FWIS3

Maybe he does...

Ugh. I paid $40 to work on a Saturday morning.

I had a meeting and MrPi was out of town so I had to get a babysitter. I'm not getting paid for the extra time put in, and I don't have the opportuniy to make up for it with time off during the week to compensate. In fact, I am working the next two Saturdays also. If I took a day off to make up for it, it would just make it harder to get everything I need to get done.

I know, be thankful that I have a job....but still.

I truly don't understand how my dad can send out WSJ articles regularly that prove global warming isn't real, then I can send him links showing why they were cherry picking facts after five seconds on Google, and he then completely ignores what I sent to then trot out some other things showing global warming isn't bad. As if it isn't disturbing at all that a major newspaper he was touting in the first place had major errors in it.

Argh!

Rommie wrote:I truly don't understand how my dad can send out WSJ articles regularly that prove global warming isn't real, then I can send him links showing why they were cherry picking facts after five seconds on Google, and he then completely ignores what I sent to then trot out some other things showing global warming isn't bad. As if it isn't disturbing at all that a major newspaper he was touting in the first place had major errors in it.

Argh!

As they say, denial isn't just a river in Egypt.

Never underestimate human capability to bend reality to fit one's personal viewpoint. And no, there are deliberately no smilies in this post, there are no jokes here.

Though I do have to disagree with your description Rommie of the WSJ as a "major newspaper". It may be major, but it has become fairly devoid of news since Murdoch took it over.

it's more a major rag...

I still say to call yourself a NEWS paper should require far higher obligations than what "free speech" mandates.
The freedom to lie, deceive and unjustly influence is a major problem.
it would go a long way in making changes here for the good of the country instead of the good of the powerful to do so.

What Morro said.

Murdoch is such an evil guy. Even though people are seemingly very aware of media bias, they still don't fully grasp how completely the media controls how we think about things. If media is the egg and public opinion the chicken, I put the egg before the chicken.

squ1d wrote:What Morro said.

Murdoch is such an evil guy. Even though people are seemingly very aware of media bias, they still don't fully grasp how completely the media controls how we think about things. If media is the egg and public opinion the chicken, I put the egg before the chicken.

My experience is people who watch Fox News and whatever are well aware that it's biased, but they defend it by saying "but every outlet is biased so I'm just choosing one with my own bias." The idea that there could be something like the BBC standard where you try to be so objective of the facts that you "read" the news instead of report it, or that I don't need to watch talking heads to form my own opinions, doesn't seem to crop up.

Rommie wrote:

squ1d wrote:What Morro said.

Murdoch is such an evil guy. Even though people are seemingly very aware of media bias, they still don't fully grasp how completely the media controls how we think about things. If media is the egg and public opinion the chicken, I put the egg before the chicken.

My experience is people who watch Fox News and whatever are well aware that it's biased, but they defend it by saying "but every outlet is biased so I'm just choosing one with my own bias." The idea that there could be something like the BBC standard where you try to be so objective of the facts that you "read" the news instead of report it, or that I don't need to watch talking heads to form my own opinions, doesn't seem to crop up.

I've heard that "explanation" (everyone is biased) too, most particularly from Fox News. It is all part of the "big lie" strategy, and if you say it often enough, it must be true. There is also a lot of "moving the goalposts" in it.

It is not a new method; Nixon was a great one for "blame the liberal media" (I'm sure it predates him, but that predates me by too much). But Fox and Murdoch seem to have polished it a new level.

The move-the-goalposts part has a lot to do with "proving" the bias. If you call what is generally recognized as a "middle" view as "liberal socialism", then if NPR (for example) reports a balanced viewpoint, by your newspeak, that is now liberal, and you have demonstrated the liberal bias of the "mainstream" media.

My "group" has a new product we've been developing for a while. We have the lab-scale piece of equipment to make this stuff (we only got it a little over a year ago), but we don't have the scaled-up version to make large quantities. We have several customers who are hot-to-trot for this stuff and have put orders in, so when we have to try to make an order (and it is "try", there are still lots of bugs to work out), we have to go to the equipment vendor (in Iowa) to use their equipment.

My boss (Mike) and the other guy in our group (Sam) are there this week, making a couple of orders. My understanding was that if things didn't go well, and they needed more time, that things would continue next week, but since my boss has to go to some corporate training next week, I would go to Iowa to help Sam.

My boss is just about the least communicative person I've ever known.

I get the impression, from the few e-mails I received, that they've run into problems. But there was also a hint in one of them that they wouldn't be able to get on the equipment next week. It is now Thursday afternoon and I still don't know if I'm supposed to be in Iowa on Monday.

I just dropped my boss an e-mail directly asking if he could give me at least a hint.

My boss e-mailed me 9:30 this morning that I don't need to be in Iowa next week.

Schmuck.

Hopefully he'll spend the whole week at a Corporate Retreat with people he hates doing stuff that makes him feel like a mentally retarded 5 year old.

Sigma_Orionis wrote:Hopefully he'll spend the whole week at a Corporate Retreat with people he hates doing stuff that makes him feel like a mentally retarded 5 year old.

That's the standard status for a middle management type.

SO there ARE Military Pajama Parties huh? Let me guess, mandatory requirement to get the PPT Ranger Tabs?

Sigma_Orionis wrote:SO there ARE Military Pajama Parties huh? Let me guess, mandatory requirement to get the PPT Ranger Tabs?

Yes, except we have our pajama parties in the middle of nowhere. Usually when it's 110 degrees Fahrenheit OR 40 below zero after the sun goes down.

And then there are the generals who decide that we must emulate corporate America so we get to play with Lean Sigma Six and become "black belts" in change management. And everyone is so happy.

I guess those generals forgot where the term "frag" came from..........

Sleep sucks.

No seriously. Having to spend 30% of the day comatose is such crap. There is just such a huge amount of stuff I want to research, and no time for it, because my stupid ape brain has to conk out every night.

I wonder if polytheists ever pointed to sleep as evidence for their religions. It does smack a bit of design by committee, doesn't it?

be glad you CAN sleep

Ouch. Point taken, ma'am.

Next time either my husbands's youngest brother or older sister denies a direct request for help with their elderly mother with some ultra lame excuse (we were gone last weekend so we we'd like to stay home this Sunday/we don't want to leave on our 10 day vacation to our camp in Canada 3 hours late just to take mom to the doctor) I am going to blow up. Watch for the headlines: MICHIGAN GRANDMOTHER ARRESTED IN DOUBLE HOMICIDE--SAYS VICTIMS WERE JUST WASTING OXYGEN ANYWAY.

gethen wrote:Next time either my husbands's youngest brother or older sister denies a direct request for help with their elderly mother with some ultra lame excuse (we were gone last weekend so we we'd like to stay home this Sunday/we don't want to leave on our 10 day vacation to our camp in Canada 3 hours late just to take mom to the doctor) I am going to blow up. Watch for the headlines: MICHIGAN GRANDMOTHER ARRESTED IN DOUBLE HOMICIDE--SAYS VICTIMS WERE JUST WASTING OXYGEN ANYWAY.

Obviously it was justifiable homocide.

You could get quote for a medical taxi and tell them that the next time they refuse to help, you will bill them for the cost of the service they won't help provide.

After years of hearing about these people they still never cease to amaze me. Sorry to hear about their antics going on strong as ever.

gethen, should it come to that, i will swear that we were playing cards at the time. gin rummy. you were winning - i'm dreadful at cards.

Well, the packers are coming in two days (Friday) and the movers are coming in three (Saturday) and I'm a complete nervous wreck. I find it almost overwhelming emotionally.

deep breath. now another. it'll be fine. some day you'll laugh about this.

when you leave step out of your house onto your left foot. the first things you bring into your new house should be a broom, some bread and some salt. i am not superstitious. these are traditions.