Long Walk

By WR Jones

I fondly remember the days of my youth when I could eat like a horse.  I recall having a plate of pork fat fried potatoes, coffee, a donut, and a cigarette with my thoughts focused on the moment’s pleasure not the near future horrible death awaiting.  The only knowledge we had of calories back then was how many it took to boil a cup of mayonnaise I think.   Modern medical thinking has put a damper on any sort of oral enjoyment.

I got this iPhone GPS app to track pace, distance, calories burned, and the way back home.  I was expecting it to make me feel better about my Sunday walk to get oatmeal.  Expectation is the mother of disappointment my daughter tells me.  She is right.  I totally pissed away my $0.99 on that app.

What I found was that in 2.5 miles I burned 98 Cal.  I had to walk my ass off to break even with a McDonald’s oatmeal and cup of coffee with Splenda.  I’ve been craving some pork ribs and a 1/2 loaf of onion rings.  I’ve got to end this post and get started walking.  I figure I will have to walk across California and look for a ribs place in Tucson, AZ to break even on that calorie load.

Act Now!

By WR Jones

This scene is a Virgina farm my sister and I drove by while looking for something to paint.  Ok, enough about painting.  Here is my latest ongoing aggravation -

I’m watching TV and on comes this loudmouth salesman pushing plastic tape to fix stuff.  Fix a leaky faucet, the garden hose, your spouse’s mouth, etc.  If you want to sell stuff, fine.  The part that pisses me off is the pitch, “3 Rolls of this miracle tape for the give away price of $10″ (leaving the poor sacrificing fools only $9.85 profit margin).  Ok, if you want to screw your fellow man and he is willing to take the hit, fine by me.  HOWEVER, don’t further my already rampant annoyance by telling me if I will only act now, in the next few seconds, before this chance of a lifetimes slips by me forever, you will throw in another 3 rolls for FREE!!! all I have to pay is for the extra shipping AND handling.

Here is my question, if you are dipping into the bin to get 3 rolls of tape and you have to get 3 more, how much extra handling is that exactly?  Call me paranoid but, I’m thinking the payment for EXTRA handling actually pays for the tape + profit + shipping + taxes + lunch + screw the sucker fees.

Still, I like the sales concept.  I will sell you this painting for the low low price of $500 + shipping and handling.  If you call me in the next few minutes (no wait, make that the next few months) I will throw in another previously sold painting for FREE, just pay the shipping, repo, and fondling fees.

Rain Rain Rain Rain Pressed Against My Window Pane

By WR Jones

My goodness it has been such a long time I’m about to explode with pent up rants.

Let’s ease back into this so I don’t do myself further mental damage. HEALTHCARE reform – nice job Obama!

My son had an operation that was supposed to be outpatient procedure.  It was to last 30 minutes to an hour.  Four hours latter when it was finished the doctor decided to hold him overnight.

He received the bill, $7000 for the overnight stay.   That is $7000 for the room alone, didn’t have anything to do with the surgery.  He was NOT in intensive care.  He had a shared room (with a man who had been pistol whipped during a robbery.  He withdrew money from an ATM at 6:00 AM)  Lesson here, pack heat when you withdraw from an ATM.

So I have to ask myself how does one come up with a bill of $7000 for a shared room with minimal nursing for one night?  What is clearly happening is that for all the people who can’t pay anything, the person who can afford SOMETHING is made to pay for  EVERYONE who can’t pay.  This concept is astounding to me.

A more logical approach would be to charge the person who can pay, a just amount for HIS/HER use,  not for everyone else.  What would this amount be?  I can’t get it exactly but I do see bills of say $1000 from a doctor that are settled by the insurance company for say $350.  This means the provider can stay afloat or even make a bit of profit with the $350.

So I say to all  the jerkoff presidents et al, in politics why can’t you stop people from being HUGELY overcharged?   If we must cover everyone then let’s share the burden equally.  This would mean higher taxes I know but then someone who can pay a reasonable amount for care is not wiped out.  We can share the load which means higher taxes, a bit less for doctors, and a big amount less for insurance executives who earn multi million bonuses by screwing as many people as possible while appearing to care.

Yes I do understand the insurance companies must earn a profit and are under constant assault by crooks.  So we need to shoot the crooks with the guns we need to carry for ATM withdrawals.

There now, I’m feeling better.

Merry Christmas.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Toy Story

By WR Jones

Haven’t been here for awhile.  Too much work work.  Not enough time to paint or rant but now I’m so pissed off; must rant.

My latest aggravations:

1. Politics – Jeeeesus, unending, unrelenting bullshit.  I can’t stand those prop ads that give a little snippet.  Always the same from both sides.  If you don’t vote YES or NO as the case may be, all the firefighters, police, teachers, etc will quit. Your taxes will skyrocket, you will be homeless for 3 generations.   Meg what’s her name came on the radio.  Her spiel - 25 out of the last 30 years the California legislators have failed to pass a budget on time.  If she is elected governor, she will PROPOSE all legislators forgo pay, perks, and per diem until the budget is passed.  Uh, Meg, what do you think the chances of that being passed are?
2. Green bullshit – at work they have signs patting themselves on the back for switching from styrofoam to paper cups.  So now we will have less plastic? Nope the plastic companies don’t call up the cafeteria to get the buying schedule so they keep producing at the same level.  Ya, ya, ya, “well we have to start somewhere … if nobody does it …”  Keep chanting your warm and fuzzy mantra and watch the environment.   What should be done is make everyone bring a damn cup to get their own drink.  Novel idea.  Anyhow, there is one HUGE overriding factor for the environment that seems to be overlooked – the population is GROWING but the earth is NOT.  Now China is talking about relaxing the one  child rule because they need more workers to make more money.   In fact all the builders and other manufacturers need growth to sell more product.   Just think if we had half the population there would be half the number of cars and half the number of people to throw their plastic Big Mac trash out the car window (like I do trying to  kill  those damn pooping ducks).

Signs

By WR Jones

I was in West Virgina visiting my sister, went for a walk and saw this sign -

POSTED

No Trespassing

The POSTED was in about 70 point type with the No Trespassing in 12 point.

Duh?  With the sign stapled to a tree do you need to spell out it is posted?  That is like having all the stop signs with great big letters  SIGN followed by a tiny “stop” underneath.  Anyway most of those people don’t read.

Other signs that irk me:

1. Those freeway memorial signs, The Richard F. Bezzelboots Memorial Highway.  What the hell?  Who was that guy?  The three people who know him will die out leaving a useless blight of a sign for years.
2. I’m seeing large signs proclaiming “The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act bla bla bla…” on the freeways.  Is there not a better use of money to stimulate the economy than putting even more bullshit signs on our roadways?  Plant some goddamn flowers or better yet some edible plants, or solar cells to get us off oil.
3. Signs along various roadways: “Your Tax Dollars At Work”.  I get it shit-for-brains, you are spending my money.  Just fix the road; I’ll figure out you spent my money to do it (along with giving yourself plenty of income – like the city manager with the $800,000/yr salary and $600,000/yr retirement for life package.)

Stupid Is As Stupid Does… Again and Again and …

By wr jones

I took a train from Boston to Harper’s Ferry.  It was an all day trip from 5:45 AM to 5:15 PM.   I figured I’d treat myself to an Amtrak upgrade.   Paid something like $40 extra to go business class.   When I boarded the train I looked at the side of the cars and got on one that said business class.

I’m riding along when a female sits beside me and we chat for awhile before the business class subject comes up.  She tells me I’m in the wrong car this is coach class.  NUTS!  I’m too important to be talking with this woman.  I get off at the next stop and move myself and bags to the official Business Class car.

As I chose a seat I reflect on the fact that there is absolutely NO difference in this car than in the coach car I just moved from.   Identical seating.   The conductor stops by to check my ticket and I asked what the business class upgrade entitles me to.   He says if I present my stub to the attendant in the snack car I’m entitled to a free soft drink.  Say what?   Thinking he has it wrong I went to the car and asked the attendant what I got for the upgrade.  He verified the soft drink (which turned out to be one of those half sized cans) and suggested I should consider upgrading to first class.   Wow that news made me feel better.  It meant there is someone even dumber than me.  There are no first class cars and the only food to upgrade would be a microwave cheese sandwich.

Lesson learned here is that I’m don’t belong in business class, I’m not smart enough with my money to be a real business man.

Peace and Exasperation

By W R Jones

It was pretty peaceful painting in this cemetery.    At least until the car load of gang bangers decided to cruise through.

This is where you have to be to find some peace from incessant irritating ads.    I was relieved when Billy Mays was no longer shouting in that abrasive sandpaper voice.  I have to stand corrected after looking up his bio.  For some reason I always thought he was British.  I need my hearing aid batteries replaced.  I called him a loud mouth Brit to some Scot and she told me it was the Americans who had the loud mouths.  Ok, that is true in my case I suppose.  Anyway, Billy Mays dies and I’m  looking forward to fewer screaming ads for soap, etc.

Nope, I just heard his replacement.  A loudmouth Brit.  That started me thinking; does irritation sell?   I guess it may since these ads on TV must run into the hundred of thousands if not millions.   They wouldn’t pick obnoxious pitchmen if it didn’t increase sales.  There must be some research on the subject.  I speculate that irritation sticks with you longer than relaxation.  Later when you see the product, you remember the selling points, but the irritation has faded.

So then, would this work for romance?  If you  irritate a woman would you be more likely to stick in her mind?  I could be a good subject for a study of this effect.  I’ve irritated a LOT of people.  But maybe I overdid it so the irritation part sticks with them (probably to the  grave).  It could be that when they all hit senility I will be the only one they remember.  Too early to tell, but I don’t think  this is a viable dating tactic.

On another note of agitation -

On Mother’s Day, my wife had the gall to ask me if she had to cook dinner.   What the hell?  I told her by golly she did; it’s Mother’s DAY not Mother’s EVE, not Mother’s NIGHT.   That woman has me so irritated I will remember her ’til the cows come home.  And I need to ride the cow to work tomorrow since my car broke down.