyone keeps telling me, “Ron Paul‘s not electable.” So what, I’m still gonna vote for the guy because I believe in his message and his stance on a lot of issues.

And there’s also the fact that he is male … and old. I think it’s about time we have an old white guy as President.

You know, I’m still on the fence about who I’m gonna vote for. I really like Ron Paul, but Huckabee has a lot of momentum going into the Primaries. Ideally, I would love to see a Huckabee/Paul ticket come next November. I saw this clip and was almost rolling in the floor. I love the “Chuck Norris Facts” anyway, but to make HuckChuck Facts…one word: Classic.

Enjoy.

Take a look and form your own opinion. I believe cops gave him ample opportunity to cooperate, you may disagree.

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