The irony is thick…sorry, change that to idiocy. Massachusetts is a liberal, Democrat-friendly state. The Democrats have had majority control of the State House for as long as I can remember. Usually the people vote in a Republican governor to offset the Democrat’s stranglehold on local politics. Not so this year. Deval Patrick, that smoothest of orators from Chicago, is now Governor of Massachusetts by a wide margin. That’s fine. Most people in this state think former Governor Romney was some kind of monster, but he got this state with a massive deficit and he’s leaving it with a massive surplus…let’s see where we are when Patrick gets done spending. I will concede that Romney was only half-here most of his term, because he decided the Oval Office was his next goal, but he’d done a lot of work and had to fight against a State House that would attack just to attack because he was Republican. I’d get tired of that BS too. But what’s most idiotic (or ironic) is that so many Massachusetts citizens over the last several years have been cry-cry-crying their eyes out over the fact that we have had single-party rule at the Federal level. Hell, I am also virulently anti-single party rule and have derided the way the Fed Government has been run for years. So what’s the idiocy? Massachusetts is now SINGLE PARTY RULE! 87% majority Democrat State House, Democrat Governor, Democrat AG, Treasurer, etc., etc., etc. I guess it’s OK when it’s your party in charge of everything. I need to leave the ghetto and move out of state, because I can no longer handle the hypocrisy…that and my taxes are about to go through the roof, I’m sure. Oh, and my Second Amendment rights are about to get shit upon. Yay! Single-party rule! …Assholes.

I can only assume it has something to do with me, and not the job. It doesn’t seem to matter where I work, because I always find a way to make the work the ruler of my life. It’s good to have a strong work ethic, but it’s nutty to sacrifice everything else in life to the work. That said, the latest drama in my work life has nothing to do with me and everything to do with poor management and decision making at the higher levels. | Read the rest of this entry …

I’d vote for him in a hearbeat because of stances like this…unfortunately, the Governor’s office has no power against a State House bought and sold by one party.

I’ll admit it: I’m a trend-whore. I really got into Texas Hold ‘Em when the movie “Rounders” came out and got even more involved as the World Series of Poker and the World Poker Tour started getting play on TV. I started playing with friends in neighborhood games but also found a lot of games by playing online at Pacific Poker. I’ve done OK for myself playing online: I’d say I’ve broken even overall. I have friends who have done much better. The fact is that it was nice to be able to fire up the computer and play a real money game against people from all over the world. Now I can’t do that. | Read the rest of this entry …

Seven O’Clock in the morning and the fire alarm goes off at work. A few minutes later, the Inergen fire suppression system fires off in the primary data center. D’oh. 12 hours later and I’m finally at home. There are still several failed systems that we’re working to recover, but all the biggies are back up and running in some form or another. I’m just happy that it was only the Inergen system that fired; the water backup charged and was online to go next. Eeeeep. Fellow nerds and Operations geeks will understand that the above story is a nightmare that most of them dream to avoid.

Finally, the seasons are turning into more “me friendly” areas. I appreciate the Summer on many levels, but I just can’t stand the heat, the humidity and the influx of mosquitos. I’m a wimp, I know. Fall is my time: I love the chill in the air, the leaves turning colors, the smells of composting leaves, the way the sky gets clear when the air is cold, the way the fields (if I’m lucky to drive by one - usually a golf course in these parts) get covered in dew and frost when the morning sun hits them - pretty much the whole deal. | Read the rest of this entry …

http://www.cnn.com/2006/US/10/10/Dobbs.Oct11/index.html

I am typing this in the dark. This means that I have finally had the opportunity to use the gift certificate my parents gave me last Christmas to purchase a Deck backlit keyboard. She’s purty in the dark…I can see all mah keys now, and I ain’t gotta turn on no lights. I’m a giant nerd. I just hope I don’t spill any beer on this baby as I’m not used to keyboards that cost more than $20. | Read the rest of this entry …

As anyone who’s forced to interact with me for any length of time can attest to, I flip out when someone suggests that the reason we went to war with Iraq was to fight terrorism. I’ve ranted about it before, so I won’t reiterate my arguments here. Suffice it to say, those who would argue with me and spout the President’s BS about Iraq/Saddam Hussein assisting with the 9/11/2001 attacks on the U.S. or supporting the terrorists will have no leg to stand on after reading the Senate Intelligence Committee’s report on CIA Intelligence report done in 2005 (and just recently made public). In effect, every excuse that has been made by the Administration for dragging us into a war in Iraq has been stretched over the fire and toasted. | Read the rest of this entry …

If ever you needed proof that elected officials disdain and ignore their constituents, just move to Massachusetts. Back in 1989, the Michael Dukakis days, when faced with a budget deficit, the government did not what they should (which would be to cut the fat, cut the corruption and better manage spending at a state and city/town level), but what was expected and increased the income tax from 5% to 5.75% (it eventually got up to 5.85% because the state kept bleeding money). The only way they got this to pass (and it never should have) was to promise that it was a temporary increase and that it would be rolled back at 18 months. Well, it’s 2006 and income tax has only been rolled back to 5.3%, when it was frozen by the Democratic house due to continued budget deficits. In 2000, voters approved a measure that demanded a rollback to the promised 5%. Guess what: it’s still 5.3%. | Read the rest of this entry …