Two weeks already?

Hmmm. It HAS been a while since last I posted. I'd like to say that big events have been afoot, but that would be something of a lie. Just been busy with a lot of little things, and also making an effort to get a bit more sleep. Many times when I'm on Twitter yakking, it's between 10 pm and 11:30 pm. That was wearing some. Oddly enough, I feel less run down with more sleep. I need to get some gummint money to launch a study on the correlation between sleep and feeling awake.

We've been a bit busy at work of late. I processed an order worth $127k this week, which will be a big chunk of income for the company. The order is for 40-some thousand hooks for a paint line at one of Big Green's plants. From a design standpoint, they're a snap, but we're going to be pushing to complete it by the time they want the hooks in their house. I'll gladly take the time to work on a six-figure order.

My boss (the fellow who hired me) has had some digestive system malady. The brass got together and reassigned us. Brad (the other designer) and I now work for our sales manager-Rimmer. Ain't we just the luckiest alkies at the AA meeting? Well, he wants to run everything and micromanage everyone-here you go, boyo. The theory is that it will force him and his sales force to see the big picture instead of just their own little corner of the company and that he'll be forced to set priorities on the incoming jobs. What I suspect will happen is that they'll just keep making wacky promises and expect us to work umpty-hundred hours of overtime to push out stuff. I've never been afraid of OT-mostly because we get time-and-a-half for it-but it won't work in the long run. The company will get burnt on commitments and won't want to pay for a ton of OT. A monkey could figure that out. It remains to be seen if Rimmer can suss it out. Ah well...when Rimmer's running the whole place it'll be the time to start looking for other work, because he'll run the company to the ground.

I have never been able to figure out why companies make promises they can't keep. I remember when I had to deal with vendors in the previous gig. I always told them not to lie. If something will take a week to get, tell me it'll take a week. Don't piss on my leg and tell me it's raining. If that time schedule doesn't work for me, I might have to go somewhere else to meet my priorities for this job-but you'll more than likely get my future business. Conversely, if something I need isn't an emergency, I won't tell you that it is. When I DO tell you it's urgent, you can bet it is. Move heaven and earth.

Not too sure most businesses look long-term these days anyhow.

We took the evening off to go out and watch the ASA 14-U Girls Fastpitch Softball National Championship, which is here at Green Valley complex (8 ball diamonds-no waiting!). Watched one of the local nines get smacked 6-0 by a team from West Covina, California (out LA way). The California teams are usually pretty darn good. After that, we moved to another diamond and caught the last inning of another match. One of the teams looked like they had a couple of girls who had been 14 for the past three or four years now. It isn't the greatest play in the world but it is a fun night if you like stick and ball, and cheap, since there appeared to be no admission charge. There may well be a charge come the weekend games when the field gets narrowed down to the good squads.

I don't mind having the various softball associations holding their championships here. We're in the middle of the country, more or less; we have several good diamond complexes for having a lot of games at one time, and all the players, coaches, parents, and chaperones have to stay and eat and shop somewhere. It's good for our local economy and it's a good thing to take the family to as well. Next year, we get the Men's Fastpitch Championships again. I suspect the local merchants like them a bit better than the kids, since the players and coaches and families have to stay and eat and shop and drink somewhere!

Finally, a thought on something that's been burning up the airwaves here.

Seems a group of Muslims wants to set up a mosque very close to where the World Trade Center was in Lower Manhattan.

I don't think that needs to happen. It isn't the right place. There are plenty of mosques in New York City. Put it somwhere else. When there's a church, synagogue, or stupa put up in Mecca, then you can have your mosque by Ground Zero. Until then, fuggedaboudit.

But I fear the current crop of knuckleheads running NYC won't say boo about it. Wonder if the imam in charge of the mosque would mind if I started YD's Old Fashioned Barbecued Smoked Pork Rib Establishment right next to their place of worship. And yes, I'm venting the irresistible profane spicy-sauce-covered pig vapors right at them. And I'm serving liquor there. And using waitresses in surplus Hooter's outfits to serve the customers. Tough luck on the neighbors if it offends them. This isn't the Caliphate of America yet.

Yes, the previous paragraph might be over the top. But it seems like we all have to tiptoe around 'Muslim sensibilities' all the time. If I were in a Muslim country or in a Muslim home or mosque here, I'd play by their rules-it is the right thing to do and good manners. When Muslims come here to the land of many religions and faiths, then they need to play by our rules and respect our traditions and sensibilities. It IS that simple.

Enough of the soapbox for the evening. Back to the grind.

yankeedog out.