"considerately killing me.."

little needs to be said about a band called Tool. if you know of them then i need not say any more. if you do not know of them then there is little hope for you, but to shape up and find some Tool.. now!

was pleasantly surprised to be gifted Tool tickets for the concert tonight, and even more pleasantly surprised that the boss was considerate enough to give me friday night off.

this is one concert that i have been waiting for ever since i was eleven. not in the same way i always wanted to go watch Metallica, or still want to catch Alice In Chains, or will never be able to see Nirvana. Tool is an almost spiritual experience, like a pilgrimage.

Think for yourself, Question authority

Throughout human history, as our species has faced the frightening, terrorizing fact that we do not know who we are, or where we are going in this ocean of chaos, it has been the authorities, the political, the religious, the educational authorities who attempted to comfort us by giving us order, rules, regulations, informing, forming in our minds their view of reality. To think for yourself you must question authority and learn how to put yourself in a state of vulnerable open-mindedness; chaotic, confused, vulnerability to inform yourself.

Think for yourself, Question authority.

as used in "Third Eye", by Tool from the album 'Salival'

fall dawns

fall has made it's presence felt.. this is what sunrise was like on sunday morning

the key theory in management

i have a theory, that when you are in management, especially at a production facility, the number of keys you are straddled with at your workplace has a direct relationship with where you are and where you are going on the corporate ladder.

lower management - no one trusts you, yet. so you only get the basic keys, outer office, supply room, etc. it will take you a while, or a few promotions to start becoming responsible for more.

middle management - you are becoming a more important cog in the machine, so you carry more keys. there are the master keys to all outer doors, machine operations, training and meeting rooms, records office, etc. an unfortunate fallout of this is that you are expected to be on call much more in case the plant needs to be shut down on vacations and things like that.

upper management - you are back to minimal keys again, as you are not encumbered by carrying big bunches of keys. when you need the keys you can always get someone who works for you to open stuff up, so you are back to carrying a couple of masters, that's it!

the number of keys on my bunch keeps increasing by the week, so i guess i can say i am headed up the slope now.. let's see how far this goes.

go long, go long!

yes, it's that time of the year again when Fall starts to tinge the leaves, and there's a nip in the air.. and the sounds of crowds roaring fill living rooms throughout the nation on sunday afternoons. yes, the NFL is back, and football season is upon us yet again. for the next seventeen weeks, i shall not be available from noon onwards on sundays, as the gridiron and the grill fires up, the beer and icecream cools down..all in the pursuit of the ultimate goal - the SuperBowl!

so it's time to brush up on your lingo - 'no-huddle offense', 'shotgun', 'blitz' and the like, and also check out who went where and is playing for whom now.. drop a few bucks into your office pool, you never know when you could get lucky as well!

from the heart of New England, the home of the old enemy, as always yours truly will be right behind his boys from Buffalo, even though we aren't expected to be contenders this year either.. the blue and red will always run in my veins

am figuring to make some dough on the side too this time, lets see if all those hours poring over football trivia and watching games pays off.. the office pool should be pretty huge, nearly 80 guys are going to be in every week, a hefty payout if i pick the games correctly every week. if things go well, i'll drop some cash with a couple of bookies as well.. who said passion can't bring home the bacon! so switch on the tv, sit back in your favorite armchair, pop open a cold beer, roll out the wings and pizza, and say with me.. let's go Buffalo!

labor day weekend

boy am i glad for this long weekend.. with the monday off it gives me 24 hours more to rest and recuperate from what has to have been the week from hell! the older mechanics were saying never has there been a summer like this one at the plant, and definitely never a week like this one in my life!

had to go in for a few hours for saturday startup at 5 in the morn, which turned into the worst saturday ever, with all sorts of shit going wrong every few minutes and the radio crackling incessantly in my ear. it also didn't help that the day before my *&!@^#&*%$ boss totally crapped all over my review which led into a huge argument and i was THIS close to telling him to stuff his crummy job where even the retarded fish don't swim!

am glad the gf is over for the long weekend, helps having her patient ears and comforting hugs when the big bad world get's too big and too bad. yes, i do sound like a little boy.. but i have to say, nothing prepares you for real life quite like real life itself. more on that as life unfolds i guess.

i have dedicated the labor day weekend to the shrine of labor, i.e not doing anything at all! the only time we've even left the bed has been to make some delectable yummies.. pork rib roast, tuna fried rice and my latest creation - king crab in coconut milk gravy.. and to get refills for the vodka, wine and beer. so now i head back to the bed in front of the tv, and some more sleep. have a great week everyone!