Tuesday **Coff Coff** I’m Sick Boss Open Comments

We’ve all called in sick to work at one time or another. At the point in our careers where most here find themselves, we are generally at death’s doorstep before we’ll actually call in sick – much to the consternation of our coworkers who would rather remain uninfected.
Alright. Show of hands here. Who has called in sick at some point in their career when you were technically not sick. In this context, “technically not sick” may mean one or more of the following:

  1. Employee’s 12-year-old daughter stole his car and he had no other way to work.
  2. Employee didn’t want to report it to the police.
  3. Employee said bats got in her hair.
  4. Employee said a refrigerator fell on him.
  5. Employee was in line at a coffee shop when a truck carrying flour backed up and dumped the flour into her convertible.
  6. Employee said a deer bit him during hunting season.
  7. Employee ate too much at a party.
  8. Employee fell out of bed and broke his nose.
  9. Employee got a cold from a puppy.
  10. Employee’s child stuck a mint up his nose and had to go to the ER to remove it.
  11. Employee hurt his back chasing a beaver.
  12. Employee got his toe caught in a vent cover.
  13. Employee had a headache after going to too many garage sales.
  14. Employee’s brother-in-law was kidnapped by a drug cartel while in Mexico.
  15. Employee drank anti-freeze by mistake and had to go to the hospital.
  16. Employee was at a bowling alley and a bucket filled with water (due to a leak) crashed through the ceiling and hit her on the head.

What excuses have you people used to deprive your employer of the fruits of your labors?


Posted

in

by

Tags:

Comments

126 responses to “Tuesday **Coff Coff** I’m Sick Boss Open Comments”

  1. fat albert Avatar
    fat albert

    First.

    I would leave more of a comment, but I’m really not feeling very well right now…..

    I’m sure I’ll be feeling much better tomorrow.

  2. fat albert Avatar
    fat albert

    First.
    I would leave more of a comment, but I’m really not feeling very well right now…..
    I’m sure I’ll be feeling much better tomorrow.

  3. Southern Tragedy Avatar
    Southern Tragedy

    No excuses FA.

    3.Employee said bats got in her hair

    Those triple crown weaves are a magnet I tell ya.

  4. GJT Avatar
    GJT

    No excuses FA.

    3.Employee said bats got in her hair

    Those triple crown weaves are a magnet I tell ya.

  5. Katfish Avatar

    Direct personal experience?

  6. wagonburner Avatar
    wagonburner

    Direct personal experience?

  7. Southern Tragedy Avatar
    Southern Tragedy

    SJL was tellin about it one day.

  8. GJT Avatar
    GJT

    SJL was tellin about it one day.

  9. mharper42 Avatar
    mharper42

    Hey, most of those excuses aren’t “sick”. You just adopt a shaky hoarse voice when you call in and report that you are sick. I never did it, except if I way overslept and then I sounded sick anyway when I called in.

  10. mharper42 Avatar
    mharper42

    Hey, most of those excuses aren’t “sick”. You just adopt a shaky hoarse voice when you call in and report that you are sick. I never did it, except if I way overslept and then I sounded sick anyway when I called in.

  11. Tedtam Avatar

    I remember an incident from my very earliest days of employment after graduating from college, regarding a case of flu that I picked up about a month after my first day of work. I was a low level management employee in the employment office of a large local airline. I had no office, as the type of work I did required me to move from one work area to another, so I rubbed shoulders with the clerical staff constantly.

    I remember the Sunday I first began to feel ill. My back hurt so badly I didn’t want to move. I went in to work on Monday, stuff dripping from every orifice of my body, to run the weekly reports for which I was responsible, then informed my boss (a little slug of a man) that I was going home. (My boss treated the office staff like the army, with two tiers and two standards – if you were “management,” you could do no wrong; however, if you were clerical staff you were responsible for everything.) I tried to come back on Thursday, but I was so weak that I only made it half a day. While there, I was asked by one of the secretaries how I was feeling. “Like crap,” I said, “I’m probably going to have to go back home.” Then she told me that the boss had called the clerical staff into his office to inform them that “they could be sick at work just as well as at home” and that if they got sick he expected them to show up at their desks.

    That boss lasted about a year. Everyone despised the man, and he was bucking his superiors about cutting his budget when he was offered the chance to resign before he was fired. He left, and we heard later that he was arrested at an airport in Arizona, using a stolen expired employee badge (which we kept in our office) to fly for free – again. It seems that a ticket agent finally looked at the badge, realized the picture didn’t match, and refused to give him a pass. Then he pulled out his credit card to pay for his ticket, and the name on the credit card didn’t match the employee badge.

    I hear stealing airline miles is a federal offense.

  12. Tedtam Avatar

    I remember an incident from my very earliest days of employment after graduating from college, regarding a case of flu that I picked up about a month after my first day of work. I was a low level management employee in the employment office of a large local airline. I had no office, as the type of work I did required me to move from one work area to another, so I rubbed shoulders with the clerical staff constantly.
    I remember the Sunday I first began to feel ill. My back hurt so badly I didn’t want to move. I went in to work on Monday, stuff dripping from every orifice of my body, to run the weekly reports for which I was responsible, then informed my boss (a little slug of a man) that I was going home. (My boss treated the office staff like the army, with two tiers and two standards – if you were “management,” you could do no wrong; however, if you were clerical staff you were responsible for everything.) I tried to come back on Thursday, but I was so weak that I only made it half a day. While there, I was asked by one of the secretaries how I was feeling. “Like crap,” I said, “I’m probably going to have to go back home.” Then she told me that the boss had called the clerical staff into his office to inform them that “they could be sick at work just as well as at home” and that if they got sick he expected them to show up at their desks.
    That boss lasted about a year. Everyone despised the man, and he was bucking his superiors about cutting his budget when he was offered the chance to resign before he was fired. He left, and we heard later that he was arrested at an airport in Arizona, using a stolen expired employee badge (which we kept in our office) to fly for free – again. It seems that a ticket agent finally looked at the badge, realized the picture didn’t match, and refused to give him a pass. Then he pulled out his credit card to pay for his ticket, and the name on the credit card didn’t match the employee badge.
    I hear stealing airline miles is a federal offense.

  13. Hamous Avatar

    “journalists” agree not to let out embarrassing comments between JugEars and Sarkozy the Frog about Netanyahu.

    The remark was naturally meant to be said in confidence, but the two leaders’ microphones were accidently left on, making the would-be private comment embarrassingly public.
    /snip
    The surprising lack of coverage may be explained by a report alleging that journalists present at the event were requested to sign an agreement to keep mum on the embarrassing comments. A Reuters reporter was among the journalists present and can confirm the veracity of the comments.

    A member of the media confirmed Monday that “there were discussions between journalists and they agreed not to publish the comments due to the sensitivity of the issue.

    Let’s not even try to make the case that they haven’t chosen sides and are actively pushing an agenda. Every member that agreed to cover this up needs to have his credentials jerked as nothing he publishes can be trusted.

  14. Bonecrusher Avatar
    Bonecrusher

    “journalists” agree not to let out embarrassing comments between JugEars and Sarkozy the Frog about Netanyahu.

    The remark was naturally meant to be said in confidence, but the two leaders’ microphones were accidently left on, making the would-be private comment embarrassingly public.
    /snip
    The surprising lack of coverage may be explained by a report alleging that journalists present at the event were requested to sign an agreement to keep mum on the embarrassing comments. A Reuters reporter was among the journalists present and can confirm the veracity of the comments.
    A member of the media confirmed Monday that “there were discussions between journalists and they agreed not to publish the comments due to the sensitivity of the issue.

    Let’s not even try to make the case that they haven’t chosen sides and are actively pushing an agenda. Every member that agreed to cover this up needs to have his credentials jerked as nothing he publishes can be trusted.

  15. Katfish Avatar

    When I was a senior in HS, a couple buddies and I took a couple days off to go skiing. When we got ready to leave, we found out the coolant in the car had frozen solid (the guy’s dad owned a few car parts stores – go figure), so we had to delay our departure for a day or two (weekend).

    I got back and went back to school with my note from my mom that said I was sick. I had a very sunburned face and white raccoon eyes from the sunglasses I had. Only one teacher gave me any grief at all. My home ec. teacher signed my excuse form, grinned, and said “sick, huh?”, then asked where we went and if we had fun. I always liked her.

  16. wagonburner Avatar
    wagonburner

    When I was a senior in HS, a couple buddies and I took a couple days off to go skiing. When we got ready to leave, we found out the coolant in the car had frozen solid (the guy’s dad owned a few car parts stores – go figure), so we had to delay our departure for a day or two (weekend).
    I got back and went back to school with my note from my mom that said I was sick. I had a very sunburned face and white raccoon eyes from the sunglasses I had. Only one teacher gave me any grief at all. My home ec. teacher signed my excuse form, grinned, and said “sick, huh?”, then asked where we went and if we had fun. I always liked her.

  17. Katfish Avatar

    Italy’s not too far from the big fall. It’s also too big to fail and too big to bail out.

    Italian debt costs 490 basis points more than German. If I’m correct, that means they’re paying around triple the interest rates that the Germans are.

  18. wagonburner Avatar
    wagonburner

    Italy’s not too far from the big fall. It’s also too big to fail and too big to bail out.
    Italian debt costs 490 basis points more than German. If I’m correct, that means they’re paying around triple the interest rates that the Germans are.

  19. Tedtam Avatar

    Bang! Nailed it!

    The world passed liberalism by once, its once noble agenda of civil rights, 8-hour day/40 hour week, overtime pay, disability compensation, fair housing, and unemployment insurance was achieved, and the effort for equality of opportunity became a mandated equality of result. Somewhere in the late 1970s and 1980s, the onset of globalism, the largess from high-tech, computerized breakthroughs, and the vast expansion of government spread such wealth and affluence that poverty was no longer lack of shelter, food, or clothing, but redefined as not having what someone else had (the “1%”). In short, the good life was just too good to pass it up and join hoi polloi in the flesh. And so our anointed purchased their virtue by profession and abstraction rather than concrete action.

  20. Tedtam Avatar

    Bang! Nailed it!

    The world passed liberalism by once, its once noble agenda of civil rights, 8-hour day/40 hour week, overtime pay, disability compensation, fair housing, and unemployment insurance was achieved, and the effort for equality of opportunity became a mandated equality of result. Somewhere in the late 1970s and 1980s, the onset of globalism, the largess from high-tech, computerized breakthroughs, and the vast expansion of government spread such wealth and affluence that poverty was no longer lack of shelter, food, or clothing, but redefined as not having what someone else had (the “1%”). In short, the good life was just too good to pass it up and join hoi polloi in the flesh. And so our anointed purchased their virtue by profession and abstraction rather than concrete action.

  21. Katfish Avatar

    #14 tedtam
    So the strange Pilates ball helicopter thing, is it the cause or the result of the giant gains in productivity and poverty reduction?

  22. wagonburner Avatar
    wagonburner

    #14 tedtam
    So the strange Pilates ball helicopter thing, is it the cause or the result of the giant gains in productivity and poverty reduction?

  23. wagonburner Avatar
    wagonburner

    #6 He was ten times the man that prancing peacock Cassius Clay was.

  24. Hamous Avatar

    #6 He was ten times the man that prancing peacock Cassius Clay was.

  25. Sarge Avatar
    Sarge

    (My boss treated the office staff like the army, with two tiers and two standards – if you were “management,” you could do no wrong; however, if you were clerical staff you were responsible for everything.)

    That’s not how the Army works. In fact, its just the opposite. Leadership generally pays for the mistakes of those who are led. The standard used is that if they made a mistake, it is because you inadequately trained them and are a poor leader.

  26. Sarge Avatar
    Sarge

    (My boss treated the office staff like the army, with two tiers and two standards – if you were “management,” you could do no wrong; however, if you were clerical staff you were responsible for everything.)

    That’s not how the Army works. In fact, its just the opposite. Leadership generally pays for the mistakes of those who are led. The standard used is that if they made a mistake, it is because you inadequately trained them and are a poor leader.

  27. gtotracker Avatar
    gtotracker

    Maybe the filthy little creeps will get a bath today.

    http://twitter.com/#!/OccupyHouston

  28. gtotracker Avatar
    gtotracker

    Maybe the filthy little creeps will get a bath today.
    http://twitter.com/#!/OccupyHouston

  29. Tedtam Avatar

    What I meant was that he treated the staff as two very distinct groups, and he had different rules for each. I guess I should have been more clear.

  30. Tedtam Avatar

    What I meant was that he treated the staff as two very distinct groups, and he had different rules for each. I guess I should have been more clear.

  31. Tedtam Avatar

    I found out my best matches were Bachman, Santorum, and…oh, crap, Romney!

    Well, 2 out 3, blah, blah, blah.

    Ooops – forgot the link:
    http://www.votesmart.org/

  32. Tedtam Avatar

    I found out my best matches were Bachman, Santorum, and…oh, crap, Romney!
    Well, 2 out 3, blah, blah, blah.
    Ooops – forgot the link:
    http://www.votesmart.org/

  33. texanadian Avatar
    texanadian

    Farmers 1 – Smelt 0… finally some sanity

    http://spectator.org/archives/2011/11/07/farmers-1-smelt-0-for-now

    morning y’all

  34. texanadian Avatar
    texanadian

    Farmers 1 – Smelt 0… finally some sanity
    http://spectator.org/archives/2011/11/07/farmers-1-smelt-0-for-now
    morning y’all

  35. Texpat Avatar
    Texpat

    #16 – AMEN (and he didn’t name a gaggle of his kids with all the same names a la George foreman)

    🙂

  36. Katfish Avatar

    #16 – AMEN (and he didn’t name a gaggle of his kids with all the same names a la George foreman)
    🙂

  37. Katfish Avatar

    #20 tedtam
    Got the same as you did, but I’m a Cain supporter anyway. He was actually barely below the others. Reasoning:
    1. Don’t trust Romney
    2. The butter’s slid off Bachman’s noodles.
    3. Santorum doesn’t seem to be trying very hard.

  38. wagonburner Avatar
    wagonburner

    #20 tedtam
    Got the same as you did, but I’m a Cain supporter anyway. He was actually barely below the others. Reasoning:
    1. Don’t trust Romney
    2. The butter’s slid off Bachman’s noodles.
    3. Santorum doesn’t seem to be trying very hard.

  39. Robert M Avatar
    Robert M

    I remember my first job when they told us we had 10 sick days to use during the year. Of course I thought you had to actually be sick to use them. After I lost my 10 sick days because I never got sick then I realized everybody else was taking their sick days when they weren’t really sick. Boy, that made me feel stupid. So I guess being “mentally” ill then qualified for a sick day. Now companies give you five “personal” days to use as you wished so you had better save them until the end of the year because if you went over the five days you got docked pay.

  40. Robert M Avatar
    Robert M

    I remember my first job when they told us we had 10 sick days to use during the year. Of course I thought you had to actually be sick to use them. After I lost my 10 sick days because I never got sick then I realized everybody else was taking their sick days when they weren’t really sick. Boy, that made me feel stupid. So I guess being “mentally” ill then qualified for a sick day. Now companies give you five “personal” days to use as you wished so you had better save them until the end of the year because if you went over the five days you got docked pay.

  41. Robert M Avatar
    Robert M

    Now for the real reason I wanted to wrote in. It has come to my attention that the “OCCUPY White House” group has actually come forward with a list of demands. “Ten” of them to be exact and here they are:

    1) That Obummer be given “four more years” to really screw things up.

    2) That there will no longer be “Big” government, it will demand “Total” government.

    3) That the president will create a cabinet post for “distribution of wealth”.

    4) That the voters for president be given “unlimited entitlements”.

    5) That to be able to provide for everything, that there will be “no debt ceiling”.

    6) That to insure the federal government can function, there will “unlimited printing of money”.

    7) That no one shall ever be sick again, “free healthcare” for everyone.

    8) That the “potato” be declared a “fruit” and there be “french fries” for everybody.

    9) That it is alright for any president to be a muslim.

    10) That there shall be unlimited “golf” and the use of the “mulligan”.

    Now if there are any other demands that I left off, please feel free to add to my list.

  42. Robert M Avatar
    Robert M

    Now for the real reason I wanted to wrote in. It has come to my attention that the “OCCUPY White House” group has actually come forward with a list of demands. “Ten” of them to be exact and here they are:
    1) That Obummer be given “four more years” to really screw things up.
    2) That there will no longer be “Big” government, it will demand “Total” government.
    3) That the president will create a cabinet post for “distribution of wealth”.
    4) That the voters for president be given “unlimited entitlements”.
    5) That to be able to provide for everything, that there will be “no debt ceiling”.
    6) That to insure the federal government can function, there will “unlimited printing of money”.
    7) That no one shall ever be sick again, “free healthcare” for everyone.
    8) That the “potato” be declared a “fruit” and there be “french fries” for everybody.
    9) That it is alright for any president to be a muslim.
    10) That there shall be unlimited “golf” and the use of the “mulligan”.
    Now if there are any other demands that I left off, please feel free to add to my list.

  43. Sarge Avatar
    Sarge

    What I meant was that he treated the staff as two very distinct groups, and he had different rules for each. I guess I should have been more clear.

    Not to be contentious, but this is still not the way the military works. The military is perhaps the only true meritocracy working in this country. Leaders who act the way you describe are not tolerated and do not go far. Too much is at stake to allow it.

    Its understandable. Few people today have had a military experience and are affected by the protrayals they see in movies and TV to make thier judgements and assumptions.

  44. Sarge Avatar
    Sarge

    What I meant was that he treated the staff as two very distinct groups, and he had different rules for each. I guess I should have been more clear.

    Not to be contentious, but this is still not the way the military works. The military is perhaps the only true meritocracy working in this country. Leaders who act the way you describe are not tolerated and do not go far. Too much is at stake to allow it.
    Its understandable. Few people today have had a military experience and are affected by the protrayals they see in movies and TV to make thier judgements and assumptions.

  45. Tedtam Avatar

    From some conversations I had long ago with military (and time may have clouded my memory), I understand that the enlisted are in one path, and officers in another. Yes, an enlisted can become an officer, but in general, once enlisted, that’s the career path you are in.

    What I was trying to show was how my boss treated the two groups so differently.

    If that’s confusing, just forget I ever said it. He was a two-faced hypocrite with severe leadership and honesty issues.

  46. Tedtam Avatar

    From some conversations I had long ago with military (and time may have clouded my memory), I understand that the enlisted are in one path, and officers in another. Yes, an enlisted can become an officer, but in general, once enlisted, that’s the career path you are in.
    What I was trying to show was how my boss treated the two groups so differently.
    If that’s confusing, just forget I ever said it. He was a two-faced hypocrite with severe leadership and honesty issues.

  47. Katfish Avatar

    Everyone in the military is expected to improve his/her leadership skills over time and to take the initiative to exhibit those skills to the extent they are able or authorized to. A colonel will have more leadership authority than a corporal, but each is expected to show at least the nominal level of leadership ability and results that are inherent in their positions.

    It is very often (prolly just about universally so) the case that a senior enlisted person (E-7 or higher – think Marine Gunnery Sgt, Navy Chief Petty Officers, AF Master Sgts, Army Sgt Majors)) will have leadership skills beyond those of most officers.

  48. wagonburner Avatar
    wagonburner

    Everyone in the military is expected to improve his/her leadership skills over time and to take the initiative to exhibit those skills to the extent they are able or authorized to. A colonel will have more leadership authority than a corporal, but each is expected to show at least the nominal level of leadership ability and results that are inherent in their positions.
    It is very often (prolly just about universally so) the case that a senior enlisted person (E-7 or higher – think Marine Gunnery Sgt, Navy Chief Petty Officers, AF Master Sgts, Army Sgt Majors)) will have leadership skills beyond those of most officers.

  49. Adee Avatar
    Adee

    Good morning Hamsters. Mugly 71 with light rain or mist overnight made going outside at 6 an unpleasant reminder of last summer, which is barely in the rearview mirror. Bring on the front.

    Regarding Italy teetering on the edge of economic collapse as it stares below at Greece in the abyss, on our trip there barely a month ago we saw for ourselves the Italians’ general dislike of and frustration with PM Berlusconi for his inability/unwillingness to do anything to halt the slide. With unemployment at least 20% (according to two tour guides on our bus trips, one being an expat American) and inflation hammering stagnant incomes daily, the situation gallops toward disaster for the average citizen. Fixing it will be painful, and Italians will have to accept that and pull themselves up by the bootstraps while they still have bootstraps.

    Now there are street people who make a living taking advantage of unsuspecting tourists, and there are pickpockets in all the popular and crowded tourist areas. But when you see a retirement-aged gentleman dressed in what is likely his best–maybe only–suit awkwardly trying to distribute flyers in a public square in Naples, or other older men–definitely not street people–equally awkwardly selling sun glasses, postcards or hats in tourist locations, you know things are not normal, and their eyes speak volumes. And then there is the black (north African?) family living in a tent under a bridge on the highway between Florence and Naples. And there were elderly and disabled women begging on the streets near churches, certainly not seeming to me to be doing penance. Hey, Italy is a socialist country, so why are these women not being cared for? These were the most disturbing to see.

    After looking the whole trip at many examples of the artful glassblowers of Venice who produce the incomparable Murrano glass bead jewelry, on the last afternoon in Naples I walked through the duty-free shops at the port and saw a necklace I had to have. To my surprise the proprietor lowered the price 10 euros when I said I would take it. This was not a store in which bargaining is expected, and I didn’t ask. Same experience a week before in Florence at a fabulous leather goods factory at which I bought a purse and a wallet. They were both discounted because I bought two items, and it was definitely a high-quality place.

  50. Adee Avatar
    Adee

    Good morning Hamsters. Mugly 71 with light rain or mist overnight made going outside at 6 an unpleasant reminder of last summer, which is barely in the rearview mirror. Bring on the front.
    Regarding Italy teetering on the edge of economic collapse as it stares below at Greece in the abyss, on our trip there barely a month ago we saw for ourselves the Italians’ general dislike of and frustration with PM Berlusconi for his inability/unwillingness to do anything to halt the slide. With unemployment at least 20% (according to two tour guides on our bus trips, one being an expat American) and inflation hammering stagnant incomes daily, the situation gallops toward disaster for the average citizen. Fixing it will be painful, and Italians will have to accept that and pull themselves up by the bootstraps while they still have bootstraps.
    Now there are street people who make a living taking advantage of unsuspecting tourists, and there are pickpockets in all the popular and crowded tourist areas. But when you see a retirement-aged gentleman dressed in what is likely his best–maybe only–suit awkwardly trying to distribute flyers in a public square in Naples, or other older men–definitely not street people–equally awkwardly selling sun glasses, postcards or hats in tourist locations, you know things are not normal, and their eyes speak volumes. And then there is the black (north African?) family living in a tent under a bridge on the highway between Florence and Naples. And there were elderly and disabled women begging on the streets near churches, certainly not seeming to me to be doing penance. Hey, Italy is a socialist country, so why are these women not being cared for? These were the most disturbing to see.
    After looking the whole trip at many examples of the artful glassblowers of Venice who produce the incomparable Murrano glass bead jewelry, on the last afternoon in Naples I walked through the duty-free shops at the port and saw a necklace I had to have. To my surprise the proprietor lowered the price 10 euros when I said I would take it. This was not a store in which bargaining is expected, and I didn’t ask. Same experience a week before in Florence at a fabulous leather goods factory at which I bought a purse and a wallet. They were both discounted because I bought two items, and it was definitely a high-quality place.

  51. Tedtam Avatar

    Good for them!

    I’m glad if they are actually making this big family work. Big families rule – especially at holiday time!

  52. Tedtam Avatar

    Good for them!
    I’m glad if they are actually making this big family work. Big families rule – especially at holiday time!

  53. mharper42 Avatar
    mharper42

    #10 Pyro

    My home ec. teacher

    Really?

  54. mharper42 Avatar
    mharper42

    #10 Pyro

    My home ec. teacher

    Really?

  55. mharper42 Avatar
    mharper42

    #20 TT
    My match-up was almost all Perry!

  56. mharper42 Avatar
    mharper42

    #20 TT
    My match-up was almost all Perry!

  57. fat albert Avatar
    fat albert

    I agree.

  58. fat albert Avatar
    fat albert

    I agree.

  59. Sarge Avatar
    Sarge

    I’ve really got to stop looking up stuff on the internet.

    I find more stuff to buy.

    Technology is an amazing thing. I never would have thought such things possible back when I was pining away for an aluminum external frame that could hold a pup tent and mu sleeping bag.

  60. Sarge Avatar
    Sarge

    I’ve really got to stop looking up stuff on the internet.
    I find more stuff to buy.
    Technology is an amazing thing. I never would have thought such things possible back when I was pining away for an aluminum external frame that could hold a pup tent and mu sleeping bag.

  61. mharper42 Avatar
    mharper42

    Getting a good steady rain in NW Hou, hope everyone is getting some.

  62. mharper42 Avatar
    mharper42

    Getting a good steady rain in NW Hou, hope everyone is getting some.

  63. mharper42 Avatar
    mharper42

    #38 Sarge
    Sorry, I don’t have 15 mins to watch a camping gear video.
    🙂
    I did like the small-shrub camo headwear that guy had on, 3 seconds in, poking his head up from a foxhole.

  64. mharper42 Avatar
    mharper42

    #38 Sarge
    Sorry, I don’t have 15 mins to watch a camping gear video.
    🙂
    I did like the small-shrub camo headwear that guy had on, 3 seconds in, poking his head up from a foxhole.

  65. fat albert Avatar
    fat albert

    You’re absolutely right!

  66. fat albert Avatar
    fat albert

    You’re absolutely right!

  67. Sarge Avatar
    Sarge

    Sorry, I don’t have 15 mins to watch a camping gear video

    Wimmins got no sense of priorities in life.

    And it ain’t no camping gear.

  68. Sarge Avatar
    Sarge

    Sorry, I don’t have 15 mins to watch a camping gear video

    Wimmins got no sense of priorities in life.
    And it ain’t no camping gear.

  69. Hamous Avatar

    +#38 Sarge: That sure is a nifty pack, but at $500 wissin bucks its a little pricey.

  70. Bonecrusher Avatar
    Bonecrusher

    +#38 Sarge: That sure is a nifty pack, but at $500 wissin bucks its a little pricey.

  71. Hamous Avatar

    From a strategic standpoint, this is brilliant, from the Chinese perspective. The Chinese are not our allies and we will one day enter military conflict with them – directly or indirectly.
    From a moral and US national security perspective, it is a wissin nightmare. The Chinese are “sprinkling” counterfeit parts in our military orders, so now our military is forced to test each and every part to be sure that it meets all the specs; this drives up the cost and kills productivity. They have to test to be sure that a $200 weapons system/aircraft/etc is not brought down by the failure of a $2 part.

  72. Bonecrusher Avatar
    Bonecrusher

    From a strategic standpoint, this is brilliant, from the Chinese perspective. The Chinese are not our allies and we will one day enter military conflict with them – directly or indirectly.
    From a moral and US national security perspective, it is a wissin nightmare. The Chinese are “sprinkling” counterfeit parts in our military orders, so now our military is forced to test each and every part to be sure that it meets all the specs; this drives up the cost and kills productivity. They have to test to be sure that a $200 weapons system/aircraft/etc is not brought down by the failure of a $2 part.

  73. Sarge Avatar
    Sarge

    +#38 Sarge: That sure is a nifty pack, but at $500 wissin bucks its a little pricey.

    Yahbut. Its three (clap). Three (clap). Three packs in one.

  74. Sarge Avatar
    Sarge

    +#38 Sarge: That sure is a nifty pack, but at $500 wissin bucks its a little pricey.

    Yahbut. Its three (clap). Three (clap). Three packs in one.

  75. Dooood Avatar

    This is a pretty good recap of the European financial and political crisis using Louisiana, Texas and Florida as stand-ins for southern nations collapsing over there.

    Two excerpts:

    And it’s hard to overestimate the deep sense of betrayal felt by Germans now. When he asked Germans to give up their beloved Deutsche mark for an uncertain new currency, their then-chancellor Helmut Kohl made a solemn promise that they would never have to take on the debts of other countries. Merkel first broke Kohl’s promise in May 2010, with the first $150 billion bailout of Greece. Until today, total German guarantees to the four shakiest countries—Portugal, Ireland, Greece, and Spain—have risen to more than $620 billion.

    and

    Because it is only a loose confederation of countries and not a strong political union like the United States, Europe had no way to keep spendthrift countries like Greece—mired in corruption—from piling up ever-higher mountains of debt in the belief that their European neighbors would always bail them out. It also has no way to force a rich country like France to fix its shaky banks, which together hold almost $900 billion in southern-country debt.

  76. Texpat Avatar
    Texpat

    This is a pretty good recap of the European financial and political crisis using Louisiana, Texas and Florida as stand-ins for southern nations collapsing over there.
    Two excerpts:

    And it’s hard to overestimate the deep sense of betrayal felt by Germans now. When he asked Germans to give up their beloved Deutsche mark for an uncertain new currency, their then-chancellor Helmut Kohl made a solemn promise that they would never have to take on the debts of other countries. Merkel first broke Kohl’s promise in May 2010, with the first $150 billion bailout of Greece. Until today, total German guarantees to the four shakiest countries—Portugal, Ireland, Greece, and Spain—have risen to more than $620 billion.

    and

    Because it is only a loose confederation of countries and not a strong political union like the United States, Europe had no way to keep spendthrift countries like Greece—mired in corruption—from piling up ever-higher mountains of debt in the belief that their European neighbors would always bail them out. It also has no way to force a rich country like France to fix its shaky banks, which together hold almost $900 billion in southern-country debt.

  77. Katfish Avatar

    #46 texpat
    From the article:

    Now the north is belatedly trying to impose radical spending cuts on the south, which has not only plunged countries like Greece and Spain into recession but has made the citizens in those countries very angry, in particular toward paymaster Germany and Chancellor Merkel. Greek newspapers liken Merkel to Hitler and accuse her of turning Europe into a “financial Dachau” with her limits on deficit spending. EU officials dispatched to Athens this summer to help reorganize Greece’s corrupt tax-collection system are nicknamed “the gauleiters”—the title of a Nazi occupation governor. One of the most powerful officials involved in extricating Europe from the crisis, speaking on background, says one of the reasons the crisis has been so difficult to resolve is that in Europe, ancient hatreds and mistrust between countries always lie just below the surface.

    Seems like this whole thing is about to get really really bad. I don’t see how Greece and Spain (likely Portugal, Italy, and maybe Ireland) will be able to continue using the Euro as their currency.

    Greece and Italy are likely to completely default on their bonds in the not too distant future because they won’t be able to find anyone who will buy them; even if they could, the interest rates would be staggering, leading quickly to default because the interest would rapidly accumulate to consume all of their GDP.

    The most recent bailout of Greece bought them maybe a month, two at most, for them to collect their [poo] – at a high price for Germany and the overall union. I hope they can’t afford another bailout. The sooner the crash happens, the better off everyone concerned will be, in both the long and short run.

  78. wagonburner Avatar
    wagonburner

    #46 texpat
    From the article:

    Now the north is belatedly trying to impose radical spending cuts on the south, which has not only plunged countries like Greece and Spain into recession but has made the citizens in those countries very angry, in particular toward paymaster Germany and Chancellor Merkel. Greek newspapers liken Merkel to Hitler and accuse her of turning Europe into a “financial Dachau” with her limits on deficit spending. EU officials dispatched to Athens this summer to help reorganize Greece’s corrupt tax-collection system are nicknamed “the gauleiters”—the title of a Nazi occupation governor. One of the most powerful officials involved in extricating Europe from the crisis, speaking on background, says one of the reasons the crisis has been so difficult to resolve is that in Europe, ancient hatreds and mistrust between countries always lie just below the surface.

    Seems like this whole thing is about to get really really bad. I don’t see how Greece and Spain (likely Portugal, Italy, and maybe Ireland) will be able to continue using the Euro as their currency.
    Greece and Italy are likely to completely default on their bonds in the not too distant future because they won’t be able to find anyone who will buy them; even if they could, the interest rates would be staggering, leading quickly to default because the interest would rapidly accumulate to consume all of their GDP.
    The most recent bailout of Greece bought them maybe a month, two at most, for them to collect their [poo] – at a high price for Germany and the overall union. I hope they can’t afford another bailout. The sooner the crash happens, the better off everyone concerned will be, in both the long and short run.

  79. mharper42 Avatar
    mharper42

    For the record: 1.2″ at the mh42 hacienda. It’s enough I won’t have to be out setting up my sprinklers on Wednesday morning.

  80. mharper42 Avatar
    mharper42

    For the record: 1.2″ at the mh42 hacienda. It’s enough I won’t have to be out setting up my sprinklers on Wednesday morning.

  81. wagonburner Avatar
    wagonburner

    I don’t see how Greece and Spain (likely Portugal, Italy, and maybe Ireland) will be able to continue using the Euro as their currency.

    What currency they use, I believe, is pretty much out of their hands now. The Euro and probably the EU is dead. GB never adopted the Euro. Germany and France will probably revert back to their own currencies. Stupid Greeks invoking Hitler won’t win them any friends in Germany, the country that is doing the most to bail their socialist asses out. Let ’em revive their worthless drachmas and go back to fighting with Turkey over a rocky desert island.

  82. Hamous Avatar

    I don’t see how Greece and Spain (likely Portugal, Italy, and maybe Ireland) will be able to continue using the Euro as their currency.

    What currency they use, I believe, is pretty much out of their hands now. The Euro and probably the EU is dead. GB never adopted the Euro. Germany and France will probably revert back to their own currencies. Stupid Greeks invoking Hitler won’t win them any friends in Germany, the country that is doing the most to bail their socialist asses out. Let ’em revive their worthless drachmas and go back to fighting with Turkey over a rocky desert island.

  83. wagonburner Avatar
    wagonburner

    Its three (clap). Three (clap). Three packs in one.

    Heh. As a teenager, I got in trouble in CCE class for using that commercial to explain the Trinity:

    Three (clap). Three (clap). Three Gods in one!

    A golden drop of Retsyn!

  84. Hamous Avatar

    Its three (clap). Three (clap). Three packs in one.

    Heh. As a teenager, I got in trouble in CCE class for using that commercial to explain the Trinity:
    Three (clap). Three (clap). Three Gods in one!
    A golden drop of Retsyn!

  85. wagonburner Avatar
    wagonburner

    One of the (many) things that chaps my ass about Newt was his stupid climate change with Pelosi. He’s in the “center seat” on Special Report tonight. They played that commercial for him and asked him to explain. He gave probably the best answer he could possibly have given: “That was probably the dumbest thing I’ve ever done.” Moderator: “Were you held hostage and forced to do that commercial?” Newt: “No, I was just dumb.”

    Heh heh.

  86. Hamous Avatar

    One of the (many) things that chaps my ass about Newt was his stupid climate change with Pelosi. He’s in the “center seat” on Special Report tonight. They played that commercial for him and asked him to explain. He gave probably the best answer he could possibly have given: “That was probably the dumbest thing I’ve ever done.” Moderator: “Were you held hostage and forced to do that commercial?” Newt: “No, I was just dumb.”
    Heh heh.

  87. Adee Avatar
    Adee

    Texpat’s #56 article covers the waterfront of the EU’s debacle. But the author could have picked other US states in illustration that are much worse off–Michigan. Illinois, New York, and ta da–California. Maybe the author has it in for the southern states?

    Great Britain was so smart to keep their currency as the pound, and now conservative members of Parliament are increasingly calling for a vote to jump out of the EU.

    Agree with Hamous that the EU and the euro won’t last. Can’t see the Germans being willing to go much further to prop up the losers and further risk their own economy. And why should they?

    Somebody needs to write an EU-specific account of the ant and the grasshopper and make it required reading over there.

  88. Adee Avatar
    Adee

    Texpat’s #56 article covers the waterfront of the EU’s debacle. But the author could have picked other US states in illustration that are much worse off–Michigan. Illinois, New York, and ta da–California. Maybe the author has it in for the southern states?
    Great Britain was so smart to keep their currency as the pound, and now conservative members of Parliament are increasingly calling for a vote to jump out of the EU.
    Agree with Hamous that the EU and the euro won’t last. Can’t see the Germans being willing to go much further to prop up the losers and further risk their own economy. And why should they?
    Somebody needs to write an EU-specific account of the ant and the grasshopper and make it required reading over there.

  89. wagonburner Avatar
    wagonburner

    There are so many lessons to be learned from the EU debacle. It started out as an economic bloc to compete with America. Two lessons stand out in particular. The Europeans should have known that 27 countries and 23 distinct languages will never fully mesh. We should have learned that “multiculturalism” is doomed to failure and the one cultural phenomenon that made our country great was the “melting pot”. I’m afraid neither have heeded the lesson.

  90. Hamous Avatar

    There are so many lessons to be learned from the EU debacle. It started out as an economic bloc to compete with America. Two lessons stand out in particular. The Europeans should have known that 27 countries and 23 distinct languages will never fully mesh. We should have learned that “multiculturalism” is doomed to failure and the one cultural phenomenon that made our country great was the “melting pot”. I’m afraid neither have heeded the lesson.

  91. Darren Avatar
    Darren

    Heh. As a teenager, I got in trouble in CCE class for using that commercial to explain the Trinity:

    Three (clap). Three (clap). Three Gods in one!

    You bad boy, Hamous. 🙂

  92. Darren Avatar
    Darren

    Heh. As a teenager, I got in trouble in CCE class for using that commercial to explain the Trinity:
    Three (clap). Three (clap). Three Gods in one!

    You bad boy, Hamous. 🙂

  93. Katfish Avatar

    #50 hamster
    Dang, son. That one was prolly worth a couple extra eons in Purgatory.

  94. wagonburner Avatar
    wagonburner

    #50 hamster
    Dang, son. That one was prolly worth a couple extra eons in Purgatory.

  95. mharper42 Avatar
    mharper42

    Somebody needs to write an EU-specific account of the ant and the grasshopper and make it required reading over there.

    Bravo, Adee, you always have the perfect take and the perfect wording.

  96. mharper42 Avatar
    mharper42

    Somebody needs to write an EU-specific account of the ant and the grasshopper and make it required reading over there.

    Bravo, Adee, you always have the perfect take and the perfect wording.

  97. Adee Avatar
    Adee

    #56 mharper42. And I guess we need the USA version first to distribute to the Occupy fill in the blank gangs wherever they may gather.

    Well, today has thus far produced 5/100″ of rain on our dirt, and that’s porbably being generous. Weather radar shows a green blob over us that might be drizzle, can’t really tell if the sidewalk is damp. Wind is now out of the north, just a breeze. It will be gusty by tomorrow.

    G’night all.

  98. Adee Avatar
    Adee

    #56 mharper42. And I guess we need the USA version first to distribute to the Occupy fill in the blank gangs wherever they may gather.
    Well, today has thus far produced 5/100″ of rain on our dirt, and that’s porbably being generous. Weather radar shows a green blob over us that might be drizzle, can’t really tell if the sidewalk is damp. Wind is now out of the north, just a breeze. It will be gusty by tomorrow.
    G’night all.

  99. Darren Avatar
    Darren

    Update (Ed): After last week’s aborted accusation against Rick Perry as being the leaker of this story and now this “epic facepalm,” as one of my Twitter followers called this, Mark Block has to go. If he’s not gone by tomorrow, no one will take this campaign seriously again — nor should they.

    I’d agree.

    Mark Block: Did you know that the son of Cain’s accuser works for Politico?

    Furthermore, one factor of Cain which I really like is his instinct. I think of him as a man who if his underlings prove incompetent, he’d fire them. So, if Marc Block doesn’t go then that would significantly erode this perception of Cain in my eyes.

  100. Darren Avatar
    Darren

    Update (Ed): After last week’s aborted accusation against Rick Perry as being the leaker of this story and now this “epic facepalm,” as one of my Twitter followers called this, Mark Block has to go. If he’s not gone by tomorrow, no one will take this campaign seriously again — nor should they.

    I’d agree.
    Mark Block: Did you know that the son of Cain’s accuser works for Politico?
    Furthermore, one factor of Cain which I really like is his instinct. I think of him as a man who if his underlings prove incompetent, he’d fire them. So, if Marc Block doesn’t go then that would significantly erode this perception of Cain in my eyes.

  101. wagonburner Avatar
    wagonburner

    Dang, son. That one was prolly worth a couple extra eons in Purgatory.

    What, you don’t think God as a sense of humor?

  102. Hamous Avatar

    Dang, son. That one was prolly worth a couple extra eons in Purgatory.

    What, you don’t think God as a sense of humor?

  103. Hamous Avatar

    Funnies from my inbox:

    IF MY BODY WERE A CAR…

    If my body were a car, this is the time I would be thinking about trading it in for a newer model. I’ve got bumps and dents and scratches in my finish and my paint job is getting a little dull ….
    But that’s not the worst of it.

    My headlights are out of focus and it’s especially hard to see things up close

    My traction is not as graceful as it once was. I slip and slide and skid and bump into things even in the best of weather.

    My whitewalls are stained with varicose veins.

    It takes me hours to reach my maximum speed. My fuel rate burns inefficiently.

    But here’s the worst of it —

    Almost every time I sneeze, cough or sputter, either my radiator leaks or my exhaust backfires!

    Breathing makes me backfire.

  104. Bonecrusher Avatar
    Bonecrusher

    Funnies from my inbox:

    IF MY BODY WERE A CAR…
    If my body were a car, this is the time I would be thinking about trading it in for a newer model. I’ve got bumps and dents and scratches in my finish and my paint job is getting a little dull ….
    But that’s not the worst of it.
    My headlights are out of focus and it’s especially hard to see things up close
    My traction is not as graceful as it once was. I slip and slide and skid and bump into things even in the best of weather.
    My whitewalls are stained with varicose veins.
    It takes me hours to reach my maximum speed. My fuel rate burns inefficiently.
    But here’s the worst of it —
    Almost every time I sneeze, cough or sputter, either my radiator leaks or my exhaust backfires!

    Breathing makes me backfire.

  105. Hamous Avatar

    I’m sure the feeling is mutual.

    “I mean this is scary,” she said. “Shoot, being married to Barack Obama?

    I ask you, what could possibly be scarier than being married to the wookie and have her mother-wookie living with you?

  106. Bonecrusher Avatar
    Bonecrusher

    I’m sure the feeling is mutual.

    “I mean this is scary,” she said. “Shoot, being married to Barack Obama?

    I ask you, what could possibly be scarier than being married to the wookie and have her mother-wookie living with you?

  107. Hamous Avatar

    Well it looks like everybody is asleep this am. This is really wissin cool.

  108. Bonecrusher Avatar
    Bonecrusher

    Well it looks like everybody is asleep this am. This is really wissin cool.

  109. Tedtam Avatar

    Wednesday thread is up.

  110. Tedtam Avatar

    Wednesday thread is up.

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.