Fired From Job on December 13, 2023. Past Thanks! (Sarcastic), some other ruminations

I may as well be up front as to why I am making this blog post...

I was fired from my Production Line job at the end of my shift. They said they received 22 rejected parts I produced from the vendor needing the parts. The part they showed me was the same part I was shown in October of 2023 but i had no way of refuting their statement. I had no idea this was going to happen but at a loss as to how I should feel.

Should I be depressed and/or angry or involve myself in massive hindsight? Perhaps I could let this setback drag me down but that would serve no purpose. Angry is for those who can't deal with their anger and I have fallen short many times. (I grew up with real consequences when I was a kid). What would any sort of hindsight do? I do have a Bachelor's of Science degree (Information Technology), but the tech scene has passed me by.

I was doing factory work for the last nine and one half years and I am pretty good at it... but now I get to once more look for another job. I know many look upon such a thing as a challenge to seek something better, but I still look upon this task as a chore.

I have done white collar work, but you can get even better money working at a factory. As long as you realize that you will not have much in common with many of the workers in such a place, you will (usually) be okay. Like most any mix of people, you will get the decent ones and the not so decent ones. You can get along with most, but some either have too much authority or abuse what authority they are given.

All I really want to do is show up and work in peace, but it seems you can't even do that anymore. Why should I have to play foolish human games for such a simple goal?

I will reveal some of what I am feeling now. Mostly it is a feeling of betrayal; I showed up for work when scheduled and I worked overtime if asked. I put up with people on the floor spying on me and then reporting back to a supervisor (Who was also spying on me at times). The HR where I worked had way too much power. (They gave someone a point for their shirt being dirty) and it didn't matter if you didn't miss work. I also feel not a small amount of disappointment. I didn't make waves, I did my job... and this is how I was rewarded.

There are a lot of people from Mexico and Venezuela there. Most of them didn't know English... but I know for a fact they got lower wages than some of the people there whose first language was English. I don't know if that was a factor in my being fired but lower wages equal a better bottom line.

A President of the United States election is in 2024. I wonder if all the aforementioned people are because of the current administration. What would happen at my former place of employment if they lost all of those people at once?

I have decided that is no longer my concern. I would have like to continue working there (because I don't like looking for work), but I suppose that wasn't in the cards. It is time to start filling out applications as fast as I can click on links. (There is that as an upside; I don't have to physically be at work locations to apply for work.) Online work/employment hubs are your friend.

That is all I have for the moment; maybe I will post again once I have another Job.

A Jaded Bard

 

It finally has arrived! Game of Thrones Season 8!!!

I do my best to be as quiet as possible about events like these but I had to wait for almost two years to reach this point. Tonight is the final season of GOT and it should be monumental!!! Potential Spoilers Ahead!! Things I would like to see in the season:

Arya Stark versus The Mountain Zombie: This could happen. Have some Lannister people kidnap Sansa and drag her down to King's Landing by boat. Cersei knows who killed Joffrey but it would be fun to kill another Stark anyway. Arya follows the boat down to KL and becomes very faceless in the process. She first finds Ilynn Payne in an eatery and takes over the serving girl role. The poisoned wine disables him quickly but kills him slowly enough so that Arya can jeer in his face.

Sansa is told to demand Trial by Combat by people loyal to the Starks. Ser Robert Strong stands ready to do Cersei's bidding but most people laugh at the spare person clothed in black who represents Sansa Stark. Only their eyes can be seen but when ordered to remove the head covering, the person gives the impression of serious damage to their face and throat so that they hide and are silent.

The laughter dies down after the black clad Bravosi styled fighter damages Ser Robert Strong's armor in several places. He traps the black clad fighter in what assuredly appears to be the end but there is now no more laughter. Ser Robert Strong has a rent that covers his whole chest plate and even knocking down the black clad fighter doesn't slow them down. With dagger and a rapier like sword, the black clad fighter reduces Ser Robert Strong's armor to ruin. A devastating dagger strike disables Ser Robert Strong's sword hand. There is no showmanship or mockery here. The black clad fighter retrieves their dagger (sunk into Ser Robert Strong's right inside wrist) and then launches a final attack. The dagger is shoved into the chest plate rent while the light sword is shoved up from under the chin and out the top of Ser Robert Strong's head. White fluid gushes out of him and the sound he makes hitting the ground is loud.

Sansa is released as the black clad figure stands before Cersei Lannister. There is something wrong with the black clad figure. Their posture is one of defiance versus humility but before anyone can react to that, the figure removes their head covering. It is Walder Frey...

"Do you remember giving us and the Bolton's gold to turn on the Starks? We did as you said but we missed the younger Stark daughter. She has a message for you but since she killed me and my whole male line, she decided to give you the message herself!"

Walder Frey's face is peeled off to show Arya Stark

"I am Arya Stark of Winterfell and the North Remembers. House Stark also remembers and with Illyn Payne and The Mountain dead, you are the last person I will kill. You will not escape me!" Arya detonates a smoke bomb and disappears behind it. She finds her ay back to the ship headed north with Sansa Stark aboard...

Who will eventually gain The Iron Throne? (If anyone is left alive.)  The only two people fit to rule Westeros are ones that don't seek the throne in the first place. Jon 'Snow' (Targaryen)  is one while Tyrion Lannister is the other. Neither are full of themselves and have remained grounded throughout the series. Neither Daenerys (Too polarizing and would rule through fear) and Cersei (Absolutely insane and power mad) are unfit for the task. Even with The Night King headed south with his Cold Walker army Cersei Lannister decides to hire The Golden Horde to protect her throne emplacement but it remains to be seen how that will go over. Jaime Lannister may be a Lannister but he stands by his word

More fun with Arya Stark  I would like to see her dagger take out at least one of The Night King's contingent.

The Unsullied -  While no good in close quarters fighting, The Unsullied can create a strong shield wall as needed. If they could do so against the cold walkers, perhaps the Westeros soldiers behind the shield wall can kill the Cold Walkers. The defenders also have to be ready to put down anyone slain since they will reanimate as a Cold Walker. Archers with dragon glass arrows will be of use but they will have to be protected at all costs. The armored knights will have the best chance against the Cold Walkers if they are unmounted.

Conclusion  If this is supposed to go down like The Wars of The Roses it would be the Brother of a King versus a son of another. Gendry might be a legitimate Baratheon (Son of a former King) while Cersei is the mother of a former King and Queen in her own right. Since neither Gendry nor Cersei can really fight directly, who will their proxies be?

A Jaded Bard

The Fine Line Between Patriotism and Nationalism

In the wake of the unlawful gathering in Charlottesville, VA I decided that an article on this topic would be a good idea. Exactly at what point does Patriotism turn into Nationalism?

To better understand this, it is best to look at the base level impetus to promote change in a society. I call these the 4 P's. You must have all four of these if you hope to motivate people into taking action. They are Pride, Patriotism, Prejudice and Propaganda. Let's look at the four things separately before we combine them into one concept.
PRIDE - This can be as small or as encompassing as you want but the larger the feeling of pride, the more potential people you can have follow you. German patriotism arose from the founding of Germany in 1871 putting an end to the splintered nation-State wreckage from the 18th and 19th centuries. It could also be a common cause such as the Czar abdicating in Russia (Serfdom was only abolished in Russia in 1861) and the people sensing a freedom they hadn't felt in centuries. Once you have engendered pride, you will have the attention of the people (in proportion to how much of that feeling you have created).
PATRIOTISM - This is the second 'P' and it is as important as the three others. You now have the people expressing pride but you now need a focus for that expression. "Let's Make America Great Again!" "USA!" "Ein Volk, Ein Stadt, Ein Deutschland!" God, Guns and Guts made the USA!" Patriotism in itself isn't bad or good... it is a neutral entity. What people can do in the name of Patriotism can be good or bad though. Patriotism is the focus of pride. It gives people a sense of identity and the feeling that they belong somewhere. That is a normal human condition. We want to belong and have a sense of identity. In most cases, it stops right there... but in some cases, it doesn't...
PREJUDICE - You have instilled pride in the people and gave them a slogan or two to allow for patriotism but if you want them to follow you past a certain point, you need to solidify your gains. What better way than to find someone or something or... some culture that can be perceived as a threat to patriotism?
The Jews were persecuted for centuries in various ways. in the Middle Ages, they were prohibited from owning land or livestock... so how were they going to survive? They became shopkeepers and merchants and jewelers and (eventually) bankers. While they were successful, their means of earning a living was divorced from the land... and with a bit of tinkering, they became the demon bankers that controlled the wealth and sought only to enslave those tied to the land by manipulating money through the banks. This was how Hitler used prejudice in Germany. Another example would be the Reds in Russia. Their version of prejudice included Royalists (Czar Supporters), Republicans (Shcharansky Supporters) and the Rich (Kulaks and other wealthy people) who were hell bent on oppressing the workers. Germany used Prejudice to focus the German people while the Reds used it to exterminate those who would stand against them. The Catholic Church in Rome falsified evidence against Galileo Galilei to convict him of heresy; the implication was that any who supported GG would then not be a believer in God. The Re-Education in the PRC was another incident where prejudice was used to modify societal thought. I am sure you can find many more examples of this tactic being used (and it usually results in bad things happening).
PROPAGANDA While the final 'P' is as important as the other two, you still need a sort of glue to bind people together and that glue is...propaganda! Propaganda ranges from exaggerating an action to allow for better understanding "Loose Lips Sink Ships!" "Join the Army!" to its purest and deadliest form: Agitation Propaganda or Agit-Prop. While the previous two samples actually serve a constructive purpose, agit-prop too often is directly produced from prejudice and at its best (or worst), it can take a grain of truth and bundle it with a sack of lies to sound valid to those not informed. At the top of this article, you will see three such examples of agit-prop. All is fair in war but if you stop and think about these pictures, are they fully telling the truth? Are Jewish bankers actually scions of Satan? Do the Bourgeoisie actually have in in for ALL of the Proletariat? If the third poster is to be believed, then all Germans would be sterilized and Germany would no longer exist as a country. You might laugh at the pictures but imagine people instilled with pride, drawn together by patriotism and vulnerable to vicious prejudice... Yes, it is no longer funny, is it?
While I consider Nation-Statism to be a disease (and a massive waste of resources), patriotism in itself isn't really bad. You are a member of a Nation State and you choose to express your pride in that fact by waving a flag. that in itself is a peaceful action covered by the First Amendment. I personally think the line is crossed though when violence accompanies the patriotism. I then call it nationalism and that is where things usually go bad. Nationalism can emerge from both sides of the equation; it isn't a strictly Left-Wing or Right-Wing situation. Ultranationalism springs from Nationalism and that is how you get someone like Hitler, governance like the USSR (and even more so the current Russia) and the degradation caused by Pol Pot, Mao Tse Tung and others.
What happened in VA was patriotism was subverted by nationalism and it shows that humankind still has a lot to learn.
Note: What just happened in NC was a disgrace. Destruction of our history needs to cease.

A Jaded Bard

Regarding the Transfoprmers Movie Reviews... Enough Already

Transformers: The Last Knight recently appeared in theatres and like clockwork, the naysayer critics gather for the feast. They complain about everything in the movies from their runtime to the noise level in some scenes but after their latest round of  verbal vitriol, I finally had to say... Whiskey Tango Foxtrot?

How could you expect such movies to be quiet when you consider the main players? The robots are 15 meters tall in some cases and bristling with ordnance (in addition to swords and maces). Are they going to be like Jimmy Carter with his détente or are they going to pound the crap out of each other?

As for the plots, I had no problem following them. (Of course if you read some backstory on the Transformers, you wouldn't either.) Having an intricate plot made the movies that much more watchable. If I had any objection to the movies, it was excessive screaming female. My head didn't hurt after watching the movies because I was entertained.

The five movies were savaged by critics but they made a lot of money at the box office. That alone should tell you something. These are probably the same critics who spoke out against the recent Les Miserables because it wasn't all happy and upbeat. If you had watched the Opera (I did with the original cast) or read Victor Hugo's novel (I did), you would realize the musical movie was supposed to be bittersweet. (If you want insipid happy musical garbage, go watch Disney's Anastasia)

What will be in Transformers 6? I am hoping that Wreck-Gar and Company are in it along with Sharkticons but I wonder how hard it would be to create them? Would Andrew Sirkis be needed?

In conclusion, it would be a wise move to noty pay attention to critic reviews if they are going to be so blatantly biased. Watch the movies in question and rate them yourself.

A Jaded Bard

Bikers For Trump To Stand Against Violent Leftists During Trump's Inaugu...

Miscellany (Including some Spoilers.)

Regarding the Warcraft Movie:

While the movie was predictable in some ways, I still found it to be entertaining. There was only one major problem with it from my humble point of view.

Whatever in hell those over muscled things were, I can not realistically think of them as Orcs. They are too physically imposing, too (relatively) intelligent and possess few if any weaknesses. I also had a problem with an Orc Shaman being able to wield powerful Life Magic. Orc Shamans are rather low on the magic totem pole and simply don't have that level of magic knowledge. It made more sense that the main human mage opposing the Orcs had that sort of magic but I would call him a Patriarch (who DOES have life magic knowledge... although of the evil kind.). There is also the problem with one of those monster things riding a human horse. If one of those toothy monsters weighs let's say 400-500 pounds and a average horse weighs between 700-1100 pounds, one of those monsters wouldn't realistically be able to ride one of those horses. If the horse was a Percheron (weighing in at 2000+ pounds), that would be different but Percheron's are war horses who would not tolerate a strange rider. The monsters in the movie would be better called trolls or even giants, not Orcs.

Regarding The Game of Thrones (Spoilers here too!)

Season 6 is done on HBO and somewhere in the USA, George R.R. Martin is cranking out 'The Winds of Winter' (probably one word at a time). The finale for Season 6 was decent and now looking forward to Season 7, here are some things I would like to see in the HBO Series. (These will be N/A regarding the books).

- Have more giants appear and have Jon Snow step in to protect them.

- Arya makes it back to Winterfell (in a faceless disguise) but only revealing herself to Jon and Sansa when she is caught practicing with Needle.

- When Daenerys attacks Kings Landing, those in the city respond with wildfire once again. While the Unsullied are susceptible to swarming attacks, their spears and shields together make a formidable fighting wall. If used in concert with the Dothraki skirmish attack, the combination could be deadly. Daenerys makes landfall with assistance from Houses Dorne and Tyrell and begins suborning the area surrounding Kings Landing.

- Bran Stark also makes it back to Winterfell but he not only vacates his claim to Sansa, he tells Jon of his true parentage. Jon and Sansa  wed so that they are King and Queen of the North. As such, they harshly rebuke a Lannister order to bend their knees to Cersei. before Arya leaves River Run, she releases Edmure Tully and his banner men so that they can take back the Tully home. Almost every Frey is killed in retaliation for the Red Wedding.

- Arya helps an injured giant and gains his loyalty as a reward. She and Lyanna Mormont become fast friends. A White Walker attacks Winterfell with a small horde of  cold walkers (What I call the 'wights'. A Wight has more intelligence than a blue eyed frozen zombie.) and Arya only avoids getting killed by the WW by sheer luck. Her sword Needle is shattered into pieces and only a blow from Jon Snow's sword saves her from death.

- Lyanna Mormont welcomes the arrival of more of her banner men and the large chest they bring with them. The trunk was used by her grandfather but only recently found and is sealed by a rusty lock. Once the lock is broken, the chest has a lot of things inside. In addition to armor of a proper size for the Little Bear, there are also several swords including a bastard sword made of  Valyrian steel and a small sword made of the same. Lyanna gives the bastard sword to Arya to replace Needle; it was called Bear's Bane by a Mormont ancestor.

- Another White walker/ cold walker attack happens at Winterfell but the results are drastically different. While Arya's giant friend  (Hur Knur) smashes apart the cold walkers, Arya confronts and then kills two White Walkers (Including one attacking the Little Bear). Arya is lifted up to Hur Knur's shoulder where she can use her bow with dragon glass arrows. She kills a third White Walker as the attack is finally defeated.  Her prowess in battle causes a group of knights to call themselves 'Arya's Legion'.

- A meeting between Jon Snow and Daenerys Targaryen occurs. Common ground is found and an agreement is reached. House Lannister's fate is sealed as banner men are called and the largest army ever created in the history of Westeros looks to the north. By this time, only King's Landing is held by the Lannisters; the houses of the surrounding lands are either exterminated or have sworn allegiance to Daenerys.

- Arya still shows that she dwells on the dark side of humanity. She freely admits to killing Walder Frey in retribution but she is far from done. Unknown to even Hur Knur, Arya has cut the faces from more than one cold walker and is undetectable by even a White Walker while in such a disguise. She sneaks beyond the wall where the cold walker hordes are massed but her attempt to assassinate the WW Leader is foiled by another WW. Before Arya floats away south on a coracle, she has added two more White Walkers to her kills. The Night's King is as angry as one such as him could be and he decides to attack the south with his full might.

-The battle against the Night's King has caused losses on both sides. The fell ferocity of the cold walkers is matched with fire arrows, giants with massive fiery scythes and  those with Valyrian steel killing White Walkers. The Night's King finally appears at the front of his army as Jon Snow answers in kind. There are no words spoken but the two know that they will join in single combat. The Night's King is a skilled combatant but Jon Snow holds his ground. A cold walker bear charges Jon Snow and while he is distracted by the beast, the Night's King grievously wounds Jon Snow. The bear is set on fire by some archers but there are many on the side of the living that expected such treachery. The cold walker hordes now charge forth to once again join in the melee of battle but the Little Bear has brought along a surprise. Three motionless giants come to life as they hurl barrels of wildfire into the cold walker hordes. A few fire arrows stop their charge as the wildfire will burn whatever it touches. Even a WW  isn't safe from the attack as they melt into the ground along with most of the cold walkers being destroyed. The unexpected response has caused the Night's King to pause from moving forward. As the forces under Jon's command begin chanting 'King of the North', Jon Snow gets to his feet but sets his sword on fire.  The night's King attempts to defend himself but a powerful blow from Jon Snow shatters the Night King's weapon and then the Night king himself. With his death, the cold walkers lose their animation.

Regarding the Omnicider attacks on July 4th (No Spoilers here!)

 

An omnicider struck in a Shi'a enclave using an ice truck to draw people in before detonating the explosives concealed under the ice. A group of dysgenes called ISIS claimed responsibility for the act but why did this occur anyways? This proves that even with the mythical concept of Dar Es Salaam (The House of Peace), the omniciding will still occur. This attack (along with others) all but proves that at least some of Islam are fell liars and that they are not doing this to even further their religious cause. They are murderers and any that don't condemn such as these are as complicit in the crime as the actual perpetrators. You can't negotiate with people like this nor can you appease them; they will not stop until they have killed everyone they consider to be an infidel and it is very easy to get on their list. I have an alternative solution to waiting for them to attack us yet again on US soil. Weapon up as best as you can so when the terrorist shitheads arrive, they can be greeted in proper fashion... in a hail of lead.

 

 

A Jaded Bard

The most profitable High Speed Rail line in existence isn't being built. Why?



Preamble

Even if air and automobile travel dominate the world, there still is something to be said about trains. They are more efficient in moving cargo when they can be implemented and over the decades, they have moved a substantial number of people across the land.  Since the 1960's or so, we have had what is called High Speed Rail or HSR. While HSR is most cost effective in highly urbanized areas, this isn't always the case. As a matter of fact, the potentially most profitable HSR line in existence would travel through the Mojave Desert between two urban areas.

Las Vegas, Nevada has around thirty million visitors per year and while gambling is a main focus, conventions and other special events also draw a fair share of people. About twenty five percent of  the yearly visitors are from southern California (SoCal) and even if Las Vegas has enough room capacity for visitors, the relatively limited road access to the city poses a logistical nightmare. Traffic in Las Vegas is bad enough as it goes let alone with massive numbers of vehicles clogging up I-15. It can take eight hours to traverse the ca. 265 miles from SoCal to Las Vegas in peak travel times but what if  the travel time to Las Vegas could be cut down to one hour instead of eight? The visitors could arrive faster and be less frazzled or worn out; this could result in more money being spent in Las Vegas and potentially more frequent trips to the city. In addition, you could get more visitors overall because foreigners visiting SoCal could be transported to Las Vegas quickly and efficiently.

Okay, you are looking askance at me like I am not in my right mind... but I am. The solution to the traffic gridlock on I-15 and to bring in more visitors to Las Vegas is...a High Speed Rail line! You would build terminals that would go from SoCal to Las Vegas while providing parking for vehicles. Concession areas would generate even more revenue and the large number of jobs created would also be of benefit. The trains themselves could have one way mirror glass so that passengers could see the external flora and fauna of the desert. This is only a partial list of benefits that this HSR line could bring.

- Free up traffic congestion on I-15
- Generate a large number of jobs
- A guaranteed ridership (One hour in a train or 4-8 hours driving?)
- Increase visits to Las Vegas from both SoCal people and visiting foreign nationals
- The opposite of the above would also be true. (More people visiting SoCal)
- Cut down on vehicle emissions
- Easier control by law enforcement

So why hasn't this been built yet?

Politics

The biggest roadblock to constructing this HSR line has been political. California and Nevada have been arguing over who would pay for what for a considerable period of time. If you considered a distance of 265 miles from Las Vegas to North Tustin, only 39 miles (ca. 15%) of the route is in Nevada. Despite this fact, CA wants NV to pay for half of the route's construction but it doesn't end there. The major Las Vegas casinos were approached about paying for the HSR but they insisted that the cost be covered by a tax on Nevada residents through either a goods surcharge or a property tax levy. The response to that proposal was predictable because the tax burden would have ben on ALL residents of Nevada. Meanwhile, you have all sorts of vocal factions in California calling for regulation beyond even maximum for any such HSR line being built. California has a massive tax base but it is heavily taxed and the governance currently in place there isn't very effective. There has been a lot of foot dragging on California's end too. The biggest amount of it has to do where the terminal will be located on the California side. For my proposal, I looked at a SoCal map versus decided on a political basis. The terminal location in California has to be close enough to an urban center to be practical but also has to have ample room to not only construct the terminal but also to have room for concessions and lots of parking. The Las Vegas location was nowhere near as problematic. This is what I propose.

Proposal

A High Speed Rail (HSR) line located in the following areas.

California: North Tustin  Nevada: West Lake Mead Boulevard @ County Highway 215
Distance: 265 miles between the above locations. (226 miles in CA, 39 miles in NV)
Distance Proportion: 85% CA, 15% NV (Used for cost & revenue calculations)
HSR Type: Very High Speed Rail (270 mph (434 kph))
Rail Lines: 4 initial lines with up to twelve additional lines (as needed)
Train Design: Locomotive with ten passenger cars or four heavy freight cars
Passenger Capacity:  1000 passengers @ Full load (100 per Passenger Car)
Construction Cost and Revenue Split: 85/15 for both considerations. While CA will pay 85% of the construction cost, they will also receive 85% of generated revenue from the HSR. Nevada's cost (15%) has to come from those who would directly and most strongly benefit from its construction. The State of Nevada  can't be asked to bear the cost because the HSR is only arriving in Las Vegas, not Reno or Ely or Elko. The casinos will be the ones most directly benefitting from the HSR so they should pony up the cost of Nevada's portion. In exchange, form up a Casino Funding LLC  or the equivalent to collect revenue from the casinos towards the building of the HSR. Don't make it mandatory to contribute to the LLC but the casinos that do contribute will be allowed to have an advertising and transportation presence at the new HSR location. The increase in casino business will cover the cost of the HSR sooner than they think. if the traffic volume can justify it, build extra rails for additional trains.

Cost of ridership: $40 One Way; $25 Round Trip per person. Children under 12: $10. Special Group Rates

Estimated Revenue: Ten million Visitors @ $25 per person - $250,000,000 (Conservative)
Conclusion

There is no way that the construction of this HSR line will be cheap; one million dollars per mile is a conservative figure and that is just for the rail. The two terminals will also be costly and it will be necessary to set up security checkpoints along the train route. One way that future costs of additional HSR lines could be reduced is to use the same sort of track and the same types of train components as the HSR line is built out. That way a freight car from the Vegas line can be used on a HSR train going to San Francisco or Vegas can be loaned a few passenger units from the Los Angeles - San Francisco Run.

If the politics can't be overcome, perhaps a foreign national company could build the HSR line... and they would get to keep ALL of the rail revenue....

A Jaded Bard.