Strange days

Discussion in 'Miscellaneous' started by dcheather, Dec 15, 2011.

  1. pettyfog

    pettyfog Well-Known Member

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    Jan 4, 2005
  2. HatterDon

    HatterDon Moderator

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    Who is the guy on the left? I only WISH I could ask who the guy on the right was [I would have been able to ask that a couple of weeks ago].
     
    #82
  3. pettyfog

    pettyfog Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Jan 4, 2005
    Google 'who is pajama boy'
    - Likely the two 'most posted' males on the net during the week. Both are unjustly/overly ridiculed or slandered for being who they are, and lending their image to their beliefs.
    And that the results of those subject initial postings did not reflect what was intended.
    Put it this way...I posted that image because it works on so many levels it's funny. But it's interesting that so many who ridicule pajamaboy resemble him more than they do Phil. Including me at that age.. {tho I didnt wear onesies}
    Imprint your 'lizard brain' FIRST impression on seeing those two.
    [​IMG]
    When I first saw the guy on the left I immediately flashed on:
    [​IMG]

    As such this falls into sociology, not politics.
     
    #83
  4. pettyfog

    pettyfog Well-Known Member

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    Sorry for leapfrogging this:
    Well, this is a case where I need a translation for your meaning.
    First, you are right. The law is an ass. If a 'class' has not been identified or established, previously, it does not exist. So depending on the actual wording of the complaint it may not apply.
    HOWEVER, if it can be established that white males in that particular environment were an obvious and distinct minority, that may be enough.
    Anyone who says a woman supervisor cannot therefore run a 'toxic workplace' is either blind or stupid. I worked in a large company where there were numerous departments which were mostly women, managed by women. A couple, over the years, BORDERED on toxic. But those who complained in the cases were other women.
    But I had no problems with them. I've had several women bosses and got along well with them. Perhaps because I felt my job was to make them look good, no matter their gender. Or maybe they thought I was 'cute'.

    I would say the case should be decided based on the evidence of harm and under 'Equal Protection'.
     
    #84
  5. HatterDon

    HatterDon Moderator

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    You didn't understand that? I'll type it slowly. if you're going to file suit while citing this act, you have to belong to a group that the act identifies as one that is routinely discriminated against. White men aren't a listed class, anymore than ... NFL coaches, television interviewers, etc. etc.

    Yes, it's possible to prove that the workplace is toxic, but you can't do so by citing this act unless the affected group is one of the groups already identified IN THE ACT.

    At nowhere did I say that nobody was affected, or that woman can't oppress.

    By the way, I did -- just now -- Google "pajama boy" and I realize why, until now, I had no idea who he is. Conservative friends of mine are not those who slobber uncontrollably at the neologism Obamacare, so they don't generally jump on any bandwagon that trashes the program and the president. Similarly my conservative friends don't routinely associate anything they dislike with slurs about people's sexuality. That's the reason why I had no idea who the picture was. Nobody I knew was attacking him, making fun of him, chatted about his sexuality or lack of same, or even mentioned him on Facebook. I guess either I or they need to get out more.
     
    #85
  6. pettyfog

    pettyfog Well-Known Member

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    Well, Don... As you would have noticed if you actually READ, I did concur on your base concept of class establishment. HOWEVER PERHAPS, I should have pointed out that a class is easily defined in some cases. See Asbestos, lead and pharma litigations. Those however depend on numbers.
    In THIS particular case, the surrounding evidentiary data -like emails establishing malice or intent, found in discovery may well do the trick. I too have known guys who gripe they might have got the promotion if they were female or black. Guess what.. maybe they were right. It's called 'Diversity' through Affirmative Action. ie; 'Tough Shit - deal with it or quit'.

    On PJ boy and Phil...that's why I put the pix togehter. Near-slander .. though he certainly isnt the poster boy for 'Gonna Marry that Hot Guy'

    The REAL mirth was about 'who the hell on OFA thought that was a good idea?'.

    ***********************
    More strange days..
    Selfies at Christmas Mass?.. what the....!!!! :doh:
     
    #86
  7. pettyfog

    pettyfog Well-Known Member

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    Everyone with any education has heard of the 'Fight or Flight' reaction to threatening and stressful situations. When you get older, you realize there's another reaction.. and we need to have that periodically verified by 'research'.

    Why Some People Respond to Stress by Falling Asleep

    Context Summary: "When you know there's nothing you can do about it, take a nap."
    Most geezers know that.
    - personal anecdote that probably isnt quite the same: When I was in Navy {air} we were about an hour out over the Atlantic on the way to Morocco, and I had just spent a half hour on radio getting amended flight plan filed with 'overseas control' at Gander, when an engine failed and we had to turn back.
    I amended AGAIN with Gander and soon as the pilot got VHF contact with Norfolk, I told my supervisor* I wanted relieved... went back and crawled into bunk and didnt wake up until we were in the hangar and he woke me up. He said, "how the hell can you do that?" I just shrugged, cuz I didnt know either. But I knew that we still had three engines and we were flying light, only a few passengers, so maybe that was why.
    OTOH: When we were flying into Gitmo during the Missile Crisis, I did not nap. If I had, I would have missed the fun of seeing the MiG off our wing and Castro's AA guns tracking us down.

    * grizzled old AT2 (E5) with 16 years named Kirkwood, who had made E-7 a couple times then busted back after liberty hijinks.
    Soon after, he went to crew scheduling and told them to partner me with him on all flights. And the Pilot First Officer picked us to crew on each flight after. Best 'attaboy' I ever got, as the pilot had told me after my radio exchnge with Gander I was 'really professional' and he chuckled a lot at the airman at Gander calling me 'Sir' throughout. USAF had done away with 'Radioman' on heavy AC.
    Good Times!

    related thought: Remember Pavlov's experiment from Psych 101? When the dogs respond to bell and there's no food as reward, doesnt take long for them to ignore bells.

    just sayin'
     
    #87
  8. pettyfog

    pettyfog Well-Known Member

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    Everyone needs to read this... cautionary tale on applying math incorrectly to soft or non-totally understood sciences.

    Scientific history is full of theory disproved by EXPERT math.
    I know... I am lousy at even high school math.
    The British amateur who debunked the mathematics of happiness
    Note that the debunked theory enjoyed 'consensus'
     
    #88
  9. HatterDon

    HatterDon Moderator

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    read your quote about four times and still am trying to wrap my mind around a "first time, first year, part-time masters student" who is also head of IT network operations for a large international organization.
     
    #89
  10. pettyfog

    pettyfog Well-Known Member

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    Okay.. I'll bite. What's your concern? You never knew anyone who wanted to try something else.. or just see how he would do against young bucks in academia?
    He may have only had a simple baccalaureate degree, or not even that. That's not the immediate point.
    The point is he knew from the math he understood there was something wrong. He also knew that to prove it he would have to go to a expert in the MATH, not someone with an interest in psychology.
    That's the sign of a successful Senior Technical Manager... interesting also because it hearkens back to the days where results counted, not degrees. Boy was I lucky!
     
    #90
  11. HatterDon

    HatterDon Moderator

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    I just don't know how somebody with that job has the time to also pursue a masters. I know how much time each of those efforts take.
     
    #91
  12. dcheather

    dcheather Administrator

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    #92
  13. pettyfog

    pettyfog Well-Known Member

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    Jan 4, 2005
    Well, it says he's a part time scholar, and I assume he's well established in his corporate management role, and close to retiring there, which would mean he has the right people in place.
    Therefore no need to micromanage. Having gone through the Y2K and subsequent data security 'hard -long hours- times', his current job might seem like a cakewalk. For a guy who was used to 'producing' stuff, Doing status reviews, taking meetings, and writing reports probably doesnt satisfy.
    Though I wasnt management at Lexis/Nexis, I was senior staff to an IT director -doing the same things; meetings, reports, papers- and I can identify. Why my next job was actual systems administrator at a small operations office of big bank
    ____________________________
    Heather:
    That's just beyond words dumb. Thus I expect to see reference to that on Big Bang Theory
    :dance:
     
    #93
  14. encorespanish

    encorespanish Active Member

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    Minny
    #94
  15. pettyfog

    pettyfog Well-Known Member

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    #95
  16. AggieMatt

    AggieMatt Well-Known Member

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    Location:
    Alamo City, Texas
    Watching the news coverage on the shooting at the Columbia Mall yesterday was surreal. I lived there from age 7-11 and remember when that mall opened. Around 9 or 10, my best friend (who I still speak to several times a week via text) and I hopped on the bus and went there so we could hit the McCrory's for baseball cards. They used to sell these big plastic bags of Topps cards where you got around a 100 baseball and hockey cards. Of course I caught holy hell when I got back, evidence in hand, for not having permission and for getting on the bus and going that far.

    It's amazing how times change. I can't imagine what would happen if my nephew tried something like that. In fact, I can't even imagine him trying it. He's not afforded anywhere near the freedom I had as a kid. While I won't argue whether the world is any more safe or dangerous than it was then (public shootings weren't as commonplace), our awareness of the danger is certainly increased and I don't know that we're necessarily the better for it.
     
    #96
  17. pettyfog

    pettyfog Well-Known Member

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    Jan 4, 2005


    I think that's a large part of it. And the copycat/wannabe factor. Which has to be balanced against other dangers.
    Over forty years ago, my brother's father in law walked into a branch bank where his wife worked pulled out a shotgun and killed her in front of ten people. They were separated because the kids were grown and she was tired of his shit.
    While he was an avid hunter and outdoor type, we who were close to the situation knew it would have been more in character for him to just beat her to death.
    So.. why didnt he? Because he wanted to make a statement.
    I dont think the Columbia shooting is just a quirk of location. And I dont think it was because guns are so plentiful... it's Maryland. If he didnt have access to guns, he would have found a more unusual way.

    Let's consider, now vs 50 years ago..
    Death toll per airline passenger mile
    death toll per highway driving mile
    Death toll from common disease.. including flu
    death toll per capita by house fire.

    I wouldn't trade chances against random nut jobs shooting up the place vs those chances. And I dont want those nutjobs planting explosives because they cant get guns.
    At least I can do something if a shooter shows up where I am.
     
    #97
  18. Clevelandmo

    Clevelandmo Active Member

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    Sep 13, 2007
    Couldnt agree less. I'd take my chances against just about anything over a madman with a gun. With explosives you need someone a lot more capable and determined than a drugged up person with a gun who just has to point and pull a trigger. And as far as what is the difference between today and 30 years ago when it comes to mass murders? How about prescription psychotropic drugs
    ISEPP Statement on the Connection Between Psychotropic Drugs and Mass Murder


     
    #98
  19. pettyfog

    pettyfog Well-Known Member

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    Mo, I respect that. And CERTAINLY agree about the scrip drugs. But if you dont think the mentally deranged can build a WMD, you're wrong.
    {corrected prev double negative}
    As for me, I've looked down the barrel of a pistol, up close, three times in my life, one held by a certifiable sociopath who ended up behind bars, and I stand by what I say. I'd much rather see it.

    At any rate the chances of being a 'victim' are pretty darn low.
     
    #99
  20. Clevelandmo

    Clevelandmo Active Member

    Joined:
    Sep 13, 2007
    Fair enough. If you've been there I'm not going to argue.


    As for strange, I had no idea you could do this or that you would bother. Supposedly the Japanese grow them so they will fit is the small refrigerators many Japanese have. How about just buying a small watermelon?


    [​IMG]
    You can also do this
    [​IMG]
     
    #100
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