T'was Two...

T'was two days before Christmas & holy cow
Much to tend to still & finish and how
Be careful out there as you journey through the crowds
Go buy that, wrap this, & find a moment for some chow
I'm going to get done earlier next year & that's my vow
It sure creeps up on ya faster than you realize & you go "like wow"
Never mind all that you say as you wipe the sweat from your brow
There's stuff to do so let's get to it & get it done like now
Crank up the tunes & get to jammin' with the holiday sound
No time to just hang out or just lay around
Get your feet a runnin' & hit the ground
Come on & get on with it already as Santa's comin' to town
You better not pout & there's no reason to wear a frown
Ya done with that wrapping yet? Just add it to the tree's mound
Ya stressed out, or tired, or tightly wound?
Well ya can recover later; perhaps then some peace will be found
Move it, move it Christmas soldier! Double time it! The clock is countin' down
"Hey come back here with my ribbon cat" you say as he runs away with a sarcastic meow
"Why you I outta" you say to yourself aloud
Careful now as you move from here to there & all about
We wouldn't want you to trip on the stuff & fall & smack into the ground
T'was two days before Christmas & holy cow
May you find some quiet as if drifting on a cloud
Me hopes you liked this ditty & merry Christmas from this rambling clown

T'was Three Days...

T'was three days before Christmas & all through the land
The sales were on & the shoppers had a lot of bags in their hands
What do I get him, or her, or them thar over there?
Oh I haven't a clue as some say while pulling out their hair
For many it is a hard, or even sad, season & they might just not care
But they try anyway to tend to their Christmas affairs
Some are so stressed & tired & they just collapse in a chair
Others seem to have endless energy like a solar flare
Some are calm & peaceful as they have well prepared
Others choose to wait till the 24th to enter the shopping lair
Out comes all the tape & cutters & the colorful paper
Ribbons, bows, ties, boxes, for all the wrapping layers
Can't we wait to wrap till a bit or a lotta later?
OUCH! I cut myself with the edge of the paper sharp as a razor
Can someone grab me a drink & a snack? Oh waiter?
Now where'd that thing for who'z it what'z it go that's as big as a freighter?
Can we just "Git 'r done" so says Larry who does the voice of Mater
The gifts are placed carefully under the tree
I wonder what so and so decided to get this year for me?
The fires are put out & the lights no longer glow
Off for a warm winter's sleep we go
Us older folk creak & crack & pop as we ache from head to toe
All that running about & doing the do isn't easy ya know?
Can we just take it easy now & just move real slow?
For we've been so crazy busy going to & fro
And this is the journey of the season where we just go with the flow
In the end it's simply about being with friends & family to enjoy & share
And to, for a brief moment, let go of all our burdens & cares
T'was three days before Christmas & all through the land
Slow down & relax & have a nice time that is grand

iSnap

Bonk ding doh-ing go the parts in me head
Snap ZZZzttt sproing go the parts that are red
It's a case of the bonkers which we dread
For which there's no treatment from what I've read
There's no putting it back together as it's dead
Yer just gonna have to face all that's ahead
Hey bonkoid did you hear anything I said?
Nope, notta, zip, zilcho there Mr. Ed
I'm going going gone fuzto instead
I'm slipping on my lost marbles heading to bed
Wake me up when the clock is half past fred
But only if you can track down my brain which seems to have fled
Cuckoo says I flying over my own nutzo nest
And all this just to provide daily bread
Phtphphtphthtpth says I as that sums up this season best
And of course this is just boredom drivel in which I jest

iMe

Hey me
I'm he
I be
You see
Yes, si
And indeed
Slow's the speed
Nothing to achieve
So I write & read
It's wow & gee
I sip coffee or tea
And I just breathe
It's crazy I believe
But it meets need
'Cause gotta feed
Our melting economy bleeds
Who has the lead?
Too many problems interleaved
Like too many overgrown weeds
I question land of the free
Ruled by corporate & political greed
Where wall street is their creed
Now there's broken lives & dreams
Time for new seeds
Well me that's it for thee
The news isn't too yippie
Maybe I outta just be a hippie
Well, uhm,er, ok then, well gee

iSuccess

The boys & I watched the movie "A Dennis The Menace Christmas." Mr. Wilson is the neighbor of the menace that Dennis be. When asked about things of Christmas Mr. Wilson called Christmas "shameless capitalism." In a time of the crumbling of debt laiden lives & companies, the last thing we need is to be bombarded by advertisements for buying things on credit. So this last weekend a commercial was on for Sears. Hey guess what? Get a Sears card & pay no interest until 2012. Today, Yahoo's main page has an ad for an Amercian Express gold looking card with the headline of "How To Say Success." What a crock of hooey. Success for me is simply having food, clothing, shelter, & some quality time with my wife & kids each day. The dangling of the buying power carrot in front of people continues. And it will always be there & will continue. Is it shameless capitalism on the parts of those offering such credit offers? It's certainly capitalism of course. And afterall customers buying things on credit has become the norm for retailers to sell their products & survive. You can just hear the robotic voice in mr. or mrs. retailer's head "Must make a sale. Must offer credit to all & their fleas to make a sale. We don't care if they can pay it back or not. Must sell sell sell." I'm sure this is part of the root issue with Circuit City's floundering & having to file. How the Tribune Company can accumulate billions in debt & still function is quite bizarre. But then we only need to look at our own states & federal government to see that defecit spending is the norm & accepted as is & the status quo. I personally wouldn't call such credit offers shameless but I think trying to continue with what has been the norm is a root flaw in our grand economic wheel. Stop the wheel I'd like to get off & just sit a spell in simple basics of life. When all else fails eat a hamburger or have some chocolate & enjoy something of nature nearest you.

iCore

Hey it's now four
One or so hour more
Then go time out the door
Yawn, stretch, & then snore
Thankful but my mood is poor
In the mundane routine work day war
It's a real hoot galore
Mr. & Mrs. government fix our country we implore
Millions are now free falling into poor
Lives are crumbling down to the floor
Can any of this be overcome & restored?
There are many defecits that cannot be ignored
To survive in times of famine can be quite the chore
Economic foundations are being eaten down to the core
Who cares if you now have a bad credit score?
At least I have a view of the Bay's shore
Nobody knows what is coming or what is in store
Just gotta stare it in the face & give out a lion's roar
Maybe we can learn from famines in times before
Just live for the now & today for the present is your's
Do good & give to the extent that you can afford
Look to the ordinary simple things as life's rewards
Nothing can out do goodness & generousity outpoured

iHeyDay

Hey, day
Goodnight eh?
Light fades
What I can I say?
Nothing really oh tay
Can try to play
Or hang in man cave
And rest okay
Find the way
Work done so yay
Life comes what may
Still by the Bay
'Tis a miracle I still get paid
In strange waters we wade
Find moments in the shade
Or embrace the fall sun's rays
Be brave
And oh behave
Yeah baby yeah
Night falls without delay
Hey, day
Goodnight eh?

iStareWhere

Stare
Where?
There
In Chair
Tasks rare
Boredom affairs
Don't care
Not fair
Count hair
No flair
Yay for tech & software
What a bear
Walk the stairs
Double dog dare
Welcome to the downturn lair
Don't wanna be a player
Call the recession slayer
Hello, this the mayor?
Someone throw a rager
Or at least a pint or a kegger
Getta down & getta funky alligator
Someone turn up the fader
Say no to Darth Vader
Play Space Invaders
Ride the elevator
Don't be a stock trader
Everyone get goofy like Mater
Welp until later, later

iTickTock

Gibberish run together.

Tick tock
Walking the clock
What a crock
Beam me up Spock
Whaz up doc?
Knock knock
Pick the lock
Wanna rock?
Rockin' Bach
Not a jock
Don't mock
Art with chalk
Yak 'n talk
Fly with hawks
Around the block
Feathery Flock
No elctro shock
Tubular socks
Worthless stocks
Tick tockin' tock
Grogg n' grock

I Sit

Written 12/5 1230

Wanted: Senior Software Quality Assurance Engineer. Reality - Wanted somebody who can sit at their desk day after day & do very little to no actual work. I've said before & believe "At least I have a job & it's better than digging ditches." Actually I think I'd prefer digging ditches about now. The movie "Holes" is about a boy's youth prison facility out in the middle of desert nowhere & each day the attendees have to dig like 5 foot deep holes for apparently no reason other than to do it. There is more to the story but you'll have to read about it, or read the book or watch the movie. Basically I get up in the morning to look forward to sitting, sitting, & more sitting. Occasionally something will come up for me to do but it usually isn't too hard & it doesn't take too much time. Then it's back to more sitting & pondering & sometimes writing things such as this. I've been doing an occasional Yahoo Crossword but I know very few of the answers so I have to use their hint link. This existence is very odd. I'm not complaining because that doesn't help me or anyone. When you're younger & someone asks "What do you want to be when you grow up?" nobody answers "Terminally bored just sitting all day long." I know that we're in extremely odd & foreign times. The cubicle nation is crumbling more & more each day. And there doesn't seem to be any light shining in the tunnel of great uncertainty we're in. Without warning this position I have could fade away just as easily as any other position in any company right now. I am thankful to be sitting here as in having an attitude of gratitude. I sit therefore I am. I sit here to contribute to the defense that belongs to Uncle Sam. I sit to provide for my family daily green eggs & ham. I sit & read the news about things of which I usually do not give a damn. I sit while I watch the clock's hands. I sit near a view of the Monterey Bay which is grand. I sit always able & willing to do a task or to lend a hand. I sit but am often found blah from the bland. I sit in the "simply show up each day to say hi" employment plan. I sit & ponder my existence in a strange land. I sit here on my can.

Is The Sky Falling?

Is The Sky Falling?
Written 12/4/2008

The parade of companies cutting employees in our newly acknowledged state of being in a 'recession' continues. The parade of reductions will continue. Recovery & stability lies beyond anyone's horizon & it all seems unreachable. Is the sky falling? For those who are losing their jobs, their homes, & everything in between it must feel like the sky has collapsed upon them. There are parents who cannot provide for their children. Families are having to go without food because that's the only thing left they can cut back on. The sky is falling. Is it a necessary journey? I believe the answer to be yes. Just as a farm's soil must be churned & prepared for its crop so to must society go through the churning & preparation now and then. Why do I believe this is necessary? Because our nation is recovering from the addiction to debt & from living beyond our means month to month. The sky is falling because of our own irresponsibility as well as the irresponsibility of financial institutions who loosely gave credit to anyone & their fleas. If you dangle 'the carrot' of spending power in front of someone, they'll take it without a 2nd thought. And unfortunately the irresponsibility of many does affect the few who try to be responsible. Everyone needs to stop trying to blame & point fingers however. Instead we must turn our focus towards first surviving, perhaps even helping others in need, then towards rebuilding for a new future where we live more responsibly focused more on those closest to us than upon Wall Street, job titles/status, gadgets, credit scores, debt, etc. The sky may be falling but if you can breathe then you're still alive. If you're alive then you can & will survive. Remember that there are countless millions who have been living in worse poverty for years in the world than we'll ever experience here in our own country.

Myanmar atrocities

I must ramble my thoughts. As I started writing this I selected all of my music mp3 files & clicked play. I landed on an appropriately titled song by guitarist Joe Satriani called War. But that's so insignificant.

When Myanmar was struck by the cyclone the devastation we know was beyond comprehension. But what is more beyond comprehension is the tragedy of the oppressive government or the ruling class who is led by Zimbabwe's president Robert Mugabe. I refer you to the gory details of this article. You'll have to form your own opinion.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080612/ap_on_re_af/zimbabwe

Last week there was a headline on Yahoo about how U.S. ships with aid freely available was declined by the ruling government there. The ships left for to sit there & wait was futile & they needed to move on. Today while being able to freely travel into a Starbucks for a mocha frap I read on a newspaper's headline about how something like 40 tons of food aid was seized by the Junta government & instead used for a rally to gain voters for the current president. It also mentioned how the government treats such aid as aiding the opposition in the upcoming presidential vote. And then I read the Yahoo headline mentioned above. This in the same week where headlines mentioned 10,000+ pregnant women who needed care & aid. The above mentioned article mentions about the current president "he has been accused of holding onto power through fraud and intimidation and trampling on people's rights."

Obviously a diplomatic solution is always best. The election is June 27. This assumes the lead opposition seeking true democracy can even win with the injustice of the opposition leaders being arrested for no good reason today. That's 15 more days of people dying & suffering great tragedy now. Dare I suggest that allowing such suffering is along the lines of Nazi concentration camps? Yes there is the idea of 'To each his own.' But in a global oriented age, something more must be done. Yes the U.N. is being pressed by many to do something. When does the U.N. enact it's power to intervene by force if necessary? I'm sure all such things are complicated beyond measure. But it's simple...People need help. Help is being offered. Somebody stand up to the new block bully & hold them at bay & bring in the help. My own personal opinion is this is Sadam revisited in a different way in a different country on a different scale. Somebody with the power to do something, please go do something. What that something is & to what extent needs to be decided by those qualified to do so.

At the very least, may the leading opposition prevail in the election. But until then somebody go deal with the bullies. Pass onto anyone as desired especially those who might be able to affect change.

- Unable to help in Aptos, CA.

Satch's new boogie...

Interesting new path for Satriani, Hagar, Anthony...Not that any of them need the money.
http://www.ultimate-guitar.com/news/general_music_news/van_halen_red_hot_chili_peppers_launch_new_project.html

You know the vocals & harmony will be there because Hagar & Anthony have done that well. I'd rather see Anthony stick with Hagar than return to the circus of Halendom.

To me a drummer's a drummer but to be a Pepper ya must have to have been good in that realm.

I like Hagar's comment about Eddie. It fits well with what has been.

Hope there's some maturity & depth to the lyrics in the songs & not the typical pre-teen focused crippy crud that's already been done year after year after year by band after band after band. Joe's lyrical songs haven't ever been like that so hopefully he's looking for lyrical maturity from Hagar's writing. Maybe Sammy will grow up lyrically.

I'd rather see this incarnation in concert than the current Halen Roth merger that's regurgitating the old & already been there done that stuff. Yeah it is a tour that needed to happen before they become rockers with walkers...I guess...It's a nostagia thing for the 40 & 50 somethings.

Eddie was first & made his mark but there's nothing new now. His solo thing he does is a direct replay of what he's already done twice in concert video tape/DVDs. And he's done it for years before as evidenced on YouTube clips. Do something new Eddie. But to be fair, Vai will always have to play Attitude Song in concert & Satch will have to play Surfing with the Alien in concert. But they have enough new in their set that the old fits in well & is interesting. It's just the nature of having those trademark songs as a musician/band. The legacy of Satch & Steve Vai & Gary Hoey, Dick Dale or The Ventures is far more interesting to me than Ed's. Ed was more into the business of music, signature series deals, & image than making music. Der-amma. No thanks. I'd rather sit down & have a conversation with Ed or hear him on Oprah than see 'im in concert. I guess I'm just over the whole EVH guitar king stigma. I am glad he's cleaned up & according to him is playing better than he ever has. Perhaps it's the way he's treated Hagar & Anthony is my irk...and overpriced EVH signature gear.

And that's my 1 cent 'bout that. Whadda I know? I hear stripes...I think...Maybe I outta make peace with my bro's stripes & finish what I started. Dumb paint & clear coat. ha.

Side note, I keep thinking about, but not sure yet, putting my stripe design on my I've Been Had, aka Ibanez, guitar. Maybe after I finish the lady's tiger in mid July & Steeb's stripes...probably in July as I have to clear it again & let it situate & cure. Am having to get over my own stigmas about self. Shine finish Shine!

Side note #2, I'm almost there in playing Flight of the Bumble Bee well at 100 beats per minute. Next up, 110 Bpm. You wouldn't think it but there's a feeling of exponential increase as you increase the speed by 10 BPM's. It'll make your fingers fall off

- Sublime I'm

iYammer

Yammerin' because I'm a yammer...

So Yahoo's 'Featured' section on their main page states:
"7 must-have gadgets for your home"
Oh really?....Lesse what those are...

Bose SoundDock Digital Music System
Don't got it. Don't need it. Never needed it. Funny - They don't mention that you need to have a digital media player to play the music you want to hear through the system.

Canon Powershot A560 Digital Camera
Hmm, have a digital camera. Don't need the model you say I need to have.

Curves Digital Glass Scale
Never owned a scale or even wanted one.

Sephora Professional Cordless Straightener
My hair is straight but thanks though.

Illuminations Electric Aroma Diffuser
Hack 'n cough. Ooo-oooo whaz that smell?

Alessi Stainless-Steel Cordless Electric Kettle
Thanks but stoves for all of time have worked just fine. Usually BBQ pits at the beach or camping involve flame & heat so I think the world can manage. Be environmental...Don't manufacture such things as fire is a natural element after all. Lemmings humanity is. So how many of each of the above items will be purchased today because Yahoo planted the 'go buy this or you're dumb seed.' Well actually I am intrigued by the A650 camera but I couldn't let my quip down in the heat of the comment now could I? And thaz my quip for the now & I'm sticking to it.

Until later comes turn it up to quipping the 'quipment.'