What did you do today?

[Mark Brown]

That is just mean

 

[zannej]

My ancestors on my dad's side were Scott-Irish. Mom's side was German and Hungarian. The process of becoming a citizen is incredibly expensive, time consuming, full of long waits, lost paperwork, major headaches, etc. The citizenship test is one I doubt any of our legislators would pass. Immigrants are fleeing poverty and dangerous conditions trying to find better lives just like my ancestors did. But instead of being welcomed, they are now being treated like garbage. They are desperate because they don't want to starve so they end up hiring smugglers. For the Hispanic people it's the Coyotes. For the Chinese it's the Snakeheads. They take huge risks because the smugglers will often take their $ and kill them. There boats with fish-holds stuffed with 50+ people trying to come over from China going to Guam. When the smugglers saw Coast Guard ships they rounded up their human cargo, zip-tied their hands behind their backs, and threw them overboard. Although, one ship managed to roll up to a port at Andersen Air Force Base and let people loose and the idiot AF people were too f***ing disorganized to even notice. Most of the immigrants had TB by that point so it was a public health risk.
The ones that didn't get tossed overboard or let free were taken to camps where they were kept as slaves. My father and I used to drive around the island together to look for camps where they might be holding people. I actually guessed right once-- place I pointed out turned out to be where they were holding immigrants prisoner. In addition to the perils of smugglers, they face exploitation from employers and people pretending to be lawyers. Dad caught some jerk who didn't have a law degree or license advertising himself as a lawyer and charging hundreds of $$$ to fill out paperwork-- paperwork that it was illegal to charge more than $15 to help fill out. He caught wind of the scam, went out and told all the immigrants in the area in Spanish what was going on. Had the guy charged for fraud, and had a bunch of immigrants come in so he could help them with their paperwork for free.

At one point he had the system streamlined so it was only taking 3 to 6 months to process applications for asylum, citizenship, etc. But then Meissner got appointed as Commissioner of INS and she did everything she could to destroy it. Slowed down productivity, ordered them to do retroactive screening (which is how the hijackers for 9-11 got in), had all of the rule books destroyed under the pretense it would all be put on computer (it never was) and fired almost everyone who still had knowledge of the laws. Things got worse after 9-11. They decided to cut down on personnel and got rid of supervisory positions around the country and made it so everyone had to report directly to DC- which created a bottleneck. Then the reorg happened where they laid off their longtime workers and made them re-apply for their jobs at lower pay. Tanked morale. Made it so a process that once took 6 months now took upwards of 8 years. Took a friend of ours over 10 years to get her family over legally. She had to spend thousands of $ because they lost all the paperwork when the reorg happened. In other words, what was once INS is now a major clusterf****.

Anyway, I don't blame the immigrants. I blame the a-holes who exploit them and refuse to pay decent wages and who don't want to pay SUTA, FICA, or follow safety protocols & meet OSHA standards. That is one of the times where I agree with asset forfeiture. They use their vehicle to transport illegal aliens? It now belongs to the US Govt. They housed immigrants in their home or on their property? Time to move out and hand it over. They had illegals working in their factories? Now it should belong to the US Govt. But then, US Govt is so f***ed it can't figure out what to do with stuff. I get excited talking about immigration-- my father was in INS for 30 years, taught immigration law at FLETC, and wrote the Deportable Alien Control System (DACS).

Back on topic, I went down to the workshop and saw someone's been in there messing with stuff and moving things around. They scratched some paint off the door and unwrapped it from the moving blanket. Not sure who it was... Might have been my brother. I'll have to ask him. Found some wood I can use to mount my monitor to the wall. Need to plane one of the boards but planer trips the breaker every time I try to use it. I may have to settle for sanding it and giving it a coat of paint.

 

[zannej]

Gah. The asymmetry of the blue tiles is driving me nuts!

 

[Incognito]

Gah. The asymmetry of the blue tiles is driving me nuts!

**********************
The less blue the better it looks. The ratio is 80/20 and the pattern is "random". The gentlemen installing at these schools understand as much about the concept of "random" as I have mastered the field of biomolecular physics.

So.......FURNITURE is going to really help us here

 

[C.J.]

Actually my ancestors were NA and Irish. The English hated both and took both their countries.

The roots of this country aren’t pretty

 

[Floorist]

It is our government's fault that Central Americans are leaving home. Our CIA overthrew the democratically elected governments in Guatemala and Honduras and installed dictators. And they helped the dictator in El Salvador stay in power. This was because it was easier to get trades with the dictators. In Guatemala, the dictator executed at least 50,000 Mayan Indians, the people native to that country, simply for being Mayan.

 

[Floorist]

The English listed anyone that was not English as non-white. That included all other Europeans.

The roots of this country aren’t pretty
[/QUOTE

 

[Floorist]

One last history lesson. When the protestants took over England, they did not like that Ireland was Catholic. So when they took Scotland, they forced people from there to move to Ireland to try to even out the population, those were the Scotts-Irish. They were hated in Ireland, so many migrated to the new world. When they got to the new world, they encountered hatred from the English running it and moved inland to avoid them, except for indentured servants. Some had agreed to work to pay off their passage and never seemed to make enough to do it. They basically became slaves.

 

[C.J.]

When I was younger I was ignorant. You can call it racist, biased, discriminatory or whatever term fits the bill but I was it. Humans are it, we just are. It’s called tribalism. As I get older I realize just how stupid that shit is and just how stupid I was. Reading and traveling opens your eyes and your mind but the single biggest change in my way of thinking came when I moved. I was treated exactly like I had treated others. Called names, looked down upon and basically treated like shit. Gotta admit that is a very humbling experience and it really makes one stop and think. I didn’t like it and I didn’t want to be that way towards others. There’s just no need to be that way in 2021. We’re all human beings and we’re all just trying to survive in one way or another. Between the government and corporations trying to fuck you, the last thing anyone needs is some asshole adding to the heap of trash.

As this relates to businesses, and life, I quit directing my energy towards being angry (at others and myself) and started to look at myself. How can I up my game. How can I be a better person and how can I run my business in a more profitable way while being a better person. Making money is the name of the game but I don’t want to do it by being a sleazy douche bag. That’s not forward progress.

 

[MikeAntonetti]

Everything is crazy, not sure how long we’ll be around, I do know Bezos and Musk have their own escape vehicle, I’m just not sure humans didn’t F up nearby planets making them toxic, they look a little dusty.

so the house we are demoing tile, lightning hit a nearby tree, tripping the surge protector, a steamer installed in a shower when I opened the bathroom door, steam poured out. Told my brother to find leak while went outside to shut water(thought lightning blew out hot water line. So when we leave I shut off water supply, natural gas stays off from day one. If I were homeowner my insurance company I would demand a safety test of the home. Appliance testing etc.

Old guys next door( concrete finishers) one other guy rode my bus was looking around for lightning while carrying rebar.

Looking for a hard working demo guy if anyone knows of one. Wish I spoke Spanish.

 

[highup]

Bout time you bought a PCD blade. And I thought you were an NRA member, National Racist Association.

This isn't the joke forum.
They need to oust LaPierre and everybody else in the hierarchy and start all over it with a clean slate.

 

[highup]

You ain’t gonna like this but here goes:

Are you American Indian? If not then your ancestors came here from somewhere else once upon a time and they no doubt went through the exact same shit as we’re talking about right now. The term Honkey came from Hunky. People were talkin shit because they were pissed off at the Hungarian’s, Hunkies/ Honkies, coming here and working for cheap just like the ‘Mexicans’ are doing right now. You think the Hungarian’s gave 2 flyin shots bout you being pissed off? Nope. They came here for opportunity, which they found. The Irish, Italians, Germans and pretty much every group that ever emigrated here went through the same shit but they still came here. You gonna say that they had no morals? Or maybe they were living in such shit conditions back in their home country and coming here, being shit upon by the locals, is still better than what they had going for them back home. I’m sure someone in your family went through the exact same shit, you just weren’t around then so you don’t know.

Secondly, do you know just how hard it is to become a legal American citizen? Look into it. Uncle Sam just ain’t handing out the ol ‘Murica card that easily. In fact I’ll place money that if you were to try and take the citizenship test right now that you would fail. A lot of these ‘Mexicans’ WANT to become citizens. It ain’t that easy.

What you or I view as peanuts is a days or weeks wages to these people. I just bought a $200 saw blade. That’s a months wages in El Salvador and that’s if you’re lucky. I don’t like cheap labor driving the going rate down any more than you do but the reality in the big picture is that these people are humans looking for a better way of life. I moved across country, in my OWN country, and I got called a foreigner. I didn’t even haggle on the price of my house. Paid cash. Yeah, I’m ruining the local economy too. You think I care? Nope. Because it’s better than where I came from.

Installers used to talk. We would sip our coffee while waiting to be loaded up in the morning and shoot the shit. Do you talk to the ‘Mexicans’? Do you even acknowledge them as human beings. I do. Not very well because I don’t speak Spanish but I try. I like the vatos. I say welcome them in and talk to them. You just might inspire them to raise their rates as well as make your own community, and country, a better place. The fact of the matter is that they are here to stay so you might as well help your self by helping them. Or at least stop shitting on them. Or you can stay bitter and be part of the problem.

Now the Russian’s, they’re rude, they can go fuck themselves.

Nope I'm not native American, I'm just a plain old ordinary one.
I haven't seen how difficult the test is to become an American citizen and you're probably correct that I wouldn't know all the answers. School was easy for me I just had problems with recalling answers to questions.
If the immigration process needs to be easier I don't have a problem with that. I don't know what the number is but there's a number of people allowed in here each year. Hopefully that number is set by our need for additional employees. If we're doing it because people are poor then we just need to open up the borders of white as we can get them and start boat loading people from every country where there's poor people.
The immigration process may be too difficult, but we still have to have limits.
The job that I'm working on with the woven carpet also has a lot of landscaping going on outside. One of the fellas heading up that group is a pretty good guy. He's just one of the workers but he seems to be the decision maker down there when the owner isn't around.
They finally started laying down some heavy bark mulch to keep the sand from blowing around. As I was walking back from my truck into the building I stopped to talk with his fella. His English wasn't perfect but it was pretty good. I asked him some questions about watering the plants and about the bark mulch itself. I was bitching about the carpet and we carried on a decent conversation. I have no problem with guys like this. This is just another guy on the job as am I.
I'll be quite honest and I cannot tell the difference between someone who is here illegally and who is not. Sometimes I believe I can guess quite accurately, but that doesn't mean that I know.
I have zero problems with immigrants, as long as people come here legally. The system is obviously screwed up, mainly because somebody invited everyone to come. ......we can't allow everyone to come.
However recently another someone said, don't come........ don't come.
That's my confirmation that reality has finally set in.

 

[highup]

Mike, I'm glad I don't know your line of work. I'd be fired before noon.
...... Wait a minute, I don't start till noon so I'll be fine.

 

[C.J.]

Nope I'm not native American, I'm just a plain old ordinary one.
I haven't seen how difficult the test is to become an American citizen and you're probably correct that I wouldn't know all the answers. School was easy for me I just had problems with recalling answers to questions.
If the immigration process needs to be easier I don't have a problem with that. I don't know what the number is but there's a number of people allowed in here each year. Hopefully that number is set by our need for additional employees. If we're doing it because people are poor then we just need to open up the borders of white as we can get them and start boat loading people from every country where there's poor people.
The immigration process may be too difficult, but we still have to have limits.
The job that I'm working on with the woven carpet also has a lot of landscaping going on outside. One of the fellas heading up that group is a pretty good guy. He's just one of the workers but he seems to be the decision maker down there when the owner isn't around.
They finally started laying down some heavy bark mulch to keep the sand from blowing around. As I was walking back from my truck into the building I stopped to talk with his fella. His English wasn't perfect but it was pretty good. I asked him some questions about watering the plants and about the bark mulch itself. I was bitching about the carpet and we carried on a decent conversation. I have no problem with guys like this. This is just another guy on the job as am I.
I'll be quite honest and I cannot tell the difference between someone who is here illegally and who is not. Sometimes I believe I can guess quite accurately, but that doesn't mean that I know.
I have zero problems with immigrants, as long as people come here legally. The system is obviously screwed up, mainly because somebody invited everyone to come. ......we can't allow everyone to come.
However recently another someone said, don't come........ don't come.
That's my confirmation that reality has finally set in.

We, the U.S., used to limit how many people and from where were allowed to enter the country. Then the immigration reform act of 1965?, but I don’t think it went into effect until 1968, changed that. It’s the politicians and lobbyists that make the rules and the system is broken.

I was talkin with the guys the other day about the ‘insurrection’ and how the only problem was they didn’t get to go through with it. Countries are usually worse off after a revolution than they were before it but I sure would have loved to see some heads lopped off. Don’t even care whose heads since I don’t pick sides. Lop em all off since they all suck except for maybe Ron Wyden. I do like that squishy mouthed dude.

Or how about instead of all this BLM shit destroying cities, how about we have protests outside corporate offices. How about a big ol riot right outside Nestle or Home Depot then burn the corporate offices to the ground and put the executives in cages on display downtown. I do have some exceptions to my trying to be a better person.

 

[Mark Brown]

Or how about instead of all this BLM shit destroying cities, how about we have protests outside corporate offices. How about a big ol riot right outside Nestle or Home Depot then burn the corporate offices to the ground and put the executives in cages on display downtown. I do have some exceptions to my trying to be a better person

You know mate, as much as I really hate the corporate greed and I do not entirely disagree with you (or at all disagree with you) one has to really think for a moment who is really to blame. Can you really blame Walmart or Amazon or nestle for winning the game? Capitalism is horseshit in so much as it is not a zero sum game. There is an infinite amount of wealth however there are a finite amount of resources. Wealth is derived by exploiting the finite amount of resources for the most value you can manage and it is typically borne on the backs of everyone trying to obtain the resource created, which again is finite.
Someone has to lose for it to work and frankly that is why it is so broken. I truly hate our western culture and everything it stands for. I'm glad to have been born into it seeing as I am the ruling class or what have you but God damn man, we are degenerates.

 

[C.J.]

You know mate, as much as I really hate the corporate greed and I do not entirely disagree with you (or at all disagree with you) one has to really think for a moment who is really to blame. Can you really blame Walmart or Amazon or nestle for winning the game? Capitalism is horseshit in so much as it is not a zero sum game. There is an infinite amount of wealth however there are a finite amount of resources. Wealth is derived by exploiting the finite amount of resources for the most value you can manage and it is typically borne on the backs of everyone trying to obtain the resource created, which again is finite.
Someone has to lose for it to work and frankly that is why it is so broken. I truly hate our western culture and everything it stands for. I'm glad to have been born into it seeing as I am the ruling class or what have you but God damn man, we are degenerates.

Yes we are. I wanted to buy local when I was in Phoenix so I went to a local shop and bought a saw blade. Cost me $120 to ship it and some clamps I bought back to NC via UPS. Bought another saw blade on Amazon. It shipped outta Phoenix and cost me under $9 to ship. If that isn’t incentive to buy from Amazon then what is. My local wood working store doesn’t stock everything so if I want something they have to order it. Why don’t I just order it myself and save some money and a return trip to the store. It’s a death spiral and we’re all doomed. Yeah, I fed the birds even though there are signs all over to not feed them. That’s a grackle. They are an invasive species taking over. Who am I to judge. Ain’t no bird borders, right. That guy is my buddy. I named him Bird Wayne. And the cycle continues.

 

[MikeAntonetti]

I went out to patio to see my wife, there were about 10 black crows, I clapped my hand twice and they flew away. I won’t state my comment.

highup vice versa, not versed in woven.

too much to read, way behind in estimates billing etc. (what I Didn’t do today topic)

one more thing Chris, you can save even more if you buy direct from China I got prices of larger grinders, 9500, 6500,2300, not same exact but which # looks better. Few other examples of sundry items but I’ll hold.

my wife nonchalantly mentions her parents are coming for the weekend, not much emotion in it, shouldn’t some guy on a horse come up yelling “the in-laws are coming, the in-laws are coming?”

 

[C.J.]

My in-laws are coming up too. Luckily they drive their RV so they can go to it when I’ve had enough.

Low prices are nice but I don’t like sacrificing quality. I’ll pay more for a tool that will last me a lifetime. We got a new kid workin with us for the summer. He’s 17 and greener than a leprechaun. He might make it. Prolly not. He’s a pastors kid with a stay at home mom so I can’t go off on him too hard because I don’t think he’s ever been yelled at before. Last kid I went off on quit and moved back home with mom n dad. Good. At least he knows his place. I got on this kid for using my nail gun as if it was a hammer. When you start buyin your own tools, that’s when you can decide if you want to treat them like crap.

 

[Floorist]

I went out to patio to see my wife, there were about 10 black crows, I clapped my hand twice and they flew away. I won’t state my comment.

highup vice versa, not versed in woven.

too much to read, way behind in estimates billing etc. (what I Didn’t do today topic)

one more thing Chris, you can save even more if you buy direct from China I got prices of larger grinders, 9500, 6500,2300, not same exact but which # looks better. Few other examples of sundry items but I’ll hold.

my wife nonchalantly mentions her parents are coming for the weekend, not much emotion in it, shouldn’t some guy on a horse come up yelling “the in-laws are coming, the in-laws are coming?”

Guess I was lucky. My in-laws were really good people. I miss them.

 

[highup]

I'd love to be somewhere watching something like this, this weekend.
I still can't figure out how they get 10,000 horsepower at an engine this size.