Windows LiveWindows Live™
 
 
Steve 的个人资料Goose's Nest照片日志列表更多 工具 帮助

日志
    6月16日

    Cause as a Style?!?!?!


    Being still relatively new to the Seattle area I may notice some things that others who are from here may not -- one of those things I have noticed here is what I can best describe as either a big hypocrisy, or a weird style trend.

    I came here from Colorado, a state much like you'd think like Washington that has its fair share of earthy crunchy types, and even more left-wingers who proudly display their favorite liberal cause. But in Colorado what you see usually is what you get. See a person who speaks about the injustices of the healthcare system, maybe wearing a Bush hater T-shirt, and that person is also likely to do volunteer work at a shelter or supports other social causes. Talk to a co-worker who has a major concern about global warming and the cost of gas and you'll see that she often rides her bike to work, and a bus into the city. See a V-Dub with a hemp bumper sticker and you'd see a Rastafarian step out of it. See a 4x4 with a gun rack and a PBRA sticker in the window and the driver most probably would get out and still have cow-pie on his dusty boots and actually rides a horse on a regular basis.

    But here I have seen on numerous occasions, too often to be ignored in fact, a mis-match in the story a driver is telling with his automobile and the life that driver seems to lead, or a mismatch between what a person proclaims and the life they really lead. This annoying observation I've been experience has come to a head in the last few weeks by a single driver that I've had the misfortune of being trapped behind on my way to work on and off several times now. It is one of my favorite examples though. The list below starts off with this guy, and includes a few others I've actually seen just in the recent past (7 days):

    Persona: The Eco-Warrior
    • The car: Hybrid Toyota, driven almost always 2-5 mph below the speed limit on a single lane road with no passing
    • The badges: "I'd rather be biking" license frame, a few bike company logos in the rear window, a "Save the Planet" and some other kind of "Go Green" bumper sticker I've not been able to get the best look at yet.
    • Other visual story tellers: bike rack, and a bike helmet sitting on the rear parcel shelf (same spot every time - I doubt it has moved)
    • The driver: Jabba the friggin Hut! This guy is a mammoth. His car even leans on the left side under the strain. He'd get winded even dislodging himself from behind the steering wheel and getting up out of the car, let alone riding a bike to the mailbox. Could he even get on a bike? If he could, do they make those nifty skin suits that the bikers here think are mandatory big enough to fit this guy? I really want to know, although the mental image is nauseating. But like all train wrecks, you'd have to look. So I can only think this guy is trying to fit into the eco-militant style that is pretty popular up here in the great North West. He doesn't really want to ride a bike, he is just caught up in the image of it all.
    • I'd bet: that he takes "free range" and "natural foods" frozen dinners to work and shops during the busy hours at Trader Joe's, then eats the same things the rest of red-blooded males across America do, but in larger portions and triple dosages each night at home. Tofu at work, almost moo'ing cow at home.
    Persona: The Socialist
    • The bumper sticker: "Impeach Bush"
    • Overheard saying to someone he ran into at the store: "Those capitalist bastards running the major corporations actually run the entire world and keep the rich rich and the poor poor..." (It sounded a lot to me like he believes in the Majestic 12 conspiracy stuff.)
    • Also overheard saying to another person brought to the store: "That wine is for trailer trash"
    • Car the guy got into: $100,000+ brand new Porsche 911 Turbo
    • Also seen on the car: parking tag for a major corporation.
    • I'd bet: he supports the average American getting a tax raise but has the best accountant money can buy and exploits every tax loop he can. I'd also bet he adoringly kisses and flirts with his trophy wife in public, but emotionally abuses her at home and has a special secret relationship with the nanny, who is an underpaid and undocumented illegal alien from Eastern Europe.
    Persona: The Princess (this one is not a cause as a style, just a general style-reality mismatch)
    • The car: Caddy Escalade, with chrome dubs
    • The window sticker: "Goddess"
    • The shades: Big rhinestone studded Jakie-O's
    • Nails: weapon long and bright red
    • The cell: the Princess model -- looked like every surface was bedazzled with red rhinestones or sequins
    • The driver: Saskwatch! ... serious, she had a mustache and was way too beefy to be thinking she was a princess. For the price of her car payments to keep up with the latest SUV trend, her shades and the special phone, don't you think she could better afford electrolysis or laser hair removal and a personal trainer -- even then she'd be ugly, but much closer to being a goddess.
    I have some hypocritical ones I have seen at work that I could share (think broader work, not necessarily at the team level).  But since I work there, out of respect and a fear of placing my job in jeopardy I'll hold those for much later in life if ever. It is not that I am annoyed by those that have a total opposite view than me. If they live their proclaimed views they are people I respect because they are true to their nature. Diversity is a good thing. And  almost everyone at my work is at the opposite end of the political and social spectrum from me.  I count myself lucky to know quite a few of them.  I am referring to a small but overly loud minority of people who say one thing and do another.  I am sure you can think of a few in your professional world within a few seconds time.  Being disingenuous is pathetic, even if it is sometimes funny to observe. I might not agree with or even like some of these people if they walked their talk, but I could at least be OK with them. For example: the pompous arse who drives a Porsche and belittled a cheap wine... I'd at least think he was just an average snoot if he didn't pretend to care about the plight of the poor and have a chip on his shoulder about big business (one of which helps him pay for his zoomy ride).

    I wonder if I am one of the only people who notice these mismatches driving around... or if I am one of the only people who is bugged by these delusional people.



    23:24 | 添加评论 | 阅读评论 (3) | 固定链接 | 写入日志 | News and politics
    6月2日

    Why Can't I Gain Weight in my Butt??


    I'm about as heavy as I have ever been ... and at 6'1" the total is not so bad, except that it is all in my thorax!

    Yep, I feel like an insect because my arms and legs are still skinny, and all my weight is in my spare tire. Kinda gross.

    If I were a cartoon character I'd be Mr. Salty, Mr. Peanut, whatever his name is - you know, that Peanut guy from Planters Nuts. Give me a monocle and a top hat. Big mid section and spindly arms and legs -- I could pull it off.

    I figured that a few pounds would go to my butt - nope. I've never had a butt. It is like my legs just kind of join my back. I do have a butt, but you can't tell from looking at my jeans. It probably looks all the smaller because of my unfortunate case of Elephantguttus: I think I have Elephantiasis localized to the gut region.

    I wonder if I could get liposuction and have the tubes immediately feed the fat back into my ass?

    I know, I know: I just need to get off my tiny arse and exercise again.

    14:00 | 添加评论 | 阅读评论 (2) | 固定链接 | 写入日志