The Sounds of August

Lately the early mornings have been crisp and cool, with the dew glistening on the lawns. The dawn sky is quiet, sunny and deep blue. Before the workaday stirrings of those cursed creatures called "the employed," the air is still. Saturated with the perfume of pine and pungent herbs. And the whispered promise of an abundant harvest.

You can almost hear Autumn coming down the tracks in the near distance like a rumbling westbound freight train.

Wait!
That really is the sound of a train! A tandem team of six big diesel engines pulling a long train of container cars, from the sound of it, probably loaded with Chinese imports headed inexorably for the heartland, or up to Montreal.

My house is just two streets over from the main rail line that handles all the Conrail and Amtrak traffic from Boston's South Station to Worcester and points beyond. When you live near the tracks, you get used to the noise. In fact, most of the time you are not conscious of the passing rail traffic. Like the other sounds in the distance, like birds chirping, dogs barking, lawn mowers, trucks in the street, the trains add to an ambient sound level that you do not notice until they use that high decibel horn. Last year, the Woodlawn Ave bridge was being repaired and every train that went by in either direction sounded the horn to warn workers who might be near the tracks. It made me notice how many trains went past. We are probably talking fifty trips a day, not counting the ones that go by at night.

The trains are the least of my noise problems. Since Spring there has been a crew working on the house next door. Each day brings another big noisy diesel vehicle to dig or deliver or pour concrete or pick up a dumpster or whatever. No one ever turns off a diesel engine, so most of the day there is an idling engine running. The nail guns are driven by a compressor that rattles like a chain saw. So all day you hear this pfft, pfft, phfft, groink, buzz, ghmmmm, phfft,phfft, Outch! Hey I'm bleedin here! (The last sound was the fat carpenter shooting a nail through his boot. Ha ha)
Then across the street, they have been replacing the back deck. It takes a lot of banging to properly replace a deck, apparently. And, not to be outdone, they also need a big idling diesel truck to haul away and bring fresh dumpsters.

In the white house on the other side, the widow lady likes to have here carpets and ducts cleaned. She prefers the work to be done by a crew who come in a huge noisy truck which not only idles noisily, but also runs a high-pressure compressor that is so loud you can no doubt hear it from the engine compartment of a westbound train.

Some times the UPS and Fedex drivers have trouble driving down the street because there are so many vehicles parked on both sides allowing only a narrow passage. Delivery trucks, Landscape vehicles, pickup trucks driven by construction workers and sloppily parked. This is not an urban setting, readers, this is a "quiet" suburban road.

Some days, I think to myself, "Wouldn't it be nice to go to a nice quiet office where you can sit at a nice quiet desk and spend the day getting paid for surfing the web like most employed people?"

Nah. Someday, the construction work will be finished, the workers and their trucks will go somewhere else, all ducts and rugs will be clean, the lawns will be mowed, and I will again be able to sit in the peaceful solitude of my back yard, with a frosty Sierra Nevada, listening for the sound of Autumn.

They Said, He Said

The recent flap over the swiftboat vets casting a shadow over John Kerry's heroism leads us to the state of confusion about whose facts are the real facts. Truth is elusive even when we are eyewitnesses to events. But we are forced to realize that we cannot rely on anyone's testimony, especially about events that happened opver 30 years ago.

The discrepancy over what happened on the swiftboats can only be explained by the willingness of one group or another to lie about what happened - to advance their political agenda. We know that some vets were so outraged by what Kerry said after returning from Nam that they would do and say anything to keep him from becoming President. Even to the point of disparaging his wounds and actions. On the other side, there are apparently a lot of medals at stake that depended upon the report that the swiftboats were under enemy fire. The crew members (and recently another eyewitness) have maintained that Kerry's actions were honorable.

We probably will never know the truth. But we know this: If Kerry's military service and subsequent political career do not make him fit for command, how in the world can honest men consider George W's preparation for the office to have qualified him for the job?
I don't question the results of the 2000 election; I lament the system that fails to promote our best and brightest leaders into the ranks of viable presidential candidates.

Job Search Update
No change in status. I lament an economy that fails to seek and hire the best and brightest systems analysts into the ranks of the high paid employed.

Stepford Guys

Type Four Hurricane Charley had dwindled down to "A-tropical-depression-formerly-known- as-Hurrican Charlie" by the time it tiptoed through Massachusetts. We got some fairly heavy rain, but my harbor bouy wind chimes hardly acknowledged the gentle breezes that posed no threat to beast or bloom. It was a girlie-storm for the Northeast. It should have been named Charleen.

Speaking of girlie things, I am worried about the next generation of men in this country. There is a baby shower planned for my daughter in a few weeks. Traditionally, this would not have been a matter of manly concern. The wimmens would be invited, go to the shower, sit around watching the soon-to-be-mother open presents, have some chicken salad finger sandwitches and tea and that would be the end of it. Menfolk would tend to their affairs, whatever they might be.

But these days, men think of pregnancy as a shared thing. "We're pregnant," they say. Really, I ask? both of you? Hmmn. One of the young husbands of a female invitee wants to actually attend the shower as a protest to the exclusion of men from the outmoded traditions of the past. He feels that fathers should be just as involved as mothers with childraising, and watching wimmens opening gifts. It worries me. Number one, the lad was not invited. This traditional detail of civility apparently is also outmoded - you feel like going somewhere you just go. Number two, it is unthinkable that a man would CHOOSE to go to a girlie event rather than to simply stay home watch the game, or to sit quietly in the yard with a book and a frosty beer marveling at the gift of manly solitude.

I'm sure these guys seem like sensitive, caring fellows to their wives. I think they might be pod people.

This Page Cannot be Displayed

Just to prove that I haven't totally given up looking for work, I decided to check out some of the local job boards this am before my morning walk down to the nearby Donuts R Us. I don't believe in depleting my energy reserves by aimless exercise. I believe it is good to have a goal in mind. Boston Kremes. Yumm.

So anyhow, I am checking out the jobs listed on this one well known job board, and I find a listing for Usability Analyst, an internal position working for the job board. Now I have always wanted to work as a Usability Analyst. In my many jobs as a systems analyst, my chief interest has been making the interface "friendly" to the users. I wish I had a nickel for every screen or web page I've seen that makes the user say "Huh?" because the data being presented wasn't what they expected or the user has come to a dead link. If I have gained any expertise in my working life, it is in the presentation of data in a usable format. Not too much, not too little.

So, I said to myself, "Self, you should apply to this job. It is the first Usability job description that doesn't require a PHD in heuristics (the science of obfuscation). Your past experience in business and web based applications are quite relevant. If these guys are smart they will at least want to talk to you. Do it."

But an inner voice replied,"But, they probably aren't interested in an experienced BSA with umpteen years of experience. They'll look at the resume, think too old, and toss it in the trashcan. How could they understand that the web is merely another way to present information? You think HTML and Java are great tools, but without a well designed process and superior content management, web pages are empty eye candy. No one wants to hear that sort of stone age thinking. Forget it. Go get your donut!"

"What the hell," I said, "it can't hurt to send them an e-resume. " So I hit the apply button. That took me to a screen that insisted that I login. Which I did. Then I got to a screen that allowed me to select the resume. Funny, no place for a cover letter to explain how uniquely qualified I am for the job. Then I clicked on continue. And got this message:

The page cannot be displayed
There is a problem with the page you are trying to reach and it cannot be displayed.
HTTP 500 - Internal server error Internet Explorer

Huh? (These guys really need someone like me. I wonder what happened to my resume).
Donuts, here I come.

Hardly Working

In the news today:
"The U.S. economy added many fewer jobs than expected in July, raising big concerns about the recovery in the labor market."

Well, welcome to the club. I've been concerned about job growth for more than a year.
I guess this headline helps explain why my phone has not been ringing lately. It's the stupid economy.

That's a relief. I was afraid that somehow the word about me had gotten out.

===============
The other day I finally closed my Fleet bank accounts. Without a steady income, my balance had long since fallen under the no-fee limit, so I was getting slammed with a $12 monthly fee.
Since I have a free account at another bank, I decided to consolidate my remaining funds.
I guess I expected to get at least a mild pitch to get me to stay with the bank. I have had the account since it was South Shore Bank, bought out by Bank of Boston and then Fleet. Now, as Bank of America, I guess they don't want to be bothered by people like me with low balances.
Even if the situation is temporary.

The kid who handled my paperwork never asked me why I was closing the account, or whether I had considered their free checking with automatic deposit. Apparently, he did not care why. He never even said a word, like Hi how are you today? or Gee, hope you will do business here again. Not the type of person I would put in a customer service job. But I suppose I would be a miserable little pissant too, if I had to spend my day closing accounts for geezers who came into my office complaining about usurious bank fees.

Forward This to Everyone You Know

I received one of those partisan political propaganda e-mails today from my reborn conservative sister in Uxbridge. In case you didn't get it, it was the one that cites all the bad things Democrats have done to destroy Social Security. (I know you are probably thinking, "Huh?" It just shows how you can distort any piece of information to get what you want out of it. It was in the form of questions and cooked-up answers. At the end it pleads with the recipient to "Send this to everyone you know!" as if that would awaken some manchurian brain cell and make otherwise sensible people suddenly want to vote for Bush.

I could not resist answering her:

" Thanks. I was wondering who was responsible for all the horrors. This type of screed is a lot like Michael Moore's methodology: leave out the facts that are inconvenient to the message.

Anyway, I thought of a few Q's and A's that came to mind.

Q: Was it the evil Democrats who ran up the deficit while giving Tax Cuts to the wealthiest 1%??
A: Well, not exactly.

Q: Was it the lying and cheating Democrats who pay lip service to the war on terror and then fail to fund our border security forces while handing billions to cronies at Halliburton??
A: No, that would be co-president Cheny's idea.

Q: Who hates America most?
A: A) Michael Moore B). Drudge C). People who support the war, but want someone else's kid to do the fighting, D) Ralph Nader

Q: If you knew then what you know now, would you have supported the invasion of Iraq, the alienation of our allies and the expense of men and material?
A: No. And everyone involved with that decision should be fired.

Q: Why doesn't God make the world a nice place.
A: Because he likes to watch us fight.

Q: Who has killed more people Laura Bush or Ted Kennedy?
A: It's a tie

Q: Does sending partisan e-mail around the internet actually change anyone's position?
A: No. Most recipients are members of the choir already, so they nod their heads in agreement. The others, the ones who think for themselves, just delete the propaganda and go back to downloading porn.

I voted against Al Gore in the last election. After listening to the speakers at the DNC, I hate to admit it, but I would vote for Bill Clinton if he was running again. He is clearly the smartest leader we have in America today.

I remain pretty much Opposed to the Republican/conservative agenda
- In favor of same sex marriage (they can have family values too)
- in favor of a woman's right to choose (it's none of your business)
- in favor of spreading the wealth around (middle class tax cuts, against Corporate Welfare)
- In favor of gun control
- in favor of bombing the hell out of the poppy fields in Afghanistan (we know where they are!)
- in favor of using our resources to clean up our own cities so that elderly people and children do not have to live in constant fear of gangs and thieves.
- in favor of an equal opportunity military draft to serve in defense of this country on the Border Patrol and Neighborhood patrols.

I am certainly not in favor of giving taxpayer money to immigrants who come here to go on welfare.
Nor do I agree with mortgaging our grandchildren's future in a vain attempt to transplant Democracy upon a group of people who do not believe in equality or individual liberty.

It is dangerous to give the power of the vote to people who cannot think for themselves (people who need preachers and mullahs to tell them how to think). The founding fathers recognized this when they provided for the Electoral College."

Hope is on the way. I hope.

Playing Games

I couldn't believe it when I read the headline on the sportspage of today's Globe. Garciaparra traded, the words blared. Nomar is gone. To the Cubs. Cripes.

I am not a real Red Sox fan. In fact, I have not been a baseball fan since the strike of 1981. Loyal readers of this humble Blog know how I feel about Unions and strikes. My disdain for the job action antics of overpaid athletic workers is even more than my antipathy for civil servants who refuse to do their jobs and don't want others to work either.

If I was a fan, I would not buy the bullshit being spouted by the Sox Management and their shills in the media. They claim that Nomar was not going to sign anyway. Columnist Dan Shaughnessy says Nomar hates Boston and the Red Sox and was a toxic non team player. If this is true, I believe the situation was caused by stupid management tricks in the first place.

That punk Theo Epstein reminds me of a typical corporate manager. He claims that we need to make hard choices to get a championship team. We need a golden glove defense. Yada-yada.
Hey, when was the last time defense scored a home run? Besides, no one who has grown up in the Boston area, actually expects the Red Sox to Win.

A lot of business guys like to use sports analogies to motivate their workers. Maybe the baseball guys think they should run the team more like a business. This "trade" sounds a lot like a layoff to me. Managers always think that they are the real key to success. (Why else do they give themselves all the good perqs?) Team members are just interchangable parts, they think. The truth is, it is the manager of any organization who is ultimately and seamlessly replaceable. Good all star shortstops are hard to find. The history of the Red Sox is pissing off the star players, then trading them, then having them come back to kick their Fenway asses. Roger Clemens is a prime example of which I speak

If I was a baseball manager, I think I would get Pitchers who can throw lots of strikes instead of praying that my multi-million dollar infielders will quell a Yankee rally with deft fielding. Baseball has always been about hits and runs. Get enough and the errors are not important.
Just like in business. But what am I talking about? I don't know anything. That kid Epstein is getting paid to run the team - this year. Hey how much can we get for Pedro?

Heck, I don't even watch baseball on TV anymore. TV sports coverage is boring and distracting. Besides, these players like to think of themselves as employees, so if I want to spend my valuable time watching people work, I can go next door and watch the craftsmen building the neighbor's stone wall. Not playing games.